New habit?

I just had to say, Lizzy slept for 8 hours last night. I wonder if this will be the norm now. It's so great having sleep again!

Back from our first overnight trip

And we made it! Going to Houston turned out to be very fun for all involved. Lizzy did really well in the car trip (5+ hours with stops for changes and feedings). She didn't quite like getting back into the car seat after every feeding when we stopped, but eventually she would quiet down. Grandma got to have Lizzy all to herself Friday afternoon/night. She babysat (while Lizzy slept) while Steve and I went to see a movie. Then we grilled steaks and chicken for dinner. Lizzy had her first shower with me (she's not as slippery when wet as I thought she would be). We got her to bed/sleep around 10 PM, not too bad I say.

The next morning Steve, Lizzy, and I lazed in bed until around 8 AM. Then it was time to get everyone ready for the family reunion. On the way there, Aunt Jennifer called to see where we were and how long it would be until we got there. Everyone was anxious to meet Lizzy. I can't tell you how many times I heard, "Where's that baby? I need to see her!" It was so funny! We all had a good time at the reunion. Lizzy did very well. She didn't fuss unless she needed a diaper change or was hungry. She even slept a couple of times in people's arms. That night we had our second shower together. I really think she loves the shower. I know she loves baths as she gets really quiet and relaxes. She did the same thing in the shower. She went to bed at 9 PM that night.

Sunday Steve and Grandpa went shopping at Fry's and Best Buy (Grandpa got a new printer/scanner/fax, Steve got some memory cards for work) while Grandma and I hung out at home with Lizzy. Before we left to go back home, Aunt Jennifer showed up and brought some non-Americanized gripe water. We gave it to Lizzy and boy did it work wonders! She started tooting and burping up a storm. The car ride back was less eventful than the car ride there. Although she got hungry about 5 minutes from the house and therefore started to scream her head off. Steve and I felt so bad when we finally got home and saw her little red face with all of the tears. We quickly changed her then fed her. Since she was so upset it took her a while to latch on, and then she took in way too much. Poor little girl. We got her into bed at 9:45, happy, clean, and full.

She slept NINE HOURS last night! I couldn't believe it. I went to sleep at 11, next thing I know it's 5 in the morning and Steve's alarm is going off. She's not making a sound, so I went back to sleep. She started making some noise around 6:45 so I got up to get her up. It was so great to have those 8 hours I got to sleep.

7 weeks

We'll be heading to Houston tomorrow morning. Went today to get some diaper rash cream and some travel baby bath and lotion. Also gassed up the car so we don't have to do it tomorrow morning. We plan on getting on the road as soon as we're all fed, clothed, and pottied. Houston here we come!

Lizzy slept 7 hours straight Tuesday night! I was so excited that I got more than 4 hours of straight sleep. It was so great, I just can't get over it. She hasn't done it again, but who knows. She is 7 weeks now.

She's started to spit up a lot again. I think it's the heat outside. It's been in the 100s for the past week. Hopefully it'll stop soon.

Well, she's fussing, so I need to go tend to her.

It's already been 6 weeks?!?

Sorry I haven't posted in more than a week. It's been a little busy. The reason we were busy is that we had an extremely fussy baby. The reason for the extremely fussy baby? I had Chinese food on Wednesday night, Thursday afternoon, and Thursday night. I didn't realize it was the Chinese food until Thursday night. Lizzy had been fussy all day Thursday, fighting sleep due to gas pains. It got to the point that I couldn't put her down without her screaming bloody murder, and sometimes she would even scream and cry in my arms no matter what I would do. Steve didn't have any more luck with getting her to calm down either. It's finally out of her system though, so it's all good. No more Chinese food for me until I am not nursing anymore.

On Thursday I also had my 6 week postpartum checkup at my OB/GYN. Everything is great with me, I've even lost 34 lbs since giving birth! After the checkup I went by my old work to show Lizzy off to my old co-workers. Everyone LOVED her of course. I was curious about how much she weighed, so I weighed myself while she was in my arms, then weighed myself without her in my arms. She weighs a whopping 11 lbs now! No wonder my arms are always so tired, haha. I'm definitely getting my arm strength up from having to hold her all day.

The weekend of the 13th we got to see Steve's family as they all came to visit and meet Lizzy. It was a great visit! Rosanna was in town from Maryland, so she got to come too! Lizzy loves her Aunt Rosanna, Aunt Ann Marie, Aunt Emily, Uncle Thor, and Gigi! I don't think she was set down the whole time they were all at the house (well, except for during dinner).

Today was Steve's first Father's Day. Lizzy got him a card that magically showed up on his table by our bed sometime during the night. I cooked homemade pancakes while Steve cooked the bacon. Then I served him breakfast (and seconds!) while he watched TV. Next we relaxed and watched some more TV. Then I let Steve go take a nap while I watched Lizzy (who was fighting takng a nap, and so was fussy). For dinner we cooked steaks, asparagus, and had spinach salad with strawberries. Now we're watching TV again. All in all I think it's been a really good first Father's Day for Steve.

Next week we're going to be in Houston for the Lejsal family reunion. We can't wait to see everyone. It'll be our first trip out of Dallas with a baby and the dogs. Hopefully all will go well with the drive. Can't wait to see everyone!

Lizzy is now put to bed (she's already had her bath and nursed), so I must go head to bed as well. I am on nighttime duty every night so that Steve can get a good night's sleep for work. I'll post again soon (hopefully within the next week).

Happy birthday and one month

First off let me just say, HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE!!!

Sissy, Greg, Sydney, and Parker came for a visit this last Sunday-Monday. We all had a good time, although it messed Lizzy's schedule up a bit. We all went to the pool while Steve and Lizzy stayed home. When we got back from the pool, we learned that Lizzy ate 7 oz of expressed breast milk! Can you believe it?

Lizzy had a bit of a hard night that Sunday night, not wanting to sleep and being a little fussy. We were both so tired on Monday that we slept most of the day, which then messed up Monday night. Tuesday was better though.

We're getting into more of a definite schedule now. She has her awake times in the mornings and in the evenings, then sleeps most of the other times of the day. Nights are still a learning experience, although last night was great. She slept a little after eating around 7:30 PM, was awake until about 10:30 PM when she ate again. She then slept from about 11:30 PM until 2 AM when she ate again. Then it was back to sleep right away to wake back up at 4:45 AM for her last feeding of the night. It was an awesome night mostly b/c she would go right back to sleep after getting changed and fed.

Today was a fun day for Lizzy and me. She was awake from about 10 AM until noon, so we walked around the house looking at stuff, had tummy time, and sat and looked at each other.

Oh, I almost forgot, Lizzy turned one month old on Sunday! She's gotten so big compared to what she was when she first came home. It's going by so fast!!!

Okay, this is going to be a short entry. We need to go to the grocery store, and Lizzy is going to go as well. It's going to be quite an outing. I'll get to show off my Moby wrap again.

4 weeks old today!

I can't believe Lizzy is already 4 weeks old. It's gone by so fast! Seems like it was just yesterday that she was sleeping all the time and we were having trouble with breastfeeding. Now she actually stays awake some of the day and is nursing like a champ. She knows who I am and likes to look at me. She's still not smiling on her own, but I think that happens more toward the 8 week mark. From what I've read, she should start making cooing noises soon. Can't wait for those!

We have such a grunter on our hands. She even grunts in her sleep. Like right now, she's napping and grunting at the same time. I just got all of the extra stuff we had out of her crib and put away. Tonight we'll transition her into the crib. When Steve gets home from work we'll set up the monitor in her room. She's gotten to where she sleeps well in her bassinet, so hopefully this change will go smoothly. Maybe this will help Steve's and my sleep patterns. When she grunts, it wakes us up, so we don't get a good a sleep as we could while she's out.

I can definitely tell it's summer. Lizzy sweats when sleeping in her swing during the day. I don't like it when she sweats so now I've started putting her in her bassinet for her daytime naps. So far so good on her not sweating. I seem to be sweating 24/7, but I attribute that to hormones and not the weather. I did turn the A/C 2 degrees cooler during the day, though, so we'll see if that helps as well.

A week ago we started going on morning walks with the dogs. We did it every day from Wednesday until Saturday. I figured we could take a break on Sunday. I fully intended to start walking again Monday, but we had a huge thunderstorm come through. Tuesday was the same thing, but only rain no lightning. Wedensday morning saw rain again. This morning we actually had a nice morning, but we were up from 11:30 PM to 3 AM cluster feeding so I decided it was better for us to sleep than to walk. Tomorrow...tomorrow I plan on walking. It's good for all of the household. 1) Lizzy gets fresh air, 2) I get exercise, and 3) the dogs get exercise. Need to keep up with it.

We have somewhat of a daily routine. This is how our day usually goes:

4 or 5 AM - last feeding of the night/diaper change
6 AM - naps while I get Steve's lunch made and breakfast ready
7 AM - go on our walk
8 AM - naps while I shower
8:30 AM - bathtime for Lizzy
9 AM - feed
10 AM - naps while I either nap or clean the house
12 PM - feed/diaper change
1 PM - awake time
4 PM - feed/diaper change
5 PM - either naps or awake time
7 PM - feed/diaper change/change into night clothes
8 PM - bedtime
10 PM - feed/diaper change
11 PM - either back to bed or awake time
1 AM - feed/diaper change
2 AM - back to bed
4 or 5 AM - last feeding of the night

Sometimes we have cluster feedings in there, where she'll feed every 30 minutes or every hour. She is a growing girl! But so far, that's our day. And of course those times can vary.

Well, time for me to get back to my day. Lizzy is napping (she last fed at 10:30 AM), so I better go nap as well.