Discovering my activity mat....

Thank you Uncle Vinnie!!

Being fussy for today's pictures....

How do you get her to sleep at night??

Well, we've successfully moved up to 4oz of formula every 3-4 hours. Mary Claire seems to be alot more satisfied than when we were just giving her the 3oz. Last night she went 6 hours between feedings....which is great if she would just sleep those 6 hours as well. Here's our nighttime routine:

9-10pm is bath time
10-11pm she gets a warmed bottle with 4oz formula + 1 scoop of cereal
11-12 to 1 she is awake! Some nights she is calm and just laying and playing while other nights (like last night when I'm here with her alone while Brian works) she is never happy and cries on and off until she FINALLY goes to sleep
0330-0400am she wakes up for 4oz formula
0730 she wakes up for 4oz formula

So what gives??? We thought the extra calories and fullness of cereal should put a baby right to sleep! Guess not for our "Big Mama," as Brian affectionately calls her at those times!

Last night I was just exhausted and I laid her in her bassinet at 1145pm with its little light on, with the music on, and with the vibrations on. I fell asleep, heard her whimpering around 1215am so I turned the vibrations back on and went back to sleep. So I don't even know when she went to sleep, but she did! I don't mind her being awake and calm at night, but last night I just didn't know what to do again because she was so fussy!

Hopefully I'll get back to my picture taking mode here shortly.....

Just a fluke???

So last night we were all just hanging out and right around 1000pm Mary Claire started getting fussy. She had just eaten 2 hours ago, was completely dry and clean, was being held, and we tried laying her down....absolutely nothing we did would make her happy. So I thought to myself and asked Brian....do you think she knew it was time for her bath?!!?? We got her bath tub and water ready and put her in.....it was just what she wanted! She got bathed and dressed in her nighttime gown and was happy as a lark! She then ate at 1100pm, went to sleep at 1200am and slept until 0500am!! Whooohooo! Go me! We shall see tonight if that was just a fluke.

We can not decide how much Mary Claire should be eating. She is 4.5 weeks old and weighs 10.5lbs. We have been feeding her 3oz every three hours during the day and then letting her wake up on her own at night to eat. I read that you should multiply their weight by 2.5oz and that is how much they should take. If that is true she should be eating about 26oz. So for her 600pm bottle just a little bit ago we bumped her up to 4oz. We are going to try 4oz every 4 hours, but I'm just leery of this because she's been spitting up some. I've been trying to burp her more during her bottles and holding her upright longer after and that seems to help. I'm just scared 4oz is too much per bottle????? We'll see I guess. I've tried finding a chart online that tells how much newborns should eat, but I can't seem to find one!!

Mary Claire met her aunt, uncle and cousins from Kansas today. She met Uncle Thomas, Aunt Belinda, Kelsey, Kyle, Leah and Keenan. They all thought she was very sweet. We are going to eat with them tomorrow afternoon at Mariner's, and this will be Mary Claire's first "long" car ride. And, weather permitting, we will go see the lights and fireworks on Front Street in Natchitoches.

Second Christmas post....

Mary Claire had a wonderful first Christmas even though Daddy had to work BOTH Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We missed him alot!

Christmas Eve we had a fish fry at Nannie and Papa John's with just Mommy, Daddy, Mary Claire, Nannie, Papa John, Uncle David and Uncle Vince. We waited until Daddy got off from work and then had fun. We got alot of great stuff! From the pictures you can see that Mary Claire seemed to really enjoy her gifts! She was awake and alert just about the whole time! We then went home and Mommy and Daddy opened their gifts to each other. Mommy needs to take a picture of the pretty bracelet Daddy had made for her and let all of y'all see!

Christmas Day Mary Claire and Mommy got up and got ready and met Daddy at church for 0900am. (Mommy was pretty impressed with herself for only being 5 minutes late for her first time being on a time schedule.....let me clarify - I wanted to be at church by 0830am and made it at 0835am!) After church Daddy went back to work and Mommy and Mary Claire went to Nannie and Papa John's again for a delicious lunch. Mary Claire got to visit with Gammie, Granddad, Poppa, Grace, Uncle Mike, Aunt Billie, Uncle David, Uncle Vince, Michael T, Hayden, and of course Nannie and Papa John. Mommy and Daddy got a digital photo frame and some money! Mary Claire got some money and some pretty snazzy shoes! Then Daddy went to pick up Taylor, aka Bubba, and we had Santa with him. He got ALOT of neat stuff and was very happy with everything. (His alarm clock from Nannie and Papa John was actually what he wanted to set up first!) And now he is just enjoying his new stuff. Mary Claire is actually trying out her crib for the first time...Bubba took her picture:

And I just had to post this of Mary Claire looking cute in her cherry outfit:

Merry Christmas!!

Waiting to open presents at Nannie and Papa John's on Christmas Eve:

Enjoying my new dolls....doesn't she really seem to be enthralled by them??? And look how sweet she is hugging the one!

In my pretty Christmas dress on Christmas Day:
With Nannie:

With Papa John:

Some pictures

Looking cute in my ladybug outfit:
A pacifier balancing act:

Keeping her pacifier close:

This is my pacifier - stay back:

For those who have been wondering....

Mary Claire is doing so good at night! (I seriously hope I'm not jinxing myself!!!) She gets a bath around 1000pm, a bottle with some cereal soon after, and then to bed. And she sleeps to about 0330am, takes a bottle, and then goes back to sleep until about 0700. Knock on wood......

We have been using the gas relief drops sparingly. We felt that when we put them in every bottle they were constipating her (even though they claim to have no side effects). So we give them to her when we feel gas pains are causing her to be uncomfortable.

So things seem to be on a pretty set schedule. Fingers crossed.....

Where have we been???

This weekend just flew by! Daddy had to work nights all weekend (booooo!!), so it's been just Mommy and Mary Claire. Well, actually alot of the weekend was Mommy and Nannie shopping and Mary Claire hanging out with Papa John!

Saturday Mary Claire had her first family Christmas party with Daddy's family. She got a beautiful silver rattle from her aunt, uncle and cousins and her grandpaw gave her some money and a soft fleece blanket. We are still waiting on getting Mary Claire's social security number to come in, but as soon as it does we have quite a bit of money to start her a nice savings account! We've got to plan ahead!

After the Christmas party, Nannie, Darlene, McKenzie, Ty and Mommy went to eat mexican food and then went shopping. Mary Claire hung out with Papa John....again! We did go pick her up about 800pm and she went to Wally World with us so Papa John could go to Jena to go hunting.

Today Mary Claire and Mommy got ready and went to Nannie and Papa John's house for lunch, and, once again, Papa John baby-sat for another shopping trip! Will we EVER get finished Christmas shopping???? Hopefully tomorrow we will!

For those of you wondering.....Papa John is GREAT with Mary Claire. He is a natural care-giver and loves her and adores her sooooo much. He is a great father and is a wonderful grandfather. He is so proud of Miss Mary Claire that when he kept her last night he stopped at his aunt's house to show her off! We love you Papa John!!!!

I haven't taken any pictures this weekend as we've been busy on the go all weekend. I will have to catch up soon!

A trip to Santa

Mary Claire had her first visit with Santa yesterday! She did GREAT! I will have to get Brian to try and re-install our printer/scanner soon so y'all can see her professional picture with Santa, but here she is with our camera:

Mary Claire also went to her first Christmas party last night. It was at Nannie and Papa John's house for Papa John's work. Here is Mary Claire relaxing with Papa John at the party (note the feet propped up on the table!):

Also, I had to take this one for Nannie:

Waiting for Santa:

Knock on wood.....

We've had two pretty good nights!

Our schedule last night:
700pm - 3 oz formula
1000pm - nice, warm bath
1020pm - 4 oz formula with 1 scoop rice cereal
1200pm - off to bed - I put her in the bed with us
1230pm - Mary Claire is asleep!!
0330am - awake for 3 oz
0730am - awake for 3 oz
0830am - back asleep
1000am - awake for 3 oz and to start the day!

The night before was almost like this, too! Maybe we are getting somewhere!

We have a Christmas party tonight for Papa John's work. I just hope that doesn't mess up our (hopefully!) new schedule!

One week til Christmas.................

A busy shopping day

Mommy, Daddy and Mary Claire had a busy shopping day. We went shopping for Daddy's Christmas family and bought a lot of toys and stuff! We then came home and Mommy and Daddy wrapped over 30 presents and this is what Mary Claire did....

Isn't she the sweetest sleeping baby ever???? And, just for the record, Mary Claire was 3 weeks old yesterday and this CUTE outfit is a size 3 month and fits her perfectly! (Thanks Darlene and McKenzie!!)

We are now in the process of getting Mary Claire to sleep. She just took 4 oz of formula with one scoop of cereal thrown in. She will probably be awake until 0100am (it is now 1100pm), and hopefully sleep a good 4 or 5 hours on that. It is so nice when Brian is off work and can help me with her. I hope he knows just how much I appreciate it! He is a great daddy!

Need reassurance

It is 0230am and we are still awake and have been awake since 900pm! I'm freaking exhausted and feeling like I don't know jack. I have done everything I know to get Mary Claire to sleep and nothing works. Plus, she has thrown up 3 times tonight - something she has not done since she was in the hospital and 1 day old on that other formula! I'm scared to lay her down for fear she will choke. And I guess some of the feeling is coming back in my lower stomach because I keep getting sharp pains. I'm just so frustrated! This has to be the worst night so far! And my intention at church this past Sunday was for patience in times like these, and I feel like I've failed at it.

I just need reassurance! Kim - I saw your comment and actually commented back to you on that same post - she is now asleep in her swing! Guess we'll see how long it lasts.....as she stirs and opens her eyes.....

It is going to be a long Tuesday..............

Just some pics....

And a pic with Uncle David.....as requested by popular demand!

Two scoops and still no help!

So we tried TWO scoops of cereal in Mary Claire's 1000pm bottle and still no luck! She stayed wide awake til about 1245am, slept til 0115am, woke up and ate 3 more oz, and FINALLY fell asleep after 0200am!!! We even threw in a bath last night to see if that would help, and nope!

We attempted to go see Santa yesterday, but the line was too long. It was the weekend, so I thought it probably would be. Brian and I will bring her back sometime this week.

We are going to try and go visit Nannie's work today. Should be interesting!

I will try to get some pics up later on today, so check back again.

Cereal schmereal.....

Our schedule last night

1000pm-3 oz formula with one scoop rice cereal
1100pm-still awake
1200am-still WIDE awake
0100am-still awake and 3 oz formula
0200am-still WIDE AWAKE-we put her in bed with us
0220am-Daddy is asleep and Mommy falls asleep, Mary Claire still awake
0250am-Mommy wakes up, checks on Mary Claire....FINALLY asleep!....Mommy puts her in her bassinet
0630am-awake for 2.5 oz
0930am-awake for 3 oz

So Mary Claire's first cereal did absolutely NOTHING for her! What are we going to do with Big Mama???? We will try it again tonight....maybe I'll save it for the 0100am feeding??? Any suggestions??

On another note....we are going to see Santa at the Mall! Hopefully we will get a good picture!

First real bath....

And she seemed to enjoy it....at least much better than those sponge baths!!

Playing with Mommy

Mary Claire and I were having a bit of fun! We had a good night last night! Mary Claire ate at 1230, fell asleep at 0130 and woke up at...........are you ready????.........7am this morning! Whoa! We did have a kind of rough go at it from 1130-1230, but that was just because Mommy was ready to go to sleep and Mary Claire wasn't! Typical baby, and Mommy is still new to this mothering thing.

In the pictures above, Mary Claire is wearing a 3 month outfit! Wow! Brian and I can both tell she's getting heavier and Papa John commented last night that she was getting "taller!" By the way, Mary Claire stayed with Papa John for 4 hours yesterday evening while Daddy worked and Mommy and Nannie shopped.......THANKS Papa John!!

Mommy had her two week incision check and Dr. Babin says she and her incision look fantastic! So everything is good!

First snow/ice!

So Mary Claire's first snow ever happened early this morning! Unfortunately, she didn't get to get out and experience it because it was just too cold for her little self to be out! But Mommy took a few pictures to show her when she is older.

Mary Claire and I survived our first night alone without Daddy. It seemed rough at the time, but in retrospect it wasn't too bad. I should have been prepared mentally, and I thought I was, but I still got flustered and frustrated! I have no problem taking care of her during the day, but for some reason night time just throws me all off. I guess it is because my body is still getting used to being a mother and the crazy schedule that comes with it. Hopefully I will be less stressed tonight.

I just thought the next picture was so cute....it is the first time Mary Claire has ever kept the pacifier in her mouth during any extended period of sleep.

Just the girls tonight.....

Boo....it is just the girls tonight as Daddy had to go back to work tonight. He just left and we are already missing him!

Nothing exciting going on today. Mary Claire was up once again til about 4am, but at least she was hanging out with Daddy while Mommy got a little sleep. She then did stay up from 945am to 1pm today! But she's been out since then. I plan on giving her a bath with the lavendar baby wash tonight to see if that will help. We tried to wake her up this afternoon for her 3pm bottle, but she just wasn't having it and slept through her feeding! Maybe later this evening she'll stay for a while. Mommy did take a nap this afternoon with Daddy and Mary Claire, so if we are up all night it won't be as bad.

Mary Claire hung out in her onesie from Heather today:

It says "mom & dad's best present ever!" Too cute!!

A fun day!

Today Mary Claire visited Mommy's work! She did not seem impressed at all - she slept the ENTIRE time! She also had her first trip to the mall, Sam's, and Hobby Lobby. She did great. She did get a little hungry as we were leaving Hobby Lobby, but she did good and waited until we got home to eat.

So, while the Mylicon definitely seems to be helping, Mary Claire has decided that her long period of awake time is from 12am to 3am. She literally stays awake the whole time. Finally, at 3am, she is ready to go to sleep and will sleep until 6am, take a bottle and get changed, and then sleep until 10am. The time from 3am to 10am is really, really nice, but that time from 12am to 3am is really, really rough on Mommy! Mommy REALLY appreciates Daddy staying up with Mary Claire last night - I got a great night of sleep! Thanks baby! Anyone have any suggestions for this? She is not cranky during this time anymore since starting the Mylicon, but she's just wide awake!

Allison - I'm sorry but I can't post her pictures in her adorable dress. Silly me forgot to put the SD card back into the camera before I took the pictures, so they are stored on the camera's hard drive instead - and I can't find my USB cord. I think it is at Nannie and Papa John's house, so my next trip over there I will look for it! And now more bad news - I just tried to copy it to my memory card and freaking lost the pictures! So I will have to redress her tomorrow and take some! :(

But I do have these cute pictures - onesie courtesy of Jeff and Denise Vanderlick who are expecting their own little baby girl the end of February!