It's been a busy December. Goodness, it's nearly over. Time is going fast - too fast for my mama. Apparently, I also do not listen to her as I continue to grow faster and faster despite her telling me to slow down.
I just turned 8 weeks. Next week I have my 2 month well check.
I am turning into quite the talkative and smiley baby.
The photos are in order of time - oldest to most recent.
The first is of me in my pink cat PJs - I have three pairs of these - a very popular outfit I've been given. I was getting ready to go to Mom's Christmas work party. It was a grown-ups only party but I was allowed as I was still too young to be away from Mom. I did great. Even in the frigid temperatures and riding in a covered wagon.
The polka dot dress was my Christmas dress - a gift from Neighbor Lily. I liked the dress but I'm unhappy in the photo just from tiredness. The stocking says, "Baby's First Christmas" and behind it are my gifts from Santa. The following photo is me sleeping on Christmas morning. As you can see I was most content.
Next photo is of me smiling at my Auntie J while on a girls' day out while Mom's friend was visiting - this was taken in JCPennys. Next photo you can see I like my play gym and have recently discovered I can kick it to make it play the Magic Star music.
Last two photos were from yesterday - shows off how smiley I am.
A few other items - I've grown out of my newborn diapers so Mom will be mailing those rentals back. I am still small for my 0-3 month clothes but my cloth diapers do fill out my body suits making them fit snugly. As far as sleep, I am doing better. Until about a week ago I was waking every 2 hours to eat. Now I will go about 3-4 hours between feedings and am pretty good about going back to sleep. Overall, I'm a pretty happy baby.
I waited with Mom for 2 hours in line, but the photo was awesome. I very much enjoyed my first encounter with Santa. I snuggled right up with him.
Oh and Mom said I was a great baby sleeping or eating most of our long wait so I suppose there may be something in my stocking this year!
As of late I am just growing, growing, growing...
Mom says she can see me growing in my sleep. Sleep, by the way, is something I prefer to do during the day and especially in the arms of someone kind, loving, warm, and moving. Night time I seem to think I need to eat every 2 hours - Mom and Dad don't seem to share my same excitement for night time milk that I do.
Oh, and I am not quiet about my needs. When I need something such as a fresh diaper (I will not sit in a wet diaper for any amount of time) I go from sweet quiet baby to full on screaming baby. I seem to have no patience.
I am also a very loud eater. My eating wakes everyone around.
Brother told everyone at school I was the most beautiful person in the house.
Big Sister is a significant care giver in my life. She taught me to smile (see below photos).
I seem to look like both Brother and Sister (Mom and Dad say I pull the family photo together).
I get cold easily. Especially since it has been -8 to 17 degrees F around here.
Right around 4-5 weeks I started smiling. Mom says it is a defense mechanism for her sleepless nights. Two nights ago she only slept from 6-7:30 am, but I woke up all smiles!
Did I mention I LOVE to be held? Sometimes being in the Moby wrap is the only way Mom can do anything around the house. Actually, the Moby photo is one of her very favorites of the two of us.
Since Mom forgot to post my stats from my two week well check here they are: 7 lbs, 5.5 oz (20%), 20.75 inches (75%), head 35 cm (50%). I am starting to out grow my newborn clothes but starting to fill out my cloth diapers which mean less leaks and blow outs. (I excel at loud blow outs.)
Enjoy some photos from my last couple of weeks.
We're not sure what color my eyes will be but Mom and Dad say they look more like Brother's at this stage than like Sister's. So, we're not sure if they will turn blue or brown. Time will tell but here is the first of the photos for documenting the changes.
I love my flash cards. This is how Mom is able to get the older kids ready for school in the morning and get her teeth brushed. I will usually stare at them for 10-15 minutes. My brother and sister love selecting the cards for me to view each morning. It's becoming a bit of a ritual.
I was not entirely sure if I was going to like my first bath but once I realized I was floating in warm water it must have sparked some memories and I was instantly calm and happy. I also very much enjoyed watching my older siblings play and splash as I had my soak.
I had to wait until I was 16 days old to get my bath because after my umbilical stump fell off around Day 6 or 7 I had a granuloma at the site. My nurse practitioner primary care provider Nurse N used some silver nitrate to remove it (I did not feel a thing - no nerves there). Then I had to wait for it to heal. Mom was pretty happy to give me a bath - I must have been getting a little stinky.
Oh, and I really don't like getting out of the warm bath and also do no like sink baths. These are right up there with being in my car seat (really don't like it).
Here are some photos from that first experience.
Mom and Dad say I came right on time. There was much anticipation in my arrival including family and non-family. In the end, I came exactly when I was ready and at the exact perfect moment. It all worked out.
Here are some photos from my first couple of weeks beginning with my early moments in the hospital including me with Mom's physician, meeting my siblings, and later some time at home. Mom wrote our birth story on the family blog. This blog is where I will post photos. Early on there will be several postings as I seem to change at times almost daily. Later as I grow and my rate of growth slows there will be less and less postings.
Feel free to enjoy the photos and comment. However, we do not use real names on our blogs so please stick with our screen names. I do not yet have a screen name but in honor of the Berenstain Bears, I will be referred to as Honey Bear or Baby Sister, hence the title of my blog.
A few other items:
I was born at 5:07 am - about 2 hours after my parents arrived at the hospital. Because Mom was so calm and tolerating her contractions so well the nurse who checked her in did not think she was as progressed in labor as she was. Actually, even Mom and Dad were surprised since I was the first of their children to be born spontaneously without any type of inducement. I came out fast, very pink and healthy (Apgar scores were all 9/9), and roaring.
Mom's physician and the nursing staff caring for us were all intrigued by my cloth diapers. Everyone insisted on touching them and seeing how they worked.The purple one was the very first one put on me. It was actually a rental.
I weighed 7lbs, 1 oz, and was 20 inches long.
By my 2 day checked up I had lost 10% of my body weight and had to have another weight check 3 days later along with a bilirubin check. By 2 weeks I was back up to my birth weight and even surpassed it weighing in at 7lbs, 5 oz, and gained an inch in length. My head is also in the 50%, length is 75%, and weight about 15-20%. Mom says my head percentile is the largest of all her children which may explain why she is still sore post child birth.
I am quite healthy. Just a little granuloma over my umbilicus site but it should dry up in a couple weeks. I will get my first bath tonight. Brother and Big Sister are VERY excited for this.
I am an excellent nursling. I love my milk - still just drinking nothing but mom's milk about 8-12 times per day. Additionally, I am a pretty good sleeper. Mom and Dad have me on the EASY schedule and cluster feed me in the evenings so I seem to sleep pretty good at night. Occasionally, I have a rough night but mostly that is related to me having multiple dirty diapers. I LOVE to make dirty diapers.
So far I seem to enjoy my family and they REALLY seem to enjoy me. I most like snuggles on the chest and being held close so I can hear a beating heart. I am also starting to really enjoy my contrast flash cards. I will stare at them for several moments and even fall asleep staring at them.
I only have about 5-7 newborn sized outfits so we wash my clothes and diapers a lot, especially since I wet/dirty a lot of diapers. Cloth diapering is going good. They are still a bit big for me, especially around my skinny legs but we are working around it. My Bummis covers with flat diaper inserts seem to work the best but Mom and Dad like the ease of the Bum Genius X-small all-in-one diapers so we use those quite a bit. The latter were rented and will be returned in 2 more months.
Oh, and Mom and Dad seem to agree that I look most like Brother at this stage. Actually, they say I look just like him as a baby, just with girlish features. My eyes may even resemble his color, too. We shall see. For now, enjoy the photos and we will post more as I continue to grow.
