to be home...after being in NC since Wednesday, it was great waking up in our own bed and having B in another room! Finally, at least some peace and quiet...even if it came in 2-3 hour blocks. She went down last night around midnight when we went to bed. She was up at 3 and 6 and again at 9 for the day. I nursed her at 6 and 9 but thank goodness Erik gave her the 3am bottle so I could sleep a bit.
I couldn't wait to weigh her (since I had the scare 2 weeks ago with her barely getting back to birth weight by 2 weeks) and she came in at 7lbs, 11oz on the kitchen scale this morning. Yay! 10 oz in 14 days so I feel relieved. I was so worried she wasn't getting enough milk breastfeeding (b/c she nurses for 30-40 minutes at a time and sometimes I swear I don't hear much swallowing).
She was up for about an hour at 9 and went back down to sleep. She's getting so much better with her head control. I'm so excited and sad at the same time. She's getting so big and she's so long and lean. She doesn't have a baby roll on her! Her cheeks are filling out a bit but nothing I would call baby fat. She's also stretching out more. She doesn't like to stay curled in a ball very long and this morning I found her arms hanging out of the swaddle. I would abandon the swaddle but I think the swaddle keeps her controlled and keeps her from waking when she flails about.
This afternoon, I thought I saw a smile on her when she saw me but it very well could have been gas. We just had a relaxing day at home today and enjoyed our own TV.
On a sad, sad, sad, very sad note and it's all my fault but I left my jeans sitting on the floor last night. I was downstairs with B this morning and came upstairs to put on jeans to go to Giant Eagle and found the crotch eaten from them. These were my favorite maternity jeans, the ones that fit the best, the ones I loved, essentially one of the 3 pairs of pants I have been wearing lately. Thus, this has now forced Erik to force me to go shopping on Saturday for jeans and pants that actually fit. I'm quite depressed about this. I am just going to tell Erik to grab things he thinks will fit and hand them to me and I'll try them...not caring what the sizes are and hoping and praying that the number will go down in the next few months (I also weighed myself this morning and well, I still have 20+ pounds to go to get back to pre-baby weight).
Andrea came this evening and she'll be staying until Friday to spend some B time and clean tomorrow. It stinks sometimes having so many people here but at the same time, it gives our family time with her and it gives us some time to do things around the house.
Anyways, it's a Top Chef night today and I'm super stoked!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Home Sweet Home...
B had a good night last night...she went to bed at 11:30, up at 2, up at 5:30 then up for the day at 8:30. I didn't mind waking up a little earlier than I had been b/c I got B fed and then we gave her a bath (boy, she's a messy eater...milk dried in her hair, in her little skin folds, EVERYWHERE). I took a shower and got ready and then I went through mom and dad's house packing us up to head back to Mars.
We were ready to leave at 11:30 and we headed to Big Lots, then went to BBB, TJ Maxx, and Ross's (I was on a quest to find some new clothes given the new, um, look to my body after having B...I was also on a quest to find newborn/size 0 patent leather black shoes for B's Christmas outfit). Then we were off to Michaels and then went to the mall. My quest in store after store came up empty for the shoes but I did find some clothes that I'd like to revisit this weekend with Erik to come up with some outfits for our reunion and Christmas.
Mom took me to Erin's for 4:15 and we got settled with her car seat, diaper bag and cameras (after we had loaded everything we needed for the house into his car at work). Kisa got there around 4:30. We had a great Steak Tips dinner and then just spent time enjoying each other's company. Erik came around 6:30 and we got B packed up and started to head out a little before 7. We picked up Crosby in Nicktown and headed back to Mars. B had a little meltdown just outside of Sarver so we had to pull over and feed her. We got back around 9:30 and unloaded the car....really, we're quite pooped right now and heading to bed!
We were in NC since Wednesday afternoon and we were ready to head back to our home.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Not at MiCasa...
Since we've been at my mom and dad's since Wednesday, I don't have photos ready for MiCasa Monday...alas, till next week again.
Last night, I fed B around 10:30-11:15, she slept until 2. We nursed until 2:30 and she was up at 3:30 and Erik gave her a bottle. She woke up again around 7:30 just as Erik was going to work. I brought her into bed with me (don't yell at me, she was swaddled, in a boppy with no chance of suffocation) where she slept next to me and Crosby slept cuddled into my back until 10:30 when we woke up for the day. She got milk everywhere so she got a bath this morning and was all clean and fresh smelling (I'm still trying to remember that unadulterated smell of the newborn as it's been replaced by milk and lotions). After her bath, she was all smiles for about an hour. Then she was all cuddles with grandma while I caught up on more emails.
I spent all afternoon just cuddling with B. She still seems so tiny and her weight gain had been slow early on. I can't wait to get back to the house on Wednesday to weigh her on the kitchen scale. Actually, while I enjoy being home and relaxing and spending time with the parents, I miss our house...I totally miss our king bed and having B in her own room. I love our house so much as it's perfect and we're almost to the point where it's exactly how we want it. We have a king bed and it's about the right size for E, Croz and me; at my parents' house, we sleep in a full bed (I don't know how any couple could sleep in a full bed). We also have been sleeping with B in a PNP in the room and I really can't wait until she goes back to the crib at the house b/c everytime she's up or squeaks or makes any noise or even screams during a diaper change, both of us are up with her. While I think cosleeping may be good for some people, B screams until she's changed for night feedings so I wouldn't be able to just reach over to a co-sleeper to get her and we've both failed at side nursing.
We had our baptismal session with Deacon Bern tonight. Heidi came down with pneumonia so she wasn't coming in tonight for it. Lauren, Erik and I went and it was about an hour. We still have to call to set the date but at least the prep stuff is done. We had to take a test and the three of us and our fierce competitiveness came out with having the loser buy ice cream at DQ (uh hem, Erik) and of course, Crosby got her kid-size vanilla. I started organizing items so that tomorrow morning, I wouldn't have too much to pack.
Last night, I fed B around 10:30-11:15, she slept until 2. We nursed until 2:30 and she was up at 3:30 and Erik gave her a bottle. She woke up again around 7:30 just as Erik was going to work. I brought her into bed with me (don't yell at me, she was swaddled, in a boppy with no chance of suffocation) where she slept next to me and Crosby slept cuddled into my back until 10:30 when we woke up for the day. She got milk everywhere so she got a bath this morning and was all clean and fresh smelling (I'm still trying to remember that unadulterated smell of the newborn as it's been replaced by milk and lotions). After her bath, she was all smiles for about an hour. Then she was all cuddles with grandma while I caught up on more emails.
I spent all afternoon just cuddling with B. She still seems so tiny and her weight gain had been slow early on. I can't wait to get back to the house on Wednesday to weigh her on the kitchen scale. Actually, while I enjoy being home and relaxing and spending time with the parents, I miss our house...I totally miss our king bed and having B in her own room. I love our house so much as it's perfect and we're almost to the point where it's exactly how we want it. We have a king bed and it's about the right size for E, Croz and me; at my parents' house, we sleep in a full bed (I don't know how any couple could sleep in a full bed). We also have been sleeping with B in a PNP in the room and I really can't wait until she goes back to the crib at the house b/c everytime she's up or squeaks or makes any noise or even screams during a diaper change, both of us are up with her. While I think cosleeping may be good for some people, B screams until she's changed for night feedings so I wouldn't be able to just reach over to a co-sleeper to get her and we've both failed at side nursing.
We had our baptismal session with Deacon Bern tonight. Heidi came down with pneumonia so she wasn't coming in tonight for it. Lauren, Erik and I went and it was about an hour. We still have to call to set the date but at least the prep stuff is done. We had to take a test and the three of us and our fierce competitiveness came out with having the loser buy ice cream at DQ (uh hem, Erik) and of course, Crosby got her kid-size vanilla. I started organizing items so that tomorrow morning, I wouldn't have too much to pack.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Three weeks old!
Wow...time is flying by...every day I see B changing so much. She's now spending much more time in this "quiet alertness" stage where she's awake for about an hour or so after feeding. I'm not arguing with this as I love having my conversations with her and watching her explore her surroundings. She loves looking at faces (as she can probably only relatively clearly see 8-12 inches in front of her so that's why she prefers faces since they're in that range). She's also getting much stronger with her head control and when burping, she'll hold her head up 10+ seconds. We're also doing a bit of tummy time and she's doing alright with holding her head up during that time but she definitely enjoys it more and does better when she's on her stomach on the Boppy.
She's still a petite, skinny mini who barely fits into newborn clothes but I think she's starting to fill out a bit more in her face. Her eyelashes are growing as they're now visible (compared to the barely 1mm eyelashes when she was born). We are going through diapers like it's our job and today, we changed 3 times in 15 minutes as she wanted changed before feeding b/c she was wet (again, the child who refuses to eat if she has one drop of pee in her diaper until she's dry...however, she'll sit in poop for an hour before deciding she wants to be changed).
At 3 weeks of age....
Estimated Diapers: 170
Estimated Wipes: 120
Estimated Feeds: 146
Estimated Bottles: 22
1 bout of mastitis
Feeding amount: 2.5 ounces
We've also done our first load of laundry at my mom's....Erik and I used to go every 3 weeks before we had to do laundry (we had enough clothes, underwear, etc and I wear scrubs for work so we didn't really need to do laundry that often) and now we're doing laundry like twice a week since she's been home from the hospital because she spits up, pees while I'm changing a diaper, etc. Her hair is filling in a bit on top...she's my little peachfuzz!
I still continue to find amazement with how much gas this little girl can pass....5-10 times during any given feeding with about 2-4 different bouts of poop while she's eating. She's definitely a 5+ dirty diaper and 8+ wet diaper girl per day.
I remember her first bottle at 5 days of age was 1.5 ounces and she spit up a good bit of it and we both think her stomach was still expanding to hold that amount. Right now, she's up to 2-2.5 ounces when she takes a bottle. She is starting to have a bit more spit up during breastfeeding than she's had in the past but I'm also producing more milk than I have in the past (in 1 pump session, I usually get around 4 ounces or 2 ounces after nursing). We just love her. I spent a good 30 minutes or so today just looking at her hands, feet, back, hair, fingers, toes, butt...just all of her parts as she's going to be getting so big so quickly and I want to make sure I remember these days as best as I can. She's also starting to become more of a messy feeder and we have to wipe her down practically after every feed since there's milk in her hair, ear, arm, chin (I love when there's a little bit of dried milk in the little triple chin she has going on), chest, etc...and this is despite a bib!.
I think Erik and I both agree that we just love being parents...we love seeing B develop and go through her stages. I think it's safe to assume we're out of the newborn stage and working toward the infant stage.
On another note, this morning I finished catching up on school stuff and benefits info and finishing up everything that I needed to for leave. Around 2, I went over to Cambrian Hills to meet up with family at Aunt Nancy's funeral dinner. After that, I was able to get the 4-generation photos with Baba/Pop-pop, mom, me and B. We then went over to Aunt Louise and Aunt Helen's to visit. After dinner, we visited with Ed and Joann and came home and were ready for bed.
On a happy note...two of my friends announced their pregnancies today...I'm so happy for both of them and so excited to hear of their good news!
She's still a petite, skinny mini who barely fits into newborn clothes but I think she's starting to fill out a bit more in her face. Her eyelashes are growing as they're now visible (compared to the barely 1mm eyelashes when she was born). We are going through diapers like it's our job and today, we changed 3 times in 15 minutes as she wanted changed before feeding b/c she was wet (again, the child who refuses to eat if she has one drop of pee in her diaper until she's dry...however, she'll sit in poop for an hour before deciding she wants to be changed).
At 3 weeks of age....
Estimated Diapers: 170
Estimated Wipes: 120
Estimated Feeds: 146
Estimated Bottles: 22
1 bout of mastitis
Feeding amount: 2.5 ounces
We've also done our first load of laundry at my mom's....Erik and I used to go every 3 weeks before we had to do laundry (we had enough clothes, underwear, etc and I wear scrubs for work so we didn't really need to do laundry that often) and now we're doing laundry like twice a week since she's been home from the hospital because she spits up, pees while I'm changing a diaper, etc. Her hair is filling in a bit on top...she's my little peachfuzz!
I still continue to find amazement with how much gas this little girl can pass....5-10 times during any given feeding with about 2-4 different bouts of poop while she's eating. She's definitely a 5+ dirty diaper and 8+ wet diaper girl per day.
I remember her first bottle at 5 days of age was 1.5 ounces and she spit up a good bit of it and we both think her stomach was still expanding to hold that amount. Right now, she's up to 2-2.5 ounces when she takes a bottle. She is starting to have a bit more spit up during breastfeeding than she's had in the past but I'm also producing more milk than I have in the past (in 1 pump session, I usually get around 4 ounces or 2 ounces after nursing). We just love her. I spent a good 30 minutes or so today just looking at her hands, feet, back, hair, fingers, toes, butt...just all of her parts as she's going to be getting so big so quickly and I want to make sure I remember these days as best as I can. She's also starting to become more of a messy feeder and we have to wipe her down practically after every feed since there's milk in her hair, ear, arm, chin (I love when there's a little bit of dried milk in the little triple chin she has going on), chest, etc...and this is despite a bib!.
I think Erik and I both agree that we just love being parents...we love seeing B develop and go through her stages. I think it's safe to assume we're out of the newborn stage and working toward the infant stage.
On another note, this morning I finished catching up on school stuff and benefits info and finishing up everything that I needed to for leave. Around 2, I went over to Cambrian Hills to meet up with family at Aunt Nancy's funeral dinner. After that, I was able to get the 4-generation photos with Baba/Pop-pop, mom, me and B. We then went over to Aunt Louise and Aunt Helen's to visit. After dinner, we visited with Ed and Joann and came home and were ready for bed.
On a happy note...two of my friends announced their pregnancies today...I'm so happy for both of them and so excited to hear of their good news!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Meet the Great-Grandparents...
This morning, B had a rougher night....nursed at 11 to 12, then took a bit to get down, then slept until 4, then 6, then 8:30. We were up and going by 10:30 (hey, that's early for us...considering by the time B wakes up, nurses for 30 minutes, gets a wipe down with warm water to get all the milk stickies off, gets dressed and I have breakfast, get showered and ready...it ends up being a 2-hr process give or take).
I took B to Baba and Pop-pops so B could meet them. Pop-pop was so cute holding B like she was this fragile thing and Baba also very gingerly held B. I wanted to get the 4 generation pic but we'll have to delay until tomorrow when mom's here. Grandma wasn't feeling well after her trip to Rivers so we didn't venture down there so I used the afternoon to catch up on school work and take care of benefits and other leave items. While B was down for the count, I also swung by the funeral home for Aunt Nancy...at 95, she looked the same as I always remembered her over the past 25+ years...
Erik made homemade pumpkin pies (yummy!) and we headed over to Lauren and Nate's for dinner (pizza and wings!!) and to watch the Pens game. It's a late night but B's ready to party (or at least nurse a while)...
I took B to Baba and Pop-pops so B could meet them. Pop-pop was so cute holding B like she was this fragile thing and Baba also very gingerly held B. I wanted to get the 4 generation pic but we'll have to delay until tomorrow when mom's here. Grandma wasn't feeling well after her trip to Rivers so we didn't venture down there so I used the afternoon to catch up on school work and take care of benefits and other leave items. While B was down for the count, I also swung by the funeral home for Aunt Nancy...at 95, she looked the same as I always remembered her over the past 25+ years...
Erik made homemade pumpkin pies (yummy!) and we headed over to Lauren and Nate's for dinner (pizza and wings!!) and to watch the Pens game. It's a late night but B's ready to party (or at least nurse a while)...
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Happy Veterans' Day! Welcome to the NC!
Happy Veterans' Day! More importantly, thank you to all the veterans to have served in our armed forces for the sacrifices they have made for our country.
This day started off with a lazy sleep-in morning (and a decent night last night...B slept from 12-3, then 4-7 and 7-9 when we woke her up to eat). Dad and E waved off the outdoors today in favor of house projects (like finishing our workbenches for the garage). B & I were a little slow getting going and I spent most of the morning trying to figure out what we would need for the next 6 days...diapers, clothes, pump parts, burp cloths, etc and trying to figure out what we wanted to take home to keep there (wash cloths, ducky towels and robe, shampoo, receiving blankets, blankets, baby wash, desitin, wipes, etc) since we'll be back and forth for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
She was a bit sticky after eating this morning so B got her second bath today and it went much better than her first bath. First off, I filled up her tub with about 6 inches of water (there were 2 of us there...don't yell at me for being a bad mom...there was no possible way of her drowning in that tub) which kept her covered and warm. We kept a wash cloth on her at all times and she was actually all smiles and enjoyed her bath. She was a clean, fresh smelling baby after her bath!
Mom and dad went to Springfield for lunch while E & I had some leftovers. We got on the road around 1:30pm. We had a good drive home and it was the first time all 4 of us were in the car...Crosby got shotgun with her car seat and I was in the backseat with B. B made it the whole way home and started fussing in Nicktown. Needless to say, as soon as we got home, I fed B to keep from total meltdown and Erik went out to the woods. Also, I think it's safe to say that we are looking forward to a few years from now when I buy a GL with the 3 rows of seating...we had room in the Benz for the essentials but I hope we have small-in-size Christmas gifts as we didn't have a ton of room leftover.
Crosby showed B all the sights of NC and grandmamma J and Pap's house...Crosby just cracks me up as as soon as we got home, she was all excited and went running through the house looking for them (even though they were just pulling in behind us in the driveway). Cracks.me.up! She'll go from room to room with her tail wagging and full of excitement looking for mom and dad and has a look of pure disappointment if they aren't home.
We got Chinese for dinner and just relaxed a bit and set up the pack and play, put out the play mat, nd trying to semi-organize since we'll be here until Tuesday. Mary Lou, Melissa and Steve stopped up to visit with B for a bit this evening. It's time for Top Chef (I keep hoping this is Robin's week to pack her knives)...
This day started off with a lazy sleep-in morning (and a decent night last night...B slept from 12-3, then 4-7 and 7-9 when we woke her up to eat). Dad and E waved off the outdoors today in favor of house projects (like finishing our workbenches for the garage). B & I were a little slow getting going and I spent most of the morning trying to figure out what we would need for the next 6 days...diapers, clothes, pump parts, burp cloths, etc and trying to figure out what we wanted to take home to keep there (wash cloths, ducky towels and robe, shampoo, receiving blankets, blankets, baby wash, desitin, wipes, etc) since we'll be back and forth for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
She was a bit sticky after eating this morning so B got her second bath today and it went much better than her first bath. First off, I filled up her tub with about 6 inches of water (there were 2 of us there...don't yell at me for being a bad mom...there was no possible way of her drowning in that tub) which kept her covered and warm. We kept a wash cloth on her at all times and she was actually all smiles and enjoyed her bath. She was a clean, fresh smelling baby after her bath!
Mom and dad went to Springfield for lunch while E & I had some leftovers. We got on the road around 1:30pm. We had a good drive home and it was the first time all 4 of us were in the car...Crosby got shotgun with her car seat and I was in the backseat with B. B made it the whole way home and started fussing in Nicktown. Needless to say, as soon as we got home, I fed B to keep from total meltdown and Erik went out to the woods. Also, I think it's safe to say that we are looking forward to a few years from now when I buy a GL with the 3 rows of seating...we had room in the Benz for the essentials but I hope we have small-in-size Christmas gifts as we didn't have a ton of room leftover.
Crosby showed B all the sights of NC and grandmamma J and Pap's house...Crosby just cracks me up as as soon as we got home, she was all excited and went running through the house looking for them (even though they were just pulling in behind us in the driveway). Cracks.me.up! She'll go from room to room with her tail wagging and full of excitement looking for mom and dad and has a look of pure disappointment if they aren't home.
We got Chinese for dinner and just relaxed a bit and set up the pack and play, put out the play mat, nd trying to semi-organize since we'll be here until Tuesday. Mary Lou, Melissa and Steve stopped up to visit with B for a bit this evening. It's time for Top Chef (I keep hoping this is Robin's week to pack her knives)...
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
A Relaxing Day...
Erik and I took the opportunity to sleep in...B slept from 12 to 4 then again at 7 and 10 (though Erik had to get up a few times to do some work for a person who's on travel and had to help him out)...needless to say, we were thrilled with sleeping in until 10 and the 2 times she got up in that time period. We had hamburgers for lunch and took a nice walk through the neighborhood. I ran into Julie and Sebi so we walked through Columbia Court and also met up with Sara and Roxy...it was a nice stroll on a beautiful day (and I ditched my long sleeve shirt right after that). B seemed to enjoy the fresh air as she slept for 3 hours after we got home.
While I was strolling with the girls, Erik and Crosby went down into the woods chasing and scouting out some deer. When we got home, we took a short nap and then watched some football. Dad came out around 4pm and we just relaxed. Dad is so funny with B in his arms...it's like he's carrying a fragile glass and always holds her with 2 hands and is so dainty with her I just have to smile.
For dinner, we had Italian sausages and just settled in for the night and watched football.
While I was strolling with the girls, Erik and Crosby went down into the woods chasing and scouting out some deer. When we got home, we took a short nap and then watched some football. Dad came out around 4pm and we just relaxed. Dad is so funny with B in his arms...it's like he's carrying a fragile glass and always holds her with 2 hands and is so dainty with her I just have to smile.
For dinner, we had Italian sausages and just settled in for the night and watched football.
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