pups.

last weekend, the gal pals got together to celebrate three happy and healthy little ladies over at life treasured.  we tried to take the opportunity of having all the kiddos together to get a picture of, what we call, the pups.

i'd say we get an A for effort.

audra, hadley, mackenzie, drew (chillin)

hudson, audra, hadley, mackenzie, drew, crosby

drew was being a trooper in the chaos of tears and bribery with puffs.  hudson was fast!

and my friend, emily, was smart enough to take a video of the meltdown.

sorry it's the wrong way...i'm not techy enough to figure out how to change that.  you get the hint.

it will be exciting to get together when all the kiddos are a little bigger.  hopefully, there will be fewer tears.  how fun that we have 6 pups so close in age...and 2 more on the way!


...

she's lucky she's cute.

 i don't know if we got a little taste of colic last night, but...yuck!

first off...like i've said before...drew does not like to be swaddled but sleeps much better when she is.  she still has that pesky startle reflex and will wake her up instantly if you put her to sleep without a swaddle.

well...we ran into a problem the other night when i watched her alllllmost roll over to her belly as she was attempting to houdini out of the sleep sack.  so, wouldn't any mom stop swaddling at that point?  because i did.  i'm terrified she might find herself on her belly with no arms free!

so, that night wasn't terrible.  she managed to get herself to sleep pretty quickly and woke up just once for a quick feeding, then went back to sleep for another few hours.  was the transition out of the swaddle that easy? score!

not!

cut to last night.  she eats.  and falls asleep and it is 9:45.  goes in her crib.  with paci, unswaddled.  this is a bit earlier than normal and jake and i are high fiving because we're getting in bed before 11.  we chat.  watch a bit of conan ...and then she wakes up.  we wait to see if she will get back to sleep.  not happening.  let the crying ensue. 

and it didn't stop.  it went on and on.  i fed her more.  she fell asleep.  she woke up as soon as i put her down.  i rocked her.  i cuddled her with her paci.  she fell asleep.  she woke up when i put her down.  i held her ten different ways.  jake held her ten different ways.  she fell asleep.  she woke up when i put her down!!  i swaddled one arm.  i turned on her twilight turtle.  she would be asleep.  she'd wake up when i put her down.  when she would wake up, it wasn't a sad cry...or hungry cry...or even a cry at all.  it was a angry scream that i have never heard before.  she was one pissed off baby
  
maybe gas?  so i gave her some mylicon drops.  held her in a "side-lying" position and we walked the hallway.  finally, she fell into what seemed to be a deep sleep.  drool running down my arm and all.  this was at 12:45.  so we had about 2.5 hours of what in the world is wrong with you super sad sally.  granted, i know some mommies and daddies have it way worse, but...when it comes out of nowhere it really freaks you out.  then, i kept thinking...is this the start of colic?  can they develop it at 3 months old?  oh, please no.

so if any of you moms out there have any suggestions...you just send them my way.  hopefully, this was just a fluke thing and little drew just had an upset belly.  ya.  i'm going to keep my fingers crossed for that.

she's napping now and i should be following that golden rule of sleep when baby sleeps.  but how does anyone get anything done in that scenario?  the dishwasher is calling my name...

also...i have just over a month left of maternity leave (tear).  any fabulous suggestions for the transition to the sitter?

...

smiling's my favorite

lately, jake and i fight over who gets the morning smile.  it makes our day.  so, one morning...i brought in the iphone to capture that crooked, gummy cuteness.

don't mind my cheesy, scratchy voice.

here's another one i sent to jake one day.

2 months.

i'm trying not to think about the fact that my maternity leave is halfway over...or that my newborn isn't in many newborn clothes any more...and relish in the fact that she's growing steadily and becoming a little person.  2 months?  how?

i love that full head of hair.  and that itsy bitsy roll on her thigh.

 2 month stats:

8 lbs. 8.5 oz. - 5th percentile

21 in. - 7th percentile

loves hanging out and looking at the fans and lights

awake much more during the day

one middle of the night feeding

smiling with intent

cooing

enjoys when spoken to

doesn't mind dog kisses

let's compare.  i'd say we're putting meat on those bones.

sleep update:  we cut out the nap nanny during the night, cold turkey.  she was just moving a little too much for my comfort and unless we put it on the floor, that's just not safe.  not to mention, i didn't want her dependent on it when she goes to the sitter [which is weird for me to say because the "sitter" is my friend].  so, now...we're trying all different kinds of swaddlers.  the child hates it.  and fights it but does eventually fall asleep.  but if she wakes up at all, she gets pissed about the swaddle and usually wakes herself up.  on the contrary, not swaddling isn't an option because her startle reflex is still pretty strong.  any arm movement wakes her up!  so our 7 hours of sleep with the nap nanny has turned back into a stretch of 3, a feeding and then a stretch of 3-4.  but i'm not giving in to the nap nanny.  although, i do love it for letting her lounge in during the day and the occasional nap when i am watching her. 

 

more breastfeeding.

i never had such a strong opinion on breastfeeding support until i went through it.  i couldn't have done it without a) an awesome lactation consultant, b) a supportive husband, c) more than six weeks off work [i mean, that is just not enough time.  period.] and d) a supportive pediatrician.

here is a great article in response to mayor bloomberg's latch on nyc initiative.

interesting read.  she's right.  at least for me, the hump i needed to get over certainly wasn't in the hospital.  it was the days/weeks following.

on the personal front:  we are nursing 100% without a shield!  this, i never thought possible.  little miss is working hard and gaining weight!  stats on friday.

...