Lots to report. 11/03/2009
 
I know it's been nearly a month since I posted anything, and it's not because nothing has been happening - I promise. Today Evy is in her 4th week of 6 months, and I can report (since we went to the doctor's yesterday and everything was measured) that she's 26.2 inches tall & weighs 17.02 pounds. She's almost sitting up unassisted, but not quite. No visible teeth, but she has begun to teethe. No crawling - but I'm not surprised because they say that sitting up LEADS to crawling. No solid foods yet - but that's going to change very soon.

Since my last post I can report that Evy began to sleep well again, so that's been nice. We decided to try some rice cereal - but I think we got off to a bad start so we haven't tried since we failed. Just recently she's begun to teethe (nothing visible yet, but I can feel it) so she was running a fever and having some wakeful nights. Daylight Savings Time has ended, and Evy's adjusting pretty well to it. We've been trying to get a highchair for about a month, but haven't decided on anything because my sister has one she'd like to give us - it just needs a new cover - which I have to pick up from a warehouse. I have plans to go tomorrow though and I'm excited to get her sitting up regularly and starting on solid foods.

The day before Halloween we went to a pumpkin patch and picked up some small pumpkins for the kiddos. Halloween itself was a bit of a bust. That was one of the days that Evy wasn't feeling well, so even though we had plans to go to my parents house and use their backyard to get some nice family pictures, Evy wasn't happy and the photos showed. She also was running a fever so putting her in a flannel cow costume, for longer than a few minutes,  was out of the question. We did get one or two nice pictures, and of course a picture of her in her costume.

Evy's Halloween Costume!

So, it's been an eventful October, and with MORE holidays around the corner I'm hoping I'll be posting more.
 
 
The last two weeks have been hard with Evy, at night. I thought it had to do with my cycle effecting my supply again, and perhaps it did, yet even with my supply back to normal she's still getting up at least once, sometimes twice, a night. It couldn't have happened at a worst time, as I was taking on a big two week project at work and I was already stressed out about it. Wednesday I actually had Paul take the night shift, and it was for the best because it did make me feel more refreshed when I woke up. I had him take the night shift last night too, but I didn't get the same satisfaction. But, no use crying over spilled milk. She'll get over this soon. In fact, tonight I'm going to try filing her tiny tummy with rice cereal to see if that helps.

With the cold weather comes the need for cold clothing and Evy had none of it. So last night I went to Target and picked up some long sleeve onesies with pants and some flannel sleep & plays. She's also grown out of her size 2 diapers and we've moved onto size 3. It amazes me sometimes she used to be so small.

Last weekend we went camping with my parents. It was a lot of fun, but I was a bit worried because of the weather. It was very windy & cold. Luckily we brought this big wooley body suit for Evy so she stayed warm at night and slept better than at home! The next day we just stayed in the trailer because the winds were close to 45mph. Hopefully next time we can enjoy being outside - even if it's cold.
IMG_0218
 
She's not sick! 09/23/2009
 
We took Evy to the doctor's today because she seems to be getting a rash or some kind of hives on her face and scalp. I didn't think it could be baby acne so I made an appointment - plus it was nearing her 6 month checkup so I thought to hit two birds with one stone.

At the doctors though, they didn't seem to understand she wasn't "sick" and preceded to charge me for a sick visit. They even scolded me when they finally saw her saying, "Do you realize you were sitting on the 'well' side?" I promptly said, "Yes, she's not sick and some little girl's mother out there is threatening the staff with the Swine Flu" - the nurse didn't respond to that.

In the end, the doctor says she has Eczema, and suggested that we try Cetaphil which is a soap free, fragrance free wash - and we also bought some lotion. We've only been able to use it three times since going, so I'm not sure if it's working or not. It seems her skin is calming down - but I'm not sure. She does still have rough patches on her cheeks and stuff so we're going to just keep trying.

Current Weight: 15.07
Current Height: 26.
 
Teef! 09/17/2009
 
I thought I felt a tooth poking through in Evy's mouth the other night. I was so sure, given the fact that she kept waking up and the last time she was inconsolable, that I actually put Orajel on the tooth. She seemed perplexed by it, but not much else. Seeing her distress, and tired myself, I finally just held her until she went to sleep.

I feel terrible saying this, but I'm so concerned about instilling bad habits that I don't do any of that...over mothering. I would NEVER hold her until she went to sleep if I didn't think she was teething.

A few days later I was investigating said tooth and found nothing but a ridge in her mouth - and definately not a tooth seeing as it was in the center of the gum line on the top. Oh well - maybe next time. They say that babies teethe between 3 and 7 months, so she's got another two months before she's considered "late".
 
 
I've been very much in love with Evy recently.

I'm not saying I wasn't in love with her before, but now I feel like we're on the same wave length. I feel so much more HER mom right now then just a mother to a baby. Our bedtime routine has been wonderful, she never cries when we put her to sleep anymore. She's been sleeping through the night again, and when I don't wake her to nurse, she'll sleep from 9pm until around 9am - BLISS. She really is the perfect baby.

I think a lot of it has to do with getting on medication to augment my milk supply. Ever since doing that I'm no longer stressed out wondering if she's gotten enough and she seems so satisfied that I know she's getting just what she needs.

Another indication that she's getting what she needs is that she's pooping more often. Her growth spurt must be over and my supply plentiful because we're both on cloud nine most of the time.

She's still drooling - A LOT - but no teeth yet. She'll put everything in her mouth, which I find adorable. The other day I went to pick her up from her nap and Mr. Bun Bun's tail - which once was poofy with faux sherpa wool - was soaked and deflated but she was happy and gripping onto him as if for life or death. I'm glad, because I picked out Mr. Bun Bun and he's perfect.

Its been awhile since her last appointment, I'm going to make another. She's fitting in 6month clothes right now, I wonder how big she's gotten? She's getting chunky thighs - just like her mama :) I love her. So. So. Much. I wish I could spend more time with her. But I take comfort in knowing that when I DO get to spend time with her we're madly in love with each other.

She rolls over easily now, though she's not too good (or is just resisting) rolling BACK onto her back. She's not able to sit up on her own yet, but she's trying. I'll love it when she can sit up on her own, I want her to stay at THAT stage forever. That way I can sit her down and she wont leave but I don't have to have a place for her to LAY down.

I love her SO much! I'm getting all weepy just thinking about it. She is my light!
 
 
Evy got sick last week.

It started on Thursday and got worse on Friday and by Friday night her temp was 102° and so we took her to urgent care (since her regular doctor was out for the weekend). After waiting a long time, and then pissing her off by sticking stuff in her ears and down her throat, he deemed her having an ear infection.

I'm not sure though. I'm no doctor - I'll be the first to say - but she seemed fine after he gave her some baby Tylenol to bring her fever down. She wasn't before, or after, tugging at her ears either. Plus, early that week her cousin, Elijah, had a very bad cold. Since she's cared for by my sister in my sister's apartment with her cousins I'm almost positive she just got a cold. Her nose was running, her eyes were watering, and she had the fever.

He prescribed Amoxicilin and said to bring her back on Monday or Tuesday. We've been giving her only the Amoxicillin and she's been doing much better - she seems a little fussy on Saturday but that's all. She's been sleeping really well too.

I hope I didn't over-react by taking her to urgent care. I usually wouldn't, for a fever, but BabyCenter said that at her age, between 3-6 months, any temp over 100 is cause for urgent care. But when I called my sister she seemed to find it over-excessive, she seemed to be chuckling at me when I told her we took her. But I'm so afraid to give her medicine! I don't want to give her an overdose. I was hoping the doctor would look at her and say, "Oh it's just a fever - she'll be okay" and send us on our way.

Oh well. Either way she's doing better. I'm going to do some research on how to prevent ear infections, because as a kid I got a lot of them so maybe Evy's just genetically prone to it.
 
I'm calling it! 08/20/2009
 
Today, Evy rolled over!

Paul says that she rolled over the same day she first grabbed for her toys on her playmat - but she never got close again and later he said that she rolled over onto her side. Well today, she was on her playmat again and she rolled over onto her belly and was able to get both of her arms out from underneath her.

And, despite the fact that she didn't have both arms bent to lift herself up, I'm calling it a milestone because it was pretty damn close!!! I don't have any video because I couldn't find the damned camera - but I was able to take some action shots with my phone :)

photo

photo

She's just getting closer and closer to being able to support her body weight and soon, SOON, she'll be sitting up on her own which is going to be so much fun :)
 
Burnt out. 08/18/2009
 
Last night was hard with Evy, our bed time routine is not working out. I nurse her when I get home at 5pm and she's hungry again at 7pm (understandably). However, with her bed time routine being bath/massage from 7:30pm until 8pm - and then I nurse her for 30mins - I have not built up ANY milk in that short hour since I last fed her so nursing her before bed is proving impossible.  She was so upset last night that I finally gave her a bottle of EB* and she calmed down.

Not really sure what to do. We were originally putting her to bed at 8:30pm, but we found that she was cranky and very drowsy by about 7:30pm. If she's too drowsy, she wont be up long enough to nurse and then she'll be waking three hours later out of hunger. So we moved it to 7:30pm - and while the time is working better in regards to her being awake, it is clashing with her need to nurse at 7pm.

I'm having problems with my supply again too, so if I give her a bottle of EB when I'm available then that takes away from when I'm not available. Plus, I worry she'll start to prefer the bottle over the breast given that the bottle allows her to eat faster and is - as I'm told - easier. I'm not ready to give up that connection to her yet - even if I keep pumping to give her EB over formula its not the same thing.

I put a call into my doctor about getting onto a medication, as I've been taking Fenugreek again for the last two weeks and nothing has changed, if anything my supply is still dropping. From what I understand, the lactation caused by the medication ends when you stop taking the medication - so if that's try I could very well be on this medication for another 6 months. Not fun...

*EB=Expressed Breastmilk
 
 
Its been another long gap between posts, I'm sorry! I'm trying so hard to keep this as up-to-date as possible considering I'll likely be referring to this often once I find the time to fill out her baby book.

Anyhoo, so today Evy is 18 weeks (4.5 months old) and there has been some changes, that's for sure!

  1. No teeth as of yet, but she's drooling like a leaky facet :P
  2. No rolling over as of yet, but she's getting good at moving onto her side.
  3. We had to buy some more sleep & plays yesterday - because she's grown out of all of hers (3-6 months). The only ones that fit are these two that I'd had packed away for when she got bigger! Her onesies are still working out okay - considering that it's usually a length issue with her sleep & plays.
  4. We've moved from size 1 diapers to size 2!
  5. She's discovering toys. Before, she wouldn't really do much with toys, hardly even look at them with any kind of interest. Now, she's very interested and reaches out often. She's got a death grip once she's got a grip, but she hasn't quite mastered that yet. So, she'll reach for toys and kind of just nudge them towards her mouth.
  6. She's discovered her feet. When she's on her back she tries to swallow them it seems like! Too cute, I'll have to take a video and post it here.
  7. She's become interested in mirrors, which is right on target for her developmental stage. BabyCenter says that she wont realize its her own image for another 4-5 months, but right now she's still really excited.

We began to have some hard times with her bedtime, so we decided to take it much more seriously and we also moved her from the co-sleeper to the crib. Every other night is bath time, and on the off nights she gets a nice baby massage and lots of Mommy & Daddy time. Between the predictable routine and her crib (which she had been sleeping in just fine when we moved her before, even though it was easier for the nursing in the co-sleeper) there has been hardly any nights where she cries.

Unfortunately for me, she's got a full-stomach-life span of about five hours. Not really sure what to do about that right now - other than to continue to wake up with her about 3am and then fail at falling back to sleep. Even if I go to sleep at 9pm I still only get 6 hours of sleep and going to sleep so early sucks. If I get home at five, we put the baby to bed at eight, and then I go to bed at nine I get a total of FOUR hours a day with my family -considering the baby's not up when I leave and Paul is not a morning person. I hate having to work so much. I wish I had six hour days instead nine hour days - then I could wake up with Evy and get home early too...

Well, no use dwelling on it. Bills have to be paid, no two ways around it.
 
Pictures! 08/02/2009
 
I often send pictures remotely to my blog, hosted by Vox, and then write about it here later. However, instead of me making four different posts with photos I'm just going to say, "Go visit her gallery". All of the pictures I take of her end up there and she's getting cuter everyday!

I am however going to put this ONE picture here too :P

Ultimate hot water bag :P

 

    Its not easy.

    Being a new mom is hard. Check back here often to see my trials and triumphs!

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    Picture

    I began this site – and blog – in January 2009. However, I discovered I was pregnant in August 2008 so there are quite a few posts on my personal blog about the experience of being pregnant. If you’re interested in these posts, here is a list below. Enjoy!

     

    NOTE: Please be aware that these links will redirect this page to my personal blogging site, Vox.

     

    August 2008

    ·         Some may have guessed…, where I reveal to my online friends & family that we were pregnant.

    ·         Give me your thoughts!, contemplated boy names.

    ·         Nature of the beast, first mention of morning sickness.

    ·         The beast, updated, more about morning sickness.

     

    September 2008

    ·         Please let it be the end., even more about morning sickness.

    ·         Plan, plan, plan, thinking out loud about my maternity leave options.

    ·         The duck is as quacky as he seems., realizing that all my planning for my maternity leave was not as well thought out as I’d hoped.

    ·         Look look!, our first glimpse of the baby – via ultrasound.

    ·         Oh what a wonderful feeling!, my first day of complete morning sickness relief.

    ·         These aren’t shirts, they’re dresses!, venturing into maternity wear for the first time.

    ·         As coined by Terri, baby_ea :), cute baby/pregnancy “trackers”

     

    October 2008

    ·         It’s a boy! For my sister that is :), realizing that I really did want to have a little girl and name her Evelyn.

    ·         Week 12, six days & counting..., still experiencing morning sickness – and cursing my bladder.

    ·         Some good, some bad., 2nd prenatal appointment results.

    ·         Exciting appointment made!, being told we could make our 1st “official” ultrasound appointment and possibly discover the sex of the baby.

    ·         In which I fight saleswomen for underwear that don’t fit, my 2nd venture into maternity wear.

    ·         Lunch, cataloguing my strange appetite.

     

    November 2008

    ·         I just shouldn’t have any expectations., our 3rd prenatal appointment.

    ·         The ultrasound results…, where we announce the fact that we’re having a girl!

     

    December 2008

    ·         Baby Update!, cataloguing feeling Evy move for the 1st time.

    ·         Birth plan., my initial thoughts on my birthing options – including the Bradley Method.

    ·         The choices so far., our final decisions about the crib bedding & furniture for the nursery.

    ·         The one where I finally begin to dream., my 1st bad dream about the pregnancy.

    ·         ♪ Moving right along ♪, 4th prenatal appointment.

    ·         100 most popular baby names of 2008 | BabyCenter, where I discover that Evelyn isn’t as original as I’d hoped.

    ·         22 week report!, still feeling sick occasionally & my worry about weight gain.

    ·         I have to pee…SO bad., ultrasound full bladder requirements are killing me!

    ·         New pictures!, the ultrasound results from my 2nd full scan.

     

    January 2009

    ·         Protein, protein, protein., discussing our Bradley Method classes.

    ·         No, no no – that nipple is too fast., my thoughts on breast feeding and bottle feeding.