Questions Answered...

Ive had a few questions lately and thought I would just answer them at once....

1) when are you going to start? 
We are trying to get rice cereal down and then once she gets that down I will start trying to make the baby food.


2) Did something happen to her nose? It looks like it got injured or something. Hope she's okay! 
She has a hemangioma which should go away by the time she is 1-2 years old. We have gone to a plastic surgeon and a pediatric ENT just to make sure it was not going to grow into her nose and block her breathing. THe pediatric ENT wasnt concerned at all and said it may get a little worst before it gets better but should start going down by the time she is 9 months old.


3) Did your ped recommend juice?
she did not recommend juice but said we could try it out if we wanted to but again it was up to us. She never recommended regular juice but infant juice which is super diluted if we wanted to do juice. Its something that we will not be doing for a while or even thinking about until we get all of the vegetables and fruits in order.


For an update on the cereal-we tried her twice and she has just screamed bloody murder on it. 
Picture of the 2nd day

We are taking a few days off and seeing if maybe she will do better later. I had a recommendation to try oatmeal instead of rice and somehow that seemed to work for others if they dont take to cereal first.


Right now Morgan is still breastfeeding twice a day (morning and at night) and then taking a bottle of formula 3X a day. Ive learned my lesson the hard way that she does not want to take a bottle of formula at night because the few times Ive given her formula at night she has not slept well at all. Breastfeeding is still going well for the 2X Im feeding her but if we go out at night it makes it really tough.


Ive also read up on the review of the Beaba Babycook from Williams-Sonoma which I have eyed since I saw it months ago. After reading many reviews online Ive come to the conclusion that I would be spending a lot more time with it. Im leaning right now to just buying a steamer and then I can cook a lot more food and just freeze it. If anyone has any recommendations for specifics please let me know.


Also, for storage of the food if you have any recommendations please let me know.


Any other questions please let me know:)


Just a few pictures

how I found Morgan the other morning when I went to pick her up. Yes her little leg was hanging out and she also turned herself all the way around. Her head was at the top of the bumper when I laid her down.

Happy girl after her shots-you can see she got shots on both legs and she got tweety bird bandaids:)

Naps=Bliss

The difference a day can make is incredible I must admit. Yesterday Morgan decided that she was not going to nap at all for the entire day. We tried literally about everything to get this child to go to bed she just refused to go to bed. Then on top of no naps she was feeding about every hour (really more like every 30 min from the time she ended till the time she started the next time). Poor little girl was so tired and so fussy and there was not a thing in the world that was making her better. Of course the mommy guilt kicked in and all I kept thinking is why cant I just console her. Finally she did go to bed for the night, woke up and decided she wanted to stay up for 2 hrs. Im not sure if she is going through a growth spurt or what but she sure is eating a TON!

Today is going a bit better and she has been down for 1.5 hrs so far for a nap so much better start than yesterday. We go back this afternoon to check up on her weight to see if she is up to her birth weight yet or not. Cant believe she is already 4 weeks old-time is flying by!

Also need a few recommendations..
1) For pumping, what is the best way to store the milk (bottles, bags, etc) and how long can you keep it in the freezer?
2) We need to invest in a baby monitor since she will be moving into her room soon. Would love to hear good or bad out of a monitor.

Motherhood

this is a picture of my grandad who is 91 (almost 92 in Oct) who has never held a newborn but somehow my mom tricked him. It will be a picture to keep forever!

So some things I have learned about Motherhood....in my 18 days being a mother...

• Mommy guilt is some crazy stuff. You can feel so guilty about the smallest thing and you always want your baby to not be hurting a bit (even if it is hiccups and it really isnt hurting them..you still feel guilty)
• I never knew that I could truly love someone so much and could love her more each and every day. 
• The moment we met was truly amazing-I dont think there is any other feeling in the world like that-just pure bliss
• I never knew I could love my husband more than I do-he has been amazing and Im so thankful that Morgan has a wonderful dad that cares about her so much. She already has him wrapped around her little finger.
• There is a trial & error on seeing what works and what doesnt especially when she is crying but so far we seem to have gotten the clues so far for the most part.
• Pictures are so addictive with having a baby its unreal. I love to take them all the time! I loved taking pictures before but now its an addiction :)
• every baby is not the same and just because one of your friends tells you one thing worked for them doesnt mean it will work for you.
• every time you seem to sit down to eat, the baby seems to magically wake up to eat. Maybe she smells the food right?!
• The first night will be the most difficult thing but once you make it each day does get easier and you start to learn your baby more and more each day
• no 2 labor & delivery is the same and Im so thankful. I had a super easy recovery from a c-section which is unheard of it seems like. The first 2 days were much, much pain but after that it was very minimal. I was good to go with doing things by the time we got home just about but of course I waited to make sure I was fully recovered. It did make taking caring of Morgan so much easier. I would recommend a c-section to anyone after going through it but again thats just me.
• After having the c-section at 2 weeks PP I am only 4.4 lbs away from my pre-pg weight. Not much longer to go! My pre-pg jeans almost fit but still need to tone up I think before they will fit
• Breastfeeding is a hard thing especially the first 4 days but since my milk has came in, it has been so much easier. I am still exclusively BF her for now but wont be able to do it once I go back to work in August. It has been an amazing bonding time for us and I love it a lot more than I thought I would. Of course going anywhere has been a definite challenge because Im not pumping but we have found work arounds so far.
• My Brest Friend Pillow=wonderful! The LC had one when we went for one our BF sessions and it made nursing so much easier. I would now recommend it to anyone feeding, its so much easier than a boppy pillow.
• Morgan has been an amazing baby-she sleeps at night the minimum of 5 hrs but last night slept 7.5 hrs straight. We have been told by many people just how blessed we are that she sleeps so long. It sure helps mom & dad to feel rested. I think Morgan just likes her sleep as much as we do!
• I dont think I can ever say Ive been more excited to see poop & pee diapers its amazing how your life revolves around these to make sure everything is ok with their systems
• When she has gas poor little thing just isnt a happy camper I wish I could take the gas away from her.
• baby smiles are the absolute best and make the world go around for now. I could kiss her little cheeks and still not have enough  I dont think.
• Bassinet=best purchase if you dont have one. It has been a wonderful thing to have around. She loves sleeping in her little bassinet!
• She loves music and will fall to sleep in no time once you turn it on, its like magic!
• Doing anything always revolves around naps, its amazing how much more you can get done in such a small amount of time!
• We are still trying to figure out the entire schedule thing. So far we have the night down but daytime varies greatly with naps. One day she will take lots of 30-45 min naps and other days she will take 2-3 hr naps.
• I still wonder how parents of more than one run errands its hard enough going anywhere with 1. I keep getting told it will get easier once she gets a little bigger but for now Chad is running the errands because its so much easier!
• Getting dressed is definitely a challenge. I seem to get a shower in but makeup and fixing my hair  usually doesnt happen for now. Maybe one day Ill get it all down :)
• I could seriously stare at her all day long except I guess  I need to sleep sometime.
• She loves to cuddle and it is so sweet. She just loves to lay on your chest and will stare up at you with her beautiful little eyes. Those moments I will treasure forever and ever!
• Morgan is such a content baby and doesnt cry much at all but when she does she is loud and lets you know.
• Ive been amazed that our dog when she does bark it doesnt bother Morgan one bit. I know they say that if the dog barks while she is in the womb she gets used to the sound but I guess I never really believed it-guess I should now.
• Many people told me I would cry over everything but honestly I really havent. I guess it all goes back to the every person is different. I cried when Morgan was born how could someone not. Meeting your child for the first time is a magical moment.

Advice from moms and mom to be's

So I have my glucose test on Thursday and just wondering for those that have done the test what do you recommend for eating? I know no fruits or straight sugars but what about carbs, etc?

In totally unrelated would this really work or be worth the money for any breastfeeding moms
http://www.mymilkies.com/