One Month Old

How has it already been a month since Elizabeth was born? It feels like just yesterday that I was in the hospital getting ready to have her! We have had one crazy month, and one that I would like to never experience again! Here is what Elizabeth has been up to this month:

• We started out the month (after our hospital stay) with nursing and supplementing with a bottle of my milk a couple of times a day. Last week, though, we decided that we were going to go strictly to bottles of my milk.You eat 3 oz every 2-4 hours and you definitely let us know when you're hungry! During the day, I pump right after I give you your bottle, but at night, with Dad's help, I pump while you are eating!
• We don't have a strict schedule time wise, but a typical day has us getting up anywhere between 6 and 8. During the day, you'll drink your bottle, stay awake for about an hour to an hour and a half, then sleep until your next feeding. Around 5, you'll have a bottle and then stay awake until you've had your bath and bedtime bottle. At night, you are finally sleeping straight between feedings. Some nights you'll go four hours between feedings, but other nights it's every 2 1/2 hours (like last night).
• You wear newborn size diapers, but are moving up to size 1 as soon as we finish the pack of newborns that we have.
• You have been wearing newborn size clothes, but some are getting too small. So if it's a one-piece newborn, then you can't wear it. You can still wear your two-piece newborn outfits, but I'm going to slowly transition you to 0-3 month clothes.
• I got my first real smile from you yesterday (4/25) while we were playing! It was the sweetest thing ever!!
• You LOVE your boppy newborn lounger and we typically play in that while I am pumping.
• You also have started liking your swing and bouncer. We've had a couple naps in the swing already.
• You love looking at the window, whether the blinds are open or closed, and you love being outside.
• Time in the carseat is getting a little easier. You've done great the past week when we've had to go out and about.
• We took you out to eat for the first time on April 16 for your Uncle Dustin's birthday. You did great and were held almost the entire time. You've also been to Aunt Amber's house for Easter dinner. And, tonight you get to go to my favorite Mexican food restaurant for dinner with some friends from College Station!

Enjoy a couple of pictures from our one month photo shoot! Hopefully our good camera will be back for our next session!!

This hat is still WAY too big, but I always wanted to pair it with this bubble outfit.

The sock monkey my Aunt Michelle gave me. It's bigger than me!

I love my paci!

Naps and blankets

I have found out a little secret, at least one that pertains to our Elizabeth. She won't sleep for long unless she is swaddled. Now, I found this very interesting, because when I used to watch my nephew, he couldn't stand it. Our Elizabeth, on the other hand, adores it! I don't know if it's because they wrapped her up super tight when she was in the NICU or what, but I've quickly learned to love it, too! And heaven forbid if a hand or foot pops out... she's up within seconds (at least that's what it seems like). This should be a fun thing to wean her off of as she gets older. :)


Alan and I aren't sure if we'll be going to church on Easter Sunday yet. We are both a little paranoid about her being around a lot of people since she was in the NICU. So I attempted to take Easter pictures a couple of times so far. The dress, while adorable, is still a little big on her, but that just means she'll get to wear it more! Let's just say she wasn't too happy the first time I tried... And I have proof. (As a sidenote, I didn't leave her to cry long. I already had my camera ready, so I just thought I'd take a quick photo. She sure looks cute... even when mad.)

Take one...

Take two...

Mom got smart and took the picture while I was sleeping.

Much happier this time!

Some of our good friends recently moved to Oklahoma. We sure were sad to see them leave! Well, one day at the beginning of this week I opened the mail to find some adorable flowers and headbands for Elizabeth. Thanks Jill! I love them, and if the expressions on Elizabeth's face can attest to the fact that she loves them too! :)

So sweet!

Caught right after she finished smiling.

Well, that's all I have for today. I'm hoping to take some fun pictures outside after Elizabeth wakes up... Stay tuned for more pictures. :)

More pictures...

Even though I can post pictures here, Alan and I have created a Shutter.fly website to post even more pictures. :) This is primarily for our family, but I just wanted to toss it out there in case anyone else might be interested. It is a member only site, so just let me know if you want to be added and I'll shoot you an e-mail with all the information.

And because no post is complete without some new pictures, here are some that we took yesterday, when Elizabeth turned 3 weeks old.

Yawn!

So sweet

"The Thinker" ... I used to do this when I was a baby, too.

My little brother feeding Elizabeth for the first time... 

2 weeks!

We had our two week appointment on Wednesday, when Elizabeth was really 2 weeks and 4 days. We actually saw our pediatrician this time, which was really nice. And before I get to the stats, I have a priceless story to tell about our appointment. Elizabeth was sleeping very peacefully after getting weighed and measured when the pediatrician came in. And you know most babies/kids don't like it when the doctor starts to check them out. In true form, Elizabeth showed off her great set of lungs. :) But, the awesome part, at least I think so, was that as soon as the doctor hander her back to me, her crying stopped! Our pediatrician seemed very impressed that she calmed down as fast as she did, and I loved that it showed how much she already trusts me.

April 13 - 18 days old

Love this little face!

2 weeks old! Coming home from Texas Children's

If you can't read it, the binky says "Daddy's little girl"

• Elizabeth weighs 7 pounds 8 ounces, which puts her in the 21%. We're still not up to our birth weight, but she has gained 15 ounces in 2 weeks, which is pretty amazing, if I don't say so myself.
• She is 21 1/2 inches long, which is the 92%. I think she's going to be tall like her Daddy. :)
• Her head circumference is 14, which is in the 53% .

All in all, we have a healthy, happy girl, who doesn't have to see a doctor until 2 months old!

We're Home...Take Two

I'll have a post later documenting our hospital stay, but for now, I just wanted to let everyone know that we're home!! We got discharged Saturday around noon and were soo glad to be able to leave! We are thankful of the good care they took, but were so ready to have Elizabeth back in her own home!! Elizabeth has been one busy girl since we got back. She has gone to my doctor, her pediatrician (2 week appointment update later!), Target, Babiesrus, and today we're going to SAMS. My mom has still been here this week, but she's leaving tomorrow. I'm so thankful for all the help she has provided! She's cooked and cleaned and frozen several meals... not to mention she's let me sleep at night - I just have to get up to nurse Elizabeth.

Now for the good part... pictures. :)

No more yucky soy milk for me!!!

Dad burping me... he's so good at it!

Family picture time

Going home!!! Yay!!!

Sweet girl!

Wearing my Mommy's outfit

Sleeping with Mommy... my favorite way to sleep!

Sleeping angel

What's going on

Well, I had a long post in the process, but for some reason my phone won't let me post it. So, I'll make this one short and save the long one for when we're back home. Most of you probably already know this because of face.book and email, but for those that don't, Elizabeth is in the NICU and has been since last Wednesday evening. We went to the ER because she wouldn't eat or respond and then got transferred to Texas Children's Hospital. The doctors still aren't 100 percent sure what happened (I'll go over that in my longer post), but Elizabeth is doing MUCH better and we are hopeful we can go home Thursday. If not Thursday, then sometime between then and Monday.

We can't wait to get our baby back home!!! It's no fun watching her being poked and prodded, not to mention all the wires and tubes that are so inconveniently placed on her body.