It's been way too long since I've blogged last, and there have been a million changes! Lauren is WALKING, as you can see in the video! My poor baby book lies helplessly abandoned on the shelf, and I'm just hoping that I can go back through and piece it all together from my videos and pictures on Flickr.
She has 6 little teeth now, 4 on top, 2 on the bottom. Her favorite food is american cheese, and she happily picks up each piece and puts it in her mouth. Foods she doesn't like end up in the seat next to her or on the floor. She still can't drink from a sippy cup at all. She bites the mouthpiece and some water usually dribbles down onto her chest. She does great when I give her sips from a small cup without a lid though.
My days have been really busy - I've done my Peds rotation, OB/GYN and now I'm 11 weeks through Internal Medicine. There have been a lot of long days but I reconnect with her at night and we always, always nurse to sleep.
She *almost* sleeps through the night now. Her usual bedtime is at 9pm and we always give her a bath right before, and then we snuggle and nurse to sleep. I put her in her crib and then I sleep on the mattress on the floor in her room. Last night she slept till 4am! I think I can almost head back over to my old room now, which would be awesome! The mattress on the floor is not doing my back any favors.
She does great with table food too now. Usually she begs for a bite or two of whatever we're eating. Today it was pancakes, sometimes eggs or pasta. She even had a bite of Jambalaya once, and the spiciness didn't bother her at all.
She loves going to the park and playing in the grass. The texture is fascinating to her. She loves to pick at every flower and leaf. She could play for hours.
It's been an amazing journey so far and I'm so proud of us for doing so well! We can't imagine life without her now and she really brings so much joy to us every day. I can't wait to give her a little brother or sister someday!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
First food!
Today Lauren took her first bites of food! We got the whole thing on video which will be posted on flickr soon. We gave her a few bites of watered down rice cereal. She seemed intrigued and didn't cry at all. It took her a long time to swallow what was in her mouth, she just gummed it awhile before it finally went down. Immediately afterwards she cried to be breastfed and then went down for a nap. I'm hoping for a good long nap... if it works, we might start feeding her a bit every night before bed, to help her sleep better.
She sleeps well at night, but only because we co-sleep. It's hard to know exactly how long she's sleeping because usually I just latch her on and go right back to sleep. Sometimes I don't even wake up enough to remember in the morning! For instance, last night she slept 12 hours. I went to bed at nine because I was sick, and she joined me. I woke up at 6:30 and she actually kept sleeping till 9, which is very unusual for her. Usually she wakes up shortly after I leave for school, sometimes before.
As far as my schooling goes, the long hours of inpatient Peds are over. Outpatient peds is much better in that respect. It's pretty much an 8-5 schedule, with a nice lunch break. I get to see my baby girl a lot more often, which makes me very very happy!
She sleeps well at night, but only because we co-sleep. It's hard to know exactly how long she's sleeping because usually I just latch her on and go right back to sleep. Sometimes I don't even wake up enough to remember in the morning! For instance, last night she slept 12 hours. I went to bed at nine because I was sick, and she joined me. I woke up at 6:30 and she actually kept sleeping till 9, which is very unusual for her. Usually she wakes up shortly after I leave for school, sometimes before.
As far as my schooling goes, the long hours of inpatient Peds are over. Outpatient peds is much better in that respect. It's pretty much an 8-5 schedule, with a nice lunch break. I get to see my baby girl a lot more often, which makes me very very happy!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Almost 5 months!
I can't believe I haven't blogged since before Thanksgiving. It's been such a whirlwind since that time. We drove home for Thanksgiving, Christmas and then on Jan 5 I started back to school. I'm doing my Pediatrics rotation which is a lot of very long hours.... I get in around 6:30 and leave at 6:30 or 7. It's been very hard being away from Lauren all day but I think we're doing great given the circumstances.
Lauren has grown so much! At her 4 month checkup she was 27 inches, 16.8 pounds, which is above the 90th percentile for babies her age. We're still exclusively breastfeeding and it looks like we'll make it to 6 months, which was my goal. I pump 3 times a day at work, which I'm really proud of. It's actually been no problem at all. Several of the residents have babies so they're really understanding.
Her new favorite thing is bath time. We just fill up the regular bathtub with shallow water (so her face isn't covered) and lay her down and she splashes away! She smiles the whole time and cries when we take her out. We try to do this right before bedtime so she sleeps well.
We're still cosleeping, which is not something I'm in a hurry to get rid of, at least not yet. I'm away from her for such a long time every day so I really want to be close to her at night. Plus, she still eats once or twice during the night and I'd have to get out of bed to feed her. Too much work! I like our situation just fine and she'll sleep through the night alone someday.
She's really laughing a lot lately, at the strangest things. We bark at her like dogs, say the word "dada" over and over again, and she laughs and laughs. It's the cutest thing ever.
Overall, I think things are wonderful right now. We have a happy girl, a great daycare and I'm doing fine back at school. What more can you ask for! :)
Lauren has grown so much! At her 4 month checkup she was 27 inches, 16.8 pounds, which is above the 90th percentile for babies her age. We're still exclusively breastfeeding and it looks like we'll make it to 6 months, which was my goal. I pump 3 times a day at work, which I'm really proud of. It's actually been no problem at all. Several of the residents have babies so they're really understanding.
Her new favorite thing is bath time. We just fill up the regular bathtub with shallow water (so her face isn't covered) and lay her down and she splashes away! She smiles the whole time and cries when we take her out. We try to do this right before bedtime so she sleeps well.
We're still cosleeping, which is not something I'm in a hurry to get rid of, at least not yet. I'm away from her for such a long time every day so I really want to be close to her at night. Plus, she still eats once or twice during the night and I'd have to get out of bed to feed her. Too much work! I like our situation just fine and she'll sleep through the night alone someday.
She's really laughing a lot lately, at the strangest things. We bark at her like dogs, say the word "dada" over and over again, and she laughs and laughs. It's the cutest thing ever.
Overall, I think things are wonderful right now. We have a happy girl, a great daycare and I'm doing fine back at school. What more can you ask for! :)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Bottle Strike
Tonight was hard... Lauren's been refusing bottles lately, and we've been using the gentle approach - offering tiny bottles before or after a feeding, and she always cries like we're feeding her poison. She absolutely has to be willing to take a bottle before we send her to daycare. Plus, in a week, we're heading on yet another 8 hour road trip, and it's soooo much easier to pump and feed while we're on the road.
This morning, I woke up with a really sore nipple, from too much nursing to sleep... It was the perfect opportunity to try and get her to take a bottle. For 3 hours, we distracted her and kept her entertained while she got hungry enough to finally break down and take the bottle. Zampano played the guitar, I walked circles around the apartment while holding the bottle in her mouth... She didn't cry, but she would just chew on the nipple, without sucking.
I was just about to break down and nurse her when she finally took the milk... one tiny bottle, and then a full big one... So I guess it's bottles from now on, at least most of the time. It's a shame, because nursing is so much easier for me, and I really enjoy it. There's nothing to wash, nothing to heat up...
In other news, I've been feeling really down lately, and I think I may have Seasonal Affective Disorder. Looking back at my patterns of depression, it always seems to get worse in the winter, and definitely got worse once we moved up north. I may consider buying one of those lights... one of my professors swears by it!
This morning, I woke up with a really sore nipple, from too much nursing to sleep... It was the perfect opportunity to try and get her to take a bottle. For 3 hours, we distracted her and kept her entertained while she got hungry enough to finally break down and take the bottle. Zampano played the guitar, I walked circles around the apartment while holding the bottle in her mouth... She didn't cry, but she would just chew on the nipple, without sucking.
I was just about to break down and nurse her when she finally took the milk... one tiny bottle, and then a full big one... So I guess it's bottles from now on, at least most of the time. It's a shame, because nursing is so much easier for me, and I really enjoy it. There's nothing to wash, nothing to heat up...
In other news, I've been feeling really down lately, and I think I may have Seasonal Affective Disorder. Looking back at my patterns of depression, it always seems to get worse in the winter, and definitely got worse once we moved up north. I may consider buying one of those lights... one of my professors swears by it!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Almost 3 months!
Just a few more days until Lauren turns 3 months! She'll start daycare in mid-late December and so we're trying to prepare for that. Unfortunately, she's decided that she doesn't want to drink from bottles anymore, just from the breast. She cries and fights anytime we offer it. I don't know what we're going to do - for a while she'd take one a day and then now, none at all.
In good news, the dermatologist actually helped my skin a lot! She put me on Finacea, which is azelaic acid. It's just about the only thing you can take while nursing, and I can't believe it actually worked. I'm not acne free by any stretch of the imagination, but it's such a dramatic improvement that I'm amazed. I've got so many red marks that still need to fade, but hopefully makeup will help a lot with that.
I do have a fun Lauren story to share today... We bought an ocean wonders aquarium on ebay, and she really likes it. We've only had it a few days, but the other night we put her down and left the room. Then, over the baby monitor, we hear a thumping noise, and then music starts playing. In disbelief, we walk into the room, and she's actually turned the thing on by herself! She turned herself around 90 degrees and kicked it until it turned on. I thought it was a fluke until it happened again today! It won't be long till this kiddo is mobile so it looks like it's time to start babyproofing. Yikes!
In good news, the dermatologist actually helped my skin a lot! She put me on Finacea, which is azelaic acid. It's just about the only thing you can take while nursing, and I can't believe it actually worked. I'm not acne free by any stretch of the imagination, but it's such a dramatic improvement that I'm amazed. I've got so many red marks that still need to fade, but hopefully makeup will help a lot with that.
I do have a fun Lauren story to share today... We bought an ocean wonders aquarium on ebay, and she really likes it. We've only had it a few days, but the other night we put her down and left the room. Then, over the baby monitor, we hear a thumping noise, and then music starts playing. In disbelief, we walk into the room, and she's actually turned the thing on by herself! She turned herself around 90 degrees and kicked it until it turned on. I thought it was a fluke until it happened again today! It won't be long till this kiddo is mobile so it looks like it's time to start babyproofing. Yikes!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sleeping through the night
Last night, Lauren slept from 1:30 to about 8am! She's started to be increasingly fussy in the evenings, nursing lots and lots, to tank up for the long night. Last night we went to bed as usual (I nurse her to sleep) and even though she got lots of milk, she still fussed until we gave her an extra bottle. She's been sleeping around 4-5 hours at night but this was the longest ever, to my knowledge. After breakfast, she usually sleeps till about noon, and then all of us eat together.
These last few weeks, she's really started showing lots of personality! She smiles all the time now, and loves to babble. We're so lucky to have such a happy, sweet girl.
It shouldn't be long before she's able to play with more toys. When she plays on her play mat now, she's much better with her hands - grabbing the rings on her butterfly toy or the dangling ladybug. She also loves the Lamaze Giraffe toy with the jingling bell legs.
These last few weeks, she's really started showing lots of personality! She smiles all the time now, and loves to babble. We're so lucky to have such a happy, sweet girl.
It shouldn't be long before she's able to play with more toys. When she plays on her play mat now, she's much better with her hands - grabbing the rings on her butterfly toy or the dangling ladybug. She also loves the Lamaze Giraffe toy with the jingling bell legs.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
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