It's a Halloween Miracle!

I realize this is a very old picture of the little one, but I am on Jeff's computer and that is all he's got and I'm too lazy to go upstairs and get the camera. So anyway my little munchkin has been such a delight lately. Last night, Heidi slept from 8pm-5am. I realize this may just a major fluke, but hey, I'll take it!

The napping was getting better, but then it got really bad again. She had a day or so where she did awesome, but then everything unravelled. No matter how tired she was, she would SCREAM until she was hoarse for 20-25 min. and never give in. She threw such tantrems in that 20 min. that she literally managed to get herself out of the swaddle, scoot to the top of the crib, get her sleeper off one shoulder, and both legs in one leg of the sleeper. She's a magician apparently. I have been letting her nap in the swing the last two days because she just doesn't seem to be getting the "cry it out" yet and I really, really tried for 4-5 days for every nap. She has been sleeping in her crib at night, so maybe I will go back to trying the naps in another couple of weeks and see what happens.

With Jonna's help, I realized I may not be producing quite enough milk for this little one. I have been pumping like crazy and trying to feed bottles so I know how much she is getting. The bottle that works like a charm is the playtex drop-in with the latex nipple. Life saver. My friend let me borrow a whole bunch of different ones and this one was the winner--same friend that let me borrow the mobile--she has been such a life saver! Realizing that she liked the latex nipple I thought maybe I should try a binky with a latex nipple. I had tried so many different shapes and sizes, but didn't think about material. Well, wa-la! She takes it!!! She only takes it when she's mad or tired, which is exactly when I want her to take it. Thanks to these two discoveries she successfully made it 3 hours at church. I guess we'll see how she does tonight...I hope it wasn't just a fluke, but even if it was, I'll be grateful for one night!

Emergency Room already?

I realized a couple weeks ago that I did not have one picture of myself with Heidi. I finally made Jeff take a picture because let's face it, I did give birth to this little one! This picture was taken the first time we took Heidi to church and I am just now blogging about it.

Anyway, so I had to take Heidi to the ER yesterday. I felt like one of those over-protective moms, but Jeff insisted I go and I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. After Heidi's shots she started throwing up florescent yellow and also brown that looked like it might be bloody. The pediatrician said to take her in to the ER to make sure it wasn't some gastrointestinal bleeding. So we spent the day (and yes I mean the entire day) waiting around in the waiting room to find nothing out. They told she probably had a reaction to the rotavirus since it is a live virus. Or they said it might have been the formula I gave her the day before. We are trying to teach Heidi how to take a bottle and I didn't have any pumped milk ready so we tried a little formula. She only got 2 oz. down, so I would be surprised if that was it. In the end, they told me to wait it out 24 hrs., don't give her any formula, and come back if it keeps happening and they will do an x-ray. I'm so glad I spent the day (and no doubt loads of $$$ for that). I'm pretty sure she is just fine. She hasn't had any more vomiting, her temp. is back to normal, and she seems happy and healthy. I think Jeff was more concerned than I was...what a good daddy. :)

Jeff really is the cutest dad. He just adores his little princess. He loves bath time and wants to steal her the second he gets home. It's so fun to watch. Heidi's sleeping has gotten SO much better the last two days. I was glad to know friends who I think are great moms let their kids "cry it out"....it made me feel better. We still have tears, but it is getting better. My friend also let me borrow her mobile and that really helps, especially when I first put her in. The best part is that the mobile has a remote so I don't have to go in to start it over. Now that is ingenious. We need to get better at going down at night time now. Weeks 3-8 were so hard, but I think our little girl is settling in. She is so much happier and we just love her to pieces!

Shots and Stats

Even being this tired when we got home from the doctor, Heidi still will not sleep in the crib! UGH! The doctor told me today I have to let her just scream for 20-25 min. but that is a lot easier said than done. If she is really, really tired, she will lay there quiet with her eyes open and never drift off to sleep. I put her in the crib drowsy but not asleep, I pat her, I shush her, I leave her come back and pat and shush...let's face it, she just can't go to sleep by herself. I have tried music, white noise, and my friend let me borrow a mobile that I am going to try. Anyone else have this problem????? I used to be able to get her to sleep at night only in her crib or bassinet, but now she won't even do that. It's so hard to leave her in there screaming because what if she's still hungry? Or maybe she has a burp? Did anyone else let their child "cry it out" and if so, did you start this early???

Anyway, when we went to get her shots today we found out she is still small...shocking.

Height: 21 1/2 in.--7th percentile
Weight: 8 lbs. 11 oz.--3rd percentile

I was sure she was at least 9 pounds, but I guess not. When I expressed my concerns to my german doctor she said in her thick accent, "Look at her. She is beautiful. In America, she seem small. In Europe, she is beautiful, healthy baby. American babies too big." Not sure that answers my question about whether or not I should be concerned that she is getting enough to eat, but she said her height and head circumference are growing normally for what she was when she was born, but her weight is just slow in coming. (I want to supplement her with a little formula at night, but Heidi now refuses to take a bottle. She just licks it.) She said it is most likely just genetics. Clearly from Jeff...she'll be grateful I suppose when she is older if she stays skinny.

Two Months

Time is flying by! I think Heidi was embarrassed when I mentioned she was a bit of a cranky pants because for the last 5 days or so, she has been quite delightful! Now I probably jinxed it, but I sure hope not.

I am taking Heidi in for her 2 month this week and then I will list her stats. We think she is about 9 pounds now...what a chunk...lol.

Here are some fun things we have noticed:

*Starting to bat at toys, though seemingly unintentional. It is so fun to see her reaction when she hits the rattle.
*Smiles and coos all the time. Happiest time is in the morning.
*Loves to be cuddled. She has a hard time sleeping if she's not on mom or dad's shoulder.
*Fights naps like you wouldn't believe. I think it's b/c she doesn't want to miss a minute w/ her mommy :)
*Likes walks, but only if mommy or daddy carry her--what can I say, we must be great cuddlers!
*Loves her diaper pad...what the? It is so funny. She smiles and coos like nobody's business when she's on that thing!
*She's ALWAYS moving those arms and legs, even while eating.
*Holds rattles for a short time.
*Can hold her weight on her legs. Probably easy for her since she's such a lightweight.
*Eats every 3-4 hours. Usually goes to sleep around 8 and gets up between 2 and 4 and then again around 6 or 7. Every now and then she will get up at 12:30??? Hope that stops happening.
*Hates her car seat and being in the car. I've decided she must be claustrophobic like her mama.
*Likes bath time, but hates getting out and getting in her pjs.
*When I get up to feed her at night she is so hilarious. As soon as I turn the hall light on she stops crying instantly. As soon as I look at her she gets this HUGE grin on her face. I swear she's thinking, "Ha, my little cry worked again!"
*Does surprisingly well at church until she needs her nap...dad usually ends up taking her home since mom teaches YW.
*Doesn't like to wear bows often. Probably because she loves twirling all her luscious locks and the bows are just in the way.
*Twirls hair and pulls her ear.
*Makes a funny face when she's about to cry.
*Only likes the swing if the treadmill is going.
*Likes the sound of the blow dryer.
*Sleeps w/ arms above her head--refuses to let arms be swaddled.
*When startled her arms go flying up--it's hilarious.
*Likes to be sung to. Loves "The wheels on the bus".
*Likes me to bounce her on my knee and sing Humpty Dumpty.

We just love her to pieces and are so glad she's here. I thought leaving teaching would be harder than it is. My little Heids keeps me so busy I hardly have time to think about school. She already has dad wrapped around her finger and we can't wait to see all the new little things she does every day!

Happy Birthday Grandma Hunziker!

Happy Birthday grandma! Thanks for loving me so much! I am so lucky to have you as my grandma. I can't wait to see you and play with you again!

Love, Heidi

Our little Weirdo

I discovered the secret to getting Heidi to take a nap in the morning, not in my arms, and it revolves around the swing and the treadmill. I was very concerned about how I was going to start running again with a little fuss bucket, especially since she's too small to take in the jogging stroller. I had resorted to waiting until Jeff got home and then I discovered something: Heidi loves the sound of the treadmill. As long as she isn't over tired or hungry, if I put her in the swing and start running on the treadmill she is out--more so in the morning, but still. It is so funny. She will be throwing a tantrum and nothing will work. Then I put her in the swing and get the treadmill going and she is out in 42 seconds flat. The other morning I got on the treadmill in my bare feet holding her and she liked that. So we use the treadmill a lot. It's more effective than pacing around for some reason. Now that I have posted this, I have a bad feeling I have jinxed it. Cross your fingers.

Here's another funny thing about this. Last night we had a bad, bad night as soon as daddy got home. I was trying to finish dinner and Jeff was struggling. So I told him about the trick. I told him, "Put her in the swing and start running on the treadmill". Well, the screaming didn't stop. So after a few minutes I go downstairs to see what the problem is. Heidi is in the swing like I asked, but the swing is not moving. I asked him why he didn't turn the swing on and he said, "You just told me to put her in the swing and start the treadmill. It doesn't work." I didn't realize you had to actually say to turn the swing on. I couldn't stop laughing and let's face it, I needed something to laugh at by that point!

This whole discovery got me thinking. Why am I not 90 pounds by now? I mean seriously. I spend probably 90% of my day bouncing, walking, swaying, pacing, etc. and yet I still have 10 lbs. to get to pre-baby weight and 15 lbs. to get to my ideal weight. I really think I should get something out of this, don't you?

Little Miss Cranky Pants

"Mellow", "Content", "Calm"... none of these words describe our little princess! At 7 1/2 weeks old we have decided we just might have ourselves a cranky baby. We have some days that are better than others, but for the most part we have a lot of fussing....unless eating or sleeping. I keep waiting for things to get better, but let's face it, every time I say, "I think she is coming out of it" or "I think she is starting to get happier", --she gets ten times worse. So I don't say that anymore.

I feel like everyone and their mother's dog describes their newborn with one of the three aforementioned words, and I'm not going to lie: a little jealous! Either way, we still love our little miss cranky pants to pieces and think she is a doll....we just try not to take her in public too often. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't terrified to take her to church tomorrow. I know we will be the ones everyone is staring at wondering why we can't get our baby to calm down.

Here are some things we try. I'm hoping we'll look back at it one day an find it humorous.

*Swing. She lasts about 5-10 min. and then exercises her lungs.

*Bouncy seat. She lasts about 5-10 min. and then exercises her lungs.

*Floor mat w/ and w/o toys. She lasts about 10 minutes and I have to be there the entire time shaking rattles, singing, etc...and then she exercises her lungs.

*Holding. She last 1-2 min. sitting. Then it's up we go! We bounce, we walk, we bounce, we sway, we go room to room, we bounce some more, and so on. When we're up, we can last about 15 min. before exercising lungs.

* Gas drops and Gripe water. Don't seem to make much difference.

*Changing my diet. I have cut out dairy because it seems to make her have worse reflux, but she still has good reflux days and bad so I don't know if that has done anything.

*Walks. Let's put it this way--I try to stay away from houses and try to go on the trail when it's not a busy time. I walk her with the stroller and the carseat attachment, the stroller w/o carseat (she can lay down), and walk her without the stroller in my arms. She'll be calm for about 5 min. at a time, then I have to stop, take her out and console and put her back in and repeat. She usually starts a blood curdling scream at the absolute farthest place from home. I think everyone that has seen me thinks I abuse my child. Why else would she be screaming that way?! I have even had to take her out and carry her in one arm while pushing the stroller with the other.

*Swaddling. She HATES it, but mostly at night. If I put her arms in and wrap her tight, she throws a tantrum until her arms eventually come out. We think she's so skinny because she can't hold still. Even when she is sleeping she is moving all over squeaking an grunting. She sounds like a little dinosaur. When I go get her, she is usually completely sideways in the bassinet. I honestly don't even know that she ever sleeps.

*Pacifier. This lasts 10-15 min. depending on the day and I have to hold it in her mouth.

So basically, I rotate between all things all day long. When she eats, she eats for about an hour. I have been told not to feed her so long, but to be honest, sometimes having an hour where she isn't so cranky is kind of nice and makes the time go more quickly between the feedings. I have her eating about every 3 hours and she doesn't seems especially starving between feedings...just unsettled and sometimes burpy and gassy. Her nights aren't horrible, but she doesn't sleep through the night. She goes down about 8:30/9, gets up anywhere from 2:00-3:30 and then again around 6 or so. Lately she hasn't wanted to go back to sleep when she's up at 3:30 and that is torture. I would say I think things are going to get better...but I don't want to jinx myself. Oh well, in spite of it all, I am SO grateful to have a healthy baby (even if she's not so happy) and I love the days and even just the minutes in some cases when she is happy and smiley. We love her to pieces and couldn't imagine life without her!