Thursday, September 29, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
I WON!!
My friend, Darby, hosted a fun giveaway on her blog a while back and I actually won! I won a $25 gift certificate to the online shop, Passionately Rivalicious. They sell all sorts of collegiate apparel for women and children. I am a University of Houston alumni and Rhett is a Texas A&M alumni. They don't carry UH gear, but they do have some cute A&M stuff. I decided to get Aubrey a little something and this is what I got:
Cute, huh? I got a 12-month size so she will have to wait til next football season to wear it. I love that it has a little "bling" (the aTm is little rhinestones). Now I just need to whip up a cute maroon and white hair bow and we'll be all set!
Cute, huh? I got a 12-month size so she will have to wait til next football season to wear it. I love that it has a little "bling" (the aTm is little rhinestones). Now I just need to whip up a cute maroon and white hair bow and we'll be all set!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Mother's Day Out
Caleb started a new Mother's Day Out program a few weeks ago! His summer program was at our church, which is a good 20 minutes away (in the HOV lane! if we were to take the main lanes, it'd be much longer). His new MDO is at the Foundry Faith Academy at The Foundry UMC, which is only about 5 minutes from our house. He goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:15am to 2:15pm. It is SO much more convenient than having to drive to our church. We absolutely love our church and do not mind at all driving there on Sundays and for other church events, but for MDO it is not so convenient. I have to use those days to run errands and with Aubrey's feeding schedule right now, having him somewhere closer is just so much easier. Less time in the car means more time with Aubrey and more time to do other things I need/want to do.
One thing that I really love about this MDO program is that they actually teach them basic things like letters, numbers, and colors and they also have music time. For their inside playtime, they have various "centers" (reading, a kitchen/grocery setup, puzzles, etc) and they also have a covered playground outside and an indoor gym for rainy days. Our church's MDO is really just childcare and is not intended for learning. They have an actual preschool program if you want a learning-focused program....but it is much more expensive than the regular MDO. Now, I am not saying that Caleb will come out of this MDO a genius, but it's just nice that we are paying for a learning environment, not just for childcare. (not that I have anything against our church's program - he will most likely go there during the summer anyway b/c the Foundry doesn't have a summer program).
The first day, he cried when I dropped him off. I knew he would. However, every day since then he has practically busted down the door to get in...and you can forget about a kiss and hug for Mama! There is no time for that! He absolutely LOVES going and I am so thankful for that. There is one mom who I see every day standing at the window, watching and waiting for her kid to stop crying. I feel for her because it is sad to leave them when they are upset....but I am happy that Caleb has adjusted and I don't have to worry about whether or not he's having a good time. His teachers are Miss Sarah and Miss Deanna and they are both very nice ladies.
Caleb started remembering people's names really well this summer and he always talked about his "fins" (friends) Joseph and Everett from his summer MDO. I was a little sad for him to have to leave those friends he made there, but he has already made some new friends and calls them by name - it is too cute! His new friends that he talks about now are Gavin ("Gabin"), Colson ("Cosun"), and Abbie. There are other kids in his class but these are the three names he says all the time. Last Thursday when I dropped him off, we actually got there a little early so we were waiting for them to open the classroom door with some of the other kids/parents. I noticed that Gavin and his mom were standing near us (his name was on his backpack) so I told her how Caleb talks about Gavin all the time. Caleb smiled really big when he saw Gavin and pointed him out and called him by name. Then he also pointed out Abbie and Colson who were also waiting with us. I know he was right because all the kids have their names on their backpacks and sure enough, it was Abbie and Colson. I don't know why, but it amazes me that he remembers their names already (this was the 3rd week)!
I was probably the only mom who did not bring in my camera and take pictures on his first day of "school" (that's what we are calling it - easier for him to say than Mother's Day Out), so I don't have any pics of him in his classroom. I did take a picture of him before we left that morning, though so here you go....
sidenote: If you are looking for a personalized toddler/preschool sized backpack, I got Caleb's here: http://www.thelettertree.com/moblgrstjosm.html. It is really great quality and it comes personalized with their name as shown in the picture. His lunchbox is from www.easylunchboxes.com and I bought both the lunch box and the divided containers - love them! I got the lunchbox personalized with his name across the top at Monograms Etc off I-10 and Bunker Hill.
another sidenote! We had to buy the boy new shoes right before school started and he is now wearing a boys size 8 wide from Stride Rite! We should have bought them sooner because he's been wearing a 6 wide since March. In my defense, he did wear his Crocs pretty much non-stop this summer so he wasn't in his tennis shoes much. He's got big feet....oh, and he all of a sudden (overnight, it seemed) started growing out of his shorts, too. They are still ok enough for him to wear but they are a little snug and some are a little short. I do not want to buy him shorts now though because we will soon be buying pants!
And here is a picture of his "report card" from his first day (we get one every day):
Every day, the "bowel movement" section is left blank. Why? Because Caleb requires privacy to go #2 and I guess he can't get that at school! As soon as we get home, he goes straight to his room, shuts the door and poops! LOL
Stay tuned for a post with some great artwork made by Caleb! I love seeing his little art projects!
One thing that I really love about this MDO program is that they actually teach them basic things like letters, numbers, and colors and they also have music time. For their inside playtime, they have various "centers" (reading, a kitchen/grocery setup, puzzles, etc) and they also have a covered playground outside and an indoor gym for rainy days. Our church's MDO is really just childcare and is not intended for learning. They have an actual preschool program if you want a learning-focused program....but it is much more expensive than the regular MDO. Now, I am not saying that Caleb will come out of this MDO a genius, but it's just nice that we are paying for a learning environment, not just for childcare. (not that I have anything against our church's program - he will most likely go there during the summer anyway b/c the Foundry doesn't have a summer program).
The first day, he cried when I dropped him off. I knew he would. However, every day since then he has practically busted down the door to get in...and you can forget about a kiss and hug for Mama! There is no time for that! He absolutely LOVES going and I am so thankful for that. There is one mom who I see every day standing at the window, watching and waiting for her kid to stop crying. I feel for her because it is sad to leave them when they are upset....but I am happy that Caleb has adjusted and I don't have to worry about whether or not he's having a good time. His teachers are Miss Sarah and Miss Deanna and they are both very nice ladies.
Caleb started remembering people's names really well this summer and he always talked about his "fins" (friends) Joseph and Everett from his summer MDO. I was a little sad for him to have to leave those friends he made there, but he has already made some new friends and calls them by name - it is too cute! His new friends that he talks about now are Gavin ("Gabin"), Colson ("Cosun"), and Abbie. There are other kids in his class but these are the three names he says all the time. Last Thursday when I dropped him off, we actually got there a little early so we were waiting for them to open the classroom door with some of the other kids/parents. I noticed that Gavin and his mom were standing near us (his name was on his backpack) so I told her how Caleb talks about Gavin all the time. Caleb smiled really big when he saw Gavin and pointed him out and called him by name. Then he also pointed out Abbie and Colson who were also waiting with us. I know he was right because all the kids have their names on their backpacks and sure enough, it was Abbie and Colson. I don't know why, but it amazes me that he remembers their names already (this was the 3rd week)!
I was probably the only mom who did not bring in my camera and take pictures on his first day of "school" (that's what we are calling it - easier for him to say than Mother's Day Out), so I don't have any pics of him in his classroom. I did take a picture of him before we left that morning, though so here you go....
sidenote: If you are looking for a personalized toddler/preschool sized backpack, I got Caleb's here: http://www.thelettertree.com/moblgrstjosm.html. It is really great quality and it comes personalized with their name as shown in the picture. His lunchbox is from www.easylunchboxes.com and I bought both the lunch box and the divided containers - love them! I got the lunchbox personalized with his name across the top at Monograms Etc off I-10 and Bunker Hill.
another sidenote! We had to buy the boy new shoes right before school started and he is now wearing a boys size 8 wide from Stride Rite! We should have bought them sooner because he's been wearing a 6 wide since March. In my defense, he did wear his Crocs pretty much non-stop this summer so he wasn't in his tennis shoes much. He's got big feet....oh, and he all of a sudden (overnight, it seemed) started growing out of his shorts, too. They are still ok enough for him to wear but they are a little snug and some are a little short. I do not want to buy him shorts now though because we will soon be buying pants!
And here is a picture of his "report card" from his first day (we get one every day):
Every day, the "bowel movement" section is left blank. Why? Because Caleb requires privacy to go #2 and I guess he can't get that at school! As soon as we get home, he goes straight to his room, shuts the door and poops! LOL
Stay tuned for a post with some great artwork made by Caleb! I love seeing his little art projects!
Monday, September 12, 2011
End of Summer Swimming
Labor Day weekend is the last weekend our neighborhood pool is open, so we made sure Caleb got in a couple more swims! There was no way I was about to get into a swimsuit, so Aubrey and I just watched.
I bought him these floaties called Puddle Jumpers and he did so great wearing them! They have the wings part and it also wraps around the chest to help keep him afloat better than just wings alone. He did really well swimming around unassisted.
We even went at night, but this was the weekend it actually started cooling off so it was a little chilly. He still had fun swimming with Daddy!
and this is what Aubrey did the whole time!
I bought him these floaties called Puddle Jumpers and he did so great wearing them! They have the wings part and it also wraps around the chest to help keep him afloat better than just wings alone. He did really well swimming around unassisted.
We even went at night, but this was the weekend it actually started cooling off so it was a little chilly. He still had fun swimming with Daddy!
and this is what Aubrey did the whole time!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Aubrey's Newborn Photos
I am no photographer, but I thought it'd be fun to try to take some newborn pictures of Aubrey. I asked my friend, Jennifer, to help me so she brought over some portrait props and we did a little photo shoot. Jenn is into photography also and has taken some cute pics of her little girl, Camille, so I knew I needed her help. Plus, you really need two sets of hands when photographing a newborn.
Before taking these pictures, I looked all over the internet for some inspiration. There are SO many beautiful pictures (professional, of course) of newborns on the internet and I found lots of great inspiration images. However, as I said, I am not a photographer so I'm not so sure I actually succeeded at recreating any of them, ha! Oh well, we did get some cute shots anyway and I'm pretty happy with our work! And, it was fun just to try! Thanks for your help, Jenn!
Oh, one other thing before I share the pictures.... a very popular thing right now in newborn photography (for girls, anyway) is to have a naked baby wearing some sort of flowered headband. I shopped on Etsy for some (headbands, not naked babies) and decided that I didn't want to pay what people were asking for them. I thought "There has to be a cheaper way I can make these on my own." So, this led me to searching for the materials myself and to my surprise, I found where I could buy all the supplies to make them myself at a much cheaper price. (that will be a separate post itself on where I got the stuff and how to make them). I love doing crafty things, so this was right up my alley. I think they turned out cute and look just like the ones for sale on Etsy. Maybe I should start my own Etsy shop! :-)
Ok, here are some of the (million) pictures we took....
And yes, many of them are very similar but I have a hard time narrowing pictures down to just a handful!
Before taking these pictures, I looked all over the internet for some inspiration. There are SO many beautiful pictures (professional, of course) of newborns on the internet and I found lots of great inspiration images. However, as I said, I am not a photographer so I'm not so sure I actually succeeded at recreating any of them, ha! Oh well, we did get some cute shots anyway and I'm pretty happy with our work! And, it was fun just to try! Thanks for your help, Jenn!
Oh, one other thing before I share the pictures.... a very popular thing right now in newborn photography (for girls, anyway) is to have a naked baby wearing some sort of flowered headband. I shopped on Etsy for some (headbands, not naked babies) and decided that I didn't want to pay what people were asking for them. I thought "There has to be a cheaper way I can make these on my own." So, this led me to searching for the materials myself and to my surprise, I found where I could buy all the supplies to make them myself at a much cheaper price. (that will be a separate post itself on where I got the stuff and how to make them). I love doing crafty things, so this was right up my alley. I think they turned out cute and look just like the ones for sale on Etsy. Maybe I should start my own Etsy shop! :-)
Ok, here are some of the (million) pictures we took....
And yes, many of them are very similar but I have a hard time narrowing pictures down to just a handful!
Friday, September 2, 2011
Aubrey is 1 Month Old!
WARNING: extremely long post about our sweet girl! (including a picture overload) :-)
I'm excited to start writing monthly posts for Aubrey like I did for Caleb! I do not have the best memory, so I NEED to write this stuff down or I will forget it...especially the "little" things. I'm so glad that I have monthly posts for Caleb from birth to 2 years. I was reading some of his early ones today and it's amazing what I have forgotten in just 2 years. Like I said...not the best memory here. Now I can continue the tradition with Aubrey so we'll never forget the early months & years of her life! Even though the first month is kinda uneventful, I will still share what has gone on during the past month....
Our first week at home was interesting. We brought her home on Sunday, August 31st. On Tuesday of that week, our A/C went out! We were about to go to bed at around 10:30pm and Rhett discovered that it had stopped working. Not good - especially with how hot is has been! We decided that we'd survive the night ok with the ceiling fans and sleeping in cooler clothes. It was warm, but tolerable through the night. Rhett called the A/C guy first thing in the morning and he came quickly. I can't tell you the specifics of what was wrong but it had to do with our furnace, not the A/C itself. Don't ask me how the furnace and the A/C are related but since the furnace wasn't working, neither was the A/C. This is the original furnace so it was 28 years old! He managed to change some part and fix it temporarily until we could get the furnace replaced the next day. And, while he was outside looking at the A/C unit, he saw a ton of standing water nearby. This led to him discovering that our water heater (in the garage) had also malfunctioned! Yes, the furnace and water heater all in one day! Luckily, we were able to get someone out that afternoon to replace the water heater. The next day, the A/C people came and installed a new furnace. This took 4+ hours so I took both kiddos with me and we went to Magnolia to Rhett's parents' house. Once they turned off everything and opened the attic, it got unbearably hot within minutes...and this was in the afternoon, too! There was no way I could stay here myself, much less with the little ones. Rhett stayed and I don't know how he tolerated it - it was so hot! (and the poor A/C guys in the attic....I can't even imagine!). Anyway, once everything was fixed life went back to [our new] normal!
Also during that first week at home, Caleb was a bear! Like, he cried and threw fits literally about every little thing and pretty much all day every day. I am not exaggerating. We actually started to worry and wonder if there was something wrong with him that we could not see or figure out. And of course, we wondered if it had anything to do with new baby sister taking over! I don't know what prompted me to do so, but late in the week I decided to check his mouth for new teeth. Sure enough, I discovered that he was getting one of his 2 year molars! That explained everything! The following week it broke through the surface and he was back to his normal self. (thank goodness b/c Rhett went back to work that week!). Needless to say, I am not looking forward to him cutting the other three!
We have also been having some weight-gain concerns with Aubrey. Unfortunately, we know about this all too well as Caleb was a skinny mini for forever and we were always taking him in for weight checks. However, Caleb's was mostly due to his reflux and how much he spit up (or so we think), but Aubrey does not spit up very much so we're not sure what's caused it. She was 7 lbs 1 oz at birth and 6 lbs 6 oz when we left the hospital. At her one-week appointment (she was actually 10 days old), she only weighed 6 lbs 9.6 oz, so we were told to supplement with either pumped breast milk or formula after each feeding. We went back at 2 1/2 weeks and she weighed 7 lbs 2 oz, which was not quite what she should have gained. We continued to supplement and at her one month check-up, she weighed 8 lbs 1.4 oz. Her weight gain between 2 weeks and 1 month was just enough. She is healthy and not having any problems, so we will just continue to monitor her weight gain and see what happens. I did rent a baby weigh scale from the hospital and have discovered that it has been taking her at least 45 minutes to consume 2 oz when I nurse her. I have felt like she was a "lazy eater" all along and I really think that has something to do with it (Caleb was as well). I don't think she's getting enough from me, so I guess we'll have to keep supplementing for the time being. I also just started taking some herbal supplements that are supposed to help increase milk production, so we'll see if that helps any! (many of my friends say these work so I hope so).
One other small issue we've dealt with is that she's had a faint heart murmur since birth. From birth to the day we left the hospital, it became less noticeable according to the pediatrician in the hospital. She told us to just have it checked out at her 2 week appointment. Well, our pediatrician's office asks you to come in for a 1-week appointment. When we went in for that (she was actually 10 days old), the Nurse Practitioner did not hear anything. Then when we went back for her 2 week appointment, she did hear it so she asked Dr. Ramsey to listen as well. Dr. Ramsey heard it but said that it was very faint. She still said to be safe, we should take her to a cardiologist. So, we took her to one at Texas Children's (thankfully, they have a Cypress branch so we just went right down the road!) and she had an EKG and a chest x-ray. The cardiologist said that everything looked great and that this type of murmur (which is actually fairly common in newborns) should correct itself over time. We will take her back for another checkup at the cardiologist in December.
SO, other than those few issues, things have been going ok.
* As of one month, Aubrey weighs 8 lbs 1.4 oz and is 20 inches long. She's gained just over a pound and grown one inch since birth. (need to check the percentiles - not sure)
* She is still wearing newborn diapers and newborn clothes but will move to size 1 diapers soon. Her newborn clothes are beginning to get a little snug so she'll probably be in 0-3 months in a few weeks.
* PRAISE THE LORD, she does not have the reflux problem that Caleb had!! (at least she does not as of now). She does spit up a little, but nothing like Caleb – he spit up huge amounts at every feeding. This is an answered prayer, for sure! It’s nice having a baby who can keep their food down!
* She is eating mostly every 3 hours during the day and every 2 1/2 to 3 hours at night (sometimes every 2 hours, but not too often). Actually, she has made it for 5 hours twice and 6 hours once....all when I accidentally turned off the alarm/timer and went back to sleep without realizing it - oops! But, we know that she can make it that long on occasion so that's a plus! I'm such a zombie in the middle of the night!
* I feed her between 9:30-10:30pm and then go to bed. Rhett gives her a bottle of pumped milk for her next feeding between 12:30-1:30am and then I get the next early morning one. This allows me to get a little stretch of sleep, which is nice! We started doing this when she was about 2 weeks old.
* We are supplementing with formula or pumped milk and offer her 2 ounces after every feeding. Sometimes she will not take any, sometimes 1 oz, and other times she will down the whole 2 ounces. Usually, she will at least take 1 oz, though. When Rhett gives her a bottle in the middle of the night, she takes between 2 and 3 ounces (usually the whole 3 ounces).
* She is still a sleepy head, although she's starting to be more awake during the day. The first 2 weeks, she literally slept all day and all night long. I am trying so hard to get her on a good schedule and do the whole "eat, wake, sleep" Babywise thing, but it's hard when I also have to manage Caleb. Sometimes it is just easier to let her go to sleep rather than trying to keep her awake before a nap. It's so different this time around! With Caleb, I didn't have anything else to do so it was much easier to work on getting him on a good schedule. Hopefully, we will get there with her though b/c I NEED structure and some sort of schedule!
* She slept so great in her crib for the first 2 weeks or so. Then all of a sudden, she decided that she didn't want to sleep in her crib - she wants to sleep in her bouncy chair. We try to lay her in her crib first and give her a chance to sleep there, but it usually doesn't last long. At this point, it's more important that we are getting sleep at night so we're letting her sleep in the bouncer if she will not tolerate the crib. Eventually, I guess we will work to break her of the habit. Sometimes, she will sleep for a while in her crib but not often.
* She let us swaddle her for the first couple of weeks, too but then she started screaming and fighting me when I tried to swaddle her. She does not like to be swaddled anymore so we are using a sleep sack instead. She wants her arms free!
* Almost forgot one other issue we’ve dealt with. She went #2 really well at first and then all of a sudden started having to strain really hard to go and she would only go every 2-3 days. At her 1 month appointment, the NP did an exam and determined that her outer rectal sphincter was tight (sorry for posting this personal info on you, baby girl!) so she was having trouble getting things out. It needed a little stretching, so I was given a homework assignment to do for 5 days and let’s just say it involved exam gloves and a pinky finger. You will do anything for your children! Rhett said his pinky finger was too big and he kindly excused himself from the task, LOL. It seems to have helped to decrease the straining.
* I have been terrible about doing tummy time with her! Again, when you have another one to tend to it is hard to keep up with both (at least for now it is). We do it usually once a day for about 5 minutes, but we need to start doing it several times a day. She tolerates it just fine (Caleb HATED it at first and would just scream, but that might have had something to do with his reflux). She will lift her head and turn it a little, but sometimes she just goes to sleep – ha!
* She doesn’t seem to be too crazy about the swing (neither was Caleb). Sometimes she does ok in it, but she definitely doesn’t love it. She prefers the bouncy chair.
* We’ve taken her out quite a bit more than we had taken Caleb out at this point. Guess that’s just the way it goes once you’ve had one kid and gotten over some of those fears. I mean, I don’t let people touch and breath all over her or anything but I’m not freaked out about taking her out. She’s been to Target, Walmart, Babies R Us, Hobby Lobby, Red Robin, small group, the Bercaw’s house, and of course she goes with me to drop Caleb off at MDO.
* Overall, I have to say that she has been a really good baby so far! She usually only cries when she is hungry, wet or tired. There have only been a handful of times when she’s cried and we just didn’t know why. Thankfully, she has not had any crazy nights of screaming her head off all night either. And she does not (so far – knock on wood) have a “fussy time” like Caleb did. He was fussy/cried from like 7-9pm for a while, but again, that was probably due to his reflux (most things were).
She is such a sweet and welcomed addition to our family! We cannot imagine life without her now and look forward to all the fun we will have watching her grow!
Big Brother sharing his toys with Aubrey...not long after this, he popped her on the head with one o the shovels (luckily, not very hard). She's going to be a tough girl! (just 4 days old here)
Aunt Stephanie and cousins Jake and Luke came to meet Aubrey (also 4 days old here)
First visit to NiNi and G-Dad's house when our A/C went out (5 days old)
pretty in purple (6 days old)
chillin' in my bouncer at 1 week old (yes, she practically lives in the bouncer!)
Tag and Roux checking her out
first sponge bath
she slept like a rock all swaddled up for the first 2 weeks before deciding she hated it! (9 days old)
pretty girl all dressed up to go to the doctor (10 days old)
no more pictures, mama!
waiting at the doctor's office
Aubrey was in her swing and I was folding laundry. Caleb found a pair of her pants and decided she needed them right then. He shouted, "Aubrey's pants!" and put them on the tray of the swing.
lovin' from big bro - how sweet! (12 days old)
monkey see, monkey do?
I told you, she lives in the bouncy! (2 weeks old)
giving hugs (you really have to watch b/c he doesn't realize he is squishing her!)
first real bath after her umbilical cord stump fell off (almost 3 weeks old)
big yawn! (for some reason, this picture is loading sideways. ??)
Aubrey doing tummy time....Caleb dragging out all of the baby toys. (3 weeks old)
Caleb says "good morning, Aubrey!" He is really sweet with her.
She's thinking "who is this kid and why is he always messing with me?"
laying on the boppy lounger (she doesn't love it as much as Caleb did)
love this face!
mama, I'm done!! (still cute, even when crying) :-)
I'm excited to start writing monthly posts for Aubrey like I did for Caleb! I do not have the best memory, so I NEED to write this stuff down or I will forget it...especially the "little" things. I'm so glad that I have monthly posts for Caleb from birth to 2 years. I was reading some of his early ones today and it's amazing what I have forgotten in just 2 years. Like I said...not the best memory here. Now I can continue the tradition with Aubrey so we'll never forget the early months & years of her life! Even though the first month is kinda uneventful, I will still share what has gone on during the past month....
Our first week at home was interesting. We brought her home on Sunday, August 31st. On Tuesday of that week, our A/C went out! We were about to go to bed at around 10:30pm and Rhett discovered that it had stopped working. Not good - especially with how hot is has been! We decided that we'd survive the night ok with the ceiling fans and sleeping in cooler clothes. It was warm, but tolerable through the night. Rhett called the A/C guy first thing in the morning and he came quickly. I can't tell you the specifics of what was wrong but it had to do with our furnace, not the A/C itself. Don't ask me how the furnace and the A/C are related but since the furnace wasn't working, neither was the A/C. This is the original furnace so it was 28 years old! He managed to change some part and fix it temporarily until we could get the furnace replaced the next day. And, while he was outside looking at the A/C unit, he saw a ton of standing water nearby. This led to him discovering that our water heater (in the garage) had also malfunctioned! Yes, the furnace and water heater all in one day! Luckily, we were able to get someone out that afternoon to replace the water heater. The next day, the A/C people came and installed a new furnace. This took 4+ hours so I took both kiddos with me and we went to Magnolia to Rhett's parents' house. Once they turned off everything and opened the attic, it got unbearably hot within minutes...and this was in the afternoon, too! There was no way I could stay here myself, much less with the little ones. Rhett stayed and I don't know how he tolerated it - it was so hot! (and the poor A/C guys in the attic....I can't even imagine!). Anyway, once everything was fixed life went back to [our new] normal!
Also during that first week at home, Caleb was a bear! Like, he cried and threw fits literally about every little thing and pretty much all day every day. I am not exaggerating. We actually started to worry and wonder if there was something wrong with him that we could not see or figure out. And of course, we wondered if it had anything to do with new baby sister taking over! I don't know what prompted me to do so, but late in the week I decided to check his mouth for new teeth. Sure enough, I discovered that he was getting one of his 2 year molars! That explained everything! The following week it broke through the surface and he was back to his normal self. (thank goodness b/c Rhett went back to work that week!). Needless to say, I am not looking forward to him cutting the other three!
We have also been having some weight-gain concerns with Aubrey. Unfortunately, we know about this all too well as Caleb was a skinny mini for forever and we were always taking him in for weight checks. However, Caleb's was mostly due to his reflux and how much he spit up (or so we think), but Aubrey does not spit up very much so we're not sure what's caused it. She was 7 lbs 1 oz at birth and 6 lbs 6 oz when we left the hospital. At her one-week appointment (she was actually 10 days old), she only weighed 6 lbs 9.6 oz, so we were told to supplement with either pumped breast milk or formula after each feeding. We went back at 2 1/2 weeks and she weighed 7 lbs 2 oz, which was not quite what she should have gained. We continued to supplement and at her one month check-up, she weighed 8 lbs 1.4 oz. Her weight gain between 2 weeks and 1 month was just enough. She is healthy and not having any problems, so we will just continue to monitor her weight gain and see what happens. I did rent a baby weigh scale from the hospital and have discovered that it has been taking her at least 45 minutes to consume 2 oz when I nurse her. I have felt like she was a "lazy eater" all along and I really think that has something to do with it (Caleb was as well). I don't think she's getting enough from me, so I guess we'll have to keep supplementing for the time being. I also just started taking some herbal supplements that are supposed to help increase milk production, so we'll see if that helps any! (many of my friends say these work so I hope so).
One other small issue we've dealt with is that she's had a faint heart murmur since birth. From birth to the day we left the hospital, it became less noticeable according to the pediatrician in the hospital. She told us to just have it checked out at her 2 week appointment. Well, our pediatrician's office asks you to come in for a 1-week appointment. When we went in for that (she was actually 10 days old), the Nurse Practitioner did not hear anything. Then when we went back for her 2 week appointment, she did hear it so she asked Dr. Ramsey to listen as well. Dr. Ramsey heard it but said that it was very faint. She still said to be safe, we should take her to a cardiologist. So, we took her to one at Texas Children's (thankfully, they have a Cypress branch so we just went right down the road!) and she had an EKG and a chest x-ray. The cardiologist said that everything looked great and that this type of murmur (which is actually fairly common in newborns) should correct itself over time. We will take her back for another checkup at the cardiologist in December.
SO, other than those few issues, things have been going ok.
* As of one month, Aubrey weighs 8 lbs 1.4 oz and is 20 inches long. She's gained just over a pound and grown one inch since birth. (need to check the percentiles - not sure)
* She is still wearing newborn diapers and newborn clothes but will move to size 1 diapers soon. Her newborn clothes are beginning to get a little snug so she'll probably be in 0-3 months in a few weeks.
* PRAISE THE LORD, she does not have the reflux problem that Caleb had!! (at least she does not as of now). She does spit up a little, but nothing like Caleb – he spit up huge amounts at every feeding. This is an answered prayer, for sure! It’s nice having a baby who can keep their food down!
* She is eating mostly every 3 hours during the day and every 2 1/2 to 3 hours at night (sometimes every 2 hours, but not too often). Actually, she has made it for 5 hours twice and 6 hours once....all when I accidentally turned off the alarm/timer and went back to sleep without realizing it - oops! But, we know that she can make it that long on occasion so that's a plus! I'm such a zombie in the middle of the night!
* I feed her between 9:30-10:30pm and then go to bed. Rhett gives her a bottle of pumped milk for her next feeding between 12:30-1:30am and then I get the next early morning one. This allows me to get a little stretch of sleep, which is nice! We started doing this when she was about 2 weeks old.
* We are supplementing with formula or pumped milk and offer her 2 ounces after every feeding. Sometimes she will not take any, sometimes 1 oz, and other times she will down the whole 2 ounces. Usually, she will at least take 1 oz, though. When Rhett gives her a bottle in the middle of the night, she takes between 2 and 3 ounces (usually the whole 3 ounces).
* She is still a sleepy head, although she's starting to be more awake during the day. The first 2 weeks, she literally slept all day and all night long. I am trying so hard to get her on a good schedule and do the whole "eat, wake, sleep" Babywise thing, but it's hard when I also have to manage Caleb. Sometimes it is just easier to let her go to sleep rather than trying to keep her awake before a nap. It's so different this time around! With Caleb, I didn't have anything else to do so it was much easier to work on getting him on a good schedule. Hopefully, we will get there with her though b/c I NEED structure and some sort of schedule!
* She slept so great in her crib for the first 2 weeks or so. Then all of a sudden, she decided that she didn't want to sleep in her crib - she wants to sleep in her bouncy chair. We try to lay her in her crib first and give her a chance to sleep there, but it usually doesn't last long. At this point, it's more important that we are getting sleep at night so we're letting her sleep in the bouncer if she will not tolerate the crib. Eventually, I guess we will work to break her of the habit. Sometimes, she will sleep for a while in her crib but not often.
* She let us swaddle her for the first couple of weeks, too but then she started screaming and fighting me when I tried to swaddle her. She does not like to be swaddled anymore so we are using a sleep sack instead. She wants her arms free!
* Almost forgot one other issue we’ve dealt with. She went #2 really well at first and then all of a sudden started having to strain really hard to go and she would only go every 2-3 days. At her 1 month appointment, the NP did an exam and determined that her outer rectal sphincter was tight (sorry for posting this personal info on you, baby girl!) so she was having trouble getting things out. It needed a little stretching, so I was given a homework assignment to do for 5 days and let’s just say it involved exam gloves and a pinky finger. You will do anything for your children! Rhett said his pinky finger was too big and he kindly excused himself from the task, LOL. It seems to have helped to decrease the straining.
* I have been terrible about doing tummy time with her! Again, when you have another one to tend to it is hard to keep up with both (at least for now it is). We do it usually once a day for about 5 minutes, but we need to start doing it several times a day. She tolerates it just fine (Caleb HATED it at first and would just scream, but that might have had something to do with his reflux). She will lift her head and turn it a little, but sometimes she just goes to sleep – ha!
* She doesn’t seem to be too crazy about the swing (neither was Caleb). Sometimes she does ok in it, but she definitely doesn’t love it. She prefers the bouncy chair.
* We’ve taken her out quite a bit more than we had taken Caleb out at this point. Guess that’s just the way it goes once you’ve had one kid and gotten over some of those fears. I mean, I don’t let people touch and breath all over her or anything but I’m not freaked out about taking her out. She’s been to Target, Walmart, Babies R Us, Hobby Lobby, Red Robin, small group, the Bercaw’s house, and of course she goes with me to drop Caleb off at MDO.
* Overall, I have to say that she has been a really good baby so far! She usually only cries when she is hungry, wet or tired. There have only been a handful of times when she’s cried and we just didn’t know why. Thankfully, she has not had any crazy nights of screaming her head off all night either. And she does not (so far – knock on wood) have a “fussy time” like Caleb did. He was fussy/cried from like 7-9pm for a while, but again, that was probably due to his reflux (most things were).
She is such a sweet and welcomed addition to our family! We cannot imagine life without her now and look forward to all the fun we will have watching her grow!
Big Brother sharing his toys with Aubrey...not long after this, he popped her on the head with one o the shovels (luckily, not very hard). She's going to be a tough girl! (just 4 days old here)
Aunt Stephanie and cousins Jake and Luke came to meet Aubrey (also 4 days old here)
First visit to NiNi and G-Dad's house when our A/C went out (5 days old)
pretty in purple (6 days old)
chillin' in my bouncer at 1 week old (yes, she practically lives in the bouncer!)
Tag and Roux checking her out
first sponge bath
she slept like a rock all swaddled up for the first 2 weeks before deciding she hated it! (9 days old)
pretty girl all dressed up to go to the doctor (10 days old)
no more pictures, mama!
waiting at the doctor's office
Aubrey was in her swing and I was folding laundry. Caleb found a pair of her pants and decided she needed them right then. He shouted, "Aubrey's pants!" and put them on the tray of the swing.
lovin' from big bro - how sweet! (12 days old)
monkey see, monkey do?
I told you, she lives in the bouncy! (2 weeks old)
giving hugs (you really have to watch b/c he doesn't realize he is squishing her!)
first real bath after her umbilical cord stump fell off (almost 3 weeks old)
big yawn! (for some reason, this picture is loading sideways. ??)
Aubrey doing tummy time....Caleb dragging out all of the baby toys. (3 weeks old)
Caleb says "good morning, Aubrey!" He is really sweet with her.
She's thinking "who is this kid and why is he always messing with me?"
laying on the boppy lounger (she doesn't love it as much as Caleb did)
love this face!
mama, I'm done!! (still cute, even when crying) :-)
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