5 months. SOOO late... but here we are! Hopefully I'll add pictures later...
5 months has been rough. Teething has started with Cameron, Screaming, crying, napping strikes happened, bedtime strikes. you name it. We were exhausted, we cried, I cried, they cried, we all cried.
Cameron:
Started rolling over more from his belly to his back.
Pushes up really well
Smiles and laughs more
Talks and is social
Loves to play with his toys
Thinks his sister is silly
Loves to play in the jumperoo
Loves the door jumper
wears 3-6 month, and size 3 diapers. Still fits into some 0-3 month clothes.
Kyle:
Rolls all over the place
Pushes up well
loves to smile and laugh
is ticklish on his belly, neck and feet
Loves to play with Ellie
Loves to chew on everything and especially sophie the giraffe
Doesn't like to be set down
is a cuddle bug
Loves the door jumper and jumperoo
at 5 months he wore 3-6 month clothes, and size 3 diapers.
Eating:
Cameron and Kyle both eat every 3-4 hours during the day, and if they're not sick, then every 4-ish hours at night, but it's been bad lately with colds, teething and who knows what else.
They both take good naps at 9, 1, and a cat nap at 5. Bedtime is usually around 7:30-8 depending on how quickly we get everything done, and if it's a bath day!
They're growing up so much, it's insane, and I can't believe they're SO BIG!
We love them so much and can't imagine only having one baby! Twins are definitely the way to go for us, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Monday, April 29, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
Cameron & Kyle: 3 months old
January's over (thank goodness) and that means Cameron and Kyle are one month older!
Cameron:
Kyle:
And probably more things I remember!
Cameron:
- LOVES it when mommy sings the itsy bitsy spider to him and does the hand motions
- still pukes buckets, but is happier about it than he used to be
- he's wearing size 1 diapers, size 0-3 month clothes and is still a little squirt
- he's no longer taking Prevacid, OR Zantac! Woohoo! He's not too bad without them, either!
- He's starting to "talk" and coo so much and he LOVES it when we talk to him or make faces at him
- He takes about 3 naps a day, and wakes up once at night to eat.
- On a good night he sleeps from about 9-2 or 3, then again until 6 or 7.
- He nurses about every 3 hours during the day, and once at night. He's a guzzler, and I have to stop him every 5 or so minutes so he can burp, otherwise everything he just ate comes right back up!
- Tummy time is not his favorite, but we try to have him do it anyway.
- He LOVES sitting in the bumbo!
- He also loves playing in the bouncy seat and watching the bubbles and lights move.
- He generally loves to suck on a binky and takes the gumdrop or nuk kind
- He likes being held, but only in certain ways, and he's not super cuddly
- Being outside is probably his favorite thing ever.
Kyle:
- is such a little smiler! He will smile and coo at you all. day. long! We love it!
- He hates tummy time. Like REALLY hates it. Working on that...
- He's a little chunker, and he's growing out of some 0-3 month clothes, but still fits in a lot. He wears size 2 diapers.
- He likes to nurse more often than Cameron during the day, and sometimes eats every 2 hours, however he sleeps MUCH longer at night, like usually from 9-4 or 5, then again until 7 or 8.
- He also takes 3 naps a day.
- He talks a lot and loves to look at everything and anything
- He follows us when we walk across the room and gets SUPER sad if we walk by him and don't pick him up.
- He's a little softie and gets his feelings hurt easily
- He has super sensitive skin, and we've found we can only use a really expensive organic baby wash on him.
- he HATES binkies, but sometimes when he just won't go to sleep I can force one on him and it gives him that extra push to get to his sleepy place
- Now that it's two weeks later, C man is sleeping longer at night!!
- Kyle takes a latex Nuk binky selectively
- Kyle can roll from front to back
- Tummy time is better for both boys
- Cameron does better with pumped milk since it doesn't drown him
- They both love the jumper
- Cameron loves to be outside
- Kyle doesn't fit in 0-3 much at all anymore
And probably more things I remember!
Monday, December 10, 2012
Cameron and Kyle: One Month Old!
Cameron and Kyle turned one month old on their due date. How fun!
I took them to their one month check-up on the 4th and they are doing so well! My little guys are thriving and doing great!
Let's start with Mr. Cameron:
Now for Mr. Kyle:
They are such a joy to have in our lives! I can't imagine life with just one baby. It would be so easy ha ha! I wouldn't know what to do with all the extra time I would have!! I'm thankful that we've made it to my goal (almost) of nursing for at least the first 6 weeks! Things are going well though, so I don't think we're quitting any time soon. Sometimes they eat at the same time (daytime only) and at night I always feed one right after another.
Life is busy, but it's a joyous kind of busy because having two adorable little boys look up at you with their little baby faces makes all the tough times worth it! They are so much fun, even though I hit my breaking point and hit my exhaustion limit every single day!
We played around with the camera the other day and here are some pictures (none of them are edited...that will come when I have more than a few minutes...Also I was using my phone's camera...my real camera died. Next month I shall plan this out better!!)
I took them to their one month check-up on the 4th and they are doing so well! My little guys are thriving and doing great!
Let's start with Mr. Cameron:
- He's up to 7 lbs 3 oz and is 19.5" long. His head is 36 cm. He's only on the charts for his weight and is currently in the 3rd percentile! At least he's on the charts! :D He's been having issues with spitting up a huge amount, arching his back, being extremely fussy and inconsolable and acting like he's in pain for hours on end. He was diagnosed with reflux and prescribed some Zantac. It has already started to help him, and he's sleeping better, eating better and keeping his food down better! hooray! This makes me very happy, since he is my little guy, I'm always concerned about his weight gain!
- He eats every 3ish hours during the day and every 3-4 hours at night.
- He's becoming a better sleeper, but he takes a while to calm down. He hates being wrapped up tightly, but needs to be so he will relax.
- He has periods of happy awake time and we're glad he's happy! He loves to look around and explore his world.
- He is wearing size nb clothes and diapers.
- He sleeps best when he's really warm, and loves to sleep in the bouncy seat or swing.
- He hates riding in the car seat, and usually screams for a good portion of the ride to wherever we're going.
- He sometimes likes bath time.
- He is extremely easy going with Ellie's poking/prodding and bugging. It's wonderful.
- He likes his binky most of the time and it's our favorite when he's being fussy.
- He has really strong neck muscles, and sometimes tolerates tummy time.
- He may be small, but he's loud and he'll let you know when he's unhappy!
Now for Mr. Kyle:
- He is 8 lbs 8 oz, 20.5" long and his head is 37 cm. He's in the 25th percentile for weight and 10th for height! He's pretty much the size of a normal one month old! He's my chubby guy.
- He's VERY mellow, and thank goodness. With Cameron's reflux and colic, I don't know that we could handle a fussy Kyle, so thank you, Kyle for being a SUPER easy baby!
- He eats every 3 hours as well, and 3-4 hours at night.
- He likes to snuggle a LOT.
- He loves to be next to his brother, even when it seems Cameron doesn't care ha ha.
- He sleeps best when he's snuggled with one of us!
- He doesn't have as much awake time as Cameron, but he's starting to be awake a little bit more now that he's past the due date.
- He will sleep pretty much anywhere. He falls asleep relatively easily, but gets very upset if he has the tiniest of bubbles in his belly.
- He is wearing nb and some 0-3 month clothes, and nb diapers.
- He likes the car seat, and falls asleep very quickly when riding in the car.
- He hates bottles and binkies.
- He is also easy going with Ellie.
- He hates tummy time, and doesn't do too well lifting up his little head yet, but he'll get there.
They are such a joy to have in our lives! I can't imagine life with just one baby. It would be so easy ha ha! I wouldn't know what to do with all the extra time I would have!! I'm thankful that we've made it to my goal (almost) of nursing for at least the first 6 weeks! Things are going well though, so I don't think we're quitting any time soon. Sometimes they eat at the same time (daytime only) and at night I always feed one right after another.
Life is busy, but it's a joyous kind of busy because having two adorable little boys look up at you with their little baby faces makes all the tough times worth it! They are so much fun, even though I hit my breaking point and hit my exhaustion limit every single day!
We played around with the camera the other day and here are some pictures (none of them are edited...that will come when I have more than a few minutes...Also I was using my phone's camera...my real camera died. Next month I shall plan this out better!!)
Monday, August 13, 2012
For my soon-to-be and new mommy friends: What you'll want and what you don't need.
Because I have SO MANY friends expecting their first baby, I decided to make a list of things we loved with our new baby, and baby products that we could have done without so, here it is! Keep in mind, these are all my opinions, and there are people who will disagree with me on what you really need/don't need. Honestly you can get by with the SUPER basics, but hopefully this list helps you weed out the things you won't really use so you don't waste your money!
For Breastfeeding:
What we loved
1) A good nursing pillow. I had 2 nursing pillows. The super popular Boppy, and a Cuddle-U. Which one did I prefer? Honestly, I liked the Cuddle-U lots better than the Boppy. Why? It is thicker, fluffier, and it propped baby up more than the Boppy did. I used it a lot more than the Boppy. It is also nicer for early sitting babies because it has a strap that can go around the baby so they are secure (not that I was worried about my young baby flying out of the pillow) but it's nice for peace of mind. However, it was nice to have two nursing pillows so I could use one strictly in the nursery, and the other lived on the couch. If you have two levels of living space, you'll probably want two so you aren't running up and down the stairs going to get the pillow!
2) Good nursing bras. My favorites come from Motherhood Maternity. They are comfy, supportive, and made of good materials. Wait to buy them until AFTER your milk comes in. For those early days, just get a sleep bra. I doubt you'll be out and about running around needing a good supportive bra. You'll be engorged and wanting to just wear your PJ's so don't worry about it until you settle down...I bought some right at first before my milk came in, and they never fit again and they sucked and were uncomfortable (partially because of the place I got them/brand they were)
3) Breast pump. Because I returned to work when baby was only 7 weeks old, I needed a really good pump to pump multiple times a day while I was gone. I got the Medela Pump In Style Advanced and I LOOOOVED it. I actually used it a lot before I went back to work to relieve some engorgement and it was so great to have. After I stopped working, I used it on average at least every other day, if not more to keep up supply, and have extra milk for any time I wanted to go out. If you need to buy a pump, wait for it to be 20% off at Babies R Us when you sign up for their rewards program. You'll most likely get the best price during that time. If you don't plan on using one daily, or even more than a few times a week, you probably can get by using a single manual pump. It's really just up to you and what your needs are. Even if I wasn't going back to work, I would have bought the pump I have because it's just that good and it is SO great to have. Is it weird that I'm looking forward to using it again? lol!
4) Nursing pads. I know some people don't need these, but man oh man I would have been in trouble without them! My favorite are Lansinoh. I've tried others, and they just don't compare. If you buy them on Amazon in a 4-pack, that's usually the cheapest way, especially if you subscribe and save. You can ALWAYS cancel subscribe and save, but it's nice to get a little bit more savings by using it.
5) Bottles. If you plan to leave baby to get out of the house at any point in his/her life, you'll need bottles! We liked the Avent bottles best, but I know many people like Dr. Brown's. Because we knew our baby would need to take a bottle once a day when I went back to work, we followed the advice of our pediatrician and started giving her a bottle once a day when she was a couple weeks old. Why? So she would take one, but still breastfeed. Also, it's important that you let daddy give baby the bottle so the baby will take the bottle from someone other than you. Trust me, if you train your baby to take a bottle but also breastfeed, you'll be SO GLAD because it comes in handy SO many times, even for non-working mommies!
6) Lanolin. This was nice to have for the beginning when you're cracked and sore. Again I prefer Lansinoh. You can buy your own tube of it (and it will last you through the eternities...I have one that looks like I never used it, even though I did) and the hospital will probably give (meaning charge you like $1 something ha ha!) a small one to you while you're there. I hated the Medela brand. Ick. Just trust me. In addition to Lanolin, as your OB/Midwife about a concoction called Newman's Ointment and if you can get a prescription for it. This stuff SAVED MY LIFE! It's a special mixture of anti fungal/anti bacterial cream you use to not only prevent thrush, and other nasty infections, but to treat mastitis as well. And trust me, I had mastitis 3 times so I totally know what I'm talking about here! If you get mastitis, I'm really sorry, but know that there is an end and you can get through it!
7) Rocking chair/glider. I cannot emphasize this one enough! The one we have is LOVELY, and I don't know what I'd do without it. It is SO COMFORTABLE and for all the late night feedings you'll go through, you won't be sorry you splurged on a really nice chair! Test them out at every furniture store and find one you really love.
8) Nursing cover. There are SO MANY BRANDS of nursing covers, or you could even make your own. Mine is a Bebe Au Lait and I LOOOOVE it. Why? Because it has this great pocket on the inside made from terry-cloth that can hold nursing pads, binky and can double as a clean-up method if you don't have a spit rag on you. I also loved the size and the boning in it to make it arch so you can see baby and baby can see you. Not everyone uses a nursing cover in public. I personally believe it is up to you. Do what makes you feel comfortable, because that's what matters. People are weird and will even scoff at you for nursing a baby in public WITH a nursing cover, so don't let this get you down. Nursing is natural and beautiful so people who think otherwise can just stuff it. :)
OK, I think that covers breastfeeding. There wasn't really a product I had and didn't use/didn't like. Obviously you'll want a bottle brush to clean your bottles :) I also really liked having the micro-steam sterilization bags to clean my pump parts in after each use. Super quick and handy.
Baby Gear:
What we loved
1) Car seat. Obviously! We opted to go with the Chicco KeyFit 30 and I LOVE everything about it! It's got excellent crash test ratings and is SO EASY to install. It's also the best option if you've got a smaller car since the base is narrow and it fits into small cars well. The other one I'd recommend is the Britax B-Safe. It's pretty much just as awesome as the KeyFit 30 and I think it's actually a bit cheaper than the Chicco now. For after baby grows out of the infant carrier (if that's the route you're going) you'll want to purchase a good quality combination seat that can be installed rear-facing and forward facing as well. For this stage I would recommend the Britax Boulevard 70. It is amazing, and it keeps your little one rear-facing until they are 40 lbs! Rear-facings is ALWAYS safest, no matter the age of the person, but especially from birth to at LEAST age 2! Our little chika is only 24 lbs and still rear-facing, and I'm going to keep her that way until she reaches 40 lbs. She's not going to know any different if I never turn her around, so if you do the same with your little one, you should have the same results. The Boulevard is also a great choice if you want to just buy one car seat and not spend extra money on an infant carrier, since you can use it with an infant who weighs at least 5 lbs. FYI I have bought both the car seats we use from Albeebaby.com and I am 100% satisfied, and I don't think you can find them anywhere else for as great of a price! They've got fabulous customer service, too! Look for another post later ALL about car seats/safety/ random info!
2) Stroller. We just went with a travel system for our Chicco, and we liked it a lot. I'm not a runner/jogger and neither is David so this wasn't important to us. I don't have a lot to say about the stroller, other than it's really nice to have one that either goes with your car seat and can just click and go or that has an adapter to make it a click and go stroller. The other stroller we own is a Chicco lightweight stroller, and we love it for quick trips/traveling.
3) Baby swing. For our little one, we used a hand-me-down swing that was almost ready to die, but ALWAYS kept working for us. It was just a simple open-top swing and it worked well for us. After we were done with it, we got rid of it, because it wasn't very reliable, and for baby #2 I wanted one that plugged into the wall. So, for our twins, we bought the Fisher-Price My Little Snugabunny Cradle 'n Swing. It looks awesome, so hopefully we like it! FYI, we bought it from Amazon and had it on a wishlist until the price kept creeping down :) I hate paying full-price for ANYTHING so I would recommend this method of attack!
4) Bouncy seat. 1 BILLION percent necessary for us. For the days when baby would just scream and cry at David, he stuck her in the bouncy seat and it soothed her at least somewhat. I don't think it matters what kind of bouncy seat you use. Ours is a hand-me-down and it's made by Fisher-Price, and it's most similar to this one. It's awesome and we love it. You can't go wrong with any of their bouncers.
5) Bassinet/Pack 'n Play. We have a Bassinet, and we used it for the first few weeks to have baby in our room with us, or to move it to other rooms in the house. After she was a few weeks old, she slept in it in her own room so she would get used to sleeping in her room, not ours. It's nice to have so baby isn't in that big huge crib at first. We'll be getting this Pack 'n Play for the twins to keep downstairs since we've got two levels of living space.
6) Jumper that goes in the door frame. Holy moly, our child LOOOOOVED this! We're so glad we had it! It's not necessary, but it's nice to watch baby be so happy (and be contained) so you can get some things done. You won't need this for 4 or 5 months, but it's nice to have when the time comes.
7) Highchair. Any kind will do. It's 100% up to you. Ours was a hand me down, and we didn't love it, but we used it because it was free. Now we use one that sits on one of our kitchen chairs because we wanted something that saved space and it turns into a booster for later. For the twins when the time comes, I have no idea what we'll do, as we'll probably be living in a different house by the time we need to get these.
8) Baby carrier. There are a lot of opinions on what kind to use, but we really loved our Baby Bjorn and got a TON of use out of it when we lived in NY last summer. Totally worth it. Find one you like :)
Things we didn't love/didn't NEED
1) Play mat. Our little one didn't really love playing with the one we had, but maybe yours will. You don't really need one, as baby will most likely be entertained by something you got for free/your keys, sunglasses/anything they aren't supposed to play with lol!
2) Bumbo. I know people SWEAR by these, but we didn't get one, and we were JUST FINE! We borrowed one, and our child quickly learned how to escape from it, so it wasn't a super great option for us, and she just didn't like sitting in it (until she was 1 and wanted to sit in the neighbor's Bumbo...). Totally optional in my opinion. If you get it at a shower, great. If you don't get one, save your pennies. I don't think it helped my baby "learn" how to sit or anything like people claim. She was sitting on her own at 5 months old because she's a fast learner and totally independent.
For the Nursery:
Aside from the obvious like a crib, here are the things we liked/didn't like/need:
Things we liked
1) Changing table. Ours doubles as a dresser, and I LOVE it. It kept us from having to buy a dresser since all the clothes we had for baby fit in the dresser. Also, I loved having a basket to organize diapers in. For the twins, since we're going to use cloth diapers, I plan on using the top drawer of our changing table for all the diaper supplies and the other two drawers for clothes.
2) Small lamp. This was nice for late night feedings, but we ended up using the light in the hall a lot, too. Some people prefer night lights.
3) Wearable blankets. I inherited some, and we loved them for the winter and when our little one wasn't walking yet.They are really easy to make, and you don't need to spend a fortune on the HALO brand ones. Seriously over-priced!
4) Baby monitor. This is nice to have, but you don't need anything fancy shmancy. A basic monitor will do. If you live in a big house you'll really want one, but if you're in a tiny apartment, it's probably not necessary. Trust me...you'll hear your baby cry at night, and you'll wake up. It's just a mom thing that will automatically come!
5) Diaper pail. We loved having this, but could have done without if someone didn't give it to us. Ours is the Diaper Dekor Plus and we liked it a lot, up until baby was eating solids and had gross stinky poo. Now we use ours for our cloth diapers and it works great for that.
Things we didn't use/didn't need
1) Wipes warmer. Over-rated in my opinion. I never had one, and will never need one.
2) White noise maker. We did have a humidifier in baby's room, but I didn't find it necessary to always have a noise going while she was sleeping. I was able to vacuum while my baby was sleeping, and she'd sleep right through it. But, she's a GREAT sleeper, so that may not be the case for everyone!
3) Mobile. I never got one, and I felt like my baby was sufficiently stimulated, as she was always ahead of the curve with milestones. Also, I wanted to keep the crib a place to sleep, not to play.
Bathing & Safety:
1) Baby bath tub. I am somewhat indifferent to this one because you don't really NEED it. Seriously. A big bowl or your clean kitchen sink is fine for when baby is tiny. Plus after you are finished using the baby bath tub, it's really annoying to store since it's such an awkward shape! I really liked having a little seat thing for the tub for when I started bathing baby in the big bathtub. It's handy and small and easy to store. I can't find the link, but it's just a small little seat for baby to lie down on and it's mesh.
2) Those cutesy tiny baby towels. They are only good for the first few months then you'll find they're really thin and small and not very useful. Instead, I would suggest making your own hooded towel out of a normal sized towel and a hand towel. This is wonderful for when baby is bigger and can be used through the toddler years and many years after that!
3) Outlet covers, drawer locks, toilet locks and so on come later when baby is mobile and you need to baby proof. They're nice to have, especially the outlet covers.
4) Baby gate. We never got one, but we've never had stairs before. Maybe we'll get one this time around?
5) Little baby nail clippers. These are great! Any brand will do. You'll love them because baby's nails grow SUPER fast and are razor sharp. Just make sure you cut the corners of their nails so you aren't leaving a sharp corner to scratch both you and the baby.
6) Baby first-aid kit. We got one of these at my shower and the only thing I ever used from it was the nail clippers and the thermometer. The bulb syringe you get at the hospital is the best one you can find. The ones you get at the store are crappy.
Random tips of advice/misc. products:
1) Read the book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" It should be your go-to for any sleep problems/training. I read just part of it one day when baby was about 4 months old, and the things I learned started working THAT DAY! It's been a great resource for us, and I thoroughly believe we have such a great sleeper because of this book.
2) We DO use a binky and we did when baby was small. I am personally not a fan of the ugly green one they give you in the hospital and I don't agree whatsoever with the nurse in our Lamaze class that claimed they're better for baby because if you have a different shaped one baby will clamp down on you and it will hurt. Lies. Breastfeeding is a learning curve and at first it just hurts. Period. End. The binky didn't cause baby to latch on differently. We really liked the Avent binky because that's what our baby took really well, and I especially loved that it had a snap on cover for when it's not in baby's mouth. Now, our little monster will suck on anything...including outlet covers. (ugh!) but she likes both Avent and Nuk binkies.
3) If you are having a girl and you want her to look cute and keep her headbands and little bracelets on, put them on her DAILY from the time you bring her home. I'm not kidding. She will learn to leave it alone because it is always there. This is also true when it comes to doing her hair. Start doing something with it even when it's super short and she barely has any. She'll learn that it's normal for you to do her hair and she won't try to pull it out. I started putting our little one's hair in pig tails as soon as she had enough hair for them! Sorry, I have no advice on boys! ha ha!
4) If you're going to make your own baby food (I made some but not all) you don't need a specific "Baby food steamer, maker, etc." They are a waste of money and just take up space. Just buy a food processor since you can use it for lots of other things as well. Steam your fruits and veggies, or bake them. This is a GREAT website for baby food recipes. I am planning on making 100% of the twins' baby food since I know I will be able to do that. Last summer, we were in NY and I didn't have my whole kitchen with me so I opted to buy it. If you do buy it, I really loved Beechnut. I did a lot of research, and when comparing Gerber to Beechnut, Beechnut always came out on top. You can do your own research though, and use what you think is best for you, your budget and your needs. Baby will be OK no matter what route you choose so don't stress too much!
WOW that was a lot of info, and I hope that at least SOMEONE benefits from it!! Other mommies, please feel free to chime in and comment on what you liked/didn't like or if I missed anything. Good luck new and soon to be mommies! You'll all do GREAT!
For Breastfeeding:
What we loved
1) A good nursing pillow. I had 2 nursing pillows. The super popular Boppy, and a Cuddle-U. Which one did I prefer? Honestly, I liked the Cuddle-U lots better than the Boppy. Why? It is thicker, fluffier, and it propped baby up more than the Boppy did. I used it a lot more than the Boppy. It is also nicer for early sitting babies because it has a strap that can go around the baby so they are secure (not that I was worried about my young baby flying out of the pillow) but it's nice for peace of mind. However, it was nice to have two nursing pillows so I could use one strictly in the nursery, and the other lived on the couch. If you have two levels of living space, you'll probably want two so you aren't running up and down the stairs going to get the pillow!
2) Good nursing bras. My favorites come from Motherhood Maternity. They are comfy, supportive, and made of good materials. Wait to buy them until AFTER your milk comes in. For those early days, just get a sleep bra. I doubt you'll be out and about running around needing a good supportive bra. You'll be engorged and wanting to just wear your PJ's so don't worry about it until you settle down...I bought some right at first before my milk came in, and they never fit again and they sucked and were uncomfortable (partially because of the place I got them/brand they were)
3) Breast pump. Because I returned to work when baby was only 7 weeks old, I needed a really good pump to pump multiple times a day while I was gone. I got the Medela Pump In Style Advanced and I LOOOOVED it. I actually used it a lot before I went back to work to relieve some engorgement and it was so great to have. After I stopped working, I used it on average at least every other day, if not more to keep up supply, and have extra milk for any time I wanted to go out. If you need to buy a pump, wait for it to be 20% off at Babies R Us when you sign up for their rewards program. You'll most likely get the best price during that time. If you don't plan on using one daily, or even more than a few times a week, you probably can get by using a single manual pump. It's really just up to you and what your needs are. Even if I wasn't going back to work, I would have bought the pump I have because it's just that good and it is SO great to have. Is it weird that I'm looking forward to using it again? lol!
4) Nursing pads. I know some people don't need these, but man oh man I would have been in trouble without them! My favorite are Lansinoh. I've tried others, and they just don't compare. If you buy them on Amazon in a 4-pack, that's usually the cheapest way, especially if you subscribe and save. You can ALWAYS cancel subscribe and save, but it's nice to get a little bit more savings by using it.
5) Bottles. If you plan to leave baby to get out of the house at any point in his/her life, you'll need bottles! We liked the Avent bottles best, but I know many people like Dr. Brown's. Because we knew our baby would need to take a bottle once a day when I went back to work, we followed the advice of our pediatrician and started giving her a bottle once a day when she was a couple weeks old. Why? So she would take one, but still breastfeed. Also, it's important that you let daddy give baby the bottle so the baby will take the bottle from someone other than you. Trust me, if you train your baby to take a bottle but also breastfeed, you'll be SO GLAD because it comes in handy SO many times, even for non-working mommies!
6) Lanolin. This was nice to have for the beginning when you're cracked and sore. Again I prefer Lansinoh. You can buy your own tube of it (and it will last you through the eternities...I have one that looks like I never used it, even though I did) and the hospital will probably give (meaning charge you like $1 something ha ha!) a small one to you while you're there. I hated the Medela brand. Ick. Just trust me. In addition to Lanolin, as your OB/Midwife about a concoction called Newman's Ointment and if you can get a prescription for it. This stuff SAVED MY LIFE! It's a special mixture of anti fungal/anti bacterial cream you use to not only prevent thrush, and other nasty infections, but to treat mastitis as well. And trust me, I had mastitis 3 times so I totally know what I'm talking about here! If you get mastitis, I'm really sorry, but know that there is an end and you can get through it!
7) Rocking chair/glider. I cannot emphasize this one enough! The one we have is LOVELY, and I don't know what I'd do without it. It is SO COMFORTABLE and for all the late night feedings you'll go through, you won't be sorry you splurged on a really nice chair! Test them out at every furniture store and find one you really love.
8) Nursing cover. There are SO MANY BRANDS of nursing covers, or you could even make your own. Mine is a Bebe Au Lait and I LOOOOVE it. Why? Because it has this great pocket on the inside made from terry-cloth that can hold nursing pads, binky and can double as a clean-up method if you don't have a spit rag on you. I also loved the size and the boning in it to make it arch so you can see baby and baby can see you. Not everyone uses a nursing cover in public. I personally believe it is up to you. Do what makes you feel comfortable, because that's what matters. People are weird and will even scoff at you for nursing a baby in public WITH a nursing cover, so don't let this get you down. Nursing is natural and beautiful so people who think otherwise can just stuff it. :)
OK, I think that covers breastfeeding. There wasn't really a product I had and didn't use/didn't like. Obviously you'll want a bottle brush to clean your bottles :) I also really liked having the micro-steam sterilization bags to clean my pump parts in after each use. Super quick and handy.
Baby Gear:
What we loved
1) Car seat. Obviously! We opted to go with the Chicco KeyFit 30 and I LOVE everything about it! It's got excellent crash test ratings and is SO EASY to install. It's also the best option if you've got a smaller car since the base is narrow and it fits into small cars well. The other one I'd recommend is the Britax B-Safe. It's pretty much just as awesome as the KeyFit 30 and I think it's actually a bit cheaper than the Chicco now. For after baby grows out of the infant carrier (if that's the route you're going) you'll want to purchase a good quality combination seat that can be installed rear-facing and forward facing as well. For this stage I would recommend the Britax Boulevard 70. It is amazing, and it keeps your little one rear-facing until they are 40 lbs! Rear-facings is ALWAYS safest, no matter the age of the person, but especially from birth to at LEAST age 2! Our little chika is only 24 lbs and still rear-facing, and I'm going to keep her that way until she reaches 40 lbs. She's not going to know any different if I never turn her around, so if you do the same with your little one, you should have the same results. The Boulevard is also a great choice if you want to just buy one car seat and not spend extra money on an infant carrier, since you can use it with an infant who weighs at least 5 lbs. FYI I have bought both the car seats we use from Albeebaby.com and I am 100% satisfied, and I don't think you can find them anywhere else for as great of a price! They've got fabulous customer service, too! Look for another post later ALL about car seats/safety/ random info!
2) Stroller. We just went with a travel system for our Chicco, and we liked it a lot. I'm not a runner/jogger and neither is David so this wasn't important to us. I don't have a lot to say about the stroller, other than it's really nice to have one that either goes with your car seat and can just click and go or that has an adapter to make it a click and go stroller. The other stroller we own is a Chicco lightweight stroller, and we love it for quick trips/traveling.
3) Baby swing. For our little one, we used a hand-me-down swing that was almost ready to die, but ALWAYS kept working for us. It was just a simple open-top swing and it worked well for us. After we were done with it, we got rid of it, because it wasn't very reliable, and for baby #2 I wanted one that plugged into the wall. So, for our twins, we bought the Fisher-Price My Little Snugabunny Cradle 'n Swing. It looks awesome, so hopefully we like it! FYI, we bought it from Amazon and had it on a wishlist until the price kept creeping down :) I hate paying full-price for ANYTHING so I would recommend this method of attack!
4) Bouncy seat. 1 BILLION percent necessary for us. For the days when baby would just scream and cry at David, he stuck her in the bouncy seat and it soothed her at least somewhat. I don't think it matters what kind of bouncy seat you use. Ours is a hand-me-down and it's made by Fisher-Price, and it's most similar to this one. It's awesome and we love it. You can't go wrong with any of their bouncers.
5) Bassinet/Pack 'n Play. We have a Bassinet, and we used it for the first few weeks to have baby in our room with us, or to move it to other rooms in the house. After she was a few weeks old, she slept in it in her own room so she would get used to sleeping in her room, not ours. It's nice to have so baby isn't in that big huge crib at first. We'll be getting this Pack 'n Play for the twins to keep downstairs since we've got two levels of living space.
6) Jumper that goes in the door frame. Holy moly, our child LOOOOOVED this! We're so glad we had it! It's not necessary, but it's nice to watch baby be so happy (and be contained) so you can get some things done. You won't need this for 4 or 5 months, but it's nice to have when the time comes.
7) Highchair. Any kind will do. It's 100% up to you. Ours was a hand me down, and we didn't love it, but we used it because it was free. Now we use one that sits on one of our kitchen chairs because we wanted something that saved space and it turns into a booster for later. For the twins when the time comes, I have no idea what we'll do, as we'll probably be living in a different house by the time we need to get these.
8) Baby carrier. There are a lot of opinions on what kind to use, but we really loved our Baby Bjorn and got a TON of use out of it when we lived in NY last summer. Totally worth it. Find one you like :)
Things we didn't love/didn't NEED
1) Play mat. Our little one didn't really love playing with the one we had, but maybe yours will. You don't really need one, as baby will most likely be entertained by something you got for free/your keys, sunglasses/anything they aren't supposed to play with lol!
2) Bumbo. I know people SWEAR by these, but we didn't get one, and we were JUST FINE! We borrowed one, and our child quickly learned how to escape from it, so it wasn't a super great option for us, and she just didn't like sitting in it (until she was 1 and wanted to sit in the neighbor's Bumbo...). Totally optional in my opinion. If you get it at a shower, great. If you don't get one, save your pennies. I don't think it helped my baby "learn" how to sit or anything like people claim. She was sitting on her own at 5 months old because she's a fast learner and totally independent.
For the Nursery:
Aside from the obvious like a crib, here are the things we liked/didn't like/need:
Things we liked
1) Changing table. Ours doubles as a dresser, and I LOVE it. It kept us from having to buy a dresser since all the clothes we had for baby fit in the dresser. Also, I loved having a basket to organize diapers in. For the twins, since we're going to use cloth diapers, I plan on using the top drawer of our changing table for all the diaper supplies and the other two drawers for clothes.
2) Small lamp. This was nice for late night feedings, but we ended up using the light in the hall a lot, too. Some people prefer night lights.
3) Wearable blankets. I inherited some, and we loved them for the winter and when our little one wasn't walking yet.They are really easy to make, and you don't need to spend a fortune on the HALO brand ones. Seriously over-priced!
4) Baby monitor. This is nice to have, but you don't need anything fancy shmancy. A basic monitor will do. If you live in a big house you'll really want one, but if you're in a tiny apartment, it's probably not necessary. Trust me...you'll hear your baby cry at night, and you'll wake up. It's just a mom thing that will automatically come!
5) Diaper pail. We loved having this, but could have done without if someone didn't give it to us. Ours is the Diaper Dekor Plus and we liked it a lot, up until baby was eating solids and had gross stinky poo. Now we use ours for our cloth diapers and it works great for that.
Things we didn't use/didn't need
1) Wipes warmer. Over-rated in my opinion. I never had one, and will never need one.
2) White noise maker. We did have a humidifier in baby's room, but I didn't find it necessary to always have a noise going while she was sleeping. I was able to vacuum while my baby was sleeping, and she'd sleep right through it. But, she's a GREAT sleeper, so that may not be the case for everyone!
3) Mobile. I never got one, and I felt like my baby was sufficiently stimulated, as she was always ahead of the curve with milestones. Also, I wanted to keep the crib a place to sleep, not to play.
Bathing & Safety:
1) Baby bath tub. I am somewhat indifferent to this one because you don't really NEED it. Seriously. A big bowl or your clean kitchen sink is fine for when baby is tiny. Plus after you are finished using the baby bath tub, it's really annoying to store since it's such an awkward shape! I really liked having a little seat thing for the tub for when I started bathing baby in the big bathtub. It's handy and small and easy to store. I can't find the link, but it's just a small little seat for baby to lie down on and it's mesh.
2) Those cutesy tiny baby towels. They are only good for the first few months then you'll find they're really thin and small and not very useful. Instead, I would suggest making your own hooded towel out of a normal sized towel and a hand towel. This is wonderful for when baby is bigger and can be used through the toddler years and many years after that!
3) Outlet covers, drawer locks, toilet locks and so on come later when baby is mobile and you need to baby proof. They're nice to have, especially the outlet covers.
4) Baby gate. We never got one, but we've never had stairs before. Maybe we'll get one this time around?
5) Little baby nail clippers. These are great! Any brand will do. You'll love them because baby's nails grow SUPER fast and are razor sharp. Just make sure you cut the corners of their nails so you aren't leaving a sharp corner to scratch both you and the baby.
6) Baby first-aid kit. We got one of these at my shower and the only thing I ever used from it was the nail clippers and the thermometer. The bulb syringe you get at the hospital is the best one you can find. The ones you get at the store are crappy.
Random tips of advice/misc. products:
1) Read the book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" It should be your go-to for any sleep problems/training. I read just part of it one day when baby was about 4 months old, and the things I learned started working THAT DAY! It's been a great resource for us, and I thoroughly believe we have such a great sleeper because of this book.
2) We DO use a binky and we did when baby was small. I am personally not a fan of the ugly green one they give you in the hospital and I don't agree whatsoever with the nurse in our Lamaze class that claimed they're better for baby because if you have a different shaped one baby will clamp down on you and it will hurt. Lies. Breastfeeding is a learning curve and at first it just hurts. Period. End. The binky didn't cause baby to latch on differently. We really liked the Avent binky because that's what our baby took really well, and I especially loved that it had a snap on cover for when it's not in baby's mouth. Now, our little monster will suck on anything...including outlet covers. (ugh!) but she likes both Avent and Nuk binkies.
3) If you are having a girl and you want her to look cute and keep her headbands and little bracelets on, put them on her DAILY from the time you bring her home. I'm not kidding. She will learn to leave it alone because it is always there. This is also true when it comes to doing her hair. Start doing something with it even when it's super short and she barely has any. She'll learn that it's normal for you to do her hair and she won't try to pull it out. I started putting our little one's hair in pig tails as soon as she had enough hair for them! Sorry, I have no advice on boys! ha ha!
4) If you're going to make your own baby food (I made some but not all) you don't need a specific "Baby food steamer, maker, etc." They are a waste of money and just take up space. Just buy a food processor since you can use it for lots of other things as well. Steam your fruits and veggies, or bake them. This is a GREAT website for baby food recipes. I am planning on making 100% of the twins' baby food since I know I will be able to do that. Last summer, we were in NY and I didn't have my whole kitchen with me so I opted to buy it. If you do buy it, I really loved Beechnut. I did a lot of research, and when comparing Gerber to Beechnut, Beechnut always came out on top. You can do your own research though, and use what you think is best for you, your budget and your needs. Baby will be OK no matter what route you choose so don't stress too much!
WOW that was a lot of info, and I hope that at least SOMEONE benefits from it!! Other mommies, please feel free to chime in and comment on what you liked/didn't like or if I missed anything. Good luck new and soon to be mommies! You'll all do GREAT!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Ellie: Eleven months old!
Has it really been nearly a year that little Ellie has been with us? It doesn't seem like it's been that long, but at the same time it seems like it's been forever!
Ellie's such a fun little girl, and she's exactly that now--a little girl! Not a baby! I can't believe how much she's turning into a toddler lately! From nearly running, to starting to say words, to just her little mannerisms.
Poor Ellie's been hit with the sick bug WAAAY too many times during the past month or so, but that hasn't stopped her from being happy and cute most of the time. Today we went to the doctor again for her ears. She has been struggling to sleep through the night and last night she was up all night screaming which meant just one thing to me--ear infection. I was right. Though this time, it's only a mild ear infection in her left ear. I'm hoping and praying that she gets over it quickly and that this antibiotic does the trick!
I'm nearly done planning every little detail for Ellie's 1st birthday party, and I'm way excited about it. It's going to be a lot of fun! It'll be so cute to watch Ellie open presents, eat cake and ice cream and just have fun. I'm also very excited for Christmas this year and watching Ellie figure things out.
Well, here are some things about our little sweet pea at eleven months old:
Ellie's such a fun little girl, and she's exactly that now--a little girl! Not a baby! I can't believe how much she's turning into a toddler lately! From nearly running, to starting to say words, to just her little mannerisms.
Poor Ellie's been hit with the sick bug WAAAY too many times during the past month or so, but that hasn't stopped her from being happy and cute most of the time. Today we went to the doctor again for her ears. She has been struggling to sleep through the night and last night she was up all night screaming which meant just one thing to me--ear infection. I was right. Though this time, it's only a mild ear infection in her left ear. I'm hoping and praying that she gets over it quickly and that this antibiotic does the trick!
I'm nearly done planning every little detail for Ellie's 1st birthday party, and I'm way excited about it. It's going to be a lot of fun! It'll be so cute to watch Ellie open presents, eat cake and ice cream and just have fun. I'm also very excited for Christmas this year and watching Ellie figure things out.
Well, here are some things about our little sweet pea at eleven months old:
- She's wearing almost all 12 month clothes, still some 6-9 month outfits here and there
- She wears size 3 diapers, is just now fitting into size 3 shoes and she's got enough hair for some cute and elaborate hairstyles!
- She weighs 19 lbs 1 oz and is 27 1/2 inches tall!
- She's got two teeth on the bottom and her two top teeth are looking like they'll be here within a couple of weeks
- She eats all table food and will only let you spoon feed her applesauce and yogurt, but still has to stick her fingers in her mouth and make a mess with it!
- She loves goldfish crackers, puffs, cheerios, peas, sweet potatoes, strawberries, bananas, blueberries, mangoes, bread, pasta and pretty much anything else you try to feed her.
- She's still nursing at least 4 but sometimes 5 times a day (and she doesn't bite! Thank goodness)
- She has a little bit of a temper when things don't go her way, and sometimes she will bit her own hand, your hand, or whatever she's near if she gets upset at you for telling her no, taking something away, or taking her away from something.
- She can say daddy, but doesn't say it very often.
- She loves her little stuffed kitty, but I think she thinks kitties bark like puppies because every time we give her the kitty or ask her where the kitty is, she barks like a dog. (oops!)
- She loves animals, and gets very excited about playing with them, petting them or even seeing them
- Her favorite thing to watch is the Backyardigans, and I only let her watch less than 1 episode a day when I need to get something done, or if she's super ornery
- She is still taking 2 naps a day and goes to bed around 7:30-8
- She loves to listen to us read books
- She loves to turn the pages of any books, and is very gentle with them for the most part
Seeing as how many sicknesses we've dealt with in the last month or so, she's such a happy well-behaved little girl and we are SO thankful for that! She's so curious and loves to figure things out. It's super cute. We're so happy to have you in our family, Ellie!
(sorry no photos at the moment. Maybe soon. Today was NOT the day to take pictures of Ellie...)
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Ellie 6 months!!
So much has happened in the past 6 months! I cannot believe how much our little baby Ellie has grown!
Just born
One Month Old
Two Months Old
Three Months Old
Four Months Old
Five Months Old
Six Months OldShe's such a cute, smart, happy little girl and we love her so so much!
She learned so much between months 5 and 6! She started solids just after she turned 5 months & has done wonderfully with them. She started sitting all by herself about a week after she turned 5 months old and has wanted to crawl ever since.
Because we're in New York, we opted to not have a six month check-up here, but to do in when we get back to Utah in August. However, we did some measuring of our own, and she's currently about 15 lbs, 25 1/2 inches long, and her head is 16 1/4 inches. After plugging the numbers into an online growth chart, this is what it concludes about her:
Length = between percentile 25 and 50
Weight = between percentile 10 and 25
Head Circumference = in percentile 10
She's still on the small side (with a TINY head) but she's a strong little girl! She loves to stand, and can do so if you just hold your hands out for her to grab. She'll pull herself right up!
She's still wearing some 3-6 month clothes, but most of them are getting to be too small. We moved her up to size 3 diapers, and while they seem kinda huge right now, the size 2's were seeming too little to buy another big box of and have her only wear them for a couple weeks.
More about Ellie at 6 months:
- She likes to play Peek-a-boo & the How big is Ellie game
- She's started saying (more like whispering) things like "wa wa wa" "ba" & gooing and gahing
- She loves sweet potatoes, green beans, applesauce, bananas and squash. She'll tolerate peaches, carrots and oatmeal & rice cereal but they aren't her favorite.
- She's entering that "stranger danger" phase, and has a hard time going to strangers.
- She sleeps through the night on occasion, but usually wakes up anywhere from 1-3 for a feeding and then goes back to sleep until about 7.
- She's good at playing with toys and just hanging out when I need to get things done, which is very nice.
- She finally figured out that she can sleep on her belly when she rolls over in the middle of the night, and doesn't scream when she ends up on her belly anymore.
- She's not too sure about the Skype people I make her talk to and watch, but she seems to enjoy listening to the voices that come out of the computer.
- She learned how to put the binky back in her mouth and loves to play with it
- She's STILL teething, and she's been quite fussy for the past few days. Maybe this means she'll cut a tooth and relax soon?
- She loves to blow raspberries & spit ALLLL the time, especially if she's getting frustrated!
Our little Ellie is quite the diva, and we LOVE her so much! She's pretty much the best decision we ever made, beside the whole getting married part ;)p.s. Ellie's got eczema on her neck & chest...anyone know a good way to get rid of it? It showed up a couple weeks after being here in humid NY...
Monday, June 13, 2011
Ellie 5 months
Life has been SO CRAZY with the move to NY and all that I haven't taken much time to write things down that Ellie's been doing! :(
But let's dwell on the positive here, and celebrate Ellie turning 5 months old! She's almost been with us for half a year! That realization is INSANE to me!
On her 5 month birthday (June 1st), we "officially" moved in to our little apartment in NY. We live in Waterford which is very close to Clifton Park which is in the Capital Region of NY. We also went out to dinner that night at a place called Arizona Pizza Company, and it was quite delicious!
Ellie is growing like a weed and learning SO many new things. Between 4 and 5 months, Ellie learned to roll over to her back from her belly and from her back to her belly. Here she is right before she rolled over:
Ellie and I were living at my mom and dad's house almost the entire month of May and Ellie had lots and lots of fun with her cousins, specifically Jas and Tab's little girls, Hailey and Bridgette. They came over nearly every day and Hailey always wanted to help me give Ellie a bath and Bridgette tried to help out as well. It was fun! :D
This is Hailey Bug and Ellie:
Before we left for NY, I wanted the opportunity to go up to the beautiful mountains! This was the closest thing to "camping" Ellie has ever done. It was a lot of fun and we had a blast. We had a tasty picnic and had fun visiting and playing games.
While Ellie and I were living in Roosevelt, her sleep habits deteriorated even more (if that's possible) from what they were when we lived in Provo. I decided to do something about that and bought the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" and it is a super great book. However, due to our unique situation of Ellie and I sharing a room and David only being there on the weekends, we didn't have a lot of success getting her to sleep better, yet. But, we DID get Ellie set on was a schedule of when to go to sleep and I had her in bed by 7:45 most nights. It was very nice!
Here are some random Ellie facts at 5 months old:
But let's dwell on the positive here, and celebrate Ellie turning 5 months old! She's almost been with us for half a year! That realization is INSANE to me!
On her 5 month birthday (June 1st), we "officially" moved in to our little apartment in NY. We live in Waterford which is very close to Clifton Park which is in the Capital Region of NY. We also went out to dinner that night at a place called Arizona Pizza Company, and it was quite delicious!
Ellie is growing like a weed and learning SO many new things. Between 4 and 5 months, Ellie learned to roll over to her back from her belly and from her back to her belly. Here she is right before she rolled over:
Ellie and I were living at my mom and dad's house almost the entire month of May and Ellie had lots and lots of fun with her cousins, specifically Jas and Tab's little girls, Hailey and Bridgette. They came over nearly every day and Hailey always wanted to help me give Ellie a bath and Bridgette tried to help out as well. It was fun! :DThis is Hailey Bug and Ellie:
Before we left for NY, I wanted the opportunity to go up to the beautiful mountains! This was the closest thing to "camping" Ellie has ever done. It was a lot of fun and we had a blast. We had a tasty picnic and had fun visiting and playing games.
While Ellie and I were living in Roosevelt, her sleep habits deteriorated even more (if that's possible) from what they were when we lived in Provo. I decided to do something about that and bought the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" and it is a super great book. However, due to our unique situation of Ellie and I sharing a room and David only being there on the weekends, we didn't have a lot of success getting her to sleep better, yet. But, we DID get Ellie set on was a schedule of when to go to sleep and I had her in bed by 7:45 most nights. It was very nice!
Here are some random Ellie facts at 5 months old:
- Ellie wears 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers
- She nurses every 3-4 hours during the day
- She's working on getting her first tooth (we can see it STARTING to poke up)
- She generally hates sitting in the bumbo chair, but will tolerate it for short periods of time anyway
- She LOVES to go outside and loves to ride in the stroller
- She laughs and laughs when her daddy plays with her (but she seldom laughs for me)
- She loves the books "Goodnight Moon" & "The Colorful Mouse"
- She loves to play "Pat-a-cake" and "how big is Ellie"
- She loves putting her fingers into my mouth and exploring my face
- She loves bath time and LOVES to splash
- She enjoys hearing animal sounds, and gets most excited about what a duck says
- She has a super ticklish neck and belly
- She goes to bed around 8-8:30 and sleeps until 7 or 7:30 and wakes up about 2 times during the night
Monday, December 20, 2010
38 weeks
So, I had my 38 week appointment on the 20th and everything is looking good. I was still dilated to a 1 despite all the contractions and false labor I had had throughout the week. I was however, 70% effaced instead of 60% effaced so I guess some improvement is better than nothing!
The baby's heart rate is still in the 150s which is good and normal and she's still head down (she better stay that way, too!)
I was very unfortunate on Sunday and got very very sick with a stomach bug. I had a miserable afternoon throwing up, having the chills and a fever. I was happy that I didn't end up going into labor because I would have had absolutely NO energy to deal with anything!
Since the passing of my sickness, I've been feeling quite well. I'm sleeping through the night about every other night, so I am happy about that. The only trial has been pelvic pressure/groin pain when I'm trying to roll to my other side in bed, or to sit up from bed. It's getting really really uncomfortable and intense, but I guess it's a sign that she's closer to coming...and that's exciting!
We got the baby's room all set up and ready to go. The only things we're missing are our lovely car, and the baby! Thankfully, the car is being repaired and will be ready to pick up on the 28th. I can't wait to have it back.
Anyway, not much else is new...we're just waiting for our little girl to decide to make her appearance! I finally got around to taking pictures, so enjoy!
The baby's heart rate is still in the 150s which is good and normal and she's still head down (she better stay that way, too!)
I was very unfortunate on Sunday and got very very sick with a stomach bug. I had a miserable afternoon throwing up, having the chills and a fever. I was happy that I didn't end up going into labor because I would have had absolutely NO energy to deal with anything!
Since the passing of my sickness, I've been feeling quite well. I'm sleeping through the night about every other night, so I am happy about that. The only trial has been pelvic pressure/groin pain when I'm trying to roll to my other side in bed, or to sit up from bed. It's getting really really uncomfortable and intense, but I guess it's a sign that she's closer to coming...and that's exciting!
We got the baby's room all set up and ready to go. The only things we're missing are our lovely car, and the baby! Thankfully, the car is being repaired and will be ready to pick up on the 28th. I can't wait to have it back.
Anyway, not much else is new...we're just waiting for our little girl to decide to make her appearance! I finally got around to taking pictures, so enjoy!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Pregnancy updates!
So, I have been super bad at doing any updates lately, but I will attempt to make up for it this time!
I had my 36 week appointment LAST week, and everything was good. My weight was in the normal range, I measured right on at 36 cm and the baby's heartbeat was 150 bpm. Everything else was normal. They didn't check me but I had told them that I had had a few contractions the previous week.
The end of the 36 week appointment.
TODAY, I had my 37 week appointment (YAY FULL TERM!)!
I got to tell my midwife all about our lovely deer-hitting experience and she was very glad that I had gone in to the hospital to get checked out.
My weight was the exact same as last week--making my total weight gain during pregnancy 25 lbs. I measured right on today at 37 cm and the baby's heartbeat was 150 yet again.
They checked me today (hurray) and I am 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced. She is still head down and very low so I'm hoping this means some good news is coming our way soon...a.k.a. a baby before Christmas!
Not much else of note has happened pregnancy-wise. I am extremely uncomfortable (shocking, isn't it?), I don't sleep well at night and I still have killer heart burn!
I am pretty much ready to be done with being pregnant, but I think I shouldn't get my hopes up quite yet. I don't want to be disappointed if I don't have the baby before my due date, so I will just say I'm going to be 7 days late instead. Worst case scenario...I'll actually be 7 days late and I will get just what I expect.
I have already had a few people say when they think she's going to make her debut and here are some answers:
My sister Tyra says I'll go into labor tonight and have her sometime soon after. Hah.
Grandma Holman thinks I'll have her a week from today on the 20th. We'll see!
Make a guess on when you think she'll finally come along!
I had my 36 week appointment LAST week, and everything was good. My weight was in the normal range, I measured right on at 36 cm and the baby's heartbeat was 150 bpm. Everything else was normal. They didn't check me but I had told them that I had had a few contractions the previous week.
The end of the 36 week appointment.
TODAY, I had my 37 week appointment (YAY FULL TERM!)!
I got to tell my midwife all about our lovely deer-hitting experience and she was very glad that I had gone in to the hospital to get checked out.
My weight was the exact same as last week--making my total weight gain during pregnancy 25 lbs. I measured right on today at 37 cm and the baby's heartbeat was 150 yet again.
They checked me today (hurray) and I am 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced. She is still head down and very low so I'm hoping this means some good news is coming our way soon...a.k.a. a baby before Christmas!
Not much else of note has happened pregnancy-wise. I am extremely uncomfortable (shocking, isn't it?), I don't sleep well at night and I still have killer heart burn!
I am pretty much ready to be done with being pregnant, but I think I shouldn't get my hopes up quite yet. I don't want to be disappointed if I don't have the baby before my due date, so I will just say I'm going to be 7 days late instead. Worst case scenario...I'll actually be 7 days late and I will get just what I expect.
I have already had a few people say when they think she's going to make her debut and here are some answers:
My sister Tyra says I'll go into labor tonight and have her sometime soon after. Hah.
Grandma Holman thinks I'll have her a week from today on the 20th. We'll see!
Make a guess on when you think she'll finally come along!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Baby Grigs updates
Where does the time keep going?? I swear it was only yesterday when I was all fidgety and anxious to find out if we were having a little boy or girl, and now I've only got 104 days left to go!
I'm at 25 weeks, 1 day today and things are going pretty well. I have an appointment on Tuesday to check up on things and I actually have a list of questions this time! Go me! I hate how every time I'm at the Dr. I can never think of questions to ask, but this time I am bringing a list of questions I have so I can remember what to ask.
Notable things about the past four-five weeks of pregnancy include:
- my belly button is starting to poke out on the top! AH! It's crazy!
- I'm finally looking somewhat pregnant, instead of just chubby.
- I've been exercising more which helps me feel loads better @ work while I sit at a desk for 8 hours (yuck!)
- My back is hurting more and more every day.
- Baby Grigs is almost always awake and kicking/rolling/punching/dancing/moving like crazy around 1-1:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 7:30 p.m., and bedtime.
- I feel incredible love for this little bundle of joy more and more each day, and I can't wait to meet her!
I'm starting to become more and more uncomfortable every day. It's very rare that I sleep through the night because I tend to get pretty uncomfortable in the middle of the night. And to think...I still have 14 weeks and 6 days before I'm due! I don't want to imagine the discomfort I'll be in during the coming weeks! It's all totally worth it (or so they say) because once she's here, I am sure I'll forgive her of any and all discomfort she's put me through.
According to thebump.com,
"Baby's now the size of an eggplant!
That oh-so-handy sense of equilibrium is kicking in, and baby's learning to distinguish right side up from upside down."
I can't believe this pregnancy is going by so quickly and it won't be too long until we get to meet her! Every day, I get more excited and more nervous thinking about her arrival. I am also super paranoid. It's ridiculous how paranoid I get about silly little things, but hey, I just want to do everything right so I don't screw something up, okay?
Anyway, I'd love to keep writing, but I'm very uncomfortable sitting in this chair.
Take a look @ a picture of the bump created by Baby Grigs.
This was at around 24 weeks.
until next time...
According to thebump.com,
"Baby's now the size of an eggplant!
That oh-so-handy sense of equilibrium is kicking in, and baby's learning to distinguish right side up from upside down."
I can't believe this pregnancy is going by so quickly and it won't be too long until we get to meet her! Every day, I get more excited and more nervous thinking about her arrival. I am also super paranoid. It's ridiculous how paranoid I get about silly little things, but hey, I just want to do everything right so I don't screw something up, okay?
Anyway, I'd love to keep writing, but I'm very uncomfortable sitting in this chair.
Take a look @ a picture of the bump created by Baby Grigs.
This was at around 24 weeks.
until next time...
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Anticipation!!
I am so excited for next Tuesday!!! Why, you ask? Well of course it's because we're finding out if this little wiggly baby inside of me is a boy or a girl! I want to know so badly, and I don't think I care either way what it is! I just care if it's healthy and happy and cute!
Keep on voting for what you think it is! It'll sure be interesting to see what group wins!
I'll update *maybe* on Tuesday. I'll be packing for our vacation to TN after my appointment, so I might not have the time!
yay for almost knowing!
Keep on voting for what you think it is! It'll sure be interesting to see what group wins!
I'll update *maybe* on Tuesday. I'll be packing for our vacation to TN after my appointment, so I might not have the time!
yay for almost knowing!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
I think it's finally time for another post!
It's been about 3 weeks since I updated last--but really there's not too much going on these days!
Today I'm 17 weeks 1 day pregnant! I went to my 16 week appointment on Wednesday and everything seems to be going well. I have gained a few pounds and I have a little bit of a belly that's trying to poke out! I'm FINALLY over the morning sickness part of this pregnancy...well mostly. I had two bad days this last week but I think the worst of it is really over. I'm measuring right where I'm supposed to be which was great to hear for my fear of being pregnant with twins! I can be about 90% sure that there's really only ONE baby in there :)
I scheduled my 20 week ultrasound for August 17th and I am SO stinkin' excited! I am excited to know if this little baby inside of me is a boy or a girl! I'm still banking on it being a boy, but we'll see in just a few weeks!
I've started feeling the baby move more and more which is strange but cool at the same time. I also just got into the "I'm always feeling hot" stage of pregnancy and I'm SO glad that I'm due in the winter so I don't have to live with being huge and hot in the middle of the summer!
Enough about the pregnancy!
Here's what we've been up to lately:
This weekend we both had Friday off for the observance of Pioneer Day. It was so much fun to sleep in and have time just be a bum all I wanted in the morning. ha ha. We went to the Mount Timpanogos Temple and then grabbed lunch on our way back. We also stopped at Simply Mac to get a cable to hook my MacBook up to our TV. The screen is broken officially--and is totally un-fixable. The cable will have to do for now and I like that I still get to use my mac, even if it means sitting in front of the TV.
Later Friday afternoon, my friend Hillary came to visit and we had a blast doing lots of random things. We went shopping, had some fun and walked around BYU campus. It was great to have Hillary to have fun with while David stayed at home doing what he does every day--lots and lots and lots of Organic Chemistry homework.
Now for our Saturday adventure: Saturday morning we went to the Orem Firefighter's breakfast at Macey's in Orem. It was alright--but it was no Scout breakfast in the Basin! The food was served from big metal pans and it was cold and rubbery. I think this was the first year I have ever missed the Scout Breakfast so I was a little bit sad. Anyway, after our sad breakfast that was for a good cause, we grabbed some snacks and headed up Provo canyon to the Sundance area. We have wanted to go on a certain hike since David proposed to me so we headed up to Stewart Falls. It's about 4 miles total and MAN am I feeling it today! It was great to get some much needed time outside and exercise.
After the hike, we went home and cleaned up, took a quick nap and got ready to head up to SLC for the Real Salt Lake game with my brother and his wife. We ate dinner at Chili's and headed on our way to the game. Traffic sucked but we were able to find free parking which was awesome!
The game was a lot of fun even though it ended in a tie! We scored an AWESOME goal which was so fun to see and I think Chivas USA (the team we played) got lucky with their goal--it wasn't really skill related! Oh well. The game ended in a great fireworks show and I even got to see a good friend from my first year of school.
We got home super late and hit the sack. It was a great fun-filled weekend and it was very much needed! I'll add pictures later because I'm thinking I'm ready to do something else.
Today I'm 17 weeks 1 day pregnant! I went to my 16 week appointment on Wednesday and everything seems to be going well. I have gained a few pounds and I have a little bit of a belly that's trying to poke out! I'm FINALLY over the morning sickness part of this pregnancy...well mostly. I had two bad days this last week but I think the worst of it is really over. I'm measuring right where I'm supposed to be which was great to hear for my fear of being pregnant with twins! I can be about 90% sure that there's really only ONE baby in there :)
I scheduled my 20 week ultrasound for August 17th and I am SO stinkin' excited! I am excited to know if this little baby inside of me is a boy or a girl! I'm still banking on it being a boy, but we'll see in just a few weeks!
I've started feeling the baby move more and more which is strange but cool at the same time. I also just got into the "I'm always feeling hot" stage of pregnancy and I'm SO glad that I'm due in the winter so I don't have to live with being huge and hot in the middle of the summer!
Enough about the pregnancy!
Here's what we've been up to lately:
This weekend we both had Friday off for the observance of Pioneer Day. It was so much fun to sleep in and have time just be a bum all I wanted in the morning. ha ha. We went to the Mount Timpanogos Temple and then grabbed lunch on our way back. We also stopped at Simply Mac to get a cable to hook my MacBook up to our TV. The screen is broken officially--and is totally un-fixable. The cable will have to do for now and I like that I still get to use my mac, even if it means sitting in front of the TV.
Later Friday afternoon, my friend Hillary came to visit and we had a blast doing lots of random things. We went shopping, had some fun and walked around BYU campus. It was great to have Hillary to have fun with while David stayed at home doing what he does every day--lots and lots and lots of Organic Chemistry homework.
Now for our Saturday adventure: Saturday morning we went to the Orem Firefighter's breakfast at Macey's in Orem. It was alright--but it was no Scout breakfast in the Basin! The food was served from big metal pans and it was cold and rubbery. I think this was the first year I have ever missed the Scout Breakfast so I was a little bit sad. Anyway, after our sad breakfast that was for a good cause, we grabbed some snacks and headed up Provo canyon to the Sundance area. We have wanted to go on a certain hike since David proposed to me so we headed up to Stewart Falls. It's about 4 miles total and MAN am I feeling it today! It was great to get some much needed time outside and exercise.
After the hike, we went home and cleaned up, took a quick nap and got ready to head up to SLC for the Real Salt Lake game with my brother and his wife. We ate dinner at Chili's and headed on our way to the game. Traffic sucked but we were able to find free parking which was awesome!
The game was a lot of fun even though it ended in a tie! We scored an AWESOME goal which was so fun to see and I think Chivas USA (the team we played) got lucky with their goal--it wasn't really skill related! Oh well. The game ended in a great fireworks show and I even got to see a good friend from my first year of school.
We got home super late and hit the sack. It was a great fun-filled weekend and it was very much needed! I'll add pictures later because I'm thinking I'm ready to do something else.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Firsts...
So if you've been reading along, you probably know our little secret! It's true, there will be a new baby in the Grigsby family around January 1st 2011!
Since this is our first child, I decided to write a post entirely about "firsts".
This first pregnancy has been quite the ride so far! I've had a good amount of morning sickness, but no throwing up! Oh how I'm glad that I haven't thrown up. I've had a few close calls, but alas I have triumphed over the throwing up monster....(I hope...I've still got 6 days left in 1st tri so we'll see by the end of this week!)
Another first that comes with being pregnant is the wonderful first of maternity clothes. I bought my very first pair of maternity capris yesterday and I have to say I like them for the most part. Aside from the fact that they are a bit big, they're super comfy! Anyone out there looking for comfy maternity jeans, check out the SecretFit jeans from Motherhood. They rock. My little bitty bump isn't big enough for most maternity clothes, but a few pairs of my jeans are getting pretty tight.
An exciting first is the fact that our little one will be the first grandbaby with the Grigsby name. :) Seeing how David's the only boy...we get to carry on the family name, which is exciting.
Finally, the scary part of the post. The first really scary thing to happen during this pregnancy. It turns out that pregnancy+migraine+sumatriptan(imitrex)=a numb/tingly face, left arm, trouble breathing and a trip to InstaCare. I got my first migraine during pregnancy last week, and it wasn't pretty. I called my O.B.'s office and they had me call the pregnancy risk hotline to check what medicine to take to kick the migraine. Well, the asked me what I have previously taken, and I told them and they said it was still fine to take. Well I did and that's when it got ugly! Needless to say, I won't ever take it while I'm pregnant again.
To end this post of firsts, I'll update on how I've been feeling. I feel pretty good most of the time, if I eat when I wake up and snack all day so I don't get too hungry. I have had some unfortunate times of eating a bit too much and having it bite me in the butt and make me feel gross the entire rest of the day, but mostly I've felt really good. Back pain is constant, but that comes with having an office job and sitting at a computer every day all day. I have been pretty tired lately and could probably sleep for a good 10-11 hours every night if I actually went to bed early. Overall, I think I'm doing pretty well for my first pregnancy. The only thing I don't like is people who think they know it all and tell you that you shouldn't take ANY medication while pregnant or you shouldn't do this or that. That bothers me. They aren't me and they don't know my circumstances so why should they tell me what to do? Silly people :)
Happy 11 weeks 1 day :)
Until next time....
Since this is our first child, I decided to write a post entirely about "firsts".
This first pregnancy has been quite the ride so far! I've had a good amount of morning sickness, but no throwing up! Oh how I'm glad that I haven't thrown up. I've had a few close calls, but alas I have triumphed over the throwing up monster....(I hope...I've still got 6 days left in 1st tri so we'll see by the end of this week!)
Another first that comes with being pregnant is the wonderful first of maternity clothes. I bought my very first pair of maternity capris yesterday and I have to say I like them for the most part. Aside from the fact that they are a bit big, they're super comfy! Anyone out there looking for comfy maternity jeans, check out the SecretFit jeans from Motherhood. They rock. My little bitty bump isn't big enough for most maternity clothes, but a few pairs of my jeans are getting pretty tight.
An exciting first is the fact that our little one will be the first grandbaby with the Grigsby name. :) Seeing how David's the only boy...we get to carry on the family name, which is exciting.
Finally, the scary part of the post. The first really scary thing to happen during this pregnancy. It turns out that pregnancy+migraine+sumatriptan(imitrex)=a numb/tingly face, left arm, trouble breathing and a trip to InstaCare. I got my first migraine during pregnancy last week, and it wasn't pretty. I called my O.B.'s office and they had me call the pregnancy risk hotline to check what medicine to take to kick the migraine. Well, the asked me what I have previously taken, and I told them and they said it was still fine to take. Well I did and that's when it got ugly! Needless to say, I won't ever take it while I'm pregnant again.
To end this post of firsts, I'll update on how I've been feeling. I feel pretty good most of the time, if I eat when I wake up and snack all day so I don't get too hungry. I have had some unfortunate times of eating a bit too much and having it bite me in the butt and make me feel gross the entire rest of the day, but mostly I've felt really good. Back pain is constant, but that comes with having an office job and sitting at a computer every day all day. I have been pretty tired lately and could probably sleep for a good 10-11 hours every night if I actually went to bed early. Overall, I think I'm doing pretty well for my first pregnancy. The only thing I don't like is people who think they know it all and tell you that you shouldn't take ANY medication while pregnant or you shouldn't do this or that. That bothers me. They aren't me and they don't know my circumstances so why should they tell me what to do? Silly people :)
Happy 11 weeks 1 day :)
Until next time....
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