One Month Old

Time is going WAY too fast...My little bug is 1 month old!

What she loves:
-Eating.  She is definitely an eater.  She will nurse for about 40 minutes each time.  Now I am convinced that all of that time is not actually eating but comfort sucking.  I have tried switching sides in the middle of each feeding, but I think she gets too much then.  She'll stay on the breast for awhile and then spit out the milk with    an episode of spitting up.  These long nursing sessions leave me very tender and sore, that is where my lanolin comes in handy.  I have sporadically started pumping in between sessions and freezing for my return to work in October.  When I started, I didn't get much milk with each session.  I would say about 1-3 oz depending on when I would pump.  I haven't pumped for about a week and have since taken Fenugreek supplements to help my supply.  I must say that I have noticed an incredible difference so I may start pumping again soon.  I have also been playing around with nursing pads.  So far my favorite is Lanisoh, not a fan of Avent.  When I wake up in the morning I am covered in milk.

-Swing/bouncy chair.  She loves both of them.  She will nap in them for hours.  Which is a lifesaver because I can cook, clean, do laundry, work out.

-Car seat/stroller.  I have started taking her out on walks and she loves walks.  She will pass out about half way through.  She also loves car rides.  I think any excuse to be in the car seat she'll take it.

-Attention.  She is her mother's daughter!  She will cry just so she can be held by mom or dad.

-Staring.  I don't know what fascinates her, but I always catch her staring at something...especially the curtains.

What she hates:
-Tummy Time.  She cries with frustration every time.  She is very strong and is good with getting her head up.  She'd rather it on the Boppy then her play mat.

I give up mom.  I'm going to sleep!

-Bath Time.  She is getting better with it...as long as I stay away from her face and hair.  She'll scream her head off.

-Diaper Changes.  Still trying to master quick changes to beat or minimize her screaming.

-Pacifiers.  It's just not the real thing.  She will take it if it is against my chest, but she won't just take it.

Small Milestones:
-She's starting to smirk at us while awake.  She smiles a lot when she sleeps and feeds.  I love it!  I can't wait until she does this when she reacts to us.

-Newborn diapers and some onsies are in the past.  It depends on the brand though.  Some 0-3 clothes are a tad big on her, but she is so long that I can't put her in newborn clothes.

-We've had a couple nights of 5 hour sleeps.  Normally she is 3-4 hours, but we are slowly making strides to sleeping through the night.

Happy One Month Bug and many more.

3 1/2 Weeks Postpartum

Today is about 3 1/2 weeks postpartum and things are going well.  I am down to my prepregnancy weight, so I am down about 23 pounds.  I started doing small exercises last Friday (some abs, squats, etc) and today I started an actual workout.  It went ok.  I had to modify a bit since I am really out of shape and the girls hurt when I jump.  Miss Amaya decided to chime in half way through and felt the need to eat (even though she had just fed not that long ago).  Friday is my first visit back to the OB and hopefully I'll get some exercise clearances.  I decided to buy the Insanity workout DVD midway through my pregnancy, I must have been crazy.  But I am excited to start the workout....and scared.  Most likely I won't be able to start that for another few weeks yet, I still have a few episiotomy sutures left.

Last week I began pumping to start a small stash.  I must say that I'm not a fan of pumping, neither is Amaya, but it must be done.  She tends to sense when I am pumping and starts crying.  So far I have about 16 oz stored in the freezer.  Next task is to start sterilizing a few bottles and pacifiers with introduction of them.

Baby Update

Amaya is doing very well.  She is gaining weight and getting heavy, she really likes to eat.  She returns to the pediatrician next week for her 1 month check and weight check (technically it will be a 5 week follow up).  Around that time frame, I will introduce the bottle and pacifier to her.  This way we can go out without me finding a private place to feed or running to the car.  And it will help when I return to work in October.  Today I decided to test size 1 diapers on her...we had 2 blow outs today.  So far, so good...although I'm not too thrilled about Huggies brand right now.  They don't fit her as well as the Pampers do.  They don't leak or anything...I just don't like how they fit.  I also started putting a few of her newborn onsies away.  She can fit in some of her newborn and a few of the 0-3 outfits.  I'll give her one more week until all of her newborn clothes are away.  

She is a great sleeper at night.  We tend to have 4-5 hour stretches until she wakes up to be changed and fed.  During the day, she is now becoming more alert and awake during the day.  She'll have a stretch during the day and evening of being wide awake.  From the day we brought her home, she loved to nap in her pack-n-play bassinet.  But ever since last week, she will last about 15 minutes until she starts crying.  Now her favorite place is her swing, bouncy chair, and car seat.  I think she may be uncomfortable in the bassinet so I just ordered a quilted sheet from Babies R Us.  Hopefully that will make it a bit more comfortable for her.  I don't really like her sleeping in the swing or chair all the time, it doesn't allow her to stretch out or anything.

The next big thing we need to do yet is figure out her baptism.  Godmother is set, but we still need to figure out the godfather as well as contact the priest.  J will need to do that since I am not Catholic.

Our First 2 Weeks

Our first two weeks with Amaya went better than expected.  However, the first week was rough.  She was great in the hospital.  Woke up when she wanted to feed, had spurts of being awake and alert, was great during baths and medical evaluations.  Her first night home was tough.  I would get paranoid with her in her crib and run to her at every sound she made.  J got frustrated with me because I was so paranoid.  Then Amaya had to go for daily lab draws because of her bilirubin level.  She had jaundice without the apparent signs of it.  The highest her level reached was 17.1.  Her pediatrician placed her on a bili blanket until her levels decreased.  Thank goodness it was only for 1 day.  But for that week, I had to increase her feedings to every 1-2 hours.  As you can imagine, it was very rough at night.

Other than that, she is a really good baby.  If she's napping she wakes up to feed, she sleeps well at night waking every 3-4 hours, and naps well during the day.  Today is day 15 and she is now becoming more alert and staying awake longer during the day.  We can already tell she is becoming more temperamental...she craves attention and loves to be held.

I'm a Mommy!!

On Friday, July 27 2012 at 9:37 pm I became a mom to my precious little girl.  8 lbs 1 oz 22 in long

Birth Story
Friday I was going into work and decided not to clear a curb going into my building.  I did a face dive into the sidewalk.  Luckily, my co-workers saw me and were quick to react.  911 was called for an ambulance and called again to cancel it (by the time they would have gotten there, I would have my child already).  One of my doctors that I worked with called my OB and I had to go to labor and delivery to be evaluated.  The resident contacted my OB and decided it was time to have a baby.  I was admitted at 11:00 am and my water was broken by my doctor.  My little girl gave everyone quite a few scares.  She was not handling the contractions too well.  Her heart rate would jump from 147 to below 100.  NICU was notified and MFM was consulted.  MFM and my OB decided to use an internal monitor to get a better look, which was much better.  So I continued to labor down without much progression.  Her head was visible but would go back in after pushing.  Fortunately I was able to deliver without a c-section.  During routine lab work on her, her bilirubin was slightly high.  Her pediatrician was not concerned and wanted a repeat 1 day after discharge.  We were discharged on Sunday afternoon and have been getting used to being at home.  She had her repeat labs done yesterday and met with her doctor.  Doctor wasn't too concerned at this time since she is perfectly healthy.  Her labs came back and were still high at 15.  So back for more labs this morning and another doctor visit.  She is not symptomatic of jaundice, but still taking all precautions at this time.  Dr. D will be calling this afternoon with her new results and hopefully they have gone down.  She's still getting use to sleeping at home, but I feel she is doing well.  Compared to Sunday night, she's waking every 1.5-2 hours to eat.  Sunday night she was constantly up, I think I got a total of 1-2 hours of sleep.

Amaya Lynn

40 Week Update......Still Pregnant

How far along: 40 weeks and 0 days.....Due date.

Total weight gain/loss:  I haven't really been keeping up with my weight tracking.  At my last OB appointment I was 20 lbs total.  As of today, no more weight gain.
How big is Baby: Baby is about the size of a jackfruit.  In month nine, the average fetus is about 6.2 to 9.2 pounds and measures about 18.9 to 20.19 inches (i hope she's not bigger than 8 lbs.)

Maternity Clothes: Yes...That's all I can wear.  Even that is getting slim.
Sleep: Sleep is getting rough....we'll leave it at that.

Movement: Yes....She's still moving around in there, although not as much.

Food cravings:  ehh not really

Food aversions: none really.  

Gender: It's a girl.

Symptoms:  Getting more fatigued through out the week (especially when I'm a bit more active around the house cleaning and such), swollen ankles, leg cramps, back aches.  I've been getting more clumsy and forgetful as the weeks progress.   My body is swelling if I'm on my feet too long....or outside too long.  Getting cranky...Still some small contractions...nothing painful yet.  Today I am 5 cm dilated and 90% effaced.  Scheduled induction for next Thursday just in case.

Best moment this week:  Still going to say my nesting.  My house is becoming more cleaner and organized....J is thrilled about this "symptom"    
What I am looking forward to:  finally meeting her..



I must say that I really did enjoy being pregnant.  I honestly have no complaints about it.  I felt it was an amazing process and am extremely blessed that I actually got to experience it.  Now we are just anxiously awaiting our little girl.  Whether she will come on her own or be forced out.....I honestly think she is WAY to comfortable in there...

39 Week Update

This is probably going to be my last pregnant post.  My OB thinks my water will break any day now.  Obviously they can't give a definite answer, but she said she can guarantee that I will not be pregnant for another week.  

How far along: 39 weeks...7 days to go

Total weight gain/loss:  I haven't really been keeping up with my weight tracking.  At my last OB appointment I was up 20 lbs
How big is Baby: Baby is about the size of a watermelon

Maternity Clothes: Yes...That's all I can wear.  Even that is becoming slim pickins....

Sleep: Sleep is really rough now.  I am really uncomfortable which is making me toss and turn.  It is just tough finding a comfortable position that doesn't give me too much discomfort/pain.  Some times it's rough going back to sleep.  My body temperature is still creeping up.  We have the AC on with the ceiling fan and it still doesn't cut it for me.  So I have been back and forth from the bedroom and the living room on the recliner.  Not sure if I'd rather compromise some sleep for being somewhat cool or get some sleep (maybe) and be extremely hot.  

Movement: Yes....She's still very active.  Some of her movements are painful, there are times when I think she's kicking or punching my ribs.  Not sure how she's positioned anymore, but I know she's still pretty high up.  It's difficult to bend or move without some discomfort.  She is also very active when I'm busy at work.  It seems as though she wants to join in my "fun".  Her movements are more squirming than anything.  There's not too much room left for her to get some good kicks or punches to my sides.  There are times when I can feel a body part or two.  It's pretty neat.

Food cravings:  cravings are starting to go away.  still love freezy pops though
Food aversions: none really.  

Gender: It's a girl.

Symptoms:  Getting really fatigued through out the week (especially when I'm a bit more active around the house cleaning and such), swollen ankles, leg cramps, back aches, and a lot of bathroom trips.  I've been getting more clumsy and forgetful as the weeks progress.  Since it is getting very hot here, and very quickly, my body is starting to swell if I'm on my feet too long....or outside too long.  I'm starting to really feel heavy and really waddle.  At my appointment with my OB tonight I was dialated 4.5 cm and about 80% effaced (if I was any more dialated I was to be directly admitted from my appointment to be induced).  Contractions are beginning, but are still low and very intermittent.  My OB told me not to go far these next few days.  I am most likely going to deliver this weekend.  She needs to stay put until at least late Friday afternoon.  Still too much to finish at work to leave yet.  Even better...Saturday night.  J has to work on Saturday.  Hopefully it gets cancelled, but knowing my luck it won't.  

Best moment this week:  Still going to say my nesting.  My house is becoming more cleaner and organized....J is thrilled about this "symptom"    
What I am looking forward to:  Finally meeting her and bringing her home.

Nursery

Ok, so today is a 2 part post.  We finally completed the nursery.  There are just two things left to really do, but are not important by all means.  J still wants to buy a tv for her room when I'm in there nursing late at night and when she's a bit older and gets into videos.  We also need to hook up the CD player we have for her.  In reality, that can wait, as long as the important things are done I'm happy.  Here are some photos of the finished room