8 week-doctor's appointment

Today, Adeline went in for her 8 week/2 month checkup. She is now 11 pounds 2.5 oz and 22 inches long. She is in the 65% for weight, 50% for height and 50% of head circumference. The doctor said she is in great shape and is developing wonderfully!He was impressed by her neck strength, especially when I showed him the pictures of her at 4 weeks during tummy time. He said that her slight reflux is something to just wait out on. If she was screaming in pain after each feeding, then he said he would prescribe her some Zantac. He said to stock up on some gripe water and burp rags and let her system develop on its own. So I guess the nights where she is crying out in pain due to gas, I just have to wait it out. The last few nights, she wakes up screeching from gas pain, in which we have to work out. Once we do and she eats, she is happy once again. She has been following the common "witching hour" between 5-8 PM. During this time, she is not her usual smiley self. She tends to break into tears easily and is quickly bored. Lucky for us, she is not screaming non-stop this whole time. At my mommy group each Wednesday, some mothers speak on how their baby is inconsolable for 3+ hours at a time. A few mothers even say their baby is crying 8 hours a day, starting at 3 AM. We are very fortunate to have such a happy baby. I wouldn't say she is "easy", but she is definitely not difficult. I have started giving her a bottle of formula every day. First, it's to get her used to a bottle. Secondly, it is to see which formula works in case my milk dries up or I am not able to produce enough when I go back to work. Ideally, I would like to have her on a mix of formula bottles and pumped milk bottles throughout the day, then full breast feeding at night time when I get home from work. On a personal level, I am down 30 pounds since delivery. Only 13 more to go until pre-pregnancy weight, but ideally, 30 more before I am down to my goal weight/size. How nice it will be to be healthy and fit for my daughter. I did my first baby boot camp class today and LOVED it. I am pretty confident I will be sore tomorrow, but it is good to do other exercise besides just walking.

7 weeks of Adeline

7 weeks old. She is growing so quickly. While I do miss the days that she would sleep for hours on end, I do love that she is more aware of what is going on. The downfall of that is that I'm not sure of what to do to stimulate her to help her excel. I talk to her and play music, which she likes, but I'm not dangling toys in front of her or doing anything to help her grow (as to what the books say). I feel horrible, but she doesn't allow me enough time to go into storage to get out the toys!! She does have amazingly cute outfits. This past weekend, it got really hot! It was up in the 80's! What a perfect time to put on some cute outfits on our Adeline. Below is a picture of one that I bought for her.

Also, as we go places as a family, the fact that Nick had to be pushed up against the dashboard due to lack of space in the back seat was a bit unnerving. What if the air bag popped out? Not only would it not help him, it could possibly break his knees since that is where the air bag would come out. After noticing some other things with my car (hmm what's that noise? How much to repair it??! Oh dear) I did some research for about 3 weeks on potentially getting a new Subaru. I test drove the Forester and loved it (since I was already driving a Forester, this makes sense.. even though the new Forester has much more leg room, more height, and many other features). I also drove the Outback, which I did not like as much. I felt there was too much view of the hood for my liking. So a week later (last Saturday), we went back into the dealership to get the new 2012 Subaru Forester. I originally wanted the green, but after seeing it in person, I realized I liked the Charcoal grey better. I am very excited about my purchase, not to mention that I got .9% financing, so over 5 years, the total interest I will pay is $400. Fantastic. We also talked down the dealer a great deal so that I paid the dealer invoice price. Below is a picture of it.

Sleep- so wonderful

Adeline turned 6 weeks old last Friday. Time sure is flying by. She weighed 10 pounds on Friday. She is gaining about an ounce a day, which is normal. A friend said that once she hits around 10 pounds, she sleeps longer. Adeline has proven that a few nights this past week. Some nights, she still wakes up every 3 hours to feed, but then there are the other glorious nights like last night. She slept from 10:30-4:40, then 5-8 AM. I would like to say that I slept that whole time, but the new mother instinct made me wake up sporadically to make sure she was still breathing! She was, of course. One thing that I've been worried about is that some of her breathing sounds like wheezing. I've asked the doctor about this via email and he said it may very likely be reflux. That would explain why she spits up so much and also cries after some feedings. I wonder how she will handle sleeping flat in her crib once she gets too big for the rock and play. Last Wednesday, I went to a mother support group that is offered by Sequoia hospital. It is where mothers come in with their babies and listen to a nurse for an hour talk about popular subjects (sleep deprivation, reflux in babies, illnesses, etc) then "opens the floor" for discussion for the new mothers to ask questions to all other mothers for advice. We were there from 9:30-1, and Adeline slept through the whole thing! Everyone said "what a good baby" but I was as surprised as they were that she slept for so long. She loves her car seat!! This Wednesday, I plan on going to lunch with the other mothers after the meeting. Some of the mothers seem like we could be great friends. Here is a picture of Adeline sleeping. Look at those cute chubby cheeks.

Every day is a change

Adeline has been growing and changing every day. Even though I see her every day, I can see the changes. She now is able to do tummy time for 15 minutes at a time and hold her head up the whole time. (picture below). She also has the most adorable outfits. I originally told everyone "no pink", but I am realizing how striking her dark hair looks with a pink outfit. I have taken her to Target multiple times, been to a couple restaurants, even took her to Costco. I know some say it is best to keep the baby in isolation until they receive their shots, but for my sanity, I need to get out and about. Hanging out with her at home is fun, though. She is so happy in the mornings. She even enjoys "dance parties" with me. This entails turning on the David Guetta Pandora station and letting me move her arms and legs to the beat. She is all smiles throughout our "dance parties". She is also sleeping in longer stretches, but only in the late evening. She sleeps really well in her car seat. She sleeps about 4-5 hours while in it. She still sleeps about 3 hour increments at night time in her rock and play portable bassinet. Every day I fear "will she become colicky today? It could still happen", but no signs yet. She is pretty happy. If she starts to cry, she is easily distracted. Her cries after bath time, though, are pretty loud and intense. Thank goodness my hormone levels have leveled out or I would be crying with her. Nick is a wonderful father and enjoys spending time with his little girl. She adores his face and is responsive to his voice. I feel increasing love for Nick every day. I have always fallen more and more in love with Nick daily, but this new chapter in our lives has shown me how to love him in more ways. He is truly a great man and I am so lucky to have him. As for me, weight loss has plateaud. I have stopped at 15 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight. I am sure once I get the "all clear" from my doctor to work out, I will be doing more than just daily walks. I have lost 25 pounds, though, so I don't feel too bummed out about what the scale says. After all, it took me 9 months to gain 40 pounds.. I knew it would not come off within 5 weeks. No one is that lucky! Until the next post, here are a couple of pictures. The first one is Adeline showing her amazing neck strength during tummy time this morning. The other picture is her in one of her cute outfits on gma's lap. Even though she is 5 weeks, the newborn outfits are too short for her. She is now in the 3 month outfits.

One month old

Oh my goodness! Adeline is a month old already! So far, she has successfully gained weight to about 9 pounds, she holds her head up magnificently, and she has been smiling every morning since 3/29. Real genuine smiles! She has been sleeping in 3, sometimes 4, hour increments at night. She has not shown any signs of colicky behavior, and I hope she stays that way. I am a bit nervous about her care situation in September. We can't afford nor do we want to put her in day care. Something for us to think about and plan. I will try to post more when she lets me.