If you're ever feeling the need for a little attention...

...then find a baby, put it in a moby wrap, and take it to Sam's Club. It takes me FOREVER to get through that store, even though I usually only buy 5 items or less. I am stopped about every 5 minutes and asked about the baby, how old she is, and what that thing I'm wearing her in is. Even after checking out, I have to wait for the man who checks the receipts to draw a picture on the back of it for Elliot. I find this very sweet, but slightly ridiculous, since she is not even 4 m onths old and would much rather eat the paper than look at it. Older women are particularly fascinated by the moby. One time, the manager even made me turn around so she could inspect the type of fabric and how it was tied. If I'm asked where I got it, the conversation grows even longer, as I am forced to admit that I made it myself. People are far too impressed by this fact, even though I willingly admit that I was only able to make it because there was absolutely no sewing involved. Actually, all you have to do is cut a really long piece of fabric in half lengthwise. I've been told that I should make and sell them, but I fear that people would see how simple it is to make and feel ripped off. I know I would.

So if you're ever feeling lonely or unnoticed, feel free to come on over, borrow my baby and moby, and go do my grocery shopping. You'll be an instant celebrity.

Hooray!

We went to see the Dr. for a weight check today. The results of the weight check were very important, since my decision to keep breastfeeding or not was riding on it. She weighs 11 lbs. 1.4 oz., which is tiny, but good. She is back up to her original curve, and she's following it well. Dr. has zero concerns about her at all, so I'm going to keep breastfeeding! I don't know what caused her to drop off the curve like she did a few weeks ago, but it seems to be resolved and she is back to her normal, albeit smaller than average, self.

I am so relieved about this. The though of exclusive pumping was awful to me. I was willing to do it, both for my own peace of mind and because breastmilk is best for her, but I was really dreading it. Also, the thought of not breastfeeding her made me so sad. Before I ever really thought about having kids, I thought I would breastfeed for 6 months. When it became more of a reality, I decided I would try to do the AAP recommended full year. Now that we're actually doing it, I am hoping to keep it up until she decides to wean herself (though I'm hoping it will be by her 2nd birthday or shortly thereafter). I also did myself a favor today and ordered a baby scale. This way I can keep track of her weight gain at home and also monitor her intake by weighing her before and after feedings. I am super excited to get it, and will probably spend the first week or so weighing anything that will fit onto it, so stay tuned for future posts in which I will report the weights of all of my cats.

In other news, we have most definitely entered the dreaded 4 month wakeful period. We are about 5 days in now, and I have to say, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. It's certainly not enjoyable by any means, but I was expecting her to be up every hour of so, and thankfully that is not the case. She has generally been waking twice in the night, instead of her usual one waking, and she's also been ready to start her day at 5 am a few times. On our worst night, she was up three times, which I think is the most she's ever woken since she was born. I'm kind of glad that it's started, so we can get it over with and be done with it. I'm hearing from most people that it lasted around 2 weeks for them, so hopefully we're about halfway through. If she decides we're going to do this for a whole month though, I retract my earlier statement about it not being that bad.

EDIT: Apparently E heard that I was talking about her and had to prove me wrong. She slept from 9 last night until 5 this morning, ate for about 10 minutes, and went back down until 7:30. No complaints here!

LOTS of pictures

It's been a few days since I last updated, so I've got quite a few pictures to share. I've probably taken several hundred (yes, seriously), but I'll cut it down to just the cutest ones. I'd let you all know what we've been doing, but we haven't been up to much in the last few days. I had my first birthday as a mom, and Matt and Elliot are taking me shopping tomorrow.

The feeding thing is going okay, I think. We went to see a lactation consultant, and we think we've got Elliot's issues under control, but we will find out for sure when she goes to the doctor to get weighed on Monday. If she's gained well, then that's great and we'll just keep doing what we're doing now. If she hasn't, I think things are going to have to change a little. I really want my baby to be exclusively breastfed, because I truly believe that that is what's best for her, but obviously if she's not eating enough then that's not good for her. I

I've decided that if she is still not gaining well that I am going to begin exclusively pumping until she is six months old. I know it will be a giant pain, but I want her to have breastmilk, and I NEED to know that she's getting enough food. The thing I dislike most about breastfeeding is not knowing how much she is eating, so by giving her bottles I will be able to keep track of that. At six months, I will reevaluate how I feel about pumping. I expect that I will not be a big fan of it. In that case, we have decided to introduce formula at that point for some of her feedings. If we do start formula, my goal is for her to still get some breastmilk every day for her first year. Hopefully when we go to the doctor she will have gained well and I won't have to put this plan into action, but I've thought about it a lot, and I'm comfortable with it, and if we do have to do it I know it will be okay. And hey, if I start formula, then Matt and I can take turns doing the night feeding. See, there's always a silver lining!

WOW, that was long. If you made it through that whole thing, congratulations, and here's your reward...super cute pictures!!!!

Nom nom nom, yummy tie!

With my baby, on my birthday

They all look very uninterested in being photographed

Practicing her gang signs

I have no words. This was just too cute not to post.

This is both adorable and frightening at the same time.

Roy prefers a more dignified pose than his brother.

There's a lamb on my head!

All ready to swim again.

I anticipate more glares like this during the teenage years.

I look naked. The turtle head covers up the swimsuit.

Proof that I am not naked.

In the pool with Daddy.

Proving to Daddy that Mommy was right. She does like her turtle pool.

One year ago today...

...I found out that little Elliot was on her way!!!

Wish List Wednesday!!!

I got the Wish List Wednesday idea from another blog I frequent (to check it out, just click the Wish List button) and thought it looked like fun. Here we go:

1. A house on a cul-de-sac. It could be the exact same house we live in now, for all I care, but I want to live on a street that does not have cars regularly tearing by at 40 mph.

2. A front loading washer and dryer.

3. This bathroom.

4. A no-limit gift card to Gymboree and Baby Gap.

5. Finally, I would like some sort of device that would allow me to pause/rewind Elliot, so that when she gets bigger, I could always go back to having my tiny baby whenever I wanted.

A new toy!!!

Elliot loves to stand up, so even though it's a little early, we decided to set up her Jumperoo today. OK, actually I decided to set it up, but I managed to wait until Matt got home to actually put her in it. It turns out that I underestimated her height- she only needed one book underneath her for her feet to touch! We finally found a use for those old textbooks that you can't sell back.

She looks a little underwhelmed in the pictures, but I swear, she really did like it. Her hand was just particularly tasty today, so she was focusing more on that.







Another great accomplishment today: I found the cutest hat of all time on Etsy. I was browsing through all things cupcake-related in preparation for Elliot's cupcake themed 1st birthday party (yes, I'm planning it already, and if you want to see her birthday outfit, click here), and I came across this. If you know me, you know I love cupcakes, so you can imagine my excitement as I pictured one perched atop my daughter's head. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be needing these multiple colors.

Sadly, I also found something terrifying in this virtual paradise of cupcake paraphernalia. Earlier today, I would have said that there is no way to make a cupcake non-cute. Even if you mess up, they still adorable. I was wrong. Here's the proof.

I win!!!!!!!

The turtle pool was a success!!!! Chae brought Eli over to try it out with Elliot today, and both babies did great (OK, well Eli did spit up in the pool, but it could have been much worse, and Elliot really didn't seem to mind). Chae and I, however, learned a few lessons. First of all, it would have been helpful for us to have somewhere to sit. Crouching next to the pool was less than comfortable. Also, a third adult would have been nice, as it is very difficult to take pictures with each of us trying to hold onto our child. Lastly, Bumbos are helpful, as long as you hold them down so they don't float away.

We will be trying again soon, with daddies present, so hopefully we'll be able to get more pictures than this time. Here's what we got:

Elliot did some hard-core flirting when Eli arrived

Ready to get in the water!

OMG, what is happening?!?!?!?!?

This looks innocent enough, but little did we know that Eli was just plotting...


...to make his big move! Go Eli!

Um, Mom, the boy is touching me.

Happy Father's Day!!!!

Elliot had a great first Father's Day with her Daddy! We got up early to make homemade pumpkin scones for breakfast, and then she put on her brand new "Daddy" onesie and gave Daddy his present. It's a photo book of her from birth until now, so he can keep it in his office and look at it when he misses her.

Then Mommy left Daddy and Nans for some father-daughter bonding time and went to brunch with Auntie Brynn. I know you're supposed to take the dad to brunch on Father's Day, but Brynnie was only here for one day, so I had to seize the opportunity when it presented itself. Our server was a delightful young man, reminiscent of Brennan from "Gilmore Girls". He did, however, let Jade eat for free since she showed up late due to another loss in the epic battle of Jade vs. Universe.

When we got home, we took Daddy out for ice cream and did a little shopping. I found an adorable baby boutique in Prairie Village, and as soon as Little Miss Stinky Pants grows some hair we will definitely be returning for some hair clips. Elliot had fun, since she enjoys any activity that allows her to sit in her Maclaren stroller. Since she reached the minimum age for the Maclaren and has good head control, the Snap-n-Go is pretty much a thing of the past. I still use it if she falls asleep in her carseat and I don't want to take her out, but if she's awake, she wants to be able to look at things. She especially loves to be out in crowded places. We took her to the Farmer's Market yesterday, and she loved it!!! I know I'll have to break her of her love for strangers eventually, but for now it's adorable.

We are home now, and the little muffin is in bed, thoroughly worn out from her fun day. She is looking forward to her next big holiday, Crazy Aunt's Day on August 16th, and anxiously awaiting the shenanigans which shall ensue.

Smiling with Daddy

OMG, I freaking LOVE Father's Day!!!!

An exciting new purchase!

While shopping for a fan at Target this week, Elliot and I came across something that we just had to have- an inflatable turtle pool! I'd been meaning to get her a baby pool for a while, but never got around to it. We briefly considered the Jungle Paradise pool, but the turtle was cheaper, so there you go.

Matt thinks it is the most ridiculous thing on earth to put a baby in a pool, but I think she'll have fun in it. I mean, it's a giant inflatable turtle. How could it not be fun? Once on vacation when I was 10, my cousins and I had an inflatable alligator pool raft. It was the best vacation of my childhood. I think this picture proves that she has inherited my love for inflatable reptile water-play accessories:

Although in this one, she seems to be exhibiting her father's lack of enthusiasm for reptilian blow-up awesomeness:

We'll try it out (with water this time), and report back later this week.

I can't imagine why anyone would give this kitty up...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hPxGmTGarM&feature=related

Watch it. And then prepare to hide under your bed for a week.

Want to see something cute?

I swear, I have the cutest little girl EVER!!!!!

3 month pictures

Yesterday our photographer, Susan, came over to do Elliot's 3 month photos. We finally ordered her newborn photos last week, and I can't believe how much bigger she is now. I'm actually glad we waited so long to order, because now I can look back and see which photos really remind me of what she was like when she was that little. In one photo, she's making this face that she used to make when she was learning to nurse. I didn't care too much about it at the time, but now it just makes me melt and I have to have it. I'll post the gallery link as soon as it's up, but in the meantime, here's one that I took myself. (Dress courtesy of Jess-thanks!)

Yum, this dress is delicious!

And in other news, I finally found a hat that fits her!

We survived the weekend!!!!

It has been an incredibly rough 4 days for me. On Thursday, I took Elliot in for her monthly weight check. She's been a slow but steady gainer since she was born, so we take her in frequently to make sure she's on the right track. At Thursday's appointment, we discovered that she had only gained 11 oz. in the past month. Not good. I was given 2 possible causes for her lack of weight gain. She was either getting lazy and not eating enough when she nursed, or she had an alarmingly high metabolism and was burning all of her calories before she could store them as fat. We needed to determine which of the two was the cause.

The solution to this was to have me stop breastfeeding her for 4 days. I had to pump exclusively and give her bottles so we could determine exactly how much she was eating. If she gained, we would know that she was just a lazy eater at the breast. If not, we would move onto bloodwork to figure out what was going on with her metabolism.

I spent the first 2 days of this experience sobbing uncontrollably. E is not a cuddly baby, so nursing her is really the only time I get to snuggle with my little girl. I was also terrified that my milk supply would completely tank and she wouldn't be able to nurse again after this little experiment was over. On top of that, pumping every two hours is a less than pleasant experience. By Friday afternoon, I was ready to give up, and I almost did. Then I convinced myself that if I gave in and nursed her now, the last 2 days would have been a complete waste. I decided to suck it up and keep going, and just hope that I wouldn't completely screw up my supply.

I was hoping and praying that it was a breastfeeding issue and not a metabolic one. I figured the worst case scenario with a breastfeeding issue would be that I'd have to offer her pumped milk after nursing to make sure she was full. Not ideal, but not too bad. Plus, we could work with a lactation consultant to try to get her to eat more when she nursed. The solution to a high metabolism - if I wanted her to continue getting breastmilk - would be for me to pump, and then add formula powder to my milk to make it higher in calories without making her eat a larger quantity. Or I could switch her to a high calorie specialty formula, which is simply not an option in my book. I am determined that this baby will be breastfed. I was terrified that it was a problem with her metabolism. I let her nurse for as long as she wants, so why would she stop before she was full?

Because she's lazy, apparently. I should know this by now, considering it took 42 weeks of pregnancy, a crazy amount of pitocin, 23 hours of labor, and eventually a c-section to even get her out of me (seriously, all she would have had to do was turn her head slightly to move things along!).

We took her in this morning to be weighed. She gained 8 freaking ounces in 4 days!!!! That's half a pound!!!! I'm feeling slightly freaked out about the fact that she hasn't been eating enough for the first 3 months of her life, but the doctor assures me that she's completely healthy and right on track developmentally, and pretty much perfect in every way. The only problem is, now that I'm nursing her again, she doesn't want to take the bottle after. I'm not sure if this is because she's decided that she likes a full tummy and is now eating more, or if she's just lazy and content to take the edge off her hunger and leave it at that (which was what was causing the problem in the first place). We are now on a mission to find a good lactation consultant and motivate this kid to eat!!!

3 months old!!!

Elliot is 3 months old today. I can't believe how fast it's gone! I have mixed feelings about this. I miss my teeny tiny newborn who slept all the time, but I love all the smiles and laughs that I get now. I just can't believe that there will come a day that she's not a baby anymore :(

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (and Terrified Mother)

So I've been reading the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." It's one of the most respected books out there for dealing with sleep issues, and it's written by one of the countries leading experts on infant sleep. It has always been recommended to me very highly.



So why was I reading this book? What kind of sleep issues is E having?



NONE!!!!! So why am I reading this book? E is a great sleeper. She takes 3 naps of at least one hour every day. Usually they are closer to 2-3 hours. She goes down easily at night, and only wakes up once to eat. She will occasionally even sleep through the night!



Yet for some reason, I felt compelled to do some research to see if I was doing things right. Rationally, I know that there is no real "right". If what we're doing works for me and works for her, then it's right. But I read it anyway. Or at least I started to. When I got to the part that said my child would grow up to be a addicted to sleeping pills if I didn't make sure she got quality sleep now, I had to stop.

I had to stop because I had to run into the office, where Matt was bouncing Nans to sleep, and announce that he must stop bouncing RIGHT THIS MINUTE!!!!!!!!! Apparently sleep while in motion is not quality sleep, and since I don't intend to raise a drug addict, the bouncing had to end. One short meltdown later (mine, not the baby's) I requested that the book be taken away from me. I may revisit it later, if we actually develop a sleeping problem, but for now I'm going to enjoy my daughter's 6+ hours of bouncing induced sleep at night. We'll deal with the imminent drug addiction later.

Nannies + CoffeePot = BFF's 4ever!!!

Elliot has discovered two new best friends. She loves nothing more than to look at them, talk to them, and laugh at them. The first friend is G-Mo. G-Mo is short for Grandma Monkey. Matt's mom bought it for her, and I just brought it out the other day. She no longer cares if I play with her or not, as long as G-Mo is within her line of sight. I'm beginning to feel a little left out.

Her other new friend is Mr. CoffeePot. Mr. CoffeePot is a 5 year old Cuisinart coffee maker that we received as a wedding gift. She met him after bathtime on Sunday. Her bathtub fits in the kitchen sink, and we dry her off and put her lotion on while she's laying on the kitchen counter. She looked to her left and immediately started smiling and talking to the coffeepot. We tried it again tonight and she did the same thing.

I am the funniest person alive...

or at least my daughter seems to think so. She's just started laughing lately. So far, they've just been quiet giggles. She was in a laughing mood yesterday, so Daddy got these giggles on camera.




Then, just a few minutes later, she started REALLY laughing. Hysterically. The best part was that we were still filming her, so we have her first real laughs on video.

More catch-up

Rather than try to write a zillion posts to catch up to the present day, I'll just make a timeline of the important moments up until now.

6/24/08: BFP! (Big Fat Positive, for those of you who don't frequent baby-related message boards). At that point, I look like this:





7/18/08: First MW (midwife) appointment and ultrasound. Saw a tiny little heartbeat!

9/30/08: Big ultrasound at 18 weeks. It's a girl!!! All arms, legs, and vital organs are present and accounted for. I now look like this:





10/22-27/08: Elliot's first vacation (in utero) to San Francisco.




1/31/09: Baby Shower.



3/1/09: Due date.




3/9/09: Still pregnant, and baby is running out of fluid. Scheduled induction for March 11.

3/11/09: Induced at 6:00am



3/12/09: Elliot Elizabeth is born at 5:01am. More on that to come.



3/14/09: We bring Elliot home!



3/18/09: First bath.




3/19/09: First smile. The picture is not the actual first smile, but the first one caught on camera.



4/12/09: One month old and Elliot's first Easter.



5/10/09: First Mother's Day!





5/12/09: Two months old.



5/25/09: Nannies decides that she loves her blanket.



And you're up to date!