... our daughter may look more like me than I had previously thought. Behold the evidence:
And also? Wow, has photography improved since 1982! AND baby clothes! :)
miércoles, 26 de enero de 2011
viernes, 21 de enero de 2011
EASY? Eh.
So I got to the sleep (S) chapter in Secrets of the Baby Whisperer and today we started the process of following it more closely, including putting her down to sleep in her own crib and only going in to calm/reassure her when she cries. She's actually doing okay with it. Last night Jim was up, holding her while she slept, until 4am. Then he put her down in the bassinet and she laid there long enough for him to brush his teeth and get in bed before she awoke and I took over. I calmed her and then held her while she and I slept, nursed her at 7 and then fell back asleep. Then she was up at 9 and was making too much noise so we went to the living room and she slept on me until 11 (she ate again and had several diaper changes in there somewhere; don't worry!). So to say that we were both quite tired of holding her by that point would be an understatement.
She and I left the house and went to weigh her (more on that below) and then to Wal-Mart to pick up the Itzbeen timer that I had ordered and had delivered to one of our local stores. I had to feed her (from a bottle) while we were at Wal-Mart, then she fell back asleep and we went home. She slept long enough for us to eat lunch, then we went gung ho on the S part of the EASY plan.
Oh my. This is difficult! For the last 4 weeks we've been holding her almost nonstop while she's awake or asleep. I've gotten very little snuggle time today, and despite the 7 nonstop hours this morning, it's KILLING me! I miss my kid! I don't hope for her to cry, because she needs sleep! But I really love to hold and snuggle and cuddle and kiss her. I'm hoping we can accomplish this routine and then be able to incorporate snuggle time back into our schedule!
I took E to be weighed today and she was a solid 7 lbs, 11 oz! That means she gained about 7 ounces in 9 days! Hooray! She's gaining weight! She's still little, but she seems to be thriving. She's a happy baby, we take care of her, she eats, and she's okay.
This is a picture I took yesterday of her in a sweet little velour sleeper some friends in Japan sent. Very Asian with the Hello Kitty! And it's size 0-1 month. It would get mighty expensive, but it's genius! Our sweet little one.
She and I left the house and went to weigh her (more on that below) and then to Wal-Mart to pick up the Itzbeen timer that I had ordered and had delivered to one of our local stores. I had to feed her (from a bottle) while we were at Wal-Mart, then she fell back asleep and we went home. She slept long enough for us to eat lunch, then we went gung ho on the S part of the EASY plan.
Oh my. This is difficult! For the last 4 weeks we've been holding her almost nonstop while she's awake or asleep. I've gotten very little snuggle time today, and despite the 7 nonstop hours this morning, it's KILLING me! I miss my kid! I don't hope for her to cry, because she needs sleep! But I really love to hold and snuggle and cuddle and kiss her. I'm hoping we can accomplish this routine and then be able to incorporate snuggle time back into our schedule!
I took E to be weighed today and she was a solid 7 lbs, 11 oz! That means she gained about 7 ounces in 9 days! Hooray! She's gaining weight! She's still little, but she seems to be thriving. She's a happy baby, we take care of her, she eats, and she's okay.
This is a picture I took yesterday of her in a sweet little velour sleeper some friends in Japan sent. Very Asian with the Hello Kitty! And it's size 0-1 month. It would get mighty expensive, but it's genius! Our sweet little one.
miércoles, 19 de enero de 2011
4 Weeks
My little girl is 4 weeks old. I know, I was warned it would go by quickly, and I'm not sad that it is, because I'm really looking forward to a more interactive and understanding baby. But yes, the time is flying.
This little girl is incredible. I just look at her with awe and am so excited I get to be her mama. She's very snuggly, which has led to her STILL not falling asleep on her own the majority of the time, and wanting to be held while she sleeps at least half the time. She has been sleeping for long stretches in her bassinet or pack-n-play, but she has to be pretty drowsy or asleep when she's put down, and even then sometimes we can't fool her.
She amazes us with her ability to sit quietly in a bouncy seat or swing for long periods without crying or fussing. She's very tolerant of the dogs sniffing or licking her (even though we try to keep the dog snot and spit to a minimum). She cries when she has her diaper changed or gets a bath, but is easily consoled afterward. She's still in disposable diapers because she isn't big enough for her cloth diapers yet. We're really looking forward to not buying diapers anymore!
She lets me put a hat or headband on her and only cries when it falls in her eyes (even Marcy's newborn headbands are still a bit too big for our little bit). She can wear newborn-sized clothes, or very few of her 0-3 month-sized clothes (usually as a top layer over a newborn onesie). Some of the 0-3 clothes are the right length but swallow her around the waist and her skinny little legs. She's great in public, and has become a Target-shopping pro, and has gone out to eat at Hideaway (a pizza place), Chick-fil-A, Pei Wei and Coach's (a sports bar restaurant), all while sleeping the whole time.
She's still having eating issues, but I think she's getting enough. She thinks she's hungrier than she is, which has resulted in some spit-up trouble, but she's also really gassy, so that might play a part. This girl could enter a burping or farting contest with a grown man and be a contender! She eats really slowly, which makes it hard for my body to keep up with her schedule. Usually every 2-3 feedings is bottle-fed breast milk, because by the time I pump after her LONG eating sessions it's only an hour or so before she wants to eat again. But usually she'll nurse for the majority of her feedings, unless she's too sleepy and I have to pump, then she wakes up and I'm unable to feed her. That happens at least once a day. I try to pump at least 3 times a day, which has given us enough milk to store up at least a day ahead. She suckles most of the day, so we have to watch the clock to see if she's hungry or just needs a pacifier. She will sometimes suck on her hand or thumb, but I think her fingers are too little to be satisfying, so she sticks to the paci most of the time. We try hard, though, to not let her fall asleep with it because we don't want to be the parents that go every 2 minutes to replace a paci in her mouth.
She is fussy late at night, but tends to be a pretty good, fairly easy baby the rest of the time. We're learning how to be her parents while she learns how to be alive, so it's all trial and error for all of us. Mostly we just love her and tell her a million times a day. She also gets showered with kisses all the time and seems to like us pretty well.
All in all, though difficult and exhausting, we are so happy to be parents. And we love this little girl more than we had imagined was possible. She's wonderful!
This little girl is incredible. I just look at her with awe and am so excited I get to be her mama. She's very snuggly, which has led to her STILL not falling asleep on her own the majority of the time, and wanting to be held while she sleeps at least half the time. She has been sleeping for long stretches in her bassinet or pack-n-play, but she has to be pretty drowsy or asleep when she's put down, and even then sometimes we can't fool her.
She amazes us with her ability to sit quietly in a bouncy seat or swing for long periods without crying or fussing. She's very tolerant of the dogs sniffing or licking her (even though we try to keep the dog snot and spit to a minimum). She cries when she has her diaper changed or gets a bath, but is easily consoled afterward. She's still in disposable diapers because she isn't big enough for her cloth diapers yet. We're really looking forward to not buying diapers anymore!
She lets me put a hat or headband on her and only cries when it falls in her eyes (even Marcy's newborn headbands are still a bit too big for our little bit). She can wear newborn-sized clothes, or very few of her 0-3 month-sized clothes (usually as a top layer over a newborn onesie). Some of the 0-3 clothes are the right length but swallow her around the waist and her skinny little legs. She's great in public, and has become a Target-shopping pro, and has gone out to eat at Hideaway (a pizza place), Chick-fil-A, Pei Wei and Coach's (a sports bar restaurant), all while sleeping the whole time.
She's still having eating issues, but I think she's getting enough. She thinks she's hungrier than she is, which has resulted in some spit-up trouble, but she's also really gassy, so that might play a part. This girl could enter a burping or farting contest with a grown man and be a contender! She eats really slowly, which makes it hard for my body to keep up with her schedule. Usually every 2-3 feedings is bottle-fed breast milk, because by the time I pump after her LONG eating sessions it's only an hour or so before she wants to eat again. But usually she'll nurse for the majority of her feedings, unless she's too sleepy and I have to pump, then she wakes up and I'm unable to feed her. That happens at least once a day. I try to pump at least 3 times a day, which has given us enough milk to store up at least a day ahead. She suckles most of the day, so we have to watch the clock to see if she's hungry or just needs a pacifier. She will sometimes suck on her hand or thumb, but I think her fingers are too little to be satisfying, so she sticks to the paci most of the time. We try hard, though, to not let her fall asleep with it because we don't want to be the parents that go every 2 minutes to replace a paci in her mouth.
She is fussy late at night, but tends to be a pretty good, fairly easy baby the rest of the time. We're learning how to be her parents while she learns how to be alive, so it's all trial and error for all of us. Mostly we just love her and tell her a million times a day. She also gets showered with kisses all the time and seems to like us pretty well.
All in all, though difficult and exhausting, we are so happy to be parents. And we love this little girl more than we had imagined was possible. She's wonderful!
viernes, 14 de enero de 2011
Thanks and Clarification
Thanks to everyone for your comments and e-mails about my last post. I'm eternally grateful for your support and encouragement!
For clarification purposes: I was never frustrated with Eriana! I was frustrated that I couldn't give her what she needed, when she needed it. She was hungry, I had milk, but I couldn't get her to wake up to eat. It was heartbreaking! And exhausting! And then when she finally got hungry enough to REALLY wake up, I had pumped because I was in pain, and she had to wait for her bottle. Oh, so disheartening for this mama who just wants to help her baby be happy and healthy! So no frustration with my sweet girl at all! Just with the situation and my inability to control any part of it.
I know some of you think I was overreacting, and I probably was. I'm okay with that! I'm hormonal, emotional, and exhausted - it's an overreacting hotbed! But I think I've got things figured out that will be best for Eriana.
When she's really really awake she'll nurse just fine. When she's not, it's next to impossible for her to nurse. She will, however, take a bottle when sleepy. (I don't feed her when she's fast asleep, even though she'll suckle when she is; I realize that's dangerous and she could choke. But I will offer her a bottle when she's on the edge of sleep, paying close attention to whether or not she's swallowing, making sure she's not too asleep to eat.) Since she's underweight AND has trouble eating, I'm not willing to just let it go when she hasn't eaten. I also have to go back to work in the middle of February, so she needed to learn how to drink from a bottle anyway, AND since I was supplementing with formula she was nursing and eating from a bottle and there was no nipple confusion. (We also give her a pacifier and she's still fine with me and bottle nipples despite.)
Despite my frustration yesterday morning, I have still been nursing her when she's awake enough, but pumping whatever's leftover afterward. When she's too tired, or if I try to nurse and she falls asleep, or if my milk hasn't let down again yet (since I pump after she eats, sometimes she gets hungry before I'm ready to feed her), she gets a bottle of breast milk. I'm hoping this system will continue to work for us. It's generally what will prepare us for me going back to work, so I'm hoping it will work out.
We are using the Secrets of the Baby Whisperer system of routine, and even though we started late (only just this week), Little Girl is still impressionable enough to try to get it down and she's doing well so far. This system revolves around the word EASY (Eat, Activity, Sleep, You-time) and there isn't a schedule, per se, but a routine that goes in the order of the word EASY. So she eats, she has activity time (which right now consists of diaper changes, us reading to her, bath time, lying awake in the pack-n-play or bouncy seat, etc.), we lie her down and she puts herself to sleep (she's great at this, but wakes up about an hour in and wants to be held for the rest of her nap), and then when she's asleep we get time to do other things! We're not on a strict schedule or trying to get her to do something odd or in random times that don't work for a newborn, Eriana learns what to expect as the day progresses, it goes in a general manner as an older child's day, and can be changed up as she gets older and naps less, sleeps longer at night, etc. This worked out great for us in the last couple of days, and I hope it only gets better. I really like this system, and it makes sense for our family.
Anyway, thanks again for all of your encouragement, advice, love and support. I have great friends! (Wow, this turned into a long post! :))
For clarification purposes: I was never frustrated with Eriana! I was frustrated that I couldn't give her what she needed, when she needed it. She was hungry, I had milk, but I couldn't get her to wake up to eat. It was heartbreaking! And exhausting! And then when she finally got hungry enough to REALLY wake up, I had pumped because I was in pain, and she had to wait for her bottle. Oh, so disheartening for this mama who just wants to help her baby be happy and healthy! So no frustration with my sweet girl at all! Just with the situation and my inability to control any part of it.
I know some of you think I was overreacting, and I probably was. I'm okay with that! I'm hormonal, emotional, and exhausted - it's an overreacting hotbed! But I think I've got things figured out that will be best for Eriana.
When she's really really awake she'll nurse just fine. When she's not, it's next to impossible for her to nurse. She will, however, take a bottle when sleepy. (I don't feed her when she's fast asleep, even though she'll suckle when she is; I realize that's dangerous and she could choke. But I will offer her a bottle when she's on the edge of sleep, paying close attention to whether or not she's swallowing, making sure she's not too asleep to eat.) Since she's underweight AND has trouble eating, I'm not willing to just let it go when she hasn't eaten. I also have to go back to work in the middle of February, so she needed to learn how to drink from a bottle anyway, AND since I was supplementing with formula she was nursing and eating from a bottle and there was no nipple confusion. (We also give her a pacifier and she's still fine with me and bottle nipples despite.)
Despite my frustration yesterday morning, I have still been nursing her when she's awake enough, but pumping whatever's leftover afterward. When she's too tired, or if I try to nurse and she falls asleep, or if my milk hasn't let down again yet (since I pump after she eats, sometimes she gets hungry before I'm ready to feed her), she gets a bottle of breast milk. I'm hoping this system will continue to work for us. It's generally what will prepare us for me going back to work, so I'm hoping it will work out.
We are using the Secrets of the Baby Whisperer system of routine, and even though we started late (only just this week), Little Girl is still impressionable enough to try to get it down and she's doing well so far. This system revolves around the word EASY (Eat, Activity, Sleep, You-time) and there isn't a schedule, per se, but a routine that goes in the order of the word EASY. So she eats, she has activity time (which right now consists of diaper changes, us reading to her, bath time, lying awake in the pack-n-play or bouncy seat, etc.), we lie her down and she puts herself to sleep (she's great at this, but wakes up about an hour in and wants to be held for the rest of her nap), and then when she's asleep we get time to do other things! We're not on a strict schedule or trying to get her to do something odd or in random times that don't work for a newborn, Eriana learns what to expect as the day progresses, it goes in a general manner as an older child's day, and can be changed up as she gets older and naps less, sleeps longer at night, etc. This worked out great for us in the last couple of days, and I hope it only gets better. I really like this system, and it makes sense for our family.
Anyway, thanks again for all of your encouragement, advice, love and support. I have great friends! (Wow, this turned into a long post! :))
miércoles, 12 de enero de 2011
Frustrating!
I am so much more than frustrated. There's no word in my vocabulary to describe what I am. And I have a fairly large vocabulary! Eriana will cry to eat, then immediately fall asleep. I've tried EVERYTHING: wet washcloth, stripping her down, changing her diaper first, swaddling her, unswaddling her, baby "sit-ups", blowing on her face when she's latched on and stops eating, every different nursing "hold", tickling her, moving her around, talking really loudly, loud and annoying kisses. Sometimes I do a combination of several or ALL of the above and she's snoring while I'm trying to wake her!
Meanwhile, I'm engorged and in pain and oh-so-very FRUSTRATED! I just spent 1.5 hours trying to feed her. I'm tired! I guess I need to pump and feed her breastmilk from a bottle? No clue what else to do at this point.
Argh!
Meanwhile, I'm engorged and in pain and oh-so-very FRUSTRATED! I just spent 1.5 hours trying to feed her. I'm tired! I guess I need to pump and feed her breastmilk from a bottle? No clue what else to do at this point.
Argh!
Three Weeks and a Weight Check
I can't believe my baby's 3 weeks old today. I knew the weeks would fly by, and I'm not sad that they are, because as much as I love my child, I'm ready for her to be a bit more interactive and easy. :)
We went to the doctor today for her weight check, and she was up to 7 lbs, 4.8 oz. ALMOST up to her birth weight! Little Girl didn't do so well on the formula, so the last time she had any was Sunday. She's eating 10-12 times a day, though, often until I'm completely empty, and she's growing. The doctor was MUCH nicer this week, so that helped the visit. The doc said Eriana's still in about the 10th percentile, and has some catching up to do, but she's healthy and is okay to have her next appointment at 8 weeks. Baby's gonna LOVE the doctor at that appointment!
Yesterday we went on Eriana's first girls' lunch date with some of my friends and their kids. She was such a doll, and slept the whole time, even in the Chick-fil-A play area with lots of screaming kids around. Between us we had 4 adults, a 3 yo, a 1 yo and 2 newborns. One of us also has a 2 yo, but she was at her grandma's house (so that friend snuggled Eriana a lot!). What a crew we were, taking up 3 tables! It was so fun, though. I love my friends. What a wonderful blessing to have such amazing women in my life that care about Jim, Eriana and me!
The below pic is from yesterday evening. Doesn't she sort of look like she was bored in class and fell asleep? :) I love my kid!
We went to the doctor today for her weight check, and she was up to 7 lbs, 4.8 oz. ALMOST up to her birth weight! Little Girl didn't do so well on the formula, so the last time she had any was Sunday. She's eating 10-12 times a day, though, often until I'm completely empty, and she's growing. The doctor was MUCH nicer this week, so that helped the visit. The doc said Eriana's still in about the 10th percentile, and has some catching up to do, but she's healthy and is okay to have her next appointment at 8 weeks. Baby's gonna LOVE the doctor at that appointment!
Yesterday we went on Eriana's first girls' lunch date with some of my friends and their kids. She was such a doll, and slept the whole time, even in the Chick-fil-A play area with lots of screaming kids around. Between us we had 4 adults, a 3 yo, a 1 yo and 2 newborns. One of us also has a 2 yo, but she was at her grandma's house (so that friend snuggled Eriana a lot!). What a crew we were, taking up 3 tables! It was so fun, though. I love my friends. What a wonderful blessing to have such amazing women in my life that care about Jim, Eriana and me!
The below pic is from yesterday evening. Doesn't she sort of look like she was bored in class and fell asleep? :) I love my kid!
Suscribirse a:
Comentarios (Atom)