6 weeks!

Dear Zoe,

You're six weeks old! Mommy and Daddy can't believe how fast you're growing up! (sob, sob, sob...) Although you're still tiny, you're not that itty bitty baby we brought home from the hospital any more.

This week we're convinced that you've started learning cause and effect. We are absolutely certain that you like spitting out your pacifier (when you take it), so that we can keep fetching it for you! LOL. You've also started smiling a lot more. It's so adorable. But on the flip side, you've also become more temperamental. Your new nickname is "Litte Miss Bossy." LOL. When you wake up from your naps, you stretch a couple of times and then you immediately start crying for food. It's almost as if you stop and think to yourself "oh wait, I'm hungry....wah, wah, wah." You need to work on this, pumpkin. I need you to give Mommy at least a couple of minutes of transition time to get you fed.

This week, as advertised by your pediatrician, you're going through a growth spurt. You want to nurse in the strangest intervals, and you haven't been sleeping like you normally do. Mommy couldn't figure it out at first, but then I remembered that six weeks is a growth milestone. And boy are you growing! This week I've started putting you in 0-3 mos sleep and plays and onesies. You still wear newborn sizes in some outfits, but you're definitely starting to stretch out. Also as advertised by your pediatrician, this week you've started getting "baby acne". It's not so bad, but Mommy can't wait until it goes away.

We think you've decided that you don't like sleeping on your back. Your favorite place to sleep lately is either on Mommy or Daddy's chest or next to Mommy on your side. We hope this is just a phase you're going through, although Mommy loves this extra snuggle time.

Mommy and Daddy have been giving you more tummy time. You still hate it after about 2-3 minutes. We always know when you've had enough because you roll onto your back. It's hilarious!

Last, but certainly not least, Nana came to visit you again this week. It's so neat to see you with her. We took a nice walk with Nana while she was here; a nice outing with three generations. It was strange pushing you around in your stroller. I can't believe I'm a mom! But I'm so blessed because I'm YOUR mommy! :- )

Zoe, you're so loved! We can't wait to see what the next week has in store for you and us.

Love you,

Mommy

Our Princess:

The Heartbreaking Pouty Face:

Tummy Time (a bipolar experience):

"Grrr....I hate tummy time"

"Wait, it's not so bad"

"Okay, I'm over it!"

Zoe catching a glimpse of herself in a mirror:

Zoe's crazy socks! LOL. These are supposed to be infant socks.

Hanging with Nana:

Mommy and Zoe on our walk:

Mommy Update

I figured it was time for a mommy update. Monday, I had my 6 week checkup with Dr. S. All is well, and I'm feeling pretty good.


The transition to motherhood has gone relatively smoothly. The toughest part is not being able to get up and go on a whim any longer. But I'm enjoying Zoe so much that it isn't so bad. Trying to get nursing established was by far the toughest thing I experienced in the early weeks. I was so down about it that I started to experience baby blues. In hindsight, I regret letting our nursing woes steal my joy and precious moments with Zoe. I wept so much and felt like a failure as a mom. While I knew that the nursing issue was Zoe's problem because she was so sleepy at the breast, it was still difficult not to shoulder the responsibility. When I decided to transition to 100% pumping and bottle feeding, it literally felt like a cloud had lifted. I'm thankful that the constant bottle feeding didn't hinder Zoe's ability to nurse. Now we're exclusively breast feeding, and I'm so glad.


Sleep deprivation is slowly diminishing. While Zoe still isn't sleeping through the night, she is sleeping for longer stretches which has been nice. After her late night feeding (around 11pm), she usually will sleep until about 4am, give or take 30 minutes or so. After that we're back to every 3 hours. I'm also trying to get better about napping when she does, which helps.


Last, but certainly not least, my weight. I gained 19 pounds during my pregnancy. As of Monday, I've lost....26 pounds! YAY!!! I actually lost all of the pregnancy weight by 2 weeks postpartum. I was shocked! But I still have to work on toning my belly. While I'm happy about the additional weight I've lost, I'd still like to lose about 25 lbs. to get to my ideal weight. So that means lots of diet and exercise in my future....my least favorite things to do.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I still miss having Zoe in my tummy. I still love holding her and snuggling with her, but the "empty" feeling still persists. Sigh....

5 Weeks!

Dear Zoe,

Well, you've kept Mommy pretty busy, so I'm just getting around to your 5 week update. You'll be 6 weeks old tomorrow. I really need to get on the ball!

Guess what you did this week?! You mastered nursing!!! YAY, Zoe!!! You have been nursing exclusively since last Monday. No more bottles, no more pumping, just nursing! What a relief! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you, pumpkin. Mommy was able to freeze the milk she pumped before you started exclusively nursing, so now we have a little supply on hand for Daddy to feed you from time to time. Mommy will start pumping again soon so we can increase our stash, but right now I'm enjoying the extra special bond we're creating.

This week you also started to discover your voice. You've added a cute little yelling noise to your cry, but nothing too obnoxious. You also make a cute little cooing noise every now and then. Mommy and Daddy can't wait until you start "talking" more.

You don't seem to like gadgets. At all! We've tried putting you in your swing and in your bouncer, but you're not having any of it. You prefer to either lie down and entertain yourself or have Mommy and Daddy entertain you. I hope you start liking gadgets soon, otherwise it will have been a waste of our and our family/friends' money to buy them.

This week you had your first REAL bath because it took awhile for your belly button to fully heal. You seem to like baths so far, which is a good thing. But Mommy and Daddy need to figure out a good trick to keep you warm because while I was drying you off you started to scream bloody murder. I've never heard you cry like that; it broke my heart. After I got you all bundled up and nursed you, you were okay.

Mommy and Daddy love you very much, Zoe! You continue to be the light of our lives.

Xoxo,
Mommy

A few pics from Week 5 (Mommy was slipping and our camera was acting crazy!):

Bath Time

"Mommy, I think I need a manicure."

Looking out the front window with Daddy

1 Month Old!

Dear Zoe,

Forget about mere weeks, you're 1 month old now! Can you believe it, pumpkin?! Time really does fly when you're having fun! Thank you for making this the best month of Mommy and Daddy's lives.

In the last week, you've started having longer stretches of awake time. You love to just look around and soak in your environment. You also like to stare into Mommy and Daddy's faces a lot more. You love it when Daddy sings "He has the whole world in His hands" to you, and you love it when Mommy sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

You started spitting up this week. Nothing too major, but I've noticed that the amount is gradually increasing. The funny thing is that I always thought baby spit up was so gross, but it's different now that I'm a mommy. Spit up still looks nasty, but my one and only concern is making sure you're okay, so it doesn't really bother me.

You've mastered the pouty face when you cry. It's so cute and so sad at the same time. When you get ready to cry, you stick out your bottom lip and let the crying commence. And you've started to develop tears; not many, but they're developing. It breaks my heart when I see them. :- ( Thankfully, you don't cry much.

Two noteworthy things for this week. First, you met your Nana (Mommy's mother) this week! It was so sweet to see you with your Nana for the first time. I know it seems like it took a long time to meet her, but Mommy and Daddy asked everyone to give us a little time to bond as a family of three. Everyone respected our wishes, and we're so glad we had such a special time bonding with you.

Second, you're really starting to get the hang of nursing. I'm so proud of you, sweetie. We're not 100% there just yet, but it's getting better. You're no longer falling asleep while you're nursing (yay!), and you usually latch on just fine. Your problem is still keeping your hands out of the way, and you seem to want to go into snack mode about half way during the feeding. I'm willing to continue working at this if you are.

Happy 1 month birthday, Zoe!! Mommy and Daddy love you with every fiber of our beings!

Smooches,
Mommy

Just Adorable!

Not in the mood for a picture!

Hanging with Nana

Zoe and Mommy

Napping with Daddy (not sure if you put Daddy to sleep or if it was the other way around? --lol)

Sneak Peek of Zoe's Newborn Pictures

We had newborn pics taken of/with Zoe when she was 10 days old. Below is a link to a few of the images. Most of my readers have seen these, but for those that haven't....

http://www.weedonphoto.com/blog/?p=1604

3 Weeks!

Dear Zoe,

Where is the time going, princess? I can't believe it has already been 3 weeks since you joined us! You are such a joy and a delight! Mommy and daddy love you very much!

This week we've been working on tummy time to start working on your neck muscle strength. You've done a pretty good job with it so far, but you're not a huge fan of it. You make out pretty well the first couple of minutes and then you're pretty much over it.

You LOVE to stretch....for a LONG time! It cracks us up! You put your all into your stretches, complete with funny faces and exasperated noises. I guess it's hard work being so cute, huh?!

You still have a love/hate relationship with the swaddle. We haven't been able to figure out why you love it sometimes and hate it others. But when you hate it, boy do you hate it! It cracks us up when you break out of the swaddle, even when we think its nice and snug.

This week you've discovered grunting. Initially, daddy and I freaked out thinking you were constipated or something. After visiting your doctor and confirming that you weren't constipated, we learned that sometimes babies just grunt for the sake of grunting, and we also learned that babies have to discover how to use their pelvic floor muscles in order to pass gas and pass bowel movements, which can cause grunting. We haven't been able to figure out the reason why you grunt, but it's loud enough to wake us from a sound sleep. LOL. I think you may be grunting due to a combination of the above because sometimes after a long grunting session you will pass gas and/or poop. I just can't wait until you outgrow it so we can all get some sleep. :- )


We can't wait to see (and hear?) what you discover this week, pumpkin. Continue being the blessing you are!

Love you,
Mommy

The Swaddle (before and after)

Stretching!

Wearing Your First Hair Bow

Zoe and Mommy