19 weeks

Age 19 weeks


Weight - 13 lbs 8 oz. She had another visit to her pediatrician for a rash, and is still growing fast!

Sleeping habit - back on track with 11ish hours...wakes up between 6 and 7am and eats while lying next to me, then sleeps another hour with me and/or Ross (sometimes I can carefully get up to go shower w/o waking her

Eating habits - 5-6 full nursing sessions (or bottle of my milk)

Cutest Moment of the Week - not to be unoriginal, but every moment of hers is cute :) She is making the cutest noises and squeals.

Milestones - hmm...being cuter every day?

Firsts -
1) Sat in a highchair in a restaurant. She needed my puffy coat behind her to fill in the seat, but she did so well. She just sat at the table like a sweet little lady

18 weeks- I think I've been off a week!

Age18 weeks, but last week should have been 17. whoops! I can't count...or maybe I skipped last week? I don't know...


Weight - 13 lbs at her pediatrician appt. Not as big as I thought! 50th percentile for her age. Height was 23" but the nurse totally measured wrong. Seriously...not just being an obnoxious parent. She's 24"- promise :)

Sleeping habit - hmmm....not 12 hours every night this week. Think she has been in a growth spurt, or that ridiculous "4 month wakeful period" people talk about. Still sleeps 6-8 hours at a time though, so I can't complain! 12 hours last night.

Eating habits - Hmmm, again- growth spurt! One day she nursed 8 times, which is way up from her usual 5-6. She was back to 5 today, so hopefully it was just a growth spurt and we are all regular now :) Also I have decided not to start her solids until 6 months. Who knows; she MAY be ready. She holds her head up steady and sits up assisted. But I would rather just wait, since my milk seems to keep her full (and, lets just be honest: I'M not ready for her to eat solids. My baby is growing up too fast!)

Cutest Moment of the Week - She totally charmed the pediatrician. He kept getting distracted by her while he was trying to explain stuff to us. She gave him huge flirty smiles. Watch out for this one! Also Ross's new beard tickles her when he kisses her. She closes her eyes and giggles every time he nuzzles or kisses her.

Milestones - 4 month old birthday! Possibly teething, and very alert.

Firsts - Got 2 big ones this week!
1) Rolls from back to tummy! She can now roll both ways! She did it for the first time at her 4 month pediatrician appointment on the exam table, right in front of him. She must like him :)
2) Sits up unassisted for a few seconds (in tripod position- bending over and one hand on ground, one hand on foot).

Conservative Hippy

"Green"
"Crunchy"
"Tree-Hugging"
"Jesus Freak"
"Conservative Bible Thumper"
etc, etc, etc...

I have a love/hate relationship with these labels. Because of stereotypes, you usually don't see these labels together in one family. I'm happy to say that they describe us- but hopefully without the bad stereotypes.

The other day I was in a natural baby/cloth diaper store in a very liberal SE Portland neighborhood. I visit that store when I need a quick item right away, and I needed immediate help troubleshooting a problem I have been having with our cloth diapers. I chatted away with the woman in the store for quite a while, and then sat down and nursed Maddy when she got hungry. Right in the middle of the store!

This is something I would NEVER usually do out in public, because sadly, its frowned upon. (Even when staying covered up). I even used to frown upon it.

While nursing Maddy in the Nordstrom mother's lounge adjacent to the ladies bathroom, I have gotten many dirty looks from women. Even though I was in a designated "mother's" area and totally had my boobs covered! Again, the sad thing is that I used to be weirded out by it too. How did we get this way? I understand its awkward if a woman just throws her boob out in front of everyone, but why is even just the idea of breastfeeding so creepy to people (my former self included)?

As I sat there nursing Maddy in the natural hippy store, I couldn't help but feel so comfortable and wished that there were more places like that. But then it also occurred to me that the store owner would probably not appreciate it if she knew I am a republican :) Yes, I have gotten the look of horror when people hear this fact. We have even been yelled at in a restaurant in downtown Portland from a woman who overheard us discussing politics.

Again, I ask, why is that?

For now, I will remain a secret republican to the hippies; and a secret natural breastfeeding mother in more conservative public places. I just need to learn how to be confident in my values and not care about what other people think (what a concept. I have been struggling with this since I was 12 years old).

16 weeks, and even more changes

Age - 16 weeks

Weight - finally checked on our scale and i THINK she's about 14 lbs. Her next pediatrician appt. is in about a week, so we will finally get a real weight! She is definetly getting bigger though

Sleeping habit - In her crib, 12 hours. If she doesn't sleep 12 hours she is still very sleepy in the morning. She has 1 long nap 1-2 hours (on good days) and one short nap or 3 30-45 minute naps. 7-8pm is a good bedtime for her.

Eating habits - 5 full meals and one snack a day (snack is when she only feeds off of one side before she gets bored or sleepy). I think she is going through a growth spurt and possibly eating more per meal and may only need 5 feedings a day. Still is exclusively eating breast milk despite me working part time, which is great.

Cutest Moment of the Week - We put her in her jumparoo next to me as I was doing a workout video. I did my jumping jacks in front of her and she got a big smile and started bouncing with me! Also, she tries to sit up ALL THE TIME when she is on her back. My sister just said it looks like she is doing baby pilates. She strains and lifts her head and legs off the ground.

Milestones - Is now sleeping through the night without being swaddled. Is very chatty and squealy, and much more interactive.
Firsts - almost rolls all the way over. Tummy to back is easy, an then she ALMOST rolled from her back to tummy; so close but her arm was in the way. She worked at it for a good 20 minutes and was very persistent. Hopefully next week her next milestone will be that!

15 weeks- and lots of changes

Age - 15 weeks

Weight - hmmm...I made Ross weigh her on our crummy scale (he weighed himself then weighed himself while holding her. I refused to do this, because I don't want to know what I weigh). It read 12 lbs...which can't be right. You should see this girl's chunky little thighs! So I will guess 13. We are about to get a Wii w/ Wii fit which has a more accurate scale for weighing baby.

Sleeping habit - Goes to bed around 8pm, wakes around 8am. She slept through the New Years Eve fireworks last night! Good girl! She must be a heavy sleeper like her mommy. I still have her in the Swaddleme, but am thinking I should retire it soon. I will ask her pediatrician. She naps 2-3 times a day for 30 min- 1 hour at a time, but its very difficult to get her down for the nap.

Eating habits - 6x a day. I just went back to work part time! So now the routine (on the days I work)is nurse at 7am, bottle (pumped breastmilk) at about 9:30am, 12:00pm, 3:00pm, and then I feed her when I get home from work at about 5:30. Then she eats again at 7:30 before going to bed.

Cutest Moment of the Week - Too many to count, but here's one you can see for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMlC7wduZtc&feature=youtu.be&a

Milestones - She has become very mobile. She almost rolls from back to tummy now. She rolls completely from one side to the other side. She has entered a very alert phase where she doesn't want to sleep and she wants to put everything in her mouth. Even my nose.
Firsts - afraid of people holding her who aren't mom and dad. She gets her little frown and cries if anyone other than us pics her up, but she gets over it quick with her grandmas/gpa and aunties

Is anyone out there?

I have been trying to blog more. Mostly, its a good way to document my life at this time; as I learn how to be everything I want to be at the same time (wife, mother, nurse, Jesus follower). But I do like to know if anyone actually reads this; as it influences what I write about.

I know my faithful friend Katie (XeniaT) reads my blog; as she has been the only commenter (thanks Katie!). But is there anyone else out there reading this? If so, please comment. If not, I understand. I have been known to browse people's blogs even if I don't know them well, without fessing up. For the most part, though, I have come clean and let the bloggers know because I didn't want to feel like a creepy stalker. So yeah, basically, if you read this and don't comment, I am calling you a creepy stalker. kiiiiiiddddiiiiinnnngggg.....

this kind of stuff gets me! Rant/Soapbox warning

I should start a separate blog for Craigslist rants...

I'm looking for a white bookshelf for Maddy's room. My eyes tend to wander while searching craigslist, and I find things like this:

http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/bab/1527604950.html

Basically, this person wants to trade her leftover crap (like a bottle of Herbal Essences hair spray???) for really nice items. Like her old used digital camera for a "nice large lens" new digital camera and video camera (digital only, naturally); or her cheap Gerber BPA bottles for Avent BPA free bottles. I want to tell her that maybe if she didn't waste all her money on toiletries that she didn't need or use, she would have been able to just buy Avent bottles or some of the other items on her list.

This is one of my pet peeves in the world of garage sales and Craigslist. People don't want their crappy items that were likely a frivilous purchase; so they want to get top dollar for them so they can go out and spend more money. I have been guilty of being a frivilous spender in the past, so I can't judge. But I do know that lately I have come to realize that people consume way too much CRAP.

I challenge you to clean out your garage, closet, etc. and get rid of items you really don't need. Put them in a box and then ask yourself this:

1)How much did I pay for this? and
2)Did I really need it (or furthermore- even use it?)

Once done, I encourage you to give these items to charity; rather than expect someone else to make up for your silly spending (unless its a very expensive item and you need the money).

I'm not trying to be preachy- in fact, maybe all of you readers (all 2 of you ;) have been much more wise about spending and don't even need to hear this. This is just my little recently learned life lesson. It just helps me to write it/say it outloud so I remember it