Last Monday, Erin dropped Abigail off at daycare for the 1st time. I know that it was very difficult for Erin after spending the 1st 3 1/2 months of Abigail's life with her every day, however, both of them seem to have transitioned well. Abigail started off in the newborn room (6 weeks - 4 months) at daycare and the teacher said that she hasn't had any issues during the 1st week. At first we were nervous about her figuring out how to sleep at daycare without being swaddled (thank you state of Iowa for that silly rule) but by Friday, she was taking naps just fine at daycare and we are no longer swaddling her at home for naps during the day. We are still swaddling at night, but I think we might be nearing the end with that too.
The one thing that I have noticed with Erin going back to school, is how much I am missing Erin now. I spent all of my time worrying about the transition for Erin and Abigail, I guess that I didn't prepare myself for the changes. Another surprise is that so far I am not missing coaching at all, however, that may change as football seasons start in the next week or so.
I look forward to picking up Abigail from daycare each day and am excited when I hear from the teachers how well she is doing. I'm trying to identify things that we can do each day to enjoy our time together before Erin gets home from school. So far, we have just spent time at home playing on the floor and reading books, but I hope to find places that I can take her that both of us will enjoy.
After looking at my last post, I guess a lot has not changed over the past 2 weeks. She is smiling and laughing a lot now and is generally a happy baby. She grabs onto anything within her reach. While eating, she likes to grab onto her bib and/or burp rag and shove them into her mouth (I keep telling her that we only have so many bibs so she can't eat them all). She has started to hate tummy time less (although she still isn't a big fan) and on a few occasions has gone longer then 5 minutes at a time without screaming. In fact, yesterday we had a really good tummy session where she held her head and chest up for quite a long time to look into a mirror and almost rolled over a few times too. She discovered the baby in the mirror and never seems to tire of looking in the mirror. She has started to reach out from her body to bat at objects (she has been grabbing objects out to the side for awhile but just started reaching out in front of her for things).
I guess there has been one issue that is plaguing is lately. Due to her stool consistency at the beginning of August (I will spare you the details), the doctor suggested we try Soy-based formula. This seemed to clear up the issues with her stool but she began spitting up a lot more often (and strangely, not right after a feeding but a couple hours later). With the doctor's permission, we switched back to regular formula on Friday evening. Strangely, she didn't eat much on Saturday (15oz total instead of close to 30oz). Yesterday was a little better as she ate close to 20oz but she still has us a bit worried. Luckily, she woke up this morning and ate very well. We told daycare to call us if she didn't eat well for them (and since we are nearly 2 hours post feeding and they haven't called, she must have eaten well). We are hopping that it was due to the formula change and not something more serious as we are concerned with dehydration. Time will tell, but hopefully we won't have to take her to the doctor again before her well baby check up next week.
I almost forgot, an unofficial weigh this weekend has Abigail nearing 12 1/2lbs. Time to start buying level 2 diapers!
Monday, August 22, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
The Golden Age
Recently, Erin was reading the book "What to Expect in the 1st Year", and came across a statement declaring that from about 3 months old until 7 or 8 months old (or when a baby starts crawling) is considered the golden age for infants. Their reasoning is that usually, starting around 3 months, babies start sleeping better at night, are smiling, begin laughing and making happy noises, playing with toys and other "fun" things but are not yet very mobile. I know several parents that would disagree with the above description, however, I really feel that the golden age for Abigail has begun.
Taking care of her is still quite the chore, but I have found that more and more time has been spent playing with and interacting with her verses doing work to simply maintain life. For the most part, she spends her days being very happy.
The past couple of weeks have been a lot of fun. She has gotten much louder with her noises and at times seems to be yelling at us. She can now grab onto objects that are either handed to her or placed near her and is just beginning to reach for objects held above or in front of her. She has rolled over from her tummy to back a few times when propped up on her teddy bear, but isn't quite there yet when placed flat on her tummy. She can now get her thumb and whole hand up to her mouth whenever she wants and drool is flowing freely.
One thing that Erin and I discussed yesterday is that she seems to be understanding social interaction more. She will turn to look at us when we talk and smiles at us when we walk into the room. When we smile at her she will smile back. She also can tell when we are and aren't paying attention to her and she prefers the former (and lets us know by making loud noises when we aren't paying enough attention to her).
Last Saturday was a BIG day for our family as Abigail was baptized at 4:30 mass. I'm not even sure how to describe how happy it makes me to be raising our daughter in the faith that both Erin and I have been raised in. The Catholic church is an amazing community to be a part of and God's Grace has definitely blessed Abigail since the day she was conceived. I think back at all of the worry and stress that was involved during Erin's final months of pregnancy and through the first couple of days after Abigail was born. All of the things that could have gone wrong but didn't, that was God and work. For her to become a part of our faith family, makes everything seem whole.
To end this entry, I would like to take a moment to thank Erin and both of my parents. The first 2 months of Abigail's life were very hard for me. Throughout that time, Erin and my parents spent countless hours listening to my struggles and encouraging me as a dad. Becoming a parent for the 1st time is the hardest thing that I have done in my life, and it is just so great to have the support I need to do it. Ironically, as I have seen happen so many times in my life, I don't think I would be where I am at in my role as a father today had I not struggled through those first couple of months and I am a better person today because of it.
Taking care of her is still quite the chore, but I have found that more and more time has been spent playing with and interacting with her verses doing work to simply maintain life. For the most part, she spends her days being very happy.
The past couple of weeks have been a lot of fun. She has gotten much louder with her noises and at times seems to be yelling at us. She can now grab onto objects that are either handed to her or placed near her and is just beginning to reach for objects held above or in front of her. She has rolled over from her tummy to back a few times when propped up on her teddy bear, but isn't quite there yet when placed flat on her tummy. She can now get her thumb and whole hand up to her mouth whenever she wants and drool is flowing freely.
One thing that Erin and I discussed yesterday is that she seems to be understanding social interaction more. She will turn to look at us when we talk and smiles at us when we walk into the room. When we smile at her she will smile back. She also can tell when we are and aren't paying attention to her and she prefers the former (and lets us know by making loud noises when we aren't paying enough attention to her).
Last Saturday was a BIG day for our family as Abigail was baptized at 4:30 mass. I'm not even sure how to describe how happy it makes me to be raising our daughter in the faith that both Erin and I have been raised in. The Catholic church is an amazing community to be a part of and God's Grace has definitely blessed Abigail since the day she was conceived. I think back at all of the worry and stress that was involved during Erin's final months of pregnancy and through the first couple of days after Abigail was born. All of the things that could have gone wrong but didn't, that was God and work. For her to become a part of our faith family, makes everything seem whole.
To end this entry, I would like to take a moment to thank Erin and both of my parents. The first 2 months of Abigail's life were very hard for me. Throughout that time, Erin and my parents spent countless hours listening to my struggles and encouraging me as a dad. Becoming a parent for the 1st time is the hardest thing that I have done in my life, and it is just so great to have the support I need to do it. Ironically, as I have seen happen so many times in my life, I don't think I would be where I am at in my role as a father today had I not struggled through those first couple of months and I am a better person today because of it.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
It Has Been Awhile
I was very surprised when I looked at my blog this morning to see that it has been nearly a month since I have posted. Between Erin having jury duty for a week and me being sent to training for work all last week, the month as flown by. So I guess that means that I will take a look back at month 3 of Abigail's life in review.
For starters, over the past month I have really started to feel great about being a dad. The newness has worn off, we have gotten into a bit of a routine, and pieces of "normal" life are creeping back in slowly. After meeting with the DCG AD this past Monday, it has been decided that I will be taking the year off from coaching which will be great for our family and allow Erin to ease back into teaching and adjust to everything knowing that I will be around to help out with Abigail in the afternoon and evening most days.
On Friday, Abigail will be 3 months old (I know...I know...where has the time gone!?!) As of yesterday, at the bi-weekly breastfeeding class, she weighed in at 10lbs 7oz so she is still growing very well. A lot has changed since the last time I posted. She went from eating about 3oz 6 - 7 times a day to 4 1/2 oz on a set schedule 6 times a day (5am, 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, and 8pm). Her biggest accomplishment so far, in my opinion, is that she has been sleeping a full 8 1/2 hours through the night for about 3 1/2 weeks now. In fact, in the past 2 weeks or so, I have been having to wake her up at 5am to feed her before I head to work. I'm sure that sounds crazy to most people, but I start work around 6am every day and Erin will be dropping her off at daycare around 7am when school starts so we are just trying to get her used to that schedule. Besides, I have never been much for sleeping in (sleeping in for me usually involves waking up around 7am). Although I am confident in her sleeping pattern, we have been warned by many people that it may not last, but I will certainly take it for now.
Abigail has become an expert at holding her head up and now prefers to be held upright sitting on your knee instead of laying like a baby. She looks around at everything and very much enjoys getting to sit in her Bumbo seat (courtesy my sister Melissa and her family) because it makes her feel like a big girl. She has really begun to show her personality as well. She has developed a fake cry that she uses mainly at feeding time when she thinks I'm not getting her the bottle fast enough. She also has a contagious smile and we think she is getting close to letting out a laugh. She is developing toy preferences too and loves when her teddy bear (courtesy of Ethan and Morgan) "tackles" her while laying on the floor. Just yesterday, while visiting our friends Drew and Kelly in Harvey, IA, Abigail grabbed on to a toy for the first time. She grabbed a rattle that I was holding and shook it many times then tried to put it in her mouth. At first I thought it might be a fluke, but then she repeated it a few times.
The noises she makes are increasing in both frequency and volume each day and she uses them to let us know when she is happy. She has also developed a bit of an scowel for when we make her do things she doesn't like. Abigail is now able to lift up her chest and head when put on her tummy, but for the most part still dislikes tummy time. One funny thing that has started to happen (I say funny although it kind of gets old, especially for Erin who does the laundry) is that several evenings in the past 2 weeks, she has had a diaper blowout while sitting in her bouncy seat while we are eating dinner. Of course it gets all over the bouncy seat and her clothes, forcing Erin to do a load of laundry when she wasn't planning to.
We have started to do more things over the past month too. Grandma Weiler came to visit and watch Abigail while Erin had jury duty. She also gave us a gift card and sent us out to eat one night while she watched Abigail. My parents visited the following weekend when we took Abigail out to eat for the first time, we went to the Pizza Ranch in Waukee. Grandpa O'Connell and I also took a fishing trip that weekend and did some baking on Sunday. Erin took Abigail out to lunch at Panera last week with friend's Ashley, Kevin and their baby girl. She also had her co-worker watch Abigail at school for a morning last week while she helped out with interviews for a new math teacher. Finally, last night we took Abigail to Harvey to visit our friends Drew and Kelly.
It was a very busy month, and I'm sure I missed or left out something that we did or someone that we saw, but I think you get the idea. I'm looking forward to another great month in August, as well as a wonderful fall with a lot of trips and activities planned!
For starters, over the past month I have really started to feel great about being a dad. The newness has worn off, we have gotten into a bit of a routine, and pieces of "normal" life are creeping back in slowly. After meeting with the DCG AD this past Monday, it has been decided that I will be taking the year off from coaching which will be great for our family and allow Erin to ease back into teaching and adjust to everything knowing that I will be around to help out with Abigail in the afternoon and evening most days.
On Friday, Abigail will be 3 months old (I know...I know...where has the time gone!?!) As of yesterday, at the bi-weekly breastfeeding class, she weighed in at 10lbs 7oz so she is still growing very well. A lot has changed since the last time I posted. She went from eating about 3oz 6 - 7 times a day to 4 1/2 oz on a set schedule 6 times a day (5am, 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, and 8pm). Her biggest accomplishment so far, in my opinion, is that she has been sleeping a full 8 1/2 hours through the night for about 3 1/2 weeks now. In fact, in the past 2 weeks or so, I have been having to wake her up at 5am to feed her before I head to work. I'm sure that sounds crazy to most people, but I start work around 6am every day and Erin will be dropping her off at daycare around 7am when school starts so we are just trying to get her used to that schedule. Besides, I have never been much for sleeping in (sleeping in for me usually involves waking up around 7am). Although I am confident in her sleeping pattern, we have been warned by many people that it may not last, but I will certainly take it for now.
Abigail has become an expert at holding her head up and now prefers to be held upright sitting on your knee instead of laying like a baby. She looks around at everything and very much enjoys getting to sit in her Bumbo seat (courtesy my sister Melissa and her family) because it makes her feel like a big girl. She has really begun to show her personality as well. She has developed a fake cry that she uses mainly at feeding time when she thinks I'm not getting her the bottle fast enough. She also has a contagious smile and we think she is getting close to letting out a laugh. She is developing toy preferences too and loves when her teddy bear (courtesy of Ethan and Morgan) "tackles" her while laying on the floor. Just yesterday, while visiting our friends Drew and Kelly in Harvey, IA, Abigail grabbed on to a toy for the first time. She grabbed a rattle that I was holding and shook it many times then tried to put it in her mouth. At first I thought it might be a fluke, but then she repeated it a few times.
The noises she makes are increasing in both frequency and volume each day and she uses them to let us know when she is happy. She has also developed a bit of an scowel for when we make her do things she doesn't like. Abigail is now able to lift up her chest and head when put on her tummy, but for the most part still dislikes tummy time. One funny thing that has started to happen (I say funny although it kind of gets old, especially for Erin who does the laundry) is that several evenings in the past 2 weeks, she has had a diaper blowout while sitting in her bouncy seat while we are eating dinner. Of course it gets all over the bouncy seat and her clothes, forcing Erin to do a load of laundry when she wasn't planning to.
We have started to do more things over the past month too. Grandma Weiler came to visit and watch Abigail while Erin had jury duty. She also gave us a gift card and sent us out to eat one night while she watched Abigail. My parents visited the following weekend when we took Abigail out to eat for the first time, we went to the Pizza Ranch in Waukee. Grandpa O'Connell and I also took a fishing trip that weekend and did some baking on Sunday. Erin took Abigail out to lunch at Panera last week with friend's Ashley, Kevin and their baby girl. She also had her co-worker watch Abigail at school for a morning last week while she helped out with interviews for a new math teacher. Finally, last night we took Abigail to Harvey to visit our friends Drew and Kelly.
It was a very busy month, and I'm sure I missed or left out something that we did or someone that we saw, but I think you get the idea. I'm looking forward to another great month in August, as well as a wonderful fall with a lot of trips and activities planned!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Party Time!
For starters, Abigail did great at her 2 month appointment. She didn't care for the shots, but the nurses made sure they went quickly and she only cried for a few minutes. The good news is that she is growing very well and the doctor is happy with where she is at. At her 2 week appointment, she was 5lbs 6oz and 18in long which put her in the 3rd percentile for babies her age for both measurements. At 2 months, she was up to 8lbs 13oz and 20 1/2in long, bumping her up to the 10th percentile in both. Also, previously her head circumference wasn't even on the chart, but she is now in the 3rd percentile.
I guess that turning 2 months old made Abigail decide to start acting more grown up. In the past 8 days, the shortest amount of time she slept at night was 6 1/2 hrs and all of the other nights have been at least 8 hours, including 1 night that was 9 hours. Even taking a trip to Grandma and Grandpa O'Connell's house for the weekend didn't seem to break her sleeping pattern. She has also been doing a great job of holding her head up. At times she can be a bit of a bobble head and gets lazy and rests it on our hand after awhile, but that doesn't seem to matter to her as she now likes to be held upright in a sitting position and only tolerates being held down when she is tired or sleeping.
Her smiles are starting to shine through more and more each day and over the weekend she increased her vocabulary of noises (along with length and volume of those noises). One time last night she even let out a high pitched squeak while I was wrapping her back up to go to bed. Her eyes are starting to wander more (and often times her head follows) making feeding her a bottle more of a chore then it had been.
This past weekend was spent at my parent's house in Evansdale. My parents threw and open house for Abigail and my new niece. It was a great time and Abigail did very well all weekend. She loved being held by so many different people (as long as they were holding her upright so she could look around) and it was a great opportunity for her to meet and spend time with so many family and friends. She got a lot of cool new things like books to read, a travel stroller and clothes for when she is a little bigger. I think we are going to use the gift cards that she got to buy a baby carrier so that we can go on some new adventures. I continue to be amazed at how easy going babies can be. Abigail experienced being and sleeping in a new environment, seeing a lot of new faces and being passed around and held by dozens of people, being in a large crowd that was loud at times, and being outside in the heat for several hours and was not bothered by any of it.
It was really good for me to get away from home and see friends and family this weekend too. It is a lot of work to travel with an infant, but it was really worth it in the end.
I guess that turning 2 months old made Abigail decide to start acting more grown up. In the past 8 days, the shortest amount of time she slept at night was 6 1/2 hrs and all of the other nights have been at least 8 hours, including 1 night that was 9 hours. Even taking a trip to Grandma and Grandpa O'Connell's house for the weekend didn't seem to break her sleeping pattern. She has also been doing a great job of holding her head up. At times she can be a bit of a bobble head and gets lazy and rests it on our hand after awhile, but that doesn't seem to matter to her as she now likes to be held upright in a sitting position and only tolerates being held down when she is tired or sleeping.
Her smiles are starting to shine through more and more each day and over the weekend she increased her vocabulary of noises (along with length and volume of those noises). One time last night she even let out a high pitched squeak while I was wrapping her back up to go to bed. Her eyes are starting to wander more (and often times her head follows) making feeding her a bottle more of a chore then it had been.
This past weekend was spent at my parent's house in Evansdale. My parents threw and open house for Abigail and my new niece. It was a great time and Abigail did very well all weekend. She loved being held by so many different people (as long as they were holding her upright so she could look around) and it was a great opportunity for her to meet and spend time with so many family and friends. She got a lot of cool new things like books to read, a travel stroller and clothes for when she is a little bigger. I think we are going to use the gift cards that she got to buy a baby carrier so that we can go on some new adventures. I continue to be amazed at how easy going babies can be. Abigail experienced being and sleeping in a new environment, seeing a lot of new faces and being passed around and held by dozens of people, being in a large crowd that was loud at times, and being outside in the heat for several hours and was not bothered by any of it.
It was really good for me to get away from home and see friends and family this weekend too. It is a lot of work to travel with an infant, but it was really worth it in the end.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
2 Months Old
Abigail is officially 1/6 of the way through her first year of life and a lot has changed already.
Last Friday, Erin and I decided it was time for Abigail to start sleeping in her own bedroom. Although, due to her reflux, we still have her sleeping in the bouncy seat and not her crib. That night, and the 4 nights since, she has slept like a champ and we have been sleeping better too.
Last Friday, Abigail also got her first cold. Just as we were getting the congestion caused by infant reflux to subside, her poor little nose became congested from the cold. I'm pretty sure I have sucked several pounds of snot out of her nose since Friday, but I am glad to say that she seems to be getting better each day and being sick didn't seem to bother her as much as it bothered Erin and I.
We have been starting to get out of the house more in the past week, which is a good thing because I have really gotten sick of just sitting around home all of the time. Last week, Erin took Abigail to a baby lap sit at the Grimes library during the day. She was by far the youngest baby there, but Erin said she was enthralled by all of the other people. On Sunday, we spent a few hours out at Big Creek in the morning just walking on the trails and enjoying the nice weather. Yesterday, Erin took Abigail to the hospital for the breastfeeding class again and she weighed in at 8lbs 11oz and Erin says she is starting to make some of the newborns in the class look small.
I guess the only other thing that I can think to share is that Abigail has really started to enjoy taking baths. She would prefer to not have her head washed (so we get that out of the way first), but once she is in the tub she is quite happy. During the past 2 baths, we have let her soak in the water for awhile and she has started to kick and splash in the water. Erin says we will have to move the baby bath from the kitchen table to the bath tub soon.
It is very weird when I sit down to ponder the past 2 months. On one hand, time seems to be going by and she seems to be going quickly. On the other hand, when I think back to those first few weeks at home and our time in the hospital, it feels like lifetimes ago. I'm still waiting in anticipation for all of the fun things that are to come, but I am trying to enjoy the moment as well. Erin says that in her eyes, my time with Abigail is like the song "It won't be like this for long" by Darius Rucker and I need to enjoy everything that is going on right now...I told her I'm looking forward to when it is more like "She Thinks We're Just Fishin" by Trace Adkins...
Last Friday, Erin and I decided it was time for Abigail to start sleeping in her own bedroom. Although, due to her reflux, we still have her sleeping in the bouncy seat and not her crib. That night, and the 4 nights since, she has slept like a champ and we have been sleeping better too.
Last Friday, Abigail also got her first cold. Just as we were getting the congestion caused by infant reflux to subside, her poor little nose became congested from the cold. I'm pretty sure I have sucked several pounds of snot out of her nose since Friday, but I am glad to say that she seems to be getting better each day and being sick didn't seem to bother her as much as it bothered Erin and I.
We have been starting to get out of the house more in the past week, which is a good thing because I have really gotten sick of just sitting around home all of the time. Last week, Erin took Abigail to a baby lap sit at the Grimes library during the day. She was by far the youngest baby there, but Erin said she was enthralled by all of the other people. On Sunday, we spent a few hours out at Big Creek in the morning just walking on the trails and enjoying the nice weather. Yesterday, Erin took Abigail to the hospital for the breastfeeding class again and she weighed in at 8lbs 11oz and Erin says she is starting to make some of the newborns in the class look small.
I guess the only other thing that I can think to share is that Abigail has really started to enjoy taking baths. She would prefer to not have her head washed (so we get that out of the way first), but once she is in the tub she is quite happy. During the past 2 baths, we have let her soak in the water for awhile and she has started to kick and splash in the water. Erin says we will have to move the baby bath from the kitchen table to the bath tub soon.
It is very weird when I sit down to ponder the past 2 months. On one hand, time seems to be going by and she seems to be going quickly. On the other hand, when I think back to those first few weeks at home and our time in the hospital, it feels like lifetimes ago. I'm still waiting in anticipation for all of the fun things that are to come, but I am trying to enjoy the moment as well. Erin says that in her eyes, my time with Abigail is like the song "It won't be like this for long" by Darius Rucker and I need to enjoy everything that is going on right now...I told her I'm looking forward to when it is more like "She Thinks We're Just Fishin" by Trace Adkins...
Monday, June 20, 2011
Smiling, Sleeping, and 1st Conversation with Dad
Abigail will be 7 1/2 weeks old tomorrow and 2 months a week from Wednesday. I would say that over the course of the past week, life has started to feel 'normal' again (whatever in the heck that means).
Erin has been claiming for a week now that she has been able to get Abigail to smile from time to time. Of course I would not believe her until I saw it myself, and on Friday I did. While Abigail was laying on the floor, Erin was playing with her legs and talking to her and sure enough she smiled...a couple of times. On Saturday morning I got her to smile and on Sunday morning, Grandma Weiler got her to smile. This morning, after the 5:00 feeding she was wide awake and kept looking at me and smiling big...I think she is going to be a morning person:)
Ever since the week of which we shall not speak of, Abigail has begun to develop a good night time sleep pattern. I'm pretty sure we are quite a ways away from sleeping all night because of how small she is and how little she can eat, but I will take what she will give us. She pretty much has 2 different night routines, either she sleeps about 5 - 5 1/2 hours for the first stretch and then 3 - 3 1/2 hours for the second stretch or she sleeps 2 4 - 4 1/2 hour stretches. I can live with both for now. I contribute how well she does at night to both the bedtime routine that we started about 3 weeks ago and the stabilization of her feeding schedule.
Yesterday was my 1st Father's Day as a dad. After feeding Abigail in the morning, I placed her in a bouncy seat looking out the window onto the deck while I did some dishes. She seemed quite content, so I started asking her questions about what she was seeing out the window. For nearly 30 minutes she responded to my questions with various noises (grunt, ahhhh, guh, etc...) like she was answering my questions. Every once in awhile she would get really excited and start kicking and making louder noises (I think she was yelling at me). Anyways, it was a nice conversation to have. Something tells me that she is going to take after her cousin Aubree and in a couple of years, we won't be able to turn her mouth off:)
Erin has been claiming for a week now that she has been able to get Abigail to smile from time to time. Of course I would not believe her until I saw it myself, and on Friday I did. While Abigail was laying on the floor, Erin was playing with her legs and talking to her and sure enough she smiled...a couple of times. On Saturday morning I got her to smile and on Sunday morning, Grandma Weiler got her to smile. This morning, after the 5:00 feeding she was wide awake and kept looking at me and smiling big...I think she is going to be a morning person:)
Ever since the week of which we shall not speak of, Abigail has begun to develop a good night time sleep pattern. I'm pretty sure we are quite a ways away from sleeping all night because of how small she is and how little she can eat, but I will take what she will give us. She pretty much has 2 different night routines, either she sleeps about 5 - 5 1/2 hours for the first stretch and then 3 - 3 1/2 hours for the second stretch or she sleeps 2 4 - 4 1/2 hour stretches. I can live with both for now. I contribute how well she does at night to both the bedtime routine that we started about 3 weeks ago and the stabilization of her feeding schedule.
Yesterday was my 1st Father's Day as a dad. After feeding Abigail in the morning, I placed her in a bouncy seat looking out the window onto the deck while I did some dishes. She seemed quite content, so I started asking her questions about what she was seeing out the window. For nearly 30 minutes she responded to my questions with various noises (grunt, ahhhh, guh, etc...) like she was answering my questions. Every once in awhile she would get really excited and start kicking and making louder noises (I think she was yelling at me). Anyways, it was a nice conversation to have. Something tells me that she is going to take after her cousin Aubree and in a couple of years, we won't be able to turn her mouth off:)
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Crabby Day, Following Objects, and Happy Noises
Abigail is 6 1/2 weeks old today! She is officially outgrowing her newborn clothes and moving into the 0-3 month size. We are also merely days (or possibly hours) away from outgrowing newborn diapers. An unofficial weigh in on Sunday had her at about 8 lbs.
As Grandma O'Connell put it, everyone has crabby days, even babies. Boy was that true for Abigail on Sunday. After such a great week, and a good day at the walk on Saturday, we had a crabby baby on our hands Sunday. Luckily, grandma was there in the morning to deal with the fussiness, which gave Erin and I time to get ourselves ready for the day. After grandma and grandpa left, things went down hill fast and frustration set in. For the first time in her little life, we were unable to do anything to make her happy. She refused to sleep and just cried and cried all afternoon. We were finally able to get her to calm down when I put on the Moby Wrap (my first time with it) and she took a nap while I sat in the chair watching TV. I'm thinking a good nap is what she needed, because the evening was much better.
After feeding her, we let her lay out naked on a blanket for awhile. This is when we discovered that she can follow objects with her eyes and by turning her head. Not only that, but she seemed to love doing it because it kept her very happy for quite awhile. I'm certain that I had the most fun with it (I've been waiting for a good way that I can interact with her) out of all of us. We also discovered that she loves having different textures rubbed on her skin, especially her soft bunny toy. She would make the happiest noises and coo as we would rub it on her arms, legs, and tummy. We are hopping to get a video of these happy noises this week.
Things sure are beginning to happen fast, and I am loving every minute of it (except for Sunday afternoon, we can just forget about that one). In fact, I have spent a few hours this week reading about the 1st year of a babies development, and different ways to play with her each month. I am very excited to keep watching for her to reach milestones and be able to interact with us even more.
As Grandma O'Connell put it, everyone has crabby days, even babies. Boy was that true for Abigail on Sunday. After such a great week, and a good day at the walk on Saturday, we had a crabby baby on our hands Sunday. Luckily, grandma was there in the morning to deal with the fussiness, which gave Erin and I time to get ourselves ready for the day. After grandma and grandpa left, things went down hill fast and frustration set in. For the first time in her little life, we were unable to do anything to make her happy. She refused to sleep and just cried and cried all afternoon. We were finally able to get her to calm down when I put on the Moby Wrap (my first time with it) and she took a nap while I sat in the chair watching TV. I'm thinking a good nap is what she needed, because the evening was much better.
After feeding her, we let her lay out naked on a blanket for awhile. This is when we discovered that she can follow objects with her eyes and by turning her head. Not only that, but she seemed to love doing it because it kept her very happy for quite awhile. I'm certain that I had the most fun with it (I've been waiting for a good way that I can interact with her) out of all of us. We also discovered that she loves having different textures rubbed on her skin, especially her soft bunny toy. She would make the happiest noises and coo as we would rub it on her arms, legs, and tummy. We are hopping to get a video of these happy noises this week.
Things sure are beginning to happen fast, and I am loving every minute of it (except for Sunday afternoon, we can just forget about that one). In fact, I have spent a few hours this week reading about the 1st year of a babies development, and different ways to play with her each month. I am very excited to keep watching for her to reach milestones and be able to interact with us even more.
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