On August 22nd Grace got her third round of vaccinations. She was a trooper but I felt extra bad because she was already miserable with a cold.
On that day she was 13lbs 3oz and 25 3/4 inches long. Being 7th percentile weight and 50th height makes pants hard to fit. They are either too big in the waist or too short in the legs. Not a big deal in the summer, but winter is coming.
She is perfectly healthy in every way which is great. Doctor was even happy enough with the weight gain this month that we can stop going every month for weight checks which is also nice.
We were all excited about no more shots until a year, and then he said she'll need a flu shot which is given in two doses so she'll have to get one at eight months and one at nine.
He recommended we start solids now, which I delayed a week as we were traveling, but will start tomorrow. We'll begin with rice cereal, then oatmeal, then multigrain, then move on to orange vegetables. We'll start twice a day and then at her eight month check up see if it's time to up it to three times.
I think she's ready, she loves to chew on things and is always watching us eat quite intently these days. Also sitting in a high chair is not a problem now.
I'm sure Bailey is going to really enjoy this stage!
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Six Months/Where did my baby go??
Up until one week ago I still had a baby. Then she turned six months old. The changes this week have been incredible. I have a child now. Wee babe is gone. That made me cry. It's too fast! I'm not ready for this independent creature!
I put her in size two diapers today. She probably needed them a week ago. We had some major poo explosions this week on clothes. She's wearing 3-6 month and 6 month clothes still.
She still can't sit on the floor completely on her own but she can sit on laps and in chairs and she can push herself over and pull herself up again no problem.
I just stopped swaddling her for bed because she rolls over even swaddled now.
She started reaching for people this week. Today she even gave me a hug.
She can easily pull her soother out and put it back in, she's reaching for everything and can play with toys now. She can grasp with both hands and move items from hand to hand. She's also just started throwing things.
I put her in an exersaucer for the first time and she entertained herself for 45 minutes.
She's practically crawling. The movement is all there, the bum just isn't completely up in the air but she can motor around pretty well. Time to childproof I'm thinking! If we stand her up holding under her arms she'll take many steps. Her legs are strong. She likes to stand.
She's vocalizing more and more and I'm even starting to hear things that sound a bit like words. The laughing is easily received these days.
Even if she's crying, which she mostly only does if she's hungry or needs a change, if she sees someone looking at her she'll crack a huge smile. She is quite a charmer. She has the biggest, sweetest gummy smile. I'm dreading teeth for more reasons than one. It could be soon too. EVERYTHING goes in her mouth and she is chewing hard.
She loves dogs. She is fascinated by Bailey but also loves to look at any dog I found out this week.
And lastly, I'm about to start her on solids. Rice cereal first, twice a day.
I'm amazed by her every day...and it's a fun age now to play with her but I still miss my wee babe in arms! Every stage is great, I just wish it would slow down a bit!!
Thursday, July 3, 2014
One year ago today...
...we found out we were expecting a little one. We were both pretty shocked, and I was pretty confused on how I felt about the whole thing. Two days later the nausea started and thus ensued ten weeks of that and immense sleepiness and then several weeks of terrible headaches. None of that helped me feel better about the whole idea. But then I saw this:
and I started to feel better, and then the idea, as well as my belly, started to grow on me.
Now I have a beautiful, easy going, healthy sweet baby and I wouldn't change a thing! What a wonderful surprise my Grace turned out to be.
and I started to feel better, and then the idea, as well as my belly, started to grow on me.
Now I have a beautiful, easy going, healthy sweet baby and I wouldn't change a thing! What a wonderful surprise my Grace turned out to be.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Four Months Old
I see I haven't updated in a month...will try and change that!
Grace just had her four month birthday and Doctors appointment. She is still small weight wise, 6th percentile, 11lbs 10oz, but is 52nd percentile height at 24 5/8 inches. This girl is long which is making clothing interesting. We're into 3-6 month stuff now and even wearing some 6 month. I put some 3-6 months pants on her today, they were pretty big on her waist but shorter than her legs!
Doctor said she was A+ in all areas. Her eyes are straight, he was impressed with how well she was holding up her head, heart, hearing, all good. As soon as he opened her diaper she peed so he said "good urine output I see". So the weight is steady gain if not large gain, so he is not concerned. I think she looks healthy, we just have ourselves a svelte little girl. The second round of vaccines were traumatic once again, but this time I knew what to expect and was able to hold her hands and talk to her. As soon as she ate/cuddled for a few minutes she calmed down and despite being a little needier the next day she had no other ill effects.
Grace has been able to roll over back to front easily for almost a month now but is still having a bit of trouble front to back. She has done it several times, it just doesn't seem to come as naturally. She can stand up really well with us holding her and can keep her head and upper body up for long periods of time now. We had to buy her a bigger mat for rolling practice.
She has also been experimenting with her vocal chords. Getting some pretty good shrieks these days. Very talkative, especially in the last two weeks.
Today was Grace's first Canada Day. Since I am first generation born in Canada she is automatically a dual citizen. All I need to do is fill out some paperwork to get a certificate that says so. I was hoping to pose her on my giant Canada flag but it sadly is nowhere to be found so here are the shots I got of her onesies given to her by Canadian friends.
All in all she's a super happy girl, an absolute delight.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Almost three months old?!
I can't believe my little girl is almost a three month old (or that I have to go back to work next week). There have been an amazing amount of changes in the last three weeks that tell me that it's true though.
We officially had to retire all the newborn clothing last week. Her growth curve was off at the last appointment and I think we and the Doctor will have to get used to that for now. Grace has definitely gained weight since her last appointment and has a much chunkier appearance overall (after gaining quite a bit in week nine, Michael said to me "are her legs swollen??" to which I replied "no, she just got fatter like you wanted!" and she's getting much heavier (I've found my arms weights, today was day one of a new regimen, I think I'll need them!) but her real growth has been in her height.
I read somewhere (and can't find it since) that infants generally gain about 3/4 of an inch in the early months. Grace has been on more of a 2 inches a month curve. It would appear she's taking after the Creen side of the family in that. Therefore, sleepers that were too big two weeks ago are already almost too small, but the 3 month pants while long enough, are too big around her waist.
It was tough saying goodbye to some favourite outfits that were so cute on her. The one was so tough for Michael that I ended up getting the same one in 3 months and 6 months so he can enjoy it a bit longer. She's his little strawberry bum.
We've continued doing tummy time twice a day. She is so close to being able to roll over. It's actually starting to frustrate her that she can't. She has the basic mechanics down, I'm sure it's just a matter of time. She's trying really hard to move forward to, so I'm thinking we might have to childproof our house sooner rather than later!
On May 8th at precisely 1:39pm she laughed for the first time. Daddy got some good ones out of her later that day but she hasn't done it a whole lot since, not for lack of trying. She vocalizes a lot though and imitates the sounds we make which is super cute and encouraging for word production later on.
We've been reading books more lately which has been fun. She seems to enjoy it and calms down from fussiness.
So Grace will be three months old in two days. Looking forward to the next three! Many more changes to come. Sitting up and rolling over will probably be the next milestones!
We officially had to retire all the newborn clothing last week. Her growth curve was off at the last appointment and I think we and the Doctor will have to get used to that for now. Grace has definitely gained weight since her last appointment and has a much chunkier appearance overall (after gaining quite a bit in week nine, Michael said to me "are her legs swollen??" to which I replied "no, she just got fatter like you wanted!" and she's getting much heavier (I've found my arms weights, today was day one of a new regimen, I think I'll need them!) but her real growth has been in her height.
I read somewhere (and can't find it since) that infants generally gain about 3/4 of an inch in the early months. Grace has been on more of a 2 inches a month curve. It would appear she's taking after the Creen side of the family in that. Therefore, sleepers that were too big two weeks ago are already almost too small, but the 3 month pants while long enough, are too big around her waist.
It was tough saying goodbye to some favourite outfits that were so cute on her. The one was so tough for Michael that I ended up getting the same one in 3 months and 6 months so he can enjoy it a bit longer. She's his little strawberry bum.
We've continued doing tummy time twice a day. She is so close to being able to roll over. It's actually starting to frustrate her that she can't. She has the basic mechanics down, I'm sure it's just a matter of time. She's trying really hard to move forward to, so I'm thinking we might have to childproof our house sooner rather than later!
On May 8th at precisely 1:39pm she laughed for the first time. Daddy got some good ones out of her later that day but she hasn't done it a whole lot since, not for lack of trying. She vocalizes a lot though and imitates the sounds we make which is super cute and encouraging for word production later on.
We've been reading books more lately which has been fun. She seems to enjoy it and calms down from fussiness.
So Grace will be three months old in two days. Looking forward to the next three! Many more changes to come. Sitting up and rolling over will probably be the next milestones!
Sunday, May 11, 2014
10 weeks old
This week Grace was ten weeks old. After weighing a bit small at her eight week appointment, we are no longer concerned, she's been eating like crazy, so far as I can approximate from our scale she gained at least 10oz in less than a week. I'm pretty sure she's gotten longer too.
There have been a lot of milestones and new developments. Babies are amazing, one day she just starts doing new things. On Thursday she laughed for the first time. It was so cute. She hasn't done it since, not for lack of us trying, but I'm sure it will happen again soon.
Yesterday she went to her first cook out which was her first substantial amount of time outdoors. I don't think she quite knew what to make of it at first. I bought her some sunglasses but they are still a bit big.
We have been working on her tummy time. I was doing it just on my chest or in her pack and play, she wasn't super happy about it in her bed but now that we're doing it on the floor it's going a lot better. Yesterday she figured out how to prop herself up on her elbows and she kept her head up for about five minutes!
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Easter
Just realized I didn't post Grace's Easter pictures, her first major holiday! I had thought about taking her to an actual Easter bunny place but their pictures started at $19.99 and who knew how she'd be at that precise moment so I just took some pictures at home and they turned out great. Thanks to the Hazlewoods for the bunny outfit!
 | |||||||
| Palm Sunday with the palm branch cross given out at our Church. |
 |
| First Easter bunny, onesie and bib. |
 | ||
| The best of the bunch. Pretty pleased with this one. She looks so sweet. |
 |
| Her first dress. |
 |
| Normally not a big fan of head ornaments for babies but she has so much hair this looked pretty cute. |
8 weeks old
Our favourite new thing is the smiles. She is now smiling in response to things we do, and they are such wonderful, big, open mouthed delights that there isn't much we won't do to elicit them. She is just adorable. Along with that is a lot more noises, trying out her vocals and even started to imitate noises we make. Also super cute.
Yesterday was her two month old appointment. Her height is good, 22.5 inches, so she is in the 50th percentile there. She gained a pound and a half, she is 9lb6oz now which he said was not bad, but a bit low compared to her height growth (10th percentile). It could be because she is starting to move around more, but we requested an extra appointment in a month (usually she would go two months at this point) to get weighed to make sure she is gaining steadily.
To that end I've started pumping a bit. I need to start doing it more often so I build up a supply, as Mike will need some when I go back to week in less than four weeks now. *sigh*
Also the doctor said that if she still seems a bit hungry after nursing we could give her an extra ounce by bottle. Today Mike tried to use the bottle and she did a two ounce feed with no problems, so the bottle seems to be a success. I'm having a bit of a problem with my double electric pump, one side doesn't have much suction, so I'll probably have to call the company. It's no good if I'm getting better results with the manual pump.
And now the rough part. This appointment also contained her two month vaccinations. She had to get one orally and three needles. Daddy was very traumatized as he had to hold her arms still. These needles were so long! I thought they were going to come right out the other side of her leg they went in so far. We have never seen such a face or heard such a cry from her. It was pretty awful. All three of us teared up. At first we were disappointed the doctor didn't do the vaccines, but it all made sense when the nurse told us that once the children are old enough to remember getting shots they start crying as soon as they see her face. We don't want our little girl to hate her doctor! She bounced back fine though. I nursed her right after and then took her home. I gave her one dose of tylenol as she seemed a bit extra upset in the afternoon, but I haven't noticed any other adverse effects. Took all three bandaids off today and she didn't even seem to notice so hopefully that means her legs aren't hurting her.
She is sleeping at night like a trooper. From week two she was already sleeping for one five hour chunk, but this week we're getting seven to nine hours at once which is great. Generally she'll sleep for another two or three after a morning feed too which is great. On the other hand, she's not so great at sleeping during the day, but if I have to pick one I'll go with night! Trying to get her to nap now, she's kicking up a storm, vocalizing and her eyes are wide open. Even sleep sheep isn't helping, It's super cute, but I know she's tired and I'd like to get some pumping done!
So things are going well. She's adorable and we can't get enough. Looking forward to some warmer, sunnier weather so we can spend some time outside!
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Smiles
Grace has always had a cute little grin since birth, but often she would show it in her sleep, or just waking up, or even when she was gassy.
In the last week and a half it starting getting more pronounced, and then on Monday I was sure that it was finally a social smile, responding to people and things. I got three of them on Monday, Bailey got one and so did the plastic Koala rattle toy on her bouncer. The last few days have definitely been a treat for her Daddy and I! Yesterday she was pretty fussy so there were a lot of smiles but I've had several today. They are also starting to be open mouthed with happy sounds which is especially cute.
It's been hard to catch them on camera because, lets be honest, a square bow is not the most stimulating when it comes to grins, so the pictures I have so far are somewhat blurry as I'm rushing to catch the smile after it's started, and often when she's happy she is moving around too.
In the last week and a half it starting getting more pronounced, and then on Monday I was sure that it was finally a social smile, responding to people and things. I got three of them on Monday, Bailey got one and so did the plastic Koala rattle toy on her bouncer. The last few days have definitely been a treat for her Daddy and I! Yesterday she was pretty fussy so there were a lot of smiles but I've had several today. They are also starting to be open mouthed with happy sounds which is especially cute.
It's been hard to catch them on camera because, lets be honest, a square bow is not the most stimulating when it comes to grins, so the pictures I have so far are somewhat blurry as I'm rushing to catch the smile after it's started, and often when she's happy she is moving around too.
 |
| Monday April 14th |
 |
| Wednesday April 16th |
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Growth
Seeing Grace every day we don't completely realize how much she's grown. Looking back on pictures from when she was a week and a half old, it's clear she has grown a fair amount!
Friday, April 11, 2014
Mommy instincts (and baby's too).
This morning I was an overtired negative mess. Why you ask? Did Grace have a bad night? No. She had the best night ever.
She slept for 6 1/2 hours, was up feeding for 45 minutes and went back to sleep for another 3 1/2.
How much sleep did I get? 3 hours.
I'm done with this waking up business. I've been told since she was born that I need to wake her up and feed her every three to four hours. That wasn't a problem. Grace has always been a good eater. Some days she wanted to eat every hour and a half. Grace is also a good night timer sleeper and a bad waker upper. From week two she wanted to sleep for 4-5 hours in one stretch in the middle of the night. So I was trying to wake her up and she wouldn't until she was good and ready. And she was fine. I went to my pediatrician and he said she looked great and was gaining weight fine, so I told him my instinct was that since it was only once in a 24 hour period, I felt I should let her sleep, and he agreed that it was ok just once in 24 hours. But if I hadn't pushed it, no one would have said it, and I'd be a tired, irritated mess every day. Instead, we both started getting 4-5 hours sleep in one stretch at night and everyone was happy and decently rested. This is especially important since she doesn't like to nap a lot during the day.
She didn't nap at all for more than 20 minutes for 11 hours yesterday which means I didn't nap either. She was super hungry all day, probably going through a growth spurt as well as wanting comfort while she's getting over this cold that we've all had and I was happy to oblige since breast milk is the best medicine. Mike had a meeting after work so by the time I could have napped it was time to eat and I was too hungry to skip dinner, and I need to nourish myself to nourish her!
So after 5 hours of her sleeping last night (I had had three, I usually try to go to bed when she does but she fell asleep really early in the evening and I just couldn't) I spent an hour and a half unsuccessfully trying to wake her up. By the time she woke up on her own and fed, and then went back to sleep, I had been up for three hours and was frustrated to tears which got me so upset and stuffed up again that even though she fell back asleep I couldn't.
This morning she woke up after 3 1/2 hours and promptly fed. She had a huge pee so clearly she isn't dehydrated, she hasn't turned into a skeleton and she didn't spit up or have tummy issues from going too long without food. This happened once before a few weeks ago and both ended in tears. Mine.
So if once every three weeks she's extra tired and sleeps a bit longer than she's "supposed to", I think I'm going to let her.
Being sleep deprived because she was up and needing me is one thing, but being sleep deprived and knowing that you could have had the best sleep you'd had in two months is just bad on a physical AND emotional level. I may not have a lot of experience with babies but so far my instincts have served me pretty well and I need to go with that or it's not going to be pretty. Me crying over her at 3am and being completely exhausted and irritated when she wakes up at 8 isn't helping her, and it certainly isn't good for me. Grace is healthy. She's gaining weight fine. Therefore I think there is one good thing that came from that horrible night. I've figured out that my baby isn't an "average test baby", she's MY baby. I spend every day and night with her and I know her patterns and what's good for her and I need to follow my own instincts in her care. Obviously the pediatrician's advice is important, and there are many good guidelines to follow when it comes to an infant, but sometimes they can't be followed 100% to the letter, because not every baby is the same. I'm fortunate that I have a baby who sleeps well and for the good of us both, from now on I'm going to let us sleep! She knows when she's tired and she knows when she's hungry. I need to trust HER too!
She slept for 6 1/2 hours, was up feeding for 45 minutes and went back to sleep for another 3 1/2.
How much sleep did I get? 3 hours.
I'm done with this waking up business. I've been told since she was born that I need to wake her up and feed her every three to four hours. That wasn't a problem. Grace has always been a good eater. Some days she wanted to eat every hour and a half. Grace is also a good night timer sleeper and a bad waker upper. From week two she wanted to sleep for 4-5 hours in one stretch in the middle of the night. So I was trying to wake her up and she wouldn't until she was good and ready. And she was fine. I went to my pediatrician and he said she looked great and was gaining weight fine, so I told him my instinct was that since it was only once in a 24 hour period, I felt I should let her sleep, and he agreed that it was ok just once in 24 hours. But if I hadn't pushed it, no one would have said it, and I'd be a tired, irritated mess every day. Instead, we both started getting 4-5 hours sleep in one stretch at night and everyone was happy and decently rested. This is especially important since she doesn't like to nap a lot during the day.
She didn't nap at all for more than 20 minutes for 11 hours yesterday which means I didn't nap either. She was super hungry all day, probably going through a growth spurt as well as wanting comfort while she's getting over this cold that we've all had and I was happy to oblige since breast milk is the best medicine. Mike had a meeting after work so by the time I could have napped it was time to eat and I was too hungry to skip dinner, and I need to nourish myself to nourish her!
So after 5 hours of her sleeping last night (I had had three, I usually try to go to bed when she does but she fell asleep really early in the evening and I just couldn't) I spent an hour and a half unsuccessfully trying to wake her up. By the time she woke up on her own and fed, and then went back to sleep, I had been up for three hours and was frustrated to tears which got me so upset and stuffed up again that even though she fell back asleep I couldn't.
This morning she woke up after 3 1/2 hours and promptly fed. She had a huge pee so clearly she isn't dehydrated, she hasn't turned into a skeleton and she didn't spit up or have tummy issues from going too long without food. This happened once before a few weeks ago and both ended in tears. Mine.
So if once every three weeks she's extra tired and sleeps a bit longer than she's "supposed to", I think I'm going to let her.
Being sleep deprived because she was up and needing me is one thing, but being sleep deprived and knowing that you could have had the best sleep you'd had in two months is just bad on a physical AND emotional level. I may not have a lot of experience with babies but so far my instincts have served me pretty well and I need to go with that or it's not going to be pretty. Me crying over her at 3am and being completely exhausted and irritated when she wakes up at 8 isn't helping her, and it certainly isn't good for me. Grace is healthy. She's gaining weight fine. Therefore I think there is one good thing that came from that horrible night. I've figured out that my baby isn't an "average test baby", she's MY baby. I spend every day and night with her and I know her patterns and what's good for her and I need to follow my own instincts in her care. Obviously the pediatrician's advice is important, and there are many good guidelines to follow when it comes to an infant, but sometimes they can't be followed 100% to the letter, because not every baby is the same. I'm fortunate that I have a baby who sleeps well and for the good of us both, from now on I'm going to let us sleep! She knows when she's tired and she knows when she's hungry. I need to trust HER too!
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Sleep
For those of you who know me, you know I'm a terrible sleeper. I'm a light sleeper, I can't sleep through noise and light is a problem. I need a fan for white noise. When I moved to New England from Ontario it was awful being in a different part of the time zone it gets light here at 4am in the summers and I have a terrible time sleeping when it's not dark. Plus, Mike gets up at 4am for work and I can count on one hand the amount of times I haven't woken up when he's left for work and we've been married for almost eleven years. Once I wake up it's hard for me to fall back asleep, sometimes it doesn't happen at all, and it takes forever for me to fall asleep in the first place. Sometimes after Mike has fallen asleep in thirty seconds and I'm still awake thirty minutes later I'm pretty irritated! My Dad falls asleep anywhere, anytime as well, really wish I had inherited that trait!
Therefore I was pretty worried about what would happen once I had a baby to take care of and feed in the middle of the night. I was worried I'd be awake 24/7 and become a real live zombie who couldn't take good care of her.
I don't know if it's hormones, or the breastfeeding, but my body has adjusted. The first week I got very little sleep because she had had some choking episodes and I was worried about how she was able to roll over on her side from day one and figured her face would get stuck against the lining of her bed so I pretty much napped a bit during the day when someone else was around and got very little sleep alone at night. After a week of that, exhausted and crying I told Mike we had to figure something out so he called the hospital hotline and we finally got her into a good swaddle thanks to some amazing swaddling blankets made by my friend Arminta Carmichael.
I've been so fortunate that this girl is a great sleeper. At night. Daytime naps are intermittent, but if I had to pick day sleep or night sleep I'll go with night! She likes to sleep for one long chunk. Sometimes I have to wake HER up. I asked my pediatrician and he said she can go for a five hour stretch once every twenty four hours. So most nights I get four to five hours sleep in one stretch which is amazing.
As I said though, my body has amazed me by adjusting. I can fall asleep so much quicker since she was born (and I wake up much quicker too!) and I can sometimes even fall asleep in the daytime with full sunlight. One strange thing I notice with this new ability to sleep is the passage of time. Whenever I tried to nap pre-Grace I'd pretty much just be lying there and I'd know exactly how much time had passed. Now I nap and I feel like I've been asleep for ages while not as much time has passed. This morning for instance we fell asleep around 9:45. When I woke up I thought it must be at least noon, but it was only 10:45.
Whatever the cause of this increased ability to sleep I hope it lasts!
Therefore I was pretty worried about what would happen once I had a baby to take care of and feed in the middle of the night. I was worried I'd be awake 24/7 and become a real live zombie who couldn't take good care of her.
I don't know if it's hormones, or the breastfeeding, but my body has adjusted. The first week I got very little sleep because she had had some choking episodes and I was worried about how she was able to roll over on her side from day one and figured her face would get stuck against the lining of her bed so I pretty much napped a bit during the day when someone else was around and got very little sleep alone at night. After a week of that, exhausted and crying I told Mike we had to figure something out so he called the hospital hotline and we finally got her into a good swaddle thanks to some amazing swaddling blankets made by my friend Arminta Carmichael.
 |
| My little burrito |
As I said though, my body has amazed me by adjusting. I can fall asleep so much quicker since she was born (and I wake up much quicker too!) and I can sometimes even fall asleep in the daytime with full sunlight. One strange thing I notice with this new ability to sleep is the passage of time. Whenever I tried to nap pre-Grace I'd pretty much just be lying there and I'd know exactly how much time had passed. Now I nap and I feel like I've been asleep for ages while not as much time has passed. This morning for instance we fell asleep around 9:45. When I woke up I thought it must be at least noon, but it was only 10:45.
Whatever the cause of this increased ability to sleep I hope it lasts!
Six Weeks Old!
My little sweet pea has a bit of a cold right now, poor thing. The old family is getting over it.
She is starting to make a lot more noises and is continuing to amaze me with the strength of her neck. Between that and a lot more use of her hands and arms, I keep getting clunked in the nose. She also loves to hold on to my shirt while she's eating. It's pretty cute.
I know that this is around the time that she's supposed to start her "social smile", smiling on purpose. She's smiled since day one randomly, so I'm trying to figure out if she's smiling on purpose yet. I'm not totally sure. She is looking at things more.
I'm trying to read to her at least once a day and she seems to be calmed by it. She also loves having her hair washed. We've both been trying to do tummy time with her and it's amazing how much she can lift her head and use her hands to push up as well.
She loves to sleep all cuddled up on my chest. I love to cuddle with my girl. Especially when we've had a little less sleep the night before. ;)
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
First Cold and Week Five
I've had a cold for a week now but it just got worse. Mike got it too and now poor Grace has her first cold.
I've been trying to prop her up, been using saline drops, the bulb syringe and we just bought a humidifier. I also had her chair in the bathroom while I showered which seemed to help.
How badly do you feel about sharing germs with a newborn? Unfortunately it won't be the last I'm sure.
She's getting big now. Cheeks are much fuller. The newborn clothes are getting too short for her for the most part, but many of the 0-3 month clothes are still too big. Depends on the manufacturer. I find Carter fits small and Gerber fits large. She is also starting to focus more on people and things, including Bailey.
She looks like she's dancing here, in her big girl outfit.
I've been trying to prop her up, been using saline drops, the bulb syringe and we just bought a humidifier. I also had her chair in the bathroom while I showered which seemed to help.
How badly do you feel about sharing germs with a newborn? Unfortunately it won't be the last I'm sure.
She's getting big now. Cheeks are much fuller. The newborn clothes are getting too short for her for the most part, but many of the 0-3 month clothes are still too big. Depends on the manufacturer. I find Carter fits small and Gerber fits large. She is also starting to focus more on people and things, including Bailey.
She looks like she's dancing here, in her big girl outfit.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Four weeks old
Today was the first day Grace and I went out together on our own. We went to the Doctors for her one month check up and to the grocery store which she slept through.
Grace is now 8lbs, and 20 1/2 inches, so in the last 19 days she's gained 1lb 1oz and an inch and a half in length.
She's about 15th percentile weight wise and 30th height. The Doctor showed me her growth chart and she's on a very even growth line. He's very pleased.
He did three reflex exercises. The first was he held her up in a standing position to see if she would try to take some steps. She did, including one large one that he was impressed by. The second was what he called "the butt reflex", to see if she'd move her hips which she did. The third one he suspended her in the air on her tummy, but I can't recall what that was supposed to do, but she did it.
He checked eyes for movement, including shining a light with the lights out. Checked ears and mouth.
The shape of her head is completely fine, her heart and lungs are good, her colour is good, no jaundice, and she doesn't have too much infant acne.
He said based on flecks in her eyes they will likely stay blue, and he is most impressed by the amount of hair she has.
Checked her hip joints and squeezed her tummy to check for excessive gassiness, hernias or enlarged organs. No problems. No infections of any kind.
He was also impressed by her ability to lift her head up, but she's been able to do that since birth. Strong neck. (She is super strong in her arms and legs too, she often pushes herself up out of my lap, I need to keep a good grip on her).
Asked about her sleep, feeding and diaper schedules and mentioned he was impressed I looked as awake as I did.
Bottom line is there isn't a thing wrong with her, she's doing everything she should on schedule and is in perfect health. Told us not to change a thing.
She is a wonderful girl. She eats well, sleeps well, I do get a reasonable amount of sleep considering, she generally does have a 4-5 hour stretch of sleep at night which is great.
I've been able to shower every day, get dinner on, laundry done. The floor needs vacuuming desperately but can't do it all! Looking forward to getting that dishwasher replaced finally on Saturday as doing the dishes by hand is rather time consuming.
Loving my time with her. She's such a cutie!
Not looking forward to next month's appointment. Vaccination time. She will not be happy with Mommy!
Thursday, March 20, 2014
First bath at home
My folks came in as I was halfway through giving Grace her first sponge bath at home.
I was nervous to do it alone and put it off longer than I was supposed to but we both did fine.
I was nervous to do it alone and put it off longer than I was supposed to but we both did fine.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Birth Story
02/27/2014
The birth story is pretty crazy.
On Monday February 10th I was 1cm dilated and had 12 straight hours of cramps on Saturday night the 15th. By Monday the 17th I was 1 1/2 to 2cm and my OB figured I wouldn't be in for my next appointment as the baby's head was "astronomically low". I had cramps every night that week. I ended up finishing the week at work and on Monday February 24th I was back in his office. Still 2cm, head still super low. OB did a membrane strip and by Tuesday morning I lost my mucus plug and Bailey was acting very strange. It seems like sometimes animals can sense when something is up and he would not leave my side all morning, not even to go outside. It was very strange behaviour for him and I was sure than that was it, but Wednesday I woke up still pregnant. At 4pm I went to the grocery store and it took me forever as I was feeling very slow and huge. Watched the Bruins game, was disappointed they lost and by 10:30 was getting ready for bed when the nightly cramps started. Didn't think anything of it as it had been happening for a week and a half, got into bed. 11pm the contractions started. I got back out of bed and went and sat on the couch. They weren't too painful at first and started out 12 minutes apart so I didn't wake Mike up as I figured I was in for a long night and he had just worked three twelve hour days. However, by 11:40 it was getting closer to two minutes apart so by midnight I woke him up and said "this is it, lets go!". He got up and declared he needed a shower so I told him to hurry. By this time the contractions were getting more painful and I was having trouble getting dressed. Fortunately I had most of my stuff in bags already.
We got to the hospital around 12:40. I had to sign in and answer questions at a desk which was not easy at that point. They said they were really busy and that I would have to wait in a triage hallway.
Eventually I was seen in one room where they asked me some questions, then sent me back to the hallway. By this time I was about 40 seconds apart. I was sitting in the chair when I felt a leak, it was the bloody show. I managed to get to the bathroom and kind of freaked out as I did not think that was normal. Mike went to get a nurse who just said "that's fine" and gave me a johnny.
Back to the triage hallway. There were two girls there. Apparently we were both Sarah's. She was sitting there looking completely fine, I was kneeling on the floor with my head on the chair when they come out and call for Sarah. And they meant her! I'm the kind of girl who isn't screaming on a roller coaster, my eyes are closed and I'm just waiting for it to be over, so I'm wondering if I wasn't showing my distress enough? Maybe I should have let out a few good screams? (I wasn't so quiet when I started pushing though... ;)) At that point Mike went back to the desk and after a minute they finally called me back in to the exam room where the lady asked me what brought me there that night. "I managed to say "labour, baby, pain". She asked how far apart contractions were, Mike told her less than two minutes when we first got there and she just kept saying "so about 5 minutes apart?". Hooked me up to a machine, finally called in a Doctor and they thought the baby was high up because they couldn't find her head. I managed to say "two weeks ago. Doctor said astronomically low. Baby's head in pelvis. Look lower". Doctor finally did internal exam and realized I was 9cm. This was about 1:35am. All of a sudden people mobilize. She says to page my OB and I'm thinking "that hasn't happened yet??" and a bunch of people start wheeling me to the elevator. By the time we reach the labour hallway I'm pushing and they tell me not to. I say "I can't help it!". Saw the clock when we got into the room, it was 1:47. I think there was about 6 or 7 sets of 3 pushes. They told me to hold my breath and push, and were quite impressed by how long I could hold my breath. They also asked me to hold my legs up which I couldn't, so I had a nurse on one side and Mike was on the other. He could see everything. I remember at one point he said "what's that?" and they replied "her hair" and at that point I was really hoping that meant I was almost done.
My water didn't break until right before the last round of pushes. It was a huge gush, felt really weird. I think it was in the last three pushes that I tore a bit because that round hurt a lot more than the rest, and out she came and right onto my chest. I couldn't believe how much hair she had, and how normal she looked. She didn't really cry, but made a lot of funny little noises for several hours.
It was 2:04am when she was born. I'd only pushed for 17 minutes. Mike cut the cord.
About 10 minutes after she was born my OB arrived. He said he got there 19 minutes after he got the call and it was too late. He got to deliver the placenta (I couldn't believe I was expected to push again!) and stitch me up. Apparently I had a second degree tear. That wasn't frozen enough, the last few stitches really hurt. I was curious about the fact that the room didn't seem to be along the nurses hallway that we saw in the tour and it didn't occur to me until much later that the reason Mike had to be a stirrup was that we weren't really in the regular labour room and most certainly not a regular labour bed, I gave birth on the same "bed" (gurney?) they wheeled me up on because there simply wasn't time to switch out.
They weighed the baby, she was 6lbs 8oz and gave her a Vitamin K shot and some eye gel.
Mike talked to his brother who was up in a different time zone waiting for a plane from Hawaii where he had been working and we called my parents who came in around 3am, at which point we had been moved to a room.
We were impressed with the care after the baby was born but were a little upset by how long it took for them to realize how far along I was in triage. When my OB came in to see me later that morning I mentioned it to him. He said that if we had another they would have to put it in my chart that I give birth quickly and to get me in right away, that they aren't used to a first time Mom having such a quick labour. He also said once I was somewhat dilated he might bring me into the hospital and break my water for a controlled birth.
So that is the birth...the funny thing is, the whole labour was three hours, which was four hours less than we spent in our childbirth class, and it being so quick we didn't use anything that we learned in that class. The protein shakes I bought to keep up energy during home labour stayed in the fridge, the candies I bought to suck are unopened and all the energy I put into epidural yes or no was a non issue as we didn't have time anyways! Not that I'm complaining in the least. Mom's who go through long labours are superstars in my mind, I can't imagine dealing with contractions for longer than I did!
The birth story is pretty crazy.
On Monday February 10th I was 1cm dilated and had 12 straight hours of cramps on Saturday night the 15th. By Monday the 17th I was 1 1/2 to 2cm and my OB figured I wouldn't be in for my next appointment as the baby's head was "astronomically low". I had cramps every night that week. I ended up finishing the week at work and on Monday February 24th I was back in his office. Still 2cm, head still super low. OB did a membrane strip and by Tuesday morning I lost my mucus plug and Bailey was acting very strange. It seems like sometimes animals can sense when something is up and he would not leave my side all morning, not even to go outside. It was very strange behaviour for him and I was sure than that was it, but Wednesday I woke up still pregnant. At 4pm I went to the grocery store and it took me forever as I was feeling very slow and huge. Watched the Bruins game, was disappointed they lost and by 10:30 was getting ready for bed when the nightly cramps started. Didn't think anything of it as it had been happening for a week and a half, got into bed. 11pm the contractions started. I got back out of bed and went and sat on the couch. They weren't too painful at first and started out 12 minutes apart so I didn't wake Mike up as I figured I was in for a long night and he had just worked three twelve hour days. However, by 11:40 it was getting closer to two minutes apart so by midnight I woke him up and said "this is it, lets go!". He got up and declared he needed a shower so I told him to hurry. By this time the contractions were getting more painful and I was having trouble getting dressed. Fortunately I had most of my stuff in bags already.
We got to the hospital around 12:40. I had to sign in and answer questions at a desk which was not easy at that point. They said they were really busy and that I would have to wait in a triage hallway.
Eventually I was seen in one room where they asked me some questions, then sent me back to the hallway. By this time I was about 40 seconds apart. I was sitting in the chair when I felt a leak, it was the bloody show. I managed to get to the bathroom and kind of freaked out as I did not think that was normal. Mike went to get a nurse who just said "that's fine" and gave me a johnny.
Back to the triage hallway. There were two girls there. Apparently we were both Sarah's. She was sitting there looking completely fine, I was kneeling on the floor with my head on the chair when they come out and call for Sarah. And they meant her! I'm the kind of girl who isn't screaming on a roller coaster, my eyes are closed and I'm just waiting for it to be over, so I'm wondering if I wasn't showing my distress enough? Maybe I should have let out a few good screams? (I wasn't so quiet when I started pushing though... ;)) At that point Mike went back to the desk and after a minute they finally called me back in to the exam room where the lady asked me what brought me there that night. "I managed to say "labour, baby, pain". She asked how far apart contractions were, Mike told her less than two minutes when we first got there and she just kept saying "so about 5 minutes apart?". Hooked me up to a machine, finally called in a Doctor and they thought the baby was high up because they couldn't find her head. I managed to say "two weeks ago. Doctor said astronomically low. Baby's head in pelvis. Look lower". Doctor finally did internal exam and realized I was 9cm. This was about 1:35am. All of a sudden people mobilize. She says to page my OB and I'm thinking "that hasn't happened yet??" and a bunch of people start wheeling me to the elevator. By the time we reach the labour hallway I'm pushing and they tell me not to. I say "I can't help it!". Saw the clock when we got into the room, it was 1:47. I think there was about 6 or 7 sets of 3 pushes. They told me to hold my breath and push, and were quite impressed by how long I could hold my breath. They also asked me to hold my legs up which I couldn't, so I had a nurse on one side and Mike was on the other. He could see everything. I remember at one point he said "what's that?" and they replied "her hair" and at that point I was really hoping that meant I was almost done.
My water didn't break until right before the last round of pushes. It was a huge gush, felt really weird. I think it was in the last three pushes that I tore a bit because that round hurt a lot more than the rest, and out she came and right onto my chest. I couldn't believe how much hair she had, and how normal she looked. She didn't really cry, but made a lot of funny little noises for several hours.
It was 2:04am when she was born. I'd only pushed for 17 minutes. Mike cut the cord.
About 10 minutes after she was born my OB arrived. He said he got there 19 minutes after he got the call and it was too late. He got to deliver the placenta (I couldn't believe I was expected to push again!) and stitch me up. Apparently I had a second degree tear. That wasn't frozen enough, the last few stitches really hurt. I was curious about the fact that the room didn't seem to be along the nurses hallway that we saw in the tour and it didn't occur to me until much later that the reason Mike had to be a stirrup was that we weren't really in the regular labour room and most certainly not a regular labour bed, I gave birth on the same "bed" (gurney?) they wheeled me up on because there simply wasn't time to switch out.
They weighed the baby, she was 6lbs 8oz and gave her a Vitamin K shot and some eye gel.
Mike talked to his brother who was up in a different time zone waiting for a plane from Hawaii where he had been working and we called my parents who came in around 3am, at which point we had been moved to a room.
We were impressed with the care after the baby was born but were a little upset by how long it took for them to realize how far along I was in triage. When my OB came in to see me later that morning I mentioned it to him. He said that if we had another they would have to put it in my chart that I give birth quickly and to get me in right away, that they aren't used to a first time Mom having such a quick labour. He also said once I was somewhat dilated he might bring me into the hospital and break my water for a controlled birth.
So that is the birth...the funny thing is, the whole labour was three hours, which was four hours less than we spent in our childbirth class, and it being so quick we didn't use anything that we learned in that class. The protein shakes I bought to keep up energy during home labour stayed in the fridge, the candies I bought to suck are unopened and all the energy I put into epidural yes or no was a non issue as we didn't have time anyways! Not that I'm complaining in the least. Mom's who go through long labours are superstars in my mind, I can't imagine dealing with contractions for longer than I did!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)