First Chiropractic Visit

 Today I took Brianna to the chiropractor for the first time. I heard it was good to get infants in to be adjusted in order to correct any undetected problems or shifting that occured during the natural trauma of birth.

Turns out that although her lower back was perfectly straight, her upper back was pretty out of whack. The chiropractor also made some adjustments that should help the mild colic Bri is experiencing at night, and possibly allow her to sleep flat on her back. We are going in for a follow-up visit next Tuesday.

In case you were wondering, she is being held upside-down because Sarah is testing her posture or something like that. Was definitely a bit nerve-wracking for me!!

Love,

Catherine & Brianna

First smiles...

...Caught on tape!!

Who woulda thunk?

I just broke down after the fifth feeding in an hour and tried to give Brianna some pre-mixed formula so she would quiet down and go to sleep. She made an "ick" face, screamed, and proceeded to spit up everything that we managed to get her to swallow.... So much for that idea.

When we decided to breastfeed exclusively, we did it because we knew it would be best for her, we didn't consider that she would completely refuse formula anyway.

ETA: Got a couple suggestions from Amy & Kellie. Amy said the problem could be that we were using the pre-mixed formula which apparently tastes gross and is very thick. Kellie suggested we try soy-based formula. We will try both next time, thanks ladies!

4 Weeks Old

Our baby is a month old! Time has absolutely flown by. Milestones for this week include:

1. a (more) regulated sleep schedule. She is sleeping between 3-4 hours at a time every night now. She is taking about three 2.5 hr naps during the day.

2. I "think" I saw her first real smile. It was after I got done changing her. Anyone who has met her has seen her cute little smirk, where only half of her mouth goes up. She has done this since day one and I have attributed it to gas. However this particular smile was both corners of her mouth, and her eyes shined at the same time. Hope I get to see it again soon!

3. As of yesterday, Brianna has been focusing on things. Her "cross-eyed" look is gone and it appears that she can focus on things several feet away. This is especially exciting because I know it means it is the beginning of being interesting in toys and stuff.

Rock A Bye Baby

I am proud to say that our three-and-a-half week old just slept through the night for the first time!

Now that is not to say I am expecting this to happen every night, and to be fair- the official word on "sleeping through the night" for a baby is 5 hours. But she made it five and a half and probably would have gone longer if I hadn't waken her up to eat.

She slept from 11:00pm-4:30am. Stupidly, I woke up at 2:00am and was: a. too excited that she was still sleeping to actually sleep myself, and b. figured that she would wake up any minute so what was the point of going back to sleep? I finally made it back to sleep at 5:30am and she slept again until almost 9:00!

As a baby who generally sleeps from 1.5-3 hours (on a rare, good night) at a time, you are probably wondering how we did this. Well, we noticed that she was grunting in her sleep a lot, and every time we would lay her flat in the crib or bassinet, her legs and arms would flail out over and over and eventually wake her up. So between the gas and the startle reflex, the last couple weeks were rough to say the least.

Then I read on one of my "mommy forums" about something called the Fisher Price Rock N' Play Sleeper. Which is basically a sling that is set at an incline and has the ability to rock back and forth. I heard it was good for babies with reflux or that needed to sleep on an incline. What the heck? I thought. I've got nothing to lose but more sleep! I found one on Craigslist for $35, (they are $50 new) and brought it home. Used it last night for the first time... yep, my new favorite baby item.

I am all smiles :-D and so is my little peanut.

Peace,

Catherine

3 -Weeks Old

3 weeks old today! Brianna is doing wonderfully. She get's a little more personality and preference every day. So far, her favorite things are: snuggling on Daddy's chest, eating, walking around looking at things and going for walks in her stroller. She doesnt seem to mind being naked as much as she used to and she is still nowhere near sleeping through the night.

This morning I had a little scare, as Brianna woke me up shrieking and was unconsolable. I called Matt and we figured out that she probably had some sort of gas bubble that was hurting her, and had been since last night considering the type of night we had. After a frantic conversation with my sister in law, and a trip to the CVS pharmacy, everything was better. Your probably thinking, "So what? It's just a little gas", but when your baby is screaming in pain and you don't know whats wrong- the world stops. Now that we have learned what signs to watch for and how to fix it, next time wont be a big deal. All part of the adventure of learning to be parents though, right?

Until Next Time,

Catherine

Baptism Day!

The Godparents



Brianna's baptism was yesterday. The service was short but beautiful. There were three babies baptized, one of which who screamed throughout the entire service. Father Zehren was the officiating priest, who also happened to be the one who married us and confirmed Matt. Several family members on either side of our families came as well, which made the day really special.

Fr. Zehren said a few prayers, anointed her with a couple different oils that still very strong, and of course baptized her with water at the fountain at the front of the church.

Love, 

Catherine & Brianna

Things I Have Learned- Week 2

So I have learned a few things the hard way this week..

1. After four nights of very limited sleep, I decided to keep Brianna up all day yesterday, it was a lot of work and I didnt get anything done all day. However, I figured it might help switch her days and nights faster. WRONG! She was a bear last night. She was so tired that she screamed contantly no matter how many times she was fed or cuddled. After we finally got her to fall asleep, she proceeded to wake up every two hours or less anyway. Fail....

2. Apparently her "hour and a half" feedings could have been a half hour if I'd only realized she was using me as a pacifier for most of it.

3. There is an art to diapering. If the elastic sides are not falanged out, if the diaper is too small, or if it is not tight enough- every poop WILL be a blowout and I will have to do laundry every single day.

4. Recieving blankets and burp cloths are not the same thing and they are not created equal. There is a reason burp cloths are more absorbant, and more expensive.

5. For a baby who can normally sleep through a tornado (or dogs barking, people yelling, lights and loud television) If it's the middle of the night, Brianna will wake up to a sheet being ruffled, a light switch being flicked off, or a dog quietly jumping off the bed.

6. Previously, I had been waking up and picking B up every time she started "talking", which is a mixture of short cries, grunting, cooing etc. thinking she was hungry. It wasnt until early this morning I realized that if I lay very still, and she doesnt realize I am awake... the "talking" will continue for a great length of time before it turns into demanding cries. Half the time it appeared she was even talking in her sleep, with her eyes closed! Needless to say, if I can learn to sleep through this, my nights will improve greatly.

I just need to repeat this to myself over and over...  The baby is not a sweet angel by day and a demon by night. We are simply in a period of adjustment. As my ever-helpful (seriously!) sister in law said, "as cliche and annoying as it sounds, this too shall pass."

Catherine

Brianna's 2-Week Doctor Appointment

Brianna's doctor's appointment was this morning. He said she is doing wonderfully. She is now 8 pounds 9 ounces; almost a pound up in two weeks! She has also grown in length too, from 19 1/4 inches to 20 3/4 inches. I asked him about all the spitting up and he said they arent worried because of her positive weight gain. He also gave us some suggestions for switching her internal clock so that she will start sleeping all night instead of all day, (ie. putting her in indirect sunlight several times a day). Her next doctor appointment will be at 2 months old.

2 Week Pic

Our friends Peter & Cassie are finding out the sex of their baby today. We are so excited for them! Of course this is also the visit where they look at all of the baby's internal organs, etc.

My mom is coming over in an hour, and B is sleeping so I am going to attempt a nap.

Toodles!
Catherine

Exhausted



Sleeps with her mouth open
 just like Daddy :-)



Just finished our first all-nighter with Brianna. I'm not positive, but I think she may be going through a growth spurt. She wanted to eat 10 times in 7 hours and the rest of the time she was wide-eyed and wanting to be snuggled. Finally after Matt went to work at 6:30, I tried putting her in her bouncer hoping she'd fall asleep there. She screamed a few times but then finally fell asleep, and so did I... for about an hour and a half. Now I can't get her to wake up! LOL. I am afraid she is going to sleep all day and then do this to us again tonight.

I guess the honeymoon is over? Only time will tell.

2 weeks old tomorrow! And her first official doctor's appointment. Today we are going to visit Gracia, who will be her daycare lady.
Love,
Catherine

Wow

We got Brianna's social security card in the mail today. How freaking exciting is that!! The US Government acknowledges that we have a child!! :-)

Brianna's first trip to the zoo

We wanted to take a trip with Brianna and we wanted to take a trip to duluth to see the fall colors. However, we decided that long in the car was not a good idea. So we thought what are we going to do today? I have been having a hankering to go to the zoo for a while, so off to Como we went. It was really fun,  even though she couldn't see the animals and slept for a while. Also, even if she could see them, she had no idea what she was looking at. It was still fun for mommy and I.


I remember going there as a kid and it was always a really fun time. This time was no different. This was the first time that Catherine and I had ever been to a zoo together and it made me want to head to the Minnesota zoo. That will be a good time, so maybe we will wait for a while until Brianna can see everything and at least wonder and awe at all of the animals.

Matt

10 days old and still a peanut

Everyone that has asked us how Brianna is doing, we tell them "she has been a really easy baby". By that of course we mean that because of all of the horror stories we were told prior to her birth, we expected the worst- a screaming baby who pooped constantly, made breastfeeding a hellish experience, and would keep us up all night causing us to do awful things from sleep deprivation. What we got was a sweet, snuggly baby girl who sleeps most of the day, hardly ever cries and still wakes us up every three hours (give or take an  hour) at night to eat, but then goes right back to bed. There has not been a single night so far where we feel we have been severely deprived of sleep. *knock on wood*

Don't get me wrong, we have definitely had our moments (and will continue to). Last night, for example, Brianna woke me up every three hours on the dot starting at 1pm. At 7am I discovered she had had a massive poop and pee blowout that soaked her clothes, her bed and her blankets. After I changed her and fed her I tried to (unsuccessfully) burp her. I ended up placing her on a pillow while I attempted to do something else for a moment and she spit up everything I had just fed her, all over the pillow and herself. On top of this, the dogs are jumping on the bed and barking to be let outside. I am not going to lie, that was not a pretty situation- and it was my fault for not waking Matt up immediately.

Fortunately, these stories are few and far between. We are definitely looking forward to longer stretches between feedings at night, which we are confidant will happen sooner than we all expect. In the meantime, we are enjoying every new learning experience, good and bad.

Even though she is only 10 days old, our little princess has changed so much. She physically looks different. She has filled out and is finally fitting into all her newborn clothing. Her eyes are changing color, but its still hard to tell what color they will end up. She no longer minds being naked as much as she used to and is now asking to be held and cuddled in addition to previously only wanting to eat and sleep. She is also much more alert to the world around her. Before she would only look in front of her or off to the side, but not at anything in particular. Now I will catch her looking at the dogs or staring at her Daddy.

I can't wait to find out what comes next... :-D

Catherine