Zoey is THREE months old!

Weight: 13 lbs 3 oz

Height: 25 Inches
Clothing size: Still working our way into 3-6 month clothes... 0-3 pants still fit her pretty well, but the PJs are officially too short and the pants are high-waters!

Diaper size: Still size 1... She's got a tiny little bum, so we may be there for another month.

Feeding: *sigh*... Zoey is on a nursing strike. It started about 5 days ago... She just up and decided she didn't want to nurse anymore! After 3 days of pumping/bottle feeding, I went to get a Medela nipple shield, and over the last few days I've coaxed her back to the breast. She still refuses it if I don't use the shield, but it's an improvement. 

Sleep: Not sure if it's her 3 month growth spurt or what, but she's been up once a night for the last few weeks. I miss her sleeping through the night!

Milestones: She is doing so well! She holds her head up great during tummy time, and has started consistently rolling from her belly to her back. She also will sit up very well in our laps when we support her, and I can bounce her on my lap! In the last few days, she has started pushing against our hands with her feet to scoot across the floor. :) And she has found her voice! She "talks" all the time now! She has the cutest little voice!

Loves: Baths, jingly toys, the ABC song (she smiles and talks to me when I sing it!)

Dislikes: Getting out of the bath, being cold (like her mama!)

Mommy and Daddy could not get through the month without: Tylenol! The teething monster has attacked my poor baby, and I can tell she is hurting! It's been especially bad over the last few days, so we're doing Tylenol every 6 hours or so.

Here are some pics over the last month... Zoey is getting so big, and her personality is really starting to show! She is such a happy, funny little girl! :)

Zoey celebrated her first halloween this year! She was an owl.


Her friend Conner came over to go trick-or-treating!


She got to meet her Grandmother (and great-grandmother!). Claire came to visit for a month from London!


Sitting on Mommy's lap!
 

The many faces of Z.



And a sneak peek of her 3 month photo shoot!

Zoey is TWO months old!

My apologies on this post being a bit late... I've had it in my drafts for awhile now! 

Weight: 11 lbs 13 oz at 2 month check up

Height: 23 inches
Clothing size: She's starting to get a little long for her 0-3 month PJs, and she's starting to wear some 3-6 month outfits. I can't wait for her to wear some of her cute new outfits! :)

Diaper size: Size 1

Feeding: Breastfeeding is still going well. :)

Sleep: Amazingly, she was sleeping through the night for awhile! A good 9 and a half hours for a solid week...... Until she got her shots. It was like she was a week old all over again! She's slowly falling back into her routine... Now, she only wakes up once or twice a night.

Milestones: She's getting a little less bobble-head-ish! She HATES tummy time, so she gets most of that workout either on my chest, or in her sling. We've also tried out the Bumbo seat a few times (WITHOUT the restraint! Yes, that's right... I know how to read a warning label... It stays on the floor within arms reach of me. Imagine that!), but she's not too thrilled about it. She's gooing and cooing more and more every day, and she smiles all the time! She's such a happy girl :)

Loves: Her Fisher Price Luv U Zoo Gym... She could lay under it all day long! She kicks and kicks at the toys! She also loves it when her Papa speaks French to her. :) And, I am VERY pleased to report that she now LOVES bath time! 

Dislikes: Tummy time! 

Mommy and Daddy could not get through the month without: Gas drops and gripe water! Poor thing is SO gassy!! 

In other news, I've finally started up my Etsy shop, Itsy Stitches! There are 2 listings as of right now but more are coming very soon! I'm so excited... This is something I've wanted to do for a very long time.

I'll leave you with a few more pictures of my little princess... Enjoy!

Listening to The Lion King soundtrack... Raisin' her up right! :)

Talking to her Papa... She loves it when he speaks French to her! She even talks back... It's the sweetest thing!

Zoey is ONE MONTH old!

Onesie made by Mommy!

I can't believe our sweet little girl is a month old!! This post is about a week late, but hey, better late than never, right? Time has flown during our first month with Z. 

Weight: last time I weighed her, she was about 10 and a half pounds... She was 8 pounds 12 ounces 

when she was born. Her 2 month check up is on October 3rd, so I'll have a more accurate weight then.

For now, I'm weighing myself and then weighing her. 

Height: 21.5
Clothing size: She has completely grown out of her Newborn onesies, but she still fits into the dresses 

with diaper covers. For everything else, she's officially in 0-3 month clothes. She even fit into a 6 

month jumper the other day! (I think that one ran a bit small...)

Diaper size: Size 1

Feeding: We're breastfeeding, and she is doing great! She nurses about every 3 hours during the day, 

with much longer stretches at night. Sometimes, she'll go 6 hours without eating at night... I think she'll

be sleeping through the night before we know it!

Sleep: Night times go back and forth from being awesome to being a struggle. For example, last night 

she only woke up once, around 4 am... But the night before she was awake from 11pm to about 5am. 

During the day, she still sleeps a lot... She's up for a few hours in the morning, and sleeps until later 

in the afternoon, only waking up to nurse. Around 5 or 6 she wakes up and stays up for a few hours 

again. 

Milestones: Z can lift her head pretty well... She gets lazy during tummy time, though. She started 

cooing the other day... it was so nice to hear her making REAL baby noises instead of just grunts and 

cries! She's not OFFICIALLY smiling yet, but I do get milk-drunk smiles when she's falling back 

asleep, which melt my heart. Also, she's starting to figure out who I am... When I talk to her, she stares 

at me, like, "Hey, I know you!" :) It's pretty cute. 

Loves: Her swing, her Wubbanub paci (It's a blue horse, we call him Wubbie), Momma's milk, 

swaddling blankets.

Dislikes: Baths, gas in her belly, waiting for her meals for any longer than .02 seconds.

Mommy and Daddy could not get through the month without: Gripe water. Seriously, it's like 

magical nectar. Zoey's having a lot of gas issues because of my fast letdown and oversupply... She 

chokes and takes in a lot of air. :( So Gripe Water has been a must-have for us! We use Mommy's 

Bliss, and it's apple flavored... She really likes it! 

I am loving being a mommy! We're working on settling into a routine, and when we do, I'm going to 

open up an Etsy shop! I'm probably going to sell mostly hair bows... I've gotten pretty good at making

them! Also, I recently figured out how to cut fabric with my Cricut... I made the onsie for her picture, 

and I also made this pillow for her nursery!

I LOVE the way it turned out!

Stay tuned for more crafty-type posts... :) See you soon!

Zoey's Newborn Pictures

Quick post today... I just wanted to share with you the pictures that my Mom took of Zoey last week while she was here! This was my mom's first newborn shoot, and I think she did a fantastic job! Thanks Mommy!

Our first week at home: Jaundice, formula, and my must haves.

Zoey is 10 days old today, and today was my first day at home without any help... My mom went back home yesterday, and my husband worked from 6am-2pm, so it was just me and Z all day long. I was nervous, but all things considered, it went pretty well. I nursed her before we got out of bed, and she slept for a good solid 3 and a half hours... I got the dishes done, half of the laundry cleaned, folded, and put away (still a work in progress), bathrooms cleaned, trash taken out, my closet cleaned (Whoa!), and the desk in the kitchen cleaned and de-junked. She did awesome! When she wasn't sleeping, she just sat and stared... She really has been a great, happy baby!

She smiles A LOT! She's either very happy, or very gassy. :)

Last week, we battled with the jaundice levels... We went to the doctor for bilirubin tests every day, and she ended up with a grand total of NINE holes in her poor little heels! It broke my heart. We fought against supplementing with formula, until it got to the point that her levels were no longer going down... they jumped 2 and a half points in a day and she was a point away from going under the lights again. So after many tears, we switched her to nothing but formula. Apparently, bilirubin is better flushed out with formula... something about how it doesn't attach itself well enough to breast milk. It definitely wasn't a supply issue... My milk came in on day 4. Anyway, I hated it. Every single stinking minute. And I can't lie... I snuck in one nursing feeding. I don't know if she needed it more, or if I did. I think it made us both feel better. Her stomach got torn to pieces... She threw up and had diarrhea, and it was horrible! BUT, after 3 days, her jaundice is down! They're going to check on her again next week, but she's much less yellow and her eyes are even starting to turn white! I switched back to breastfeeding only, and her little tummy is so much better. She's still a bit gassy, but she's much happier and is sleeping easier. I'm so glad that the endless doctor's visits and heel pokes are over with!

All things considered, her first week at home has been pretty easy. She's on a pretty good schedule of eating about every 3-4 hours (although she'll go 4 and a half if I let her!), and she sleeps most of the time. She's getting more alert, but she's completely content in her bouncy seat or her swing. Which brings me to my must-have list! I have seen these on blogs, and it really helped me decide which things were important to have and which weren't. I hope my list helps someone too!

• Graco Pack n Play with Newborn Napper: I think a Pack n Play is on most everyone's registry, but Graco makes this nifty one that has a newborn napper attached. It's super soft and comfy, and keeps them at a slight incline. Zoey LOVES to sleep in it! I love it too, because it keeps her at arm's reach at night. The model that we have also has storage underneath... We have extra burp cloths, gowns, diapers, breast pads, and receiving blankets. It also has a vibration box under the newborn napper that can be moved underneath the bassinet when they're a bit older, and an attachment that plays music and has a light! It's a bit pricier, but amazingly worth it, especially if you plan on keeping your baby in the room with you for the first few months!

Graco Pack n Play with Newborn Napper in "Faith"

• Swaddling Blankets: Zoey loves to be swaddled! I have become a self-proclaimed expert at swaddling, after having at least 6 nurses show me how. One thing I learned is that everyone has a different way! Another thing I learned is that swaddling in the store-bought receiving blankets is impossible. I tried it once... She stayed swaddled for about .2 seconds, at which point all 4 limbs busted out of the swaddle at once. Hulk-Smash style. So we went to Joann and bought flannel in 5 cute patterns, and my friend Krystal serged the edges to make nice swaddling blankets for Z. We swaddle her every night, and she's instantly asleep! I really want some Aden & Anais swaddling blankets... but they're SO expensive! I settled for the security blankets instead (with the silk edges), and she loves them too!

Sleeping babies rock.

• Night light: Okay, so not just ANY nightlight... Mine rocks. It's an OXO Candela Tooli. I love this thing! Seriously, I couldn't live without it. I bought it when I was about 26 weeks, and I was constantly going to the bathroom, but bumping my belly into anything within a 6 foot radius. The cool thing about it is that it's rechargable and cordless. You pick it up off of the base, and it turns on. You set it down, it turns off. It has an 8 hour battery life, so you can leave it off of the base all night, and recharge it in the morning. It comes in handy now that Z is here too... We take it off of the base, and tuck it into the napper by her feet. Then I can be paranoid and check on her all night without turning on the lights! :D You can order one here! (This will take you to a rocket ship one, which is the same concept... You can buy the Tooli tops and change them out. Different colors, yeah!)

Mine is blue!

• Baby Carrier: I am a little obsessed with baby wearing. I have 3 carriers so far... A ring sling, a Moby, and an Infantino Sash mei-tai style. The only one I've tried so far is the ring sling, and Zoey loves to be in it! As soon as I put her in it the first time, she was asleep within a minute! It's nice to be able to carry her, but have both hands free... It is also an awesome cure for fussy-baby! I'm going to try the Moby tomorrow... I'm a little intimidated by all of the fabric, but I can't wait to try! I ordered my ring sling from Sleeping Baby Productions... She's been hand-sewing slings for 12 years, and the quality is fantastic! I received mine within a week of ordering it, and she sews them all to order.

Chillin'.

That's my list so far... There are a few more, like her Snugabunny Swing, Soothie, and my Medela Pump in Style... but these are my favorites!

Keep an eye out this week... I'll be posting her newborn pictures that my Mom took this week! Like this one:

Stay tuned! :)

Zoey is here!

After everything that we went through in the last few weeks, our sweet baby girl is finally here! Please meet Zoey Ava, born on 8/6/12 at 38 weeks and 2 days, weighing 8 pounds 12 ounces and measuring 20 and a half inches! I was induced on Sunday afternoon after going into early labor that morning... After 17 hours of labor and just an hour of pushing, she was here!! She had some trouble breathing at first and needed a bit of oxygen... She also has pretty bad jaundice due to the Cholestasis, and had to be given phototherapy treatment in an isolette... She is home now, breast feeding like a champ and being such a good, easy baby (SO FAR!). We love her so much already and are so glad to be home cuddling with our baby girl!!

My hubby and I

Relieved to have her in my arms!

Sweet little girl

:)

Love her.

Dr. Strnad, me, and my husband.

Love her squishy cheeks!

Chillin' under the Jaundice lights

Ready to go home!

All dressed up like a princess!

So, I guess I have Cholestasis... Here comes Zoey!

Update from my doctor's appointment today! My test results came back, and my bile acid levels are VERY high, so it seems that the answer to all of this insane itching is definitely Cholestasis. Guess what the solution is?

INDUCTION!

They sent me for a non-stress test, in which Zoey looked absolutely wonderful! They also saw that I'm having mild contractions that are pretty unpredictable at the moment... But I am 1.5 cm dilated and 70% effaced! He stretched my cervix (OW!), and said that he wants to schedule an induction for this Thursday morning!! The downside is that the Maternal-Fetal specialist wants to do an amnio to make sure her lungs are mature enough, so I have that scheduled on Wednesday at 10am. Yikes! But my nurse assured me that all will be fine, and that the worst that will happen at this point is that the amnio could make me go into labor. Hah!

I can't believe I will be holding my little girl by the end of this week! IN THREE DAYS! I can't believe it! I'm so relieved that there is finally an answer to my itching problem, and that there is a solution!! So the next time you see me, I'll be showing you a picture of my sweet baby!

Wish me luck!!