Video of rolling over

DSCN1651
Originally uploaded by linuxgrl

Baby's 4th rollover, caught on camera. I think she gets lots better traction on the yoga mat. Her play mat is just too slippery!

5 weeks!

Today Miss Lauren had her hip sonogram to check for dysplasia, which is common with breech babies.  I'm happy to say that her hips are perfect!

After her exhausting workout last night, Lauren slept for 5 hours, which is a new record!  And this morning she flipped over again!

Today was also my first time leaving the house with Lauren alone.  I wasn't supposed to drive or exercise for 6 weeks but today I did both.  It's been 5 weeks and I've honestly had the easiest recovery ever. I feel fantastic.  My exercise was the stationary bike for 15 minutes and I took a little nap afterwards.

Well, time to feed the baby again!

She Rolled Over!!!

Lauren enjoys lots of tummy time on her play mat.  Usually if she gets fussy after a meal, we put her down on her tummy and she lifts her big head up and down a little bit.  It always seemed to quiet her down.

But everything changed today, because she realized that she can roll over.  She got really close a couple of times today, just as the camera ran out of batteries.  It's a hell of a struggle - she thrashes around, kicking her legs, spinning around in circles on the mat.  She can't quite coordinate which arm and which leg to use to push herself over.  But tonight she actually did it... TWICE.

And then tummy time was never the same.  No longer a quiet, easy exercise session, she actually remembered rolling over (which amazes me!) and immediately tried again and again to do it.  After a very intense workout, she took a huge bottle and fell asleep deeper and much faster than usual.  The kid is one day short of 5 weeks old.  I think it's normal for babies to roll from front to back at 2-3 months.  

This absolutely requires a video.  One will be posted tomorrow if we can capture the moment!

Note to self

1.  NEVER drink coffee again until you stop breastfeeding.  Not even if the baby books say 1 or 2 cups of coffee a day is fine.  Doesn't matter how tired you are.  Power through it!  You will end up with a cranky, bitterly angry baby who will fall asleep for 2 minutes and then wake up screaming...  This cycle will repeat for hours, until you want to throw yourself out the window.  Don't do it.

2.  Less important, but still potentially embarrassing.  Do not eat dairy!  Not even those Mexican popsicles you love so much.  Not even if you take a lactaid tablet with it.  It will not help.  Your baby will be gassy and uncomfortable, and will fart loudly like a little old man, attracting the attention of everyone around you.  Not to mention the smell... 

Happy 1 month birthday!

I can't believe Lauren is already a month old!  It's taken us a while to figure out this whole parenting thing but I think we're starting to get the hang of it!  Zampano and I take turns sleeping and then have together time in the afternoons/evenings.  Finally I feel slightly rested!

Probably the best purchase we've made so far is our Graco swing. (on sale for $89 at target!)  She adores the nature sounds and even if it doesn't put her to sleep every time, it at least entertains her for a half hour so I can pump/wash bottles/shower/eat something....

She's starting to make some new noises and might be starting to social smile (at least I thought so a couple of times)...  She loves tummy time and really enjoys crawling upwards on my belly.  If I give her something to push her feet against she can crawl all the way up to my face!  I weighed her today on our highly inaccurate bathroom scale and she was an even 10 pounds!

Just to keep things organized, I've started a new flickr set for her second month of life.

Loose Change

Loose Change
Originally uploaded by linuxgrl

I know this is a baby blog and all, but this is so crazy I just had to share. Zampano likes to buy scratch off cards occasionally at the supermarket, and apparently we've hit on a winning streak. These 4 scratchers are worth $56... All 4 are winners, and we've only played these 4. We should totally go back to the store tonight and buy the whole roll!

Burger King

Zampano and I took a nice drive to walk around the lake at Skaneatelas yesterday.  On our way home, we stopped at the Burger King drive-thru for some food.  Lauren rarely ever cries when we're in the car and driving, but the second she smelled the food in the car, she was hysterical.  Unfortunately I was in the front seat so somehow I had to maneuver around, remove the front seat headrest and stuff a bottle in her mouth.

Apparently I used to cry at restaurants when the food would arrive too.  :)  I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!

3 weeks

Lauren at 3 days...

and at 3 weeks!

She's really filling out nicely!  Her newborn clothes fit a lot better now.  Won't be long before we're moving on to the next size.  Zampano bought some onesies for her and we're hoping to at least get one use out of each before she outgrows them.  These PJ's are the best though since it's already starting to get chilly here in Syracuse.

One of my favorite times of day are those early morning feedings when we curl up together on the couch and fall asleep.  She always starts breathing heavy and her eyes roll back in her head.  Then she'll squeak and grunt, and do some stretching.  It's the cutest thing ever.  I think she's starting to have trouble sleeping without me though, which is a bit hard, since occasionally I like to shower and do other things.  But she's still so young and I really don't want to deny her anything.  For now Miss Lauren gets whatever she wants. 

In bad news, my post-baby weight loss seems to have stalled.  For a while there, I was losing 1 or 2 pounds a day (probably all water).  And now I'm stuck at 12 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight.  Time to start cutting back on the chocolate, I guess! :)

The horrifying cystic hormonal acne has not yet decided to leave, or even improve...  Maybe it's the breastfeeding, maybe the extra weight.  Most likely it's the lack of birth control pills.  Maybe a combination of all of the above, since I NEVER had acne like this before I got pregnant.  The worst of it is on my jawline, but it's all over the place - back, shoulders, chest.  I've got these awesome giant boobs and can't show them off!  It's a disgrace! :)  Anyway, I guess I never planned to breastfeed forever so at most it'll be a couple more months.  Maybe I'll go see a dermatologist...

Almost 3 weeks

Well, haven't had much time to blog lately with the baby keeping me busy, but I figured I'd better write down a few things before I forget them entirely.  The days go so fast now, it's ridiculous.

1.  Milk - I've got ridiculous amounts of milk now!  The fridge is stocked with an overflowing number of bottles on the top shelf.  It took awhile (probably longer than for most people) but now Lauren is on 100% breast milk with plenty to spare.  Pretty soon I'll need to start freezing it, since it only keeps 3 days in the fridge.

2.  Sleep - very unpredictable.  Sometimes she sleeps 3 hours at a time, sometimes only 1 or 2.  I'm completely exhausted but I've found that I can sleep pretty well with her in my arms on the couch.  The worst part about breastfeeding is that I have to pump or feed her every few hours.  If I wait too long, then supposedly my milk supply will decrease.  Haven't had that problem yet but I don't want all my hard work to go to waste.

Ugh.  Too tired to write more... must go take a nap while Zampano cares for her for a few hours...

2 milestones today

DSCN1383
Originally uploaded by linuxgrl

Guess who got her social security card today! Plus, she also lost her umbilical cord stump, so it's time for her first REAL bath!

Yet more pictures

My new favorite Lauren Picture
Originally uploaded by linuxgrl

If you aren't sick of this kid already, more new photos added to the flickr set, including this one, which I think is her prettiest yet! I think this one will go on the birth announcements!