So much development in 2 months

Adeline has made so many developments over the past 2 months! I have been writing them in a journal so that she can look back and read about herself. She sits up for at least an hour with no assistance. She's been doing that for about a month. Over the past week, she has been saying "ma-ma--- ma- ma--- maaaa maaa" etc. I'm glad I was her first word, whether or not she knows she's saying it. Sleep- She still does not sleep through the night, but wakes up every 3 1/2-4 hours to drink a 4 oz bottle. The websites say we should start sleep training, so we'll see if we can handle that. She is still sleeping in the rock n play, but is 5 pounds away from being too heavy in it. We put her to sleep in the pack n play (since she is still eating throughout the night, I'm too lazy to go down the stairs to feed her then come back up.. so the pack n play is up by our bed). After 4-5 hours of sleeping in the pack n play, she gets up for her late night feeding. I then move her to the rock n play. Napping- She has become a great napper. She takes a nap every 3 hours. She does not sleep for a consistent amount of hours, so we rush to get things done until she wakes up. Her naps range from 40 minutes to 2+ hours. Day care- Right now, my mom watches her 2 days a week, Nick stays home with her 2 days a week, and our close friend watches her on Friday's. This makes me so relieved because she is watched attentively and does not have competition for attention. Although, she is in her separation anxiety mode, so if you leave the room, she starts crying until you are sitting right next to her. Teething- She is not teething yet, but she is a drool queen. We have to change her bibs and onesies multiple times a day because she drools so much. It's cute and she is mouthing EVERYTHING! Baby-proofing- We put on the cabinet locks and a baby gate on top of one of the stairs. It will take a bit for us to get used to it, but it's better we put it up now than if she is already mobile and we're struggling to put stuff up. Giggling- She is SUCH a happy baby. She is always laughing and smiling. Everyone who meets her loves her. Strangers comment on how happy and chubby she is. I guess a well fed baby is a happy baby! I am looking forward to the future, especially the holidays.

Solid foods

On 07/12, we tried baby oatmeal cereal with Adeline. She did wonderfully! Needless to say, only half of the food made it into her mouth. She seemed to love it, though. I wonder if she'll always be so excited to try new foods. I hope to keep her on baby cereal for another month or so. I don't want to start her on veggies until she is 6 months. We'll see if she can last that long. Here is a picture for your enjoyment.

Weight loss goal

When I was right at the point of delivery, I had gained 42 pounds since becoming pregnant. (I was only supposed to gain 15-20, according to my BMI calculator). It was easy to lose the first 20 within the first few weeks. The last 22.. not so much. It took a month to lose the next 7 pounds. For the last 2 months, I was stuck at 15 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight. Over the past 2 weeks, I have felt a bit thinner. I weighed myself this morning.. only 7 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight. Almost there!!!!! Unfortunately, my goal is to beat my pre-pregnancy weight since I was "overweight" by doctor's standards. So in reality, only 20-30 more pounds to lose. ::sigh:: Wish me luck!

Discovering her voice

Adeline has discovered her voice! Over the past week, she has been making grunting noises just for fun (at least, I think they are because no other results come of it)But this week, she decided to start making high pitched noises. You can tell she is enjoying making the noises. Now, every morning, she is in her crib making the noises to try to get our attention. It really is cute, even though it is hard at the time to wake up. She grows so fast.

Naps

Adeline is a decent napper.. when you are holding her, when she is driven around in her car seat, or when she is in the swing. She does go to sleep okay in the crib or rock n play (at gma Keller's house), but she does not sleep longer than 30 minutes or so. Today, while at my parent's house, she cried for 15 minutes (with calm moments when I came in to pat her stomach and soothe her with my voice) until she finally fell asleep for 45 minutes. When she woke up 45 minutes later, I knew she was still tired. I rocked her to sleep in my arms, in which she fell asleep within 30 seconds. Once I set her down in the rock n play, however, she woke right up and started crying again. What was to be done? After 10 more minutes of her not going to sleep, I decided to try swaddling her. When she was first born, the hospital swaddled her oh-so-tightly. She did well at the hospital with sleep. Once we got her home, she seemed to strongly dislike the swaddle. No matter how tightly we swaddled her, she always worked her arm up out of it. She was like a mini Houdini! She also would cry and cry until we took her out of it. She always has loved sleeping with her arms in a "surrender" position next to her head. So today, I decided to swaddle her, just to see what happened. Instantly, Addy quieted down. After setting her in the pack n play, she stared off into space for about 2 minutes before she fell fast asleep. We are one hour in and she is still sleeping soundly! Could this be the new "norm" for her naps? Whatever works!

Changes are part of growing

Adeline is 14 weeks old! I didn't think I'd say it, but I've almost forgotten what she was like when she was first born. I was looking at pictures of her as a newborn and what a difference. I have loved being with her everyday to see her changes. That said, it makes me very sad that I have returned to work. While I have only physically been back one day (Thursday), it was a hard day for me. I wasn't crying on the outside, but inside, I missed her horribly. She is with my mom while I work, so at least I know she is being taken care of by someone who loves her. That still doesn't change how hard it is. It makes me sad that I might not see her first giggle, her first crawl, her first steps, etc. My mom has tried to help fill my heart ache by sending me cute pictures and videos of Addy throughout the day. One thing we have recently started was crib training. I knew this had to be done, especially since she is outgrowing her rock n play bassinet. She has done remarkably well. She sleeps in it for about 5-6 hours, then wakes up every 2-3 hours to eat. I am not sure if she is crying because she is hungry or if she just can't put herself back to sleep. I have to remember that she is only 3 months old and might not be ready to skip out on her night feedings. Below are some recent pictures: --------------------------- Rock n play --------------------------- Crib sleeping --------------------------- tummy time -------------------------- Her first full day away from me

First Mothers Day

Time is flying by too quickly. I will have to go back to work next week. Luckily, I can start by working from home, but I will have to do full time starting early July (as opposed to end of August, which was what I originally planned). This was just found out today. Yikes! Time to scramble child care up quick! I enjoyed my first mothers day. We had brunch with our close friends and their 3 children. We then went on a hike with them. Afterwards, we were able to relax at the house for a bit, then we went to my parents house. My mom gave me a journal to write things about Adeline along with my thoughts. I simply adore my little Addy. She is getting so big. I will weigh her tomorrow, but she is definitely over 12 pounds. My boss was kind enough to buy me 8 baby boot camp classes as my baby gift. This is definitely needed to help kick my butt back into shape! I am 3 classes in. I have to jam the next 5 in ASAP!

waterfall

This past week, Adeline may be going through a growth spurt with how much she is sleeping. It is great, but if I try to lay her down in a crib after holding her while she's asleep, I have to get ready for non-stop, body shaking crying. It's the crying that I hear other mother's talk about in mommy group. Not to mention, after she eats, it is a waterfall of spit up. Sometimes, I wonder if she throws up all of the milk. She then ends up going to sleep for awhile. When she is awake, she is happy for a bit, then comes the body shaking crying for awhile. Luckily, she has been sleeping great at night. The last few nights, Adeline has been sleeping very well! The first block of sleep is from 5-7 hours. The next block of sleep after a feeding is 3 hours, then the next block is another 2-3 hours. It is great to get so much sleep! I know that this will not last forever, so we are enjoying it while it lasts. On a side note, Nick gets to go on a guy's retreat this weekend. It involves camping with the guys. We will miss him but I am glad he is able to remember what life was like pre-baby!

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.

23 days old

I feel bad for ever wondering why new mothers always take so long to update their blog. I was thinking "babies sleep throughout the day, don't you have 15 minutes to update your blog?" I have been super busy with naps, thank you notes, and who knows what else. She is growing so quickly. She went through a growth spurt (I believe) over the past few days where she had to eat every hour and a half. This was really hard at nighttime because she would not let us sleep. I did ok, I think, but it was really hard on Nick. He enjoys his sleep and needs it to be aware. I do okay for a little while without sleep. The only downfall is that if I'm really tired, when Adeline cries, so do I. Last night, though, she slept in 3 1/2 hour blocks. It was heavenly! Here are some pictures for your viewing.

First time in crib up the hill

Today, I was able to pull together my emotions and courage to drive Nick and Adeline up the hill to our house. Adeline had been to our house last Friday, but Rachel drove us up. Today, we drove up around 11. It was very cold up the hill. It was even hailing. The temperature outside was 38 degrees. Thank goodness for Betsy and Bob. They turned on the heat at our house and brought in a portable heater to warm up our bathroom. Adeline did great. I was worried she wouldn't sleep in her crib (since all she has been sleeping in is her rock n play (which is an upright bassinet). She slept from 12:45-3:20. Even I was able to sleep from 1-2:30. Grandma "Tutu" (Betsy) then held her for a short time while Nick and I ventured to the hot tub... rather... Nick sat in the hot tub and I dipped my feet in. It was SO nice not to have a big belly to have to accommodate to while sitting down. I don't miss being pregnant. People say they forget about the downfalls of being pregnant, which is why they have no problem getting pregnant again. I should probably write down all the reasons I did not like being pregnant so that I don't fool myself into getting pregnant again in the short future. I'm not saying we don't want other kids, but let's see how we do with one first. :) Here is a picture of Adeline in her crib today.

13 days old

She is super cute to look at. She is the apple of our eye.

I can't wait to see what she looks like next week. It is amazing how fast they grow.

Babies are a blessing and stress

Anyone who is a parent, I'm sure, understands my heading. I love love LOVE Adeline. I find myself staring at her non-stop. When she wakes me up at night, I get a bit frustrated, but when she is calmly sleeping moments later, I forget any annoyance I had with her because she is so perfect to me. My hormones are a little bit more controlled, but I still find myself getting anxious and overwhelmed. We have only gone out in public 3 times: the doctor office, trip to get her birth certificate, and off to get food and visit family. I was on edge all three times. I'm not sure why I am so anxious, but it draws me to tears each time. Adeline has been doing well, for the most part, with sleeping. Her sleeping has become a lot better at night time ever since we purchased the Rock n Play. It is like a bassinet but is more upright. This helps with her gas. The scary part is listed in the reviews for the rock n play. Many parents have said that because there is not enough padding, their kids end up having misshapen heads that require a correctional helmet later on in life. I have been laying down blankets to try to prevent this. She sleeps so perfectly in it, but those reviews scare me. A lot scares me these days. I know that it will pass, but until then, I will have to endure. For your viewing:

She is here

What an exciting weekend! It started with Thursday night of some El Calderon enchiladas. Then we went on a night time walk with Steve. He was walking so fast, it was hard for me to keep up. Yet they say walking induces labor. That evening, I was experiencing strong contractions, but only strong enough to cause discomfort. I finally fell asleep at midnight. At 3 AM, I woke up with the strongest pain ever. I took two steps out of bed before I felt a gush of water. I couldn't believe ny water had broken!! My mom drove us to the hospital within 20 minutes. Then the contractions hit. Never have I experienced such pain! Luckily, the nurse ordered me an epidural within 20 minutes. They gave me petocin to help speed things along. I progressed from a 3 to a 9.5 working 7 hours. It was then discovered that the way she was placed, I would need a c-section. After giving me more drugs, they wheeled me in to surgery. 10 minutes later, she was born: Adeline Savvyanna Zontos. 7 pounds 13 oz and 20 inches long. Born at 2:08 PM on 3/2/2012. I didn't get to see her for two hours until I regained sensation in my body. More stories of the weekend to come.

39 weeks

This past doctor's appointment put some changes in the birth of our baby. The pain I was experiencing was me having contractions, but unsuccessful contractions.. meaning they weren't progressing towards the birth of baby "Z". The doctor noticed that now baby "Z" is currently turned a quarter turn to the right.. she is still head down, but now facing my hip rather than my back. The doctor said that they will wait until I am dilated to a 10, then try to turn her with the vacuum. If that doesn't work, they will probably have to do a C-section. Technically, if I am getting a C-section, I would rather have it immediately rather than go through many hours of pain to try to progress to full dilation just to end up doing the C-section anyways. I asked the doctor if we could schedule me to be induced by next Monday. She said "the way the baby is currently positioned, I understand that you are in a lot of pain. Let's just say if you come to Labor and Delivery sometime over the next week because you can't take the pain, we won't turn you away and will induce you". I then said "I'm ready now.. but I will wait a few more days". The doctor just smiled and said "remember, the longer she stays in, the more developed she will be". My goal is to make it until Friday. I hope they don't turn me away!!! Now for my 39 week update. How far along? 39 weeks Total Weight Gain? 40 pounds. It must be from all those lemon desserts. Maternity Clothes? I have enjoyed not having to work since I am lounging in leggings and dresses. Stretch Marks? Discovered more on my thighs. EEK! But the doctor assures me the red/purple stretch marks go away. I sure hope so, because otherwise, I will be wearing swimming shorts rather than a normal bathing suit. Sleep? I get about 1 1/2 hours at a time. Best moment this week? Staying at my parents house to be able to have lunch with Dave and Jamie (and Annika) on Monday and then Lenessa (Maise Lou and Henry) on Tuesday. Miss anything? Being able to look over my shoulder when backing out my car. Food cravings: I think the lemon cravings are decreasing. That's good, because my weight should stop increasing. Anything making you sick? Believe it or not.. Ketchup. I LOVE ketchup but I saw some the other day and about lost my meal. Gender: Girl Labor signs: Yep, but no further dilation. Belly Button in or out? flat as a pancake. Wedding rings on or off? No rings Happy or Moody? Happy, but trying really hard to get comfortable. Everyone was not kidding when they said that the end of pregnancy is hard. It is uncomfortable to stand for too long but also to sit down longer than 15 minutes. Looking forward to: Maybe having the baby this week!

Are these signs? Or am I being oversensitive

After the doctor on Friday, I'm not sure if the increasing symptoms I'm having are real or not. That doctor has made me second guess myself. I woke up 3 times last night with the worst cramping I've had in my life, that I almost threw up. I was thinking "is this it?" but attempted to go back to sleep each time. I was able to go back to sleep. If anything, I woke up this morning feeling like I got hit by a train, but no more serious cramping. When we went on a walk today, I could barely go half a mile without bending over in pain. Yet sitting here at the computer, the major cramping has subsided, so no labor for me yet. Baby is still active, so no concern there. I am looking forward to starting my stay at my parents house tonight. It will be nice to stay there and just sit and do nothing.. :) I am off of work, so if I don't deliver, I will be able to get things done like an oil change, tire rotation, etc. FYI I hate waiting, so baby Z needs to hurry it along!