Hard Rockin'

The League of Accidental Hausfrauen had a meeting today at the Hard Rock Cafe, and since it's around the corner from Dad's office, both Mom and Dad went to introduce me. The food is good but overpriced, the videos are nostalgic if you're an old fogey like Dad, the decor is aggressively thematic, and the co-marketed schwag is the envy of college students everywhere. I showed my disdain by sleeping through the whole meal.

Up a Pound

At the midwife visit today, I weighed 8 lb 6 oz. Most babies regain their birth weight by 10–14 days old. I'm more than a pound over!

The midwife also rubbed off most of my remaining umbilical-cord scab. I'm not sure how I feel about her hurrying nature along like that, but my navel is prettier this way. Are there positions open for baby belly-button models?

Snow Big Deal

I went out in my mobile throne again today. This time there was even more of the fluffy white stuff falling on my canopy, and several inches of it piled up on the branches and ground. I like the looks of it, but I can do without the wind blowing it into my face.

Fooled Ya'

Never mind. Staying up all night, fussing and spitting up, is way more fun than sleeping after all. Bait-and-switch, remember?

No Neti Pot Necessary

I've heard that sinus rinses are healthy. Sadie's got a doozy of a cold right now, so anything I can do to avoid catching it would be good. Unfortunately I don't have any way to tell Mom and Dad what I want, so I have to do it myself. Milk works well as a sinus rinse, even when it comes from inside.

I may be a little too enthusiastic, though. During morning diaper change today I rinsed my sinuses all over my pajamas, my sleep sack, the changing pad, and the wall. Mom just sighed and said something about not wanting to ruin her perfect record of at least one load of laundry every day anyway.

Night. Right.

I think I'm beginning to catch on. When Mom and Dad lay me in my command center and stretch out next to me, that's called night, and I'm supposed to sleep.

Last night I slept from 11:30 pm until 3:30 am, and then again from 4:30 am until 7:30 am. It feels weird to miss the most tranquil part of the day like that, but it seems to make Mom happier if I take my cuddles when it's light out.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot...

Weihnachtsmärkte are springing up all over. Everywhere people would normally meet outside for beer, they're now chugging Glühwein and browsing gifts and ornaments. Tonight was the big tree-lighting in Marienplatz and official opening of the markets.

I'm not having any Glühwein, so I'll be the designated stroller driver.

Initial Public Offering

Today we all went to Mom and Dad's office for a Christmas cookie decorating party. Dad decorated cookies, Sadie ate handfuls of raw dough, and I entertained gaggles of admiring fans.

It was my first trip out of the apartment since we came home from the hospital, my first time riding in the baby pouch, and my first meal out. The menu in the conference room had only one item, but service was prompt.

Bye-Bye, Belly-Button Blob

At the midwife's second visit this morning, she tugged a little too hard on the valve stem on my belly — and it came off! Now how will Mom and Dad reinflate me when I run a little flat?

Do Be Due, Two

Happy due date to me! What, no cake?

Weighing In

According to the scale at home, I'm now 7 lb 12 oz, up 15 oz from my low point a week ago. At this rate, when I'm 25... I don't even want to think about it.

Clothes Make the Baby

It's 2 PM, and I'm in my third complete outfit of the day. Can you believe Mom started me out in yellow? It is so not my color. No way did I want to spend the whole day looking sallow and sickly. So I peed all over it at the first diaper change. Woot, communication.

Next was blue, which is fine as far as it goes, but those puppies were far too cutesy for a sophisticated girl like me. So I peed all over it at the next diaper change. Woot, communication again.

Now I'm in blue-and-green stripes, finally something I can live with. Good thing, too, since the pajama drawer is empty.

Bath Time?

My first bath! Sadie loves baths, so I've been waiting for this moment.

Mom stripped me down, put me on the table in the freezing cold kitchen, and rubbed a wet washcloth on my head and neck. I really don't know what Sadie sees in these things.

Abby Fab

The midwife came for her first visit today. She says I'm doing great, gaining weight and looking fabulous. Tell me something I didn't know.

Bye-Bye, Grandma

Grandma left this morning. I never managed to talk her into a pony. She'll be back in just a few weeks, though, so I'm planning my strategy now.

Welcome Home, Abby

Nothing says "Welcome Home" like fresh-baked brownies.

Mom is Nuts

Time to go home! Although Sadie's old carseat was perfectly modded for Munich winter by Mom, she decided not to call a taxi. So we caught the bus around the corner, transferred to the subway, and finally climbed the 45 stairs to our 3rd-floor apartment.

Mom says she did it just to see how her mom would react. I can't wait to meet my other grandma.

Oh, Not the Band

Woo! I get to go to U2!

Oh, wait, it's just a doctor visit. Following Germany's standardized pediatric schedule, I had my U1 exam when I was born, and my U2 exam this morning. I weighed 3180 g, up another 70 g from yesterday.

Dad says we live on the U6 subway line. Does that mean I have to wait until I'm 10 months old to go home?

Or maybe they're squished ants

Mom's book has a lot of pages, but it reads faster than any of mine. After reading it a dozen times, though, the story is still confusing. The little black dots are doing the same thing in every picture.

Supernumerary

I got called down to the doctor's office this morning, where they stabbed me in the heel, played sounds in my ears, and took a sonogram of my hips and abdomen.

Everything looks good. The doctor thinks I have a double kidney on the left side, like about 2% of people. Usually nobody knows about it until they're old and getting an ultrasound for some other kidney problem. But here in Germany they do the exam on all newborns, so they turn up this kind of thing more regularly. The doctor isn't worried, because my bladder and ureters all look normal, but we'll have it checked out again at my next doctor visit.

Did You Feed Me After Midnight?

Only two days old, and already I'm pulling the ol' bait-and-switch on the parents. By day I'm an angelic child, sleeping peacefully for four hours in a row, eating eagerly and politely, and blinking adorably when cameras are around. OK, so I spit up once in a while, but that's cute, right?

Then night falls, and I show my true colors. I kicked off last night with a bang, giving Mom a good-sized spitup 5 minutes after Dad left so she could have the fun of hobbling to the changing table and replacing all four layers of my outfit.

I followed with a lusty bout of crying that attracted a passing pediatric nurse, who took off one layer of my clothing on the theory that I was too hot. Mom's bemusement, given that every other pediatric nurse had been telling her to keep me bundled up because I was cold, only added to the moment.

As a final touch, I demanded food every 30 minutes until 4 AM. Now I think I'll catch an hour or two of sleep: the nurse visits start up at 7:00, and I need to recharge my halo.

That was your birthday present

Abby brought me a welcome gift, all the way from Mom's tummy. That's what Grandma told me. But my Big Sister book says babies are too little to play with toys. Maybe she just re-gifted me her own birthday present.

I'm not one to look a gift pony in the mouth. There's a cat and a dog and a bunny, but no pony. That's okay. Thanks, Abby!

We Meet at Last

I went back to visit Mom again this afternoon. She saved me her cake from lunch! There's plenty of time to meet Baby Abby when I'm done with cake.

Here we are, one whole, happy family. I've been looking forward to playing with my baby sister for weeks. Did you know my fingers fit perfectly in Abby's eyes?

Sugar Water

A girl can get mighty hungry during a hard day of sleep. After trying to feed me continuously for five hours, Mom finally gave me some sugar-water. Did you know that bottles will dispense water about ten times as fast as Mom dispenses milk, if you suck hard enough? And that drinking too fast makes you gag and swallow air? Maybe sucking on Mom's pinkie for a couple of hours will cure it.

Found Mom, Lost Abby

Dad and Grandma took me to daycare together this morning. I guess he's back for good.

They came to pick me up early, and we went to a big house near the English Garden, where we found Mom. Most of her big tummy is gone, which I suppose means there's no baby in there anymore. But this "Abby" I've heard so much about is nowhere to be seen. Don't tell me they managed to lose her already?

Watch Me

My first visitor! What'd you bring me, Grandma? Ah, cuddly arms. Yeah, that'll do for now.

Back to the nursery for more oxygen observation this afternoon. They say they need to keep me until 6:30 PM, to have 24 hours of data. I think they just miss me too much, after the amazing job I did with the disco lights last night.

Sucker

I admit it — I love to suck. Even in Mom's tummy, I sucked blisters on both my wrists. But now I have much better targets: I'm working on removing the skin from Dad's pinkie, and I've put blisters on both Mom's... well, let's not go into too much detail. Suffice to say we'll all be happier when I can get more milk with less vacuum.

I slimmed down to 3250 g (7 lb, 2.5 oz) as of this morning. I actually think I look a little better, with some of the swelling starting to go down.

Now playing: Rents

It sure is weird having two parents to contend with. I was just getting into the groove of managing one, and this other one comes along. What am I supposed to do with him? He doesn't whoosh or gurgle or make any of the parent sounds I know.

Disco Dominion

At 6:30 PM, they came for me.

They wheeled me down to the newborn lab and hooked me up to sensors they watched all night long. They told Mom and Dad something about Streptococcus B and monitoring my blood oxygen level, but I think they were really using my biorhythms to control the blinky lights in their disco.

Dad went home before I left. Why do I get the feeling Mom wasn't all that disappointed not to have me disturbing her sleep for the first time in months? I still joined her for a few meals, so she wouldn't get too lonely overnight.

Never mind

Dad came skulking in just in time for supper. Can you count a pony before it hatches?

I knew it

Grandma came solo to the Krippe (that's German for daycare) this afternoon to take me home to an empty house.  Mom and Dad are definitely out of the picture. It's probably for the best: I hear Grandmas are a real soft touch when it comes to ponies.

Room Sweet Room

I was so cute at birth, the nurses carted me off for inspection and cooing after letting Mom hold me for only a couple of minutes. They brought me back to her after an hour or so, though, and I grabbed the best meal I'd ever had and some cozy chest time.

Then it was off to room 54, our home for the next few days.

Vita 34

Storing umbilical cord blood is way more common here in Munich than it was in California. Mom and Dad didn't even have to call the courier themselves. Cool! They're having my blood listed on the public donor registry, too, in case somebody else needs it and I don't. Even cooler!

Stat Block

Big day for me: I was born. It doesn't get much more life-changing than that.

I hear grownups like numbers, and that it's good to humor them so they keep giving you milk and snuggles. So here are the boring details:

• Name: Abigail Bailey
• Date/Time: November 16, 2010, 12:37 pm
• Location: Frauenklinik Dr. Geisenhofer, Munich, Germany
• Weight: 3330g; 7 lbs 5 oz
• Length: 51 cm; 20 inches

For those of you paying attention, you'll note that I'm two inches longer and more than two pounds heavier than Sadie was when she was born. Watch out, "big" sister — I'm gaining on you.

Abigail is for my mom's dad, Allan. Bailey is for Mom's Aunt Barbara, and it's also Dad's great-grandmother's maiden name. This must be that German efficiency I've heard so much about.

Like Sadie, I clawed my way out of Mom's tummy. It was pretty easy, though, since there were clear trail markers from when she took that path.

Wilkommen

My name is Abigail Bailey. Big Sis Sadie has trouble saying L's, though, so you can call me Abby.

I just joined the team today. Sadie's been having trouble keeping up with her blog posts, so the executive board brought me in to cover the current news while she backfills her post-due posts.

The Wheels on the Bus

Ever since Grandma came to visit, she's been shadowing Dad everywhere, even coming to my daycare at Dark:30 in the morning. Nobody hangs with Dad early in the morning for fun. She must be training to take over his job.