Last night was a wonderful night, and was well deserved after a long day. Maddie decided that she didn't want to nap at all yesterday (she got about 40 minutes in at 7:30 am and didn't go to bed until 7:15 pm). It wasn't so bad that she didn't sleep all day, it was more that she wanted to be held every second, and when I'd put her down, she'd start screaming. But when I put her down for the night, she slept until 4:30 am--her longest sleep ever (her previous record was 9 hours right after her two-week growth spurt). And after her 4:30 am bottle, she fell back asleep until 7 am.
It was amazing! I'm not holding my breath that it will happen again tonight, but I'll certainly be holding on to the fond memories of getting more than 3 hours of sleep!
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
Six-Week Growth Spurt: Check!
From this past Thursday through Saturday, Maddie went through her six-week growth spurt. She had her first growth spurt around week two (right after we felt like we were getting into a rhythm with her feedings, of course!). We were definitely better prepared for round two--when she was fussy, we knew she wanted to eat again. And she definitely ate like a horse! Typically, we give her four ounces every three to four hours, but during her growth spurt, she would have her usual four ounces, and then immediately want another two or three ounces. And she was eating every couple of hours. The hardest part was keeping enough bottles clean to keep up with her insatiable hunger!
The nice part about the end of a growth spurt is the sleeping--she slept a nine-hour stretch from Friday night into Saturday, and then slept most of the day on Sunday. I think it's nature's little gift to parents exhausted by all of the feedings.
We can definitely tell that she's gotten bigger over the past week or so--she is bursting out of her SwaddlePods (thank goodness we bought the next size up), her sleep-n-plays seem to actually be fitting properly (rather than looking ridiculously baggy) and some of her onesies are becoming harder to snap. She'll be growing out of 0-3 month clothes in no time!
The nice part about the end of a growth spurt is the sleeping--she slept a nine-hour stretch from Friday night into Saturday, and then slept most of the day on Sunday. I think it's nature's little gift to parents exhausted by all of the feedings.
We can definitely tell that she's gotten bigger over the past week or so--she is bursting out of her SwaddlePods (thank goodness we bought the next size up), her sleep-n-plays seem to actually be fitting properly (rather than looking ridiculously baggy) and some of her onesies are becoming harder to snap. She'll be growing out of 0-3 month clothes in no time!
Friday, June 22, 2012
Professional Narrator
Add to my many jobs these days the title of Professional Narrator...
Unlike some other babies, Maddie is not necessarily a huge fan of the car. She might be asleep when you get her strapped into the car seat, but once you put that thing into the car, she loses her mind (and last week she lost an entire bottle all over herself and the car seat :/).
Early on, we tried giving her a pacifier, which worked great, until you got five minutes down the road and it fell out of her mouth. We can't very well pull over to give it back to her every few miles (although I have been guilty of pulling into the McDonald's parking lots once or twice and hopping out of the car to give it back to her when I couldn't take it anymore).
Well, last week we got stuck in traffic on the way to pick up our weekly CSA share. It was near her feeding time, and she did not want to be in the car anymore (neither did I, so I can't blame her). So first, I started shhhing to try to get her to calm down. And before I passed out from shhhing, I started narrating our trip. "Looks like we're stuck in traffic....oh the light's out at the intersection ahead....There's a red car in front of us....Do you remember the last time we drove this way?....Oh look! We're moving....Only two more turns until we get there...etc...etc..." Well, it worked, and by the time we got to the farm, she was sound asleep. So, when I put her in the car yesterday to head to my physical therapy appointment, we repeated the whole process. And for 20 minutes I did nothing but talk to myself about everything I saw from our house to the Wellness Center. And sure enough, she fell asleep again!
Luckily, she's a bit more calm if her car seat is in the stroller, otherwise today's trail walk with some other area moms could have been a little bit embarrassing and a lot less enjoyable! (After all, I meet with these women for adult conversation.)
With our long car trip coming up next week, I'm guessing we'll be spending some time narrating again. Luckily, we'll both be in the car and can take turns coming up with something to say about all of the nothingness in Indiana...
Unlike some other babies, Maddie is not necessarily a huge fan of the car. She might be asleep when you get her strapped into the car seat, but once you put that thing into the car, she loses her mind (and last week she lost an entire bottle all over herself and the car seat :/).
Early on, we tried giving her a pacifier, which worked great, until you got five minutes down the road and it fell out of her mouth. We can't very well pull over to give it back to her every few miles (although I have been guilty of pulling into the McDonald's parking lots once or twice and hopping out of the car to give it back to her when I couldn't take it anymore).
Well, last week we got stuck in traffic on the way to pick up our weekly CSA share. It was near her feeding time, and she did not want to be in the car anymore (neither did I, so I can't blame her). So first, I started shhhing to try to get her to calm down. And before I passed out from shhhing, I started narrating our trip. "Looks like we're stuck in traffic....oh the light's out at the intersection ahead....There's a red car in front of us....Do you remember the last time we drove this way?....Oh look! We're moving....Only two more turns until we get there...etc...etc..." Well, it worked, and by the time we got to the farm, she was sound asleep. So, when I put her in the car yesterday to head to my physical therapy appointment, we repeated the whole process. And for 20 minutes I did nothing but talk to myself about everything I saw from our house to the Wellness Center. And sure enough, she fell asleep again!
Luckily, she's a bit more calm if her car seat is in the stroller, otherwise today's trail walk with some other area moms could have been a little bit embarrassing and a lot less enjoyable! (After all, I meet with these women for adult conversation.)
With our long car trip coming up next week, I'm guessing we'll be spending some time narrating again. Luckily, we'll both be in the car and can take turns coming up with something to say about all of the nothingness in Indiana...
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Swaddle-less Naps
Since she came home, Maddie has always been swaddled for sleeping (unless she was sleeping on one of us). This is great if we're at home, but sometimes we're somewhere and she can't be swaddled (in the car, stroller, etc.). And even though she is definitely sleepy, she'll only sleep for 15-20 minutes before waking herself up and getting upset because she isn't swaddled. So, today we're going to attempt to start getting her to take her daytime naps without her swaddle. She went down for a nap at 1:15, and one hour later has only woken up once and gotten a little fussy. But with a little shhhing, she eventually fell back asleep. Here's hoping this works!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Six Weeks Old!
It's hard to imagine that it was six weeks ago that we welcomed little Maddie into our family! At this time on May 9, I was not only excited to finally meet our little girl, I was also excited to be finally getting solid food after being on the perinatal beef broth and ginger ale diet.
So, six weeks in, here's where we are:
Feeding
Maddie is eating 4 oz. at every feeding now (a far cry from less than an ounce when we first brought her home), and she eats anywhere between every 3-5 hours.
Sleeping
Two day-time naps (usually) and a 5-6 hour stretch at night before she wakes up for an early morning feeding.
Favorite Things
Snug-a-Bunny swing, snuggling, SwaddlePod (aka: baby straight jacket), walks in the stroller, watching Mommy and Daddy's faces, staring at lights
Attitude Toward Miley
Maddie and Miley are still pretty indifferent toward each other. Miley likes to let us know when the baby has pooped, and loves to lick her face, hands and feet. Maddie is getting used to being licked, but if she's fussy, Miley had better stay away! Miley does seem to want to calm Maddie down when she is crying by giving her kisses or bringing a toy over to her.
Other Fun Facts
Maddie still has her dark hair that she was born with, but it seems to be getting lighter in the front--who knows what color it will be! Her eyes are either dark blue or dark brown depending on the day. We have a crabby time each day around 6pm during which nothing really makes her happy. She has lots of smiles, but only when she has gas :) She loves to listen to classical music on WKSU during the day, but in the afternoon, she likes to dance with Mommy to whatever is on the iPod.
So, six weeks in, here's where we are:
Feeding
Maddie is eating 4 oz. at every feeding now (a far cry from less than an ounce when we first brought her home), and she eats anywhere between every 3-5 hours.
Sleeping
Two day-time naps (usually) and a 5-6 hour stretch at night before she wakes up for an early morning feeding.
Favorite Things
Snug-a-Bunny swing, snuggling, SwaddlePod (aka: baby straight jacket), walks in the stroller, watching Mommy and Daddy's faces, staring at lights
Attitude Toward Miley
Maddie and Miley are still pretty indifferent toward each other. Miley likes to let us know when the baby has pooped, and loves to lick her face, hands and feet. Maddie is getting used to being licked, but if she's fussy, Miley had better stay away! Miley does seem to want to calm Maddie down when she is crying by giving her kisses or bringing a toy over to her.
Other Fun Facts
Maddie still has her dark hair that she was born with, but it seems to be getting lighter in the front--who knows what color it will be! Her eyes are either dark blue or dark brown depending on the day. We have a crabby time each day around 6pm during which nothing really makes her happy. She has lots of smiles, but only when she has gas :) She loves to listen to classical music on WKSU during the day, but in the afternoon, she likes to dance with Mommy to whatever is on the iPod.
Meeting Madelyn six weeks ago
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Big(ger) Girl Bed
Since we brought Maddie home, she's been sleeping in the bassinet portion of her Pack-n-Play in our bedroom. However, for the past few weeks, she has been way too long for it. We put her in her swaddle and put her into the bassinet, but even with her head at the very top, she still needs to bend her legs to fit them into the bottom. And by the time she wakes up in the morning, she has squirmed herself to a point where her legs are hanging over the end.
We've tried a few times to move her from the bassinet to the upper portion of the Pack-n-Play, but she doesn't seem to like it. It seems like she just enjoys being all snuggled into the tiny space. Well, last night, we decided to make our greatest effort to date to move her out of the bassinet. And, after one hour of shhhing, rocking and replacing her pacifier when it fell out, she finally fell asleep! And she stayed asleep there for three hours!
Fingers crossed tonight will be a bit easier, but for the next week or so we'll certainly have to have our patience turned way up at bedtime to help her stick to sleeping in her new space.
We've tried a few times to move her from the bassinet to the upper portion of the Pack-n-Play, but she doesn't seem to like it. It seems like she just enjoys being all snuggled into the tiny space. Well, last night, we decided to make our greatest effort to date to move her out of the bassinet. And, after one hour of shhhing, rocking and replacing her pacifier when it fell out, she finally fell asleep! And she stayed asleep there for three hours!
Fingers crossed tonight will be a bit easier, but for the next week or so we'll certainly have to have our patience turned way up at bedtime to help her stick to sleeping in her new space.
Monday, June 18, 2012
One Month Checkup
Today we took Maddie for her one-month checkup (which actually came at nearly six weeks). She's 10 pounds, 10 ounces, and just a little over 21 inches long, putting her in the 75th percentile for weight and the 25th percentile for height. Mike and I thought this was pretty funny considering when we went for ultrasounds before she was born, she always measured in the 97th-99th percentile for height. We're definitely happy to see that she's putting on weight (she's up two pounds from birth, or more than three pounds from where she was after we brought her home) and the doctor was happy that we seem to have her reflux under control.
She only needed one vaccine while we were in for this checkup, and just like when she was born, the needle didn't seem to phase her at all! She gave one little cry for a second or so after the nurse gave her the shot, and that was it. She's a trooper! She was even calm enough that Mommy and Maddie were able to go to the grocery store to pick up a few things after the appointment--of course, she got fussy right as we were checking out, and then immediately fell asleep in the car.
She only needed one vaccine while we were in for this checkup, and just like when she was born, the needle didn't seem to phase her at all! She gave one little cry for a second or so after the nurse gave her the shot, and that was it. She's a trooper! She was even calm enough that Mommy and Maddie were able to go to the grocery store to pick up a few things after the appointment--of course, she got fussy right as we were checking out, and then immediately fell asleep in the car.
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