Two Months!

AHH How are we back here already?  I'm guessing the shock of how many days/weeks have passed is going to be a regular thing.  I'm really, finally, starting to enjoy maternity leave.  It took me about 6 weeks to recover/get used to Abby/get into a groove.  We're just past 8 weeks and I'm finally feeling comfortable with things and really starting to enjoy each day.  Going back to work is inevitable so I'm just trying to make each day count until then!

This month, Abby met almost all of the family members on my side at my Grandmother's funeral and the surrounding events.  It was so wonderful that my Grandmother got to meet Abby and I will always remember and will share the photos and memories with Abby as she grows up. The three of us packed up and headed to PA- and Abby and I actually stayed for a few days extra while Joey flew to GA for work.   It was this trip for the funeral and all of the family events that really kicked my rear into gear.  It was the first time that I had to follow a schedule that wasn't Abby's and Joey wasn't there to help and there wasn't time to feel sorry for myself because I had clogged milk ducts (this was right when I started antibiotics for mastitis and I was terrified of getting it again).  I fed her in the church, I pumped in the car, and she slept through the church service and everyone held her and said what a good baby she was.  We survived.  And after that, I realized I can do this! And it was really empowering.

Getting a bottle from Aunt Corinne at the church.  This was the only picture I got of her complete outfit that day (-1 sock).

One of my favorite pictures so far.  Abby and my Mom.

Also this month, we took Abby to her first restaurant(s).  She was very well behaved, of course, because the moment we strap her into her carseat and put her in the car, she's out like a light.  ALSO, I finally worked up the nerve to take the stroller out with me.  I don't know why, but that was a huge deal.  I got her into Dick's Sporting Goods (to buy Joey a kayak...) and to Kohls to try on dresses.  I was terrified the whole time that she would cry, but of course, she didn't.  And nobody even looked twice at the stroller.

Our 4 year wedding anniversary was this past weekend.  We celebrated by leaving Abby with Grandma and going out to a really expensive French restaurant for dinner.  The fourth year is "flowers and fruit", so Joey got me 2 dozen humongous roses and a bottle of wine (<- counts as fruit, right??).  I deviated a bit and bought him the kayak he's been talking about since I was 39 weeks pregnant and he didn't understand why I wouldn't let him go get a kayak and play on the river in it. He had a blast paddling up and down the Potomac near our house this weekend.

Snapchat FTW

How many months? TWO Months! (Currently, 8 weeks and 5 days)

Recent Stats:  I gave you her stats in my "Just Popping In" post, and that's from 2 weeks ago.  Luckily I ordered an infant scale from Amazon. It arrived today but I don't have the right battery so I'll have to check back when I get it.  I ordered the scale because her next appointment isn't for a couple months and I want to make sure she's gaining weight.  I'm also curious to see how many ounces of milk she's taking in when I breast feed her vs. bottle.  I want to make sure we're giving her enough in her bottles.

Clothes size:  Well we're in an interesting conundrum.  Abby is long and thin, so she can still fit in (some) newborn size onesies.  The problem is the pants and footies... her legs are too long!  The 0-3 size fits the best but we don't have a lot of that.  The 3 month stuff fits her length-wise but is huge and baggy everywhere else.  I feel like we're probably not the only family in America with this issue... The onesie in the pics below is a newborn size and you can see it's a liiittle too small.

Diaper Size: 1

Breastfeeding: I gave a lengthy update a couple posts back so I'll just tell you it's more of the same.  The only issue I've been dealing with lately is a ton of blocked milk ducts, which is scary because if they don't resolve they can get infected and cause mastitis.  I know diet is a huge factor, so I'm going to focus on that and see if it helps at all.  Since Abby is no longer in my body, I've become a bit lackadaisical about eating well...

Sleeping: I'm afraid to write about it because I know as soon as I do, she'll stop sleeping through the night.  Actually last night she did wake up for a dream feed around 2:30, but for the most part she's sleeping ~7 hours at night, give or take.  I detailed our schedule in my previous post so I won't bore you with that again.

Personality: OH my goodness! Every day she is just budding.  She and I will carry on little "conversations" with her coos.  Her smiles are to die for! She is just starting to learn how to use her voice.  I've heard her laugh but I don't think it's been in response to anything- I think that's next.  I know every Mom says this but damn, my kid is cute!

One of these days she is going to wear this and like it!!!

Milestones: [*Last time I talked about 'babbling' but I really meant 'cooing'.  Babies don't really babble for a couple more months.] Tons of cooing, following us around the room with her head and eyes, lift her head up off the ground/turn it to the side, holds head up when sitting for longer periods of time, reaches out for things (such as her mobiles/hanging toys), etc.

I'm sure I forgot stuff so I'll just come back and edit the post when I remember... ;)

~SG

Our Schedule

I've never been one for routine.  I think this stems from my rebellion after spending my entire young life in a ballet studio doing the same exercises, in the same order, day after day.  I remember once in college I realized I had a shower routine (facewash, shampoo, etc) and I immediately switched it up because I didn't like it.

Here's the thing, though.  Babies need routine.  So... I bit the bullet and started working on a schedule with Abby.  I was really disappointed in how it was going until I realized that it's not going to be cut and dry. *Duh, Sarah.  I was thinking about it yesterday and while we don't stick to specific times, we do have a pretty good schedule down.  It will get even more solid once I go back to work, (and will probably get messed up a few times with each growth spurt), but here is what we're doing each day so far.

Disclaimers: Abby eats every 2.5-3 hours, so the times below will obviously change on a daily basis depending on when she ate last.  Also, I'm pumping every 3 hours but I'm not going to put that on here because that's pretty predictable. ALSO so you people don't think I'm a bad Mom I do change her diaper more than I wrote down below.  Obviously that's something you do as needed...

I realize you probably don't care about any of this but it's fun for me to write it down (hello, I make itineraries for fun) so... either read it or don't ;)

3:30AM: My day starts.  Yep.  I wake up every day, on my own, around this time because I need to pump!! Abby might be sleeping through a feeding or two, but my udders don't get that memo.  I sneak out of the bedroom and back in and hope that the creature doesn't stir.

5AM (If we are lucky. Sometimes it's more like 4/4:30): Joey's alarm goes off for work, and Abby is usually sucking on her fists, kicking her legs furiously, and making various noises.  I've been getting a bottle ready after I pump so I have one ready to give the starving animal right away!  She eats, gets a new diaper, and after some brief awake time, she'll usually go back to sleep.

Morning Nap #1: This is the early morning nap.  Takes place either upstairs in the pack n play or downstairs in the swing while Mommy has coffee and watches Jummy and Autria on ABC7...

I always put her down horizontally and I always find her like this in the morning.  She rotates 90 degrees every night.

8AMish: Abby wakes up, gets a new diaper and a bottle.  I usually get her dressed and then we have some play time since she's awake for a little while.  She's not a huge fan of tummy time but it's necessary :( We also listen to Baby Einstein music or just plain classical (we're going through the Tchaikovsky ballets...) and sometimes I even put on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse because I feel guilty when I see her looking at the TV...

9AM: 'Live with Kelly and Michael' comes on.  Joey makes fun of me but I think they are hilarious and I watch it every day.

Morning Nap #2 (10/11am): 2nd morning nap.  Sometimes stretches into the noon hour depending on feeding times.

12PMish: Mom tries to find something to eat for lunch.  Thinks she really needs to get out to the grocery store.  Wonders about taking the jogger in the grocery store.  (I'm still a little gun shy about taking the stroller places... is that weird?)

1/2PMish: Abby wakes up, diaper, bottle.  More awake time, tummy time, etc.

Afternoon Activity: This is usually a walk/jog in the stroller around the neighborhood, but can also be errands or a nap for both Mommy and baby ;)

Afternoon Nap: She skips this one sometimes.  Then there are days where she just refuses to sleep at all, or days where the dogs bark too much and she wakes up.  Anyway, this one doesn't really have a time range.  After noon, our schedule gets a little wonky.

4:30PMish: Joey gets home from work, turns on Castle, and starts planning dinner (yep... he's still cooking.  I am a horrible housewife and I can't lie to you guys.)

5PMish: Abby wakes up/diaper/bottle.  Awake time with Daddy :)

Evening Nap: This one may or may not happen as well.  It can stretch into the 7 o'clock hour which always scares me because then I'm afraid she won't sleep at night.

[Wednesdays and Saturdays (or Sundays) are bath nights.  Abby isn't very stinky, so we only bathe her twice per week.  She LOVES the bath.  I use a space heater to warm up the room, get the water to the perfect temperature, and she will just chill in her little tub.  After bath, I put on that magical lavender lotion and she's usually out like a light shortly thereafter.]

8/9PMish: We get changed for bed, diaper, and one last bottle.  If she ate earlier in the evening, I will nurse her around 9 to get her to calm down/get some more food in her tummy.  All babies have fussy time and Abby's is at 8pm.  Walking around with her or nursing her usually does the trick.

She's a pretty smart baby (or at least smarter than I expected!) and sometimes we have to turn off the TV and I have to actually put my phone down and roll over before she goes to sleep.  And forget it if I'm not laying down in bed next to her PnP.  Moving her to her bedroom should be fun........ I said I would do it in October but I'm not ready yet.

Abby is usually asleep by 10 and then she will sleep through the night.  I know.  I'm an asshole.  I'm just enjoying it while it lasts.  I'm not stupid enough to think that it will.

I pump for the last time after she's asleep, get the dishwasher going and finish up whatever else I'm doing and then I'm in bed too.

It doesn't seem like much but it's actually exhausting.  I'm able to keep the house clean and laundry/dishes done, but that's about it.  On days where we have doctor's appointments or other outings, our schedule gets thrown off but Abby is pretty good at getting back on.

She's what we call a "Trap Baby".  Special thanks to my bro and SIL for the term.  Basically means that she's so good that we assume that we are either a) awesome parents or b) that all babies are like this.  So inevitably we'll decide to have more babies assuming they will all be like her.  Except they won't.

OK I gotta go because the creature is stirring.  Today is our 4 year wedding anniversary, Abby is turning 2 months old in 3 days, and I go back to work in 4 weeks :( .  Hold me!!!

~SG

Bonus pic of the baben... in case you read all of that.

Breastfeeding Update and Professional Newborn Photos

---More about nipples than you probably care to read.  But, my blog, my rules.---

---I wrote this post about 2 weeks ago.  Since then, things have gotten much better.  But I'm going to leave it the way it was written because I want to remember the good AND the bad.  And maybe I'll help someone else while I'm at it.  I'll pop in again at the end. ---

I knew I was going to have trouble with SOMETHING.  You don't just get an easy pregnancy and delivery.  That's not how it works.  After my smooth pregnancy, I was so focused on my labor/delivery (that was SURE to be the trouble spot) that I did not really think about what our new life was going to be like. Thankfully, Abby is a very good baby.  She is easy to care for.  What I did not realize, even though I researched it to death, was that breastfeeding would be a challenge for us.

While meeting with the lactation consultants at the hospital, they told me Abby had a tongue tie making it difficult for her to suck correctly.  This was initially not a problem, because my milk supply was (still is) so good that she was getting plenty to eat, regardless of the fact that she wasn't doing it properly.  However, after 2 weeks of breastfeeding, my nipples were so raw I was dreading every feeding and ready to quit.  We got the go ahead from our pediatrician to start with pumping and bottles which was a huge relief.  I also knew I needed to work on her latch, because the improper latch (caused by her tongue tie) is what causes the pain.  I started working on her latch at each feeding and it was getting a little better, very slowly.  I had good days and bad days.  Some very bad days.  I tried every product on the market. Lanolin (I have been through so many tubes of this), gel pads, air exposure, other random Lansinoh products, etc.

As I mentioned previously, we traveled to PA on short notice so that my Grandmother could meet Abby. I ended up breastfeeding at rest stops sitting in the car and other unusual places.  Therefore, I wasn't paying attention to Abby's latch or my positioning.  When we got back from that trip, I was in excruciating pain.  That night, my pain was so bad that I wondered why I was doing this to myself. So I decided to take a 24 hour break and pump exclusively.  I also wondered if I didn't have a yeast infection (Thrush) and made an appointment to visit my doctor the next day.  [Note: He basically took one look at me, rolled his eyes, and told me that sore nipples were normal and to use lanolin and breast shields.  Thanks.]

Pumping exclusively was really difficult at first-  It is hard to figure out where to fit the pumping in between feeding the baby, and what to do with the baby because she's crying while I'm pumping. It was stressful and the stress was causing my milk supply to go down!  Cue more stress!  That night, Joey encouraged me to contact another lactation consultant.  One that would come to the house and help us.  I know I've said it a million times but his support is what has really kept me from just quitting everything and giving her formula (not that there is anything wrong with that!!!!!!!).

After giving myself a day off, I was SO PLEASED to see that Abby picked breastfeeding back up.  Thank goodness for an easy going and versatile baby.  I also felt much better.  I made sure to focus on the latch each time and I felt like it was getting better.

By the time of the appointment with the lactation consultant, I was starting to get sore again.  She came to the house and examined me and Abby.  She said I have perfect nipples for breastfeeding (yay?) but what I wasn't prepared for was that she showed me Abby's tongue tie and explained that if we don't fix it, I'm not going to be able to continue because of pain.  Originally we didn't want to clip it.  Why would we do something that would hurt her?

I was still trying to come to terms with the idea of clipping the tongue tie when I woke up after a horrible night feeling achy all over with a 101 degree fever. What was the matter? You guessed it: mastitis.  Kick me while I'm down, why doncha?! So, now I had an infection in my breast that was painful and had me paranoid about emptying it and clogged ducts and everything else, along with making sure my daughter was getting enough to eat.  My stress was through the roof but I decided to tackle it one feeding at a time.  I continued pumping and bottle feeding and that's where we are today.

--- Fast forward a couple of weeks and I no longer feel guilty about pumping and giving her bottles. I realize now that was a big issue for me and that was what was upsetting me.  Everything you read says "BREAST IS BEST" but that doesn't matter.  What matters is what works for you and your baby.  That is something I was missing, but I am so glad that I understand now.  If we have to give her bottles, or formula, or milk from a cow named Bessie, we're doing what's best for us and she's healthy and I'm not psycho and therefore we are in a good place.  

We are doing great with bottles and SOME breastfeeding.  Usually 1-2 times per day, other than that- bottles.  She's still getting exclusive breast milk.  My supply is off the charts and I'm getting a ton into the freezer which is great for when I go back to work!  I am putting off calling the ENT doctor about the tongue tie but it is something I have to do.  I want to make sure it isn't going to cause her other issues (like with speech, for example). 

I'll be sure to check back in on this subject in another month or so.  Thanks for following along on my journey :) ---

OH and since you read that whole thing, here are some favorites from Abby's 2 week photo shoot with the photographer:

She already looks huge to me compared to this :-/

Those eyes :-D

We're going to have to redo the Mickey hat pics.... it was too big!

This wasn't a posed photo.  Poor thing was a little overwhelmed. (Confession: so was I.)

Future Masonette in her tutu from my Coaches

Obligatory (but oh so cute) ring pic

Sweet Daddy kisses

Our family

<3