Week 10

April 30-May 6


Well, this week was wonderful!!! Alexis started sleeping  better during the night, having more bowel movements, and we took a "mini" vacation to Indianapolis.


During the night, Alexis typically sleeps about 4 or 5 hours, then eats, and then sleeps for about 3-4 more hours.  She had previously had a night of 7 hours straight and another night of 6 hours.  Thursday night, however, was crazy!  She went down to sleep at around 10 pm and did not wake up until 7:30 the next morning.  Of course, I did check on her around 3 and then at 6, making sure she was okay.  I couldn't believe it!  9.5 hours of sleep!  Friday and Saturday nights, we were in Indianapolis and Alexis slept for around 7 hours in her playyard!!! Last night we were back home, where she slept from around 9:00-6:00, then ate, and slept until 8:30.  Looks like we are headed in the right direction!!!  This is great since I will be heading back to work next Monday.  Hopefully she keeps this up!


Like I mentioned above, we took a "mini" vacation to Indianapolis.  Ryan ran the mini-marathon on Saturday, so we decided to stay in Indy the whole weekend.  We drove down Friday morning so that Ryan could work in Indy that day.  Alexis and I went shopping and checked into the hotel.  She slept about all day since she was in her carseat and stroller for most of the day.  We picked up Ryan from work around 4:00 and headed back to the hotel.  Then, we headed to the convention center for packet pick-up.  At this time, I started feeling a little depressed about not running the mini.    I have done it for the past 8 years, so it was hard to be around people that were doing it.  


Saturday morning Ryan headed to the start line and Alexis and I wanted to surprise him by lining up on the road within the first mile of the race and cheering him on.  We made it, but with so many people, we did not see him pass by.  After that we went back to the hotel so that Alexis could eat and then headed to mile 13 to cheer him on towards the finish.  It was a very HOT day.  Alexis and I were sitting in the shade along the road and were sweating.  It was definitely the hottest mini that we have been in.  I saw so many people down in the last .1 mile seeking medical attention.  Ryan thinks that he probably saw about 12 people getting medical attention while he was running...more than all of the previous races together.  We were happy that we were able to see Ryan this time and cheer him on.  He even stopped to talk, since he was not trying to break any record in the heat. After seeing everyone so hot and looking miserable, I started feeling better about not doing the race :) 


The rest of Saturday was spent napping, going to lunch, walking around the canal, and having wonderful family time.  Alexis slept pretty much all day, with the exception of eating and being at the start and finish lines of the race.  Saturday night, one of Ryan's coworkers came to the hotel to watch Alexis so that we could go to dinner.  We went to Tavern on South, which was directly behind our hotel.  Then, we went to the Indians game.  It was pretty boring, so we left during the 7th inning.  


On Sunday, we had breakfast at the hotel and then planned to go to the pool.  We put on Alexis' swimsuit and cover-up,  but when we got to the pool, the water seemed to cool for her, so we did not get in.  Ryan was able to use the hot tub, though, to relax his muscles.  After the pool, Alexis took a nap while we packed up.  It is amazing how much stuff we had with us, for two nights!  Traveling with a baby is definitely different than how we traveled before!  Once we were packed up, we headed to have lunch with Gramps!


Here are some pictures from this week:

Hmmm...

Thanks Aunt Brookey for my outfit!

Trying out the Jumparoo for the first time!  Even though my feet don't touch the ground, I love it!

My pretty purple dress.

What a sunny day!

Dressed and ready for the Mini-Marathon!

My first swimsuit.  Thank you Gma Pat

Love the cover-up (Thank you Tam), but not sitting out here!

With daddy in the hot tub.  Don't worry, I didn't get in!

Our hotel room was right next to Lucas Oil Stadium!

Weeks 8-9

April 16-29
There has not been a whole lot to update, so I decided to put weeks eight and nine together.  Mostly there will be just pictures, but I will also give an update with her two month appointment...yes, I said TWO MONTH appointment.  I can't believe it!
Some important dates:
April 20: Nya's 4th Birthday!  She had cupcakes and party hats to celebrate.  We had plans to walk with Nya's doggy friends on her birthday, but it was raining.  So, we went over on Sunday and took the birthday treats.  I know, some people think I am ridiculous or crazy for making cupcakes for her, but it was her important day!

April 21: Meet Alexis Day with Grandma Pat and her friends. This was very nice, as it was also a Grandma Shower.  Pat's friends brought gifts and had a little shower for the grandma and for Alexis.
April 23: Alexis turned 8 weeks old

April 26: Alexis' 2 month check-up  The doctor said that she is doing very well and growing at a steady pace.  She weighed 11lbs 15 oz and was 22 3/4 inches long.  She fell a little bit on the weight curve, but is following the height curve perfectly.  Alexis was between the 50-7th percentile in weight (I forget the actual number), the 64th percentile in height, and the 95th percentile in head circumference (yes, she does have a melon)!  The doctor was not worried about her pooping problem.  He said that as long as she did not seem in pain due to it, not to worry about it.  He also does not want me to do anal stimulation anymore...just wait for her to do it on her own.  Well, her average is about every 5 days.  Hopefully he knows what he is talking about!  Alexis did have to have her vaccines at her appointment.  She took one vaccine orally and then had to have three shots (two in one thigh and one in the other).  Poor girl!  She was a trooper at the dr. office and only cried for about a minute.  Then, she fell asleep.  We took her home, where she continued to sleep for 3 hours (without eating for 5 1/2 hours).  When she woke up, she started eating and then would just start screaming.  I guess the shots were hurting.  We finally got her some Tylenol and that made things better for the evening.  Although, she just wanted to be held...all night.  I would start to feed her and then she would fall asleep. she would wake up, I would start to feed her, and then she would fall asleep. This did wonders for our schedule!

April 27: Alexis turned 2 months old!  At two months, Alexis can hold her head up pretty well.  During tummy time she can lift herself up onto her forearms, hold her neck up, and look around.  She does not like tummy time very much when she does it on the mat.  She usually just pushes herself up on her forearms and then rolls to her back, where she will usually cry for awhile.  She is starting to focus more on objects and have longer "alone" periods, which is nice.  We have had many nights in the past couple of weeks where Alexis will sleep for periods of five hours or more.  She will usually sleep for five hours and then sleep for 3-4 hours.  However, we still have some nights with 4 hours, followed by 3 hours of sleep.  Last night, she slept the longest...she had a stretch of 6 hours and 45 minutes before eating and going right back down for 3 more hours. This was nice!  Let's hope we can keep this up!

I seriously LOVE this face!  It is so funny!

Wish this one wasn't blurry

I am a big girl!

Here are some other pictures from week 8:

and Week 9:

Although I look serious, I LOVE bath time!

Crazy hair

and some more crazy hair

Trying to see how long her hair is

Cuddly and Cute!

The 7th Week

 April 9-15


On Monday, Alexis turned 6 weeks old!  Time is going by WAY too fast.  I just realized that after this week I only have 4 weeks left at home.  Luckily I will only be going to work for two weeks and then I will be back home for the summer.

Eating/Pooping
As I mentioned in the last post, Alexis has been having pooping issues.  Again, she did not have a bowel movement  for five days.  As much as I do not like cleaning/smelling dirty diapers, I was hoping everyday that there would be a dirty diaper.  I decided to call the doctor again.  To me, this cannot be healthy.  We are currently using Enfamil to supplement the breastmilk.  When I had called the doctor to ask if switching to Similac would help her pooping issues, the lady told me that it would not because they were basically the same thing.  If I switched to help with the pooping issues, I would need to switch to soy, but not before talking with our doctor.  Towards the end of last week, we received a free sample of Similac formula in the mail.  Even though the nurse said that it would not help, we decided that it would not hurt to give it a try.  So, we started using Similac instead of Enfamil.  Since then (a week), Alexis has had three poopy diapers, which she has produced all on her own!  No anal stimulation needed! So, for now we will be going with Similac.  I hope that this continues! ***Just to let you know, before having Alexis I would have never imagined that I would be writing about poop.***  But, this is an important part of her being healthy!


On Wednesday I had my 6 week postpartum check-up.  Thankfully everything has healed well!


On Friday, April 13 we headed to Indianapolis.  Ryan had to work and we went down to visit with Grammy and Gramps.  We left around 7 am Friday morning and dropped Ryan off at work.  Then, Alexis and I went and spent the day with Grammy.  We went to lunch and had a great day, just hanging out.  Ryan and Gramps came home after work and we had dinner.  We stayed all night and then headed home Saturday afternoon.


Some pictures of Alexis:

Car rides make me so sleepy.

Visiting Gramps and Grammy

The 6th Week

April 2-8


Throughout the week, Alexis seemed to grow so much!  When I am breastfeeding her I can tell that she has grown just by the way she lays across my stomach.  Her infrequent smiles have multiplied to where she smiles so much every day.  She has also started "talking" to me.  One day we were "talking" and having a conversation for about 5 minutes.  Of course when I got up to get my phone to record her and came back she was crying.  Hopefully I can get a video of it sometime!  

Big smile with daddy!

What a busy weekend!  This week, we were preparing for Easter!  I ordered Alexis an Easter basket that will hopefully last her her entire life!  It is so cute because it is embroidered with her name.  Here is a picture:

I know that everyone thinks we have a crazy holiday schedule.  Although it is pretty crazy, I guess it just means that we have so many people that love us (especially now that we have a little one).  So, here was our Easter schedule.

Saturday a.m.: Breakfast and pictures with the Easter bunny

Alexis (6 weeks) and Cousin Ella (21 weeks) with Easter Bunny Brooke

Alexis meeting the Easter bunny for the first time

Saturday p.m.: Easter egg coloring and hunt at Aunt Renee's and Uncle June Bug's house

We didn't actually color eggs or hunt for eggs but we did get to visit with a lot of people!

Sunday a.m.: Brunch with Grandma Pat 

Sunday p.m. Lunch with Kim and Tam and their family

Sunday evening: Grandma Wolfe's house (although we were really late and almost everyone was gone). Good thing we were able to hang out with them on Saturday

       Of course, mom (Gramma) had to get Alexis an Easter bonnet, just like we had when we were little.  We did not get a great picture of Alexis in her bonnet, but here is one that will have to do:

After Easter weekend, I felt like I could crash.  I had not been that tired since I do not know when!

The weather had been pretty good up until this week.  The temperature has dropped and it has even gotten down in the 30s at night.  We think it is important to get Alexis outside to get fresh air, so we bundled her up in her snowsuit, which we weren't sure she would be able to wear due to the warm weather, and took her for a walk (I think it was in the upper 40s).  She was so cute in her snowsuit (thanks Grammy Linda).

This snowsuit is so cozy!

And last, here is Alexis, 6 weeks old:

5th Week

March 26-April 1

On Monday, Alexis turned 5 weeks old!  Things are pretty much going the same.  She is starting to be more consistent with her sleeping at night.  She usually sleeps a 4 hour stretch, eats, and then sleeps 3-4 more hours.  It is crazy, but when she lets me get more sleep, I get more tired.  I wasn't as tired when I was only sleeping 2 hours at a time!

Finally, some clothes!

On Tuesday, Miss Alexis turned 1 month old!  I can't believe how fast time is going and how quickly she is growing up!  I was feeding her the other day and realized that she takes up quite a bit more space than she had before.  Her body can go all the way across my stomach when I am feeding.  

So serioius

At one month, Alexis has turned over from her belly to her back several times. She is getting better at holding her head up.  She loves to jump up and down (and up and down and up and down...) on my lap.  I cannot wait for her to be able to  fully hold her head up so she can use her Jumparoo!   She continues to breastfeed, as well as use formula in a bottle.  She weighs 10.3 lbs and is about 22 inches long.  She is beginning to give a smile here and there.  

What I love most: Alexis gives these sighs that are just so cute!  I love to watch her when she does it because her face is so adorable!


What is bothering me: Alexis has been having troubles pooping.  She was only going every three days and then it turned to four, and then five.  I had called the doctor a couple of times and they said that since it wasn't seven days (when they are considered constipated), pretty much the only thing I could do was anal stimulation with a thermometer.  The first time we tried it I was nervous and did not insert it very deep at all.  The next day was better and she pooped within 2 minutes...and pooped...and pooped.  We went through three diapers in a matter of 10 minutes.  She must have been clogged-poor girl!  Hopefully we can get this problem fixed without anal stimulation all of the time.


On Friday I baked some goodies for a bake sale for a cancer benefit for my aunt.  We took them to Oxford and then stopped by Grandma Wolfe's to visit.  We were so lucky to see Aunt Carmen, Amber, Eli, Aidan, Izzy, Anna, Uncle Sherman, and Aunt Renee.  What a visit!


On Saturday, we spent a good part of the day in Oxford at a cancer benefit for my Aunt.  Thank you to everyone who came out and supported her!

The 4th Week

March 19-26


Wow!  I can't believe how the time has flown.  I cannot believe that Alexis is already 4 weeks old and that I have been home for four weeks.  I have enjoyed being home with Alexis, but other than taking care of her and cleaning here and there, I haven't really done much.  I do try to get out of the house everyday and run some kind of errand.  Luckily we have had wonderful weather, so we have been able to go on walks outside.


On Wednesday, the 21st, Alexis rolled over!  We were doing tummy time on her mat and she rolled over from her stomach to her back!  I would say I am surprised that she did it this early, but with her being a squirmer, I am not!  She also rolled over, tummy to back, for the second time on Monday.


I am still continuing to breastfeed.  It is getting better, but we still offer Alexis an ounce of formula after each feeding since I still do not think that I am producing enough milk.  Sometimes she takes it and sometimes she does not.  The good thing is that breastfeeding is not painful anymore!!!


Things have been going about the same as last week, with the exception of us trying to get on a schedule.  We try to feed her, have wake time, and then have sleep time.  Then, the cycle is supposed to repeats itself.  This idea comes from the book Baby Wise, which I have read a couple of times.  I read it before Alexis arrived, but since I hadn't had her yet, it was hard for me to focus on it.  This past week, I reread the book and we began the "schedule" this past Sunday.  The first day went great.  She ate when she was supposed to eat, she stayed awake for wake time, and she had naps whenever I put her down.  That night was awesome too! Instead of waking up every 2-2.5 hours, she slept for 4 hours, two times in a row!  But the next day, Monday (4 weeks), I couldn't get her to take a full feeding and I couldn't get her to nap.  Monday night she ended up waking every 2-3 hours.  We will hopefully try to keep with the schedule, although it is hard if you ever plan on leaving the house! I will let you know how it goes on my next post.


On Sunday, March 18, we had a family photo shoot, with most of the attention on Alexis of course!  My goal was to have a beautiful picture of Alexis and one good family photo, which would include Nya.  Of course, I wanted a good picture of Alexis and Nya together, but knew that would be impossible...but, we got all three and then some!  The weather was perfect for a photo shoot.  A friend at school was able to come to our house for the shoot. She is awesome and took wonderful pictures.  I have so many favorites!  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.

The sun is so bright!

My favorite!

Thanks to Gramma for the pearls!

This photo shoot is tiring!

This isn't fun anymore!

How did this happen?  Just relaxin'! So cute!

What a good lookin' dog!

Love this family picture!

Weird...we're kissing, I know.

So happy!

Nya felt like she had to come in and join the picture.  She sat there for quite awhile!

Too cute!

So peaceful!

Precious!

Love her SO much!

Thank you to Ashley Colsten for spending a couple of hours with us and taking such wonderful photos!  I hope that you guys enjoy these pictures as much as I did and still do!


Forgot to add the 4 week picture:

Look at me all stretched out!