Monday, July 30, 2007

Growth spurt

Poor Little Miss C. I know I have been writing about how active and happy Miss C is, despite her young age, but she isn't as active or happy today. We think she is feeling the effects of this latest growth spurt. Instead of playing most of the after noon, Miss C has been napping more than ever. I know, most babies her age do sleep this much, but every baby is different and this one likes to be awake and play. This is why I feel so bad for her. She wakes up ravenous, eats longer and harder than before and then goes to sleep. At school her teachers have commented on her reaction to their pulling away the bottle to burp her halfway through. Needless to say, its not a pretty sight. Apparently Miss C gets beet red and yells like a banshee! Otherwise she is just the happiest little girl in the place. Poor baby. I know she has gained some weight and gotten a little longer recently so I know why she is being like this, but as all Moms know, you want to do everything you can to protect your little ones. I only hope she gets back to her normal, happy self soon. Until then, I will hold her as close as she will allow and soothe her poor aching baby body. Baths and lotion are the call for the day and lots of cuddling. Can someone who has gone through this tell me if I am doing this correctly?

Friday, July 27, 2007

We survived

We made it. We managed to not only make it through our first week of school but also enjoyed it. I feel a bit guilty that I like going to work, but I get to talk to adults other than DH. I get to do more than laundry, dishes and change diapers. To be honest, my 6 weeks home have given me an increased appreciation for what stay at home moms do.
I would love to be able to spend all of my time with Miss C but I can't, my career will not allow it. I don't mean that if I did I wouldn't succeed, I mean I literally am not permitted due to my obligations to the military. Because of this, I have been forced to send Miss C to school/day care earlier than I would like and get back in the swing of things. Having worked this week, I don't know how I could handle staying at home.
Its kind of confusing. I love Miss C. I am so overwhelmed by her. Everyday she changes and grows. I am astounded by how much more aware and able she is each time we play together. As you can see by the picture, Miss C has experienced a very tough week of playing, learning and growing (pretty sure she is in the midst of a growth spurt!) and is exhausted!
Next week will be yet another learning experience for all of us. DH has a trip coming up and will have to miss a couple of weeks with Miss C. I promised to take loads of pictures and videos but I have to admit, I would hate to lose that much time, especially this early. I will also be spending this time with Miss C by myself until Alphagal and company arrive to visit.
This time with Miss C has given me a greater appreciation for everything service members with children endure during deployments. The first time I spent more than 2 hours apart from her (that would be earlier this week, Tuesday, when I took her to day care for the first time), I swore my heart was going to break in two. I wanted to turn around and "rescue" my poor baby. Through out the course of this week, i have seen that the folks at school really do enjoy their jobs, they take great care of the kids including Miss C and its a very safe place for her to spend some time during the day. I was concerned that she would be relegated to a crib but I chose wisely and she gets boppy time, tummy time, lots of conversation and stimulation and cuddling by as many of the staff as can get a chance to visit. I am relieved.
I have deployed for the last 14 years and spent many years apart from DH. While being away from him and other family and friends has been tough, I can't imagine not being here to kiss Miss C good night or not to hold her and soothe her when she gets scared. This is definitely a new experience! (Oh yea, Miss C is 7 weeks old tomorrow, for those keeping track! Has it been that long? OMG, she has changed so much already!)

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

First day back at work



So, today was my first day back at work after having the baby. I felt like I was starting a new job, ya know? Luckily, I still know everyone there and only a couple were confused about where I have been.
Miss C is such a happy baby! She is all smiles, even in the morning when I am trying not to be sad about taking her to day care, or rather, school. The folks there think she is just the most adorable girl (yea, that's what they tell me, but they probably tell all parents that!) and she seems to not hate it. I don't really have much of a choice in either case. DH picked her up early (about 1230, it seems he does get out of work a tad bit earlier than I do on occasion!) and I snuck home a few hours later. Yep, I actually even called the place to make sure she was doing fine (her teacher encourage it. Said all the new moms do it).
Carried around a small photo album at the office, since most of the folks haven't met Miss C yet. I can't believe some of the conversations. Now that I am in the "club" some of the folks talk to me about things like labor and delivery, child care, colic, all sorts of topics that I had no idea about before. Its very interesting.
I have to do this all again tomorrow? Ugh. The most difficult part, I think, is going to be the lack of sleep. Its one thing to function at home with minimal sleep but another all together at the office. I tried to catch a quick nap when I got home from work but Miss C needed her mommy (I melted when she "ga"'d at me and held her arms out grunting to be held and, of course, fed by mommy). After she had a little snack, I laid her down for a nap and laid down near her and caught maybe 10 minutes. Better than nothing, I suppose.
Well, on the plus side, Miss C is getting socialized and again, she goes to a really good, trustworthy school. I am glad that I only have to do this for a week right now and then I can stay at home again for a couple more weeks. DH is right though, I will have to make sure to take Miss C to school daily, if even only for a couple of hours, to keep her used to it. I might just try to to catch up on a little sleep then. (That's probably why he suggested it, but DH is so sweet, he likes to let me pretend to come up with these ideas on my own, as sleep deprived as I am).
Ok, I have to finish and post this. Miss C is in her bouncy chair next to me, babbling and smiling and that calls for some serious attention! Hope you enjoy the pictures. I put some more in the flickr (yea, some are of the same scene and yes, I did photograph Miss C's hands and feet!) so be sure to check that out when you get a chance!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Update


Well, its that time again. Another update.

Its been 5 weeks since we brought Miss C home and let me tell you, we have been going nonstop. Whoever said your baby will teach you what you need to know wasn't kidding. For example, we thought you had to automatically burp a baby after they eat or else. Well, Miss C will let us know when she needs to be burped. I'm serious. We were spending a lot of time patting her back after a meal to no avail. Now if she falls asleep immediately following a meal, we let her sleep and when she wakes up and hollers that she needs to be burped, we burp her. Kind of scary how simple that is. Its not always easy to get that elusive burp out but at least we're not patting her back for hours needlessly.

We've changed up our tummy time syllabus. Since Miss C has already shown that she can roll over from front to back, we let her do that first then we work on other stuff like letting her try to crawl (too cute!), practicing raspberries, smiling (I love this one!), just chatting, whatever. Its really neat to see how much she changes on a daily basis. So much so that I have started pulling out clothes that are now "muscle onesies" on her. She is wearing socks all the time now since her feet tend to get chilly, but I am not sure how much she likes them. For now, I think she tolerates them.

I have one more week then I am back at work. Luckily, as I have mentioned, I will be back on leave after a week, but its going to be tough either way. I keep thinking how lucky Poobou is that she is working from home. By the time its an option for me, Miss C will be in Elementary School. Ah well, we do what we can, right?

Well, that's about it for now. I attached a picture of myself and Miss C. Unfortunately, it seems like DH cut off the top of my head. Oh well! Miss C is modeling a new sleeper she received from her Uncle W and Aunt L. We think its very cute! Hope ya'll have a great day!

Friday, July 13, 2007

Miss C flips over video

I finally caught her on tape. Miss C is still a little scared about the flipping but she is so cute! Hope you all enjoy this!


Monday, July 9, 2007

Little Miss C is One Month Old today!


***Edited to add*** Miss C rolled herself over from her tummy to her back! This was no kidding, on purpose, all by herself. We were playing some tummy time this evening and she just decided she would put one arm under her and push off. She still gets a little scared before she rolls completely, but she does it! Yea! Of course I completely missed it with the video camera, but I will try to get it tomorrow when she is not as tired. Apparently rolling oneself over for the first time on purpose is exhausting work! Yea Miss C! ***

Well, its been a month since Little Miss C officially joined our family. Its been an amazing month! Let's review some of Miss C's accomplishments:

1. She has grown to approximately 10lbs and 21 1/2 inches from her original 7 lb 4 oz and 20 1/2 inches. We've gone from newborn (5-8lb) clothes to 0-3 month clothes and from newborn diapers to pampers #1 swaddlers. She is quite petite so she fits in smaller clothes and diapers than you would think for her weight.

2. She can hold her head up at 90 degrees when on her tummy. This is so cute. You remember this from an earlier picture posted.

3. She consistently holds her head up when being held either on our chests or in a seated position. Its crazy. Pick her up and hold her against your shoulder and she lifts her head up and looks behind you. Its amazing!

4. She tries to crawl during each tummy time session, succeeding when someone puts their hand behind her feet. You saw this if you were able to watch the video.

5. She sleeps in four hour blocks at night (yea us!). This doesn't extend to day time, but I think that is so she can make up for missed meals. She does nap 2-3 hours at a time during the day until mid-to-late afternoon when she is most awake and playing.

6. She coos and grunts to communicate. For example, if Miss C decides she doesn't want her pacifier, she spits it out. When you try to put it back in, she grunts at you, very cute. Which leads us to our next accomplishment.

7. She takes a pacifier when she needs comfort and holds it in her mouth herself. In fact, Miss C has been known to put her entire fist in front of her mouth to keep the pacifier there!

8. She successfully completed her first lunch out of the house. We went out to lunch with us when DH's family was in town. The Cheesecake Factory was great and Miss C only squawked a couple of times over the course of the 2 hours we were there. Its a good sign, especially since we have another lunch planned for Thursday when my brother and his wife are in town.

As I type this, Miss C is taking a nice little nap. She was up for a while this morning with a burp that took a long time to come up but once it did, she fell fast asleep. I have another two weeks before I go back to work. I know its going to be tough, but its a necessary evil. On the plus side, I have a ton of leave and have been approved to take two weeks off starting in August.

Well, have to get back to house stuff and Miss C. Hope ya'll have a great day!

PS I added a ruffle bottom photo just for poobou! Hope everyone enjoys!

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Happy anniversary DH

Happy anniversary DH. It's been 10 years since we said our "I dos" and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank my lucky stars that I met you.You are an incredible man, a wonderful husband and a terrific father.
Even though we have spent way too much time apart over this past decade,the time we have spent together more than makes up for it. Every year is just more incredible than the last.This year is truly the most incredible so far.
Tomorrow our little girl,I can't believe how truly blessed we are, will be a month old. I know that we have tried to find great gifts for each other or for the house over the years, but this year we have received the greatest gift of all.
I love you more every day, my darling husband. Thank you for making me the luckiest and happiest woman in the world.
Your ever adoring wife

Thursday, July 5, 2007

A cute photo to share

Just wanted to share a new photo. Have a great day!








Monday, July 2, 2007

First family visit

DH's parents and sister are in town so Miss C is having her first real family visit. She is the first grandchild for DH's side so of course, everyone is fawning all over her. How could you not? I am her Mom and I do it so! ;-) No, really, its been great as always. DH's sister isn't too comfortable around Miss C yet but we are working on her. As you can see by the photo below, Miss C seems to think Auntie J is doing just fine!

DH's parents seem to be enjoying the visit as evidenced in the photo below.


This is Miss C's fourth week and it seems like the time has passed so quickly. I say that now, during the day. At night, it seems to take forever! :-) Miss C does give me 4 hour blocks on occasion, so i really have no room to complain. She is, after all, only 3 weeks old so...

Well, have to get back to our visit. I will try to post again once the family departs. Don't want to miss any time with them!

Oh! Before I forget, I uploaded some new photos to the flickr account, so check that out when you get a chance. I will try to take some more videos with the folks here and post them later. Be sure to take care and have a wonderful 4th of July!