Journey to Aspen

Playing Catch Up!

2009-03-02T18:28:00.001-08:00

I just made several posts over at the other blog! Go check them out!
Click here!

Very Sick Little Girl

2009-01-30T11:35:00.000-08:00

Another Trip to the Doctor

ICE!

2009-01-30T05:44:00.001-08:00

Ice Ice Everywhere

Reflections from Yesterday

2009-01-21T05:28:00.000-08:00

It was a good day!

Standing Tall

2009-01-19T06:16:00.000-08:00

Update on the Sweet Pea

The Big FOUR!

2009-01-10T06:08:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Max!

She's been busy!

2009-01-10T05:40:00.000-08:00

Doing it all at once!

Christmas

2008-12-31T07:13:00.000-08:00

Christmas Pictures and Videos over at the Max Blog!
Click Here

Combining the Two

2008-12-31T07:00:00.000-08:00

In an effort to consolidate websites for the family I'm going to try and make all new posts on a single website. So I will be using the max attack web page for future updates!
Stay tuned and check back often for lots of pictures and Max anecdotes.
www.maxattack.typepad.com/

I will post links on Aspen's blog for those who get emails updates. So you'll still get updates! Blogger is just too hard to post pictures on so I'm sticking with typepad for now!

Cheers! Have a great day!

Sick Girl Again

2008-12-29T10:19:00.000-08:00

Aspen is sick again. Poor thing has been battling a cold for almost two months now. She has had periods of days where she feels better, but then that follows with several bad days. We are going on day 3 of a really horrible cough and lots of yucky green stuff, so I decided to finally take her in to the pedi today. Please send some get well vibes for her if you have them. She needs to feel better. She has pretty much stopped taking solids over the past month. Every once in a while I can get her to eat some jar food, but its very rare. Plus she doesn't want to nurse much, so I'm afraid she's just not getting the nutrients she needs.

Here are a couple pictures from last night. She looks so pitiful it just makes me want to cry!

Trying to smile for daddy,

Poor baby

UPDATE:
We are back from the pedi. He seems to think that she has allergies. Since the cough has been ongoing for so long he thinks that is what the main problem is. He didn't see any signs of any infections or asthma. So he gave her Zyrtec and wants us to try that for two weeks and if that doesn't help he wants to do allergy tests on her. Hopefully the zyrtec will do the trick!

Also, she hasn't been gaining like I thought. She was 14 lbs 3oz today. That's only 1 oz gain from her 6 month appointment. She will be 8 months this week. The doctor didn't say much about that, so I guess he's not worried about it? Seems like she should have gained more than that though since then? Oh well.

Pictures to share

2008-12-17T12:45:00.001-08:00

And a few more because I think she's cute ;o)

Doing what she does best :)

Hey Mama!

I love the ear stuck in the coat, lol

A little help from daddy,

If you don't stand for something....

2008-12-17T12:38:00.000-08:00

Aspen is trying so hard to stand by herself! It's crazy! We joke that she is never going to learn how to crawl because she won't sit down long enough. She's trying to crawl though. I don't think it will be too much longer. I'm in NO hurry for her to be more mobile though! It will be a hard battle to fight to get Max to keep all his toys up off the floor and away from her.
Here she is trying to take off the other day.

She'd much rather do this though,

BUSY Update!!!!!!

2008-12-17T12:07:00.000-08:00

GAH!!!! I have been ridiculously busy lately. I finally finished up shopping and was able to wrap some presents today while Max was at school. I took my last final yesterday, so I'm done with school for a while thankfully! Aspen is sick again so she isn't sleeping well at all. I'm going on my fourth or fifth day of getting about 4 hours of sleep a night. While studying for finals I usually go to bed about 11pm and then get up at 2am or 3am to study until it's time to take my test at 8am. So between studying and dealing with Aspen during the night while she's sick, I'm pretty much useless, lol.
Max's MDO school was out last week and this week is his final week at his other preschool. They are having their Hanukkah party on Friday that I'm going to try and go to. We are also leaving to go out of town on Friday for the whole weekend to celebrate Christmas with my side of the family.
I finally got our Christmas cards today. I'm going to try and get them out tonight. Hopefully they will get to everyone by Christmas!
Oh and I've been getting picture orders done for a couple clients that I did sittings for last month.
I think that may be it. Somehow I've got to fit cleaning my house and my truck out before Friday.

Some Merry-tainment!

2008-12-13T02:28:00.000-08:00

Christmas Foggy Christmas Seas, lol, WITH BLEE!

Christmas just isn't Christmas without "Dingle Bells"

It's Christmas Time!

2008-12-13T02:03:00.000-08:00

I love this time of year! It's especially fun now that we have kids. Watching their faces light up with excitement over anything that is Christmas-y at all makes this time of year so amazing! Max is really fun this year too. He is old enough to understand everything and you can just tell that it is so magical for him. Ah, to see the world through the eyes of a child.
Here are some recent holiday pictures and videos for you to let you know what's been going on around here this year.

Our attempt at getting a good picture for our Christmas cards this year. I did them last minute last Saturday and these are what we had to choose from. I think these pictures really show off their personalities, especially Max.

Curt and Max adding their homemade star to the tree. Afterwards Max proclaimed, "The tree is FINALLY beautiful!" (I just realized that the chair they are standing on looks like its about to buckle. I assure you it wasn't, lol)

Max during his Christmas program at preschool. He was so cute! He made sure to hold his star way up high and you could tell he loved being on stage!

A family picture attempt afterwards,

Aspen helping me wrap presents at home. I sacrificed quite a bit so she could get some practice crumbling it up. It was instant entertainment for her!

And the Santa picture for 2008. Max asked for a Batman watch and a robot. I was a little worried about how Aspen would do, but she didn't seem to mind him at all. I think having Max there with her helped though. She can't help but smile when he's around. She loves him, lol.

Be still my heart...

2008-12-13T00:29:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure Max has his first real crush. There's this little girl named Sadie in his preschool class whom he declared was his girlfriend the first week of school. Since then he has talked about her and how he much he likes her. At first it was really cute, but now I think he really must like her. He always talks about Sadie when we are driving and after sitting quietly for a bit in the back of the truck he will usually say something about how Sadie is a princess and he wants to buy her something. Like one day he said that he was going to build Sadie a pink castle so she could live there and be a princess.

The other evening we were driving home and Max declared his love for Sadie once again. He said, "Mommy, I want to buy Sadie a ring. A special ring with a diamond in it. That way she can be my princess and I can be her prince."

My heart fell into the bottom of my stomach at that moment. I don't know why and I can't explain the feeling, but I had a slight sense of panic. It was like I realized right then exactly how fast his childhood was going to go by. I was saddened by the fact that my time spent with him just as he is now was such a small sliver of time compared to his whole lifetime ahead of him. I realized that in a blink of an eye, he may be talking about buying another girl, whether it be Sadie or some other special princess, a ring 20 or so years from now. Although I'm excited to see what kind of man he will become, I'm also reluctant to give up these years of innocence so quickly. No matter how hard I try though, time just will not stand still. So I laughed and told him,
"I think that would be a fun idea Max!"

The Thumb

2008-12-07T16:24:00.000-08:00

Aspen has become quite the serious thumb sucker. She never would take a pacifier and as soon as she figured out how to uncurl her fist when she was a newborn she was addicted to her thumb and it became a constant source of comfort for her. It's really SO cute to, so I don't mind. Lately though she has become quite serious about it. Poor thing sucked a little blister on her left thumb knuckle, which is the predominant thumb she sucks on. The skin on the bottom of her thumb is also chapped with a rash from the constant sucking. She has been trying to suck on her index finger instead or her other thumb, but you can tell it just isn't the same to her. I've been trying to keep lanisoh on the bottom of her thumb and the rash is starting to look better.
Little Sweetpea

A Family of Elves

2008-12-05T12:01:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Turkey Legs

2008-12-03T18:41:00.000-08:00

At Max's school on Thanksgiving day they made a craft. I assumed that most kids make top hats or feather headresses to represent pilgrims and indians. Max's class made Turkey leg hats. He was sooooo proud of his hat too. Curt thought they were champagne bottles before I had to tell him otherwise,

Update on Vaccination Situation

2008-12-02T18:20:00.001-08:00

So last Tuesday I called the pedi and talked to someone about what needed to be done to get Aspen's shots. It was getting close to her being a month late on them (she'll be 7 months this week). The lady on the phone was very apologetic about what was going on with the whole situation. I basically told her that something needed to be done or she wasn't going to get anymore...end of story. I asked her about a delayed vaccination scheduled. She agreed that would probably be best since we were having to pay out of pocket for them. The pedi's office agreed to give us a discount on the vaccinations. I'm not thrilled with the discount, we really only save $40 dollars or so, but what do you do.
So I took her today and she got one shot and one oral vaccination and it cost me $142 today. She will need two more shots in a month and then one more at her 9 month appointment. But Max is going to need shots in January at his 4 year appointment. Hopefully we can get some new insurance soon and have something better.
But the positive side to just getting one shot is that she isn't fussy at all like she was when she got 4 shots in one day. I really like doing it that way.

Oh and she was 14lbs 4oz today. She had just eaten a 4 oz jar of babyfood right before we went, but I'm not sure if that matters or not.

And to top it all off...

2008-11-25T05:19:00.000-08:00

Max has been vomiting continuously since about 6pm yesterday evening. GAH! He's not running a fever or anything, so hopefully its just a quick bug or something.

CALGON TAKE ME AWAY!!!!!!!

So Frustrated!

2008-11-24T12:43:00.001-08:00

OMG! I'm just so frustrated right now. Today has not been a good day.

First of all. Aspen didn't get her vaccinations over three weeks ago because she was sick. But at that appointment we also learned that our insurance didn't cover her vaccinations (well they will, but they apply it to the deductible and they would be full price and we would have to pay that full price) so we owed our pediatrician like $500 for her two month and four month vaccinations. They told us that we should take her to a Health Department because they have discounted vaccinations there and they would be cheaper. So I thought, fine, I'll take her there once she starts feeling better. Well 3 1/2 weeks later she is FINALLY feeling better so I go today after my classes to go to the Health Department for her shots.
On the way there I couldn't find the building so I accidentally passed it up. So I had to go to the next block to go drive back around. I came to a STOP sign and stopped, and started to go again. I didn't realize it was a two way stop and a guy in a truck hits my truck as he's coming through the intersection. GREAT! censored It's obviously my fault because I ran the stop sign at a two way stop. So we had to wait in the middle of the intersection for the police to come and take our information. Max thought it was exciting though because he got to see a police officer. LOL. The guy's truck wasn't hurt at all, and but now I have a big busted hole in my front bumper.
I finally get back in my truck and go back around the block and get parked (at a meter on the street) by the Health Department. I get Max and Aspen out of the truck and in the stroller. Oh I forgot to mention it's raining today so it's cold and wet and just a pain trying to get everyone out of the truck and into the building.
Once I get in the building I told the lady in the lobby that I was there to get some vaccinations. But she said that since I wasn't there for government help I couldn't get the vaccinations there. They only do it if you are there for assistance. I couldn't believe it! All that I had just gone through to get there and they wouldn't let us come in for the shots. GRRRRR!!!!
I called the pedi back and told them what was going on and they said that I could try some different places. They gave me a list of places to go to get the shots for a discounted price. I called several of them and nobody had anything available. I FINALLY got a place to give us an appointment and then they asked if we had insurance. I told her we did, but we needed to get them someplace else because they were too expensive with our insurance. She then tells me that they only give discounted vaccinations to people without any insurance or if your insurance won't pay for them at all. WTH!?! I told her that the insurance won't pay for them until we meet Aspen's deductible and that we will have to pay out of pocket for the more expensive ones at our pediatrician. She said she didn't think that we would qualify because of that. But she gave us the appointment anyways until I find out for sure.
Now I just don't know what to do. Our pedi doesn't want us to get them there because they have to bill us for them, but we can't go somewhere else for them because we have insurance even though they won't pay for them.

I'm not sure where I go from here. I guess just call the pedi back and see what they say about it.

On top of all that, I've been awake since 2:00am. I had a huge test to study for at 8am this morning. I wanted to study more last night after Max and Aspen went to sleep but Max was having trouble going to sleep. So I laid down with him and fell asleep myself. So I woke up at 2:00 this morning so I could study for the test.

I'm just so tired of today and want it to be tomorrow.

Get Well Vibes Needed!

2008-11-22T04:29:00.000-08:00

Aspen is still sick :( I thought she was getting better and even called the pediatrician today to make sure it was ok if I took her to get her vaccinations. Then after lunch she started puking and within an hour she puked like 6 times. All day and evening she has puked anytime I have nursed her. We gave her a little bit of pedialyte earlier and some applesauce and she seems to be doing a little better. I called the pedi back and they said to just let it run its course and that as long as she isn't running a fever they don't need to see her. I will of course take her in if she is showing signs of dehydration. I just feel bad because she has been sick for over three weeks now. First it was a lot of congestion, then a fever for a few days then for the past two weeks she has had a horrible cough and now she's been puking. Poor thing! She's still our happy little girl though. She's all smiles for the most part!

Weekly Update 11/20

2008-11-20T14:28:00.000-08:00

I've been SO busy lately! I feel guilty for being on the computer at all. School is kicking my butt. But should be over soon. I can't wait until Christmas break. I really want to spend some quality time with Max and Aspen without worrying about whether or not I should be studying.
I did get some Christmas shopping done the other day. I'm pretty much finished with Max and have one more thing to get for Aspen. I'm sure some odds and ends will be bought between now and Christmas for their stockings, but nothing major.
I also have a photo session to finish proofing and get back to a client. I did a session with an 18 month old boy the other day and he was SO cute! His mom is in nursing school like me so she totally understands if I don't get them back to her right away. Hopefully they will be done by this weekend though.
Oh and we are all starting to feel better now. Poor Aspen has been sick for over 3 weeks now. I think she is finally well enough to get her vaccinations. I was going to take her tomorrow, but I'll probably wait until next Monday or Tuesday.
I'm thinking about putting our Christmas tree up this weekend. I can't think of another weekend that I will have available between now and Christmas. So I think that will make Max excited for Christmas! Seems a little early, but oh well.
I also have so many pictures to share from October and November! I'm probably just going to have to post gallery links because I'll never be able to get through them all in seperate posts!

Aspen's New Trick

2008-11-13T03:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Aspen was sitting next to her incrediblock while I was studying and when I looked up she was standing next to it. I had never seen her pull up or anything so I asked Max if he had helped her up. So I sat her back down and watched to see if she would do it again. As soon as I sat her down she reached up and pulled herself up! I couldn't believe it! So I got the camera out to show Curt when he got home. As soon as he got home I told him and he was like, "Oh yeah, I know. She was doing that the other day." Why don't guys tell you these
things?
Anyways, I'm proud of my little girl! She hasn't figured out crawling yet, but I think she is starting to formulate the idea in her head. She's going to keep me busy I think once she figures it out!

Please excuse the dogs, messy floor and the whiny boy Smiley One of these days I'll be able to balance housework, schoolwork and mommyhood.

6 Month Appointment and Sick Girl

2008-11-11T13:31:00.000-08:00

First of all, I can't believe she is already SIX MONTHS OLD!?!? How did that happen so fast?!

Aspen had her 6 month appointment today. However, last night she started running a fever of around 101. So I gave her some tylenol and decided I would have them look at her at her appointment. As for her six month well check, she's doing great. She's meeting all of milestones right on target. The doctor said she looks perfect. He didn't see any signs of any infections or anything to explain the fever, so he figured she may be coming down with something viral. So we didn't do any vaccinations today. I will take her back for those in the next week or so once she starts feeling better.
He did ask what she was eating because her weight gain wasn't much, but he wasn't really overly concerned about it since she seems to be getting enough food. She is still breastfed and gets solids twice a day. I think she is eating plenty so I'm not concerned about it at all.

Her stats today at 6 months 1 week,

14 lbs 1oz (25%) up from 13 lbs 3 oz at 4 months
25" (10-25%) (up from 24" at 4 months)

And a couple pictures from this past week,
Eating green beans for the first time,

Her and Max reading,

Playing with Max's old incrediblock. She LOVES it! I should have saved it and gave it to her for Christmas, lol

On a lighter note...

2008-10-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

Max is continually making us laugh. Here is something he did a few weeks ago.

We were preparing for dinner like usual and we were all getting ready to eat. He took his first bite and then suddenly dropped his fork.

"WAIT! We can't eat yet! We forgot to say our blessing!!"

So he proceeds to go stand in the middle of the floor. He goes to a Jewish preschool, so he is trying to remember the Hebrew blessing they say, but just can't quite get it out.

So, he does this instead..."I pledge allegiance to our flag..."

Max Funny

2008-10-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

After lunch today I gave Max some yogurt for a snack and I decided to eat a brown sugar pop tart. He finished his yogurt and promptly asked me for a pop tart too. I told him he couldn't have one because he already had some yogurt. I went back into the kitchen and Max came in a few seconds later with a magazine. He said, "Mommy, I want to show you something." Holding up the magazine, pointed to some words on a page. "Do you know what this says?"
"No," I replied. "What?"
"It says, Max Needs a Pop Tart." he said with such a serious face.
I couldn't help but laugh at his cleverness, so of course I caved and gave him a pop tart.
"It also says, Max Needs Some Toys!" He said a few minutes later. Man, he catches on quick! Hehe!

Faces

2008-10-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

This is the funniest video of Max. I guess they were doing expressions or something at his school so he was showing me all his "Faces". He's always been so expressive, even as a baby. I love it!
Oh and by the way he likes to practice his "mad" face in the mirror when he is in Time Out, lol!

First Bites

2008-10-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

We tried giving Aspen cereal a couple weekends ago. I was going to wait until she was 6 months to start anything, but she was practically attacking us if we were eating while holding her. So I thought I would give it a try. And she loved it! Gobbled it right up! I couldn't believe it! Max NEVER liked food and didn't really eat much until he was close to a year old. So this is completely different for me.

She wasn't sure what to think about sitting in the chair at first.

First bite,

She loved getting some water afterwards! I think that was her favorite part!

The next time she tried it she did better.

What is she hiding?

I got the spoon Mommy!

And a video :)

Tootsies

2008-10-04T05:35:00.000-07:00

Aspen has found her feet recently. It's hilarious to watch her try and get them in her mouth. It's a constant thing too. It's like her main goal all day is to get her foot in her mouth. When you put her in her swing, she grabs for her feet. Put her on the floor, she wants her feet. Carseat, feet. It's a good thing she isn't walking yet, that could get yucky, lol!

Not looking good

2008-09-30T21:54:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law is probably going to have the baby tonight. She is having major bleeding so that means the placenta is probably detaching more. Please pray now if you can. If she has her now the baby doesn't have a chance. She's still only 22 weeks. I'm so sad right now.

Updated:
I just talked to my brother, he's on his way to the hospital now. He is an hour away. He said they were able to stop the contractions, but they were pulling on her circlage. So I'm not sure about where the bleeding is coming from.
I'm just praying so hard for right now. I went to find my post about her loss last year and it was a year ago this week. I can't even imagine how her heart must hurt right now. That level of pain must be indescribable.

The Blessing

2008-09-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

I have to smile at a little thing that Max did yesterday.
We were preparing for dinner like usual and we were all getting ready to eat. He took his first bite and then suddenly dropped his fork.

"WAIT! We can't eat yet! We forgot to say our blessing!!"

So he proceeds to go stand in the middle of the floor. He goes to a Jewish preschool, so he is trying to remember the Hebrew blessing they say, but just can't quite get it out.

So, he does this instead..."I pledge allegiance to our flag..."

Invisible Moms

2008-09-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

As a mom, sometimes you feel out of touch with the outside world. It's hard not to become solely reliant on your child's needs. This short article reminds all moms that we are not just the invisible mom. It's the little things that build strong foundations.

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated sum a cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England ... Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself.

I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:

'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' . . . 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.

It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're going to love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Great Job, MOM!"

YIkes!

2008-09-30T14:12:00.001-07:00

Aspen is going to be a mover I can already tell. She is constantly trying to get to things. Today I had her in her swing and noticed that she was trying to sit up in it. So I strapped her in. We have the papasan swing, so it's different than the others with just the chair. Anyways, she had herself turned completely sideways when I picked her back up a few minutes later. I then quickly sat her back in it to go to the bathroom and I forgot to strap her back in. I didn't figure she would be able to get out or anything. Well. when I can back she was laying on the FLOOR!!! She wasn't crying, just fussing a little bit. It scared me SO bad! I can't believe she got out of it!

White Sweater

2008-09-28T17:20:00.000-07:00

And yes, just in case you are wondering...I do kiss on those cheeks all day *swoon*

BUSY!!!

2008-09-26T10:43:00.000-07:00

Things have been so crazy busy lately! I feel bad that I don't get to keep up with the blog here as much as I want to. I'm doing good to pop on the internet once a day to see what's going on out in the world!
I am super busy with school and the kiddos. Also, my brother's wife is in the hospital, so I've been trying to help out with their little boy. She is 22 weeks pregnant and has mild placenta abruptio. So she is on strict bedrest at the hospital so that hopefully she can go a few more weeks (at least, we hope she will go longer). So if you could spare some prayers for her that would be wonderful!

New Lovie

2008-09-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

Aspen has this little blanket that has satin all on one side that she loves to chew on. I never realized that was usually the blanket she would fall asleep with. This morning I had put it in the laundry basket because it was starting to look yucky, so I was going to wash it. This afternoon I was trying to get her to take a nap and she was fussing a little. I gave her a fleece blanket, but she still was acting like she wasn't happy. She was laying in our bed, so I went to get something (we have our king size bed against the wall, so she couldn't have rolled off :) ) and when I came back she had rolled over to my pillow and was rubbing her face against the satin pillowcase and sucking her thumb. So I got her an empty satin pillowcase to snuggle with and she went right to sleep. She's had it all evening. It's so funny! But super CUTE!

Growin

2008-09-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

Aspen just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Today Villie picked her up from JPlay and she said she almost didn't recognize her, lol. It hadn't been that long since she saw her, maybe a week or so? But I have to agree, Aspen is constantly changing and losing that newborn baby look. Here are some random pictures from this past week or so.
Wearing her red shiny shoes. I *heart* these shoes! I finally bought a couple shirts that matched them so she could wear them.

She's been drooling like crazy lately. I don't know if she is teething though. Max drooled a lot at this age, but didn't get a single tooth until he was almost a year old.

Playing in her exersaucer

The Fam

Hanging out in her bumbo chair

I bought her Halloween costume not too long ago. She's going to be a flower fairy. We are going to a friend's wedding on Halloween, so I thought it would be cute to dress her up.

Sick Girl

2008-09-20T18:49:00.001-07:00

Aspen is sick :(
Last night she was really congested and was having a lot of trouble sleeping. She kept wanting to eat, but her nose was so congested she couldn't eat and breath so she just cried. It was SO sad. Today I've been using saline drops and trying to keep her elevated. She was running a fever of 100 earlier this evening. Poor thing. I feel so badly for her. She just went to sleep finally after a couple hours a whimpering. I put some baby vicks on her chest and feet so hopefully she'll do better tonight.

I remember the first time Max got sick as a baby. That was the first time I really felt like a "mom". It's like you suddenly realize how much they need you and you would do anything to make them feel better.

The Second Time Around

2008-09-17T11:29:00.001-07:00

I really like this blog entry on having a second baby. The girl who writes the blog is about to have her second baby and she talked about how she isn't "afraid" of having another one and is feeling very prepared. I think that was SO true for me. I was super nervous to have Max. I didn't know if I was ready, how could you know if you are ready for your first child? But with Aspen, I was so ready. I really felt no apprehension about having a newborn again. I knew that I was capable of doing it again and that was a huge comfort for me. Anyways, just thought I would share this because it really summed up a lot of the feelings I had with her,
Adding Another

Growing up in Preschool

2008-09-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

I picked Max up from preschool today and he was sitting next to this cute little blonde. He smiled at me and wanted to introduce her to me.

"Mommy this is my GIRLFRIEND, Sadie"

Little Sadies says also, "He's my BOYFRIEND and I'm his girlfriend and he can come over to my house to play!"

We are home now and he is walking around the house saying, "I got a girlfriend! I got a girlfriend!"

I'm SOOOOOO not ready for this!!

Somebody Save Me!

2008-09-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

It's going on Day 2 of no power at my house. Hurrican Ike remnants brought a major storm through the city and like 75% of the city is without power and the electric company is saying it could be 10-14 days until everything back up.

GROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!!!

I'm sitting in Curt's car on his laptop hiding from my three year old who has no concept of NOTHING works right now.

Mini Photoshoot in the A.M.

2008-09-13T19:30:00.000-07:00

I did a little mini shoot with Aspen this morning. Max wanted to take one picture too, so I got a sweet one of the two of them together. I think they turned out cute. I love the little beanie hat she has on. There's just something about a baby in a knitted hat. I think it just makes their eyes brighter or something.

Max and Aspen

Little Dear

Talking to me, lol

Sweet Smiling Girl!

4 Month Appointment

2008-09-05T12:08:00.000-07:00

Aspen had her four month appt today. Overall the doctor said she looked great! She was very impressed with her strength and how well she was standing up. The only issue was that she has minor labial (?) adhesion and we have to make sure to seperate that several times a day so it doesn't grow together more.
She mentioned solids, but left it up to us about when we want to start them. She said anywhere from 4-7 months is fine. We'll probably start closer to 7 months with cereal. I'm just not ready to get into the whole solids thing yet. I'm enjoying providing for her needs by breastfeeding exclusively right now.

But other than that she was perfect! She got SUPER mad during her vaccinations and screamed the whole time we were leaving, but went to sleep once we got her back out to the truck.

Stats today:
13 lbs 3 oz (50%)
23 1/4" (10%)

And some recent pictures
Aspen standing (leaned against the couch) next to Max,

Me and Aspen

Happy Girl

Going to sleep

Going, going, gone!

Oh and a couple cute videos,

Aspen talking politics ;)

Pants

2008-08-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

I made Aspen two pairs of pants this weekend. One is a pair of fleece longies and the other is just a pair of cotton pants. I thought they turned out cute.

Pictures from the past week

2008-08-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

I know if I don't post these pictures now, I'll never get around too it. My classes started back this past Monday and I think the word BUSY is an understatement on how crazy hectic it has been this week so far. I do have a few pictures I want to upload though because I think their cute.

Baby Check-IN

2008-08-27T18:58:00.000-07:00

Baby's Name: Aspen

Nicknames: Sweet Pea, Sweets

Baby's Age: almost 4 months (Next friday)

Baby's Weight: Uh 12-13 lbs? I weighed with me on the scale and there was an 11.5 lb difference. But I think she weighs more than that. I guess we'll find out next Friday.

Baby's Height: No idea, 23-24" maybe?

Clothes Size: 3-6 m or some 6 months to go over his big ole fluffy but, lol

Diaper Size: small cloth or 1 disposables

If you are breastfeeding, how is it going? Going fantastic.

Is baby using a pacifier? Nope, she's a thumb sucker and I love it!

Heard any giggles yet? Oh yeah, she has the best laughs.

What are you most excited to see baby doing? I love making her laugh. She's starting to "talk" more and that's really cute.

Sleep Through the Night? mostly. This past week she has been waking up more, but I think she's just going through a growth spurt.

Where does baby sleep now? In her crib for naps and at night. If she wakes up I bring her to bed with me.

How is napping going? Going pretty good. She has a set nap time in the mornings and afternoons. I've been able to get her and Max asleep at the same time in the afternoons so we all just take a nap. Love it!

Does baby like bath time? She loves her bath! I think its her favorite thing!

When is baby's next well baby visit? Next Friday the 5th

Do they have a favorite toy/blanket/pacifier yet? She likes a few of her blankies, but no favorite yet. I think once it gets cooler she may start to favor one. It's just been to hot for blankets lately.

How are YOU doing? Doing pretty well. I just started back to school this week so things have been hectic, but once they settle down I will do better.

Care to share how the weight-loss is going? Eh. Slow. I'm back in my regular pants but I still have 9 lbs to lose, so I guess its all in my boobs, lol.

What else has been keeping you busy besides babies/kids? Schoolwork is my main focus now besides the kiddos of course
__________________

All About the Mama

2008-08-26T17:50:00.000-07:00

On my baby board for Aspen we have Mommy of the Week where they get to ask me whatever and I answer them. It was fun! So I thought I would share the questions and answers,

What does your screen name stand for? Brandi is my first name of course and Love is what I always said I would use for a middle name if I ever had a daughter. If Max had been a girl, he would have been Adriana Love. But we fell in love with the name Aspen later after we had him and that became our new favorite girl name. I thought about Aspen Love but it sounds to hippy-ish for my taste. So we went went something different.

How old are you? 26 1/2

How long have you been with your SO? 7 years next month. We dated 5 years and have been married for 2. And yes, for those that just did the math, Max was at our wedding

How did you meet? I've known my dh Curt for a long time. He works for my aunt and uncle and owns part of the business with them. So when I moved to Louisville to go to college we started hanging out and after the first year we decided to start dating. And the rest is history.

Where do you live? Louisville, KY. I love it here! It's very family friendly, very clean and has a big city feel to it without seeming too overwhelming. Great place to raise a family!

Is this where your from? I'm originally from KY, but from Eastern KY. I moved to Louisville 8 years ago, so it's home now.

Do you plan on having more children after this? The jury is still out on this. I would love to have another one someday, but I can't do anything for another 3 years. Somedays I'm happy with just my two. They are both great kids and are healthy, so I don't want to "rock the boat". I think I am ok if it happens again, and I'm ok if it doesn't.

Do you work? If yes what do you do? Sometimes. I do photography. For the past three years I've been working really really hard to get my photography business built up. I love it! You get to meet a lot of great people and work with kids. But it's a very hard business to make any money at. So many people are in the business nowadays because of easy access to great cameras. So I've decided to do it on a limited basis and go back to school to finish my nursing degree (starts in 2 weeks!). I also have a Bachelor's in History from the University of Louisville. So I like to refer to myself as the "Jack of All Trades".

Does you SO work? What do they do? Curt works for a data communications company. They install and program telephone systems for large companies like hospitals and hotels, and some smaller businesses as well.

Do you have any siblings? I have 4 siblings. I have 3 older brothers and 1 younger sister. I love being from a large family. Which is why I'm hesitant to only have 2 kids because I loved it so much.

Your favorite childhood memory? There is a large lake near my hometown where we used to go swimming and camping. Last year we took Max camping there and he had a blast! I can't wait to create childhood memories there with my kids.

Your favorite vacation ever? Hmm, I have a few. I loved the trip with Curt that we took to San Diego the year before we got pregnant with Max. That was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the trip we took in January to San Fransisco. That was fun because we had Max with us.

Favorite kind of food? I love homecooked foods like what you have at Thanksgiving. My all time favorite meal is from a local persian restaurant. I love the basmati saffron rice, with shirazi salad and grilled veggies. YUM!

Do you cook? Bake? I used to say that I couldn't but I'm trying to be better. I'm getting better at trying new recipes and figuring out what works and what doesn't. I always do a lot of baking around the holidays because I love the way it makes my house smell and I want my kids to have good memories of all the goodies around that time.

Do you have any tats or piercings? No tattoos, not my thing. But I used to have my belly button pierced. I took it out to have laproscopic surgery before I got pregnant with Max and never put it back in.

How often are you on the internet? Mostly in the mornings before the kiddos are awake. I used to spend more time on it when I was doing more photography. Lately I've been on it a lot shopping for diapers, but I've got enough now, so I don't need to buy anymore.

What is your favorite online shopping site? Lots! I love Etsy, Hyena Cart, and Ebay. Also Crazy8 for kid's clothes.

What is you favorite Resturant? A local persian restaurant called, Saffron's. I also have favorites for different types of food. Like Mexican--Qdoba, Italian-- Macaroni Grille

Movie? The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. These are seriously the best movies EVER. Curt and I could watch them over and over. I can't wait until Max and Aspen are old enough to watch them.

TV SHow? We don't watch a lot of tv. We are one of the rare people that don't have cable either. We do pick up a few channels with and antennae, like ABC, FOX, CBS, and NBC. I like to watch American Idol, House and we used to be big 24 fans. My sister let us borrow her Smallville dvd sets and we've been watching that sometimes. I think we are on season 3.

How did you come up with your childrens name? With Max, my dh wouldn't agree on anything unless it was a short and simple name. So Max was one of the only names we could agree on. It really suits him well so I'm glad we went with that.
With Aspen, we had heard the name on one of Max's Baby Einstein dvd's and said if we ever had a girl that would be on our list. There weren't any names that really stuck with us as much as that one, so we decided that was the perfect name for our little girl and it has certainly proven to be the perfect name for her.

What is your favorite time of day? I like the evening when my dh gets home and we are together as a family.

What do you like to do with your free time? I'm currently learning how to sew and knit. So I've got a couple projects going on. I also love to read. I'll read just about anything. I love to read magazines like Reader's Digest and Time.

How do you entertain your kids without the tv? We do watch tv sometimes, just not cable television. Max watches PBS and we buy a lot of movies for him. I just like having control over what he is watching. He doesn't watch shows with commercials and stuff like that. I don't like all the marketing that is directed at kids.

WHat kind of camera do you use? I used shoot with a Rebel XT and then upgraded to a Canon 30D. I have several really nice lenses as well and that makes a big difference.
How did you learn? Mostly self-taught. I read a lot of books and websites and practiced, practiced, practiced!!!

What kind/s of music do you like? I like a lot of folk music I guess. I have a huge montage of music on my ipod though. I like to listen to someone with a nice voice like John Mayer or Michael Buble. My current favorite album is the Across the Universe soundtrack. It's all the Beatles songs sung by the actors of the movies.

What books? I LOVE to read! So I have lots of favorite books. My recent favorites are "A Prayer for Owen Meany", "Stiff", and "The Kite Runner". I love the Harry Potter series and have reread those many times.

When/why did you decide to start cloth diapering? I started trying cloth diapers out with Max right after he potty trained. I would put them on him at night even though he was day trained. I researched it a lot though when I was pregnant with Aspen because I was determined to give it a try with her. I really wanted to do it and wished I had done it sooner with Max. I told myself I would give it a try at least and if I didn't like it I could always sell them and go back to disposables. But I love doing it and I'm happy with my decision to go to cloth.

Have you ever met anyone famous? A few people. I used to work at the only five diamond restaurant in the state so we got a few famous customers. I met Johnny Reznik from the Goo-Goo Dolls, Senator Lehy, Sigourney Weaver, Allison Kraus, and I *saw* Gweneth Paltrow in the lobby bar at the hotel. Oh and this past KY Derby we saw a famous actor, Adrian Grenier. He played Anne Hathaway's boyfriend in "The Devil Wears Prada."

To add to the music question....do you have any absolute favorite bands/singers? My absolute favorite band of all time is the Dave Matthews Band. I love listen to Annie Lennox or Enya, but not all of their songs. But the songs I love of theirs I can listen to over and over, more than any other songs.

If money were no object what would you do? I would do a lot of traveling. I want to go on an extended trip to New Zealand. Not just to vacation there, but to get involved with the everyday lives of those who live there. I love to hear about how other people live and spend their time.

Where would you like to go on a family vacation? I would love to go to Hawaii.

What do you like to do for me time? I love to read, sew, knit, get my hair done, "window-shop" online

What is your favorite guilty pleasure? Dark Chocolate. Oh and ice cream covered in caramel. YUM!!!

What's the most challenging part of your day? I think the most challenging part for me is trying to take care of immediate needs at the same time. Max always seems to need me right as soon as I start feeding Aspen. And going to the grocery store always seems to be an adventure. It gets crazy sometimes.

Where did you go to college? I went to the University of Louisville. I got my first degree there and I'm getting ready to go back there for a second one.

What were like in high school? I was a normal kid. I didn't really fit into any cliques or anything. I was definitely a geek, but not a nerd, lol.

Were you involved in any sports/clubs? I was the number 1 seat on the girl's Golf Team at my high school. I also was involved with the French Club and the Academic Team

Do you belong to any other message boards? Yep. My first board ever was my ds's SK DueinJan O5 board. They are a great group of ladies and we are still very close. We went to a private board after all of our babies were born and I loved it!! I still post there everyday.

Being a mostly SAHM what do you do with your kids to occupy your time? We go to the zoo a lot and go to parks. We try to eat lunch with my dh a few times a week. Max is getting ready to start preschool next week so that's going to take up a lot of our time.

What is YOUR favorite clothing store, and what is your style? My favorite clothing stores are Express and Target. I dress pretty simply. I usually wear a dark shirt like a black or navy and jeans or khakis. I'm not into prints or designs.

How is your home decorated, do you decorate antique, country, shabby, contemporary,etc..? Uh, we are pretty undecorated, lol. I'd say if we have to classify it in a category it would be contemporary. We have light blue and light gray walls with stainless steel light fixtures. Pictures have black frames.

What are some of your favorite names? I love thinking about names!! I wish all my friends would get pregnant and just let me name their babies, lol.
My girl list this time was:
Ruby
Violet
Finley
Vivienne
Lyndon
And you know what, I love the name Suri, but nobody could get away with naming their kid that nowadays because of TomKat, lol.

My boy list:
Jasper Reid
Fox
Phoenix
Abe
Lyric
Archer

What is your favorite fast food place? Probably Fazoli's or Wendy's or Chik-fil-a

What's your favorite pair of shoes? Gosh! I used to have quite the shoe collection. But after kids I just wasn't as interested in buying shoes for me anymore, lol. Right now my favorite pair of shoes is my Keen sandals. I wear those the most. I also have two pairs of ALDO flipflops that get worn pretty often.

Do you have any family traditions when it comes to the holidays? My immediate family doesn't have any real set in stone traditions when it comes to holidays. But with my own family, we have a couple things that we traditionally do each year. For Halloween, we go to the same farm and do a tractor ride out to the fields to pick our own pumpkin to carve. This usually is an all day event. Then for Christmas I make sure that we are always home on Christmas morning (I won't travel to visit other family that morning) so that we can put stuff out for Santa.

Do you have any fears or phobias? My biggest fear is definitely losing one of my children or losing Curt. I have a phobia of clowns. I can't stand them and they seriously creep me out. I also have a deathly fear of free-falling, which I didn't discover how bad it was until Curt and I decided to bungee jump one year. Seriously, the WORST thing I've ever done. HATED every second of it!!!!!!

If you could go into space would you? Probably not. I'm happy here and I'll just look at all the cool pictures that all the astronauts take. And besides, it probably wouldn't be as cool as what I imagined it would be like. I want space to be like all the movies like Star Wars and such. And it probably wouldn't.

Are you a planner or a spear of the moment type person? A little of both. I have no problems going with the flow and doing stuff spur of the moment, but I also like to plan most things in my life.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Hmm, I'm sure my answer would have been a lot different if you had asked me this question 10 years ago for today. But 10 years from now I don't see my life changing too drastically. Except I will have a teenager then and that should be interesting, lol. I hope to be in a much bigger house and happy.

biggest pet peeve? I have a lot, lol. I think one of my biggest is people who aren't gracious. I am thankful for all things in my life, big or small. Another pet peeve is people who cross sidewalks really slowly or walk in the middle of the road when you are driving, and then give you an evil look when you have to stop forever for them to cross. I'm not saying you have to run, but come on, don't crawl!

favourite season of the year? I love the Fall. That's right at the beginning of all the great festivals and holidays. It's so much fun!

idea of the perfect family day/vacation? The perfect day is when we get to go out and do something as a family leaving all worries and stresses behind us. It's so much fun to be able to get out and just enjoy everyone's company.

A Day at the Pool

2008-08-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

On Monday after Max got out of preschool we went to the pool they have. He's preschool is in the Jewish Community Center and we get a discount on his tuition if we are members there. So we went ahead and got a membership there. I don't know why we haven't gone there sooner. The center is awesome!
Anyways, I forgot to get pictures of us actually IN the pool.
Aspen hanging out before we went swimming,

After we got out of the pool, Max was so cold!

Aspen hanging out with Daddy. I love her expressions in all these, lol

Going home,

All tuckered out,

And a funny video of Max,

In Morehead

2008-08-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

We went to visit my side of the family last weekend.
It was a nice time and Max had a lot of fun playing with my nephew Steven. They are best buds!

This is my neice, Lauren. She's so cute! She's definitely going to be tall like my sister, she's so long. She also got her hearing aides last Friday. They are super cute!

We tried to get them to nap in the play yard together, but they kept distracting each other. At one point, Lauren was sucking on Aspen's thumb, lol. It's going to be fun having them so close in age. They are 4 weeks apart. I cant get the picture to rotate in smugmug. When it does, I'll edit this,

Aspen hanging out in her jumper-roo thingy,

A Day of Firsts

2008-08-15T09:32:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Aspen wore a pair of her pedipeds for the first time and a pair of jeans for the first time. The shoes are HUGE on her still, but I'm getting impatient. This brand of baby shoes is my most favorite baby shoes ever and she has 5 pairs just waiting to be worn! Max said he liked her jeans. He said she looked like a cowboy, lol.
Hehe, I can't believe I get excited about this type of stuff now. Boy has my life changed since having a baby, lol.

So cute I could just eat her up!!!

2008-08-14T08:16:00.001-07:00

Chillin' in her Bumbo seat. She has a very limited tolerance for this thing.

She loves to "stand" up. It's very rare that when you hold her she actually wants to sit on your lap. Here she is "standing"

Being cute in her swing. Mommy loves it when her shirt matches her diaper *swoon*

Disclaimer! All of those photographs are not out of focus! I have a love/hate relationship with blogger image uploader. For some reason it makes vertical pictures blurry. I have no idea why. But if you click on the picture it's back in focus. So weird.

Weekend at the Boat - Part Deux

2008-08-14T08:05:00.001-07:00

In my weekend at the boat post I made a few days ago, I realized that I had forgotten to add several pictures that were taken that day. But when I went to find them I couldn't find them on my computer at all. So this morning I went back to my camera and realized there were several pictures that I never downloaded to my computer. So I'm going to share the other pictures now that I've found them :)
Max sitting on the back of the boat

Jessica with my aunt's dog Oscar,

My "sistah from anothah mothah" Mandy and her lovely boyfriend Fred,

Jessica and Justin, who are actually on a plane to Las Vegas right now to get married tomorrow!!!!! Congratulations guys!!!!!

13 Weeks

2008-08-13T15:32:00.000-07:00

Aspen is 13 weeks now...actually 14 weeks because these are pictures from last week. Time is definitely going by way too fast this time. She is changing so much already. This week she has started reaching for things and holding them in her hands. It's so cute how she tries to focus on something and you can just feel the concentration as she tries to make her brain open her hand and wrap it around the object in her vision. It's really amazing.
She's also started laughing, but I'm not acknowledging this new milestone because she won't laugh at me. Curt can make the girl laugh like no other! She just giggles and giggles for him. But for me, I just get big silent grins. Little stinker!!!

Weekend on the Boat

2008-08-12T12:29:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend at my aunt and her husband's houseboat two weekends ago. My two best friends and their significant others met us there as well. It was a fun day with everyone there. Aspen did awesome all day. We brought her swing and put it on the boat, so I think the rocking of the boat coupled with the rocking of her swing made her happy. Everyone kept commenting on how great she was being. Max had a lot of fun as well. He got out in the water with everyone and even went out on the jetski with Curt. But I missed it, so no pictures of that :(

Oh and Mandy--I can't find the pictures that I took of you and Fred! EEK! Sorry!!!

My friend Jessica meeting Aspen for the first time,

Max hanging out on the top of the boat,

Jessica and her daughter Brittany with Aspen,

Aspen hanging out in the boat while we were driving,

Aspen took a nap on the bed too. She was so good that day!

Max in the water with my aunt Villie

Curt on the jetski and Brittany and Jessica's fiance Justin are on the tubes in the water,

Aspen hanging out with Daddy,

That evening back at the marina, Max relaxing,

With Villie,

And I did Aspen's weekly bear pictures while we were there,

And finally, a super cute video where Curt makes Aspen cry, tehe (And dufus me had the camera turned sideways. crazy I'm always doing that!)

I love this shirt...

2008-08-12T12:27:00.001-07:00

It just makes me smile when I look at it. It's still really big on her and hangs practically down to her ankles when it's snapped, but I let her sleep in it with some cotton pants and it's too cute!

So Much for the Paci

2008-07-28T07:02:00.001-07:00

We've tried so many different brands of pacifiers for Aspen and she just wouldn't take any. Occasionally she would suck on one for about 2 minutes before spitting it out. But she's been sucking on her fists forever and I told Curt that as soon as she figured out how to undo her fists that her thumb was going to go in her mouth...and it has,
*swoon*

11 Weeks

2008-07-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

And just so you know. I do put a shirt on her sometimes, lol.

My First Diaper! Made by ME!!

2008-07-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to Curt's mom's so she could walk me through the pattern that I have for diapers. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I will have to tweak it a little for next time, but overall I think it's ok for a first attempt. It's a pocket diaper with a hidden layer of PUL fabric and velour for the inner fabric. VERY soft! I will do the elastic around the legs differently next time. I think I will make a casing (sp?) around the elastic so it goes against her thighs better. And I'll probably do front hook and loop closures instead of side ones. The fit is very trim too.

I can't wait to get started on some more.

Just Like Grandma's

2008-07-26T12:00:00.001-07:00

I've been practicing my non-existent sewing skills lately by embellishing some Gerber prefolds. I think they turned out really cute and have just been using them as burp cloths. I dyed the prefold, sewed a piece of cotton fabric down the middle and then covered the entire back with terry-cloth. They make fantastic burp cloths! Yesterday I decided to put one on Aspen to see how it would hold up. It did better than I thought it would actually. I didn't think the gerber ones would hold anything, but I guess with the added fabric it really helped. I don't think I've found the prefold love or anything, but I must admit, they look pretty darn cute Smiley

What they look like flat

Cutest.Diaper.Ever!!

2008-07-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

I think this single diaper might have just become the sole reason for me clothe diapering! I mean, seriously, does it get any cuter than this?!
I ordered this from Green Acre Designs and it's so soft and squishy and just absolutely gorgeous! I will definitely be ordering more of this brand in the future.

10 Weeks

2008-07-18T18:57:00.001-07:00

This week I decided to get outside and do Aspen's bear pictures. Its been too hot to set her outside for any long period of time, but sometimes in the evening it will cool down enough to enjoy some time outside. I had fun with these. Curt helped a lot and some of the last ones were his ideas. I love it when he tries to make her do funny poses. He's the best!

Now there's a girl who is comfortable with all her chins, lol

Telling her secrets to Miss Pingo

I just LOVE those baby blues! I wish they would stay that color forever, but I know that they will probably change just like Max's did.

Curt thought it would be funny to make it look like she was standing all by herself, (photography disclaimer: for some reason, everytime I upload a vertical picture into blogger it gets all blurry. I promise I didn't take the shot out of focus. If you click on the picture, the good one will pop up. Promise!)

It's so hard being so darn beautiful.

2 Month Appointment

2008-07-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

I hate well-check days. I just wake up with a guilty feeling in my stomach because I know that I am taking smiling baby to the doctor so they can make her cry with shots :(

But I know it's worth it. Aspen had her 2 month baby well check this morning. We are a couple weeks late in getting her in to see the pedi, so it's more like 2 1/2 month appointment. She woke up in an especially good mood today too. So it didn't make me feel any better about having to take her. The appointment was fairly quick. We saw Dr. B and he was wonderful. He did a great job going over things with us. He said that Aspen looked fantastic. He mentioned that her hips were a little loose, but didn't feel like they were dislocated or anything, so I don't think that is even a concern. Just something to take note of if needed in the future.
Then he left and the nurse came in and gave the poor girl FOUR shots (two in each leg) and an oral vaccination. She didn't cry as bad as I thought she would, but she still let us know that she wasn't happy about them. But once we picked her up and cuddled her for a minute she was fine and fell asleep as soon as we got to the truck.

As for her stats,
Weight: 11 lbs even (50%) Up from 9lbs 2 oz at one month
Height: 21 1/4" (10%) Up from 20" at birth and her one month. I told Curt that she may take after his grandmother who isn't even 5ft, lol.

She did get to pretty bandaids though. A nice sparkly one :) Too bad she's too young to appreciate the sparkles though, lol.

LOVES and HATES...No in-betweens

2008-07-13T06:19:00.000-07:00

1. She LOVES her swing! In fact, every morning when she gets up, I can hold her for a bit and then she gets fussy and wants to go in her swing. If I try to lay her somewhere else or if we have to go somewhere first thing it throws her morning off.

2. LOVES to eat...all the time. I'm anxious to see how much she weighs at her appointment tomorrow.

3. HATES her carseat.

4. LOVES her brother. Max can always get a great big smile from her. He's crazy about her too.

5. LOVES her bath. It always calms her down.

6. LOVES to be carried in the beco carrier. She almost always falls asleep before I can get it all the way on.

7. LOVES to be carried across your arm on her belly. During her "witching hour" in the evenings this is the only way she wants to be held. Oh, and you have to be walking too

8. HATES a dirty diaper. Change her and change her now, lol.

9. HATES all pacifiers. I've tried several different brands and she just won't take them.

10. LOVES to suck on her hands and fingers. As soon as she learns how to uncurl her fist I'm sure her thumb will go in her mouth.

Two Months

2008-07-11T07:20:00.000-07:00

Aspen is two months already! I can't believe it! The past two months have been so wonderful though. I know I've said it before, but I still can't believe how much easier have a newborn is this time around. It's completely different and I'm still shocked at how blessed we've been with her.
She hasn't reached any new milestones at her two month birthday. Still always ready to give a big smile when you pick her up and talk to her. She has reached that stage where she is more fussy in the evenings. Max went through the same thing at about this age, but she doesn't cry quite as much. I think for her, she just wants to be held and rocked more during the evening. She certainly wants to eat more in the evening too. Like every 30 minutes to an hour. I think she is eating more because she is gearing up for the long night. She is sleeping mostly through the night. Every few nights or so she will wake up and want to eat at around 2am. But she sleeps right next to me so I never have to get out of bed at all. It's SO nice!
She did roll over the other day while she was laying on the couch (I was right next to her). I think it was a complete accident and it really freaked her out too. She started crying as soon as she rolled.
Um, let's see, what else? Oh yeah, she still hates her carseat, lol. I really hope she learns to like it soon. I find myself wondering if the trip is even worth it because I know she will spend the whole time screaming. We've tried two different seats, so I can't imagine that it is the seat that is making her upset. She doesn't like laying on her back at home, so I'm thinking maybe that has something to do with it. But there isn't anything I can do about that because I can't strap her in on her belly, lol.

Anyways, here are some random pictures from the past week or so.

My friends Jen and Snez came to visit a couple weeks ago. That was fun having them meet her!

My aunt Villie with Max and Aspen. She's the only family I have here in Louisville. Max is crazy about her and she is so good with him!!

Curt's niece Rachel with Aspen,

Bathtime!

The Rare Happy Baby in the carseat

Standing on Mommy's lap

Papaw's Boots

2008-07-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

My dad bought Max a pair of moccasin boots when he was an itty bitty baby so long ago. I put them on Aspen today and they are just as cute on her as they were on him, although they are a bit big still. I love them!
Max wearing them when he was a little tyke,

Aspen wearing them today,

9 Weeks

2008-07-10T06:55:00.000-07:00

Pictures

2008-07-09T06:43:00.000-07:00

I take A LOT of pictures. Like massive amounts of pictures. I didn't think it was humanly possible to take as many pictures as I do on a monthly basis. Ok, well, I'm sure there is someone out there who takes more pictures than I do, but I just know that I take a lot and sometimes I don't always get to share all the pictures I want to because there just isn't enough time or bandwidth here on blogger, lol. So I'm making it easy for you to keep even more up to date on the happenings of the Stucky household. On the left of your screen, you will soon find a link that will take you directly to the monthly galleries of pictures. You can view them if you want or you can just wait for me to post my favorites, which is completely fine too. I'm just letting you know that you have options. And everyone loves having options, right?

Our 4th of July Weekend

2008-07-08T08:17:00.000-07:00

I made a post over on Max's blog. I'm too lazy to do a post here too, lol.

Max's Blog

Aspen Videos

2008-07-08T06:53:00.000-07:00

Aspen has started "talking" to us more and making noises. It's so cute! I just love this little girl! And with those big ole' beautiful eyes, it's not too hard to fall in love with her!
Please excuse my awful voice, baby talk only sounds good to babies I'm sure, lol.

Win some diapers!

2008-07-07T07:28:00.001-07:00

Bumgenius are my favorite cd's! That would be awesome if I won these!
Win a Bum Genius 3.0 Starter Kit from Nature's Child - Wholesome Goods for Mothers and Babies

Couldn't Sleep

2008-07-07T06:03:00.000-07:00

Last night we got both kiddos asleep in their OWN beds...Max in his and Aspen in her crib. We thought it would be easier to sleep, but we both had a hard time falling asleep, lol. I guess I'm so used to having a little one next to me all the time. The bed felt so big and empty. Aspen woke up around 2 though, so I brought her in next to me. And then Max came in this morning around 7, so it was nice to have them back. I love sleeping with my babies :)

Why having a baby is so much fun...

2008-07-06T17:34:00.000-07:00

Because you can dress them up however you want to and they don't usually complain about it, lol

Now toddlers on the other hand, they are usually solely responsible for whatever they put on, lol,

The Dreaded Carseat

2008-07-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

Aspen HATES her carseat. Everytime we put her in it to go somewhere she just cries and screams until we get there. It's crazy. Sometimes I get back there with her and put my hand behind her back like I am holding her and it sometimes helps. Sometimes I will let her suck on my pinky finger too because she refuses to take a paci, but she likes my finger. But for the most part, she just cries while she is in it. We've tried everything I can think of. We took the additional padding out of her infant carrier and she cried. We moved the straps up thinking they may be hurting her shoulders and she cried. We took her out of the infant carrier and put her in the Britax Decathlon (rearfacing) and still she cried. She rarely falls asleep in it anymore, only occasionally. Any other ideas on what to do? Or is she just being a stinker and just doesn't want to be strapped in?

Rough Week

2008-07-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in several days because we have been busy with some family issues. Last Monday Curt's 11 year old nephew, Jacob, passed away. He had cerebral palsy and dealt with many complications, including breathing problems. He was such a sweetheart and always ready to give you a big smile. It's going to be sad without him. Wednesday and Thursday we were at the funeral home with Curt's family. Friday night we invited Curt's sister and Jacob's mom, Andrea, and her family to the Independence Day Festival downtown to watch fireworks. We thought it would help them to get out of the house and have a little fun for Rachel and James, their two remaining children. It was a fun evening despite the circumstances.

This was a picture of all the grandkids on Curt's side Christmas 2006. We didn't get a chance to take one with Aspen. In this picture is James, Jacob, Rachel and Max.

Update on Baby

2008-06-26T07:39:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-24T06:30:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-22T09:52:00.000-07:00

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!!

2008-06-22T07:48:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-16T17:40:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2008-06-15T19:05:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-14T17:01:00.000-07:00

Finally!

2008-06-13T06:09:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-12T08:06:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-11T11:35:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-06-10T17:05:00.001-07:00

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.

2008-06-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-06-08T17:58:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-01T06:26:00.001-07:00

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

My Plan

2008-05-22T19:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the advice! I think if I decide to do anything it will be pump and give it to her. I've been feeding her like crazy since yesterday. I honestly don't think I have a supply issue because I always have milk coming at all times, lol. She just needs to stop being a lazy eater, so we are working on that first. I make sure she is good and awake when I feed her and I won't let her go to sleep, so she seems to be doing better.
I do have a really nice electric pump. It's a Medela Pump In Style. I think it was $300 when we bought for Max. I pumped exclusively for him for 5 months, and only had to start supplementing in the end. It was really hard work, so I was hoping to avoid the pump for a while this time around. I will have to start pumping more in a month or so to get her used to a bottle for when I start back to school this fall.
I think I'm going to make sure she is good and full tomorrow for her weigh in too. That way maybe a couple extra ounces would appease their concerns. I'm not worried about her at all! I think she is fine and her weight is exactly where it should be at this point!

Ugh. Should I just not and say I DID?

2008-05-21T16:26:00.000-07:00

I took Aspen to the doctor today to have her jaundice levels checked again. She is still yellow, especially the whites of her eyes. I thought she looked fine, but on Friday the LC thought she looked pretty yellow and suggested I take her in. I waited until today to see if things improved, and I didn't notice any changes so I took her in as a precaution just to make sure. Her bili levels were still up, but not enough to warrant having light therapy, so that was good news. Poor girl did NOT like having her foot pricked though!

BUT...the doctor is concerned that Aspen isn't gaining weight like she should be. Since she was 3 days old she has only gained 4 ounces and she is now two and a half weeks old. She is back at her birth weight of 7 lbs 3 oz, but just barely. The thing is though, she eats ALL the time. I let her eat whenever she wants, and if it's been longer than 3 hours I wake her up and feed her. But the pedi wants me to supplement her with formula for the next couple days and then bring her in for a weight check on Friday. He wants me to feed her for 20 minutes on each breast then offer an ounce of formula after that. I really really don't want to give her formula. I wasn't even planning on giving her a bottle for a while. He said I could pump for her and then offer that after I get done bf'ing, but I'm not sure she would even take it then. She usually takes about 30-40 minutes to eat and then she's done.
So I need advice, what would you do? Would you supplement with formula after bf'ing or just offer some pumped milk only? I just don't really see the need for the formula if I'm willing to bf her and then try to top her off with pumped breast milk, ya know? Now I'm worried that I'm not making enough milk for her which makes me SOOOOO nervous because that was one of the issues I had when I was pumping for Max. She does seem to eat all the time and seems content, so I just don't know.
Do you think his (the pedi's) concerns are actually legit? I wasn't concerned at all about her weight and the actual visit was just to check her jaundice levels. So now I have to worry about this!

Where is it?

2008-05-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

Max asked a very important question about Aspen yesterday.
After looking at her with a puzzled look on his face, he inquired, "Mommy, why doesn't Aspen have a neck?"

And a couple cute pictures I took today of my neckless child,

We are off to the pedi later to have them look at her to see if she needs to be checked for jaundice again. Her eyes are still SO yellow and her skin is as well. I took her to the Nursing Station the other day to buy some nursing bras and a nursing tank and they were commenting that I really should have her checked again because they see babies all day and she looked really yellow compared to them. So I waited a few days to see if it got any better and I don't think it has (although I don't think it has gotten worse at all), but its always better safe than sorry I guess. I'm sure they will say that she is fine and I'll have wasted a $25 copay. I'll let you know how it goes!

Skin Sensitivity Update

2008-05-16T16:17:00.001-07:00

So I washed everything in the Seventh Generation detergent and her skin looks 100% better!!!! She does have some places on her face still, but they appeared after she was laying on my chest, so I think I'm just going to start washing everything in the same detergent. Hopefully this continues to help!!!

A Girl and Her Bear

2008-05-16T16:13:00.001-07:00

I did weekly photos of Max for his first year and I wanted to do the same for Aspen. I decided to use the bear, Pingo, that Max made for her to take her pictures with every week.
Here are the first 3,

In the hospital a couple days old,

Week 1 (same week as first one)

Week 2

And quick update for today:
Baby weight check- 6 lbs 15 oz (same as last Friday, but only 4 oz away from her birth weight, so I think she will probably be back at her birth weight by her two week b-day next Monday.)

Sensitive Skin

2008-05-15T18:58:00.000-07:00

It seems like Aspen has very sensitive skin. In the hospital we noticed some little hive like places on her legs, but didn't think too much about it. Now she keeps getting them everywhere, on her head, cheeks, legs, chest and her arms have a lot of them. We went out today and bought some new hypo-allergenic detergent and I'm in the process of going through and rewashing everything that's hers. I was using ALL free and clear detergent, thinking that would be ok. Any other ideas on what it could be? I'm hoping rewashing her clothes and blankets will make them go away.
The spots don't seem to be bothering her, but it's so hard to tell at this point, she's still so little. But they do look like they would make her miserable :(

One Week

2008-05-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

Aspen is one week old today. I can't believe how happy we are right now with our little girl. She is absolutely wonderful and better than I could have ever imagined. This birth experience was so completely different in so many ways than Max's. Much more calm. Breastfeeding is going so well this time. I can't believe it. I told Curt before the c-section that I had a pep talk with the "ladies" and told them that they weren't allowed to let me down this time, lol. I think they listened! I have a feeling we have many more months of breastfeeding ahead of us! I'm soooooo excited about this!

Aspen sleeps great too. I'm not totally exhausted this time and actually feel like I am getting some rest. She's waking up twice a night, but the first time she only wakes for about 10-15 minutes and then goes back to sleep. The second time she wakes takes longer because we usually have to change her diaper then too. Curt and I were saying that she's too good, it almost makes us want to have another, lol.

Anyways, I've been wanting to share lots more pictures with you, but I haven't had time to copy/paste all the links here. So you can view the whole gallery if you are interested. The gallery starts at the beginning, with my last ever belly picture two hours before the c-section.

Oh wait, the first set of pictures are from the last day...so they are a little out of order...oh well.

Pictures