Hello November

How it is already November I'll never know. Nonetheless, our little angel is 7 weeks old and amazes us everyday. She weighed 11 lbs last time I weighed her. I prayed for a chunky baby and that is what I got. I mean really, who doesn't love baby double chins and roly poly thighs? Wish my chunkiness was as cute as hers. My doctor gave me the OK to start exercising again. I've always had a love for running so I've started the Couch to 5K program to get started again. I'm on week 2 and it's already getting easier.


Audrey has "found" herself in mirrors. Turns out that our retro pink 1960s bathroom is awesome for baby bathing. I knew it would come in handy one day. Lots of counter space and a big mirror. She loves getting a bath and now really likes staring at herself in the mirror with one foot hanging over the sling splashing in the water.


She also stares at her pretty little face in the mirror on her play gym. The play mat also has a piano that she kicks with her feet. A few lucky visitors have been able to attend one of her "concerts."


Her newest trick is to suck on her thumb and fingers. It's more like a slurp but she's definetly found her hands. It's pretty loud too and actually woke me up one night.


This one was taken on election day. I call it her "Proud to be an American" pose. For some reason she looks like a little soldier to me. Wish I would of had a little flag to put in her hand.


So on the topic of sleep. I'll start by saying that we've come a long way in 7 weeks in this department but I'm still dreaming of the day that she sleeps through the night. Usually we'll get a 3-4 hour stretch when we first put her to bed for the night. After that "long" stretch, she's been getting up every 1.5 to 2 hours. We've started trying her in her crib at night since her room is not too far from ours and it's not that big of a deal to walk the 10 steps to her room when she wakes up. Let's just say we're still working on our sleep routine. She's still little so we let her sleep when she wants to. She does sleep much better at night when she rests a lot during the day. But seriously, even when she gets up in the middle of the night, my heart melts when she looks up at me with those big blue eyes. I almost forget how tired I am. Almost.

Audrey Lately

The life of a 5 week old. These days seem to run together and now I know what people mean when they say kids grow up fast. We've been venturing out more just the girl and me. I no longer freak out if she starts crying in public. We've visited Babies R Us, the post office, Kohl's and Marshall's by ourselves. Audrey has had a bit of a runny nose this week. I've become a pro at using the SnotSucker. She hates it but we have to do what we have to do. She's also sleeping longer stretches at night. Can I get an Amen from the people!!! She'll consistently sleep at least a 3 hour stretch and we even got a 5 hour stretch last night. Doesn't seem like a long period of time but it's so much longer than we started. I can hardly remember those first few nights home now when we were in survival mode. She's turning in to such a big girl. She's starting to lift her head more when she's on her tummy and we've caught a few smiles. Nothing like a gummy smile to melt your heart. Oh and last time I weighed her, she weighed 9 lbs 10 oz. Love me some chunky baby!

Outakes from One Month Pictures

Who knew it was so hard to take pictures of a baby. Maybe by the time she's 18, I'll be really good at it.

One Month

Miss Audrey is a month old today. My how our life has changed in the past month, but wouldn't trade a second of it. It's not always easy, but this is no doubt the best time of our lives. She's started smiling at us which will melt your heart in an instant. Can't wait to see how much she changes in the next month. She had her 4 week check up with the pediatrician today. Chunky weighs 9 lbs, 5 oz and is 21 inches long. So she's gained over 2 lbs and grown almost an inch since she was born. No wonder most of her newborn clothes don't fit anymore. She's also outgrown the newborn diapers and is wearing size 1 now. She's in the 46th percentile for height, 53rd percentile for weight, and 29th percentile for head circumstance.












Neal went out of town for a few days this week so I made my maiden voyage to my mom's house with the babe and pup in tow. She was a little fussy on the drive over but I just kept thinking of the little fish in Finding Nemo. Just keep swimmming, just keep swimming. So I just kept driving. We finally made it. As soon as we got to mom's, that's when she flashed her first little smile. Guess she was glad to have made it too. We took her to the pumpkin patch and played around in her Minnie Mouse costume.


Milestone for Mommy: I was able to get my wedding rings back on today!

Photo Dump

So I take about a thousand pictures of Audrey each day. Well maybe not quite that many, but its a lot. Here's the best of this week.

































Love our little pumpkin!

Location:Photo Dump

2 Weeks Old

Audrey turned 2 weeks old on Monday. We're finding our way. Some days/nights are better than others. I've learned that your body starts to adjust to being sleep deprived. We're finding our new normal and wouldn't trade it for the world.



Her nasty cord finally fell off this week. I was so happy to see this thing go.


She has several facial expressions that melt my heart. I haven't caught it on camera yet, but my favorite is when she's waking up and she raises her eyebrows while pouting her lips out. She's also starting to smile in her sleep. Probably gas or something but it's really cute. Can't wait to see her smile at us.


I had my first post partum appointment with my doctor this week. My incision is healing properly. Still only walking as exercise and can't lift anything heavier than the baby. I'm a pound away from my pre-pregnancy weight. They weren't kidding when they said breastfeeding burns mega calories. I've lost 25-30 pounds in the past 2 weeks. However I was the heaviest I've ever been when I got pregnant so I still have a ways to go to my happy weight. I'll get there.

First Pediatrician Visit

Today we had our first visit Audrey's pediatrician. Neal had a meeting at work and I was too chicken to go by myself so my mom went with me. Audrey loves riding in the car and usually falls asleep in the car seat. I also haven't been cleared yet by my doctor to lift her car seat.



The pediatrician was pleased with Audrey's growth and overall health. She weighs 7 lbs 6 oz. She was 7 lbs at birth and 6 lbs 9 oz at hospital discharge. They like for them to be back at their birthweight by 2 weeks of age. We're over the birthweight now. She's in the 26th percentile for weight, 46th percentile for heigth, and 48th percentile for head circumference. We're also going to start giving her Vitamin D drops since breast milk doesn't have a whole lot of Vitamin D in it. After the doctor visit, I changed & fed her then we ventured to Target. She had a mini-meltdown during her inaugural visit to Target. So I made the great escape and took her to the car to nurse her while my mom stood in line to pay. A few people in Target were getting to close to her for my liking so I didn't mind getting out of there. She calmed down so we met Neal for lunch at Pappy's. They sat us in a back corner where a lot of people wouldn't be around her.