Rachel's Woes

This has been a very full weekend for our poor girl. It all started this past Friday morning with her 4 month doctor appointment. We mnage to get there early and purchase her sweet ease to help stop the fussing due to her shots.

The nurse starts us out with my favorite part: the scales! I'm always intrigued by how much she weighs. Everyone always asks, and the only way to get an accurate weight is at the doctor's office.  Her weight was....*drumroll*.........


11 lbs 15.5 oz. Ok fine....we'll just call it an even 12!!!! I really needed to know how much she weighed because we were about out of diapers and I wasn't sure how close to the next size up she was. Now I know!

The rest of the appointment goes like usual. Towards the end while I was waiting for he nurse to get her shots she started to get fussy. I knew she was hungry as it was past time for her to eat. So I made her a bottle right there in the office while we waited. It worked out perfect as the nurse ended up giving her the shots while I fed her and it kept her calm. She only needed 2 shots this time instead of three. But one is this really nasty painful one. She did really well with the shots, only fussing as the needle was going in and coming out, then put her focus back on to her bottle.

We left the doctor's office, stopped at Walgreens for some new nipples and diapers, then headed home. At this point, mommy hasn't had much sleep in the past week. Rachel's been SOOOO hungry that she wasn't sleeping through the night anymore. We combatted this problem by adding rice cereal to her bottles a few times a day and increasing her formula each feeding. It's taken a little more than a week to get her sleeping more than 3 hours at a time. Needless to say, mommy knew the shots were going to make her sleepy, so mommy and baby took a nice 3 hour nap as soon as they got home!!

The doctor had asked if she could roll over on her back from her tummy, or vice versa. The answer was no. I know it's my fault, I don't give her enough tummy time. In my defense though, she absolutely hates tummy time, so after a few minutes I have to flip her back over and calm her down. Doctor says she needs tummy time, so now I'm obligated to work with her on her tummy as much  as possible.

Friday night we met Jason for dinner in Castleton and to run to Babies R Us. NOT my favorite store, but it's the only specialty baby store nearby that sells what we were after. Jason wanted to find a toy of some sort that moves constantly. During the day I have to tie my headphones to her floor gym so I can work and wiggle the toy above her while I work. She wants it to move constantly and starts to fuss when it stops moving. We found a really expensive  nice mobile with a remote that will play and move for 18 minutes. This way I can just push a button if she's playing on the floor and I don't have to tie my headphones to my wrist!

Also while I was there, I saw one of these:

Do you know what that is? It's a tummy mat. They've thought of everything! Of course, the two tummy mats that I saw were about $50 each, which is outrageous. However, I was very tempted to purchase one since that would really help to get her used to tummy time. I've not seen one of those for sale on Craigslist, and since I'm not going to pay full price for one, I started thinking....we could use the baby pillow from her bed! But then I'd have to keep track of her baby pillow, and it's not really tall enough to hold her up. Okay...we'll make a new one! I have an old pillow downstairs I could cut up and use to make a new pillow.

Hold the phone....I've got it:

Do you see that gray pillow?? Yeah, that's an airline pillow I bought 5 years ago. Guess who fits in it perfectly on her belly? Rachel. I'd say we're getting our money's worth out of that pillow! She needs some new toys since she's starting to want to chew on things now, so I'll get a couple of those this week for her to grab at while she's on the pillow and I have my very own, custom made tummy mat! I'm a genius.

She was kind of fussy and out of it Friday night when we got home. We'd wake her up to feed her and once she was done, she'd stare off into space for a while, fuss a bit, then fall asleep. By 9:00 she'd had her last feeding and we put her to bed around 11:00. That girl slept until 8:30 when I actually woke her up to eat. If only she slept that good every night!!

Jason and I had planned for my mom (GrammE) to come out and watch her all day Saturday so we could get out for a date day and run errands before he left for Mexico on Sunday. Rachel had woken up with a stuffy nose that was getting worse as the morning went on and she was frustrated. In comes GrammE to the rescue! She asked for some saline nose spray, but the only kind we had was practically an aerosol. So I sprayed some into a glass and she sucked it up with a needle-less syringe. She put a drop of the saline solution in each side of her nose, then used the booger sucker on each side of her nice to clear her out. She got out a couple of massive boogers and wah-lah! Her nasal passages were clear. Happy Rachel!

Jason and I left and she got her GrammE time in. Later in the afternoon I got a text that she had a 99.5 ancillary temp, which is a 100.5 temp. Poor baby was running a low fever because of the shots. No wonder she was kind of fussy!

When we got home after a long, but fun, day out and about, but were completely wiped out. Thankfully, Rachel went down for the night fairly easily around 11:30.

She was up again wanting fed around 6:30. Another night of getting good sleep! She wasn't too thrilled about being awake after her bottle, so I put her back to bed and went back to bed myself. At 9 she started fussing a bit so Jason took a turn to get up and feed her.

After she ate, we began what was to be a VERY long day. We left at 12:30 pm to take Jason to the airport to leave for Mexico. I dropped him off at the airport around 1:30. I got home then had to turn around and pick him up again. His new flight left at 7:30 and I wasn't going to have him sitting there for 5 hours. So I hopped back in the car and drove back to the airport. We headed up to the North side to go to the Cheesecake factory and do a bit of shopping. I fed Rachel while we waited for our table, then we had a lovely lunch, checked out a few things at Kohl's, then hit the road again for me to take him to the airport. I dropped him off then found my way to the cell phone lot to feed Rachel again. As I leave the airport for the 3rd time in the same day Rachel was getting fussy. Poor kid had been in her car seat for about 6.5 hours by this time and she was darn sick of it. I don't blame her one bit. So I pull over on I-70 to run to the backseat and put her pacifier back in her mouth. She was compliant (unwillingly) and we took off again.

It was 7:30 by the time I got home. I was frayed from being in the car so long, as was Rachel. Monty was bonkers after being left at home alone for so long. Needless to say, chaos then ensued:
Rachel fussed trying to get out of her car seat.
Monty jumped and whined to get attention.
Mommy ignored everything to finally go to the bathroom.
Rachel needed a diaper and clothes change.
Monty HAD to play ball and refused to go out to potty.
Mommy didn't put the diaper on right as the phone was ringing.
Rachel's diaper malfunctioned shortly after and required a second change of clothes as well.

Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!

All of the above accomplished, things started to calm down. Rachel was content to lay on the floor and stretch out. She was also happy in her Bumbo seat for a few minutes while she gnawed on her toy giraffe:

Watching her as she's now holding more objects and immediately trying to put them in her mouth is adorable!

Speaking of adorable....I LOVE these sunglasses and put them on her every chance I get:

Now we are home, the living room looks like a baby circus with nearly every toy/seat/swing/mobile she owns laid out in a circuit so I can move her from one item to the next in attempts to keep her entertained after such a dull day for a baby. So far, kicking her feet has been her favorite and I am SO thankful for this new mobile that I can keep moving with just the touch of a button!!

I recently found some more 3-6 month clothes in a drawer in her room and pulled them out. I found only a couple of items out of the pile that I actually like. The others are some items I picked up really cheap at a garage sale before I knew we were having a girl. They are ugly. So I'm putting them aside for someone else and will probably go to the consignment stores this week to get her some prettier clothes.

3 Month Photos

First off, I have to share this picture. A massive thank you to my friend Ginny who knew I was on a quest to find infant sunglasses and found a pair that don't look like clown glasses:

How stinkin' cute is that?!

Also, I wanted to share Rachel's 3 month photos that I promised! You can view the whole album here. They are all my favorites, but here's a preview for those that might not have time to check out the album right now:

We included the waffle blanket that I searched high and low for.

This dress was actually purchased for Alana, but she didn't get a chance to wear it. I was so sad when I realized that we might not get to use it either. Along came 3 month photos and saved the day!!

This picture was taken for Holly. She and Sam got us the tub she's sitting in, and of course Holly loves the ducks. I don't ever get a chance to use this bathrobe, but it was so cute that I was sad to not have it in some pictures!

Happy Easter!

Our Happy Family!

More Firsts

I have a few new firsts to report! But before those, let me put in a few new outfits:

The two above outfits were both purchased by her Great Aunt Connie - Connie, you have such good taste! 

On to some of the firsts....I recently acquired a couple of Bumbo seats:

These have been awesome. Rachel's been showing us how strong her neck is getting when we hold her. These Bumbo seats are really tall in the back to help the baby keep their head up as they are learning to sit up on their own. I purchased a pink and a blue one from Craigslist so we have one upstairs and one downstairs. At first she really didn't like sitting in them for very long. But as she's gotten used to them, we think she actually enjoys it. And although she can't see what's on the tv from the couch, she can see it flashing colors so it looks like she's watching it.

Today she had her first big nasty booger. I'm not so gross that I took a picture of it (there was no camera handy) but I did think it was noteworthy to be reported. It was huge and it was gross. We survived.

Also this week we've noticed that she's starting to use her hands. Sometimes she'll pick things up without knowing she's doing it, but we're noticing that when she does this she instantly brings it to her mouth. I typically have a cloth diaper to use for when she spits up. If she's sitting or laying down and the diaper is within reaching distance, she'll clamp her hand around it and bring it to her mouth. I've also been holding her pacifier in front of her mouth to see if she wants it, and when I do she'll put both of her hands on mine and guide the pacifier in to let me know she wants it. Although not a drastic feat, it does tell me that she's starting to get the hang of her hands and it wont' be long before she'll be reaching for things within reach on purpose. 

In addition, when she's starting to get sleepy, this week she's starting rubbing her eyes with the backs of her hands. Although we can tell when she's getting tired without this signal, it's very sweet.

She making more noise now! Someone on Facebook who had a son just a few months before we had Rachel said something about his boy speaking Wookie. It's so true! Rachel's starting to speak Wookie now. Her coos and other noises are starting to sound less like grunts and more like actual "ah"s. I think she also is enjoying her own sound more, and therefore is more apt to make noise. 

Her independence has already started.....somewhat. I can now leave her playing on the floor or in her crib for longer periods of time before she fusses. This has been monumental in allowing me to make a bottle, make dinner, or even do work. She's starting to entertain herself by looking around or even just watching her hands. It's quite liberating for all of us in this house!

This past week we got to travel to GramE's for the first time. We spent the day shopping and had so much fun!:

Mom helped me shop for some sunglasses for her. I have yet to find any that are "infant" sized...but we tried:

This past week we also decided to start moving her to formula. Being able to provide nourishment for my daughter has been a great accomplishment for me. I've loved being able to give my daughter the healthiest start possible. Since we brought her home from the hospital, we've fortified my breast milk with a powder supplement that they used in the hospital and was recommended by our pediatrician. Since she was used to it anyway, and it was used when she was still a preemie, we went ahead and tried it. This made me VERY VERY nervous. What if it made her sick? What if I didn't make it right? Turns out, she's actually happier. Although Jason and I aren't thrilled with the difference this switch has made as far as diaper changing time goes, I've noticed a difference in her demeanor. Whether or not it's because she's more aware of the world or because her tummy's happier it's difficult to say. I'm going to say it's a combination of the two. I really feel that the formula is easier on her tummy (even if it's not easier on the diapers) so I'm glad we're starting the switch. I currently make her bottles about half and half, so she's still getting some breast milk. I'll continue this trend until I've weened myself from pumping. As I've said before, I've been thrilled to do this for her. When I was in the hospital and couldn't see her because I was having a hard time getting around and couldn't get upstairs, I comforted myself by religiously pumping even though I wasn't producing hardly anything. In my mind, it was the only thing I could do to support my daughter since I couldn't be up there to hold and comfort her. Now I feel relieved that I've been able to do this for her for as long as I have. But now, I'm ready for liberation since she's taken so well to formula!

Today Jason told me that during the 20 minutes I was out going to the grocery store he thinks she laughed. OH COME ON!!! Here I've been coaxing her for more than a month now to laugh out loud and she possibly does it for the first time when I'm gone. We tried and tried but couldn't get her to do it again. I'll keep saying what I've been saying for over a month now: she's so close to laughing. It'll be any day now!

I'm not going to lie, I absolutely love showing Rachel off. I'm so excited that now I can get out of the house when I need to with her all by myself. Although I don't let people touch her that I don't know, it gives me such a thrill when strangers come up and tell me how beautiful she is. They would probably say that about any baby, but I love when they do that to Rachel.

I'm still struggling to master getting out of the house, although it's getting better. A friend of mine warned me that it might take me an hour to get everything together to leave the house, but it'll get better, and she's right. I'm not so fanatical about having to have the diaper bag with me at all times. I've learned: Rachel will be just fine.

Today for the first time, I took her shopping and used her stroller. Praise the Lord I had a friend with me to help as I looked ridiculous trying to get this figured out. But my dear friend Ginny needed to kill time, I needed to return something to the store, so we hopped in the car and had this adventure on a whim. Ginny - thank you again for your help and assisting in this experience! But once we figure out the stroller/car seat combo, we did great. I'd played with the contraptions before, but not whilst out in public. Once figured out, in the store we went.

Now, I'm not opposed to taking goofy pictures of my daughter. In fact, I love them. Ginny does to. So she came up with this idea and I encouraged it:

How hideous is that thing?! Why do people actually purchase this crap for their kids and let them wear it? Well, to each their own I always say, but this is not anything I'd ever let my daughter own. But I will let her wear it for a few seconds for a photo. That flower is bigger than her head! Rachel didn't seem to mind. She actually smiled as soon as the picture was taken. Go figure.

I think that's the latest on our sweet girl. Tomorrow Ginny will be coming back for 3 month pictures and I am SOOOOO excited. I LOVE having pictures of my girl, especially professional ones. (I try my hardest, but I am not a photographer). So we'll be posting more pictures very very soon! Ginny said she was excited to play dress up with Rachel. I'm excited to see what she'll come up with and the shenanigans that will play a part in the experience. I'll get those posted just as soon as I can!

Rachel's First Road Trip

This past weekend Jason and I went on a road trip. What used to be nothing difficult of the sort we have now learned is not quite as easy as it used to be.

We started out by hopping in the car this past Thursday afternoon and headed down for a stop in Evansville to see Jason's family. It was so fun! Everyone was able to see the signficant changes in our girl since the last time they saw her. We could only stay one night, because Friday afternoon we headed from Evansville to Memphis, TN. My brother, his wife and their daughter met up with my household as well as my parents and other brother for a visit. We were all excited to get pictures of Rachel with her cousin, Alana:

My dad upheld the tradition he started where he buys cigars to pass out for each of his new grandchildren. Since we were all together, we all enjoyed them:

Oh it was so fun!! Rachel did a splended job of riding in the car...she fell asleep for the whole trip. And while that was wonderful and all....she didn't sleep at night. Needless to say, we've learned a very difficult lesson of what happens when you upset a baby's schedule. She was fine during the day! But at night...well, that was a whole other story.

The weekend went by way too fast. But we were able to enjoy being at a restaurant with Rachel for the first time, and travel for the first time. Now we know how things work and will be much better at this the next time around!

Sunday we leisurely ate breakfast and packed up all of our stuff (it took 2 very weighted down trips to the car for us to re-pack everything.) We headed out Sunday afternoon for Evansville again. When we got into town, we were pretty alert and decided to go ahead and take care of one of the main reasons we were in Evansville: to take a 5 generation picture. How many families do you know that have ever been able to say they've taken one?! Well, this family was able to take it's second one in a row:

I'm so excited that Rachel was able to be in such a photo! It was something the entire family was anticipating and I was thrilled that we were able to get into town to take this picture.

It was a wonderful trip, but both mommy and daddy took a sick day on Wednesday because neither one could hardly get off the couch. We were both completely wiped out. Rachel, on the other hand, was happy as a clam just like usual.

In the above picture, you'll see Rachel sleeping in her bed like a big girl. That's right, I'm trying to ween her from needing to be swaddled every night and am putting her into her bed with a blanket over her. The first night I tried this it was a no go (it was actually the night I took this picture). But last night she did just fine!

I also noticed on our trip that her diapers weren't fitting quite right. As I suspected, she's grown out of size 1 and into size 2! The packaging says that the diapers are for babies 12 - 18 lbs. This probably means she's at least 12 pounds now. Can you believe that?! She's gained 8 pounds at least in 3 months. Hooray!

Last night after bath time I put her in my current favorite onsie that's yellow with a lamb on it. Sadly, it was really tight over her head and after I got it on her, so it was the last time she'll be wearing it :o( Also, there was this cute little yellow pajama outfit I got at a garage sale that has fit her nicely and it too has gotten too small. So tihs means she's growing out of clothes sized 0 - 3 months and is now fitting comfortably into clothing that is sized 3 months. And I've been anxious for her to be this size for a while now because of this:

Thank you to Tom and Robin for getting her this outfit! I LOVE IT! Tell me that is not too cute!!

If you notice in the picture, I have her sitting up on the couch in my living room. That's right, she can sit up! Granted, she can't sit up on her own, but she doesn't fall over if I have her sitting. So once she was out of this outfit, I put her in another one and took another picture...

She's in the rocking chair in her room. How sweet is this girl!? This outfit was given to us by her Great Aunt Heather while we were in Evansville. The under outfit is a sweet one piece that's short sleeved. I wanted to take a picture of her in just it, but was afraid she'd get cold in the house. But the sweater that goes over it is absolutely adorable. Love it!

Also, she got her first significant boo boo. I say significant because up until now she's only slightly scratched her face. Behold...the work of her own nails:

I have no clue how she did it. I leaned over to put the leg rest up on my big comfy chair and when I looked at her again, there was the scratch. Thankfully, it's not very deep and she only fussed for a moment. But who likes to see their kid get hurt? I certainly don't. But I had my phone handy and since she was on my lap anyway, I took a picture of it.

She's falling back into her normal routine after the big trip. I'm thankful that last night was the first night in at least a week that I got some decent sleep.