Pages

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

6 weeks in...must haves!

Obviously I have only been a parent for 6 weeks now so that does not qualify me to know everything about babies and the products that they need, but I have learned a thing or two in a short amount of time.  Of the most important lessons thus far:
1) use diapers that fit...regardless of how many of one kind you have, if they don't fit good you will regret the decision to use them...there is no amount of money that is worth cleaning baby poop off your child, their clothes, the sheets, etc in the middle of the night (multiple times...).  with that said, if they are too big or just fit awkwardly, wait a week or two and they will fit different.
2) keep a burp cloth handy at all times.  period.

now for the products I have learned to love.  Again, I'm sure these are not universal and some babies may require a whole different list, but for us, if any of these went missing right now...I may die. Consider this my advertisement...you're welcome brands!


1) Fisher Price My Little Lamb Platinum Edition Cradle N' Swing
This thing is on at our house at least 3-4 times a day...some days it is on more than it is off.  C likes to move...all the time and this thing does the trick.  She has just found the mobile and lights and that adds a whole other distracting dimension.  This is a staple in our living room and probably will be for a while.  In the first weeks she would sleep in this for the first stint at night if we couldn't get her down in bed..and it works!

2) Summer Infant Swaddleme
We have 3 of these and they are on  a 3 man rotation...we don't go a night without them.  We tried to swaddle with a blanket the first night home and quickly learned that A) we aren't as good as the nursery nurses and B) we are ok with that as long as these exist.  Simply enough, we use these for night time sleeping and it just seems to work.

3) Britax B Ready stroller with bassinet
Although we haven't got to go on too many walks since the weather has been miserable most of her life, she loves the times we have used the stroller.  I think she likes it even more in the bassinet because she gets to get out of the car seat and spread out for a while.  She falls asleep instantly in the bassinet. I can't wait to use this more when the weather improves.

4) Ergobaby Carrier
We have just started using the carrier in the last 2 weeks and OMG...it is a silencer.  She can be screaming her head off and instantly shuts down as soon as she gets snuggled in.  Chuck wears it often while cooking, ironing, or just hanging out...love it.

5) Iphone
I know, seems odd, but if I didn't have my phone during my middle of the night feedings I really don't know how I would stay awake.  I surf the Internet, read, play games, etc....it has been a lifesaver.  Not to mention in the early weeks when we were trying to find our groove with feeding, I used an app to keep track of feedings and diaper changes.  It helped me keep up with how much and when she fed, which was one less thing I had to process.

6) Graco Pack and Play with diaper changer
Considering our house is 2 levels and the master and nursery are not on the same level, having the pack and play in our room as a crib and changing station has been a lifesaver.  I can take 2 steps from my bed at night and be at her side.  Since we are very much still doing night time feedings this is incredibly useful.  We are hoping to transition to the crib soon enough, but even then it will be nice to have this for our frequent travels.  The diaper changer that attaches to the top has been worth it's weight as well.  I can't count the number of times that she has peed and filled the whole thing up...I can't imagine washing the comforter that many times if I was just using the bed to change her.

That's my list...I'm sure there will be more in the future, but for now...  a big thanks to the makers of all of these genius baby products!

Friday, January 25, 2013

1 month

Actually, it has been 5 weeks, but lets backtrack 5 days to January 20; one month after our sweet C's birthday.  So let's capture some of the things we have gone through during month one (and I'll do my best to keep this under 10000 words) so we don't forget this time, because let's be honest it is mostly a blur...we are truly blessed with a really healthy and talented baby (i'm sure everyone says/thinks this, but we really are).  she rolled over from her tummy to her back when she was 4 days old at the pediatrician's office.  she may have even been able to do it earlier, but i'm not sure we put her down for the first 4 days! our doctor, dr. good (which we love!), was impressed at this skill and said most babies can't pull that off until 3 or 4 months.  she flipped many more times, so it wasn't just a fluke! we do "tummy time" every day and for the most part she doesn't seem to hate it.

she likes getting her hair washed and brushed, the faces she makes while we do it are priceless.  we are slowly figuring out bathtime so it is enjoyable for all parties.  she sneezes and hiccups all the time.  she has at least 5 different cries, and one (which i think is just "talking") is so cute I just stare at her while she does it (i know, bad mom!).  big brother (rigsby) has really started to not only like her, but to watch over her and love on her.  he will stick his head in the pack and play at night at least once to make sure she is ok and he loves giving her "kisses" on the face and head.  we are so glad that they make a good pair, because we were a little nervous how he would transition to not being an only "child".

we have had CONSTANT visitors for the first month, but we love the time with friends and family.  i'm thankful we have so many people who want to see us and C (mostly C).

by the end of the first month, her head has become pretty stable and I'm glad you can pick her up without fearing that her head is going to fall off (kidding, mostly).  her hands, feet, eyes, ears, chin, and hair all take after daddy; while i get to claim nose and mouth!

she slept most of the day for the first week or two, but now she stays awake for long periods of time.  daddy went back to work after 3 weeks so it is just me and her during the day.  her most active time is between 9-12 during the day...i wish chuck got to see her more during this time, it is amazing how more alert and interactive she gets each day.



weight: 8 lbs, 14 ozs at the one month doctors appointment

height: somewhere between 21-22 inches depending on who you talk to.  chuck insists on 22"! let's put it this way, she no longer fits in newborn clothes length wise.

medical: healthy little baby.  she gets gassy sometimes, but who doesn't.  we are scheduled for a hip ultrasound at 6 weeks, but this is mostly protocol since she was born breech. the doc thinks her hips feel great.  we love seeing the doc, and so far it has been more than pleasant getting in and out of the office

sleep: she is a really great sleeper.  from the time we brought her home (with the exception of the first night), she has slept 3-4 hour increments with an occasional 5 or 6 hours spurt.  she is sleeping in the pack and play in our room.  at night, i lay in bed and nurse her until she is asleep, then we swaddle and go to bed (no pacifier yet).  she usually puts herself right back to sleep.

clothes/diapers: she outgrew newborn clothes after 3 weeks (lengthwise), her feet and legs were about to bust the seams.  some 0-3 stuff is still too big, but we are wearing it anyways.  still in newborn size diapers.  we started transitioning to cloth after her stump fell off at 3 weeks and so far, so good.  it will be awhile before we go full time cloth, especially since we have about 100 newborn diapers left.  (i need to do a whole post on cloth diapering and my thoughts on it)

diet: exclusively breastmilk, and thankfully both her and I like it.  we have had very little issues.  I bought a pump after a week or two, but I hate it and I haven't really found my groove with it...I may just have to take off work until she weans :)

milestones: first bath, first time rolling front to back, first walk in the stroller

likes: the swing AKA the lifesaver!, propping up in the boppy pillow, getting hair washed and brushed, sleeping on daddy's chest, getting to "ride" in the sling/carrier, walks (or anything outside)

dislikes: diaper changes (or being naked in general)

mommy: my surgery recovery lasted for a week or so.  i felt pretty good about 5 days after birth, and felt really good 14 days after birth.  after 2 weeks i had lost 18 of my 27 pounds and i haven't weighed since.  breastfeeding is going well.  i have only left the house once or twice without her and i instantly want to go back home! i have shocked myself and others with my "mommy instincts" we must remember that I had never even changed a diaper until C was born.  so far, so good!

Friday, January 18, 2013

First baths

We've technically had 2 first baths...first was the sponge bath and then was the real tub bath.  I'll cover them both in this post.

We tackled the first sponge bath 2 or 3 days after we came home...yes, you heard that right.  Chuck let our baby go 3 days without a bath (and that is assuming that she got bathed in the nursery...which is questionable).  I guess we were both putting it off because A) we had no clue what the heck we were doing and B) we didn't know how it would go. and truth be told, the first bath was a bit of a scream fest until we got to the hair part...turns out she is a bit of princess when it comes to the shampoo...she LOVES getting her hair watched
Miserable...and our half ass attempt at keeping her warm while we bathed
shampooing bliss
After the cord stump finally fell off, we broke out the super duper deluxe baby bath that was gifted to us.  we were really looking forward to the tub bath, but again it didn't turn out just the way we hoped.  SHE HATED IT.  I'm proud to say that we have made improvements, although we are still not 100% loving bath time...hopefully we will get there.

hating the bath
but regardless of the bathing experiences...she looks so dang cute in her hooded towels that I am committed to keep trying...just so I can see her in the towels (oh, and because personal hygiene is desirable trait..)


Thursday, January 17, 2013

4 week photo dump

now that we are starting to fall back into a routine (HA!) I am going to try and start posting more regularly.  as for today, I'm just going to dump a bunch of pictures from the first 4 weeks.  Neither Chuck nor I have gotten pictures off our phones yet, and that is probably where the majority of the pictures are...but here are several from the camera!







oh, and we had newborn pictures taken by Jennifer Wilkerson (Wilkerson Photography) when she was a week old, without spoiling all the good ones before we do anything with them, here is a sneak peek...


i could eat her!!!!! i will most more this week...i promise