Thoughts and prayers for Derek's brother

On Friday evening, Derek's brother dove into a lake and damaged his spinal cord.  He has no movement from below the shoulders.  He and the family could use your prayers.  

Just a Normal Day

With the sleep discussion yesterday, I thought I would jinx myself.  Maya woke me up around 4 grunting but she never really woke herself up.  I fell back to sleep and we slept until my alarm went off.  It was apparently too loud because it startled me and woke her up.  The weather was great today so Maya and I went for a walk and took some pictures in the back yard.  Pretty normal day other than that.

Sleep dilemma

At 10 weeks, Maya's pediatrician said not to let her go more than about 7 hours between feedings. I was surprised by this. I assume it is because she is still pretty small. She always woke up before then so it was never really an issue. I still set an alarm just in case. Last night my alarm went off before I heard a peep out of her. I decided to give her another 45 min. She woke up 1 minute shy of it. It seems silly to me to wake her up but I'm sure the pediatrician has her reasons. So do I wake her if it happens again? Let her sleep? Talk to her pediatrician? At the time I think I was too surprised to ask about it. Just posting this probably ensures she will wake up every 3 hours.
In other news, Maya rolled over this afternoon during tummy time. I think it was unintentional. I couldn't get her to do it again. And of course I didn't have the camera. Also, she has been really grabby today. I'm not sure if this is new found awareness of her hands or just crazy hands. It's cute though.

Twelve Weeks

It's Tuesday.  That means Maya is another week older and it's picture day.   Derek says I have a problem.  I'm not sure they have a 12 step program for taking photos of your kids though.  At least it's a fairly cheap addiction after the initial camera purchase.  And how can you not want to take photos of something this cute?

lots of smiles today

look at those blue eyes

I love the look on her face in this one

You may have noticed that we trying something different with the blog for now.  Rather than posting a weekly update, I'm going to try to post more often.  We will see how it goes.  With my new fancy phone, I can make new posts but I can't figure out how to edit existing ones.

Maya and had an okay day today.  She was smiley this morning but a little fussy this afternoon and didn't want to nap.  I put her in the wrap and took a walk around the neighborhood and that put her right to sleep.  She was still a little fussy when she woke up so I gave her a bath, which she always enjoys.  She, however, didn't enjoy me washing her neck creases.  Now that she's getting pudgy, we can't keep them clean.  They are red and irritated.  If anyone has any ideas about keeping them dry please share.  She also has an issue that every time she coughs she poots.  This resulted in a minor bath incident and a premature end to bath time.  But we won't talk about that.  After her bath, Maya hung out in her swing while I cooked.  As soon as I made my plate, she started crying.  I think she can sense when I'm about it eat.

The Twelfth Week

May 10

Maya is 11 weeks old today.  Where has the time gone?  How did she get so big?  Derek says it's because I keep feeding her.  She slept about six hours last night.  After she ate, she was smiling and cooing.  I told her she was supposed to be sleeping but it's hard to be mad when she's so cute.  This morning she had a hard time waking up.  She ate, then dozed back off, then she'd stretch and open her eyes and smile, then doze back off.  Too cute. 

Maya showing off her tummy time skills

May 11

We went to Bible study tonight and afterwards the car wouldn't start.  It's been having issues sporadically for a while now.  But usually when it does it, will start on the second or third try.  Not tonight.  We had to bum a ride home.  My car was reliable until we got rid of Derek's.  It's kind of a pain only having one car.

May 12

Derek bummed a ride back to our car today and had it towed to the shop.  Fortunately, it's only the starter and they were able to replace it today.  Maya woke up at 4 last night and then again at 7.  Those were her previous awake times before she started sleeping 6-7 hours.  Hopefully this is just an occasional thing.  It's nice to get more sleep, but I do enjoy snuggling her in the middle of the night.  Especially when she is smiling, cooing, and generally happy to see me like she was this morning.

May 13

We went shopping today and got a new web cam.  I'm sure the grandparents can't wait to try it out.

May 14

We went to the farmers market this morning.  Derek and I shared a cheese croissant and an amazing almond croissant.  mmm, It might be as good as the apple fritters at our old farmers market.  I'll have to try it again.  After the farmers market we went to a wedding reception and then to a bbq so it was a busy day.  She was a sweetie at the bbq and made all the ladies have baby fever.  We took out the newborn insert in Maya's car seat today.  It was for infants up to 11 lbs and she's probably pretty close to that.  The seat looks empty without it.  

Last ride with the newborn insert

First ride without it

A side note on this outfit and many others: since she's small (20-30 percentiles) the 0-3 month stuff is starting to fit well but since she has a big head (58 percentile) it is hard to get them on.  In this outfit, the onesie has snaps in the back so it's fine but the dress part only has one side snap and it's kind of tight over the head. 

May 15

We went to church this morning.  We made it out the door in time for Bible class.  Maya pooped on the way there.  I took her to the nursery to get her cleaned up.  As I was putting on the clean diaper she peed, requiring a change of clothes.  By the time I got her dressed she was hysterical and would only calm down by nursing.  When she finally fell asleep, class was pretty much over.  Slept through the service though so I guess it worked out ok.  We worked on unpacking and organizing today.  (I know, I know, it's been four weeks and we are still not unpacked. The days seem shorter these days, for some little reason.)  Maya finally has a piece of furniture in her room.  We repaired and cleaned the changing table and moved it in.  I put a soft book fold out book along the back rail and she seems to love hanging out on it.  Maya woke up twice last night and didn't want to nap today.  She wasn't cranky though so I can't really complain too much.

May 16

Today went a lot better than last Monday.  I was afraid that the lack of naps yesterday would mean today was rough.  Instead she was super sleepy.  She slept an extra two hours this morning and napped well.  Knock on wood, Maya hasn't had a colic evening since last Monday.  Since Maya was in a good mood this evening, we met Derek at work.  She was happy during the car ride except when we had to stop for a train to cross.  When we got there I found that she pooped and it leaked out the leg of her diaper, through her clothes and onto her car seat.  We have had too many leaky diapers in the past few weeks.  It started with the newborn size.  Even though they fit, they didn't have the capacity to contain her output.  Then we went up to size one and it wasn't any better.  They were still a little big and the legs weren't quite tight enough.  Until this latest incident, we hadn't had any leaks for a few days.  I think I jinxed it by thinking about it this morning.  After getting her cleaned up, I plopped her in the wrap and she fell asleep while Derek and I ate.  When we got home we worked on unpacking a bit more.  

The Eleventh Week

May 3

Maya turned ten weeks today.  She slept about 7 hours straight last night so two nights in a row she's slept though the night.  She had her 2 month well baby checkup.  She's not such a little peanut anymore.  She was 10 lbs 11 oz and 22 inches long.  This put her at 32 and 21 percentiles, respectively.  And her head was in the 58 percentile.  She's almost double her lowest weight of 5 lbs 7 oz at 1 week and has grown 4 inches in length.  I've been calling her pudgy peanut for a few weeks.  After Maya was measured, she pooped and it leaked out the leg and all over Derek's pants.  We were cleaning it up when the doctor came in.  She also had her two month shots today.  She cried for only a few seconds after the first one but after the second and third she was sobbing.  I fed her right after and she fell asleep on the way home.  She was more sleepy than usual today.  She slept and ate all afternoon until her usual 4 pm cranky time.  She then screamed for about three hours off and on, but it's hard to tell if it's just her usual "colic" or if it's the shots.  I'm afraid that the shots are going to interfere with the nice trend we've had in the sleep department.  Because of the appointment and her sleepy/crankiness we didn't take too many photos today. 

At least they have neat bandages.

Notice the tears.

She thinks she needs to sit or stand all the time.

May 4
The shots didn't bother Maya much today.  She slept about six hours straight last night.  And she hasn't been cranky today.

The shots left a little bruising. 

Roses in our back yard.

May 5
Not much to report today so I'll share some things that Maya does that make me laugh.  Hopefully they won't embarrass her too much some day.  Recently she has discovered that she has a tongue and has to lick everything that goes into her mouth.  This includes her hands, paci, and food source.  Also, since she started focusing on things she looks at my boob cross eyed when I try to feed her.  When she's tired but doesn't want to go to sleep she flings her arm, legs and head around.  If she's nursing she will latch on, pull her head back until she pops off, then root to latch on again.  Effective in keeping her awake but not the most pleasant thing for me.  I keep telling her she's going to lose her privileges but she doesn't seem to care.

May 6
We picked up a free changing table today.  It's not in the best of shape and needs a little wood glue, but it will work until we buy nursery furniture.

May 7
Maya slept for a long stretch again last night.  But she woke up early and didn't want to go back to sleep.  She kept talking and smiling at me.  We went and played in the living room so that Derek could sleep in a bit.  I think she may have giggled but I can't get her do to it again so I'm not sure.  One of Derek's coworkers invited us over for lunch this afternoon.  Hopefully they aren't squeamish about breastfeeding.  They seemed amused that Maya was pooping while eating.  Maya was a test baby with their dogs.  One of the dogs was afraid of her when she cried.  He would turn his head and stare at her then turn it the other way and stare.  He couldn't figure out what she was.  It was pretty funny.

May 8
Today was my first mother's day as a mom.  Derek and Maya made sure it was special.  I got breakfast in bed (biscuits and gravy), a nursing bracelet in Maya's birthstone, flowers, and a card.  Maya slept 6ish hours last night and was a sweetie all day, just a little fussy in the evening.

 Notice my bracelet here.

May 9

Ugh.  Today was one of those days that makes me wish Derek was home still or that we lived near family.  It started off ok.  I had to wake Maya up at 5 am to feed her since her pediatrician doesn't want her to go more than 7 hours without eating.  This is the first time I've had to wake her up since she was a newborn.  My alarm startled Derek.  He about jumped out of bed.  I think he woke me up rather than the alarm.  Maya and I then slept until 9.  She didn't want to nap today though.  She'd sleep a little and then wake up and fuss.  This is totally not like her, usually she's happy when she's awake during the day.  I spent the day shushing, bouncing, swaddling, singing, rocking, and so on.  I love her but it was exhausting.  Thankfully she slept a few minutes in the swing so I was able to eat and use the bathroom without her screaming.  Then she had her colic episode from 4-7.  She hasn't had this in a few days.  I was starting to think she was over it but not such luck.  Our neighbors probably think I'm a little crazy.  I put her in the wrap and paced up and down the block bouncing while she alternated between screaming and drowsy.  Fortunately it was mostly the latter as long as we stayed outside and moving.  She finally feel asleep right before Derek got home and slept for a couple of hours.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

The Tenth Week

April 26

Maya is nine weeks old.  She is finally growing out of a lot of her newborn clothes.  Fortunately, some of the pants still fit.  She only has 1 pair of 0-3 and they are still too big.  We did our usual weekly photo session today.  She was not impressed and she wasn't shy about letting me know.  She's still a cutie.

April 27

April 28

April 29

Maya and I survived our first week on our own.  And Derek survived his first week away from us.  Today was Derek's birthday.  Maya and I made him a cake.  It turned out a lot better than my birthday cake did.

April 30

We went to the farmer's market this morning.  I will say that the fresh produce is one of the best things about living here.  We ran some errands today and then attempted to do some unpacking.

May 1

Between church and more errands, Maya didn't get a good nap in today until this evening.  We went for a walk and she napped in the wrap.  The weather was perfect.  The weekend went by way too fast.

May 2

Maya slept about 7 hours last night.  She ate at 9:20 then went to bed about 10:30.  Usually I wake her up to feed before I go to bed but didn't last night.  I expected her to wake up around 1 and then again around 5.  But I woke up a little after 4 (when she usually gets up to eat) and she was still out of it (I checked to make sure she was ok).  She woke up starving at about 5:20.  I should really start going to bed when she does, especially if she's going to start sleeping for longer stretches during the first half.  Maya has been happier in the evenings the last few days but she was a little cranky tonight.  She goes to the pediatrician tomorrow and will get her 2 month shots.  That will probably lead to more crankiness.