Pretty sure she thinks we live here now

We were at the hotel in Guanajuato, Quinta Las Acacias, and it was nice and is very well designed.

While C was taking a bath she asked for her towel. Her new way of telling me she's done. And I brought over one of their luxe white towels to the jacuzzi where C was. She insisted no, she wanted her blue towel. My surfeit have blue towels in the bathroom we use at the house. "Nooo. Blue! Tau-wul, bluuuu" No, there's only white towels here. Bluuuuuu.

Eventually she got out and we used the white towel.

Then she started to ask for Abuela. Then David. Then Papa and Abuelo. Abuela and Papa a few times. Is was taking photos outside and we were at the hotel. Not Celaya.

I'm not sure if these little trips are a good idea or not. Or if it matters either way. But there's something about the way she's adapted that makes me think she believes we live here now.

I think she's going to be bored and sad when we first go home. Or maybe she will love her bed and be ok. I've no idea. It'll be interesting.

If I had pursued and taken that college job in Korea, she would have adapted to being a little Korean kid pretty quickly. Faster than us, I can tell. Maybe we should have done that.

I'm reading The Help and it's very good. Thanks, Jee, for the recommendation.

Up all night? It's a cold.

Putting together very obvious clues, slowly, made me wonder how I got this far as a mother. It was all so obvious and yet I was confused until this morning that Carolina has a cold.

She's felt warm to me for two days and was REALLY whiny yesterday. But it wasn't until she didn't sleep most of the night and banged her head against the crib mattress that I knew something was up. She sounded like she was having trouble breathing but not too badly. Finally this morning I took her temperature and it was shy of 102 degrees. Not a fever exactly but not well either.

Her nose has been very runny today and her appetite has decreased. I know it's teeth. This "cold" I've seen before.

Her last front, bottom canine tooth broke through two days ago and this might be the result of the last set of molars. She has the bottom two threatening to break through but still haven't.

I was at least prepared with her thermometer, vicks vapor rub, Tylenol and nose aspirator thingy.

We are going to Tia Gaby's for lunch after her nap. Ah, her nap that started with intense screaming when I put her in the bath to wash out the sand. I've no idea why she did but ismael could hear it three floors down and across the pool. Even with the ocean being "loud" today. Yup.

Still, though, she had a fun morning on the beach.

Tomorrow we leave the beach very early and head back. 8 hours in the car. Yup yup yup.

Bye bye

Today included a lot of whining. I think it was teeth related but I couldn't be sure. Kraken didn't seem to make much difference and it wasn't urgent whining so mostly I ignored it and tried distraction when it subsided a little.

After a lot of crying and whining in the bathtub, I was mentally exhausted. I think she missed not seeing Papa tonight since he had an office party to attend. So I was pleased when she let me know she was ready for bed, before I even mentioned it.

As I put her down in the crib, she laid down with Elmo and Agee I put on the blanket and rubbed her back I started to walk towards the door as I always do. In that moment she said "Byee" very sweetly.

I desperately tried not to laugh since it was so cute. So I didn't say goodnight back or bye.

It made up for the previous hour's worth of whining.

No particular day...

Last night Carolina did something fantastic (according to me): she went to bed at 6pm, woke up at 1.30am hungry, I fed her, she fell asleep until 5.55am

She's like an alarm clock. Gets up at about 6am every morning. No. Matter. What.

But it's the second time in the last week she didn't cry out or wake up hungry more than once. I guess her gums weren't hurting her, her belly was full and she didn't need to poop or fart. She just slept.

I'm finding that the more she sleeps, the more I get to sleep. And the more tired I find myself. Strange as it may seem.

I also, if I dream at all, have a constant barrage of nightmares.

I'm sure in some way this is completely normal. I probably haven't dreamt this much since before she was born, which was almost 9 months ago. So I'm sure there's a lot my unconscious has to work out :)

In any event. I'm really tired today while Carolina seems raring to go.

I was going to take her swimming at the Y, but I'm too beat.

Last week, we went to the Y twice and to my parents place twice. The landlord was painting our bathroom (such a strong odor that I got a headache so I took her out of there immediately) and then we had the bathtub refinished. Everything in the bathroom looks really great but we needed to be out of the apartment for those days.

In less than a month we'll be heading to Mexico for a cousin's wedding and then drive 8 hours to spend a few days in Vallarta. The wedding is at 7pm outside of Celaya. That means that I nor Ismael will be able to put Carolina to bed for the night. That means she'll be sleeping at Bisabuela's house in a crib there. I have no idea how that'll go. Of course I want to control the variables as much as possible to make it resemble her room and her 'going to bed' experience every night so that she sleeps well and doesn't cry. But I can't do anything about it. I just have to trust that Great Grandma, who has taken care of countless babies, can get my munchkin to bed, not have her climb out of the crib, and we get back to pick her up during the wee hours and bring her back to Abuela's house with us. Hopefully not waking her up too much. (It's a 1/2 block walk between Bisabuela and Abuela's houses.)

She's still NOT taken a bottle during the night. Once she's asleep, it's only boob. So I really wonder, if we don't get back from the wedding before she wakes, if she'll take the bottle (because she will be hungry) or if she'll just cry and protest and fall asleep. And then keep doing that until I get back.

I'm certain, whatever happens, I'll be surprised and it won't happen like I thought it would. For better or worse. It's always different than I expect.

I also have to make sure to eat before the wedding since I think dinner is going to be at like 10pm. Those Mexicans are as bad as the Italians. Dinner in the middle of the night ;) HA ha!

Also, recently, Carolina has been eating paper. Everything goes in her mouth if we let it (or aren't paying attention). Just last week she was gnawing on a black piece of thick paper. I noticed but didn't think much of it while getting her bath ready. When I finally went to pick her up about a minute later she was missing some of the black paper. I stick my finger in her mouth to find a small wad of it in the back of her gums on one side, like she was chewing tobacco. It was funny and not funny.

She got upset that I took it away, it must have felt nice since she's still teething. (I can't tell you how much Orajel we give her some days. I'm always glad there are days we don't have to give her any. Sometimes it just seems endless.) I couldn't leave it, even if she wasn't going to swallow it. It was making her mouth black. Lord knows what kind of ink she was swallowing.

And just try to stop her from crawling everywhere and climbing up everything she can.

As soon as she starts to walk, I'm going to be even more exhausted than before I'm sure!

Grandparents are wonderful

I don't mean mine. Mine were totally awesome, of course, but have since been long gone.

I mean Carolina's.

Her abuelos arrived on the second week and taught us how to bathe her, use a pacifier well, change her diaper, swaddle her well... All the little things we do everyday. Thank god for that visit!!

And today, grandma and grandpa arrived with blackout shades and a crib. Put up the shades and assembled the crib. And then! Took care of her for two extra hours so I could go to my back doctor since I threw out my lower back on Wednesday afternoon.

When I got home, miss thing had only napped 40 minutes and drank 1oz of breastmilk. But she had two awesome poopy diapers. Phew!

Shortly after they left, I swaddled her and she eventually fell asleep in my arms in the living room. She was briefly awoken by fright at the sound of thunder. But then fell back to sleep a few minutes later. She is VERY cute while sleeping.

My arm might be nearly asleep but my back doesn't hurt and she is sleeping. Finally.

We will do "baby carwash" when she wakes up and then either fall asleep right away or wait for daddy to come home.

Either way. The day was MUCH easier because of grandparents.