Update on Baby

Baby's Name: Aspen Elise

Nicknames: Shorty (cause she's so short ), Sweetpea (this is what I call her mostly), Quakie (dh's grandpa says thats what they call aspen trees in CO. I have no idea if its true or not, but the nickname has sort of stuck with his family, lol)

Baby's Age: 7 1/2 weeks! Almost two months already! I can't believe it!!

Baby's Weight: at her one month she was 9 lbs. I'm guessing she's 10 or 11 lbs now.

Baby's Height: At one month she was 20 in, same as her birth length. I'm hoping she's grown some by now. Her legs are pretty short though, lol.

Clothes Size: 0-3 months. I put some 3-6 month onesies on her, but they are baggy. Still wearable though.

Diaper Size: Size 1 Pampers and small/x-small cd's

If you are breastfeeding, how is it going? Going fantastic! Love doing it!

Is baby using a pacifier? Not really. She sucks on her hands though, so I'm thinking she will eventually find her thumb. I'm still trying to get her to use a paci though.

Heard any Coo's yet? A few. She's such an expressive baby!

What are you most excited to see baby doing? I LOVE baby smiles!!

Sleep Through the Night? Mostly. She sleeps long stretches and only wakes to feed, but she's next to me in bed, so the feedings are pretty easy.

Where does baby sleep now? We are co-sleeping

How is napping going? Goes to sleep whenever and where ever. She's a great napper

Does baby like bath time? Loves it. She is really calm when she is taking her bath and just goes right to sleep afterwards.

When is baby's next well baby visit? July 14 for her 2 month, although she will be like 2 1/2 months by then.

Do they have a favorite toy/blanket/pacifier yet? I have a few burp cloths that she holds onto. She loves to be wrapped in her fuzzy blankets, but its too hot for that now.

How are YOU doing? No complaints. I'm pretty well-rested and now that I'm over being sick all the time, I'm feeling great! I'm loving having a newborn!!

Care to share how the weight-loss is going? Agh. SLOOOOWLY!!! I still have 10 lbs to go.

What else has been keeping you busy besides babies/kids? We are in the middle of remodeling our house. It's fun though, so I don't mind it.

7 Weeks

Here is Aspen's 7 week Bear picture. She's growing so much already! I'm a bit sad that she's almost 2 months old already. I wish she would stay an itty bitty baby for just a bit longer. Although I am excited about seeing what kind of person she will become. There's so much to look forward to with her. When will she start walking, what will her first word be? She's such a good baby and I'm really enjoying the newborn stage this time around. It's amazing how different her and Max are at this age. He never slept much and cried a lot during the evenings. But Aspen is a great sleeper and only cries when she is hungry, wet/dirty or when you put her in her carseat (which she hate for some reason). I feel so blessed!
You can see the rest of the bear pictures by following the link on the side of this page if you are interested.





And a couple other pictures from yesterday because I thought she looked so sweet sleeping in the chair.

My Little Hippies

I ordered Max and Aspen custome tye-dye shirts for Independence Day. I love how they turned out!! I ordered from Aimee, who is another mommy on my JHO board and she does an awesome job! She can do pretty much anything you want with tye-dye! She also made Aspen's custom bibs and they are really awesome as well. I would suggest having her make some for you if you are wanting some great quality bibs that are unique!

Tagged!!

I've been tagged by Cheri! I think Ronna tagged me a month or so ago, but I forgot to answer those questions. Sorry Ronna!

Favorite person: Curt. He's everything to me and the father of my babies. He's an amazing man. I couldn't have asked for better.

Favorite food: Persian food from my most favorite restaurant, Saffron's. Otherwise, my single most favorite food is Tomatoes. The Tomato Drought of 2008 is killing me!

Quirks about me: I can't touch raw meat with my hands at all. I don't mind human blood and guts at all, in fact in college I excavated a human body for my skeletal forensics courses and it didn't bother me a bit. But hand me a piece of raw chicken and I flip out.

How would the person who loves you the most describe you in ten words or less? Quirky ;o) Happy, energetic, intelligent (I hope he would say that, lol) loving

Any regrets in life? That I wasn't more career focused in college. Then I probably wouldn't have ended up with a degree that I'm not using and having to go back for another degree soon. Oh well, I did enjoy getting my first degree in History (social studies). It was interesting and I can always teach it if I needed to.

What can you NOT live without: A shower and a sink to wash my hands. I don't like having dirty hands.

Favorite blog: Hmm, that's a toughie. I really like reading these two, Dooce and Pioneer Woman. Both focus on design and photography and they are both mothers, so I feel like I can relate to them some.

Something you can't get enough of: Baby smiles :)

Worst job you ever had: Starbucks. Just because the manager there was a witch and made working there miserable.

What job would you pay not to have? Moroccan Leather Maker. I saw that job on the show National Geographic one time and it was seriously the worst job ever. The guy had to stand in a vat of water that they mixed with bird droppings and stomp on animal skins all day. Can you even imagine the smell???

If you could be a fly on the wall anywhere, where would it be? The White House

Guilty pleasure: Lemon Passion Cake from Macaroni Grill

Got any confessions: Not right now

If you had $1000 to spend on YOURSELF, what would you spend it on?: A weekend to trip with my friend Mandy to one of my most favorite cities, NYC, Chicago or San Diego. And we would spend the whole weekend shopping. But I'm sure $1000 wouldn't go far there.

Favorite thing about your house: Right now, the new carpet :) They just installed it last Friday. Looks great!

Least favorite thing: My house. We want to sell it and move soooooo badly!! Hopefully soon!

One thing you are bad at: math. I'm terrible at math.

If you could change one thing about your current circumstances, what would it be? That I would be back to my pre-pregnancy weight already.

Who would you like to meet someday? Hmm. I don't know. I'm not impressed by many people like celebrities and such. I would love to meet everyone from the JHO board though. Those girls are awesome!

What makes you feel sexy? Not a lot these days, lol. I think high heels always make a woman feel empowered! I haven't worn them in about a year though.

Who is your real life hero? Tamme. She's really good about staying positive about life. That's who I try to model my overall outlook on life from. Always stay positive about life and you'll enjoy it more.

What is the hardest part of your job? Being a mom and trying to organize time for me to get my things done (photography and soon school). Curt works a lot, so I'm usually the one who has to figure out how my time will work out so that I can get what I need done and also have the kids taken care of.

When are you most relaxed? When I'm at home with my family, just hanging out.

What stresses you out? My family in my hometown. There is always some type of drama going on and it stresses me out when I think about it.

Favorite quote: Can't think of one right now, lol

Why do you blog: Because I like to keep things documented about my life. Before blogs, I kept a handwritten journal.

Who are you tagging? Mandy, Jessica, Ashley, Sarah

Bright Eyes

My favorite part about Aspen staying awake more these days is that I get to look at these big beautiful eyes all day.

Big Grin

I finally got a big ole' smile from Aspen today while doing her weekly bear pictures. I love the first gummy grins from babies! They are the perfect pick-me-ups!

Good Grief!!!

Seriously! I hardly ever get sick...like once a year I will come down with a cold or something and it will last a few days and that will be that. But the last two weeks it seems like my body has just give up on fighting off illnesses. Let's see, it all started two weeks ago when I got a prescription for Thrush. Then I spent three days this past week feeling like I had a the flu because of Mastistis. The past three days I've had a lot of congestion because of allergies and have pretty much lost my voice. It sounds awful! Now today I have a bunch of green gook coming out of my left eye and it's all red, so I have a sneaky suspicion that I have pink eye now.

What the heck could be going on? Did my body's immune system just shut down after having a baby or something? It's getting ridiculous. I need to feel better.

The Dress and Hat

Finally!

I know I've been updating Aspen's blog the most for the past month, but for those who check out Max's blog too, I finally updated all his pictures from the past few months!!

Go check it out!
Max Attack!

Sorry it's password protected, as this blog will eventually be. So only certain people have the password and if they need to be reminded just email me or leave a comment here and I'll get it to you :)

Videos

Wanted to share a few videos for you!

Max talking about his new sister!


Getting her feet wet at the waterpark,


And she does cry...sometimes,


Tummy Time

Mastitis

I called the doctor and went in today. Looks like I probably have mastitis. I don't have the typical red spot that is a tell-tale sign of mastitis, but I do have the flu-like symptoms and a very tender spot on my left breast. So my doctor said to continue nursing Aspen as I normally would and to pump if she isn't emptying the breast after her feedings. She gave me an antibiotic so hopefully I'll start feeling better soon. My temperature is still up too, the last I checked it was 100.6. I feel awful. But I know the best thing to so is to keep nursing often to get the infected duct better.
Looks like I have a little Trouble Maker on my hands, lol. Thrush last week and now Mastitis. Sheesh.

Sick...

I'm sick now. I started feeling bad this afternoon and by 5pm I was shivering and feeling incredibly achy. My legs, my arms, my throat, my ears and my head was hurting so badly. When Curt got home I took my temperature and it was 101.4, so I took some tylenol. I have no idea what is wrong. I actually think it might be an ear infection because my ears are hurting and I have pressure whenever I lay my head down. Curt scared me though by saying I could have salmenella poisoning because I ate some cherry tomatoes yesterday. But I don't have any of the other symptoms for that (diahrea and abdominal pain), so I don't think that's what it is. And I thought the cherry tomatoes were not involved in the recall.
But now I don't know what to do nursing Aspen. I assume I keep nursing her as usual? I fed her last time though and after she was done she vomited all over me. She's never even spit up...ever. So should I call about her or do you think it was just a coincidence?
Man...I feel like I've been run over by a truck.

Today was Aspen's one month appt (she is actually 5 weeks old today). This morning before I was awake, Max started crying and said that his ear hurt. I gave him some Motrin for the pain because whenever he laid down he started crying more, so I knew that he had an ear infection. I figured I would have the doctor look at him while we there just to make sure.
We went to her appointment and she checked out great! It couldn't have gone better! She weighed 9 lbs (up from 7 lbs 2oz from birth) and was 20 inches long...so she was in the 50th percentile for weight (exactly where Max was at this age) and only the 5th for height (she was 20" at birth, so she hasn't grown any lengthwise). Going to be short and fat like her mama, lol. She did end up getting a shot today, which I wasn't expecting. She did great though. Cried just a little when they gave it to her, but calmed down as soon as I picked her up. She was little fussy earlier but is now napping in her crib. I'm planning on trying to take a nap soon too!

Anyways, the doctor then looked at Max and he did in fact have a double ear infection. So we got a prescription for him as well. So that means that everyone in the house (except Curt) is taking some type of prescription medication right now (Aspen and I for thrush). Luckily I was able to get Max's meds for $4 from Wal-Mart, so I didn't have to pay another Rx co-pay for his.

Also, she's been smiling at us lately and I haven't been able to catch it on camera. I did catch half of one this morning while Curt was talking to her. I love those first smiles

I think she's mine...

I've been wanting to find a good picture of me when I was a baby to compare with what Aspen looks like to see how much she resembles me. I found this one from when I was a month old. I think she does actually look a lot like me, especially her eyes. What do you think?
I am excited to have a child that resembles me because Max looks EXACTLY like Curt. So it's nice to be able to say, "Yeah, I had something to do with this one..."

Me, circa 1982 at a month old...


Aspen at 4 weeks...

Thrush

Yep, we have it. Ugh.
At first I just thought that she was latched on wrong and that's why my nips were burning while she was eating. But I realized that probably wasn't the problem after getting her to re-latch several times. Then I looked at her tongue and it was white on both sides, so I called her pediatrician to see if they thought she had thrush as well. As soon as I said that my nipples were itching and burning each time she ate, she was like, "Oh yeah, that's thrush for sure."
So she is now taking nystatin FOUR times a day. She actually does pretty well with it, so that makes giving it to her fairly easy. I called my OB as well and they called me in two prescriptions, a nystatin ointment and a pill to take once a day for the next fourteen days. Hopefully that will make it go away!
Otherwise, I've heard on good authority that you can use gentian violet and that will take care of it as well. I may give that a try if it doesn't clear up with all these meds!

Aspen's Fluffy Butt

For those who are interested in doing cloth diapers or just wanting to see how they work, I took some pictures of Aspen in the different cloth diapers I have. I'm mostly using disposables now because the cloth are so big on her still, but I use these at home. I really like using cloth so far and haven't found it to be that much harder than disposables. Plus they are super cute!

In a Happy Heiny (small)


In a one-size Haute Pocket. These are really bulky with the bigger insert, I think I'm going to try them with the smaller insert and see if it is more trim.

Big Baby Yawn


In a one-size Bum Genius. She is currently wearing this one. I like it the best Still pretty bulky on her, though not too bad.




And in an Under the Nile fitted (sz NB) with a Thirsties cover (sz x-small). These are both so big, so I haven't left them on her for any amount of time. I don't think it would hold the poop really well just yet. The legs on the fitted diaper don't close around her legs yet.

This is also the bulkiest of all the diapers I have tried so far. I LOVE the Thirsties cover though!!!


Oh and for size reference, I think she is probably about 7 1/2 lbs now. I am having her weighed at the Nurses Station today, but that's my guesstimate on her weight.

Update and Pictures

Tomorrow Aspen will be 4 weeks old. I can't believe a month old already! It took forever for the month of May to get here and now we are at the first of June. Amazing. We are adjusting well, she really is a great baby. She loves to cuddle and be snuggled up with me or Curt...mostly me though. I certainly don't mind, but it does wear me out since I am trying to keep up with Max most of the day as well. I'm trying to find the positive side to having a baby attached to me all day...knowing that soon she will be bigger and want to explore the outside world instead of finding comfort in mommy all day.
I still need to write out her birth story...not that it is as extensive as most, since it was a scheduled c-section, but there are some key points that I will always want to remember. Maybe I can get around to typing that out tomorrow.

Things to reflect on from the past month,

--I didn't remember how much newborns poop! Good grief! This girl can go through some diapers! My cloth stash is no where near being able to keep up with, uh, her demands, lol. Most of them are still too big anyways, so we are switching between what cloth ones will fit and disposables. It's crazy the amount we have gone through already!

--Max is really starting to pay more attention to her now. It's the most beautiful thing...watching your firstborn adapt to your second. At first I think he was more intimidated by her and her crying and tinyness, but now he wants to hug her and hold her and kiss on her all day. He's going to be a great big brother! He's so proud of her when we go out! Too cute! Oh and she must really adore him as well, because so far he is the only one she will break out a smile for!


Helping to feed her a bottle (she's only had two so far and seems to do ok with them. I haven't pumped anymore though, so I don't know if that will be a regular thing.)

--Breastfeeding I have found to be a Labor of Love. I never got to do it with Max as most of you know already, so this is all new territory for me. I think the thing that suprised me the most was how exhausting it could be. Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely love being able to provide for her and have that closeness with her, but sometimes it is a little tiring. Plus, I never realized how much of a challenge it would be to have to think about when and where you were going to feed her. I've become a lot less modest since breastfeeding. I'm sure I've flashed more people than I ever thought possible, but when your baby is hungry and you are the only one who can provide for her, sorry but her needs come first. A little boobage never hurt anyone, lol. I'm getting the hang of it though and have found ways to make sure that everything is covered up the way it should be while feeding her. But I'm not going to stress myself out about it either, if you see something, you see it...oh well.

--We are still dealing with the sensitive skin issue. I'm still thinking that most of it is triggered by detergents. But she still tends to get those hive like places on her throughout the day. She started getting them again a couple days ago and Curt said that there was a fabric softener sheet in the dryer with her cloths. I must have thrown one in there out of habit. Wearing a shirt from that laundry load was causing her to break out all over again. But once I changed her, it didn't seem to get any worse. I've started holding her most of the time wrapped in a little blanket and having people who hold her, hold her in it as well, just so that their shirts don't cause her to break out too. I really hope this isn't a sign of future allergies to come. Please!

Some pictures from yesterday. The first ones are her week 4 Bear Pictures,




And some random ones from the past week. I went to visit my hometown over Memorial Day weekend and introduced Aspen to my side of the family. She met quite a few new faces, although she slept through most of them, lol.
You are welcome to view the whole lot of pictures from the weekend HERE