Wednesday, January 19, 2011

He Loves His Baby Sister

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Jac is definitely in love with his baby sister.  He has always been a great big brother.  He always reports when Mia gets hurt, he holds her hand when she is scared and he plays with her nonstop.  But you never know what a third is going to do to the mix.  So far so good.  Jac thinks she is the 'cutest baby in the world' and since 'babies are the cutest things in the world' is logic stands that 'she is the cutest thing in the world'. 

He gives her kisses.  He likes to hold her hands.  He has asked to hold her a couple of times.  He is smitten!  I am so thankful that Stella has come into our lives and that both Jac and Mia love her and have welcomed her into our family. 

Monday, January 10, 2011

Sleep Schedule at Week 7

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Stella is seven weeks old today and I wanted to document her sleep schedule.  She generally goes "to sleep" meaning you can set her down and leave her in her crib without her waking up in five minutes at around 11pm.  Last night it was more like 10:30 which I thought was great.  She then will sleep about four hours waking somewhere between 2:30 and 4am.  I nurse her for as much as she will take, normally this is around 30 minutes, last night it was an hour but sometimes it is only 15 minutes.  This is normally 5 to 6 hours since her last feeding.  Last night I had fed her at 9pm and she woke at 2:30, right at 5.5 hours between feedings and I got 3.5 hours of sleep and she got right at 4 hours of sleep. 

She ate for an hour last night so that means she was back in her crib around 3:30 and then she will sleep until 5 or 6am.  Last night she slept until 6ish, I didn't look too closely at the clock and I brought her to bed with me to nurse until around 7am.  I wasn't quite ready to face the world yet so needed a little dosing time. 

So in all she slept 6.5 hours at "night" and I got roughly that also.  A very good night. 

She is starting to take an evening nap that will eventually be her bedtime and blend into this 11pm bedtime.  I can't wait for that.  Jeff and I really need a "no kid" zone during the evening hours otherwise we don't even have time to ask "how was your day"? 

The daytime naps continue to be our struggle.  She will nap on top of you for one or two hours during the day but she never really settles more than once a day.  She will doze a lot and I guess that counts as sleep for her but I think she is very sleep deprived.  Even when it is completely quiet and it is just us in the house she has a hard time settling.  I am hoping this improves over time! 

Here is a picture of Stella and I yesterday after her bath, her hair sticks straight up after I wash it.



Saturday, January 8, 2011

2010 in Pictures

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I go through all my snapshots in January and put together albums and work on baby books.  I enjoy seeing the year all together in one place.  Here are my favorites.

January
Snowbabies

Ready for dancing

February

So you think you can dance


Helping Daddy paint


March


Bye-bye Crib

I think I can fly


April

I have no words.

On vacation without mom and dad


May

Hardworking Vacation

Me and the Five Year Old

June

Learning to wipe

Training League

July

Roasting Marshmallows

My 'easy on the eyes' husband

August


Showing some nerves at the classroom visit


First day of school good luck hugs



September


Birthday Girl decides everyone gets a candle.


Oozing Cuteness

October

Apple Picking


I think I make a pretty decent bunch of grapes.


November


Sweet Stella

Cowgirl Day at School



December

I Need One of These

Mom of Three

Friday, January 7, 2011

Stella Six Week Checkup

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Stella had her six week checkup yesterday.  It went really well, she was 10 pounds and 10.5 ounces and 22 inches; both of which are 75%.  (This is the smallest six week old that we have had.  Jac was 95% and Mia was 90%, over a pound bigger than Stella.)  I am already tired of lugging around the infant carseat though, even though she is "light" compared to my other kids. 

She wasn't happy about any of the checkup.  We didn't have our regular pediatrician and the doctor was a bit rough for my taste.  And then of course the shots.  She got three shots and was completely beside herself.  After it was over I was going to feed her to calm her down, but she was already in shutdown mode.  She ended up sleeping for two and half hours after the doctor's visit was over. 

She did get a low grade fever and was very tired and a bit fussy, but otherwise, no worse for wear.  The doctor listened to her lungs (while she cried very hard) for a long time and declared them completely clear of RSV.  For her first sickness, she was a trooper and I am so thankful she didn't get any secondary infections. 

I am really trying to soak up her infancy, but the days are just flying by.  It is hard not to wish for an older baby because they become so much easier, but I know that someday I will look back and yearn for a newborn. 

Monday, January 3, 2011

RSV and Other Bugs

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Yikes! Baby Stella already picked up her first virus.  Or should I say it was probably sprayed straight up her nose.  I have to admit that I thought the breast milk would protect her from all bugs, at least for awhile.  I guess not, could be that she isn't exclusively breastfed. 

At first I was concerned that she had whooping cough.  I am a bit nervous about all of the outbreaks that have been going on, including Jac's school.  I had Jeff get a booster shot so that Stella would be somewhat cocooned by her immediate family - all of us being vaccinated.  Then I found out that similar to chicken pox you can still get whooping cough even with the vaccine, it just is a lighter case.  Well, that doesn't really help Stella! 

We did find out that she does not have whooping cough, but in the process we tested for RSV and she does have that.  RSV is basically a bad cold that settles in your lungs.  It is very normal in infants, but when younger than 2 months there are concerns.  Stella seems to be doing very well with it.  She is pretty much over the snotty nose, but does still have some chest congestion.  She ran a low grade fever for two days, thank goodness it never went into the danger range.  An infant has difficulty fighting infection, so we watch for a high fever that would signify that.  So far so good.

The sad part is that she coughs so hard that she will throw up.  She has done that a half a dozen times, mostly in the middle of the night when she hasn't coughed for awhile.  It is disturbing because she hasn't been eating as well with the virus.  So then when she throws up what she just ate, it is a bit freaky.

The good news is she was 10lbs 1oz at five weeks when we were at the doctor and had grown an inch since birth.  Right on track for a Carey kid!  We have her six week checkup on Wednesday and I am pretty sure she gained weight, although definitely not as fast as the last week.