Monday, May 2, 2011

What's the Haps...

It amazes me how time seems to be flying by yet ticking by slowly all at the same time...how can that be? Elena has changed so much! Can you believe that she's already 8 weeks old? She'll be 2 months on Wednesday!

Life is easier...not easy but easier...fun...& fulfilling. Elena is a bit of a night owl...she's sleeping for at least one 4-5 hour stetch a day which is great but she also seems to like to be up from 1am to 4 or 5 am...not fun! She sleeps with me all the time now...another thing I said I'd never do! It's a matter of survival really...Elena will sleep longer & more soundly if's she's on my chest or cuddled into my side...so that's how we sleep. It got to the point where did I want to stand on my convictions or did I want to sleep...I wanted to sleep...so what if she turns out to be twelve years old & still sleeping with me, lol! Now that Elena is 8 weeks old I was going to start moving her towards sleeping on her own but today she had her immunization shots & is feeling pretty yucky so I think I'll wait a few days.

Elena has graduated from the Midwives care to our family Dr...she is now 12.4 lbs & 23.2 inches long...she's in the 70th percentile for weight & 90th percentile for height...I don't really get this "percentile" thing...what I mean is why everyone is so concerned with what percentile their kid is in but I am glad to know that she is developing & growing well.

She was such a trooper during the whole visit...she didn't cry or fuss while being examined, she didn't pee on me while out of her diaper & even though she screamed bloody murder while being stuck with the needles, she quieted quickly. Her poor little thighs are red & swollen & she's definitely uncomfortable but the Infant Tylenol seems to be doing the trick.

Elena really is so much fun nowadays...she's smiling like crazy & she reacts to my voice & follows me with her eyes...if she's crying while being held by someone else, she instantly calms when I take her which feels awesome...she's a happy baby most of the time...though when she's in a mood, she can SCREAM. I think she may have a bit of a temper! She's starting to coo & babble which has me in stitches! I think she'll be a talker like me!

You can tell by her weight that she's an excellent eater...she's exclusively on breastmilk...which is good & makes things easy for me but she feeds pretty much every 2 hours which is a bit exhausting but I'd rather feed on demand right now then have her cry if I try to stretch it out. I'm such a dummy too...last week she was really fussy & crying more than usual & I couldn't figure out why...then I realized that, duh, she was hungry! She use to empty just the one breast during a feed but now she often takes both.

She seems to be managing her gas issues pretty well & I'm not needing to give her as much Gripe Water now. I'm still very careful with what I eat so as not to aggravate her but that helps with my weight loss...I'm telling you, the breast feeding diet is amazing! I've lost another 5 pounds & weigh 10 pounds less than I did when I started TTC! I can't wait until the weather finally gets nice enough for us to go out walking then the weight will just drip off!

Elena & I went to a Mommy & Me group a few weeks back...I wasn't impressed. I'm not much of a joiner to begin with & am very shy when I don't know anyone...well this group was obviously an established group of women who have been meeting together for a while & they made no effort to include me. The facilitator didn't even introduce me to the group & not one woman asked what my or Elena's name was...out of the 8 women there, 2 approached me...one asked how old Elena was & the other asked if I was breastfeeding & when I responded yes, she said, "Good" & turned away. Not a fun experience to say the least. I then inquired about the seminars they run like Baby Massage, Baby Yoga, etc & was told that everything was booked until June & then just waiting lists after that! I did some digging & found out about another group run in another part of my city so am going to try that one this week & hope it's a better group of women.

Elena, my Mom & I are participating in a walk on Mother's Day that my Midvives Group is sponsoring in support of Save the Mothers called Footsteps for Change. I'm very excited to participate in such a worthy cause...I just hope the weather is nice.

That's it for us...we're pretty boring these days but loving every minute!

10 comments:

  1. Sleep deprivation makes a mockery of us all!

    Elena is beautiful and aren't you so lucky to have such a good little eater! :-)

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  2. Very interesting to hear that Elena is sleeping in bed with you - I feel quite sure I will end up doing the same! - nothing is as important as getting enough sleep! Good luck with the other classes - the one you went to didn't sound at all friendly!

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  3. It sounds as though things are going really well for you both, well done! I'm sorry that mothers group was so unpleasant. I can't imagine how people can be so rude? Definitely try out the other one and, I know it's difficult, but try to overcome your shyness and be proactive about introducing yourself to the women there. Even if you just make a deal with yourself to approach one woman and say hello. 99 times out of 100, people are pleased to have someone approach them with a smile and a greeting. Good luck!!

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  4. She's 2 months already? Wow!

    I know Chiquitito is going to be sleeping in the bed with me - I just can't imagine not doing it! LOL

    Were those women at the mommies group beeyotches or what? How unfriendly can you be? One of my friends went to a similar group and said the support proved to be invaluable. I really hope you can find that kind of support at the other group!

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  5. I'm really glad to hear things are going well. I think when comes down to choosing a happy co-sleeping baby to unhappy baby, I would do the same thing you are doing, let the baby sleep with mommy. Hopefully the new mommy group will be more supportive and friendly. I wouldn't want to be around bitchy moms either.

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  6. She is beautiful and sounds perfectly healthy! I'm so happy for you! Keep trying different mommy groups. It took me a LONG time and many false start to find my place with women who (seemed) to be well established in the mommy community. Don't give up but don't do more than you are comfortable with either. What's that saying, "make new friends but don't forget the old; one is silver and the other is gold." something like that--but I did find it to be true :)

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  7. Elena sounds great!! And you sound SO happy. this post brought a great big smile to my face!

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  8. I can't believe how big Elena has gotten! I hope you guys had a great Mother's Day - and you were able to find a new mommy group... they did not sound friendly at all!

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  9. Glad it is becoming easier!

    That group sounds really horrid! I hope the other group is better!

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