2010-04-28 Pic of the Day!

"I'm Alexsa! Part adorable baby, part hand ninja!"

Breastfeeding Woes

I was going to title this one "Tonight Sucked."

It actually started Saturday.  At Alexsa's second feeding of the day, she decided to refuse me. It wasn't a gradual "I'm starting to get sick of this boob" thing, it was: "Morning feed? Yummy! 2nd Feeding? I hate tit." She repeated herself until that evening, but Sunday it was the same story.  I figured it was because she's gotten used to the bottle during the day with Daddy, but its now Wednesday and she's continued to refuse me except for in the morning.  She starts crying as soon as I lay her down in front of me, like I'm about to throw her into a fire or something.

Well tonight I had enough.  She actually started crying when I took my shirt off.  The sight of my breasts repulses her that much.  So I just sat there and cried while she wailed at me.*  Every time I did anything close to what she thought was me trying to get her to latch, she just screamed louder, which made me cry harder.  I gave up and made her a bottle, which made me cry again because the thought of me feeding her formula when there's perfect milk millimeters from her pissed me off.  The thought of how much formula costs pissed me off.  Doesn't she know I want what's best for her, and that's Mommy Milk? Doesn't she know we're broke?

I have worked so hard to be able to produce the little I am giving her as it is.  Doesn't she realize what I go through to get her the best meal possible? (My reduction surgery has made breastfeeding an all out battle of wills: Mandi v. Boob.  As soon as I think I'm winning, Boob throws a dirty play.)

I'm hoping this is just a temporary thing. Do you think that shes getting upset because she's got a bit of a stuffy nose and maybe its harder for her to drink from me than a bottle because of it?  Maybe its just a phase.  I just hope this is temporary, and not a sign that she's done with me.

*side note: My child screams in just the right tone that literally rings my ears, its almost painful.  Is it designed that way?

2010-04-27 Pic of the Day

She's looking at her Daddy :)

2010-04-26 Pic of the Day!

Bath Time!

2010-04-24 Pic of the Day!

2010-04-23 Pic of the Day!

I like my Bumbo! :)

Random Thoughts on a Friday

Why do they make ketchup packets in the size they do?  Have you ever used just ONE ketchup packet? I surely have not.  Same with mayo - that's ALOT of mayonnaise for one burger.

I'm sad that my baklava I bought for a snack is already down my gullet.

I'm beginning to wonder if i'm obsessed with my child.  I can't stop looking at her picture every day!

I'm SOO excited it's Friday!  Barry and I are going to Maggiano's and a movie for our 3rd anniversary tomorrow, leaving Alexsa with Aunt Christy :).

2010-04-22 Pic of the Day!

So this one is better the bigger it is, so click on her cute button nose!

2010-04-21 Pic of the Day!

Tummy time! Here's a Two-Fer :)

See me holding my head up?  Doesn't last too long, but I'm getting there!

2010-04-20 Pic of the Day!

I was feeling under the weather yesterday, but I managed to get this on my cell.  Better late than never, right?

2010-04-19 Pic of the Day!

2010-04-18 Pic of the Day!

2010-04-17 Pic of the Day!

KEEEEEYAH!

Pic of the Day - Funny Friday!

For the last week i've been sending coworkers a picture of Lexie everyday.  I thought i'd expand this to the first feature of my blog!  SOOO, starting today I'm going to do my best to take and post a picture of Alexsa every day.  Friday's pic will be sure to make you laugh!

Withouth further ado, today's Pic of the Day :)

And here were a few that you missed: :)

Two Month Wellness Check

Alexsa had her 2 month check up yesterday.  Her Chunk-a-Monk status has been demoted.  She is in the 75th percentile for height and 25th for weight! (her head is 50%) So I guess now she's Skina-Monk. :)

She is happy and healthy - and the doctor was happy.  We have to be better about giving her tummy time - her head is pretty flat and her arms aren't as strong as they could be, but other than that we're good!

We are going to spread out her vaccines, so she only got 1 shot (HiB).  I'm glad for it, because it was so heartbreaking to see her cry in pain. This was the first time she got hurt.  I got choked, but didn't cry.  I think Barry was hurting more than me - he actually took her from me when she was crying.  She goes back on May 6th for another vaccine, but Daddy will be taking her to that one. I can't believe that some doctors are ok with shooting 2 month olds up with up to 8 different vaccines in 1 day! Talk about chemical overload, not to mention the war that the little one's immune system has to wage, creating ALL those antibodies at once!  Sure we'll have to pay a co-pay for each visit, but at least if she has a reaction we'll know why. I'm so grateful we found our doctors. (This is a no-judgement zone, so if you chose a different route for your children, I understand!)

We got home from her appointment about 3:30/4:00, which is usually when she's waking up from her afternoon nap.  She was very quiet while Barry and I ate dinner, but never actually fell asleep for more than a few minutes at a time.  By the time 8:00 rolled around, she was SO tired, I decided to try and feed her one more time and put her down.  She wasn't interested in me at all, so i changed and swaddled her and put her in her crib. She was asleep almost instantly. 
Because she went down so early, i was preparing myself to wake up about 4.  The cats found a bell toy around 3, which got me up to put it in a drawer (GRRRR), then I was up about 6:15.  She still wasn't making a sound - I almost had Barry check on her, but she made a peep or two, so i relaxed until my alarm went off. Just as I was getting ready to pick her up to feed, she started stirring - about 6:50.  My baby slept for over 10 hours. WOW.

Two Months Old!

WOW! I can't believe you're two months already.  It has been a whirl wind and the last 2 months have flown by.  You are growing so fast!!  At 2 months:

You spend the day with Daddy because I went back to work 2 weeks ago.  When I come home you smile because you're happy to see me!  You make my day and I can't stop kissing your sweet smelling skin.

You are getting stronger and are getting pretty good at holding your head up. You're not 100% but you 'hold your own'. :)

You are my sweet sleeper.  You consistantly sleep 7-8 hours at night, which is so great for letting me get good rest for work.  Thank you, Baby!

You love your bath!

You're drinking anywhere from 3-5 oz at a meal, and like to eat every 2-3 hours during the day. We call you our Chunk-a-Monk. :)

Alexsa, I love you so much. I love what you've given our family.  Being a Mom is the coolest feeling in the world.  You know that feeling when you're next in line to ride that exciting new roller coaster? Or when you get your learner's permit? Or when you and your love experience your first kiss? When you take the first bite of an amazing dish? Or when you say "I Do"?  You take those feelings, mush them together into one awesome feeling and constantly multiply it.  That's the closest I can describe how much I love you. 

I can't wait for tomorrow. :)

Ahhhh....

Guess who's baby slept through the night last night? 

MINE! :)

Alexsa went down at her normal 10:00 last night.  It took her a bit to get to sleep, finally drifting at around 10:30, but when my alarm woke me up at 6:45 instead of my baby, a big smile came across my face.  Sure she made little noises here and there, but nothing crazy.  So on the night of her 8 week birthday, she gave me an awesome gift: almost 8 full hours of sleep.

I had a theory that I was waking her up too early to feed... I'd hear her every morning between 3 and 5 making inking noises like she was waking up so I'd pick her up, change her diaper and feed her.  I never wanted her to wake up so much that she would start crying and wake up Barry.  However she never seemed too interested and would only latch for about 15 minutes before puckering her lips.  So last night I put it in my mind that i'd let her go a bit longer and see what happened.  I don't even remember her making too much noise at all.  I actually did my 'middle of the night feed' at 7am this morning.  She ate well, I put her back down and got ready for work.  Barry said she didn't wake up again until 10:45!  WOW!

Lets see if we can make this a habit. :)

Easter 2010

We enjoyed a beautiful relaxing day yesterday at my Mom's.  I showed Alexsa off at Alexsa and I went to church with my parents, then went over to Mom and Dad's for a ham dinner and great time with family.  Alexsa looked SO adorable in her Easter Dress!

After we ate the boys wanted us to hide eggs, but we were all feeling very lazy relaxing on the porch, so we hid them in the porch instead of in the yard. ;).  This made hiding much more fun, though, because the eggs weren't just sitting in the grass.  The boys LOVED it!  After they found them all they wanted us to do it again (of course.)  Denise said, "Why don't you hide them for the adults?"  You would've thought they were going to Disney - it was the best idea EVER.  So shortly after they ran into the living room we hear "READY!!!!"  Ashton and Braydon couldn't stand the suspense as we searched for eggs.  It was so much fun I think we'll do it again next year.  And Ashton was so smart, he remembered where they were all hidden to when there was just a few left he could give us clues as to where the remaining eggs were.

Alexsa was such a good baby all day.  She didn't sleep much, but was content just hanging out in her Aunts' arms or just laying on her blanket.  She even played a game of Hullabaloo with Aunt Christy and the boys and won! :)

By the time we got home it was about 8:00 and Lexie was quite cranky.  I figured she was tired so we tried to put her down with her binky, but she wouldn't have it.  That's what I get for not following the bedtime routine!  I picked her back up and walked around, but she wouldn't calm down. She was fed, changed and burped and still a fuss.  Sooo, what calms her down? Nothing.  Putting her on the floor blanket with her bink.  That's it.  She wanted to be left alone again.  Is this my kid??  Believe me, i'm not complaining, but seriously? It seems so weird how she prefers to just chill instead of cuddle.  But it worked out.  We had quiet time from 8:30-9:30, we fed and changed, and she went right down at 10:00, quietly falling asleep about 10:20. 

When Will the Bubble Burst?! Never, I Hope!

Alexsa has been really great about going down to sleep at night for the past few days.  Someone gave me the advice to lay her down and just say "Goodnight", and that was it.  Who would've thought it would work so well?!

I'm trying to create a night routine.  Its not solid, but I think its familiar enough that she's taking to it.  We start winding down around 9:00.  Right now since she just lays there anyway, its more of Barry and I winding down than Alexsa.  We lower the lights, turn the TV down or off, and speak in softer voices. Then, by 10 we feed, change, and go to bed.  I give her her binky if she wants it and usually only have to put it back in her mouth 2 or 3 times before she doesn't need it anymore and both Mommy and Baby are asleep within 15-30 minutes. (Her basinette is still next to the bed.)

Last night she had a bottle around 8, so at 10 she still wasn't acting hungry.  I gave her my boobs anyway, and she ate for just a few minutes each.  I wondered if i was tapped out, so i tried to give her some formula, of which she was not interested at all. So we changed her diaper and laid her down.  The whole time I'm giving myself the prep talk that I'll be up in a few hours and be tired all day tomorrow for having to wake up 2-3 times.  Well, she went down really well and we were asleep shortly after 10.  My bladder woke me up, (which was a first since having Alexsa, BTW) rolled to look at the clock and freaked out when it said 5:35! WHAT!?  Did my 7 week old baby really just sleep for over 7 hours!?  Its 5:40 now and she's still not making a peep.  I leaned over to make sure she was still breathing a few times.  Now i'm awake just waiting for her to make a sound.  When she finally started to ink about 5:45 it was the best sound in the world.  I finally got up to pee and get ready for her and we had our first feeding of the day at 6:00!  WOW. 

When I had a really smooth pregnancy, Barry and I thought we'd have a difficult birth.  When our birth went really well, we thought for sure we'd have a difficult baby.  Now that she's so easy-peasy, I'm certain she's going to be a hellian as a toddler.  I mean, we've got to fall through this cloud we're living on sometime, right??