Yarden Lately

Yarden turned 10 weeks old today and she's now a sizable 12 lbs and 23 inches, which puts her firmly in the 75th percentile of height and weight.
And oh my goodness - she continues to be painfully cute.
Just look...

This week Yarden attended her first union rally, her first bowling party and went to the uber fancy LA sushi joint Katsuya for the second time in her young life (once courtesy of Holly & Tracey - our friends at the network - and once in celebration of my friend Meg's birthday).

Yarden dressed for the rally.

Yarden is becoming more alert and more active every few days.
She does everything with seemingly more attention & intention.

During the day she now rejects the reclined position and prefers to be held in either a sitting or standing position - balancing her giant skull on her skinny neck like a bobble head. And man does she make her preferences known.

She used to have a gradual whimper to scream build-up that meant a fast acting mom or dad could avoid any of the heart wrenching, uvula shaking, screaming that we dread. Now she's quicker to exercise her lungs. And just to keep us guessing, she's added another option to the list of what might be wrong. When she's not gassy, hungry or dirty - screaming may be the cue to whomever is holding her that she wants them to sing.

At night, she flails her arms and legs almost continuously, earning her the nickname "Kicky Monster". At just (the aforementioned) 23 inches, she manages to dominate our entire bed.


Here are a few photos of Yarden doing her best cousin Jackson startle eyed impression.
She's wearing an orange shirt that was mine as a baby.



And here she is looking like a baby detective in an outfit Bubbie bought her (I think it's the hat).
With all the Law and Order we watch, she might just grow up to be a homicide, special victims or major case detective.

Our time with Faerie Poppins is winding down.
If anyone has a lead on a cheap Burning Man ticket, that's what we'd like to buy her as a thank you gift.

In two weeks Grammy Hurley will be here to spend a week with Yarden and then the girl starts infant day care. The time is just flying by.

A Few Photos From The Brooklyn Family's Visit

Bubbie and Yarden snuggling.

Grandmama with her hands full inside.

And outside.

Yarden and her mom crash out.

A Pixels Worth A Thousand Words

Yarden is now 8 weeks old and the girl is incredible.

She wakes up smiling and staring at us with her giant eyes (still blue, and for that matter she hasn't lost any of her hair). My friend Anna described raising a child as watching evolution at high speed and as usual the lady is clever and correct .

Every day Yarden seems more engaged in her surroundings and I can watch her learn and adapt. She sticks out her tongue, can roll over toward a familiar voice, talks to herself, will occasionally shake a rattle placed in her hand and she even pushes up on her feet to help you pick her up.

OK - I'll admit that sort of mommy babble is why I've been afraid to blog lately.
I was afraid I'd gush with fascination over minutia anyone but my parents or in laws would be bored to tears by - but what can say, anyone reading this must be moderately interested.

We got an amazing gift from Uncle Jack and Aunt Jackie - a flip ultra video camera.
Finally, a piece of technology that I really don't have to read the directions to use.
We leave it with Faerie Poppins to shoot video of Yarden while we are at work.

I haven't posted in a while and there is ton to catch up on (first month back at work, the adventures of Faerie Poppins, the show I'm about to start pitching), but for now I'll let these videos tell a few stories.

If you like these, the earliest video of the girl is posted in the Jan 1 2008 entry. Though compared to her 13 week sonogram, Yarden is now much bigger and far more colorful.

Josiah, Felicia and Jackson were in LA for 2 weeks and Mom, Dad and Grandma were here for 5 days of the same stretch. It was fantastic to get to spend so much time with the family and of course we threw a party for everyone. (None of these videos are from that party.)

My Grandmother met her Great Grand-daughter for the first time and chose the moniker Grandmama.

Here's a video of Grandmama and Yarden.


And here's a video of my nephew Jackson REALLY wanting to drink my brother's beer.


And finally, for the hardcore Yarden fans - a smile.

BLAME IT ON MOMMY BRAIN - Who's Juicy?

I've been writing thank you notes and I'm so embarrassed to admit that we got an adorable white terry Juicy Couture hooded outfit sent to us for Yarden and I cannot figure out who it's from.

If you sent it - or you know who did - please let me know.

Already Back At Work for One Week

I hardly want to write a post because I LOVE those photos of Yarden - especially the bottom one - and by posting I push it down from the top of the blog.

But life moves on and I'm duty driven to report on it.

The first week back at work was a success.
Faerie Poppins started on Tuesday and she is a delight.
I feel good about leaving Yarden in her care and trust that she's surrounding her with nothing but good.

Pumping in the office is weird. Having it in the back of my mind that I need to pump every three hours makes me feel like I'm a mouse on a wheel. My boobs inflate on a 3 hour schedule and tingle when I'm overdue.

Breast feeding is motherly, bonding, not always enjoyable, but biological magic.
My daughter looks different every day and the only thing entering her system is milk that I somehow produce. It's an amazing thing. Her only building blocks are milk.

Pumping is another matter.
Even with the ability to lock the door and put up a do not disturb post-it, any activity that involves being bare breasted in the office feels wrong in a dirty way.

Microwave sterilizing the pump parts between uses feels conspicuous - and carrying containers of pumped milk to the shared fridge even more so.

At home, with no central air, it's even more unpleasant.
A sweaty affair that I try to use tv to distract myself from.

So far pumping is the only thing about Motherhood that isn't better.

Aliyah

Happy One Month Birthday

Here are some new favorite pictures:



10 Other Things:

(1) Digital Watches - the best friend of a new parent who needs to time the times during and between feedings and diaper changes. We recommend the Timex WR 50M Indiglo 1440 Sports. Makes a great and thoughtful gift.

(2) Second best gift would be night vision goggles so I can find those f-ing Huggies at 3:00 AM without waking up or dropping a sleep-crying baby.

(3) SKYPE w/ video - A 21st century Grandparents' best friend. Yarden can see everyone on the East Coast, 3000 miles away, on our laptop.

(4) 5/19/08 Yarden Fenway Hurley born and John Lester throws a no hitter (granted - against the Royals, but I'll still take it). 6/19/08 is TECHNICALLY a no-hitter even if there was no game. I think my baby is a good omen for the 2008 Red Sox.

(5) Congratulations to the Celtics. Anything is possible.

(6) Dear NBA Commissioner David Stern - I don't watch pro-basketball because I can't follow the rules. I do watch basketball. I am a big fan of the a college basketball team - UCONN Huskies.

A recent ESPN poll shows that most NBA basketball fans think referees cheat i.e. Tim Donaghy.

Your gold-engraved invitation for making a change has been received via registered mail. Ignore at your own peril.

(7) My thoughts are with you, Coach Calhoun.

(8) George W. Bush and 215 days left = about presidential more 43 chest-bumps.
I'd trade them all for one presidential secret BJ. It would be less mind boggling. Less photographed. Arguably more understandable.

I take this to as final confirmation that GWB is Alan Keyes in disguise.

It's the only reasonable explanation.

(9) Congratulations to Liz and Felicia on your (legal) engagement.

(10) Found in a diner in Silverlake. http://www.tobymorris.com/weddings/
Click "photo booth." Toby told us he was moving to Silverlake before our wedding. We're flattered he liked our stuff enough to feature us and you.

THANK YOU TO MY CREW & YES WE ARE REGISTERED

Most of my crew has gone to Denver to shoot 5 episodes so I went in Friday to meet with Courtney and say goodbye.

She gave me this amazing card that had been signed by everyone on set.
It was incredible, definitely something for the baby book.

Courtney also and made up the teeniest tiniest little Trading Spaces shirt.
It's adorable. I'll add a photo tomorrow.

The team is currently shooting a Halloween rivals episode that will be amazing and everyone is in costume. I'm so jealous.


** A few people have asked if we are registered.
Yes, at Amazon.com

MANY OCCASIONS TO CELEBRATE

As of yesterday, if we didn't send you a thank you note, Seamus and I are officially assholes.

Yes, June 16th was our official 1 year anniversary since we exchanged vows at Camp Sycamore.
Yesterday was also the day that Yarden turned 4 weeks old
AND Seamus and my first day back at work.

It was less traumatic than I expected, just because getting out of the house was so hectic so there wasn't time to obsess. Plus - she' s not yet at a "Mommy, please don't go" age.

NANNY TIME
There's been a change to the child care plan since I last posted.

We were all set to go with the infant day care program.
I'd even bought the extra crib bumper for her school bed (what a brilliant idea - I want a work bed).

But then Friday morning, we took the munchkin to Dr. Shaheedy for her weigh in (8 lbs 4 oz).

Side note on her weight:
There are now actually articles of clothing that no longer fit her (don't worry mom, not the Janie and Jack jumper) and she's actually gone up a diaper size.

The doctor expressed concern about putting Yarden into a group situation before she was 3 months old so we called Fairie Poppins and hired her to love and hug and sing to and protect Yarden for the next 6-8 weeks.

Fortunately, she was still available.

Unfortunately, she hard an emergency tooth extraction that needed to happen Monday - forcing Gina and Nancy to step in to take care of the girl. I haven't caught up with Gina yet, but I know that with Nancy she ate like a fiend, forced Nancy to bounce on a yoga ball with her for 1.5 hours and when I got home Yarden was crashed out on the couch, eyes wide open, watching Law and Order.
She is our daughter.

As soon as she realized I was home, she demanded the boob and continued to scream and demand the boob, refusing to be put down till around 11:30. The screams are heartbreaking - they cut right through my being.

Since I know she has no idea of object permanence, I assumed that as soon as I left her sight I ceased to exist in her mind. That helped me to feel better about going back - the idea that she wouldn't miss me as much as I missed her - but her clinginess (and choosing to stay up and feed through bath and naptime) suggested that something was going on.

I described the situation to a mommy discussion group that I've joined and got some sweet, if saddening, responses. One woman pointed out that I'm the only security she's known for the last 10 months - so of course she needed a mommy fix.

Tomorrow, Yarden, Fairie Poppins and I are all going to go into my office together.
We'll see how that goes.

RANDOM MOMENTS FROM MOMMYHOOD:

The reason that I am currently convinced that my daughter is a genius is that she will scream to be fed, but then quiets down when Seamus or I carry her over to the fridge.

We have to assume that she understands that's where the bottles of pumped milk come from.
What other explanation is there?

What I cannot understand is how she can piece that together, but still gets so worked up about nursing that she will cry and bang her head against me looking for the nipple - even when its already in her mouth. I literally plead with her "PLEASE - If you just stop screaming and close your mouth the thing you are looking for is right there".

As she gets bigger, Yarden's screams are now louder, more piercing and go straight to the gut. She also now farts like a big person and makes crazy animal noises while she sleeps - alternately sound like a rooting pig, a bird, a cat and an elephant. There's also a bit of mimicing going on. Once Seamus asked if she was OK and Nancy and I could both swear she said "I'm OK" - though Seamus, who was in the room with her denies that.

It seems that invariably Yarden will start screaming for boob the moment I step into the bathroom, and despite the lack if any evidence that she has ANY idea what this means, it's still my instinct to yell to her "Hold on honey, Mommy just has to pee".

In other news, so far only one person has busted me for pumping while on the phone with them.

FATHER'S DAY
All I can say is that I'm so tired lately that I mailed my Father's Day card to my own dad to our own address.

Three Weeks, Eight Pounds

MARSHALL'S

I've spent most of my maternity leave in one of two outfits.

One: A nightgown that I pretend is a dress (as long as we aren't going to see anyone I know) and Two: A pair of maternity pants that don't hurt my c-section incision and the one proper nursing blouse that I own.

Since I'm going back to work on Monday, I figured I needed at the very least 2 other shirts that I could feed or pump in without stripping down in the office.

I had never been to Marshall's before this Sunday, but my friend Jody who has made a religion of saving money, swears by it and my mother in law does too.

SO - Betsy, Yarden and I (along with Yarden's fancypants stroller) packed into the car went over to Marshalls.

We didn't find much for the girl, but I found three HEAVILY marked down shirts with sufficiently plunging necklines. Never in my life did I imagine that I would assess the fit of clothing based on whether I could pull a boob out of the neckline, but they say that children change everything so here's one big change for you.

THE LITTLEST VAMPIRE GETS A LITTLE BIGGER
All the feedings have paid off and Yarden put on a pound in the last week.
As of two weeks she was still only 6 lbs 12 oz but just one week later, with an empty stomach, clean diaper and wearing a onesie, she now weighs... a whopping 8 lbs 2 oz!!!!

She's still got the long skinny arms and legs, but the extra pound is evident in her big cheeks and her neck has transformed from many small folds to a definite chin.
Looking milk drunk and self-satisfied. Looking at Daddy with affection.

UNCLE LIAM ARRIVES - DA AND GRAMMY DEPART
Last night Liam got to town and we had a night of all the Hurleys on the West Coast.
Already Liam has subjected the little girl to the effects in the "Photo Booth" on his mac.
If she had better than 20/400 vision, her self esteem might be damaged.
Judge for yourself.

Light tunnel.Warp

Bulge
Thermal
Then today Betsy and Dick had to leave.
It's been a godsend having them here.
Not only are they great company, Seamus and his Dad have been building a storage shed and sanding 65 years worth of of lead paint layers of the door to her room and Betsy's been cooking us great meals and taking the early shift playing with the girl so Seamus and I can sleep or shower between 7 and 9 am.

It's amazing that one 8 lb girl demands so much time and attention, but she's had 4 adults at her beck and call all week and this daughter in law is going to miss all the extra hands.

It got emotional seeing them off and Grammy cried on the baby.
We set up another visit for August before they left.
Yarden has been moody all afternoon and I suspect that she looked around and figured out that all the folks with baby experience have taken off and the rest of us are just winging it.

In the next posting:
Nancy Comes To Visit and The Lady Who Made Mommy Group Lame

WEEK 2.5 ADVENTURES

THE LITTLEST VAMPIRE

If I write a vanity children's book it will be called "The Littlest Vampire".

Our girl has come into her own as feeder. Although Seamus and I had opted for a parent centered feeding schedule, Yarden is clearly on an "on-demand" meal plan so I've learned to whip out a feeding at work, at the nail salon (no chemicals don't worry), and various lunch establishments.

Yarden has also started taking breaks between courses - which makes it harder to figure out when she's done eating. She'll refuse, ignore, or push away the nipple for about 5 minutes - then suddenly rediscover it and resume feeding at a feverish pace.

This is all to say that she has resolved any breastfeeding issues, now she just keeps us guessing - but last night, was something new.

Yarden comes to life during the night and last night at 11 PM our lovely baby decided she wanted to move up to the next weight class.

Defying biology and physics, she managed to suck me dry then move on to 2 bottles of pumped milk, which means that she somehow squirreled about 12 oz of milk into a 5 oz stomach. This is also 3x her normal feeding, so it took her sleep addled and incredulous mom and dad a while to understand that she was screaming, "I MUST FEED" as opposed to "I'm gassy", "I'm overtired" or "I've shit myself".

At her 2 week checkup, Yarden had not yet made it back up to her birth weight but I think she'll impress Dr. Shaheedy with her baby bulk this time.

BACK TO WORK - WHO'S GOT THE BABY?
We've begun the very emotional process of figuring out Yarden's care once Seamus and I are back at work starting June 16th.

We'd considered a nanny and interviewed a few, the best being a woman named Jessica (e-mail address FaeriePoppins) who seemed like a fantastic partner in adventure. She sings and dances with the kids, studied cognitive psych, knows CPR, teaches kids baby sign language and is also a doula (which speaks to a definite devotion to babies). She takes her slightly older kids out to explore the world - catching lizards etc... and is a Burning Man gal and probably the best female fire dancer in the US (according to her).

I know that last sentence is going to divide our blog readers so I'll put it out there. For me, finding out that someone I already like goes to Burning Man affirms that they are creative and engaged in the world and community in the way I would hope for someone that I'm going to entrust with my baby. Firedancer on the other hand...well, I don't want to offend any readers, but i think it's pretty lame. It's an incredible skill, and I respect that, but it's down on my list of entertainment almost as low as drum circles. YET - as far as a nanny goes, it means she has a lot of creative energy.

Ultimately, we decided against a nanny because it's too expensive an option for now and if we are going to spend $800 a week on the girl, I'd rather spend that on school or other enrichments - including a nanny like Jessica - when she's more engaged with the world and can better benefit.

Right now, her days are spent 70% sleeping, 20% eating and 10% awake and "playing". What she really needs is to be in in an environment where her needs are met quickly and she's soothed and cared for and continues to believe that the world is a fantastic and safe for as long as we can maintain that bubble for her.

We've narrowed it down to two great options:
An infant day care program - which seems to be very unique, at least as far as my google and craigslist searches have determined. The center is large and clean and the class is limited to infants. You 'graduate" to the next class when you start walking. Each child has her own dedicated crib and schedule and all of the toys are infant appropriate.

A home based child care program affectionately referred to as WGA Child Care because the kids are almost exclusively children of WGA employees. It's run by the mom of a WGA employee and Seamus' boss and our friends David and Susan have all trusted their children to the program.

For the first five weeks that I'm back at work - I'm only going to work 4 days a week. I've hired our friend and neighbor Melanie to come to work with me 1.5 days a week along with Yarden to smooth the transition (for me emotionally and for Yarden from almost exclusively breastfeeding to primarily bottle feeding). Melanie is studying to be a baby nurse and she's already a bit of a baby whisperer - so I feel very lucky that she's willing to do this.

(Melanie is the 2nd from the right)

I did try taking Yarden to work for a few hours this week and she could sense that she wasn't the sole focus of my attention, so I think this is an ideal situation, having someone with me at the office who is entirely dedicated to her needs.

TOY PARADE
We want to give a shout out of thanks to everyone who has sent gifts for the girl.
The thank you note is in the mail - really.

Here are a few photos of Yarden enjoying some of her presents.

Yarden captivated by the baby (she like the red, white and black ball too) from Joel and Shiran.

Yarden checking out and approving of flat out bear from Holly and Tracey.

Yarden checking out and rejecting big pink whale from Linda.

Yarden "dancing" to the music box - which is a giant to her - from Sharon.

Yarden modeling her "big girl" sweater from Cindi and Tullio.

Yarden looking angelic in the Amish bonnet from Bubbie and Grandpa.

Yarden modeling her romper from Mike and Kelly while lounging on the blanket from Karen.
And not a gift but definitely awesome - Yarden signs up for health insurance from Daddy's work.
DA IS HERE!!!
Grandpa Dick (Da) arrived on Wednesday night so Betsy and I headed to LAX to surprise him with the baby. Since Yarden had pooped with excitement the last time that we went to the airport, we wondered how she would respond this time.

The answer: she hid in the bathroom.

More specifically, she SCREAMED for boob so she and I took shelter in the Ladies Room so she could eat up before meeting Da. And this was no simple topping off - she kept Grandpa waiting in baggage claim for half an hour.


She calmed down briefly - long enough to make the introductions and be held by Grandpa.
Then she started screaming again.

A very adorable 2 year old wandered over with a toy car that he put in Yarden's face to see if it would cheer her up. He told her all about the car, but she ignored him. I explained that she was just hungry, but he thought of another toy she might like and came back with a rubber lobster - which perked her briefly, but then she remembered she was starving and collapsed into her sorrows again until we started the car, at which point she promptly passed out.

OUR OTHER AWESOME VISITOR
Da is here for almost a week, but we were also lucky enough to have a one night visitor in Mary Beth who was in town for the Book Fair.

She showed up with books for all and about 4 grocery bags full of yummys like beet salad, spinich and feta, blue cheese stuffed olives and an assortment of fruits and cheeses. Ah - a friend who knows me only too well. Betsy made a dinner of pork tenderloin and we actually put out a tablecloth and candles and had a grown up meal of deliciousness and fun stories.

I was exhausted and I fear I was an awful host, but MB was a perfect guest.

And for those of you who live in LA, evidently the Ralph's downtown is a gourmet establishment.
Our neighborhood Ralphs has never heard of tapenade.

Next week Liam (Seamus' brother) and Nancy (my best friend) will be in town staying with us.
It's been great and it's just going to keep being awesome.

As much as I love my job...