I Just Have to Add

That Adele has become so much more like a little person lately! Daddy and I can't believe how much she has "grown up." Today she actually looked at the pages of a book while I read the story! It helps that I tell her the story all the time (Chicka Chicka Boom Boom) and that the pictures are very infant-friendly, but she looked at the pages and even smiled while I read it to her!

We went to Target this afternoon, and she was pretty smiley the whole way there (yeah, in her carseat), and did well in the store too! I bought her a rattle with a smaller handle because the rattles we had were too big for her to hold. She held the new rattle the whole way home and looked excited when she could make it make noise.

Let's see...what else? Oh, she behaved beautifully for Memaw and "Bampa" (???) tonight on iChat. We had a little video conference going on our computers...how fun! We'll have to set up a video chat with Grandma and Grandpa G. as well!

It took 2 tries to get her down tonight, but that has become the standard. There's a thunderstorm going on, and we're hoping that the thunder didn't have anything to do with her waking up the first time (it actually took her several minutes before waking up as opposed to immediately when I put her down.) She's still asleep now, and has been since I started typing, so hopefully its for good this time!

Well, I really should go do Yoga or something before bed!

Another Busy Weekend

Greg, Tim, Laura and James came down to visit this weekend. We had a good time. We woke up to an awesome breakfast that Daddy prepared...who knew he was such a chef? He also made lunch (hotdogs and brats) and dinner (beefy cheesy nachos). The weather was nice so Tim, Laura and I took James and Cookie to the park while Daddy and Greg watched Adele. We would have needed 2 cars to get both babies to the park (and all five adults) and Adele probably would have just screamed, knowing how much she loves both car rides and stroller rides!

She has had the same bedtime/midnight feeding/wake up times for 4 days in a row!!! Daddy and I are thinking that we'll be able to start moving her bedtime closer to 8 now since she is getting a little routine down! She has also been going back to sleep in her own bed after her midnight feeding (well, except for last night, but that was my fault because I fell asleep).

Well, Daddy and I are watching a movie and it will be time to feed her soon.

It's Spring Break Time!

Adele is rested and ready for a week of Daddy Time! She slept VERY well last night and has been in a great mood so far today. I'm working on a homemade mobile for her changing table in the nursery. She has been pretty content to sit and watch me! No nap yet, but no fuss either!

Playdate!

Today we had our first playdate at our house. Katie C. and Alex came over. Alex is just 2 days older than Ellie. Jill came too. Poor Jill had to listen to Katie and I trade war stories about motherhood! Adele did well, especially considering that she woke up for good at about 3 AM...yikes!!! We survived it...I have to remember how lucky we've been so far that Adele sleeps at night!!!

She took a few cat naps today, about half an hour each, but she didn't fight falling asleep too much (which was nice, because we had visitors!!!)

She's playing happily with Daddy right now, but just had a huge poop! I'd better go assist the diaper changing!

No pictures yesterday or today...oh no! I hope I haven't missed anything! I'll have to dig out the camera tonight and get some good shots of Ellie and Daddy...he'll be playing Rock Band, his Boston songs are out today!

9 Weeks!

Wow! She's already 9 weeks old! Where has the time gone???

Despite two rough nights, I'm in good spirits today. I desperately miss my own bed...the recliner in Ellie's room is getting a bit old, but hey, whatever helps her sleep, right?

We've already had a busy day. We had stopped swaddling Adele at night and she was doing well, but she's a bit out of synch after our trip this weekend, and has not been sleeping her usual 6 or 7 hour stretches...and once she's awake, she won't go back in her own crib. Her sleepsack is getting too short (surprise, surprise!) and I'm not crazy about the swaddle part of the sleepsack anyhow. So, I decided to take Adele to Babies R Us to buy a different sleepsack/swaddle. I got a flannel one that is much thinner (and hopefully cooler) than her old one. It's also a bit more escape-proof...I hope! We'll try it out tonight!


Despite her smiles when I put her into the carseat, she went back to her old ways and screamed the whole way to the store and back, but that wore her out enough to help her take a nice nap (with her paci, nonetheless!)...she's been out for over an hour! So long, in fact that I got to eat lunch, do some laundary, paperwork AND...bake a loaf of banana bread!!! Woo hoo! I wish I had an excuse so I could skip the dusting...(it's the one thing that drives me crazy lately!)


Cookie is up to her usual tricks...she's currently trying to give her "stick" to Adele. If she looks sad in the picture it's because I keep yelling (in a whisper, of course) at her to move away from the baby...I want Ellie to sleep!!!

Whirlwind Weekend!

Wow! What a weekend!

Doctor's appointment, shots, road trip, Surprised LOTS of relatives...AND...Baby's First Easter! How much could we cram into three days???

Adele was good on Friday, and her 2-month appointment went off without a hitch! Even the shots went better than I had expected (or hoped, even!) At 11 lbs, 9 oz and 23 3/4 inches, Ellie is now in the 90th percentile for height (that explains her shrinking clothes!) and still the 75th for weight...she's a big girl! She cried when she got her shots, but calmed down when I snuggled her afterward.

Right after her appointment, we packed up and headed up north to surprise Grandma and Grandpa for Easter! Grandpa had emailed me their Easter plans a while ago, and I instantly emailed Daddy saying, "Do you want to surprise Grandma and Grandpa for Easter?" Of course, he said yes...He loves surprises! Unfortunately, Grandpa knew this about Daddy and was almost expecting us...But Grandma was surprised! And of course, Grandpa was thrilled too!

After the first half hour or so, Ellie did well on the drive there, and she slept the entire way home! Her shots had her a bit worn out, which actually worked well! She slept well at Uncle Tim and Aunt Laura's house and even took naps on Saturday and Sunday!! She is still a mama's girl and prefers to be held by me, but Grandma and Grandpa both got some good snuggles in!

She got to meet her Uncle Greg, Cousin James, Great Aunt Susie, and her Great-Grandma!

If Adele Could Talk...

She'd tell me how much she hates car rides! (I'd love if she could tell me WHY too...)

She used to love car rides. She'd fall asleep in the car. Now if she happens to be sleeping (yeah right) when you put her into the car, she wakes up and screams the whole time!

We went to Olive Garden today with a friend and her 5-month old. She was happy as a lark when I put her into her carseat. That lasted until we started moving. Then she screamed the whole way there. I've decided that she's not really a 'going to restaurants' kind of girl. Fortunately, the Olive Garden we went to had its own "kiddie section" (meaning that all of the people with infants were seated in the same area) so while Adele won the screaming contest, it wasn't by much.

Before our Olive Garden experience, Aunt Jenny was here. We took the girls out for a stroll (Jaxon stayed here). Ellie did okay for the first half of the walk, then she fussed. I was able to Shush her some, but overall she was pretty miserable. I do wish she'd be better about letting other people hold her! Poor Jenny drove here from Rochester, NY to meet her niece and barely got to hold her (not that Aunt Jenny's idea of fun is holding babies anyway...but still!!!)

Hates car rides, hates her stroller, hates the bath....Doesn't she know she's a baby????

On a good....make that GREAT note, she has started to take naps again. Little cat naps, 10-30 minutes, but hey, at least she's sleeping, and she hasn't spent 30 minutes crying before falling asleep either!!! I just keep watching for her "tired" signs and try to get her to sleep right away, regardless of how happy she seems...or how long she's been awake. I think it's working for us...for today at least!

Playin' a Little Dress Up?

To quote Stewie, yes, today we are playing a little dress-up!



I just had to give in and buy an Easter dress for Ellie Belly...after all, half the time I call her Jelly Bean. Surprisingly, she was relatively calm while I dressed her up! I would have liked some more smiles for the pictures, but hey, my ears aren't ringing from her screaming, so that's a good sign!
















Aunt Jenny came over and met Adele this morning. Ellie was pretty fussy for her...we'll try again tonight!

Aye Aye Aye!

The highlight of our day came tonight after dinner. Adele was talking up a storm with daddy. He kept repeating, "aye aye aye" and she mimiced him...not once, but twice!!! We both heard her!

She had a second day in a row with no naps unless I was holding her (and those only lasted a few minutes at most...), but she was much happier today. I was able to put her down when she was awake and happy, but she didn't want me out of her sight. We played a lot of "spin the doggies" to save my aching back! I'm hoping this is a growth spurt!

Rough Day

Not much to say today...it's been a rough one!

Fortunately, she calmed down shortly after Daddy got home and we've had a pretty calm evening, but I am spending my time playing with her instead of blogging (I usually blog when she sleeps). She's talking up a storm with daddy right now!

The picture is from this weekend...no time to blog then either. She's decided that she'd rather sleep 10 or 11 hours at night and not nap during the day...aye aye aye! I'm very happy about the long night time sleeping, but being awake so long during the day takes its toll on her little system!

Princess Paci!

I don't have much to say right now, but I'm very excited about this recent picture. I know I have tons of pictures of my little princess sleeping, but if you look closely you'll see something different. It's big and green and in her mouth....that's right! She fell asleep with the Paci!!!! Woo-hoo! The washer and dryer will probably be upset for a while, but they'll get over it!

She took it for a while last night and fell asleep, and again today! She's been in a sucking phase or something. All she does all day long is suck. She sucks me, her tongue, her hand (video of this is most likely on its way.), and now, finally her paci!!! I knew if I kept trying eventually she'd take it! Aunt Katie and I are making chicken with wild rice soup and it's nice not to have to hold her while she sleeps right now!

Well, I'm going to enjoy my lunch while she sleeps. More later

Poor Daddy!

Well, I knew it wouldn't last forever! Our streak of great nighttime sleeping ended last night. Adele's 4 AM feeding turned into a marathon fuss session...an hour before Daddy had to wake up for work :( She finally settled back down just as his alarm was going off. Poor guy. He had to go to work...we slept on and off for another 2 or 3 hours.

I guess I should have known better.

Yesterday morning I threw one of her sleepsacks in the laundary...I guess I thought it was dirty. Maybe she spit up on it. I can't remember. I also put most of her blankets in there, but I didn't wash them because I was waiting for a bigger load. At bedtime I put her in her second sleepsack and we started our bedtime routine. She had just nodded off when I realized she needed a diaper change. I decided to wait it out and not change her. Then Cookie started barking. She woke up, so I changed her. She peed all over her sleepsack...so both sleepsacks were dirty. And the one blanket that works as a swaddle too.

I put her in her green sleepsack that doesn't have a swaddle and hoped for the best. It took a while (and finally running that load of dirty laundary) to get her to sleep, but she was asleep in her crib around 10:30. I heard her grunting in her crib at 4. She had worked her way all the way to the bottom of her cosleeper and was looking around with a confused look on her precious face.

It seemed like a normal night time feeding, but an hour later she was fussing and didn't look at all like she planned on going back to sleep. I brought her downstairs so she wouldn't wake up Daddy or Aunt Katie, but Daddy heard us and came down too. Daddy put the swaddles in the dryer, but even that soothing sound did nothing to cam Ellie down. Without her swaddle, I didn't know what to do! I remembered her pink blanket swaddle, (which I hadn't used earlier because it's a little too big and I didn't want to find it over her face!!!) Of course, when I went to get the pink blanket swaddle, I realized that it, too, was in the wash. ARGH!

Around 6 I got her back to sleep, but I didn't want to risk putting her in her crib. I held her in the rocking chair until 9 when the phone rang. We slept on and off. I was too cold, but I made her too hot, so we were constantly adjusting how we sat. At least I got to rest! Poor Daddy!

On a good note, she didn't hate her bath last night! Aunt Katie helped (Daddy was very thankful for this!) and we made it like a shower, and constantly sprayed her gently with warm water. She fussed some, but mostly because she was cold (I think...)

Well, pictures will come later....it's not uploading them again :(

Seven???

I am pretty sure that Adele's favorite number is 7. She was 7 days late (nope, I'll never let her forget it..and yes, I know that due dates are just a guess) and then last night, at 7 weeks old, she slept 7 hours straight!!!

It was a good Tuesday! She had 2 visitors, one from my school and Aunt Katie! She was pretty fussy in the afternoon, but that has been her pattern, so we forgave her! It took 2 tries to get her to sleep again, but I blame Daylight Savings Time...what kind of crazy idea is that? Whoever thought of it surely didn't have a new baby who was finally getting on a schedule!!!

Today she has been a little peach as well. Mommy and Daddy escaped for an hour or two and left her with her first official babysitter, Aunt Katie. They survived each other! I called home once (not really to check in, I had to figure out what Aunt Katie wanted us to bring her for lunch) and she wasn't screaming! Always a good sign!






Well, itsy bitsy was sleeping, but from the noise that just radiated from her bottom half, I'm guessing not for long!

7 Weeks Already???

These are from last night. Look at little Miss Houdini!! Her hands should be INSIDE the swaddle...

It's Tuesday so I don't want to say too much too soon.

Pictures

Something New Everyday!

Today it was two something new's! She rolled from her back to her side a few times, and once she went from her side to her back all on her own. She also has been lifting her head like a pro during tummy time. My pictures don't quite do her justice! I can't believe how much she has changed since January!!!

She was quite the smiley, flirty thing this morning...Mommy likes that! We slept in until almost 10 again! I think I have to convince Daddy to buy a black-out shade for her room (yes, I tried to do that this summer...) so she'll sleep in HER room after 7 AM...it's SO bright in there, I'd rather bring her into my room and get an extra hour or two of sleep rather than put her back in her crib just knowing she'll stay up!

I took her in the stroller which she hated (as usual). I think it's her snowsuit that she doesn't like...that and her hat! It was only in the 40's, so I put both on her. She was also tired and kept falling asleep, then she'd startle and realize that she was bundled up and start screaming again. Cookie was good about it though...especially since Clutch was out and barking for her! (I wouldn't have taken her to see him today anyhow...too muddy!!!)

Well, that's it for now...just a regular Monday! Tomorrow's Tuesday, so I'm preparing for the worst but hoping for the best!

Argh...I've been waiting for like 20 minutes for this site to upload my pictures...guess you'll get those later!

Who is this Baby?!?!?!

Tracy Hogg, author of "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" lists 5 "types" of babies: Angel, Textbook, Spirited, Touchy and Grumpy. While Adele has characteristics of each type, she has gone dramatically from Grumpy to Angel in the past 2 days!

We're still on our Eat, Play, Sleep schedule, and it's taking me less and less time to get her to sleep! This past nap only took me about 5 minutes to get her to sleep! Granted, I'm still having to rock her to sleep with some sort of background white noise, but I don't think that will last forever! Both "Secrets" and "The Happiest Baby" give suggestions to break those habits in time...but for now, I want to keep things the same! Adele knows instantly when I swaddle her and hold her in our "going to sleep position" (which Daddy just loves!) that it's time to go to sleep. She has fussed once or twice during this routine, but both times she needed a diaper change.

Where do I sign up to become a spokesperson for these books??? Do you think they'd pay me???

It feels like we have a new baby! Last night we went to dinner at a friend's house and she was pretty much perfect! She screamed on the ride over, but fell asleep about 3 blocks from their house. I was worried, to say the least. However, she woke up in good spirits. It really was great! She did get fussy toward the end of our visit, but I knew it was because she was tired. I brought her swaddle, but it wouldn't work in the carseat if I got her to sleep, so we used Daddy's trick of bouncing the carseat. She calmed down and fell asleep, and just fussed a little on the ride home. She ate and went to bed without a hitch! I think she went 7 hours between feedings overnight, and slept in till 9!!! (With daylight savings time that's 10!!!!)

I'm going to keep her on this bed at 10, wake up at 8:30 or 9 for a while longer and then start moving her bedtime a little earlier over a few days. I'd love to have her down at 8! I feel like I'm finally in charge, so if I am patient enough and determined enough, I think I'll have success!

She's been great all day. We're both much happier now that we have a pattern to things! (I knew she'd see it my way eventually!) She played and played under her "activity gym" and Daddy videotaped some of it. He agrees that she has turned into such an adorable little princess! I'll have to figure out how to upload a video to my blog after he gets it edited. (You know Daddy and his video editing!!! No raw footage allowed!) She's so happy and cuddly now when she's awake that I have to force myself to put her down and let her play! I want to spend all of my time cuddling her!!!

I'm now looking more forward than ever to Aunt Katie's visit this week, especially knowing that I won't have to be the one holding Ellie Belly the whole time!

Gee...what shall I do with my time??? I think I can finally rest while she naps, no more walking on eggshells wondering when her next fussy hour (or day!) will be! I know it won't be all smooth sailing from here on out, but at least I have some structures in place to help her through the rough patches!

Super Saturday

I feel like Superwoman! I got Miss Ellie-Belly to sleep yesterday without nursing her (in case you didn't figure it out, that's what she was doing while I blogged yesterday...). She slept for 2 hours, and went for about 3 between feedings! YAY!

She was pretty fussy last night, but I think that's because I'm still working on continuing our routines even when Daddy is home! (It's so nice to let him calm her down or even better, get her to sleep in the carseat while I do my own things for a little while!) She slept well last night, woke up twice, at 3:45 and 6. At 6 I stayed in her room in the recliner and we woke up about 8:30.

So, today I held my ground and got her down for 2 successful naps with the help of her swaddle blanket and the washing machine. (We're working on the washing machine part, but hey...it works...and I typically have at least 1 load per day! The bathroom fan works well too, but I don't really like taking her into the bathroom to get her sleepy!).

Except for a brief fussy time this morning (right when Mima called) she's been pretty happy and playful. I've been doing a good job of keeping her activities in the right order! (Eat, Play, Sleep). I also gave Cookie a bath and took a shower! It IS a Super Saturday! Daddy has had his own time as well. He ran errands with Cookie, got the banking done, played PS3 and watched an episode of his new favorite show: Trailer Park Boys

She has continued to sleep while I've been typing, and I convinced Daddy to cut some celery (the only job on my list today...) If she sleeps for 5 more minutes she'll have made it 2 hours between feedings for the THIRD time today..woohoo!!! We're going over to Daddy's friend's house for dinner at 6. I'm a little nervous, but we can always leave if she gets really fussy! Or maybe I can run a load of laundry for them!

I Should Change My Name to. . .

"I Spoke Too Soon"

I took Adele for a full-out grocery shopping today...not just "run to the store to get diapers" but a "go down every aisle in search of really good deals" shopping. She fell asleep like an angel before we left, and although it was a bit early for her 3 hour nap, I wasn't going to play around with sleeping! I learned that lesson on Tuesday! I loaded her into the carseat and witin 15 minutes was perusing the aisles at Kroger.

Well, kind of... really, I kept getting stuck behind the slowest moving couple ever and their three-year-old who was obsessed with the fact that there was a baby in my cart. I tried my best to pass them, but it was like the dad had "passing radar" or something and he'd step into the middle of the aisle, right into my way. Our Kroger is full of people like this, but today it seemed worse. Probably cuz its hard to see in front of the cart with the baby carrier in it.

Anyhow, I finally lost the slowpokes, and Adele started to wake up. After some fussing, I decided to take the blanket off of her so she could see. She liked that, except when I had to stop. I had to stop a lot because it was busy, and the aisles really only fit one cart...

But, she stayed happy. I talked to her, probably sounding crazy (which was fine with me...especially if it meant people would get out of my way!) I got through all of the aisles and up to the checkout with no real problems, just a random fuss or two. That's when I made my mistake. When the clerk asked how I was I said something to the effect of, "I'm great, especially since she stayed quiet!" Bad mommy! What do you know, my little Ellie started screaming up a storm!

(I'm pretty sure it's cuz we stopped moving, but I'll never underestimate the power of suggestion...remember Tuesday when I said she had gotten herself to sleep...remember that she DIDN'T sleep after that...until like 11:00 at night????)

So, I spoke too soon. Fortunately, although she screamed bloody murder all the way home, when we got home, I fed her and she turned back into the happiest baby ever. She sat and watched me while I put away groceries, and even let me put her into the Baby Bjorn! (Yes, I was crazy for trying...but, hey, it worked!!!)

I'm not about to say what she's doing now, or how she got that way, but you can assume it rhymes with "peeping" and that she's not making a peep. It might start out like the word "Snow," which it is currently doing outside. And she didn't just eat, in fact, she was playing. There, I don't think I can get into any trouble with that...

I'm also posting a few pictures from last night. She was very sleepy yesterday, and took lots of short naps (30 to 90 minutes) instead of one long one, but that was fine. We almost thought she was sick. Very fussy, and sleepy, but she actually would sleep rather than get more and more upset like she does when she's overtired.

So, she was pretty calm and I went upstairs to do yoga around 7:45 (I think I prefer the first 6 post-partum weeks when you're not supposed to exercise, much less expected to do so!) and I noticed that it was exceptionally quiet the whole time. When I came back downstairs, I found Daddy playing PSP, and Ellie sleeping in her carseat. I guess I should say I assumed she was there, cuz I didn't look at her for about half an hour when I discovered that her blanket was UNDER her, not covering her up, and she was naked...oh Daddy! Mostly he was worried that I'd be mad that he let her fall asleep...is he CRAZY!!! I'd be mad that the baby was SLEEPING??? Of course, he was worried about my "Routine."

As it turned out, I woke her up around 9 and fed her, and she went back to sleep for a ful 6 hours, so it was all good! Plus, I had just read the following in "The Happiest Baby on the Block":

"Most infants automatically fall into a regular pattern afer a month or two; however, if you can't wait to establish a more predictable routine, feel free to give scheduling a try.
"If, on the other hand, he seems to resist being molded to your schedule, I encourage you to respond to your tiny baby's needs with promptness and love; you can always try the schedule again in a week. The bottom line is that your job as a parent is to adapt to the needs of your newborn, not the other way around." (p. 220-221)

By the way: that's a size 1 diaper she's wearing, the Newborn ones got too tight for her chubby legs! The size 1's seem SO HUGE!


Well, while she's doing what she's doing now, I'm going to start a new book, "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer." Fun, fun!

My Growing Girl!

I discovered yesterday that one of my favorite outfits no longer fits Miss Peaches. She has already outgrown all of her newborn clothes, and now she's out of all but two 0-3 month outfits! Fortunately there are a few 3-6 month outfits that are on the smaller side that fit her now! I think she has a total of 4 wearable outfits. That's okay, cuz half the time she just has a onesie on. My rule is pretty much that she gets to poop on one outfit per day. That's it, then she gets a onesie and a blanket! Especially now with only 4 outfits! The four that fit are all snaps instead of zippers, which I decided I prefer, so that's good! Two of them don't have feet on them (which is why they still fit...) so she needs socks, and I only have 2 pairs of those that fit her, but I'm not complaining. Actually having only a few outfits makes it much easier to dress her each day!

She continued to have a great day yesterday, and although she didn't go to sleep on our first try, I think Daddy and I got a routine for OURSELVES to help put her to bed! (Can you tell that I am DETERMINED to have some sort of routines in place??!!)

She definitely needs to be swaddled, she slept 6 hours straight, and I had a hard time waking her up to feed her. I didn't swaddle her when I put her back down after that first feeding, and she was pretty much up from 3:30 to 5:45 wanting to be held. When Daddy's alarm went off at 6 (and she was fussing in bed...), he brought her to me and she slept by me until 9! I don't want to get into the habit of bringing her into bed with me every morning (mostly because I'm not free to wake up and do my own stuff then if she's cradled in my arm!) so I think I'm going to try and keep her swaddled all night.

I think she likes being swaddled, but I'm not going to do it during the day. As you can see from the picture, she loves having her hands up! She gets that from mommy!



I have to cut her nails, but I want to let her sleep for a while before I attempt to do that. I also was planning on getting groceries today (which works best when she's asleep!) But, nails MUST come first, I'm sick of getting scratched! Oh...and she's started pulling my hair! Ouch! Whenever I have her up on my shoulder, she grabs a handfull and holds on for dear life...it's like she's a little baby monkey clinging to her mommy!

Oh, and I suppose I should eat lunch...

And She Sleeps...

After being awake for 14 hours straight yesterday, then waking up every 60 to 90 minutes overnight, my little Ellie has finally decided to take a nap! It worked out well because I had my 6-week check up today. I fed her, she fell asleep, and I put her into the carseat. I had about 20 minutes before I had to leave for my appointment, but was planning on driving her around if needed. I didn't need to...she actually stayed asleep!!! She's been sleeping for over 2 hours! Woo-Hoo!

Thank goodness for Daddy last night, I'm not sure what I would have done without him! He was the one who finally got her to sleep around 11...he works magic with the carseat! She loves to sit in there and have you do bicep curls. Well, that's fine with me for about 2 minutes, then I need a break....she HATES it when I take a break, it starts her screaming all over again! Hopefully this means I'll be buff by summer though!

I've been hearing more good things about the 5 S's from The Happiest Baby on the Block from my Babyfit website, so I'm going to keep going with it! I'm assuming tonight will be an easy night since she's napping and is therefore much less likely to be overtired like I know she was yesterday! (now that I said that I"m sure we'll have a repeat of last night..) Of course I know that she's a baby, and babies don't always know what's best for them, but you must realize that she's really spoiled us so far...aside from eating a LOT (every hour still at 6 weeks!!!) , she's a pretty easy baby...what baby sleeps through the night at 5 days old? Come on! I guess that's why days like yesterday (and just yesterday afternoon at that) are so difficult, cuz I'm used to her spoiling me! Yes, I was tired this morning, but I have yet to be really, REALLY sleep deprived! I just have to keep that in mind when she is acting like a baby!

I think I like this Blogging stuff. Especially now that Adele is here! My days seem kind of boring overall, but since little Peaches has yet to set any sort of schedule for herself (I'm going to try to leave it up to her...I just get frustrated when she doesn't do things on my timeline!!!) each day really is kind of exciting! Plus, I get to imagine that I'm actually talking to anyone who decides to read this!

For some reason, talking on the phone is hard for me right now. It made sense in our first few days home from the hospital, I was so out of it, and the pain meds didn't help much! But now, 6 weeks later, I still have a hard time holding a conversation on the phone. I get very distracted. It's kind of like driving and talking on the phone...(not that I'd ever do that, right???) I'm so busy worrying about Ellie that I just can't pay attention to the conversation like I should. So, think of this blog as my apology for sounding out of it on the phone! I know I've cut people off in phone conversations unintentionally (right, Katie???) and I've probably just sounded like a ditz a lot too. Sorry!

Hmm...what else? No laundry today, Daddy did it last night...what a sweetie! And Ellie has kept herself clean for the most part today! She spit up all over me, but I'm used to the "mommy tattoo" of spitup on my shoulder. It's not like I'm going anywhere or have anyone to impress, right?

Maybe a nap for mommy.....

Thank Goodness for Daddies!

Well, right after my last entry, Ellie-belly woke up, and she's been awake since then. This means that she's had NO nap today to speak of...

It's almost 5 and if she falls asleep now (and sleeps for her usual 2 or 3 hours) then her bedtime will be all messed up! She just wants to be held and rocked. If I'm holding her, she doesn't really cry, but if I set her down...watch out!

But...Daddy's home now and he's taken over!

A Scary Start!

I guess 9:45 is the bedtime Adele has chosen for herself. Desptie my attempts to put her to bed earlier, the past 2 nights it's been 9:45. The main problem is that she cluster feeds starting around 7, and falls asleep constantly. It's just hard to know when she's asleep for good. If not, it's another 45 minutes of nursing and holding in attempt to put her to bed. Tonight I'm not even going to think about bed until 8:45 or 9!!! Once we establish that as a bedtime, maybe I can start making it earlier little by little on MY schedule!

So, as the title suggests, we had a scary start to the morning! I've been reading "The Happiest Baby on the Block" (a great book by the way) and the author teaches the 5 S's to calm a frantic baby. They are: Swaddle, shush, swing, side and suck. The combonation of these S's is supposed to elicit a "calming reflex" in the baby. Well, it works! On Sunday night, I put Adele to bed swaddled in a blanket. She was out of the swaddle when I went in to feed her at 3:45, so last night I used the "Swaddle" that came with Adele's Sleepsack. Things were good at 3 AM for her feeding, but at 6 (when Daddy's alarm went off) I still hadn't heard from her (She's usually up 1 or 2 hours after her first nighttime feeding) so, I asked Daddy to go check on her. He came back in our room with a terrifying look on his face saying, "Her whole head was covered up by that thing" Thank goodness she was okay! She's so fiesty with her arms that she managed (Despite the velcro holders intended to keep the swaddle down!) to pull the whole swaddle wrap over her head! We won't be using that again! I fed her and brought her into bed with me where she slept until 9!!! (okay, 8:50, but who's counting???)

After that start to our day, I didn't want to put Ellie down, even for a second! Thankfully I was still hoping to try out my Maya wrap. We tried 2 positions, she doesn't like laying in it (no real surprise, as she hates being cradled unless she's eating...) but she liked sitting up and looking out. Unfotunately, she needs a little more head control before I'll feel comfortable actually wearing her like that! I'm going to keep trying the cradle hold, maybe when she's sleeping to get her used to it!

I got her to go down for a nap without nursing her today as well...yay for the 5 s's (I omitted the fifth "s") she woke up shortly after I moved her to the bouncy seat, but fell asleep again on her own...we're making progress!

Well, I haven't even brushed my hair yet and it's almost 2:00...More later :)

My first Blog!

March 3: Monday

Woo-hoo! I'm going to start blogging! Miss Ellie-Belly is sleeping right now, so it's a perfect time to start!

However, I do wish she'd wake up. I've been waiting for my Maya Wrap baby sling since last Tuesday (our REALLY rough day) and it finally arrived...just in time for her to eat and go to sleep. I guess the good part is that I watched the informational dvd (yes, it was completely necessary!!!) while she ate, and I've been playing with the sling while she naps. Hopefully she'll wake up happy and I can put her right in!

We've had a really good day today! She woke up earlier than I'd like (and went to bed later...), but such is life! She did give me a nice 6 hour stretch that probably would've been longer, but I woke her up to eat. She was pretty much all smiles this morning. I tried to take some pictures, but she's not very cooperative! She's the queen of making a funny face just as I push the button!

I was brave and took both of my girlies for a walk down the "lane." It took 2 tries to get Ellie into the stroller without fussing (I had to feed her) but she smiled the whole way. Cookie was great too, but she really wanted to go play with Clutch instead of going home. At the apex of our struggle, it started to rain. She must have sensed my concern (I didn't have a blanket or anything for Adele to keep her dry) and she sulkingly (is that a word?) walked home.

Well, I suppose there's laundry or something to be done...