Darn

Ok... spoke too soon. She had a terrible night, and is having a not-so-fantastic day today. Somehow, it's like she knows the weekends I have help... and the weekdays, she returns to her normal self - fun times!

6 weeks a charm?

We're probably speaking too soon, but after a week filled with lots of screamy days, it seems like the 6 week mark has been a bit of a turning point for our little grumpster. The last two days she has been very content - just eating, some happy awake time, and lots of sleeping (much more than usual). We also successfully moved her into her crib (YAY). Nights have been pretty good! Still a ways probably from a full nights sleep, but definite progress! She still won't use her crib for daytime naps, but in time I'm sure she will!

Her last check up was also good. She knows how to put on the weight! She's already at 9 lbs 2 oz!! WOW!

I'm still in a bit of a haze from the last week, so this is just a quick hello! If all goes well, I should be able to update more this week! Fingers crossed!

Could it be?

Is it really possible that maybe, just maybe, Aubrie is getting used to her crib? She's been in there, perfectly happy and asleep for a whole 20 minutes now. This is a record!!! We've been trying so hard lately to get her used to it, but usually she'll stay in there, asleep, for 5 minutes tops before screaming. Today, I moved her co-sleeper into it, and put a light blanket on her, and she seems to be taking to it. Unfortunately, I was about to change her diaper and take her for a walk... but them's the breaks. I'll take the nap! Hopefully we'll get a chance for a walk in a little bit.

In other news, she has also started to genuinely smile now! At 4 weeks, 1 day... several HUGE grimaces that we were able to coax her into (you can tell they are "real" smiles if you can initiate them, and if their whole face smiles). We also found out she has dimples, just like her mommy! YAY!

We also got to go out for the first time last Friday. Babasnob and gidosnob babysat for us (and she was an absolute angel for them, go figure!). We went out for dinner, and grocery shopping (how romantic). It was great to get out.

Then, Saturday I also got a break to go shopping. More out of necessity... I'm so sick of maternity pants, and have finally acknowledged the fact that I may never get to wear any of my old wardrobe again (sigh). So... I got one pair of pants... I'm still not willing to accept that this size will last much longer, so I'm gonna see how long I can last with one pair of jeans (sad, but true).

Speaking of the weight-loss struggle... I'm amazed that this is probably my biggest source of frustration and tears lately. Not the fussy times, the sleepless nights (which are getting more frequent), the increased laundry requirement of cloth diapers... no, all those I knew were coming, and was somewhat prepared for. I was not prepared for how depressed I would feel about my size. I even had to "give up" my mommy message boards that I used to love going to for advice and support because they are so full of mommies that lost all (or close to all) their pregnancy weight in the first month. I can't deal with it.

Which is why I'm so totally TORN about the fact she is sleeping well in her crib right now... cuz we could be out walking! Sheesh, the things that run through my head! I guess I should go use the time wisely to catch up on some much needed sleep!

Just when you think you've got it down...

That's when babies like to throw you a loop! I was finally starting to think I was getting the hang of things, and that maybe we would be able to accomplish minor tasks throughout the day... but lately, it just hasn't been working at all. I find that the only way I can shower, dress, eat, etc, is to let poor Aubrie scream - and I so hate doing that! I try to go for a daily walk, but it's always a toss up - will she enjoy it and have a good nap, or stress me out by screaming the whole time? You never know. And the sleeping... it was good... now it's touch and go. She has decided that somewhere between 3am and 4am is her favorite time to be alert. She's never really fussy (yay - good girl!), but it means lack of sleep regardless.

It is amazing how her personality is starting to slowly come out though. When she's upset - she's REALLY upset (kinda like me). When she's happy - she's REALLY happy and easy going (kinda like her dad). Sometimes, she prefers to just be left alone (kinda like both of us) and she's an early riser (like both of us). Every day, we learn something new about her. We may have even seen a dimple the other day... she's starting to get more smily (though it's still a toss up as to whether it's a "real smile"... babies aren't supposed to smile for "real" until about 6 weeks).

She's also gaining more weight now, so we aren't as worried about her eating habits. She was 7 lbs 14.5 oz on Monday - a 10.5 oz gain in a week!!! It amazes me that she's STILL smaller than many babies when they are born! Crazy!!

Better run... she's fussy again (despite being in the Snugli, which she normally likes). I hope things settle soon, so that I can blog more and keep up to date with all her happenings.

What was I on?

Ok, I just re-read my last post. Enjoying fussy times?? Really?? What was I on?? I must have been really low on sleep. Or maybe I was asleep. Who knows.

I guess fussy times aren't that bad, when they are fairly short lived. The other day (not sure which... not sure what today is either), we had a doozy. Seven straight hours of terrible screaming. She only stopped momentarily for eating. Luckily, she started at 4... so she was asleep by about 11:30 and slept a good solid 4 hours, then another 4 after a snack. We finally ended the scream-fest at around 11 by feeding her a bottle of my milk (yay for moo-cowing). I have a theory that maybe the stress, lack of sleep, etc etc made my milk scarce that night, so even though she fed every 2 hours, she was probably still hungry. Hopefully, that tactic works well in the future and we can cut down the hours of screaming.

Then, I dared to go to the mall the next day. I needed some tops, as none of my old clothes fit. That's a whole other rant though (so sad...). She SCREAMED pretty much the entire time then too. Aack. It's so stressful to hear her cry so much. It just tears me up. I never understood when people would say that you react to your own baby crying differently than other babies crying. It's totally true. Your own baby has a magic ability to rip out your heart every time she cries.

And of course, top it off with what we think is a growth spurt. She was up and feeding every 90 minutes last night. Do the math... every 90 minutes = 30 minutes or so of feeding, 20 minutes or so of soothing, 10-15 minutes to destress yields about 15 minutes of sleep. Blech!

So off to bed I go. Hopefully Aubrie will do the same! She's so precious when she's asleep! Makes me totally forget the hours of screaming.

Keep your fingers crossed that we are not entering the beginning of the land of colic.