One month already!

Dear Brooke,

It's your one month birthday! Mommy and Daddy are just so smitten with our big girl. You amaze us daily with how "grown up" you are already. That little face of yours causes our hearts to melt on a regular basis. And now that you've started to give us smiles when we talk to you, our hearts are bursting! You've changed so much since we brought you home one month ago. These are a few of your favorite and not-so-favorite things this month:

Favorites

Bathtime - You love to take baths in the sink. You gleefully splash around (and by splash I mean you involuntarily jerk your arms around.) It's very calming for you.

The Daddy Hold - Daddy has perfected a little hold that has about a 90% success rate, especially when you're gassy. He props you up in his arm, squishes your legs Indian Style, and then holds both of your hands in one of his. You seem to love it.

Lullabies - We listen to lullabies in the car when we're on the road. They keep you happy and quiet, double-bonus for Mommy.

Your Nasal Aspirator - A weird thing to love, I know, but your poor little nose is so stuffy. It's as if you've already figured out that that giant suction ball relieves your discomfort, so you don't squirm when we use it.

Cuddling - You are the cuddliest little girl. You just snuggle up onto our chest and fall fast asleep. You sleep best when you're listening to Mommy or Daddy's heartbeat.

Mommy - I don't like to toot my own horn, but you do love your Mommy. You know Mommy's smell and follow my voice when I'm across the room. Plus, Mommy's the only person that can feed you, another one of your favorite things :) I'm sure in future months this list will include your Daddy and then your grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc., but for now Mommy's the only sure-fire baby whisperer.

Not-So-Favorites

Being Swaddled - You've never been a fan of being swaddled. You love your hands too much to be restricted like a tight burrito.

Lotion - You really don't like the lotion massages we force on you. It's winter, so your skin is super dry and cracky. We're just trying to keep you smooth and soft and blood-free; we aren't trying to torture you, I promise.

The End of Bathtime - You hate to get out of the bath. Despite our efforts to bundle you immediately, you get cold. And then we try to quickly lotion you up = torture.

Getting into your Carseat - You like to stretch and spread out those long legs and arms. You can't do this in your carseat, so you really dislike spending time in it. That being said, riding in the car usually puts you to sleep, so short-term memory loss must kick in or something.

Mommy and Daddy feel so blessed to have you in our lives. You make us so proud! We've kept you happy and healthy for 31 days, so we're pretty proud of ourselves, too. We love you, little one.

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Four Weeks.

Before I go any further...guess who officially SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT last night? A certain little baby girl that happens to be the spitting image of her mommy went 8.5 hours between feedings, giving me one killer stretch of sleep. Big news. In fact, she might have gone just a bit longer, but she was starting to stir and, well, I was desperate. And by that I mean The Girls were very, very ready to be relieved. And if you don't understand what I mean by that, you don't want to. Moving on.

Brooke is four weeks old today! We can't believe how big and beautiful our munchkin is. She's growing like a weed - we'll get the official weight on Monday at her one-month pediatrician's appt but I'm pretty sure she's tipping the scales at 12+ lbs. Yes, she's large and in charge but we're not concerned. Those of you that are should relax - I promise we won't be sending her to Fat Camp anytime soon. And I'm not going to "slow down" my 4-weeker. She only eats a max of 15 minutes (total) every 3 hours - not a lot for an infant, trust me. So, no, I'm not going to feed her less - she's a chunky monkey and she's probably going to remain a chunky monkey. Thankyouverymuch. (Can you tell I'm a bit passionate about this? Leave the Big Lady alone, she's "healthy".)

Anyway, she's still 100% perfect and wrapped around our fingers. Almost at the one-month mark, which is a crazy thing to think about. Can't wait for what's to come! And now, a few pics for you because, let's face it, that's why you look at the blog these days.

All dressed up for church in what have been dubbed her Hammer Pants. (Apparently, they're high-waisted and puffy. Can't touch this.)

Her first bottle. It went...okay. We'll keep giving her one a week so she gets used to it in case we need them in the future.

Sleeping on the job - that Bloomberg is a bore. (Visiting Grandpa's office.)

Sandstorm anyone?

Only those that have been to a UD home game in the past 8 years will truly appreciate this. For those that have, enjoy what was undoubtedly the best part of tonight's game. For those that haven't, watch this first: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sKmgki9ifE&feature=related.

And yes, she Sandstormed (I created a new verb, so sue me) with her burp cloth.

And don't worry that we're not supporting her head. She's not quite 4 weeks old but has a stronger neck than I do. She loved this. So much so, in fact, that she proceeded to happily poop through her onesie right after this :)

Oh so scary.

So, this is what happened when I put her back in bed at 3:30 this morning. The corner of her mattress dropped! Let's talk about how terrifying this is to me. I laid her down and very carefully slid my hands out from under her (if you don't do it stealthily, she senses that she's no longer being held and all hell breaks loose.) I then very gently leaned on my hand in her bed, just waiting to make sure she was content and going to stay asleep so I didn't have to play the go-back-to-bed-only-to-get-up-in-2-minutes-when-she-screams-because-she-realizes-she's-alone game that we'd already played twice. I say "very gently" because I honestly don't feel like I put that much pressure on the mattress. Well, the mattress fell in the corner nearest my hand (it's an adjustable crib, so the mattress is supposed to be able to drop down further as she grows, but not on its own!) She didn't wake up or even move, as it really only dropped a few inches. Regardless, I immediately took her out of bed and she and I slept downstairs on the couches.

Here's my thought on this: I have a large baby girl. She's gaining weight like it's her job (well, I guess it kinda is...) She's only going to get bigger and heavier. What if, when she starts wiggling around and rolling, she moves herself into the corner? Would this happen again? Scares me just thinking about it. Daddy will be spending some time with this situation TODAY. We will tighten the heck out of those joints and then I'll be sure to put just as much pressure on it to make sure it doesn't budge. I don't want my baby girl to think she's sinking like the Titanic, you know?

Three Weeks.

"Look at my killer neck strength Mom! Pay no attention to those folds in my neck and try to focus on how darn cute my chubster cheeks are!"

Today, the husband said "This has been a long 3 weeks." To my own surprise, I feel the exact opposite. I can't believe time has gone so quickly since Brooke has been in our lives. Maybe it's because we were there so long, but it feels like we just left the hospital with her. She definitely seems older to me already - much more alert and animated these days. I've joked from the beginning that she came out thinking she was already 3 weeks old. True to form, she's exhibiting behaviors that you wouldn't expect of a 3-week-old but a much older baby, like smiling that isn't gas-induced, following images with her eyes, and the aforementioned neck strength (she's been holding her head up on her own since, like, day 2.) When I look at my baby girl in pictures, I can't believe how different she is already. So in awe!

The Big Lady has managed to surprise her parents and family yet again. She has gained 2 lbs since birth. Yes, that's right. Rather than losing weight as most infants do and fighting to get back to their birth weight, our "little" girl is now 11.5 lbs. I repeat, 11 and a half at 3 weeks! No wonder our backs hurt! I was slightly worried that she wasn't eating long enough at each feeding and therefore not getting enough nutrition. Clearly, I was worrying needlessly :) She really is a Big Lady (Don't worry, I won't call her this when she's older and give her a complex or send her to therapy...) Being in her bed is one of the few times she looks tiny to me (even with the big sleep sack on.) I love seeing her all snuggled in the crib, sleeping peacefully - melts my heart :) (She's not really asleep here. I went to grab my camera, but she woke up before I got back in the room. She typically sleeps on her side up against the back bumper, but when she slides more onto her back - like this - she gets angry and wakes up.)

Lots of firsts!

I have a few free minutes (rare!) as the Big Lady is currently snuggling with her Daddy on the couch, so I thought I'd give an update. Miss Brooke is still doing great! She sucks away my time like you wouldn't believe; she's in a needy stage right now. She can't see very well just yet, so she gets bored (and angry) quickly. I've become a feeding machine as this girl is hungry ALL. THE. TIME. I swear, by the time we finish one feeding, she's ready to start all over again. Luckily, she's got her days and nights in line and sleeps for long stretches at night (last night she went 6 hours between feedings, then another 3 for the next one - success!)

Brooke's had so many firsts this week, we thought we'd share a few with you (yes, we document all of them...I have a very large memory card on my camera.) She made her very first trip to The Mart, a pretty big deal. Grandma's on her cruise so we didn't get to see her there - maybe next time.
She also went to her first UD basketball game. It happened to be the big Xavier game at the Cintas Center. Grandpa got us box seats again, so we had plenty of room for all of the stuff that you need when you leave the house with a baby. She clearly enjoyed the game (see below, haha); she slept through the first half and then was happily awake for the 2nd half.
And we also had our first real bath in the sink. She likes this much more than the sponge baths, I think because she stays warmer. By the way, have you ever tried to hold a squirmy child in a slippery sink? An almost-10-pounder? Not the easiest task.

Two Weeks.

First, let me say God Bless the Boppy. This has become my best friend since Brooke came home from the hospital. Not only do I use it almost every time I feed her, it provides me with anywhere from 30 seconds to 10 minutes of freedom to get a few things done if she's awake. This morning, I was able to put cream cheese on a bagel and eat my entire breakfast with 2 hands :)

Anyway, we've made it to 2 weeks! The Big Lady is doing wonderfully, and Mommy & Daddy aren't doing so bad either. She sleeps anywhere from 3-5 hours at a time at night (and the 5 could possibly be a little longer if I let her go, but I've been unable to bring myself to not wake her after 5 hours....she needs to eat, right?) She's gotten herself on a bit of a schedule, usually waking around 3 a.m. to eat and then not again until 7 (we see the start of the Today Show almost daily.) Throughout the day is random; she has sleepy days and very alert days. Feedings are going really well. She's still only eating a total of 20 minutes at a feeding, but she's reached a growth spurt that is making her hungrier more often. It's so much easier to feed a hungry baby than a sleepy one that you have to wake up to even get started!

I'm doing pretty well; I'm completely off my pain medicine, just taking a few Motrin here and there. I'm bordering on sleep-deprived, but no more than any other new parent I guess. I have no appetite these days (which I've read is common in the weeks after giving birth) and have to force myself to eat so the Big Lady gets enough nutrition. But this does wonders for the baby weight, which has happily disappeared - I've actually dipped below my pre-pregnancy weight already :)

Daddy seems to be getting along quite well. He's gotten a bit more sleep than I have, as he's been back at work since Brooke was only a few days old - no paternity leave for this house! So I've tried to let him sleep as much as possible during the work week. He did have his first middle of the night shift this weekend, letting me get a straight 4 hours of sleep between feedings :) He's getting the hang of what she wants/needs when she cries and can quickly console her now.

Our little family is happy and healthy. We are so blessed to have such a beautiful little munchkin and can't believe she's been here for 2 weeks!

p.s. The 2nd picture included is the face we get quite frequently - it's her curious "what are you looking at?" face.