Our second week with Lizzie was one where I felt like we were super busy. I never minded having a million errands to run and making a trip to town each day, nor did I bat an eye at spending an hour browsing the aisles at Target. However, now that sweet baby girl is here, I've found myself pining for more time at home, where mama can get some snuggle time in with Lizzie :) We also took family and newborn photos last week, and Lizzie did awesome. She was like putty in the photographer's hands... she could get Lizzie to pose however she wanted. We saw some sneak peeks of the pictures and we're loving what we've seen so far! Can't wait to get all of them back :)
Weight: Though I was confident that Lizzie had gained some weight between last week and this week's two-week check-up with our doctor, I got some last-moment jitters before her appointment. In classic Megan-style, I was a little anxious over whether or not she actually was gaining weight, so I stepped on the scale, stepped off, and stepped on again with her in my arms and finished it off with a little math to determine just how heavy she might be before heading to the doctor. My estimates from this little experiment were accurate, because when they put her on the scale in just her little diaper, she clocked in at 5 pounds, 15 1/2 ounces. Hooray! That means she gained 14 ounces in just one week :) She's weighing in at the fifth percentile, which is obviously very low. However, our doctor explained that the percentiles don't matter so much as whether or not she is staying on track for the appropriate amount of weight gain -- and at this point, she's right on.
As of this last appointment, her head circumference had increased from 12 inches at birth to 12 3/4 inches at two weeks. Personally, I think that growth might be her cone-head coming down and turning into a normal head, resulting in a larger circumference, but maybe it doesn't work that way. Regardless, I'm happy to see the cone-head dissipating :)
They also checked her length, which was 19 inches at birth. This time she checked-in at 18 1/2 inches. Say what?! Nah, I doubt she actually shrunk, and her doctor agrees. She was just being a wiggly, uncooperative little peanut when it came to measuring her length. Guess we'll get a better idea at her two-month appointment :)
Medical Issues: Last week, I mentioned there was some concern about her hips and hip dysplasia, which warranted an ultrasound on her hips last Thursday. Baby girl did a fabulous job at her ultrasound and didn't make a squeak the whole time and was very cooperative! And I'm pleased to report that after looking over her scans, all is well! No problems with those little hips of hers :)
Sleep: Still sleeping great. When we go out to run errands, she sleeps through all of it. At night, I'm still (mostly) waking her to eat every three hours. She will sleep very soundly for hours on end if someone holds her... which never seems to be a problem for us :) I was a little concerned about holding her "too much" and spoiling her, but I've read and it's been explained to me that at this point, you can't really spoil a baby -- they don't have the cognitive ability to self-soothe at this age, so letting babies "cry it out" or comfort themselves is basically pointless.
Clothes: Sweet girl is still in her smallest newborn clothes and won't be growing out of those anytime soon. About half of her newborn clothes are still too big, so maybe we'll be able to get into those in the next week or so. Of course, many of those clothes are more "summery" clothes and Minnesota can't seem to catch a break and get any decently warm weather, so it's okay that some of them don't fit yet. I did have to buy her another long-sleeved outfit the other day because she only has one little sweater to keep warm with, and she can't wear that every day! So now she has a little sweater and a zip-up sweatshirt.
Visitors: Lots of fun visitors this week, as we had Lizzie's baptism! Uncle Josh, Auntie Tracy (plus her little man who will be born in a few weeks!) and Rachel came to meet Lizzie on Friday afternoon, and Uncle Jake, Auntie Desiree, Brayden, Mykenna and Noah came to meet Lizzie on Saturday morning. Lizzie also met our dear friend and her Godfather, Norm on Saturday. On Sunday, Lizzie met her Great Grandpa Jack, Great Aunt Rose and Great Uncle Steve, and lots of my cousins and their kids as well. Grandma Kathy, Grandpa Wayne, Auntie Jenny, Great Grandma and Grandpa O'Brien and Grandma Jean, Grandpa Mike and Auntie Megan also came over after mass on Sunday for dinner after Lizzie's baptism... Phew! Lots of visitors :)
Diet: Milk, of course! Baby girl continues to have quite an appetite, nursing every one to two hours and for a longer duration. She's a growing girl... you can't put on a pound in one week by being a light eater!
Baby Gear Love: Still loving those Aden and Anais swaddle blankets for snuggling her up in at night -- this girl likes to be swaddled for sleeping purposes! We're also a huge fan of our "Snugabunny Bouncer" seat, which was a gift from a sweet coworker of mine. I finally felt compelled to put it together and let baby girl sit in it... before this, I felt like I shouldn't let her sit alone in it! But we're loving it while we clean, cook, or do some little "home" projects that require both my hands and Andy's. She seems to really like it and snuggles right in when we buckle her in.
Crying: Still an easy baby with not much for crying. Still only cries when she needs a diaper change, is hungry or wants to be snuggled. So we try to be good at meeting all of those needs before she gets to the point where she needs to cry -- not always successful, but we get it taken care of pretty quick if she does cry :)
Mommy News: Continuing to feel really good! All of my pre-pregnancy jeans are fitting again this week, which is nice on the checking account, but I wouldn't have minded staying out of some of them. Oh well -- my weight is still about six pounds up from my pre-pregnancy weight, so I guess that's what counts. Still trying to eat enough to compensate for nursing so I don't lose any weight from that.
Still feeling like I want time to slow down! I can see how much she's changed just from when she was born two weeks ago and I just want to keep her how she is for a little longer!
I'm noticing that I'm having a hard time being away from her, too. Mommy's becoming pretty attached to her little lady...
Milestones: As mentioned previously, Lizzie was baptized over the weekend! When Father poured water over her head, she didn't even wake up :) She's also been keeping her eyes open wide for longer and longer each day and smiling more. I know her smiles don't mean anything just yet, but we're seeing more of them!
Last week, I mentioned how great she is at tummy time -- and this week, baby girl took it a step further than lifting her head... she rolled from her tummy to her back! It was pretty wild and left everyone in shock. Pretty talented little girl we have on our hands ;)
So sweet! These updates are adorable. I'm glad to hear you say you aren't fretting about the percentiles. My first one was so chunky he was off the charts, which can be just as concerning as being "low." Now that he's three he has 'averaged' out. It's nice to know how he compares to other kids, but since each kid is unique I try not to worry about the comparisons.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your little peanut. She is a beauty!
ps- I love her hair!!