5 Weeks!

Wow again, it has been 5 weeks since little Avalyn was born! CRAZY! I continue to practically pinch myself to tell me that she's mine - my daughter... it's still taking some time to get used to saying that, still very surreal. Sometimes I feel like I'm just babysitting a beautiful little girl 24/7, but no, she's mine! Hard to believe...

This week has come and gone in a second. Last Friday I had my first "Mommy and Me" group hosted by a social worker I worked with in SCPS. The other women are mostly Speech Language Pathologists in the county as well... but it was a nice gathering where we shared feelings, concerns, stories, and swapped products of things we don't use. We have our next one scheduled for the 18th, and hopefully we can do a couple more, as many of the women go back to work on October 1st full-time. It has been nice to talk with other women who are going through similar experiences RIGHT NOW... when it's fresh in their minds and can relate or help me through any trouble I may be having.

On Saturday we were in desperate need to go grocery shopping! So, we loaded up the family and did a Costco and Publix run to stock up the kitchen. It appears that Avalyn is not a good napper in the car seat - she always wakes up whenever we stop or take her in and out of the car... it's a good thing we don't rely on this method to put her to sleep!! We'd be in the car driving all night long! Drew and Julie also came over that night and had dinner with us - it had been awhile since we last saw them, so it's always good to catch up and see friends.

Sunday was a day to relax and just hang out... Monday was Labor Day so we headed to my mom's house about 1pm to eat and hang with family. Avalyn was able to take two naps at the house, which is good considering it's a new environment, lots of stimulation (cameras, family), and a different 'bed'. We'd like her to get used to falling asleep/napping anywhere we go so we don't have to always plan our lives around her nap schedule. This is now the second place we've taken her to nap outside our house, and it was already better than the first outing to the Santurri's. Progress.... That night Ben and Ellen came over to watch the first half of the FSU vs. Miami game. Avalyn was somewhat 'cranky' as it had been a busy day/weekend for her, but she was able to make an appearance for our guests for a little bit. Brandon made the mistake of staying up to watch the end of the game (till midnight) and of course, Avalyn woke twice during the night, or just early that morning with gas, so he was somewhat cranky and tired himself the next day...

The rest of this week has been going ok. Tuesday night she was really fussy from like, 3-7, so of course, I begin to research stuff on the internet and convince myself she has Thrush - a type of yeast infection... of course, I overreacted and she does NOT have Thrush after talking with a lot of people and looking more into it... she was just fussy, tired (she missed a nap), and I was stressed. She's FINE.. going to have times where she's just fussy.. we all do. Brandon did take her out in the stroller that night to walk around the block with the dogs - she seemed to like that. After her 'fussy period', she slept fine that night and was fine the next day. Yesterday we took her in the stroller again for another walk around... it was such a nice night out!

She's becoming more alert and aware when she's awake. I really see her looking at me more and other things, even tracking objects slightly better than last week. She often smiles and seems to laugh when on the changing table after a nap too - so that's been a really cute thing to look for when she wakes up - she seems just soo happy and it's fun to see a little personality beginning to show.

Her night sleeping seems to be stuck in a habitual waking. We've been doing her last feed of the day around 10:30 or 11pm and she usually sleeps till 2:45 am. It appears that she wakes up more due to gas than hunger at this time, but of course, we feed and work the gas out at that point. She goes back down easily, but then awakens again around 5:45, and this one definitely seems more due to gas than hunger. She seems stuck at this time because it's the same time each night and is grunting a lot. So, I went ahead and ordered Colic Calm, an all natural homeopathic gripe water that helps with colic, reflux, gas, and hiccups. We did have some Mylicon drops and other gripe water from our friends, but it was expired and we never used it. So hopefully that comes in the mail soon so we can see if that helps her or not. A lot of times during feedings, it takes us so long to eat and poop/fart, that by the time that's all done, she's fussing because she's tired again and ready for her next nap. Our waketime activities have been pretty boring lately, mostly me holding her and talking to her, rather than doing the mat, or putting her in the boppy to observe and look around, etc. She seems to really struggle with expelling that gas so again, hopefully this Colic Calm will help while her system regulates itself.

As for myself, I'm beginning to get a little tired now. I think it may be due to the fact that I started walking on the treadmill (thanks mom!) for 30 mins each day to get into an exercise regiment. I feel good after I do it, but my body isn't getting the full night's sleep that it used to when I worked out in the past, so I am definitely feeling the effects of fatigue now. I guess that's not so bad - many women are so exhausted by this point, and I'm just now feeling some of that. Hopefully we'll get this gas thing figured out soon and she'll begin sleeping longer at night.. I have my 6-week checkup next Wednesday afternoon with Dr. D'Heureux (who delivered Avalyn) and I'm assuming everything will be up to par :) I've just got 10 pounds to lose - not too bad for 5 weeks post partum (lost 23 already)! Feels sooooo good to sleep on my stomach again (except for the fact that it squishes my huge and tender chest area).... small price to pay :)

Tomorrow night I'm going out to dinner with some of my friends from high school (Amber, Linz, Kaytee, Betsy, Jessi) for a girl's night, and Saturday afternoon my friend Tina is having her housewarming party that I'm going to swing by. Sunday.. who knows!