Fat cat AR lounging in Nana's arms...
Maybe it's just my daughter but it's so funny how babies can go from laughing and happy one minute to freaking out the next or in this case, wide awake one second and passed out the next!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Fat Cat Sequence...
...AR and I just got home today from a visit to Nana's. Matt has his annual week at the fair so us girls decided to take a vacay of our own. Since she got her shots last Monday, I felt more comfortable taking her out and about around town. She probably saw more people in the few days we were in Cape than she had her entire life! We were busy busy busy and she was such a good girl. All the visiting and errands we ran wore her out. Here is the sequence of events.
Fat cat AR lounging in Nana's arms...
And about 2 minutes later...
And then she decided it was too light for her...
Fat cat AR lounging in Nana's arms...
Friday, July 27, 2012
Miss AR is 10 Weeks!!!
...omg, my little girl is in double digit weeks already!!! Time is flying. It's crazy to look back on pics when she was first born and see how much has changed in just 10 weeks.
*Monday she had her two month check-up and shots. She has entered the 75% of height and weight. She now weighs 11.12, is 23.5 inches long and has a head circumference of 38 cm. She did very well with the shots considering. She screamed and cried but by the time we got her to the car, she had calmed down. She was awake for awhile once we got home but then took a long nap. At 3:30, she fell asleep on my chest and at 4 I moved her to the bouncer. She woke up crying and wouldn't stop. Luckily, my dad and H got here about that time. I tried nursing her but that didn't work. I called the doc's office to catch them before they closed. They said a warm bath might help. My dad, H and I took turns holding her to keep her calm. She finally ate around 5 and seemed okay. We gave her a bath around 6:30. She was doing fine and then suddenly had a total freak out! The kind where her face turns red and she does the constant cry. H sat down and gave her a bottle. She sucked just a few seconds and then fell right to sleep. She never really got in a good deep sleep because I kept hearing her fuss or cry out. She totally sucked down the entire bottle at the dream feed and only woke up once at 1:30. On Tuesday, she seemed back to her regular self-whew! I scheduled her next shots on a morning in September when I work that evening. I hope Matt's prepared for snuggles and lovin' because he'll be home alone with her that night. I better have Grandma Star on call for that night.
*Tuesday night AR had her first visit to urgent care. She was acting total fine...eating, pooping, peeing, smiling, talking but her forehead just seemed warm to the touch. I took her temperature in the armpit and it was 99. So then I took it rectally and it was 100.3. Of course Matt's at the fair this week so I called him and he said take it again and it was 100.4. It was right before bath time so her doc's office was closed. I thought it could be because of her shots (but it'd been over 24 hours) or that our house had been warm because it's just SO HOT!
I hurried up and put her in the car seat and headed to urgent care. I went to one not super close to home but it's right in front of my in-laws so I figured if it was something, I could call them and they'd meet me or I could drop her off at their house and go get meds. Luckily, no one was there so we got in right away. Her temp there was 99. We got back into a room and she was still happy and smiling then they started poking and prodding her and she got pretty upset plus it was bedtime. I kept telling her she was a good girl and I was proud of her. I know the words don't mean anything to her but I didn't know what to say and she really was being a good girl and I was so proud of her.
The doc there called her pedi and we had to wait for her to call back. I started nursing her and then the doc came in to talk to us. I did NOT like this doctor because she seemed put off I was nursing and you could tell by her manners that she was NOT a kids doc. Oh, did I mention that while the doc was checking her and AR started crying that I started leaking? It was a fantastic time. Bottom line, AR was okay and since she's over the 8 week mark then I should only be concerned if her temp is over 101.5.
I felt good that she was okay but was upset that I overreacted. AR was fine going there but she was pissed off when we left and for now reason. I decided I wasn't going to swaddle her since she was still warm. I got home a little after 8 and started trying to put her to bed. It was almost an hour and a half before I got her to bed. I rocked her, she'd fall asleep, I'd put her in the crib and she'd freak out. We did this 3 times until I finally put her in the bouncer where she sleeps during the day and within seconds, she was out. I strapped her in and put her in my bedroom until she woke up at 11. I nursed her and then thought, hmm...maybe she wants the swaddle. Sure enough, I swaddled her, put her in the crib and she was good to go. Tuesday night was a learning night and I did it all by myself-whew!
*The dream feed stays. Last week, daddy was lazy one night and didn't get up to give it to her. She was up at 11:45 and 3am then we got up at 5 to start our day. So just the two ounces or so that she gets during that feeding is enough to get her to 1 and then until 5. Our doctor doesn't think we should give it to her. I have found that our doctor and me have a lot of difference in opinions...
*In the morning, AR will take the first breast no problem. Then she starts to really wake up and just wants to gaze around her room. Sometimes she'll just look up at me and smile. Of course, I always smile back even though I really want her to eat. I'm glad I've given us plenty of time to get going in the morning so when I go back to work AR and I can smile at each other and chat each morning. It's so sweet!
*Wednesday I took her to Ms. Pam's (her babysitter) to meet her and she did great! I feel so much more at ease. She loved on her. Her kids loved on her. She told me, "Don't worry, AR will soon be like their little sister." It's going to be a 2 year old for a couple months and about a month after AR starts then Bo, who was born June 10, will start. It makes me feel good that she'll have someone her age plus the older kids to play with. She also told me she's had to rock babies to sleep, hold them until they fell asleep, bounced them in the bouncer. I'm hoping AR doesn't need all that but it makes me feel good that she's willing to do that vs putting her down and letting her cry it out. I feel like she has the best of both worlds...the individual attention from my MIL the two days she's going to watch her and the socialization with the kids the other days. Plus she has a freezer to store milk and already told me her vacation dates for next June!
*AR is getting so good at holding her head up. In the morning, we do tummy time. Her on hers and me on mine. I'll encourage her saying, "Come on...you can do it!" When she does, I cheer and say, "Good job!" Matt will run in from the other room and ask, "What'd I miss?"
*AR's gotten real tears. Unfortunately with shots and the urgent care visit, I've seen them more than I care to this week. :-(
Lucky daddy gets to sleep in every morning while AR and I get up at 5am. Some mornings, I'll put her in bed for snuggles while I do a few things around the house. I caught daddy snoozing while AR is watching me in the bathroom.
I totally forgot that we'd borrowed a bumbo from a friend. The other night she was holding her head up really well so we got it out. Here's her and daddy having a little chit chat.
Big girl AR in her Bumbo seat.
Happy 10 weeks baby! Momma loves you more than you'll ever know. OXXO
PS Thanks to anon for the tips on my last post!
*Monday she had her two month check-up and shots. She has entered the 75% of height and weight. She now weighs 11.12, is 23.5 inches long and has a head circumference of 38 cm. She did very well with the shots considering. She screamed and cried but by the time we got her to the car, she had calmed down. She was awake for awhile once we got home but then took a long nap. At 3:30, she fell asleep on my chest and at 4 I moved her to the bouncer. She woke up crying and wouldn't stop. Luckily, my dad and H got here about that time. I tried nursing her but that didn't work. I called the doc's office to catch them before they closed. They said a warm bath might help. My dad, H and I took turns holding her to keep her calm. She finally ate around 5 and seemed okay. We gave her a bath around 6:30. She was doing fine and then suddenly had a total freak out! The kind where her face turns red and she does the constant cry. H sat down and gave her a bottle. She sucked just a few seconds and then fell right to sleep. She never really got in a good deep sleep because I kept hearing her fuss or cry out. She totally sucked down the entire bottle at the dream feed and only woke up once at 1:30. On Tuesday, she seemed back to her regular self-whew! I scheduled her next shots on a morning in September when I work that evening. I hope Matt's prepared for snuggles and lovin' because he'll be home alone with her that night. I better have Grandma Star on call for that night.
*Tuesday night AR had her first visit to urgent care. She was acting total fine...eating, pooping, peeing, smiling, talking but her forehead just seemed warm to the touch. I took her temperature in the armpit and it was 99. So then I took it rectally and it was 100.3. Of course Matt's at the fair this week so I called him and he said take it again and it was 100.4. It was right before bath time so her doc's office was closed. I thought it could be because of her shots (but it'd been over 24 hours) or that our house had been warm because it's just SO HOT!
I hurried up and put her in the car seat and headed to urgent care. I went to one not super close to home but it's right in front of my in-laws so I figured if it was something, I could call them and they'd meet me or I could drop her off at their house and go get meds. Luckily, no one was there so we got in right away. Her temp there was 99. We got back into a room and she was still happy and smiling then they started poking and prodding her and she got pretty upset plus it was bedtime. I kept telling her she was a good girl and I was proud of her. I know the words don't mean anything to her but I didn't know what to say and she really was being a good girl and I was so proud of her.
The doc there called her pedi and we had to wait for her to call back. I started nursing her and then the doc came in to talk to us. I did NOT like this doctor because she seemed put off I was nursing and you could tell by her manners that she was NOT a kids doc. Oh, did I mention that while the doc was checking her and AR started crying that I started leaking? It was a fantastic time. Bottom line, AR was okay and since she's over the 8 week mark then I should only be concerned if her temp is over 101.5.
I felt good that she was okay but was upset that I overreacted. AR was fine going there but she was pissed off when we left and for now reason. I decided I wasn't going to swaddle her since she was still warm. I got home a little after 8 and started trying to put her to bed. It was almost an hour and a half before I got her to bed. I rocked her, she'd fall asleep, I'd put her in the crib and she'd freak out. We did this 3 times until I finally put her in the bouncer where she sleeps during the day and within seconds, she was out. I strapped her in and put her in my bedroom until she woke up at 11. I nursed her and then thought, hmm...maybe she wants the swaddle. Sure enough, I swaddled her, put her in the crib and she was good to go. Tuesday night was a learning night and I did it all by myself-whew!
*The dream feed stays. Last week, daddy was lazy one night and didn't get up to give it to her. She was up at 11:45 and 3am then we got up at 5 to start our day. So just the two ounces or so that she gets during that feeding is enough to get her to 1 and then until 5. Our doctor doesn't think we should give it to her. I have found that our doctor and me have a lot of difference in opinions...
*In the morning, AR will take the first breast no problem. Then she starts to really wake up and just wants to gaze around her room. Sometimes she'll just look up at me and smile. Of course, I always smile back even though I really want her to eat. I'm glad I've given us plenty of time to get going in the morning so when I go back to work AR and I can smile at each other and chat each morning. It's so sweet!
*Wednesday I took her to Ms. Pam's (her babysitter) to meet her and she did great! I feel so much more at ease. She loved on her. Her kids loved on her. She told me, "Don't worry, AR will soon be like their little sister." It's going to be a 2 year old for a couple months and about a month after AR starts then Bo, who was born June 10, will start. It makes me feel good that she'll have someone her age plus the older kids to play with. She also told me she's had to rock babies to sleep, hold them until they fell asleep, bounced them in the bouncer. I'm hoping AR doesn't need all that but it makes me feel good that she's willing to do that vs putting her down and letting her cry it out. I feel like she has the best of both worlds...the individual attention from my MIL the two days she's going to watch her and the socialization with the kids the other days. Plus she has a freezer to store milk and already told me her vacation dates for next June!
*AR is getting so good at holding her head up. In the morning, we do tummy time. Her on hers and me on mine. I'll encourage her saying, "Come on...you can do it!" When she does, I cheer and say, "Good job!" Matt will run in from the other room and ask, "What'd I miss?"
*AR's gotten real tears. Unfortunately with shots and the urgent care visit, I've seen them more than I care to this week. :-(
Lucky daddy gets to sleep in every morning while AR and I get up at 5am. Some mornings, I'll put her in bed for snuggles while I do a few things around the house. I caught daddy snoozing while AR is watching me in the bathroom.
Tuesday I had to go into work so Papa and H watched her. Here's me and my girl when I got home. It was nice to actually get dressed NOT in tshirts and shorts but I sure missed her!
OMG! My newest fave AR pic, is that grin not adorable?
PS Thanks to anon for the tips on my last post!
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
How Much???
...question to the mommas out there. I've had two days that I've been away from AR and she's had bottles. I leave 4 oz bottles for her. Both times I've been gone, the people watching her say that she only eats about 2 oz at feeding time then about 45-60 minutes later, she'll finish off the bottle. When I nurse her, I only feed her at feeding time. We don't feed one side and then do another an hour later. At most, we might spend 10 minutes between boobs and that's just when she falls asleep and I can't wake her up right away. I was worried she wasn't gaining/eating enough but after her doctor's appointment this week, she's in the 75th percentile so I'm not concerned about that.
My question is hmm...why? With less than three weeks left in my maternity leave, I'm just trying to figure out how much milk/bottles I need for the sitter. We go meet with the sitter tomorrow so I'm hoping she might have some insight as well.
My question is hmm...why? With less than three weeks left in my maternity leave, I'm just trying to figure out how much milk/bottles I need for the sitter. We go meet with the sitter tomorrow so I'm hoping she might have some insight as well.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Miss AR is 9 Weeks!!!
...my sweet baby girl is 9 weeks old today! This week was pretty uneventful, probably due to my surgery. I've just been soaking in all her smiles and talking as much as possible. I'm working hard on her to say ma ma, don't want her saying da da first!
Some highlights of the week:
*First time away from mommy for an extended period of time and she did pretty good. Took all her bottles like a good girl and latched on like normal the next morning. I was SO worried about this so I'm glad it worked out, makes me feel better about going back to work.
*Dream feed is not really working so we're debating dropping it. We're able to feed her about 2 oz without waking her up but it's not making her sleep any longer so what's the point? It's an extra feeding too so it's not like we're taking away food from her.
*AR gets her shots on Monday. Finally we can get out in public and boy are we-our next two weeks are busy, busy, busy!
*I've always heard about Mommy Wars. I do my best to stay out of drama. I realize everyone is different so let me have my opinions and you can have yours. I have felt the Mommy Wars some but you know what, AR's my girl, I'm her mommy and I do what's best for her and me. Period. The end.
*Bedtime is getting better. She doesn't fight us nearly as much so moving it up an hour really has worked out. Some nights it still takes her about an hour to fall asleep and we're constantly in and out of her room putting the paci back in. However, the last 2 nights, she's fallen asleep as soon as she's done eating.
*She's loving baths more and more. She loves to do water aerobics aka kicking her feet back and forth in the water. I'm trying to get her to splash the water with her hands. I can't wait to start taking her swimming but mom's waiting on release from doc post surgery and I think AR needs to be able to hold her head up just a little bit better.
*Seems like AR's been spitting up a little bit more. Nothing too alarming and I usually just take it because we're not leaving the house. However, it always surprises Nana who moves her around and gets the spit up all over-silly Nana! Sunday night was the first super messy night...spit up all over me, her, the swaddle-hot mess!
*I took AR to Cotton Babies on Monday. We wore the Moby Wrap, she slept the whole time. Then when I went to check out, she started to get fussy which I knew it was feeding time. I sat down in one of their comfy chairs with a pillow and nursed her. First time to nurse in public (minus the BFing class at the hospital) and it went well!
Now on to cute baby pics...
Mommy and AR, such a serious little girl
I bought this duck towel for H when she was born and told my sis to save it for me when I had a baby. Eight years later and she did save it! Here's AR not so happy in it...
Here we are the next night and she's MUCH happier! Please ignore my still pregnant looking belly. :-)
Happy 9 Weeks Baby Girl! Momma loves you more than you'll ever know. OXXO
Some highlights of the week:
*First time away from mommy for an extended period of time and she did pretty good. Took all her bottles like a good girl and latched on like normal the next morning. I was SO worried about this so I'm glad it worked out, makes me feel better about going back to work.
*Dream feed is not really working so we're debating dropping it. We're able to feed her about 2 oz without waking her up but it's not making her sleep any longer so what's the point? It's an extra feeding too so it's not like we're taking away food from her.
*AR gets her shots on Monday. Finally we can get out in public and boy are we-our next two weeks are busy, busy, busy!
*I've always heard about Mommy Wars. I do my best to stay out of drama. I realize everyone is different so let me have my opinions and you can have yours. I have felt the Mommy Wars some but you know what, AR's my girl, I'm her mommy and I do what's best for her and me. Period. The end.
*Bedtime is getting better. She doesn't fight us nearly as much so moving it up an hour really has worked out. Some nights it still takes her about an hour to fall asleep and we're constantly in and out of her room putting the paci back in. However, the last 2 nights, she's fallen asleep as soon as she's done eating.
*She's loving baths more and more. She loves to do water aerobics aka kicking her feet back and forth in the water. I'm trying to get her to splash the water with her hands. I can't wait to start taking her swimming but mom's waiting on release from doc post surgery and I think AR needs to be able to hold her head up just a little bit better.
*Seems like AR's been spitting up a little bit more. Nothing too alarming and I usually just take it because we're not leaving the house. However, it always surprises Nana who moves her around and gets the spit up all over-silly Nana! Sunday night was the first super messy night...spit up all over me, her, the swaddle-hot mess!
*I took AR to Cotton Babies on Monday. We wore the Moby Wrap, she slept the whole time. Then when I went to check out, she started to get fussy which I knew it was feeding time. I sat down in one of their comfy chairs with a pillow and nursed her. First time to nurse in public (minus the BFing class at the hospital) and it went well!
Now on to cute baby pics...
Mommy and AR, such a serious little girl
I bought this duck towel for H when she was born and told my sis to save it for me when I had a baby. Eight years later and she did save it! Here's AR not so happy in it...
Here we are the next night and she's MUCH happier! Please ignore my still pregnant looking belly. :-)
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
BS Day...
...today was butt surgery day aka repair of episitomy although I didn't have one, just a natural 2nd degree tear. To be honest, I was more worried about leaving AR and her taking bottles all day than I was about my surgery. The day started off a little cray cray. My mom was taking me to my surgery and MIL was watching AR. At 6:15am, MIL calls me to tell me she's at the emergency room with a friend of hers with gallbladder issues. She went ahead and called SIL to see if she'd take off work and watch AR. I was a little irritated because I'd already said that AR could go with us and I really didn't want to inconvenience anyone but MIL insisted that SIL would watch. Okay, it's fine I told her! It worked out pretty well and I'm grateful that we have family to help us out but I just don't want to start begging for favors this early. Luckily, SIL needed a break from work so she didn't mind.
When I left the house, AR started crying (SIL walked to the door with us so she saw us leaving). It made me feel good that she was missing me but at the same time I didn't want her upset! We stopped at the gas station for my mom to get a cappacino about 5 minutes down the road and I already wanted to call and check on her but I refrained.
When I got to the place, I realized it was right behind Cotton Babies and the waiting room was really nice. So it would have worked out to have AR with us because there was plenty of space for AR or my mom could have taken her to Cotton Babies to hang out. I'm happy though that she got to stay at home where she's used to it. I got taken back and had to take a pregnancy test! Then I changed into my gown and walked down to the pre-op area.
The nurse started my IV and asked me all about AR. The nurses were disappointed I didn't bring AR with me; they were ALL really nice. Once I was all set, I pumped one more time which I only got 2 ounces so I was a little disappointed since it was technically a feeding. But I know I was a little stressed (although my BP was back to normal-woohoo!!!) and it was about an hour before I would normally feed her. Once I finished, everyone started coming in to go over what was going to happen. I was talking to the anesthsiologist about pumping and dumping and told her that I was looking forward to having Coke. She told me I could have one in recovery.
Then my doctor came back and we chatted. I guess I didn't fully understand what all was going on because I thought she was just putting a stitch back in. Nope, she was cutting off the granular tissue and THEN stitching it together (my mom jokingly said she'd give my doc some tips about her sewing-lol). I didn't realize we were cutting it off! Next I walked back to the operating room, laid down, closed my eyes and then woke up in recovery.
This was the same drugs I had when I had my egg retrieval. I remember the same thing happening, my eyes were still heavy but I could hear everything going on around me. My mom came back and I asked for my phone to call my SIL and check on AR. She said she was doing, just a little fussy probably because mom wasn't around (again made me feel good both that she was missing me but wasn't hysterically upset). I hung up, talked to the nurse and then looked at my mom and said, "Did I just call EB?" She laughed and repeated what all I'd said. Much to my surprise, they had a Coke waiting for me! We waited a few minutes, the nurse and my doc came and gave me instructions (thank goodness my mom was there because I only remember bits and pieces). Then my mom helped me get dressed, seriously my mom has seen me naked more in the past 8 weeks than when I was a baby probably!
We headed home but stopped at 54th Street to get lunch for us and my SIL to take home. I got a sweet tea-mmm!!! I was loading up on the caffeine while I could, this was the first time in over a year that I'd had any. By the time I got home, I felt totally normal.
About an hour later, I had to pee but I was told not to wipe to just use my squirt bottle. I remember washing it and putting it in our hall closet but I could.not.find.it ANYWHERE! By this point, I was about to pee my pants and I was calling Matt like 3x because I remember he used it. I finally got a cup and filled it with water and used that. Then I went downstairs and found it on his workbench filled with rubbing alcohol, for what-no idea! About 30 minutes later, Matt calls me back and I told him what I needed. His response, "That was important enough to call me 3x?" Umm...when I'm about to pee my pants-YES!
I pumped about 2pm and got EIGHT OUNCES! It was so sad to have to throw it away. AR wasn't sure why I was doing it either...
EB brought me over Shadow's Wild Black, a blackberry flavored beer. I had it with my dinner, first one in over a year! I only drank half of it but it was really tasty.
When I left the house, AR started crying (SIL walked to the door with us so she saw us leaving). It made me feel good that she was missing me but at the same time I didn't want her upset! We stopped at the gas station for my mom to get a cappacino about 5 minutes down the road and I already wanted to call and check on her but I refrained.
When I got to the place, I realized it was right behind Cotton Babies and the waiting room was really nice. So it would have worked out to have AR with us because there was plenty of space for AR or my mom could have taken her to Cotton Babies to hang out. I'm happy though that she got to stay at home where she's used to it. I got taken back and had to take a pregnancy test! Then I changed into my gown and walked down to the pre-op area.
The nurse started my IV and asked me all about AR. The nurses were disappointed I didn't bring AR with me; they were ALL really nice. Once I was all set, I pumped one more time which I only got 2 ounces so I was a little disappointed since it was technically a feeding. But I know I was a little stressed (although my BP was back to normal-woohoo!!!) and it was about an hour before I would normally feed her. Once I finished, everyone started coming in to go over what was going to happen. I was talking to the anesthsiologist about pumping and dumping and told her that I was looking forward to having Coke. She told me I could have one in recovery.
Then my doctor came back and we chatted. I guess I didn't fully understand what all was going on because I thought she was just putting a stitch back in. Nope, she was cutting off the granular tissue and THEN stitching it together (my mom jokingly said she'd give my doc some tips about her sewing-lol). I didn't realize we were cutting it off! Next I walked back to the operating room, laid down, closed my eyes and then woke up in recovery.
This was the same drugs I had when I had my egg retrieval. I remember the same thing happening, my eyes were still heavy but I could hear everything going on around me. My mom came back and I asked for my phone to call my SIL and check on AR. She said she was doing, just a little fussy probably because mom wasn't around (again made me feel good both that she was missing me but wasn't hysterically upset). I hung up, talked to the nurse and then looked at my mom and said, "Did I just call EB?" She laughed and repeated what all I'd said. Much to my surprise, they had a Coke waiting for me! We waited a few minutes, the nurse and my doc came and gave me instructions (thank goodness my mom was there because I only remember bits and pieces). Then my mom helped me get dressed, seriously my mom has seen me naked more in the past 8 weeks than when I was a baby probably!
We headed home but stopped at 54th Street to get lunch for us and my SIL to take home. I got a sweet tea-mmm!!! I was loading up on the caffeine while I could, this was the first time in over a year that I'd had any. By the time I got home, I felt totally normal.
About an hour later, I had to pee but I was told not to wipe to just use my squirt bottle. I remember washing it and putting it in our hall closet but I could.not.find.it ANYWHERE! By this point, I was about to pee my pants and I was calling Matt like 3x because I remember he used it. I finally got a cup and filled it with water and used that. Then I went downstairs and found it on his workbench filled with rubbing alcohol, for what-no idea! About 30 minutes later, Matt calls me back and I told him what I needed. His response, "That was important enough to call me 3x?" Umm...when I'm about to pee my pants-YES!
I pumped about 2pm and got EIGHT OUNCES! It was so sad to have to throw it away. AR wasn't sure why I was doing it either...
My mom is staying the night and I had requested meatloaf. I didn't realize I'd set out 3lbs of meat! So my mom used half and used her recipe. I used the other half and made my recipe. Then we had a Meatloaf Cookoff! We had EB come over for dinner to thank her for watching AR. Here she is with her two different kinds of meatloaf. She picked mine as the winner!!! Matt will try some tonight so we'll see what he says. He loves my meatloaf so I'll be shocked if he doesn't pick mine. Update: Mattie picked mine so I won!!!
So that's the story of my butt surgery! It went pretty well, hopefully I won't be too sore tomorrow. I'm so glad my mom is hear to help me out. It's actually nice to have the bottles because I've been getting some nice breaks and just getting to love on AR inbetween feedings. I still have to get up tonight and pump but we'll resume breastfeeding tomorrow at 5am. Hopefully, I'm on the upswing of healing!
Monday, July 16, 2012
The Dream Feed...
...With 4 weeks to go until I head back to work, it's time for AR, Matt and I to start our routine for bedtime. Bedtime is seriously my LEAST favorite time of day because she's crabby, I'm crabby, Matt's crabby when he's there...ugh! Plus I think I try to rush it because I know I have about 30 minutes to an hour to get things done before I need to go to bed. Some nights, she'll fall right to sleep but other nights, it's an hour long battle. We have a general "routine" but if she's fussy, the book is out. If she's sleepy, we just put her straight to bed.
For now, she gets up about once/night between 12:30-1:30 and it's not that bad. Now when I go back to work and I don't get off until 10, home until 11ish and then I'll have to get up with her at 12:30-1:30 then have us both up by 5 and me at work by 7...well, that's going to suck.
The main reasons for wanting to change this routine was because 1. I didn't think she was getting enough sleep. 2. She was SUPER crabby to the point of no return between 5-7:30 3. hoping to get her on track to sleep through the night.
I read the Baby Whisperer who says to tank them up and then give them a dream feed before you go to bed so we decided to alter bedtime a bit to see what would happen...
So let me review our routines...
What we had been doing...
5:00 Feed
5:00-7:00 AR SUPER crabby
7:00 Bath
7:30 Matt gives bottle then book and prayer
8:00 Bed
-If she's asleep after bottle then straight to bed.
-Some nights she's so crabby that it takes a good 10-15 minutes to calm her down to even take the bottle.
12:30-1:30 AR wakes up to eat again
5:00AM Wake up and start the day
-On this routine, I hated how crabby she was, for her sake not mine, because she'd get so worked up we could barely calm her down. However, she usually fell asleep very quickly.
What we're trying now...
5:00 Feed
6:30 Bath, Book, Prayer
6:45 Nurse with me
7:00 Bed
-With this, it takes her almost an hour to fall asleep with the help of a paci even after she's eaten. I hate giving her the paci because once it falls out, she cries until we put it back in...so back in, falls, repeat...about 10x.
-AR is one of those babies that you can rock her until her eyes get heavy or she's asleep and the second you put her down, her eyes pop open and she's wide awake!
9:30 Matt gives the dream feed
12:30-1:30 AR wakes up to eat again
5:00AM Wake up and start the day
-This routine doesn't really seem to make any difference. She's still getting up about the same time and we're just adding another feeding but it doesn't effect her sleeping longer.
-Some nights when she wakes up at 12:30-1:30 to eat, she takes longer to get back to sleep because she's slept longer.
What we'd like...
5:00 Feed
6:30 Bath, Book, Prayer
6:45 Nurse
7:00 Bed
9:30 Dream feed
5:00AM Wake up and start the day
I know it'll take awhile to get to the 7.5 stretch of sleep but I do feel like if we're feeding her at 9:30 then I just figured she'd sleep longer than 1:30 because previously she was eating at 7:30 and sleeping until the same time. So really, what's the point of the dream feed? I know that it takes 3 days to form a habit but we're going on a week here and the habit is the same as the one before.
I also don't feel like we have a rock steady routine. It was really nice when Matt was doing the bottle because he'd do all of bedtime and I'd get a nice break (and my boobs were very thankful!). We cut it out and let him take over the 9:30 feeding so that I could get a longer stretch of sleep. From reading books, I feel like the routine needs more cues in it...i.e. closing the curtain and saying "Goodnight Mr. Sun", same book, same person, etc...I do always end with "Goodnight Moon" when I do bedtime but some nights Matt won't even read to her or say prayer if she's really crabby or already asleep.
I do everything with the light on then turn it off to nurse. I even started leaving the light off when I nurse at 1am so she'll know it's not time to wake up and will hopefully fall back asleep (I'll leave the hall light on so I can see). Matt will leave the light on for everything (and he always leaves the wipes open too, nothing to do with routine but UGH! Sometimes he even leaves an empty container for me to find at 1AM-men!). She has an alarm clock in her room that goes off with a CD and the same song every morning in hopes that when she hears that she'll know it's time to wake up. Matt and I have discussed bedtime routine and I've told him the importance of the same thing every night but alas, he's a man so he does what he wants.
I shouldn't complain because she's really a good baby and getting up once/night is awesome! I read the books and do what they say so I get frustrated (I've been banned from saying that word at my house from my DH) when they don't work. And this isn't like breastfeeding where I can call the LC and say HELP! So I'm asking you all for HELP! Let me know what your bedtime routines are and if the dream feed worked for you all, if I should give it time or just cut it out. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated-thanks in advance!
For now, she gets up about once/night between 12:30-1:30 and it's not that bad. Now when I go back to work and I don't get off until 10, home until 11ish and then I'll have to get up with her at 12:30-1:30 then have us both up by 5 and me at work by 7...well, that's going to suck.
The main reasons for wanting to change this routine was because 1. I didn't think she was getting enough sleep. 2. She was SUPER crabby to the point of no return between 5-7:30 3. hoping to get her on track to sleep through the night.
I read the Baby Whisperer who says to tank them up and then give them a dream feed before you go to bed so we decided to alter bedtime a bit to see what would happen...
So let me review our routines...
What we had been doing...
5:00 Feed
5:00-7:00 AR SUPER crabby
7:00 Bath
7:30 Matt gives bottle then book and prayer
8:00 Bed
-If she's asleep after bottle then straight to bed.
-Some nights she's so crabby that it takes a good 10-15 minutes to calm her down to even take the bottle.
12:30-1:30 AR wakes up to eat again
5:00AM Wake up and start the day
-On this routine, I hated how crabby she was, for her sake not mine, because she'd get so worked up we could barely calm her down. However, she usually fell asleep very quickly.
What we're trying now...
5:00 Feed
6:30 Bath, Book, Prayer
6:45 Nurse with me
7:00 Bed
-With this, it takes her almost an hour to fall asleep with the help of a paci even after she's eaten. I hate giving her the paci because once it falls out, she cries until we put it back in...so back in, falls, repeat...about 10x.
-AR is one of those babies that you can rock her until her eyes get heavy or she's asleep and the second you put her down, her eyes pop open and she's wide awake!
9:30 Matt gives the dream feed
12:30-1:30 AR wakes up to eat again
5:00AM Wake up and start the day
-This routine doesn't really seem to make any difference. She's still getting up about the same time and we're just adding another feeding but it doesn't effect her sleeping longer.
-Some nights when she wakes up at 12:30-1:30 to eat, she takes longer to get back to sleep because she's slept longer.
What we'd like...
5:00 Feed
6:30 Bath, Book, Prayer
6:45 Nurse
7:00 Bed
9:30 Dream feed
5:00AM Wake up and start the day
I know it'll take awhile to get to the 7.5 stretch of sleep but I do feel like if we're feeding her at 9:30 then I just figured she'd sleep longer than 1:30 because previously she was eating at 7:30 and sleeping until the same time. So really, what's the point of the dream feed? I know that it takes 3 days to form a habit but we're going on a week here and the habit is the same as the one before.
I also don't feel like we have a rock steady routine. It was really nice when Matt was doing the bottle because he'd do all of bedtime and I'd get a nice break (and my boobs were very thankful!). We cut it out and let him take over the 9:30 feeding so that I could get a longer stretch of sleep. From reading books, I feel like the routine needs more cues in it...i.e. closing the curtain and saying "Goodnight Mr. Sun", same book, same person, etc...I do always end with "Goodnight Moon" when I do bedtime but some nights Matt won't even read to her or say prayer if she's really crabby or already asleep.
I do everything with the light on then turn it off to nurse. I even started leaving the light off when I nurse at 1am so she'll know it's not time to wake up and will hopefully fall back asleep (I'll leave the hall light on so I can see). Matt will leave the light on for everything (and he always leaves the wipes open too, nothing to do with routine but UGH! Sometimes he even leaves an empty container for me to find at 1AM-men!). She has an alarm clock in her room that goes off with a CD and the same song every morning in hopes that when she hears that she'll know it's time to wake up. Matt and I have discussed bedtime routine and I've told him the importance of the same thing every night but alas, he's a man so he does what he wants.
I shouldn't complain because she's really a good baby and getting up once/night is awesome! I read the books and do what they say so I get frustrated (I've been banned from saying that word at my house from my DH) when they don't work. And this isn't like breastfeeding where I can call the LC and say HELP! So I'm asking you all for HELP! Let me know what your bedtime routines are and if the dream feed worked for you all, if I should give it time or just cut it out. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated-thanks in advance!
Friday, July 13, 2012
Miss AR is 8 Weeks!!!
...Today marks the day that my sweet baby AR is 8 weeks old!!! Where has the time gone?!? She really is a VERY good baby. I feel blessed in so many ways and thank God for her every day. I'm with her all day, every day but when I lay her down at night and go in to check on her, all I want to do is pick her up and love on her some more! Now on to her 8th week highlights...
*AR has started "talking" and I love it! She's cooing up a storm and also smiling more which melts our hearts. Of course, any time either of us gets out the camera or video camera she stops so we have yet to catch it.
*When she "talks," I'll talk back to her and say, "Tell me about it" or "You telling me a story?" A couple times, she'll be cooing and I'll say that and then she'll start fussing or crying. I respond with, "AR, I've already heard that story. Tell me a different one." FYI-it doesn't work.
*I've officially had to pack up some clothes that don't fit anymore. :( I have found plain white onesies that she never even wore! It's like my tshirts...I have like 20 but only wear the same 4-5 because I wear, wash and then they go back on top of the drawer. I'm torn what to do with them...sell them, give them to friends or keep them. More than likely, AR is going to be an only child but there's that what if. What IF we have another child and we get rid of everything then what would we do? My mom said I should keep like 5 outfits in each size just in case and can always sell them in a few years. After all, it's not like baby clothes go out of style! Plus I have a hard time getting rid of the onesies Matt bought her. I just find them so sweet because her daddy got them for her and picked them out himself.
*Sunday night my baby girl slept from 8pm-3:30am! Of course, I got up at 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 to check on her. Matt kept telling me I needed to wake her up and I said, no we have to let her sleep through the night at some point. Monday night she went back to her old routine so it was just a one night deal.
I'm surprised she slept that long because when Matt went to give her the bottle at 7:30, she would have NO part of it. He kicked me out of the room and it was so hard for me in the other room because she was crying and he kept saying, "I don't know what you want!" He tried to burp her, rocked her, sshed her, changed her diaper, nothing worked. Finally, he just let her cry and then she calmed down. I think she was just so tired and ready for bed that she couldn't calm down to take the bottle. She did this again on Monday night. I finally got her calmed down and put her back in Matt's arms still talking to her and she took the bottle then. I'm not sure why she's getting so upset because she wants to eat but is fighting it! I hope she's not rejecting the bottle or it's going to make for a very long Wednesday and Thursday next week (when I have my "surgery" and can't nurse for 24 hours).
On Wednesday, we started a new bedtime routine and moved her bedtime up an hour. I'm not so much worried about her sleeping through the night (although it would be nice especially when I go back to work!) as it pains me to see her so upset during the witching hour (5-7pm). It seems to be working some, I'll do a seperate post on this in a few days as we've only done it 2 nights right now.
*My daughter is vain. Yes, she's so vain she probably thinks this blog post is about her (song anyone???). When I lay her on her play mat all she wants to do is stare at herself. We started calling the baby in the mirror her baby. If she starts to cry, we'll say, "Autumn, don't make your baby cry." When I pick her up from the changing table, I'll walk us in front of the mirror and she'll just smile and stare at herself. It's really cute.
*Matt asked the other day if we could kiss her too much. I asked him what the negative effects of too much kissing were. His response, "She'll start kissing everyone!"
*Wednesday my mom and I took AR on her first shopping experience. We headed to Old Navy because I had a 40% off coupon so I was hoping to score some baby clothes deals (got 2 twelve month onesies, one was 60 cents!!!). I put her in the moby wrap and she slept the whole time! I loved having her close and not in a cart plus I didn't have to maneuver a cart with a carseat around all the displays. Only thing is that I think I lean back to overcompensate so my back started hurting. First trip out though=success!
Here's AR "riding" her Cardinals rocking horse. My grandparents bought this for H when she was born and H passed it on to AR.
Finally caught a smile!!! I really think she's starting to smile back when you smile at her although she also smiles in her sleep. She totally has her daddy's sense of humor and smiles when we talk about poop. Funny...having a baby increasing the discussion of poop both in baby and mom.
"Look at me! I'm 8 weeks old!"-AR
I love doing the monthly photo shoots but it also means she is growing up too fast! Happy 8 weeks Baby Girl, Momma loves you more than you'll ever know!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
MO Bap Breastfeeding Get Together...
...so I've decided to start venturing out with Miss AR. This morning, she and I went to MO Bap where she was born and attended the Breastfeeding Get Together class. It's led by an LC but it's more of an open forum/discussion with her as the reference and other moms there to give their experiences too. AR and I got there early so I walked her down to the nursery and told her that's where she stayed and this was where she was born. Let me tell you all, she was thrilled. :)
The class started and there were like 15 moms and babies!!! AR needed a diaper change which normally she doesn't mind but both times I had to change her, she was freaking out. I started to worry how this would go but then once everyone else's babies started fussing then I didn't feel so bad. Here are some bullet points of what we discussed:
*I asked about being sedated and having to pump & dump for 24 hours. The LC said that was probably not necessary. I'm going to find out the med I'm getting and call then they have a reference book to tell me how long I'll need to pump & dump. I'm thinking as long as I have enough feedings for Wednesday, I should be good to go to start nursing again on Thursday.
*I asked lots of questions about pumping and bottles for when I go back to work. They said a general rule of thumb was for every hour you'd be away from pump, that's how many ounces they'd need. For example, if I'm at work for 10 hours (8 hour work day plus an hour to pump and an hour drive time (not really an hour drive time but overestimating) then I'd need to leave 10 ounces for her. I call BS on this because Baby Girl takes 4 oz at bed time! I think I'll plan on making 4 oz bottles for her when I return to work plus I'm going to give both the sitter and my MIL a stash of my frozen milk for their freezers in case she wants more, they spill some, etc...
*They had a scale there. The LC suggested getting the baby totally naked, well clean diap, and weighing. Then feeding baby and weighing when done then you would know how much she drank. I wish I'd done this but I was in the middle of feeding her when she said this. I want to go back now just do do this so I have a better idea how much she's eating at a feeding. If I'm feeling okay after my surgery then I'll for sure go next Thursday. My mom will be up here taking care of me so she can help with the heavy lifting AKA Miss AR.
I did weigh AR and she's up to 10.15! They say that baby's gain 6 oz per week. Her last appointment was June 19, about 3.5 ago, and she weighed 9.7. So technically, 4 weeks from that 6/19 she should weigh 11.5. Hopefully, she's on her way there. Moving on to my next point...
*I don't really worry that she's not getting enough to eat although at times the thought does cross my mind. I know from pumping that there should be plenty of milk for her but sometimes when she's done nursing (she's stopped sucking, has fallen asleep, etc...), a few minutes later she'll be chewing on her hand or will keep sticking her tongue out. I'm like there's no way she can still be hungry but those are all signs of hungry except that she's not acting fussy. I asked about this today and was told that once babies discover their hands, that is a tendency to want to suck on them so it's not always a sign of hungry. I also just found out that your milk is also produced as she sucks so even if I just pump and she wants to eat, she'll still be able to get some milk.
*Most of the moms had nursing covers AKA capes. It goes around their neck to cover baby while nursing then you can just flip it around when done. I just used a blanket to cover her and me while nursing. When the moms got up to change the babies, they looked like Super Mom! Maybe I want the cover-up just so I can look like a Super Mom too. :)
*One mom said her 12 week old only pooped once a week!?! The LC said this was normal. So I asked if there was such thing as too many poops/day. She asked if I was concerned about this and I said, "Not until I heard her baby only goes once a week!"
It was definitely a good learning experience both about breastfeeding and taking AR out in public. AR was such a good baby! When she was fussy, I was able to either nurse her or rock her to sleep. I was even able to put her in her carseat to sleep and while she was awake too and she was content. I feel very blessed that AR has latched and taken to breastfeeding so well. Just hoping we are able to keep it up and I have enough for her when I go back to work!
What's a post without a cute baby picture? This is one of my favorites! AR in the bath after I just blew in her face. She's really starting to love bath time, she loves to have the water poured over her belly.
The class started and there were like 15 moms and babies!!! AR needed a diaper change which normally she doesn't mind but both times I had to change her, she was freaking out. I started to worry how this would go but then once everyone else's babies started fussing then I didn't feel so bad. Here are some bullet points of what we discussed:
*I asked about being sedated and having to pump & dump for 24 hours. The LC said that was probably not necessary. I'm going to find out the med I'm getting and call then they have a reference book to tell me how long I'll need to pump & dump. I'm thinking as long as I have enough feedings for Wednesday, I should be good to go to start nursing again on Thursday.
*I asked lots of questions about pumping and bottles for when I go back to work. They said a general rule of thumb was for every hour you'd be away from pump, that's how many ounces they'd need. For example, if I'm at work for 10 hours (8 hour work day plus an hour to pump and an hour drive time (not really an hour drive time but overestimating) then I'd need to leave 10 ounces for her. I call BS on this because Baby Girl takes 4 oz at bed time! I think I'll plan on making 4 oz bottles for her when I return to work plus I'm going to give both the sitter and my MIL a stash of my frozen milk for their freezers in case she wants more, they spill some, etc...
*They had a scale there. The LC suggested getting the baby totally naked, well clean diap, and weighing. Then feeding baby and weighing when done then you would know how much she drank. I wish I'd done this but I was in the middle of feeding her when she said this. I want to go back now just do do this so I have a better idea how much she's eating at a feeding. If I'm feeling okay after my surgery then I'll for sure go next Thursday. My mom will be up here taking care of me so she can help with the heavy lifting AKA Miss AR.
I did weigh AR and she's up to 10.15! They say that baby's gain 6 oz per week. Her last appointment was June 19, about 3.5 ago, and she weighed 9.7. So technically, 4 weeks from that 6/19 she should weigh 11.5. Hopefully, she's on her way there. Moving on to my next point...
*I don't really worry that she's not getting enough to eat although at times the thought does cross my mind. I know from pumping that there should be plenty of milk for her but sometimes when she's done nursing (she's stopped sucking, has fallen asleep, etc...), a few minutes later she'll be chewing on her hand or will keep sticking her tongue out. I'm like there's no way she can still be hungry but those are all signs of hungry except that she's not acting fussy. I asked about this today and was told that once babies discover their hands, that is a tendency to want to suck on them so it's not always a sign of hungry. I also just found out that your milk is also produced as she sucks so even if I just pump and she wants to eat, she'll still be able to get some milk.
*Most of the moms had nursing covers AKA capes. It goes around their neck to cover baby while nursing then you can just flip it around when done. I just used a blanket to cover her and me while nursing. When the moms got up to change the babies, they looked like Super Mom! Maybe I want the cover-up just so I can look like a Super Mom too. :)
*One mom said her 12 week old only pooped once a week!?! The LC said this was normal. So I asked if there was such thing as too many poops/day. She asked if I was concerned about this and I said, "Not until I heard her baby only goes once a week!"
It was definitely a good learning experience both about breastfeeding and taking AR out in public. AR was such a good baby! When she was fussy, I was able to either nurse her or rock her to sleep. I was even able to put her in her carseat to sleep and while she was awake too and she was content. I feel very blessed that AR has latched and taken to breastfeeding so well. Just hoping we are able to keep it up and I have enough for her when I go back to work!
What's a post without a cute baby picture? This is one of my favorites! AR in the bath after I just blew in her face. She's really starting to love bath time, she loves to have the water poured over her belly.
Monday, July 9, 2012
What I've Done with Pinterest...
...sorry, I could NOT come up with a good title for this post and, of course, I don't have pictures. I've done some things on Pinterest lately and my mom has done a TON of things, I think I've got her addicted. I wanted to share some of the things I've done/made. Click on title for link back to original directions/blog.
Cake Batter Dip
1 recipe 18 oz cake mix
1.5 cups of plain yogurt
2 cups whipped topping
Mix together and serve with vanilla wagers, animal crackers or fruit.
This was a huge hit and it made a TON! I served with animal crackers but I think it would have been great with fruit. The yogurt in it made me think of a fruit dip.
Homemade Frozen Dog Treats
32 oz plain yogurt
1 mashed ripe banana
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
Mix together and freeze in ice cube tray. When frozen pop out and store in Ziplock bag.
I made this with the leftover yogurt from the Cake Batter Dip so I just split the recipe in half. Half the recipe was perfect for both our dogs. I would think it would get freeze burnt if you only had one dog. Of course, it totally cools down the day after I make them but Emma and Shad loved them. Well, what they tasted. They both inhaled it but enjoyed licking the bowl. Maybe for bigger dogs, you should make the cube bigger so they have to lick it and can taste it?
AR helped me make them, she's a great supervisor.
I didn't get a pic of them inhaling the cube but here they are licking the bowl I carried them in.
Lazy Cake Cookies
1 box yellow or white cake mix
2 eggs beaten
5 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups mini chocolate chips or M&Ms
Mix together. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
O...M...G! This was so easy and so good. I'm ashamed so I won't tell you how long this lasted, or didn't last, in our house.
Freezer Meals
Just click the link to a whole LIST of meals you can freeze. My mom and I made the Teriyaki Chicken (haven't tried it yet, still frozen) and the Sausage and Peppers. I forgot Matt doesn't like peppers so I ate the majority of this one. I thought it was good except when you serve it over pasta, there isn't much "juice" so the pasta is kind of blah. I still enjoyed it and am looking forward to the other bag we froze of it.
I've tried a few other things but you can read about them here and here. Please share you favorite Pinterest recipes or crafts!
Cake Batter Dip
1 recipe 18 oz cake mix
1.5 cups of plain yogurt
2 cups whipped topping
Mix together and serve with vanilla wagers, animal crackers or fruit.
This was a huge hit and it made a TON! I served with animal crackers but I think it would have been great with fruit. The yogurt in it made me think of a fruit dip.
Homemade Frozen Dog Treats
32 oz plain yogurt
1 mashed ripe banana
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
Mix together and freeze in ice cube tray. When frozen pop out and store in Ziplock bag.
I made this with the leftover yogurt from the Cake Batter Dip so I just split the recipe in half. Half the recipe was perfect for both our dogs. I would think it would get freeze burnt if you only had one dog. Of course, it totally cools down the day after I make them but Emma and Shad loved them. Well, what they tasted. They both inhaled it but enjoyed licking the bowl. Maybe for bigger dogs, you should make the cube bigger so they have to lick it and can taste it?
AR helped me make them, she's a great supervisor.
Lazy Cake Cookies
1 box yellow or white cake mix
2 eggs beaten
5 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups mini chocolate chips or M&Ms
Mix together. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
O...M...G! This was so easy and so good. I'm ashamed so I won't tell you how long this lasted, or didn't last, in our house.
Freezer Meals
Just click the link to a whole LIST of meals you can freeze. My mom and I made the Teriyaki Chicken (haven't tried it yet, still frozen) and the Sausage and Peppers. I forgot Matt doesn't like peppers so I ate the majority of this one. I thought it was good except when you serve it over pasta, there isn't much "juice" so the pasta is kind of blah. I still enjoyed it and am looking forward to the other bag we froze of it.
I've tried a few other things but you can read about them here and here. Please share you favorite Pinterest recipes or crafts!
Friday, July 6, 2012
Miss AR is 7 Weeks!!!
...my sweet baby is 7 weeks old today! This past week FLEW by because I was at my mom's. AR did great on her first road trip. We got back to eating every 3 hours, she stayed on schedule and was a sweetheart to everyone she met. The first day we were there, she slept all day and I thought she wouldn't sleep at night but she did pretty well. The next two days, she never took any really good naps. She'd doze off then be wide awake, poor girl, I think she's still catching up on sleep. This was the first time that she slept in the same room as us and it wasn't as bad as I'd heard (baby constantly making noise) or maybe I was just really tired too. It was great to have help so I was able to pump in peace and read my book. My mom got to give her a bath and bottle so she was happy.
Poor Matt though, he left for work Monday morning and when he got to my mom's late Tuesday night, both AR and I were already asleep. Wednesday morning I got up and nursed her then he wanted her to snuggle with. I left the room and when I came back, she was fussing. Matt had his shirt off and she was trying to root on him. Matt said she was hungry. I took her in the other room and she was fine. I think she just saw nipple and thought, "Mmm...FOOD!" When he held her again, she was fussy and crying. Matt got upset and said, "I don't think she remembers me." It was funny and sad at the same time. Of course she remembered her daddy, he just happened to get her at all the fussy times.
One thing I learned on the car ride to Cape was that we really need to plan the trip a bit more carefully. Since she's eating every2.5-3 hours and the car ride being 2.5 hours, we had to stop to feed her. Luckily, we were able to stop at my mom's friend's house on the way there and then on the way back, we were able to stop at my sister's. So next time, we need to time it to stop somewhere we know we can stop.
Now random thoughts...
*Last Saturday, she went swimming for the first time. She did a pretty good job considering it was 100+ degrees. It was a short trip but it was her first!
*HUGE growth spurt!!! Girl was eating every 2 hours and wearing this momma out. Luckily, I think the car ride put us back to the 2.5-3 hours of eating.
*AR didn't see any fireworks since our bedtime is 8pm and luckily, she slept through all of them too.
Now on to cute baby pictures...
Love her hair and shoes in the picture!
AR met a new friend, Owen, on the Fourth of July. Owen is my good friend Jess' son. I haven't seen her in forever so it was nice to catch up. Owen is my birthday twin-March 13 rocks! One of the babies spit up on my dad's recliner. I laughed and said, "How funny, we used to be trying to hide beer stains on our parents furniture, now it's baby spit-up." Hopefully we'll get to see them more!
Poor Matt though, he left for work Monday morning and when he got to my mom's late Tuesday night, both AR and I were already asleep. Wednesday morning I got up and nursed her then he wanted her to snuggle with. I left the room and when I came back, she was fussing. Matt had his shirt off and she was trying to root on him. Matt said she was hungry. I took her in the other room and she was fine. I think she just saw nipple and thought, "Mmm...FOOD!" When he held her again, she was fussy and crying. Matt got upset and said, "I don't think she remembers me." It was funny and sad at the same time. Of course she remembered her daddy, he just happened to get her at all the fussy times.
One thing I learned on the car ride to Cape was that we really need to plan the trip a bit more carefully. Since she's eating every2.5-3 hours and the car ride being 2.5 hours, we had to stop to feed her. Luckily, we were able to stop at my mom's friend's house on the way there and then on the way back, we were able to stop at my sister's. So next time, we need to time it to stop somewhere we know we can stop.
Now random thoughts...
*Last Saturday, she went swimming for the first time. She did a pretty good job considering it was 100+ degrees. It was a short trip but it was her first!
*HUGE growth spurt!!! Girl was eating every 2 hours and wearing this momma out. Luckily, I think the car ride put us back to the 2.5-3 hours of eating.
*AR didn't see any fireworks since our bedtime is 8pm and luckily, she slept through all of them too.
Now on to cute baby pictures...
Love her hair and shoes in the picture!
She's started wiggling more in her bouncer. Guess it wears her out, huh?
So happy 7 weeks Baby Girl! Momma loves you and can't wait to watch you keep growing.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
AR's First Time Swimming!!!
...on Saturday, my sister had a small Fourth of July celebration. Most everyone went swimming including Miss AR!!! On the bath front, she was HATING them, screaming everytime she had one. Then last week, Matt decided to not follow the happy face on the baby bathtub and he put the water in that he was the right tempature. What do you know? This whole time the water was too cold and that's why she was freaking out. Once the water was a little warmer, she did a great job with her bath!
Since she'd been hating baths, I was worried she'd hate swimming too. Once we realized the water temp issue, I figured with it being 100+ degrees she'd be okay. For the most part she was, freaking out a little bit at first because it was a whole new thing and I think the big pink hat was bothering her. She was only in the water less than 5 minutes which was fine since it was so hot.
I'm really hoping that she likes swimming. In October or November, I'm wanting my MIL to bring her up to my work one day/week so that AR and I can go swimming. I figure that'll be something fun we can do during the week plus it'll get her used to the water if we go on a weekly basis.
Here's her daddy and her floating on the perfect AR sized raft.
The hat was bigger than her but it was all that we had. Funny thing about the hat, H gave it to her (she's 8) and the cousin H got it from was there too (she's now 13). I had a pair of sunglasses that Aunt Sha and H got her but they were a tad big.
After all the excitement of swimming, she was exhausted! She changed back into her Fourth of July outfit, had some lunch and passed out on her Great Grandma.
Since she'd been hating baths, I was worried she'd hate swimming too. Once we realized the water temp issue, I figured with it being 100+ degrees she'd be okay. For the most part she was, freaking out a little bit at first because it was a whole new thing and I think the big pink hat was bothering her. She was only in the water less than 5 minutes which was fine since it was so hot.
I'm really hoping that she likes swimming. In October or November, I'm wanting my MIL to bring her up to my work one day/week so that AR and I can go swimming. I figure that'll be something fun we can do during the week plus it'll get her used to the water if we go on a weekly basis.
Here's her daddy and her floating on the perfect AR sized raft.
I was worried about how she'd sleep that night since she slept the 40 minute drive there and back plus most of the afternoon on Grandma but she actually did a great job! She's got more Fourth of July celebrations coming up this week! Happy Fourth of July everyone!
Monday, July 2, 2012
Mommy's 6 Week Check-Up...
...I had my six week check-up today and it did NOT go as I wanted. Good news...no hemmorroid. Bad news...it's actually grainular tissue. Doesn't sound bad, right? Well, I'm waiting on a phone call back from the doctor's office to schedule an outpatient surgery, hopefully, next Wednesday. Basically, my behind is healing backwards and it's not likely to heal on it's on. What I need to do is have a stitch put back in which means another round with the squirt bottle and more stitches! I will have to be sedated but it should only take about 15 minutes. I'm hoping my MIL can watch AR and my mom can drive me to the surgery. I told Matt not to take off because it's a short surgery and I'd rather him take the time later this year. My doc told me I could wait another 4 weeks and we could decide what to do then. I was in favor of that but Matt had a good point to just go ahead and do it while I still had time to heal before I go back to work. Let me tell you I am less than thrilled about this but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. I guess the good news is that once it's healed, hopefully it won't come back like hemmorroids do!
In other check-up news, I've lost 37 pounds since I had AR. I've still got a LONG way to go but it's nice to know that's gone! My BP was still high 138/88 but I haven't worked out other than walks in almost a year. Hopefully when I start working out again, my BP will go bac down. With that, I am okayed to workout, swim, baths, etc...just have to ease back into all of that.
So there you have it, mommy's 6 week check-up. I'll be sure to update you on the surgery after it happens, my main concern is about breastfeeding but I'm pretty sure I'll only miss maybe half a day of feedings.
Since I'm at my mom's, I don't have any new pics of AR so I'm sharing this instead. My mom is in a golf league, so the week after AR was born she gave pink golf balls to all the ladies in her league to tell them she was a girl!
Happy Fourth of July everyone!
In other check-up news, I've lost 37 pounds since I had AR. I've still got a LONG way to go but it's nice to know that's gone! My BP was still high 138/88 but I haven't worked out other than walks in almost a year. Hopefully when I start working out again, my BP will go bac down. With that, I am okayed to workout, swim, baths, etc...just have to ease back into all of that.
So there you have it, mommy's 6 week check-up. I'll be sure to update you on the surgery after it happens, my main concern is about breastfeeding but I'm pretty sure I'll only miss maybe half a day of feedings.
Since I'm at my mom's, I don't have any new pics of AR so I'm sharing this instead. My mom is in a golf league, so the week after AR was born she gave pink golf balls to all the ladies in her league to tell them she was a girl!
Happy Fourth of July everyone!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Pups and AR...
...everyone keeps asking how the pups are doing with AR. To be honest, they haven't been around her too much. Back around Christmas, we moved the dogs downstairs for a variety of reasons, Miss AR just being one of them.
I have to say that I miss snuggling with them at night and in the morning but at the same time, I'm hardly ever in bed so there wouldn't be much time for snuggling. At the same time though, it's so nice not having all the extra hair upstairs. We don't have to dust or vaccum near as much (which is nice because we don't really have the time) and it's not all over our clothes.
Ready for a secret? Don't tell Matt but occasionally I'll sneak Emma inside. It's usually when AR is freaking out and I can't figure out what she wants. I'll bring Emma in and she'll sit on the couch trying to be close to me but keeping her distance from the crying baby. I'll lay AR on her and she'll immediately calm down and start stretching. Here's AR wondering what this big furry thing is that she's laying on.
See how relaxed they are? Don't worry, I'm holding AR ready to pull her away if Emma changes her mind about someone laying on her and she won't fall off the couch.
Shad hasn't had much interaction with her at all. Not because I think he'd do anything but because he's so big and has no idea of this nor does he know what gentle means. In the afternoons, I'll put AR in her wrap and we'll go downstairs to feed the dogs. Then we'll go outside and sit on the bench in the backyard. Let me just say that this is one of my favorite times of day because I get to soak in the sun and have no distractions, this also lasts about 5 minutes.
Anyways, the dogs come out after they eat. Usually they don't notice us at first but then they'll come over for some loving. Shad will climb up on the bench and get right in AR's face to give her a big fat kiss. It's no surprise that when the gate fell down the other day, he ran upstairs and climbed up in my chair and did the same thing:
I have to say that I miss snuggling with them at night and in the morning but at the same time, I'm hardly ever in bed so there wouldn't be much time for snuggling. At the same time though, it's so nice not having all the extra hair upstairs. We don't have to dust or vaccum near as much (which is nice because we don't really have the time) and it's not all over our clothes.
Ready for a secret? Don't tell Matt but occasionally I'll sneak Emma inside. It's usually when AR is freaking out and I can't figure out what she wants. I'll bring Emma in and she'll sit on the couch trying to be close to me but keeping her distance from the crying baby. I'll lay AR on her and she'll immediately calm down and start stretching. Here's AR wondering what this big furry thing is that she's laying on.
See how relaxed they are? Don't worry, I'm holding AR ready to pull her away if Emma changes her mind about someone laying on her and she won't fall off the couch.
Anyways, the dogs come out after they eat. Usually they don't notice us at first but then they'll come over for some loving. Shad will climb up on the bench and get right in AR's face to give her a big fat kiss. It's no surprise that when the gate fell down the other day, he ran upstairs and climbed up in my chair and did the same thing:
The dogs seem pretty happy despite the move. Matt spends time with them at night after I go to bed. Emma gets to go on more walks now than before AR was here. Shad needs some more exercise. Matt's been working almost every Saturday so he hasn't been going to the farm on Sundays to stay home and give me a break. I thought AR and I would spend more time downstairs during my maternity leave but we stay upstairs most days because the bathroom is up here, the pump, etc...
So overall, the pups are doing well with AR, just wishing they could spend more time with her!
P.S.
Rabbit, rabbit!
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)