Bandaids and a few more pics

Two shots on one leg and one on the other! Look how BIG she looks!

Sitting in my Bumbo seat!

Drumroll please.....

Mary Claire is now weighing 13lbs 4oz! She is 24in (2 feet!!!) long! She is in about the 97th percentile for both. We have us a big girl!

She SCREAMED when she got her shots! Ouch!!! I didn't cry, but my eyes did well up with tears. We also learned she does not like "fruity-flavored" things just yet. She promptly spit out the Tylenol we tried to give her and she made some horrible faces at the oral rotavirus vaccine...which promptly got spit out after the nurse left the room! So who knows how much immunity she got to that! Oh well.

Dr. Clark said she was "PERFECT!" Yay! He did say she is like a 4 month old and was surprised at how very alert and aware of things she was! Good girl! He did make a comment that I'm dreading....he looked at her ears and said, "She doesn't go to daycare!" We told him she starts Monday and he then said, "Oh, we will be on a first name basis soon then." Ugh...... I'm trying to look at it in the way that she is building up her immunity for life.

So, that's the update. Check back later for a picture of her Bugs Bunny Bandaids!

Shots today.....

Mary Claire has her appointment today! I'm both excited and anxious for it....excited to see her weight and anxious because she has to get shots. :(

We weighed her last night by standing on our scale and she was right at 14lbs! (That was with clothes on, though.)

I will update this afternoon.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers....I'm not looking forward to my baby girl being in pain!

I hope I don't jinx us!

Mary Claire has been sleeping from 1030pm straight through to 545am! This has been happening for about 5 days now except for one night when she did wake up at 400am to eat. I really hope this stays like this because for me going to work it is great! I can get up and get ready and then feed her and dress her for day care and leave the house by 625am.

Mary Claire also seems to have finally figured out that she can get her hands to her mouth. Recently, she would accidentally get them to her mouth, but in the last 4 or 5 days she purposefully brings her hands to her mouth. She usually sucks on her knuckles and sometimes she will get her thumb in there...it is so cute!

We are anxious for her appointment Thursday. I'm especially anxious to see how much she weighs because I'm getting nervous about her being in her bassinet. The bassinet has a recommended maximum weight of 15lbs and I'm scared she's about 13 or 14 now. I know she needs to go to her own room, but I just have anxiety about that! When she's in her bassinet right beside me now I can peek over there when I wake up at night and see that she is okay and just go back to sleep. When she goes to her room, it won't be that easy! I know it is a transition that needs to be made, and it will, but I'm just so nervous!!

Mary Claire and Daddy seem to be doing good. I'm sure he will be glad to go back to work next week, though! Day care starts Monday......

Happy 2 Month Birthday!

Today is Mary Claire's 2 month birthday! The time is flying by!!! Thursday is her two month pediatrician appointment and we are excited to finally get a true weight on her.....so check back then to see!

Enjoy the pictures!

Work days

So, like I said in a previous post, being at work and away from Mary Claire is not as bad as I thought it would be. Today was my first day back at work in which I worked the day shift, which means I have to be at work by 645am. Well, at 345am I heard Mary Claire doing her grunting and twisting and turning indicating it was time to eat. So I woke Brian up to feed her so I could sleep some more, and by the time he got the bottle ready she was back sound asleep! And she slept until 545am! So, she got her cereal bottle at 945pm, went to sleep a little after 11pm and then awake at 545am. I think that is just going to be a one time thing because tonight has started off completely different. She just took 4oz at 800pm, her bath at 0830pm and now she's going to sleep! So she may not even get a cereal bottle tonight! What's with this kid?!?! I think she was just being nice to Daddy last night! I think he's in for it tonight, though!

I love my life! : )

Pictures from today

What you looking at??:

Big eyes:
Just hanging out with Mommy:

Have to admit....

Being at work is not as bad as I thought it would be. I think it is because my wonderful husband took off two weeks to take care of Mary Claire prolonging her day care start. It has been comforting to know that she is still getting some Mommy or Daddy loving for all day still! :)

When I woke up at 3:30am this morning to feed Mary Claire she started smiling when she saw me! That just made everything GREAT! However, soon after she started fussing for her bottle. But that smile just made having to go back to work okay. I'm just glad I had the 8 weeks to take off and bond with her. I love her so much!

Mary Claire is enjoying some time with Papa John tonight. Mommy is at work and Daddy is at school. Mary Claire loves spending time with Papa John....they watch tv, walk around, watch the ceiling fan and just do cool stuff like that. Papa John is awesome and we love him! Thank you Papa John!

Back to work

This just sucks. I have to go back to work in exactly 2.5 hours. I thought I would be mentally prepared by now, but I'm not. And, what is making it worse???? Mary Claire is just now taking her first nap of the day and the only way she will sleep right now is by holding my hand. I've tried moving it twice so far and she wakes up. So I'm sitting here with tears pouring out of my eyes holding my baby girl's hand and typing one-handed to update everyone. At least Brian is off the next two weeks to keep Mary Claire for a while before she starts day care on February 2nd.

Pray for me!

The biggest smiles

So Mary Claire and I were playing earlier today, and it was the best play time ever! Usually the couch, lamp, ceiling fan or her singing star get the biggest smiles, but today they were all mine! Mary Claire loves having her mouth and cheeks tickled and that gets some pretty big smiles (especially for Daddy and Taylor), but lately I've been getting the biggest smiles from her by singing the ABC song! By the time I get to the letter P I've had two or three smiles and then, for some reason, P gets the biggest smile and almost laugh! It is precious! Makes me hate having to go back to work even more....:(.

Also, it is very obvious that Mary Claire knows who her Mommy is! Last night after shopping and dinner with Uncle David, Aunt Lexie and Uncle Vince, I was changing Mary Claire at Aunt Lexie's house for the ride home and we were just having our own little conversation. Aunt Lexie commented on it and it brought tears to my eyes just knowing that going back to work is quickly creeping upon me.

I was thinking of trying to push Mary Claire's bedtime up, but the more I think about it, I'm just not going to do that. Why, you may ask? It is because when I go back to work I want to have as much time with her as I can. And if she wants to go to bed at 9pm, then that would take 2 hours of my precious time with Mary Claire away from me. And I'm not having that. The more I've been researching and reading about babies sleeping through the night, the more I'm convinced that we still have a month or so before that should even be happening. So with her going to bed at 11pm, getting up at 3am, then at 7am is pretty darn good, and I'll take it!

Okay, off to take a shower and finish washing some clothes while my beautiful baby girl sleeps.

Quick update

So I haven't really posted lately on how Miss Mary Claire is doing, so I'll dedicate this post to all of that.

Wednesday Brian, Mary Claire and I took a quick road trip to Shreveport to pick up the dresser for her room. I was anxious to see how she would do on a trip like that and she did wonderfully! She slept the ENTIRE time! We actually had to wake her up to feed her - she ate and was awake about 30 minutes after that and went right back to sleep until we got home and took her out of her car seat! Wow! I hope she continues to be a good rider. Wednesday evening Mary Claire stayed with Nannie and Papa John while Brian and I went to the movies. We saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I loved it. It was also a long movie and we were both ready to get back to Mary Claire. But it was nice to have a little "date" with my husband.

Mary Claire is also up to taking 5oz formula every 3-4 hours! At times she cries after that for more and we sometimes give in and give her another ounce for a total of 6oz at a feeding. She tends to spit up more with the 6oz (which makes sense) so I try to hold off on that sixth ounce if possible.

As far as sleeping....she is still on the same schedule. We are lucky that she only wakes up once at 4am, but it sure would be nice if she could push it to 5am with our schedules. At least I know what to expect, so that makes it very doable.

She is also getting very big! I wish we had a scale to weigh her on! Her 3month clothes are just about getting too tight, but the 3-6month and 6month stuff is still too big.....just like her momma - has to be in-between sizes!

She is smiling and cooing ALOT now and it is wonderful! It is so nice to wake up at 4am to her grunting and stuff and looking over into her bassinet and she gives me a big, toothless, gum-filled smile before she starts screaming for food! I love it!

Off to the mall with Uncle David and Lexie.....

Some cute pictures

Mommy and Mary Claire:First pair of blue jeans:Wearing her first shoes:
I love this hat:

As promised...

This is the bracelet that Brian had made for me for Christmas:And this is my beautiful baby girl: Look at those cheeks:

Anxiety

Okay, so I realized last night that I go back to work in a week! I cried all night long thinking about this, and the same thing is happening today as I sit and watch my beautiful baby girl smile and laugh in her sleep. Next Monday is going to be one of the hardest days of my life I think. I'm sitting here thinking of all I'm going to miss.....all the smiles, the yawns, the cute little noises she makes when she yawns (which I am sure will annoy me when she is 10 or 11 and doing them on purpose!), the cries and being the one to fulfill those needs, the smell of her, the playtime, the feedings, those big blue eyes, those tiny and perfect fingers, just EVERYTHING!

I know I'm definitely not the first mom to have to do this nor will I be the last, but I honestly never knew it would be this damn hard. I have been contemplating if I want to go back to working 12 hour shifts or just the 8 hour ones, and right now I think I've decided I want to stick with the 8 hour ones. I know with the 12 hour shifts I would get a whole extra day off in the week, but I would lose 4 hours with Mary Claire each day that I work 12 hours! I'm just not ready for that yet. I know we are bonded because I can tell she knows me, but I think it is just too early. Maybe when she gets a little older I will feel comfortable with working the 12 hour shifts.

I love this little girl more than I could have ever imagined, and I only want to do what is best for her. I know it is not feasible in any way for me to stay home, but it would be awesome! I would have to get into a better routine as far as keeping the house clean and cooking for my husband, but I could definitely do it! I remember when I was young being asked what I wanted to be when I grew up and my answer was always that I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. I did buy some Powerball tickets Saturday, but no such luck there! I just have to keep plugging along....dreams do come true.....proof: I met and married my wonderful husband and together we have a beautiful baby girl!

Baptism

We had Mary Claire baptized today, January 11, 2009. It was held at St. Rita's Catholic Church and performed by Father Craig Scott. We had ALOT of family and friends there and we felt so special and blessed to be surrounded by such great people. The guests included Poppa Hurley, Gammie, Granddad, Nannie, Papa John, Aunt Nel, Johnny, Allison, Emily, Isabella, Uncle Mike F, Aunt Billie, Grandpa, Uncle Mike B, David, Lexie, Vince and Mr. Charles.

This day ended up being extra special because today is the day that the Catholic Church celebrated the baptism of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. I was not expecting this and was pleasantly surprised when mass started to learn this! I will ALWAYS remember this day.

Mary Claire is so lucky to have two great godparents. Brian asked his brother, Mike, to be godfather and I asked my cousin, Allison, to be godmother. We both feel confident in each of our choices and are honored they were each willing to accept this responsibility and honor. Thank you!

Mary Claire was a trooper! She looked absolutely BEAUTIFUL in her long, white christening gown. Nannie had bought her a pretty christening bonnet to wear, but, unfortunately, Mary Claire's head was too big for it! It is actually a christening bonnet that "converts" into a handkerchief to carry at her wedding, so hopefully she will be able to get some use out of it!

After the baptism, Nannie and Papa John hosted a reception at their house. We had some delicious roast beef po-boys, chips and dip and cake (see picture below). Everyone seemed to have a good time and enjoyed the food and fellowship. Mary Claire also got some pretty great gifts as well. Thank you everyone!

Our beautiful baby girl in her gown:

Her beautiful gown:

Daddy, Mommy, Mary Claire and Father Scott: Father Scott and Mary Claire:

She did so good!:

Taylor, Daddy, Mommy and Mary Claire....yes, she is screaming!!:

The great-grandparents (Poppa, Mommy, Mary Claire, Gammie and Granddad):

Papa John, Mary Claire and Nannie:

With the god-parents (Uncle Mike-godfather, Daddy, Taylor, "Aunt" Allison-godmother, Mary Claire and Mommy):

Her beautiful and yummy cake:

Pictures for Gammie

Do you remember this dress??

We have a routine but still need some help!

We obviously have a routine down and are getting longer stretches between night time feedings, but how in the world do you get a baby to go sleep when you want/need them to? I really need Mary Claire to go to sleep before midnight every night! She takes her last bottle from 9-10pm and the next one is not until 3-4:30am or so. But after that night time bottle, she is awake until at least 12am....that's not going to be cool when I go back to work. So any suggestions via comments, e-mails to me, phone calls, etc would be great!!! We thought she was asleep by 11pm last night as we tried putting her in her swing, but as soon as we moved her to her bassinet she woke up. So far we've tried putting her in the bed with us, holding and rocking her, and her swing. Any suggestions????

These pictures are for Daddy...

Some cute pictures

My beautiful baby girl smiling for me: A big laugh for Mommy:

This playing is hard work:

Helping Daddy with my bottle:

Likes vs. Dislikes

So I thought it would be fun to let everyone know Mary Claire's likes and her dislikes!

Likes her bottles but dislikes having to wait!
Likes to sit and ride in her car seat but dislikes having to get all buckled in!
She will only poop in a clean diaper - when she has to "go," she will cry and fuss to be changed!
She doesn't like the loneliness of her own room - what will we do when she outgrows her bassinet which will be SOON?!?!
She likes to lay down by herself and will occupy herself for a good hour like that!
She likes to look at herself in her little mirror and talk to the baby!
She does not like to be on her tummy....so much for tummy time!
She LOVES her bath but HATES to get dressed afterwards!
She likes looking at both lights and ceiling fans....sometimes they get bigger smiles than I do!
And, finally, she LOVES her Mommy and Daddy! :)

Trying the video...

Pics from this morning play time...

Isn't she getting so big????

Maybe she'll sleep tonight???

Seriously, this kid has slept a total of about an hour since 0630 this morning! What's up with that??? She picks the one day I decide to clean house to do this! She had a nap from about 11-1130 this morning, another 30min one around 230pm and is "napping" in her swing now....I know she is not in a good deep sleep because she is still holding tight to her pacifier.

She's also wanting to eat every 2.5-3 hours! She ate at 0220, 0630, 0950, 1220, 1530....so far! Mind you, that is 4oz each time! And, knock on wood, only one episode of spit up! I guess her little tummy is doing a good job of handling all that formula! I'm sure she won't find this nearly as funny as Brian and I do, but we each have a special nickname for her. Brian calls her his little "Meat Pie!" And I call her "Piglet!" Which one do you think she will like best?

The pictures are from her "nap" this morning.....such sweet perfection!

Happy New Year!

We spent New Year's Eve at Brian's brother, Mike's, house popping fireworks, watching LSU, and just having a good time. We did leave and were home by 1000pm because Mary Claire was starting to get fussy for her bath. Mary Claire had a good night....asleep by 12, awake at 3 to eat and then again at 7. This seems to be her routine for now. At least it is predictable. I was just telling Brian that I am nervous about going back to work and having to get both her and me ready for work and day care! We will manage!

We did have our peas and cabbage today....well I did anyway - Brian doesn't eat cabbage. Nannie cooked a good lunch for us! We went to church this afternoon and Mary Claire had to sit with her Daddy in the back because she was being a little fussy. It was her time to eat - and she did - but sometimes it takes her a little while to realize she is full and doesn't need more! We then stopped in and visited with Gammie and Granddad and they really enjoyed seeing her...well all of us I'm sure. Isn't it funny how you go from people wanting to know how you are to people wanting to only know how the baby is?!!? That's okay.....we all do it!

I have a video I took of Mary Claire "playing" on her Little Einstein activity mat. I was going to try and post it, but my computer doesn't have the program to run it downloaded yet, so as soon as I get that done I will upload it to here. I put the mirror where she can see herself and she just looks and coos to it. It is amazing to watch her discover things!

Enjoy the pictures!