Pictures, thoughts, and a video fail

Kate will be 7 weeks old tomorrow (holy moly, where has the time gone?!) and in that time I have realized a few things:

1. I was worried before having a baby about giving up so much of myself. Having to give my time to someone else was scary for me, especially knowing that I would be home alone with her during the week and would have nobody else to trade off with during the day. What I didn't realize was how completely I would WANT to devote all of my time to this new little person. I want to hold her, feed her, play with her, and meet her every need before she even knows she needs it. It is not a sacrifice that I make as a mother - it is something that I am lucky enough to get to do everyday.

2. I have always been afraid of doctors, needles, and pretty much anything medical. After pregnancy, getting blood drawn is old hat and I feel weird NOT going to the doctor every week. However, I now have a new fear - vaccinations. I am absolutely dreading taking Kate for her 2 month visit because she will be getting her first round of shots. I'd gladly take them all for her if I could and I have a feeling that I will cry more than she will.

3. I never realized I would be so excited over things like burping and pooping. But seriously...after a full 7 days without a poop out of your kid, you welcome it like a long-lost friend when it finally comes. :)

And now for some pictures of my little Moo, who, by the way, was switched to a different med for her reflux and we're still in the 'wait and see' phase to see if it will work.




My little cutie:

Big yawn:

Sleepy baby (she's only allowed to nap on her tummy when I can watch her, but she LOVES it):

Mommy and Moo:

Sweet baby:

Ok, this one needs a little explanation...Moo's favorite position is up on people's chest and when she falls asleep and you put her down, she promptly wakes up. Well one night I went out shopping and left her home with her daddy. She fell asleep on him and he needed to put her down, but didn't want her to wake up. So he invented the "shoulder substitute" and propped her up like this. He took a picture of her for me because he was very proud of himself. Looks like she enjoyed it.

Smiley girl:
Ok, lastly I have for you something I call "Video Fail". I tried to sneak up on Kate and get a video of her smiling at herself in a mirror. Instead I ended up surprising her and the video concludes with her spitting up on herself. Enjoy!

Snores and more

Moo fell asleep on K last night with her face smashed into his shoulder...that's her favorite position. Sometimes we worry about whether she can breathe ok like that, but last night she made it perfectly clear that she was breathing:




On another note, my baby is still cranky. She had two really awesome days (Sunday and Monday) when I thought we had made a breakthrough with the Zantac. Alas, Tuesday she went back to being cranky at night and by Wednesday she was back to being cranky during the day, too. I am starting to wonder if she is not having any serious issue at all and is just having normal baby fussies. I have read that the fuss peaks at around 6 weeks and then gets better from there. She will be 6 weeks on Monday, so if that is the case and this is as bad as it gets, I can definitely live with it. She is not inconsolable or miserable 100% of the time. I just wish I knew for sure that it wasn't something wrong - if I know that she is not uncomfortable or that something is really bothering her, then I am ok with consoling her when she just wants to grump at me.

I plan on giving her the weekend on the Zantac (it was a week yesterday since she's been on it) and then calling the doc on Monday to get their opinion. I don't want to keep her on the medicine if it isn't doing anything for her.

When she is not being cranky, she is really happy and able to show it. Her smiles are getting bigger, brighter, and more frequent. I can't get enough of it. :)

Professional pics

Well, we still don't have all of our professional pics back yet, but the photographer posted a couple on facebook for me. Enjoy!
This is just one my mom took of her that I thought was cute:

We have a social smiler!!

Kate has given us a few random smiles here and there while awake for the past 2 weeks. Today, though, she has been grinning at everything and I was able to catch one on tape! Here is my cutie grinning this morning:

One month old!

I can't believe my little Moo is already one month old!! We had a doctor's visit on her one-month birthday. Here are her stats:

Weight: 10 lbs 13 oz.
Length: 23 inches
Head: 14.5 inches

As you can see, she is still growing like a weed. I thought for sure it would have slowed down since our last visit, but apparently not. She is in the 90th percentile for weight and 95th for height. We knew we'd have a tall baby, though. I'm 5'9" and K is 6'4"...so there is no way we'd have a baby that was on the short side. :)

We have been struggling with a very cranky baby lately and I thought for sure we were just headed into some colic issues. However, Wednesday afternoon we hit a new low when Kate was screaming for hours and wouldn't even eat. Everytime I tried to feed her she would wiggle and scream even more. Tylenol ended up getting us through the day (it was like a miracle...within 15 minutes of getting it she settled down, ate, and went down for a nap). I talked to the doctor about it the next day and she seems to think Kate has reflux. So she sent us home with a prescription for baby Zantac, which we started her on right away. So far I am not seeing too much of a difference. Overall I would say she is less crabby throughout the day, but she is still having episodes of screaming while she eats. It's not every feeding, and it's not at the same time every day, but she has about two a day that really drain us both. It is horrible to see her crying because she is hungry, but everytime she tries to eat she is in obvious pain and starts screaming. Breaks my heart and I hope something works for us soon. :(

Other than that, the doctor said she looks great. Very healthy baby. She is sweet as can be, I love that we now have some time when she is awake and not crying. She just sits and studies everything around her. Her personal favorites are the ceiling fan and the trees outside. :) I love my baby.

First trip home!

I got a call early last week that my grandpa (Papa) fell in his house and split his head open (requiring staples to close it) and broke his pelvis. :( He was in the hospital for a few days and then transferred to a rehab facility where he'll be for at least a month. This all prompted K and I to decide to go up there to see him (and our parents). They all live 3 hours north of us. This was our first trip with Kate, which of course made me nervous just because it was something new. So I started packing 3 days ahead of time and packed up pretty much the whole house. :) We had a full schedule, too.

Friday we left after K got off work. We made it just over halfway and when we stopped for food, Moo decided she was hungry too. So I sat in the back and gave her a bottle. Then she slept the rest of the way. We made great time. When we got home we went over to the neighbors, where my parents were, and Kate got to meet everyone there.

Saturday morning we went over to K's parents' house (our parents live down the street from each other - makes trips home easy). We just hung out for a while.
**Kate and Grandpa F.**

Then we left and went back to my parents and my godmother came down (from Wisconsin) to meet Kate. Moo screamed for most of the time she was there, but my godmother still thought she was pretty cute. :) **Kate with my godmother**

After Kate cried all afternoon, we decided to go ahead and try to take her out to a restaurant for the first time. I thought we were doomed, but it actually went perfectly. I fed her right before we left and she slept the whole time until we got home. Very nice.

Sunday we went back over to K's parents' and Moo got to meet her great-grandma F. Great grandma T. was there, too, and they couldn't get enough of her:
**Kate with her great-grandmas**

Then Kate and I headed out to visit my Papa and Grandma at the rehab place. They ate her up and we all enjoyed our visit.













**Kate and Great Grandpa and Grandma K.**

Sunday evening we head out for home and Kate slept the whole way.
**Lily loving on Kate in the car**

Trip = success

Other news: Kate is 4 weeks old today! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. It has been the most incredible 4 weeks - something new every day. I love my little girl more than I could have ever imagined. She makes every day something special. **Woohoo!! I'm 4 weeks old today!!**