Monday, March 30, 2009

Crib time

Aubrey has not slept in her pack-n-play in over a week. She and I had been sleeping in the guest bed because she would keep waking up in the pnp 30 minutes after I put her to bed. We were waiting to get her movement sensor put in the crib before we ever let her sleep overnight in it. Todd and his dad finally cut the board to put under her mattress and we got the monitor hooked up and in place for her to try out last night. After her last feeding I rocked her to sleep as usual and then gently placed her in the crib. I waited for a few minutes to make sure she would stay asleep and with a few tears in my eyes, walked out. Todd and I both watched the monitor for another few minutes before going to bed. It was very sad to move her out and I missed seeing her when I woke up, but I didn't want her to be in the habit of sleeping with one of us. She did really well on her own and I woke up really easily with the monitor. I was actually happy to go get her when it was time to feed her. Hopefully she will sleep better now and Todd and I can get some sleep as well.

First road trip

Todd and I decided before Aubrey was born we would make a trip to Raleigh for his dad's side of the family to meet her. So this weekend was the big trip. Of course, it looked like we were moving out and back with all the stuff, but that's just what happens with a baby. She did great on the car ride up there. She slept the entire way, which was very nice. But, we paid for it that night. She was so fussy after we got there, which did not make for nice visiting with the family. I felt sort of bad for his family for having to listen to her fuss, but I warned them it might happen since she had her shots on Thursday. Saturday morning we went to meet Todd's godmother at IHOP and again Aubrey was very good. But, it went downhill from there on out. One of Todd's best friends brought his new girlfriend down with him along with a lot of Todd's family members. Aubrey got passed from person to person for hours and she did not like it one bit. About 8 pm, she just started screaming and would not let up, so I ended up taking her back to his cousins to chill. As soon as we got it quiet and I turned on my sound machine, she was out. She was just too overstimulated and worn out from all that attention. It didn't help that she was gassy either. She slept pretty well both nights so that made things much easier. The trip back was pretty uneventful, so all in all it wasn't a bad trip. We hope she will be a little happier when we go back for Christmas so everyone can see more of her beautiful smile.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

2 months old!

I can't believe its only been 2 months since our lives changed so much. I was looking at her this morning thinking about where she was 2 months ago and how thankful I am that she got here safely. Some mommies never get to hold their little ones or get to enjoy 2 months with them and so I am grateful for every moment we've had together.


She had her 2 month check-up today. She is now 21.5 inches and 8 lbs 6 oz. I feel better now that she is finally starting to gain some weight. That's 1 lb 1 oz in 22 days and I'll take it. She's only in the 5th percentile in weight and height, but the doctor thinks that's just where she is going to fall. The doctor was amazed at her head control while watching her do tummy time. She also watched her sucking the mess out of her thumb and noticed her drooling and said she could be in the very early stages of teething. Not looking forward to that at all. She also released her for day care, which she starts in just over 3 weeks. Then came the shots. It's like she knew they were coming because she started crying before the nurse came in the room. And I made the mistake of having my head down near her mouth trying to soothe her when the nurse stuck her. Let's just say that ear is still ringing just slightly. I just felt so bad for her because she had to get 3 shots and an oral vaccine. But, she got some stylish Tweety and daisy bandaids to make it all better. Now, I just hope she doesn't show the next day fussiness babies have the day after shots because we are going to visit Todd's family in Raleigh tomorrow and that could make for a LONG car ride if she's fussy. But for tonight, she is enjoying being cuddled on the couch with Daddy and the puppies.

The cute band-aids


Sucking on her thumb while cuddling w/Daddy made it all right again

Here are some milestones from the past month:

03.18.09 First time sleeping through the night (7 hrs, it was heavenly!)
5.5 weeks-First social smiles started
She discovered her thumb and it starting to prefer it to the paci
Moved from 3 oz to 4 oz of milk per bottle
Finally passed the 8 lb mark
Attended her first birthday party
Survived her first "bath" from Allie

In other good news, I *think* we have finally beaten the thrush. It's been 10 days and I've had no shooting pains and much less nipple sensitivity. I am sooooo excited. My supply is finally starting to look better and I am able to start freezing milk again. I am still following my routine of the vinegar/water swap after every feeding and nipple ointment at night but I may let that rest this weekend while we are gone. Hopefully, we are done for good and I can finally start to enjoy nursing. Next on my to do list is wean her from the nipple shield so hopefully she can speed up her nursing sessions. I can't handle the hour long sessions at 3 am when I have to get up and work. So, we'll start that Monday and hope it goes quickly.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Prayers requested

I am a member of a pregnancy and parenting message board and another member got some really sad news last week. She is pregnant and found out her little one will probably not make it. I don't know this person in real life, but I still cried for her. That is every parents worst fear and I can't imagine the pain she is going through. So, for my fellow Pirate, I am sending a special prayer and ask that you do the same.

Aubrey's first pro pics

Since we didn't take pics of Aubrey in the hospital since she was in the NICU, I got some made a few weeks ago. I think they turned out so good. But, maybe I just love the subject!

Happy Birthday Dameon!

We celebrated my nephew Dameon's 1st birthday Saturday. I can't believe he's already 1. He had a great party, got lots of gifts, and smashed lots cake in his face. Good times!
Me holding Dameon when he was 3 days old.Me holding him at 1 year. Wow, what a difference!


Thursday, March 12, 2009

Random Things

I finally finished and sent out Aubrey's birth announcement. I was pretty late in getting the pictures done since we didn't get any while she was in the hospital. I think they turned out pretty cute.
In the past few weeks, Aubrey has started to smile at us. Not just the reflex smiles we got at first. But, real, melt your heart social smiles. Its too cute. Especially @ 2 am when I am soo tired.


Now for the bad news. I thought we had beaten the thrush because I had no more symptoms and my supply was getting better. I thought wrong. I started getting the sharp pains again last night. Dr. Gorsuch recommended this stuff called gentian violet, which is an anti-fungal ointment to put on my nipples. The bad part is it will stain everything it touches purple, including skin. Yeah, its my favorite color, but that doesn't mean everything needs to be purple. I'll start that tonight and hope it knocks it out. Plus, I'll have to go back to steaming all the bottle and pump parts every night. Yuck. I've spent a lot of time and money getting rid of this crap and I'm so tired of it. And I'm pretty sure it all relates back to being on antibiotics during delivery.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Aubrey's 1 month check-up

I took Aubrey to doctor for her 1 month check-up yesterday. I've been waiting on this so she can be weighed because I hate not knowing if she's getting enough to eat. So, I stripped her down and laid her on the scale and it only said 7 lbs, 5 oz. That's only 3 ounces over birth weight. At 1 month. I was not happy. I know she eats, I just don't think she's getting enough every day. So, they measured her and she's grown an inch to 20.5, which is in the 30th percentile. Her weight is in the 25th. Her head was 36 cm, which is in the 50th. I knew she has a big head. Holding it while nursing her gets hard because it's heavy! So, the doctor seemed to think her weight is fine. I just don't get it. She's grown an inch but only gained basically 8 ounces in over a month. Her lowest weight was 6 lbs, 13 ounces in the hospital the day we were discharged. But, the doctor told me like 3 times her weight is fine and I trust her opinion, but it just worries me. The doctor said everything looks great on her. She encouraged us to work on tummy time, but said Aubrey already has pretty good head control for her age. She gave us the instructions for her next visit when she gets her next round of shots. I think that might be harder for me than for her. So, I guess the appointment was a success, I just wish I knew that she was gaining more weight. It would make me feel better as worried as I have been about my supply with the thrush. Hopefully, we'll see more on the 26th.