Six weeks already/only? Time flies but it also seems like she has been a part of our family forever. I've been looking forward to this six week milestone because it seems like a lot of babies sort of round the corner at this point and the fussiness/spit up/uncertainty issues start to dissolve. And overall, I think that is true for Cecelia---praise the Lord. Looking back on it now, week four was really freaking hard. It started to get better each day last week and hopefully we keep getting more and more comfortable with each other as each day passes.
The biggest change in the past few weeks is that Cecelia's evening hours are much more pleasant. She may have a few moments of being fussy just because she is super tired or wants to nurse, but nothing like that horrid fourth week. Maybe we can just read her a little better now and figure out what she wants, but I also think she isn't just crying to cry anymore. In fact she is having a lot of evenings when she just chills out and looks around the house all contentedly. Especially because she has had a few days when she barely manages to stay awake for longer than 30 minutes at a time---it's like she is all rested up and ready to rip in the evenings before bed. Totally fine by us as long as she isn't freaking out anymore!
Another positive changes is that she isn't spitting up as much anymore. I was going to be REALLY excited about this realization but then she barfed everywhere again this morning--bringing the grand total of HUGE puke sessions up to 8 total. But really, she did it once last week and once today, and every feeding in between those has been pretty darn dry. Maybe there is something about Tuesdays now? I still think she is just randomly gagging since the big ralphs usually happen 5-10 minutes after a feed and usually when she is laying down. She's not crying after and it definitely freaks me out a lot more than anyone else. It's not fun to change her clothes, my clothes, and clean up all around the vomiting scene but I feel more confident that this is just a random baby thing that Truman never did. I guess being baptized by my daughter's spit up is like a rite of passage that most moms endure---nothing like being soaked in your own breast milk!
What, this hat doesn't fit yet?
One sort of 'sad trombone' change is that her normally great night time sleeping has regressed a bit. She was consistently waking each night at 2-3 and again at 4-5 making it just two times that she needed to feed, and she'd usually fall back to sleep pretty easily after. And although she DID give me her first 5 hour stretch of sleep last week, she followed up that accomplishment with some pretty horrid nights. She will sometimes wake 4 times now and occasionally won't fall back to sleep for 45 minutes up to 1.5 hours. Gah! She will be grunting and squirmy and need diaper changes all of a sudden. Waking up at 12:30, 2:30, 3:30, and 4:30 is so not cool, my dear. Now, granted, last night she did great again and only woke up twice but still. Maybe it was another growth spurt? Gotta love blaming everything on a spurt, right? I'm considering moving her from the co-sleeper in our room into her crib for at least the first part of the night but we'll see. Such a big step. But such a cute nursery that needs to be used:)
Another bummer? Baby acne did, in fact, attack my perfect angel's face. Right at the 5 week mark I started seeing little red dots which is exactly when Truman got it. It's fading a bit now but still there---not awful or anything, but it's still kind of funny/heartbreaking for my newborn to have the pimply skin of a teenager. She still rocks it, though, and I'm still snapping pictures. But I am using every ounce of my being to refrain from picking at her acne. You all know I'm a big time picker, right?
Acne on a ballerina. Still cute, yes.
Fluffy hair and good head control!
On the awesome side of things? Baby girl is smiling a lot more now! She actually gave us the first smile around 3 weeks but now I can work hard to get a gummy grin in return, so it's not quite as random. And oh my goodness, her smile is killer! I love this stage of newborn-hood because it's like you are finally getting some positive reinforcement for all of the hard work you are putting in as a parent. Like, 'Hi---I'm slaving away for you, sleep deprived, covered in my own boob juices, fat, hungry, changing a million poopy diapers a day. Can I just get a freaking smile to show that you actually appreciate my services? Thanks.'
And of course, when I say she is smiling a lot more I didn't even capture it on camera this week. Mommy fail.
And speaking of anxiety and stress, baby girl still hates a bottle. As in, the past 24 hours have resulted in 3 failed attempts by Nate and myself. I'm starting to freak a little bit--I know we still have 6 weeks until I go back to work but man. She is one picky lady who loves the boob but hates a rubber nipple. My mom got Cecelia to take 1 ounce last week and I thought we were in the clear! But then the next day she refused twice and ever since then it's been a hellish battle to get pumped milk into the girl. We are trying lots of ideas: warmer bottle, different bottles, different rooms of the house, sitting, standing, rocking, music, etc. I think our best bet is to focus on the early morning hours when she is content and sleepy but not starving. We did a bottle at 6 am this morning and although it was another epic fail, I feel like we have to keep trying! Any stories of breastfed babies who HATED the bottle at first, but then pulled through and took it just fine for daycare welcome. Already stressed about the potential for her to refuse bottles up until my first day of work (August 20---mark it on your calendar). Come on, CC---I'm glad you love my boobs but let's work together here!
Anyway, last week was super fun with my mom and Memaw here. I cannot get over how easy it is to care for a newborn when my toddler is fully entertained by GoGo. And we had a fabulous Fourth of July, took Truman to his first fireworks, I got a mani/pedi for a little mommy alone time, and we survived the worst heat wave in Wisconsin's history (that is my stat, maybe not a correct statement, but whatever). I had my six week OB appointment yesterday and got cleared to exercise again, so Cecelia and I had our first mommy/daughter run and OMG. I missed running so much in the past 10 months!! Cannot wait to get back into kick-butt shape with my newest sidekick bumping along in front of me. She is wearing her first cloth diaper today and filling it out nicely, looking extra cute in the fluff. I'm pretty sure this means her newborn clothes are officially retired and the 3 month sizes are really pretty snug in certain brands. LOVE this new wardrobe of hers!
Two extremely random things that I have no idea where to put in this post:
1. I had an epiphany the other night. As CC's hair grows out (and stays put!!), she is starting to resemble Kate Gosselin. I'm both loving and hating this realization. Observe.
2. Cecelia's nursery was featured on Buy Modern Baby! Check it out if you care to see more of the same pictures I featured over here. :)
So yes, overall life is pretty good at the moment. I'm falling more in love with Cecelia every day, especially now that those hard early 'I don't quite know you yet' days are fading into better, more comfortable ones. My favorite thing to do is just kiss her little forehead and smell her sweet baby head. She is just such a blessing and I'm soaking it all in, trying hard not to get to excited about what is to come.
Picture time!
This picture took my breath away because she looks SO much like Truman with her hair slicked back. So stinking cute.
American Baby:
Four generations of girls in the family. Adore.
We never get pictures with Nate's family since we always see them, but here we are!
Pulled out the activity gym and she loves it! And I love babies in skirts.
My running partner, snoozing on her job as a cheerleader
Cloth!
I'm a pumping fool! Up to 134 ounces frozen already, which I'm really proud of while I can't help but organize my numerous bags over and over again. What? You don't organize your frozen milk by date, with coordinating numbers, into different freezer bags based on the month?
That's the sixth week of Cecelia's life! Off to attempt a smiling photo shoot!
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