Clare had her 1 month checkup this morning and is doing great. She is now 9 lbs. 15 oz. (hence the cute little double chin!) and 22 inches long. This puts her in the 75th percentile for both height and weight and is meeting all the milestones she is supposed to at this stage like turning and lifting her head. She has also started smiling at her dad and mom! We haven't caught it on camera but it is too cute and has her dad totally in awe. No shots today - thankfully. I'm dreading that - I think it will be harder on me than her.
We think we've finally figured out how to get her to sleep at night. We had tried to use "swaddle" her when she first came home, but she kept kicking her way out of it. After looking back at a book that I'd been reading, we decided to try again. We used a bigger blanket and this seems to work. Last night, she only woke up once to eat and then we had to wake her up this morning to go to the doctor. She slept in the cradle all night for the first time. She had been sleeping on me or Brian in the nursery chair. Everyone got a decent night's sleep!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
First Road Trip
We decided to head to Richmond/Williamsburg this past weekend to visit my family and Brian's family. The plan was to leave as soon after Clare's first morning feeding (around 6 AM) as possible so that we would only need to stop once during the 4 1/2 hour trip. The best laid plans... I fed her at about 6 and then passed her off to her daddy. They snoozed while I got dressed and finished all of our packing. I woke Brian up at about 7 AM and he got dressed and packed the car. In the midst of it all - the A/C had frozen up and we had to defrost that which led to lots of water and clean up (the second time in a week). We finally got in the car at about 8:30 AM. READ - it was almost time to eat again. We made it to Concord - about 20 minutes from our house - and had to stop for a diaper change and feeding. And then we had a meltdown just outside of Richmond and arrived in full glory at my mom and dad's house needing to eat again. Brian graded that part of the trip with a "D".
We spent the afternoon at my parents' and had lunch. We were able to meet Preston, our new cousin and visit with my aunt, Bobbie and uncle, Michael for a little while. Then we headed to Williamsburg. Clare got lots of attention from everyone. Brian got in a much needed round of golf on Father's Day. Clare gave him a Red Sox golf shirt that he told her that he really wanted.
The trip back was great with the exception of our adventure in the Chick Fil A parking lot. I'd heard that car rides can assist in the filling of diapers, but I was not prepared for what we encountered. We stopped in Henderson, NC because I felt like Clare needed to eat soon. It had been almost 4 hours since she last ate and I didn't want her to wake up starving. I thought she probably needed a diaper change and proceeded to lay the changing mat out on the car seat. When I lifted her from her car seat I realized that she had pooped out of her diaper up the front and back - thanks to the seating position! So, we had to change her completely. It took some time and about 10 wipes to get her all cleaned up. I was about to put the clean diaper on when she both peed and pooped again leaving a puddle on the changing mat. Brian was already headed for the trash can and I start yelling for him to come back - I needed help. I ended up picking up the naked baby along with the mat and finessing it out of the seat before everything ran down into the car seat. Here I am in the parking lot holding my daughter and the mat in the air while pee runs down the mat and onto the ground - not one of our finer moments. Brian grabbed the mat and more wipes and cleaned it off while I tried to comfort and redress Clare. I'm sure it was quite a show for anyone who may have been watching.
We spent the afternoon at my parents' and had lunch. We were able to meet Preston, our new cousin and visit with my aunt, Bobbie and uncle, Michael for a little while. Then we headed to Williamsburg. Clare got lots of attention from everyone. Brian got in a much needed round of golf on Father's Day. Clare gave him a Red Sox golf shirt that he told her that he really wanted.
The trip back was great with the exception of our adventure in the Chick Fil A parking lot. I'd heard that car rides can assist in the filling of diapers, but I was not prepared for what we encountered. We stopped in Henderson, NC because I felt like Clare needed to eat soon. It had been almost 4 hours since she last ate and I didn't want her to wake up starving. I thought she probably needed a diaper change and proceeded to lay the changing mat out on the car seat. When I lifted her from her car seat I realized that she had pooped out of her diaper up the front and back - thanks to the seating position! So, we had to change her completely. It took some time and about 10 wipes to get her all cleaned up. I was about to put the clean diaper on when she both peed and pooped again leaving a puddle on the changing mat. Brian was already headed for the trash can and I start yelling for him to come back - I needed help. I ended up picking up the naked baby along with the mat and finessing it out of the seat before everything ran down into the car seat. Here I am in the parking lot holding my daughter and the mat in the air while pee runs down the mat and onto the ground - not one of our finer moments. Brian grabbed the mat and more wipes and cleaned it off while I tried to comfort and redress Clare. I'm sure it was quite a show for anyone who may have been watching.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Rough night
Last night without Daddy was a little rough. Our A/C is on the fritz, so upstairs was 82 degrees. We've been fighting it for several weeks. We've been trying to determine what to do about upgrading our system and what modifications we need to make it more efficient. With the heat wave in Charlotte, we haven't been a priority repair since it actually still works. Anyway, Clare slept ALL day yesterday and then didn't want to go to sleep when it was time. We finally ended up in the chair in the den downstairs (it's much cooler down there) at 3 AM. I rely on Brian being here so that I have moral support durning the "cluster feeding". She needed to eat every hour between 10 and 3, but then we slept until 7 AM. She's also battling the stuffy nose. I had to wake her up because the A/C guys are coming "sometime this morning". We all know how that goes.
Now, Clare is in the Baby Bjorn as I type. I've discovered that putting her in the carrier allows me to get things done - she'll sleep soundly while I do laundry and clean up around the house, etc.
Today, we have a few errands to run. I've started keeping a list of all the things that I need or want to do. I've found that by keeping this list I can be more efficient when I have 5 or 10 minutes to do something while Clare sleeps. I'm anxious for her to be more active and alert so that I can lay her on a blanket to play, etc. She still just sleeps and eats most of the time.
Now, Clare is in the Baby Bjorn as I type. I've discovered that putting her in the carrier allows me to get things done - she'll sleep soundly while I do laundry and clean up around the house, etc.
Today, we have a few errands to run. I've started keeping a list of all the things that I need or want to do. I've found that by keeping this list I can be more efficient when I have 5 or 10 minutes to do something while Clare sleeps. I'm anxious for her to be more active and alert so that I can lay her on a blanket to play, etc. She still just sleeps and eats most of the time.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Downtime
I'm stealing a few moments while Clare naps... she is keeping us busy. She's been to the pediatrician twice this week. The first visit was for a weight check to make sure that she is getting enough to eat. No problems there - our little piglet weighed 8 lbs. 15 oz. - the same as her cousin, Preston. I had to take her back to the doctor the following day because she now has a cold! Who knows how she caught it, but she has a case of the sniffles and is sleeping a lot - mostly in my arms. I love holding her all the time, but it has put a damper on getting ANYTHING done around the house. I've managed to keep up with the laundry and keep the kitchen clean, but everything else is on hold for the moment. Her weight at the second visit was 9 lbs. 2 ozs. I was worried because her eating patterns were changing - she was eating more for less time since her nose is stuffy and I was concerned that she wasn't eating enough.
Brian left this evening for his first out of town trip since Clare was born. He'll be back tomorrow night, but it was still sad for him to go. I know we'll be fine, but we miss him already. He really did not want to leave us.
We are headed to Virginia on Saturday - Clare's first road trip. We'll go to Richmond for the day and then go on to Williamsburg so Brian can play golf with his dad on Father's Day. I started packing for Clare today - who knew a baby could fill a suitcase so quickly. There are so many "just in case" things that have to go in the bag. We'll get to meet Clare's cousin, Preston, for the first time.
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