I thought I smelled beer on her breath

After my workout, I joined Alia and Ajay for some family R&R in the TV room, and this is what I found.

Nice, Ajay...really nice!

Alert the media

Hold everything.

Hear this.

Alia.

Slept.

Through the night!!!!!!!

Here's my qualifier. She slept exactly 5 1/2 hours straight...from 1 to 6:30 AM, which according to my pediatrician is considered "through the night". My preferred hours for her to sleep! Meaning that normally, her longest stretch of sleep usually begins around 7 p.m. and goes to 11, and then we enjoy seeing each other every 3 hours from that point throughout the night. And although I love love love that little girl, I don't care to see her quite so often in the middle of the night.

I've been asking the universe for some magic...you know, like maybe her long stretch could be in the middle of the night rather than the beginning of the night? So Mommy can get some uninterrupted sleep before it's time to get up?

And my friends, the universe answered. And I feel good. And rested. And I only had to apply a double coat of concealer under my eyes rather than a triple! (Because, still, 5 1/2 hours of sleep isn't close to enough for this girl, but that's not a complaint...don't get me wrong...I'll take sleep from 1-6:30 AM any day!)

High five to the universe!

Alia is 3 months old

Today Alia is 3 months old. This month she has grown so much, both physically and capability-wise. On the physical side, Alia the waif no longer exists. She was previously in the 80th percentile of length and 20th percentile of weight. Well, now my little chunk is still in the 80th percentile of length, but she did some major catching up this month and is now in the 75th percentile of weight...making her perfectly proportioned. 

Alia's interaction this month has been amazing to watch. She laughed for the first time on October 1, and I've spent a whole lot of time trying to coax more laughter out of her since then...only to mild success. As I've said before, Alia isn't a difficult child by any means, but she also really makes you earn her approval!

Alia is now dying to stand up all the time. Her little chunky legs lock into place any time she is positioned upright. She is also sitting upright propped against pillows or in her Bumbo chair. She loves being upright. 

Alia is now watching me from across the room. She doesn't like it when I'm not around. She tracks me constantly. Although I'm definitely her center of focus, she is also showing signs of being very social. She loves to meet people...neighbors on our walks, people on the street when we're strolling, you name it. She is interested in faces, and loves to hear her name.

Alia's new favorite game is "baby in the mirror" which is where I stand her up on her little locked out chunky legs on the bathroom counter top and point to the baby in the mirror. I bounce her up and down, saying 1-2-3333333333333 and lift her high on the 3, all the while her gaze is locked on her smiling reflection in the mirror. She really finds herself fascinating.

This month, we've also been getting out more with Alia. I'm taking her places by myself, which is a good thing for both of us. And Ajay and I are much more likely to take her to the mall, out to eat, etc.

Sleep is another story. I'm still waiting for her to consistently sleep longer hours. Right now her longest sleep stretch happens from about 7 in the evening til 12 in the morning. From there she may wake up 2 more times in the night, roughly every 2.5-3 hours. I am very tired. I would like more sleep in longer stretches for both of us.

Watching this baby grow and become has been the highlight of my life. I can't imagine our life without this little person!

My little retail girl

Saturday, the stars aligned. Alia was fed, clothed, clean, and happy at a time when both of us were rested enough to consider driving. So Ajay and I took the little munchkin to the Japanese market---Daddy wanted some Soba noodles. Afterwards, we planned to hit South Coast Plaza if she held up.

Now, the Japanese market that we love is filled with a wonderful food court with maybe a dozen different restaurants to choose from. There is also a Japanese toy store, video store, cosmetics store, a full scale grocer, as well as some pottery shops with teacups and figurines just to name a few. I immediately chose the toy store with it's bright colors and tons of Hello Kitty things for Alia to look at.

And was Mommy right, or was Mommy right? Alia was like a kid in a candy store...or rather, a baby in a toy store. Her eyes lit up with all the things to look at. Her little melon head darted from here to there. She made her excited little breathy huffle puffle noises. She was in retail heaven.

From the toy store, we hit the food court. Alia loved looking at everybody. After Ajay got his fix of soba noodles and tempura, we headed for the car. Alia, who had been held the entire time in the market, surprised us when we attempted to put her in her car seat. Tears began to flow, sadness oozed out of her little soul. She did not want to go. She loved her retail experience. 

So me, being completely in tune with my little girl, raced her over to South Coast Plaza for more retail stimulation. And all was right with the world again.

I can't help myself

I went down to town yesterday with Alia. By myself...no extra set of hands just in case. Yes, she's 12 weeks old, but I am a woman  intimidated by my own stroller. Baby steps.

So we strolled around downtown Laguna Beach, and I ended up in a child's clothing boutique. Okay, first of all...I adore all the cute little political onesies..."My Mama's for Obama" or the little Beatles onesies and the Bob Marley onesies...I just love 'em. As I was sorting through, trying to decide which of the wide variety I'd be taking home with me, I noticed the price tag on these adorable little morsels...$40!? for a freaking onesie? That Alia will wear for about 13 days at this rate of growth? 

Seriously. Am I crazy? Or is that just what things cost these days? Did I miss something along the way? 

Well...let's just think this through...those little boutique onesies are awfully cute...and I do tend to put the cuter outfits on her more often...so they probably cost the same per use, right? RIGHT???? And let's not forget about the socks!

This is what I get for sleeping

This morning, after Alia woke up wanting to be fed at 5 am, I convinced her to take a little nap with Mommy. Although she was fussy, she decided it would be okay to lie next to me if I would let her chomp away on my index finger. I drifted off to sleep thinking hmmm, I wonder if Alia is teething already?

So off to napland I drifted...and I had the most bizarre dream. I dreamed that I was brushing Alia's teeth with one of those rotary toothbrushes made for kids...only it was now...and she didn't have any teeth yet!

So I freaked out, wondering just how much damage I had done to her baby gum tissue with that brush, and decided the best thing to do would be to wash her gums with a wash cloth. Because yeah, that would make it better. Totally.

Whew

What a couple of days it's been. No, nothing crazy...no one got hurt. No one broke a bone or ended up in jail. But can I just say how challenging it is to function on so little sleep for 3 months? Just when I thought we rounded a corner and Alia slept for 5 hours one stretch and then another 4 hours all in one night, she's back to waking every 3 hours.

Yesterday was  a brutal day for Ajay at work too. So between my continuing fatigue and him getting totally worked at work, let's just say that we were both in bed by the crack of 9 last night. And how out of it am I? I didn't even realize it was the finale of Project Runway last night! I mean, it's not Top Chef, but since the writer's strike of last season, I'm a pretty dedicated addict to Bravo's reality line up! Except Top Design...I don't like the main lady's voice...the Brit? Yeah, she bugs me...but anyway...I've proven that these are the ramblings of a crazy lady!

Alia visits her fan club

Today Ajay had a break in between cases so we thought it would be a good day to surprise the nurses at his surgery center with an Alia visit. These are the same nurses that threw me the most gracious and over the top baby shower when I was about 7 months pregnant.

This is also the surgery center where I had my laparoscopy and hysteroscopy before doing IVF and they took amazing care of me.

Upon arrival, the head of the center was waiting for me at the door. She greeted me with a huge hug and I plopped Alia right into her arms. At first, Alia only had eyes for me...but as more and more of her fan club gathered around, Alia really hammed it up. She smiled. She cooed. She was one very good baby.

Too Tired to Care

Going through the house yesterday, I realized something about myself since Alia joined our family. I am a big, fat energy waster. For example... I leave the living room  lights turned on the dimmest setting all night. I do this because I know she'll wake me up throughout the night, and I don't want to trip over something with her in my arms in the dark. Why can't I just turn them on when she wakes me up?

Another thing is I leave her monitor in her crib, plugged in and turned on all day. Why? I don't know. Same goes for the fan in Alia's room...it's on all the time. I read somewhere that they believe there is a correlation between air circulation and SIDS, meaning putting your baby down for a nap while a fan is on reduces the risk. So the fan is on. All the time. And by the way, so is the white noise machine that lulls Alia to sleep when the time comes, and helps her stay asleep by blocking out daytime noises. 

Oh, and let's not forget my computer...I try to remember to turn it off, but oftentimes when I'm online, I don't finish reading this or that, and it ends up minimized at the bottom of my screen at the end of day, so I don't turn off the computer in the interest of finishing reading what I started. I also don't like to turn it off because it takes it 47 minutes to re-boot. Who's got that kind of time with a 2 1/2 month old at home? Oh, and my computer is not the sleek, modern machine that my husband owns...the new Mac Powerbook. My computer is the equivalent to a 1973 Impala, chugging down energy and belching it out from time to time...it practically produces exhaust it's so old and antiquated and well, inefficient. So it totally makes sense that I leave it on all the time, right? 

So after paying a $500 energy last month, which to be fair, we have had one of the hottest Septembers in history so the AC was on all day every day (and still couldn't get our house below a balmy 78 degrees running full blast), I've challenged myself to try harder. Turn off the lights. Turn off the computer. Turn off the fan. Turn off the noise machine. Leave my computer on because, well, it may not be able to handle one more re-boot. Turn off the closet light. Turn off the stairway light to the garage. Make an effort. I mean, what is the benefit of buying all these environmentally friendly detergents and dish soaps when I can't even turn off the TV? Oh, and the TV? It's not actually playing a program. Several hours ago, I hit pause on the TIVO because Alia needed me, and I never made it back to finish the program or turn off the TV. And it's a big TV.

For the record

Today was a big day in the Lalvani household...Alia laughed for the first time!!! It was the sweetest, most heartwarming moment! So, shall I share what made my little one shriek with laughter? Okay, since you asked....

Ajay was home this morning because he's working overnight tonight. We decided to make a Costco run with Alia...a new feat never before accomplished. The reason for the run? We're dangerously low on baby wipes. What is dangerously low in my mind? Less than a case, or less than 704 wipes. Yeah, I have a strange attachment and need for wipes...I'm a wierdo.

Anyway, I gave Alia a bath this morning, and decided she should wear her Obama onesie to Costco. So while I was dressing her, I was just talking to her, telling her that she was showing her respect from the west siiiiide...I was using my ghetto inflection in an attempt of keepin' it real. And when I said west siiiide, I flashed my west-siiiiide gang sign...you know the one...where you cross your ring finger with your middle finger, and hide your thumb so all that you see is the shape of a "W"?

Well, apparently, Alia knew that her Mommy does not have a whole lot of gangsta in her blood. She looked up with huge eyes, and cracked the biggest smile ever. So I repeatedly represented and flashed my "w" and said " west-siiiiiide for Obama, ahhh, yeeeeah!" That's when it happened...absolutely positively 100% sure...laughter!

But now reflecting on it myself...the white suburban housewife representin' in Laguna Beach, I suppose I do see the humor of it all.

Alia felt that her Obama onesie just didn't have enough pizazz...so she opted to add her flamenco skirt to complete the look