10 Weeks Old

Rock'n'Roll

It might be hard to tell, but she's very excited last night. She just slept 6.75 hours straight last night! Although she was swaddled. She was so active with her arms during her cluster feedings (which last 2 hours -- actually, all of the times she slept 5-7 hours she had cluster fed for 2 hours, when she cluster feeds for 1.5 hours it only ends up being 4-5 hours of a long stretch.) Anyways, the previous 2 nights she slept completly unswaddled, but you could just tell she needed to start out being swaddled last night. As soon as I swaddled her she calmed and went to sleep. It was incredible.

Her outfit today is a top compliments of Karen, although I have to say I had to go digging in the 6-12 mo. box (this top is 6-9mo.) to get some other clothes out for Isabel. I had a 3-6 mo. top on her and it fit around, but was too short, this girl just has such a long torso. The bottoms are 3-6mo. and are new Gymboree leggings mom picked up. Aren't they cute?!?! The bottoms fit her perfectly.

Such a Doll.

I think she looks so still and is holding her face in such a way that she looks just like a doll. 10 weeks, wow! That has sure flown by. I looked at pregnancy pictures of me and that seems like a lifetmie ago. Well, she is fussing now, guess I better go feed the little one.

Phone Picture

We were doing some exercises and tummy time and I had my camera phone there (waiting for a call back from daddy) and saw how good she was holding her head up. She's getting stronger every day. I just had to take a snap shot. But phone pictures don't turn out as nice as the digital camera.

Isabel was with Carrie for 2 hours today. She took some milk fom her, but not a whole feeding at all, but at least she didn't cry and fuss the whole time. I guess after a while she realized that was it until mom came home. It was both practice for mommy & Isabel. 2 hours was the longest I had been away from her, plus I drove 1/2 hour away - which was the farthest I have been away (before I was always no more than 10 minutes away.) We both survived.

I really appreciate Carrie taking the time to help us out.

Pretty in Pink

Here is is practicing her swiping & grabbing. She's getting better every day at it. Right now she is in the nursery with daddy practicing "head ups". She gets annoyed at the practicing sometimes, but when she does something for a longer time (like hold her head up or actually grab the toy) she is so proud of hersef and gets a smile on her face. While she practicies we encourage her and give her compliments.

Today she is wearing another Target brand onesie and a diaper cover that is sweater-like and by First Impressions.

Finally....

New Jammies

Here is Isabel is a new pair of jammies that grandma M. made for her. They don't making sleeping gowns in anything other than a 0-3mo. size. And if they do, it's hard to find them, so grandma M. made her a couple gowns. Last night was the first night that she slept the entire night unswaddled. She makes more noises unswaddled, but mom & dad will get used to that. And she didn't sleep as long of stints, but I am sure that will change. She seems ready now to be swaddle free, although you can tell when she occasionally still needs to be swaddled.

All Smiles

I am glad she was happy.....mom was frustrated because until now Blogger was being stupid and I couldn't get logged in to do this post.

Happy Girl

She did great with mom at work, but I think she is happy to be home all day today. Today's outfit is a Target brand onesie and a velvet skirt with built-in panties from Oshkosh B'Gosh that mom bought.

Hello, I'm Back.

I Sooooo Look Like My Daddy Here

A lot of people say Isabel looks like daddy and with this picture I have to agree. Actually, as the days goes by and she gets older and changes every day I really sees so much of both of us in her.

I took some picture on the changing table downstairs, which normally has a cover on it, but she pooped or peed on them both (for this one) and they are in the laundry.

I Need a Vacation!

Today she is wearing a onesie we've seen on her a couple of times. It fits and is comfy. Little Isabel has such a long torso that 3-6mo. onesies are starting to not fit her anymore. I had to dig out the box from Karen and find the 6-9mo. onesies she gave us. They fit Isabel around the body, but snapping some has become impossible. The bottoms are new and are Tommy Hilfiger that mommy bought.

She has been in such a good mood today. I have had to tell her each feeding time to stop playing with her food because she was having so much fun smiling and giggling at mom - which is hard to keep eating when you are doing that.

She has been pretty amazing all week so far. I had to work some (for those of you that don't know, I am a mental health therapist working in a school system and I work with some of the most at-risk kids, and we have summer school social skills groups periodically throughout the summer) and Isabel needed to come along as she is STILL not taking a bottle (Carrie is trying again on Friday -- anyone else wanna come try?) So, this week Mon-Wed was my days with my kids at school.

It is amazing just how the presence of a baby changes how they choose to act. (*Choose is the key word here.) The language gets cleaned up and they talk softer and if they are talking loud and you ask them to talk quieter, they do it without a fight or trying to prove something -- because they don't want to wake the baby. The girls ususally beg to have turns holding her and rocking her, but I did ask one of the boys to hold her today for a while and he was so excited. The boys didn't show much interest other than asking if she was sleeping or not, but when I asked this boy if I could trust him to hold her or a while, his face lit up and he said, "Really? You want me to hold her? Yes, sure. I can do that."

But Isabel did amazing with them. She was still a baby and would fuss when her diaper got dirty or she was hungry or sleepy. It was really good social skills training for the kids to be around a baby, but hopefully our next meeting days in August she will be taking a bottle and I can leave her with a sitter or with dad.

So, that has where we have been. I haven't really dressed her in any new outfits, so I didn't take pictures the last 2 days. And by time I got home from working, she needed to be nursed and rocked for a nap & mom needed a nap, and then dad is home and we need to talk & eat and then go to bed and start all over the next day. Although, I believe that this was physically more exhausting, as quite a bit of the time I had a 13+ pound baby strapped to me. And yesterday when we went to on a college tour I had a baby strapped to me and carrying around my filled purse & a filled diaper bag.

So, we need a vacation after that -- and that is exactly what we are going to get. Sunday, we leave to go up North (as we Minnesotans say) and will be gone until Friday. So, you probably won't really see any posts from me then. There might be a post or two if we go to the library in a nearby town, but seeing that everything we do now we do differently because we have a baby it might not be so easy for us both to run into the library to check our email. So, we'll see.

No posts lately?

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. Wifey has had to work Mon-Wed this week, which leaves less time for blogging shenanigans.

Isabel is doing well. She's with Wifey at work, so her schedule has been kind of messed up. Last night from 2am-3am or so, she decided to soil SIX diapers in a row. It's a new record for her. Put one on, then *poop*. Take it off, clean her up, put one on, then *poop*. Take it off, clean her up, put one on, then *poop*. Take it off, clean her up, put one on, then *poop*. Take it off, clean her up, put one on, then *poop*.

Lots of fun at such an early/late hour.

Of course after a long pooping bonanza, she was wide awake. I tried to swaddle her and rock her to sleep, but she was having none of it. She was chatting and squawking and crying. Wifey wondered WTF I was doing with her for the last hour -- I presume she thought we were up playing or something. That's certainly not the case. Unless your definition of "playing" is very, very different than mine.

A New Outfit for the Birthday Party

So, here's my new dress.

This dress is new to Isabel as a gift from her great-great aunt Mary. Doesn't she look sweet.
She's in a swing someone gave us after their child finished using it, but she hates traditional swings, just likes the cradle one. She likes the fish & colored lights on the top of the cradle one. Sometimes she talks to te fish.

Hmmmm....Let me scratch my head while I think about that.

So, if I hit the bird - it moves. And if I touch the swirly striped ball - it moves too. So, this toy does more than just show a pretty girl in the mirror. That's incredible.

She is starting to learn cause & effect. She used to just look at the mirror and smile at herself for a few minutes. Now, she'll spend 15 minutes looking at the mirror and playing with the other toys attached to it. It's fun to watch her look at something and then make a swipe for it.

Wassssuuuuupppp!

Today we are going to a joint birthday party for grandma & grandpa M. Both of them have birthdays in July. Isabel seems to be in a pretty good mood this morning. Let's hope that continues.

Yesterday, we started to transition her out of needing to be swaddled. We swaddled her with one arm out during her naps. She struggled a bit more during her transitions between phases ad needed help getting back to sleep, but did sleep well once she got there. We still fully swaddled her at night, although she pulled a Houdini again and got an arm out. You know, it's generally the left arm she gets out & it doesn't matter which one of us wraps her (we wrap opposite.) I read that in the next couple months she will start to show preference for handedness; I wonder if she'll be left-handd like daddy.

9 Week Old Pictures

Oh, Please....Stop...You are Making Me Blush.

No, really, stop. I am tired and need to eat and sleep. I was too busy looking at things last night and had so much on my mind that I didn't get in a lot of sleep.

Yesterday I read her the book Ruby in Her Own Time. We got the soft cover version as part of our baby classes. Anyways, it made me think that when she is ready to accept a bottle for more than an ounce, she will. She took 1/2 ounce from Carrie, but she may have taken more if she was not so sleepy. She was sleepy pretty much all day from her immunizations. So, we'll keep offering her some several times a week. Next week Carrie is going to try again & mom is going to leave for a little longer.

See My Cute Little Duckies

Today's outfit is something mom picked up at JC Penney. The cute little socks are from Gymboree & are a perfect match to the dress outfit. This outift is big enough that it should actually fit her for a while. Some of the other 3-6 month stuff already is seeming too small, especially anything to do with length.

This week mom started working on a Christmas stocking for Isabel. I know it's only mid-July, but I figure by the time I may get it finished it may be Christmas already. I had bought a pattern a few years ago for something else in the pattern. I got the pattern cut out & the pieces cut out (outside & liner) and have the trim, tassles, & thread to start assembling it. I just need to get the cord that goes around the outside, but that is handstitched on at the end, so it's not big hurry. I thought she needed a homemade stocking, as both mommy & daddy have stockings someone made for them.

Knock, Knock!

Whose there? It's Isabel.

Isabel has been getting a lot of practice strengthening those neck muscles. Everyday she does head-ups. We add one every or every other day. She's doing a great job and lifting her head higher & higher and holding it up longer & longer. We also just started doing sit-ups (where mom pulls her up by her arms and she lifts her head as we do it.) She seems to think those are fun. But she does gete pretty tired after doing exercises.

Reading that Baby Book by the Sears clan that we got from Tony & Carol has been very helpful. Each month it tells you about the different skill sets that they will be developing and how to encourage those things and different ways to play with your baby that month to help them learn. So, I like all the different ideas that we can try.

Fingers & Toes

All 20 Accounted For!

I mentioned before that Isabel has these sort of monkey toes because she can make the big toe and pinky toe move independently from the middle three (those are a set.) But daddy thinks it is even more odd that she grasps your finger, shirt, arm (whatever is in the path of her toes) with just as firm as a grasp as she does with her hands. He says that she could probably pick things up with them ad then I have to remind him that mom can do that and frequently does. Hey! Sometimes it is just easier to pick it up with my toes and bring my leg up to my hands to retrieve the item than bending all the way over. I can't help it.

Another thing about fingers & toes is all the finger & toe lint that gets stuck between each finger & toe and then in the palm of her hands in the creases. Daddy always yells at mommy to stop picking at her (when I pick out her lint while she's nursing.) I gotta keep my baby clean, you know.

Just Woke Up & Happy as Can Be

She was so happy waking up this morning, even if we were stirred awake by a stupid cat maknig too much noise. She was chatty & smiley and doing all sorts of stretches.

She really didn't seemed to bothered by the 4 shots yesterday. It was amazing how quick the nurse worked to give her all of them. She started out with a high pitch cry with the first poke, but before she could get the entire cry out the nurse was done with all of them. I was really proud of how Isabel handled the shots and am very happy we didn't have a fussy baby in the evening and even more happy she didn't have any bad side effects or reactions. We pretty much came home and did the normal routine for the evening and she had a normal night.

FEED ME!

Ok, by this point in the morning she was frustrated with mom and didn't want her picture taken. What she wanted was to eat and then go to sleep, but mom was trying to stretch playtime out as long as possible so that she wouldn't go down for a nap too early and would still be asleep when Carrie came here to watch her for a bit. Mom wants to slip out while she is sleeping so that she could possibly be more successful and getting her to take a bottle.

The doctor said we are just going to have to find a patient person(s) who will watch her and try to give her the bottle when I am gone during the day. That person is going to have to tolerate her crying and keep offering up the bottle. The doctor says the baby won't starve herself. She'll either eat from the bottle or just learn to wait to eat until mom comes back. She said we'll probably need to do this for a few days to a week, but that the baby will learn to take a bottle (most likely, or learns to just wait for mom - but hopefully not cry forever.) The doctor said we should do this before I go back to work, guess I'll have to figure all that out.

2 Months Comparison

At Birth
Isabel: 21 1/4" length, 7lb. 2oz. weight, 14" head circumference
Dad: 22" length, 8lb 9.5oz weight, 14 1/2" head circumerence
Mom: 21" length, 9lb 9.5oz, 14.2" head circumference

2 Months
Isabel: 24.25" long, 13lb. 6oz weight, 15.75 head circumference
Dad: 25" long, 15 pounds
Mom: 22 3/4" length, 13lb. 9oz weight

She is in the 97th percentile for length, 95th percentile for weight, and 80th percentile for head circumference. Well, at least that is what the doctor's office said. Although this baby growth website puts her at 86th percentile for weight and 91st percentile for length. Regardless, she is growing very well.

She handled the shots at the hospital amazing well, much better than mom thought she would.

2 Months Old! Hooray!

Smiles.

Who can tell by looking at this happy baby here that her nice morning is going to go awful for her around 4:30pm. Yes, it is that time for the 2-month doctor visit with the dreaded immunization shots. From what I understand, her resulting behavior can go one of 2 extreme ways. She could be very sleepy and spend much of the rest of the evening sleeping (probably not our child) or she could get very crabby & fussy (sounds more like our child.) Mom is going to make sure she gets in a decent nap today to prepare herself for the latter and a long night of comforting.

I'm Ready for My Close-up!

She is very happy here sitting on her changing table. She's always happy after you remove a dirty diaper, especially poopy ones. She likes the air time her bottom half gets and takes full advantage of it to swing & kick her legs around without an restrictions from a diaper.

Her outfit today is a vintage Lullaby Club one (mom has been putting her in a lot vintage stuff this week.)

Last night, Isabel received a visit from some family friends, Roger & Joyce and Lisa & Grant. They didn't stay too long as she was kinda fussy (it was her evening fussy time) and needed to take her bath so that she could go to sleep.

Tomorrow, mommy's friend Carrie is going to come over to try to give her a bottle. Isabel flat out refuses ANYTHING related to feeding from daddy. So, mom is getting desperate and needs to call in for support from friends and family to try to make this bottle thing happen.

This Sunday is a joint birthday party for grandma & grandpa M. Isabel will get to meet her great grandma & great grandpa I. for the first time there.

I'm a Big Girl!

She really was all smiles this morning until her tiredness creeped up with her and then she needed to be swaddled right away and put down for a nap. I just got done telling Auntie Phanie last night that her shortest long period of nighttime sleep is always (guess I shouldn't have used the word always) 4 hours (but does get longer). Well, last night she divided her sleep evenly into 3-3-3. Usually it is the first stint that is longest, but I knew she wasn't going to sleep very long as she didn't nurse very well before nighttime. She was too sleepy and just wouldn't make it a long quality nursing, so she had to get up 3 hours later to refill her belly.

The nice thing though is that she is making progress on her elimination system and does most of her pooping during her awake hours and mainly only pees during sleep hours, which means I don't have to do middle of the night diaper changes as often. Which means, she stays kinda asleep when I nurse her and she can be put back down easily. Whereas, if she needed a diaper change she would wake up completely and I would spend around a half hour between feeding, changing & rocking. When she can nurse half asleep, she get what she needs and goes back to sleep in 10-15 minutes. So much nicer. It wasn't even that awful having to wake every 3 hours when she goes back down right away.

A Little Bohemian?

Uh-oh!

Isabel is such a melting pot of cultures. And yes, she is a little Bohemian, and by little I mean she is about 6.25% Bohemian. Come to think of it, she is 6.25% of a lot of things (Irish, English, French, Belgium, Bohemian, Polish, & Jewish & Unknown.) She is also 37.5% German and 12.5% Luexumborg (ians?). So, any of those could be a little more because of the unknown.

Why the unknown? Well, some information about family decent is currently lost on daddy's side because of unknown maiden names a few generations ago on both maternal & parternal sides.

Last year, mommy was taking a class on counseling the family life cycle and one of the days we talked about cultural influences (sidebar: people concentrate on race too much and sometimes forget about all the different cultures that exist) and it got her to think just what we "were made of". There could actually be more unknown, but I am fairly certain that I have got it down to only 6.25% unknown. I had last names of some on daddy's side and was able to do some research on the origin of the last name, as well as pulled some information off a geneaology website, which gave me some more information about places of birth for one family. But without maiden names of grandmas (2 & 3 greats) it is hard to know exactly. Actually, since I did this research over a year ago, it is hard to remember - but it might be just one heritage I am missing.

So, there you have it. A melting pot of European decent.

I'm So Excited! And I Just Can't Hide It!

Isabel is in a good mood this morning. I think she got a good nights sleep. Yesterday her naps were crap and even with all the short naps, they still didn't make enough to give her enough sleep. So, she was a bit crabby yesterday and then mom got crabby too (because if baby isn't sleeping, mom isn't sleeping.)

The 3 of us tried to go out to eat to Timberlodge yesterday. She did just fine through the appetizer, but after that it sucked and we had the waitress give us boxes and we left. Although, 2-4 weeks ago we would not have even made it in the door (unless she was completey sleeping - the entire time!

Yeah! My Toes Are Free!

She is so happy when we take off her socks. Actually, she's happy when her diaper is off and all her clothes are off.

Her outfit today is courtesy of grandma M.'s friend Karen. Her friend has a baby girl who is roughly 1 year older than Isabel and she has no one to pass the clothes along to, so Isabel became the lucky recipient. This is a very cute outfit. Dad said she was dressed like a hippie. I prefer to say she looks Bohemian.

Today she is laying on one of her swaddling blankets that grandma M. made and in the background you can see a bit of the toybox grandma & grandpa S. made.

Great Grandparents

Check Out My New Blanket

Isabel's great grandma S. made this for her. We just love homemade gifts. There is so much love & thought put into them. Store bought gifts are nice - don't get me wrong. But homemade gifts are something you keep & cherish and pass on.

Isabel is blessed with having 5 great grandparents (2 great grandmas and 3 great grandpas.) Mom was blessed with the same number (5) but hers were reversed (2 great grandpas & 3 great grandmas.) Mom was lucky enough to have 4 of them through quite a bit of her life. The one great grandpa died when she was rather young, but the other 4 lived though her junior high, high school, & into college years. Hopefully Isabel with have as many years with her great grandparents as her mom did. Some of mom's most prized possessions were gifts from great grandparents (a quilt, a wooden manger, a pillow, a wooden frame.) She had a few very well-loved toys that a great grandma made her when she was young, but like I said they were well loved and are no longer around.

Isabel also has both sets of grandparents who all have been wonderful about making things for her.

Holding Hands w/ Mom

Her outfit today is a vintage one, but isn't it cute. Jean overalls with red&white ribbons, flowers, & hearts. We had a pretty good day together yesterday, both insync with one another (or at least mom was insync with Isabel.) Let's hope we have another one.

Going to the Beach?

The Hat

She may look like she is ready to go to the beach, but this little girl gets a heat rash in anything above 80 degrees and today it is supposed to reach 95 (which is leass than the weekend). Actually, I don't think it is supposed to be below 90 for a high at all this week. Hopefully, as all her bodily systems mature she'll be able to go outside when it gets hotter, because next summer I can take her to the pool for swimming lessons "Tiny Tots". It's for 6mo.-3years and the babes swim with a parent. I think that should be fun for both of us, provided she doesn't think the water is too cold.

The hat has straps that velcro under the chin, but she hates that. She doesn't mind hats, but doesn't like hats with straps that go under her chin. Looks like I should get the seam ripper out and modify this hat for her.

Hat & Sunglasses

Here she is saying, "How do I keep these things from falling off my nose? And why do you keep buying me these things, I hate sunglasses."

Today she is wearing a vintage romper with little flower, butterflies, & snails on it. It is paired with a basic white Gerber onesie and some light blue socks. The hat & sunglasses mom bought new and are from the same line at Gymboree (she also has a swimsuit that matches these & hopefully we can get her in it when we go up North {as we Minnesotans say it, yes, I am a Minnesotan now, I gave up all rights as a Wisconsinite years ago.)

Finally! No Accessories

This picture was actually taken after the hat & sunglasses were gone. She's a much happier baby here. Her long stretch of sleep last night was 5 hours, but she did make us work for it as she was difficult to put down. She slept 3 hours after that, but I think she was just taking many little cat naps or else she was talking in her sleep (she may take after mom afterall.) So, she was a pretty tired baby this morning. She is napping right now and I am watching her on the monitor as she struggles through sleep phases. She does poorly with sleep phase transitions when it comes to naps (yesterday was awful for sleep phase transitions), but she is doing ok with this one. She may make it without extra helping from mom.

Yesterday she was practicing rolling over from her stomach to her back. She would get the top half going, but couldn't get the bottom half to follow. She was seriously annoyed by that. She still hates tummy time, but she is tolerating it better and better and will get her head up a little higher each time. So, she's doing good.

Not sure that I will take her to the Newborn Clinic tomorrow because Thursday we have her 2 month doctor appointment, which she is going to hate. She'll get weighed and measured then, plus she'll get shots (that's the part she'll hate.) This time I think I will call before I leave to see if the doctor is running on schedule, as last time we waited a half hour before I finally went and asked for a room to nurse in (because she was getting fussy). A nurse came in shortly after and took her vitals & measurements, but then left us and we waited another 20 minutes. That is ridiculous to make people wait so long, especially when they have children. We don't live far from the clinic, so I will just call 10 minutes beforehand and check if she is on schedule or how far behind she is.

New Videos

How to Play the Face Game



A Swinging Success

A Steamy Sunday

Outfit #1

We started out wearing this Gymboree outfit mom bought for this scorcher of a Sunday. But then she gave me some gas medicine and I was trying hard not to swallow it and then activated my upchuck reflex and got milk all over this outfit & mom. If it was a little spit up it would not have been a big deal, but this made a big wet spot on the outfit & I was going to be swaddled soon and put down for a nap & I don't like anything wet touching me. So, new outfit it is.

Outfit #2

The top mom picked up at Target for 98 cents on Friday. Although it's a good thing she didn't pay more than that for this 6mo. shirt, because if it shrinks we won't get a chance to wear it again. The bottoms are Tommy Hilfiger that mommy bought @ Marshall's. The socks don't really match. They were new at a rummage sale and mom only had to pay 5 cents and they are so cute with the lace on them, but turns out there isn't a whole ton of baby clothes made in mint green, nor does mint green match with a bunch of stuff. That's probably why they were new at a rummage sale. Oh well.

8 Weeks Old Today!

Give me Some Props for Turning 8 Weeks!

Ok - maybe a different meaning of the word props, but I gave her some. She is propped up on the rocker in the nursery between a pillow & a boppy (which you can barely see, but it does have a new cover on it that Grandma M. made.) She's a pretty happy baby this morning.

Her Carter's outfit is compliments of our newest neighbors (I was going to say new, but they moved in last fall, so I guess they aren't really new). They have a baby boy that will be turning 1 soon. We thought it was very sweet of them to think of Isabel and buy her this little outfit. It is very soft and she seems to like being in it. It is a onesie & dress.

Daddy Gets Ahold of the Camera

Daddy took this picture when he was playing with her and her friends Pierre & Sandy. Right now dad is rocking her to sleep for her morning nap. It is so hot this weekend that I think we'll be indoors all weekend and Isabel will get a lot of quality time with dad, as it is too hot to do anything else, best just to stay relaxed in the a/c.

Big Silly Grin

Daddy just loves how she smiles so big. She is always at her happiest first thing in the morning, which makes me think she is not the child of either one of us. She's also pretty happy when you change her diaper and let her sit & air out for a while. She's not exactly fond of wearing diapers. Since she hates poop & hates diapers, my fingers are crossed that she will be an easy one to potty train later.

Her first sleeping stint last night was only 4 hours, but she pulled a Houdini & wiggled her way out of her swaddling and woke herself up with her arms.

Yesterday, Grandma M. got her to drink a little out of the bottle, but she still won't drink the whole thing. Such a stubborn girl. I think we are going to try feeding by a syringe or cup feeding next.

New (Better?) Swing

Maybe baby Isabel like to cradle rock better. We are starting a collection of swings at our house. I bought this off of eBay for $39 (& they delivered it to me too!) rather than $100+ price tag this has at most retailers. She seems to enjoy it. She has been in it twice today, not for long periods, but for about 15-20 minutes. She does like to look up at the fish & light. So, maybe this one will be a winner.

Fingers Crossed

So Refreshed After a Good Night's Sleep

I am keeping my fingers crossed that she is starting to "sleep through the night" (all books say the definition of that is 5 or more straight hours, although daddy thinks it should be from the moment we put her down until we all wake up - but that's not fair, daddy tries to sleep in to 10 or later on weekends.) Anyways, last night the first segment was 7.25 hours (yes! over 7 hours, it was amazing!) and then she followed that up with a 2 hour segment. The night before her first segment was 6 hours. So, I am keeping my fingers crossed, but I am not holding my breath.

Daddy Makes Her Laugh

Here she is playing with daddy. He is making funny sounds and faces at her. A lot of people have been telling me/him/us that she looks like him. I think he is pretty proud of that. Maybe she'll start to look more like mom as she grows older.

Last night her daycare provider came over to meet her. It went well and I feel better about letting her take care of Isabel. She seems to know what to do to calm her. We'll go visit the daycare a few times this summer. We go right by there when we go for our walks. Now, if we can only get her to take a bottle. Grandma M. is coming over today to relieve mom for a bit and try to get her to take a bottle. I hope she doesn't feel too pressured to try to make that happen. I am not expecting it to happen. I am expecting my stubborn child to remain that way. I have been reading online about cup feeding (here's another one) and that might be what we try next. Bottle feeding might just never be her thing.

This is an outfit you have seen before that came from Aunt Phanie. It may be the last time she gets to wear it.

Like Mother, Like Daughter? Like Dad?

Boy, am I full of questions today.

I thought it would be interesting to see when mom hit certain milestones & when Isabel hits them. I don't have daddy's baby book (although he was the youngest, so there might not be anything in it - mine -- being the oldest -- has quite a bit for the first year until my brother was born), so if Grandma M. has this info written down in his baby book or remembers, it would be good to compare his stuff with Isabel's as well. Gives us some idea of when we might expect her to reach these milestones as well.

__________Mom_____ Isabel______ Dad
First Smile___ 4 weeks____ 4 weeks
First Laugh___4 weeks____ 6 weeks______12 weeks
Rolled Over__12 weeks____******* ______15 weeks
Walked (w/help)_20 weeks
First Tooth___29 weeks
Stood Up____30 weeks____******* ______7 1/2 mo.
Sat Up______24 weeks ___******** ______6 mo.
Waved Bye___28 weeks
Crawled_____31 weeks____*******______8 mo.
Walked Alone _9 1/2 mo.
Walked across Room_11 mo.
Drank from Cup_11 3/4 mo.
Reaches for Object________******* ______3 1/2 mo.
Picks Up Objects_________******** _______4 mo.
It says what my first words were, but not when.

Comments about my teeth - wow! I was pretty old for my first tooth, wasn't I. But after they started coming, they didn't stop. I got another one 2 weeks later, then 2 more a month after the second, 2 more after the four, 2 more after the 6, then a 3 month break and got 2 more, then a 2 month break and got 2 more, then a 2 month break and got 3 more.....and then molars later....

Progress?

Yesterday we went to visit some friends and she did ok. A little fussy, but not too bad. But taking naps was not her forte yesterday. She would sleep for 45 minutes stretches, all day. So, mom didn't get a whole lot accomplished. But usually when her day isn't the greatest, her night will be better & vice versa. She struggled to stay asleep in the beginning for nighttime sleep, but once down she slept 6 hours in her first stretch. Yeah! And then 2.5 hours the second stretch, which probably would have been longer had she not filled her diaper, and we know how she feels about a poopy diaper. And then it was 5:30am and she was up. I like it better when she wakes up at 6/6:30, not this 5/5:30 stuff. Who would have ever thought I would say I like getting up at 6/6:30? Now if we could only get daddy to get up earlier. I almost wish we were doing formula so he had to get his butt out of bed.

Yesterday evening she even sat in the swing for 20 minutes, normally she hates the swing and cries after 2 minutes. But every once in a while I try again. So after 20 minutes then she had enough and I put her on her playmat on the main level and put the heartbeat bear there too. She scooted over a foot towards the bear, although I am not sure it was for the bear or trying to get closer to the TV to watch the Simpsons. But she did both those things for 20 minutes a piece and it allowed me time to make & eat dinner, as daddy wasn't home yet to take her off my hands. She has never been content being awake & not being cuddled or entertained by someone for that long of time. It might have been a fluke, but I'll take it.

Today's outfit is a RL polo dress (again, a 6 mo. one) & some Gymboree socks. The socks have little pink & black cats on them. Aren't they cute?

Isabel on 7/12/06

All Dressed and Some Place to Go

Again, another 3-6 month outfit. Hmmmm.....these are fitting her too well. She better slow down in her growth or we'll be wearing 6-9 month soon. This is a cute little Gymboree romper that mom bought.

Today we are going to visit mom's friend April and her 2 boys, Kallen & Noah. Noah is about a month and a half older than Isabel.

Very Happy!

At 5:30am?, can she really be our child?

So, How Big Are You?

Yesterday, she weighed in at 12 pounds, 12 ounces. That is 1 ounce shy of a 1.5 pound gain over the 2 weeks. So, still continuing the 3/4 pound a week weight gain. And again, they tell me that will slow down. I did see a 6 month old there that was only about 3.5 pounds more than her and didn't look much longer. The only real difference was that little girl had a lot more hair and could hold her head up.

Such a Big Girl!

Can You Guess How Big I Am?

Isabel is now 7 1/2 weeks old and she is growing so fast. Today we will go to the Newborn Clinic to get her weight. Her last weight was 11lb. 5 oz. and that was 2 weeks ago. But she has grown a lot in the last week. I took her head & length measurements this morning and they both have increased quite a bit. Her head increased another 1/2" and the circumference is now 16" (2 inches larger than birth) and her length has increased an inch in the last week and now she measures 24" (which is 2 3/4" longer than birth). She's just a little weed.

So, any guesses on how much she will weigh this afternoon? I am guessing she is going to weigh 13 pounds even. Post your guesses!

Peek-a-boo!

You can see just how long she is getting in this picture. Pretty soon she won't fit on her activity mat. I'm going to have to get a slip-n-slide for her to lay on so that I have the length covered.

Her outfit today is this cute little Ralph Lauren romper. It says it is a 6mo. outfit, but honestly, Ralph Lauren runs small in babies the same way it tends to run smaller in adults. I don't there there is really any 0-3 months clothes left that will fit her except for a couple pairs of shorts & shirts (no onesies or sleepers or anything that has to fit a certain length.)

We've started putting her down for naps or sleep unswaddled some of the time. She's really wanting to move around a lot, but does seem to have more control of her arms. Plus she's become Houdini and is wigling out of her swaddle to get her arms free (doesn't care as much about getting her legs free, but I don't swaddle the bottom half very tight.) She is much noiser when she is unswaddled (except for when she sleeps next to mom unswaddled, she has always done that very well, but just being next to mom must be comforting.) So, I think this week will be a little tiring for mom as I let her sleep unswaddled more & more, because that will mean I will probably have to rock her back to sleep when she has trouble transitioning between sleep stages. But I know in the end it will be worth it. Right now it is a pain in the butt to have to unswaddle her (which wakes her) to check her diaper, you can't quietly change her diaper with minimal disturbance yet. Plus, you can't do the limp-baby test (pick up their arm) to see which stage of sleep they are in, when their arms are tight to their body you can only guess most of the time and can be wrong and they may wake when you put them down & you have to start all over again.

I think this week we'll do the unswaddling thing during the day & work towards adding in nighttime unswaddling. I'm also getting her in her crib more instead of the bassinet, which is about to leave due to her recent length increase.

Now, if we could only transition her to taking a bottle of breastmilk.

Visit to WI

Just Hanging Out

Dad says I looks like I am the chiquita banana lady is this Gymboree outfit. Mom thinks I look cute. It's halter dress with a matching diaper cover, but we didn't get any pictures take of the back, which is very cute. Bare back baby & all!

Here Isabel is just hanging out on the floor on a blanket @ Grandma & Grandpa S's house. We made it there. The trip went relatively smoothly and only took us an extra 45 minutes. So, it was 6 hours, rather than 5.25 hours. We only had to stop twice for nuring & changing. Both on the way there & back. The trip on the way back took a little bit longer, as we stopped at daddy's work so that he could show her off. Some people just go gaga over babies.

Playing with Dad

Dad & Isabel are hanging out in the "family" bedroom. Right now we are the only one with a baby, so we get the big room with the crib in it. If Auntie Phanie & Uncle J have a baby we might get kicked out of there once Isabel gets older, but they don't have plans to have a baby until after she would no longer be in a crib anyways.

Dad kept making Isabel giggle & smile. She likes playing with him. He makes such funny noises.

Getting to Know Grandma S.

Here is Isabel with Grandma S. Isabel got in a alot of holding time with Grandma S. Grandma S. seemed particularly fond of taking her when she was crying and then within minutes she had her not just calm, but sleeping. She tried getting her to take a pacifier (we brought 2 of the 4 kinds we have along), but Isabel just doesn't like taking a pacifier really.

This was Sunday and we went to the church picnic "Summerfest" and had lunch, played this card game (dad was luckier than mom) and got to meet a bunch of other family like great grandma & great grandpa S., some second cousins & other great aunts & uncles, and her great-great aunt Mary and a bunch of other people mom knew growing up.

Being Held by Grandpa S.

This was the second morning and by time Grandpa S. got to her her this morning she was ready to be put down for her first morning nap, so she was a little cranky (but not too bad, but we just couldn't get her to smile for the camera).

Grandpa S. wasn't sure about holding such a little one, but he did a great job, but he's looking forward to when she can walk & play more.

7 Weeks in her Farm Clothes

Just Giddy With Excitement!

Here Isabel is wearing her farm clothes, not to be confused with barn clothes. In a few hours we are going to attempt to make the 5.5 hour drive to my parents farm so that the family there can meet her (my parents, my brother, my grandparents.) Anyone want to make bets on how long it will take us to get there? I am thinking 7 hours, Daddy says 8, our neighbor thinks it will be longer than 8. If it's taking longer than 8, than I think we are heading in the wrong direction & should be heading back home.

I just love this little Gymboree top (bought off of eBay), but didn't have anything to match it with until I found these pants at Carters. So cute! The little flowers have buttons on them (on both top & pants.)

Roadtrip!

Let's hope the happiness continues today.

She may need to be put to work once we get there, as she made daddy & I work hard last night trying to get her to go to sleep. I put her down at her normal bedtime, but she woke up after 45 minutes and we couldn't get her back down for 3 hours! She would come so close SO MANY TIMES! but then just bolt awake. It didn't help that she kept pooping her diaper and we had to keep changing. She would just poop a little at a time, but she needs to be changed right away or there will be no hope of her falling asleep. I think we changed her about 5 times in that 3 hours.

So, she slept 45 min., 4 hours, and then 2.5 hours. So, she's missing some much needed sleep. Maybe she'll sleep good on the car ride across Wisconsin. She seems unable to have a great day & great night. It's either one or the other. I would settle for middle of the road on both, but she seems to like making things a bit of a rollarcoaster for us.

Does this look like the face of a troublemaker?

If you would have asked me last night, I would have said YES! But today, she's happy and went down easily for her first nap (although she generally does, but she has trouble transitioning from light & deep sleep phases and wakes up after 45 minutes.) We'll be hitting 45 minutes here in 15 minutes and we'll see if she stays asleep. If her first nap starts out not so good, they usually continue that way all day and we could be in for a long day. I am just mentally preparing myself for the worst for this trip, because either that will come true and it won't be as bad because I expected it or it will be better, in which case - yeah!