Week 9 + Photo Update

Here is the delayed posting of her 9-week photo. A professor from Geoff's workplace gave us the baby witch's hat. Who would have ever thought to make one of these? I know it's not Halloween yet, but I loved putting her in her pumpkin shirt.

It has been an exciting week. Geoff had a double tire blowout on the way home from work/swimming last Wednesday night. Claire and I went to pick him up and when I looked down I realized I had put on two different shoes. We were not anticipating the replacement of two tires for Geoff and still need to replace tires on my car - it's always something!Then, on Thursday night/Friday morning following the 2am feeding, I managed to break my toe on the bouncy seat which I thought I had put out of the way in Claire's room. It's nice and purplish and swollen and sore, but I'm sure it will heal quickly.And since these things always come in threes, Claire had a bad night last night. So as a recap, Geoff had the rough night Wednesday, me Thursday, and Claire Friday. She has been having a bit of a time getting over all of the many vaccines she received on Wednesday. Last night she was struggling with congestion and acid reflux and was wanting to eat but was throwing up whatever she ate. It was a rough night. However, it was followed by a great morning. In the picture below, she is playing with her Daddy (who is off camera).

No Picture Update

Here is a non-photo post. We went for our 8 week check-up today and all those folks that say babies forget about shots 10 minutes later are just WRONG! Claire is very unhappy this afternoon - cries in her sleep, cries when awake, cries when you touch her, cries when you put her down. I gave her a bit of baby tylenol and am hopeful she will wake up tomorrow feeling cheery again.
Other than the shots, the doctor's appointment went well. She is now weighing in at 11lbs 5oz and is 22 and 1/4inches long - height and weight both in the 5oth percentile. Pretty good for a baby that started in the 25th percentile on height and the 5th percentile on weight. :) She was so cheerful with the doctor that the rotovirus vaccine was a little hard to administer. That's just a liquid one that they drink, but Claire was more interested in cooing and smiling than in swallowing. She also made a lot of bubbles, which means a lot of that vaccine got spit out.
Tomorrow marks 9 weeks and I will post a new photo. I'm going to post photos for four more weeks counting this week, but then I'll switch to monthly photos for the scheduled ones. I know there are folks out there who would like to see the 52 weeks of the first year, but come on people! Don't worry, there will be plenty of photos every week, just not necessarily the Thursday photo of the week thing after 12 weeks.
Okay, I'm rambling, so I'm going to go comfort my little sugardumplin'.

Eight Weeks Old

We have come to the eight week milestone today! Here is a picture of her sitting in the bucket-style car seat that we borrowed from friends to cart her around in before she was big enough for a real car seat. She used to lay flat in the thing - I can't believe we never thought to take a picture of her in it.
Eight weeks after my daughter's birth, I am happy to report that I am 31lbs lighter. Yep, you read that right. I gained 18lbs and lost 31. I credit this to two things: nursing and watching what I eat. I am just starting to add the third part of the equation (exercise) into this, but am pleased so far to find that after the initial weight loss I continue to lose about a pound a week.
Also, I went for my final post-birth check-up and discussed future pregnancy possibilities with my OB. It was as I expected. It seems that should we decide to go through all of this again, I will have to do all of the shots again and all of the medicines and most likely have blood pressure problems and a very small baby. So we'll just have to wait and see if we really think we can handle all of that.
Okay, enough about me, I know you're more interested in her right now.
She is now really starting to smile at us and make funny faces (imitations of ours) on cue. She LOVES to be naked and to take baths. She had her first fever this week - it was just pitiful - but it went away quickly after a little tylenol. I had a tummy ache as well, so I'm pretty sure we were sharing a little something. I discovered that my mom may not have been using "Oh look - a mosquito" as an excuse to hit me as a child when I over-reacted and smacked one on Claire, making her cry. She is learning and growing and changing every day, and we couldn't be happier. In short, it's great to be eight weeks!

Pictures of the Week So Far

So far this week, Claire has had...

Daddy Time Mommy Time
Sleepy Time,
and... Grumpy Time

What a full week it has been so far!

Here's Lookin' at You, Kid

PEEK-A-BOO!

Seven Weeks

Big beautiful bright eyes! What color will they be? We think brown or green, but whatever their color they sure are dark!
Sleeping in her swing. The cooler weather has allowed me to pull out some of these soft warm blankets and clothes for her.

For perspective, if you go back and view other pictures of her on this changing pad, you can really see just how very much she has grown.

Her shirt says Super Happy Little Girl.

This picture was taken last weekend during a Saturday afternoon nap on Pop. This is her Saturday outfit. The shirt says Shh... I'm watching the game with dad. I'm pretty sure it was meant to be a boy's shirt, but who says a girl can't watch football?

MILESTONES AT SEVEN WEEKS

Well, these seven weeks have felt like an eternity in some ways. I cannot believe how much she has changed and grown in so many ways. And it is amazing how quickly the recollection of what she used to be like fades and is replaced with what she is becoming. The biggest milestone of the week is not really with her but with me. I have decided for the time being not to return to work. I am hoping to be able to work some from home and we are hoping we will be able to make this work for as long as we feel it is necessary for me to be at home with Claire.