Happy Halloween

Here are some pics of our little pumkin. She looked so cute in her costume! :)

First playdate

Zoey had her first playdate today. I got together with two of my friends from work, and their little guys Evan (born in August), and Brady (born in September). We got them all together on the couch to take a pic - it was so cute. And in the middle of the "photo shoot", we noticed that Zoey and Evan were holding hands - SO adorable!! :) Zoey's first boyfriend. Daddy was not happy about that one - haha!

First trip to Letchworth

Today was Zoey's first trip to Letchworth. It was quite hectic though since there was a craft fair going on the park was SO busy! We had to wait on the road just to get into the park for like 20 minutes. And then once we were in, it was impossible to get to any of the places that we wanted to see. There was no way that we were going to be able to get to the Glen Iris/Middle falls area because traffic was at a stand still. So, we just parked at one of the overlooks and walked around for a bit and Joe took lots of pictures. I wish that we would have been able to see more of the park, but it was still a beautiful day for a drive. We stopped for ice cream on the way home. It was a great day!

Zoey's third month September 11th - October 11th

Here is the three month pic

And month three in review:
Month 3 - Sept 11th- October 11th
Wow, 3 months! Crazy how fast time is flying by. The major accomplishment for month 3 is that I actually left Zoey. The first time was Sept 14th (Joe’s birthday). I had to run to Walgreens for birthday candles since we were having our families over to celebrate Joe and his mom’s birthday. She was sleeping in her swing so I told Joe that I was going to leave her with him while I ran to the store. I was only gone for about 10 minutes but I was nervous the whole time. Of course she was fine, she was still sleeping when I got home. So, I’ve started with baby steps. Every now and then I’ll leave her with Joe while I run to the store, sometimes even when she is awake! J And I left her for the first time with my mom on Oct 4th (12 weeks 1 day), so that I could go get my hair done. I was gone for a few hours which was a little bit nerve wracking, but I didn’t cry at all so I did well. We also left her with Joe’s mom for about an hour the following Wed so that we could go to the guitar store to finally buy Joe his new guitar for his b-day gift, and I left her with my mom again that Thursday and went out to dinner with some of my friends.
So, I am finally at the point where I feel okay being away from her, but it’s never been for more than about 2-3 hours. I know I would be a wreck if I had to go back to work and be away for 8 hours + and take her to daycare where she wouldn’t be with family. So, I am so thankful that I am able to take the whole year off with her. I feel so lucky to be able to be with her every day and I know that it’s going to be really hard to go back in
September. I have already started to look into daycare centers. Sara came with me and I checked out a few places. So far, I like the place that she takes Hailey, and another one that we looked at that is in the Green Acres building over by KenEast. It’s nice that I have time to look around and choose a place that I feel comfortable with, rather than having to rush the decision. I’m hoping that I will not have to send her full time, and maybe do a few half days, or at least have one day a week where she doesn’t have to go. My sister has already said that she could help me out with Mondays or Wednesdays since she is off, Sara said she would be willing to help, depending on what her schedule is like at that time, and my grandma has also offered. And I’m not sure what Joe’s work schedule will be like when the time comes, but we have talked about the possibility of him only working part time once I am back to work. So we will see what happens.
Let’s see, what else can I say about month 3? Zoey is getting to be so interactive and fun - smiling, cooing, “talking” back to us, etc. She also is happy to be by herself for longer periods of time - in the bouncy seat, swing, playmat, etc. So I don’t have to be constantly holding her all day long. Also
she continues to sleep really well at night. I will swaddle her, nurse her to sleep, and then, I try to put her down around 8 or 9, she will sleep for about 7 or 8 hours, before getting up to eat, and then if I’m lucky she will go back to sleep again for another hour or two after her first AM feeding. So I’m able to get a full night’s sleep and don’t get out of bed until around 8:00, or sometimes even 9:00. It’s heaven! Our big struggle right now is naptime. I can not just lay her down for a nap, she will just cry shortly after putting her down. Most of her naps have been in the carseat or stroller. She will fall asleep when we are out and about and then I will just let her keep sleeping. I’ve been trying more recently to look for her tired cues (yawning, rubbing eyes, pink eyelids), and then put her down for a nap when she is still awake. But so far she still won’t fall asleep if I lay her down in the cradle or crib, but she will go to sleep in the swing. But it’s not consistent what time she will nap or for how long. Sometimes she will wake up in 25 mins and sometimes she will nap for as long as 4 hours. I’d really like to try to get her into some sort of schedule or routine, but so far no luck. I can’t complain though, I would much rather have to struggle to get her to nap and have her sleeping through the night than the other way around.
Lastly, I’m happy to report that breastfeeding is still going really well. It’s just so easy and natural now, and all the problems that we had in the beginning are just a blur. I am so happy that I stuck with it. I never really expected to enjoy it as much as I do. The whole time I was pg, I always said that I would do it since I know that it is good for the baby (and to save money - lol!), but I really didn’t expect to like it as much as I do. I guess it’s one of those things that you can’t really explain or understand until you have done it. And I have mastered the art of nursing laying down (when we both got a cold and I didn’t want to get out of bed) It is awesome because when she wakes up early in the morning, I just bring her into bed with me and then go back to sleep. That morning snuggly time has turned into one of my favorite parts of the day.
No other major milestones to report. She hasn’t rolled over again yet (that one time must have just been a fluke!). I’m still waiting for her to laugh out loud, I have a feeling that will be any day now. Can’t wait to see what month 4 will bring!

Our little guitar hero!

Tonight we went out and got Joe his new guitar for his birthday. His mom babysat for the first time and of course was thrilled even though we were only gone for about 45 minutes. So when we got home, Joe decided that he wanted to show the guitar to Zoey. She loved it! Now he's convinced she's going to be a musician! I think we still have a ways to go though...

Zoey's 2nd month August 11th-September 11th

Here is Zoey's two month pic - it kind of looks like a mug shot - lol :)
And month 2 in review:
Month 2 - August 11th - Sept 11th
The second month was a great month. The biggest thing that happened this month is that we finally got her tongue tie taken care of, and so now we finally have the breastfeeding thing down It is pretty much like second nature now. I met with another ENT on August 11th to get a second opinion on the tongue tie issue. It went much better than the first appointment. The doctor examined her and told me that she had a mild tongue tie and that he could not guarantee that clipping it would help with the breastfeeding issue, but that it was my decision. So we had the procedure done right there that day. It was hard to watch - they had to strap her down to the table so that she wouldn’t be able to move and then hold her mouth open so that he could clip it. Of course she screamed and cried, so that was hard for me. But, I was able to feed her right afterwards, so that calmed her down. And I think that having it done has definitely made a difference with nursing. She’s latching on without a problem and it’s no longer 5-10 minutes of crying before she is able to start eating. So things are getting much better. The only issue that I am still having is sore nipples. I’ve heard differing opinions about whether or not it is normal. Some things that Ihave read say that if you are feeling pain and getting sore/cracked nipples, it is an
indication that there is a latching problem. But then I’ve also heard that it is normal. So, I’m not really sure what to think.
Since I feel like breastfeeding has improved significantly, I decided that I felt like it would be okay to introduce a pacifier and bottle to her. I tried giving her the pacifier at the end of that week that she got her tongue clipped. She didn’t really get the hang of it at first, and still has some trouble keeping it in her mouth, so it sometimes is more trouble than it’s worth because I have to keep putting it back in her mouth or she will cry. It has been nice to have it as an option though because sometimes now she can self soothe a little bit and give me a little bit of a break from having to hold her all the time.
She had her first bottle from my mom the Saturday after she turned 5 weeks. She pretty much took it right away, so there weren’t really any challenges getting her to accept a bottle. It was hard for me to see her take a bottle though. I really was not expecting that at all, but up until that point, feeding her was something that the two of us did together and so it was hard to see her getting it from someone else. It really caught me by surprise that I felt that way, but I started tearing up a little and it was really hard for me to see. But, I definitely want her to be able to take a bottle so that other people
are able to feed her if I need to be away from her, and just to give me a break every once in a while. So, since then, she has pretty much been having one bottle a day. It’s been nice that Joe has been able to feed her. It gives me a little bit of a break, and I think its good for the two of them to have that.
So, finally figuring out breastfeeding has been the major milestone of the 2nd month, but we had some more exciting things happen this month too.
She started smiling at around 7wks and it is the cutest thing ever. She also started little cooing sounds right around then, and so she will “talk” to you if you coo at her, she will respond. Especially with her daddy. It’s so cute - he will coo at her, and then she coos back. He loves it and it’s so adorable. Another major milestone this month is that she started to sleep through the night! I’m so excited! She did it for the first time at 7wks one day (slept 10:30 - 6am) and has done it pretty much every day since with a few exceptions. She also rolled over for the first time on August 31st at 7wks 2 days. But I missed it! I was changing her diaper on the floor and turned around to get something out of the diaper bag, and when I turned back toward her she was on her tummy! I think it was just a fluke though, because she has not done it since.
So, all in all the second month has been great. I feel like we have accomplished a lot - breastfeeding is going well, sleeping through the night, and she is becoming a lot more interactive which is so fun. I can’t wait to see what month 3 will bring!

Zoey's first month July11th - August 11th

Here is Zoey's one month pic. I just love her chubby cheeks! :)

And I've decided that I'm going to try to give an update at least every month of what is new with us. I had been jotting things down on my calendar and hand-writing little things here and there, so here is our first month in review! :)

First week -
The hospital:
I can’t believe that is has already been a week. The time has gone by so quickly, but then again so much has happened that I feel like it has been a year. I stayed in the hospital for four days. I could have gone home on Monday, but I thought it would be a good idea to have an extra day to rest in the hospital. Recovery from the C-section has been going pretty well so far. The pain has not been too awful, the worst part has been the swelling. My feet and ankles and legs have been so swollen. My knees are so huge that I can barely bend my legs. It’s awful. I was really scared to try walking for the first time, but the anticipation was the worst part. It was hard, and definitely awkward, but it has gotten easier and the swelling has started going down. Overall, my stay in the hospital was pretty good. Joe stayed with me the first night, and then my mom and Shannon stayed with me the next two nights. I had lots of visitors - my parents and sister, my grandparents, Joe’s mom and sister, my friends Sara and Amy. It was nice to see people, but it was a little overwhelming at times because I was tired and in pain and not really feeling like socializing all the time. It was nice just to have some quiet time to bond with Zoey and try to get a breastfeeding routine established. The nurses were all really nice and helpful with breastfeeding. It seems like everyone at the hospital is very “pro breastfeeding”, so it was nice to have that support. The breastfeeding has definitely been a challenge. Zoey is tongue tied, which means she has a short frenulum and it makes latching on difficult. While I was in the hospital, I was able to work with a lactation consultant, so that was really helpful. Because of the trouble that we were having with Zoey latching on, they gave me a “nipple shield” to use which makes it easier for her. I used that for the first few days, but was eventually able to get her to latch on without it.
First few days at home:
Even though I could have left on Monday, I decided to stay until Tuesday. Monday night was the only night that someone didn’t stay with me at the hospital, but it was actually nice to have the night to myself to rest and relax and try to get as much sleep as possible to prepare for being at home. Joe came to pick me up early in the afternoon and we finally brought baby Zoey home. When we got to the house, I went in first to give some attention to Lexi, and then Joe came in after me with Zoey. Lexi was so good! As soon as I came in the door, she came up to me and just sat in front of me wagging her tail and waiting for me to pet her. This is not normal behavior for her at all. Usually, she is so excited when we come home that she jumps and goes crazy. So, I think that she knew that I was in pain and that she had to be gentle. It was so sweet. When Joe brought Zoey in, she seemed curious and interested, but again she seemed to know that she had to be gentle. I sat in the chair with her for a while and Lexi sat next to me, like she was on guard. I think that she is protective already. The first feeding at home went well, but the first diaper change is another story! We got her all set up on the changing table of the Pack & Play, but when we took the old diaper off, she started pooping before we could get the new one on. And because I was holding her legs up at the time, it was like projectile poop - it shot across the room and onto the chair, the floor, all over her outfit, etc. It was quite shocking. I guess we learned the hard way that we probably shouldn’t change her right after a feeding!
After we were home for a while, Joe’s mom stopped by, and then my parents stopped by for a while, and then once everyone left we tried to settle in for the night. The first night was awful. I don’t remember what time we went to bed, but when Zoey woke up for her first middle of the night feeding, I couldn’t get her to latch on. I don’t know what the problem was, but she just couldn’t do it. She kept getting more and more frustrated and just kept crying louder and louder. Of course I didn’t anticipate her having problems, so I didn’t have the nipple shield ready. Luckily I brought it home from the hospital, so after some rummaging through the suitcase, I found it and was able to get her to eat. But from that point forward, she just wouldn’t settle down. She cried for a good portion of the night and nothing seemed to help. I tried swaddling her, changing her, feeding her again, but she just kept crying. We did not handle it all that well, Joe was yelling and kept saying “something is wrong, she shouldn’t be crying like that”, and I kept insisting “she’s just a baby, babies cry”. Things pretty much went on like that for the rest of the night. I think I finally dozed off in the recliner around 5, and maybe got about an hour of sleep before she was up for the day.
The first night was definitely the worst, but things started to get better the rest of the week. Both of our families were really great about stopping by and bringing us food and anything else that we needed or wanted. Shannon bought us a “womb sounds” teddy bear which really seemed to help the second night. The second night, she slept in her swing with the teddy bear strapped to the back of it with the womb sounds going. We had to sleep in the living room, since that’s where the swing was, but at least we got some sleep. So, you would think that the logical solution would be to move the swing into the bedroom and then we could sleep in our own bed. No such luck! We tried that the next night. I fed her, changed her and tried to get her all settled down and ready for bed. We brought the swing into the bedroom and put her in it and she started crying. Joe thought that maybe the bedroom was too cold for her (we had the a/c on, but it wasn’t very cool at all). I told him that I really didn’t think that could be it since she was in a/c when we were at the hospital. We decided to try moving the swing out to the living room again anyways, and sure enough, she went to sleep! So, it’s really been just a matter of luck for where we can get her to sleep. Mostly, I’ve been sleeping in the living room and she will either sleep in the swing, the pack & play, or sometimes I will bring the bassinette out to the living room so that I can have it right next to the couch. I’m hoping that with time she will adjust and we can get into some sort of sleep pattern or routine because it’s getting exhausting!
Besides the sleep issue, this first week has had other challenges as well. My swelling in my legs seems to have gotten worse since I have come home. I guess it’s because I am on my feet more now that I’m in my own house. My legs feel like tree trunks. My knees are so swollen that I can barely bend them. My mom says that I look like the state puff marshmallow man when I walk. The swelling seems to go down a little bit if I lay with my feet up on a huge stack of pillows, but I can only do that for so long. So, I’ve just been dealing with it, and trying to drink lots of water. The doctor says that it will take some time for my system to get rid of all the extra fluids that they put in me and the best thing for me to do is drink lots of water.
The other big frustration has been breastfeeding. I feel like it was going so well when I was at the hospital, but now that I’m home it’s like I’ve taken a step backward. I can’t get her to latch on without the shield anymore which is very frustrating. When I go to the pediatrician, I am going to talk to them about having her frenulum clipped. The lactation consultant recommended it. It’s a very simple procedure for babies this young and should help her be able to latch on better. I’m hoping that will take care of the problem. I guess it’s not the end of the world having to use the nipple shields. In reality, it’s probably no more inconvenient than having to prepare a bottle, but I’d still like to be able to breastfeed without them.
I think that’s about it for the first week. It’s been a whirlwind and a blur. It seems like time is already flying. Joe goes back to work on Monday, so itwill be interesting to see how our first week “home alone” goes.
Second week
Where to start? So much has happened that I don’t know where to begin. First of all, I can say that the sleeping situation has gotten much better. I finally got her to sleep in the bassinette in the bedroom, so I have actually been able to sleep in my own bed. The secret seems to be white noise. I downloaded some white noise sounds from the computer and then transferred them to my cell phone so that I can clip that onto the bassinette and play it for her while she sleeps. It really seems to help and I feel like we finally have a routine established for sleeping at night. I put her to bed in her bassinette anywhere between 9 and 11 depending on when she eats, and then she will usually get up twice during the night. I change her diaper and feed her, and usually she will go right back down in the bassinette. Even if she doesn’t go to sleep right away, the white noise keeps her from fussing, so I am able to back to sleep. It is definitely an adjustment only getting to sleep in 2-3 hour stretches, but I’m getting by. Sometimes I’ll try to take a nap during the day, but I usually don’t have much luck sleeping during the day unless I am really exhausted.
The other big thing that has been going on of course is the breastfeeding. She is still having problems latching on, and it’s really frustrating. When we took her to the pediatrician on Saturday, he agreed that she is tongue tied and gave us the name of an ear/nose/throat doctor that we could talk to about clipping her frenulum. But when I tried to call him, the number had been changed, and the information for the new number did not even list his name. So I decided just to schedule an appt with one of the doctors that the lactation consultant at the hospital suggested. So when I went to the appt, the dr looked at her for all of about two minutes and then told me that she is not tongue tied. She said that her frenulum is “a little short”, but she would not say that she is tongue tied and does not think it should interfere with breastfeeding or that it would impact her speech at all. She said that she would recommend working with a lactation consultant if I am having trouble breastfeeding because clipping her frenulum would not make any difference. So now I am really confused and frustrated. I just don’t understand why the nurses and lactation consultants at the hospital and the pediatrician would all agree that she is tongue tied, and then this doctor would say that she isn’t. So, I want to go to a different doctor for a second opinion which is annoying because it’s just more time to wait to try to figure out what is going on. In the meantime, I am just continuing to use the nipple shields. It’s annoying, but I guess that it is not the end of the world. At least I can get her to eat and so I don’t have to worry that she is not getting enough. The worst part is that I just feel a little “trapped” by the whole situation. I feel self conscious about people coming to visit, or the thought of taking her anywhere because of the possibility that I might have to feed her in front of other people. Sometimes, even with the nipple shield, it takes 5-10 minutes of trying before she will latch on and the whole time she is crying and fussing. So, it’s stressful enough dealing with that on my own - the thought of having someone else there at the time is not too appealing. I don’t mind if it’s just my mom, Joe’s mom, or my sister, but I wouldn’t want to have to deal with that in front of most of my friends, extended family, etc. So I have been putting of having people come over and visit because I’m scared of what might happen. It stinks because I feel kind of isolated and lonely sometimes.
Other than that, noting major to report. We gave her her first bath on Wednesday night. She really seemed to like it. She didn’t cry at all and kind of kicked her feet around in the water and opened her eyes really wide. It was really cute!
So, I think that’s about it for week #2.
Weeks 3-4
It’s hard to believe that it’s been just about a month. Zoey is changing so much and getting so big already! Everything is going pretty well, but it’s definitely a challenge being a full-time mom. I feel like since I am pretty much home all day, I should be able to get stuff done and keep up with the laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc, but I am finding it pretty much impossible. I feel like most of the day is spent in a cycle of feeding, changing, and holding her. If she isn’t eating or asleep, she pretty much wants to be held all the time. I really love to hold and cuddle her, but it definitely makes it hard to get stuff done. A lot of times I can barely find time to shower and eat. I’ve tried a bunch of different carriers/slings, etc, but so far have no luck finding one that I like and that she will be calm in. People have said to me that I should just enjoy it because she will only be little once and then I will miss it, which I know is true, but then again when there isn’t a single clean fork, or I don’t have any clean underwear, it’s not all that practical to just forget about keeping up with that stuff! I try to put her in the swing or bouncy seat, but she will only tolerate them for short periods of time before she is crying and wanting to be picked up again. And I don’t have much luck getting her to nap during the day unless I am holding her. If I lay on the couch or in bed with her, she will sometimes sleep for two or three hours, put if I try to put her down once she is sleeping, she will usually wake up within a few minutes. So, I spend most of the day laying around, cuddling her, watching a lot of TV, playing around on the computer, etc. We have started to venture out more though. Four weeks was probably the turning point. The day that she turned four weeks we had our first outing to Target and babies R Us. It went pretty well, but she would start to get fussy if the cart was not moving, so it was hard to stop and look at anything! But, we survived. I’ve also made short trips to the grocery store, and so far all has gone well. So far no major meltdowns, but I’ve kept the trips short.

3 week pic

Here is the 3 week pic. I can't believe how much she is changing already!

2 week pic

Here is Zoey's 2 week pic - she could barely stay awake for the photo session! :)

1 week pic

Here is Zoey's one week old pic. She's wearing the onesie that I gave to Joe the day I found out I was pregnant. I love it :)