Yay, we're growing!!!

I took Brooke in for a weight check and she is now 11lbs 8oz, which means she has gained 11oz in 12 days. That is great! Yay, Brooke! She is now back above the 5th percentile. I can also tell that she has filled out more since we have started the cereal. She is also sleeping a little more at night. She usually sleeps for 5-6hrs and then feeds and then sleeps for another 2 1/2-3hrs. It is great! I feel like I am finally getting more consistent sleep, too. She continues to amaze me how much she is learning. She is grasping and reaching for her toys. It is very cute. She is doing much better eating cereal. She is also very wiggly. She is constantly moving and bouncing around. I don't think it will be long before she is crawling. My next task is to baby proof the house.
Until next time, have a great week!

4 months

I can't believe Brooke is already 4 months old! Time flies.... So, she had her 4 month doctor's visit and here are the stats: Head circumference = 40cm (25%), Height = 24.25in (50%), Weight= 10lb 13 oz(5%). This is how her doctor put it "she is doing great in every capacity except she is just skimming the bottom of the weight charts". I have still been exclusively breastfeeding. He did give us the okay to start rice cereal in addition to her feedings, so that would be a few more calories. He said that since her developmental skills are exceeding most of her peers and she is still an acceptable height that there is nothing to worry about. I told him that there hasn't been any changes to her spit up (he still wants me to continue the prevacid). I have however encountered a problem with pumping enough milk for her at daycare. I can't keep up. He said I could use formula for the milk I am unable to pump, but that shouldn't increase her weight any faster. So, today she got her first bottle of formula. Ms. Myrtle, her new caregiver, said she took it well and didn't have any spit up issues. This is a huge relief for me because I was getting up at all hours of the night and pumping throughout the day just to have enough for daycare. It wasn't as big of an issue once she started the new daycare and I am only leaving her there for half days, but I was giving her 3oz bottles and her doctor wants me to increase that to 4oz/bottle. We now need to watch for any changes, increasing spit up, continued no/decreased weight gain, or slowing of developmental skills, because then the next step is to take her to a gastroenterologist and have further testing done. I looked up information about failure to thrive because I am worried about my baby's weight. I know that she is meeting and exceeding most milestones and she is growing, but I just want to make sure I am doing everything possible for my baby and that there isn't something her doctor is withholding from me or something we should be doing now. From what I could find, there is no true definition, instead there are several variations. Some say that just a decrease in weight or no weight change for 3 consecutive months for babies <1yr. Most seem to agree that the previous statement in addition to slow height growth or developmental delays equals failure to thrive as well as a general "not well" apperance. The treatment would just be further tests to figure out why she is not growing/gaining weight. It kinda makes me feel like a failure in a way because my baby is not gaining weight. I know that she doesn't have failure to thrive because anyone that looks at her can tell you she is very alert, interested in her surroundings, and generally a happy baby. I still can't help feeling a bad because for her whole life, I have been the only one feeding her. I do hope that now we are starting cereal and increasing the amount in her bottles that she will gain some weight. Her doctor said that I can come in as often as I like for weight checks and I will probably start doing that every couple of weeks, just to keep monitoring. Ms. Myrtle also is fully on board about helping feed her cereal in the morning and letting me know when she is ready for more milk per feeding. I feel very comfortable with the new daycare providers at the church. Whenever I call and when I pick her up, they are able to tell me excatly what she did that day, played, how well she ate, if she spit up, how gassy she was...all that stuff a mom wants to know. I was wondering (and Ms. Myrtle agrees) if she has been starting to teeth. She is drooling all the time and is sucking on her hands and/or a toy most of the time. Lately she has been starting to focus more on her right side of her mouth. There are no teeth yet, but maybe in the near future one will pop out. As far as the rest of her doctor's visit, she had to get immunizations and she did great, just as before. No adverse reactions and no fever. She also hasn't gotten sick at daycare (knock on wood). I hope that now she is at the church daycare and there are fewer kids and caregivers that she won't have as many opportunities to get sick. So, for now we are just going to think fat! I am going to continue to nurse her as often as possible while I am with her and pump as much as I can, but not stress out about it. I think that there maybe several factors as to why I am not able to pump as much, probably most being stress (from changing jobs, daycare, everyday life), being sick myself, and pumping is just not as efficient as baby. I just want what is best for my baby and I have thought all along that if I have to start feeding her formula then that means I have failed, but I have just come to the realization that I can't do everything and there are times that I will need to supplement and it is better to just give her formula rather than stress and lose sleep over it, which will decrease my supply even more. I need to be healthy for her as well as keeping her healthy. We did give her first taste of cereal last night. We captured a video, which is cute, but I need Ryan's help to upload it. She, of course, got more on her and around her than in her. It was funny because the little bit that she did swallow, when it hit the back of her tongue she made this sour face. Ms. Myrtle said she did the same thing this morning when she gave her some at daycare. I was worried that the cereal would fill her stomach up and she would start refusing a feeding, but I haven't noticed any changes yet. I just pray that I am doing everything right and giving Brooke what's best for her. I want my baby to gain some weight. Think fat!! Isn't it kinda funny that the media promotes skinny as healthy, but for infants skinny means unhealthy.

Growing and figuring out the world around me

Brooke continues to amaze me day by day. I love to hear her talk and use her voice. She is starting to make more and more consonant and vowel combinations. She is developing a bright and cheery personality. She loves to meet new people and always has a smile waiting for them. I get lots of comments on how she is so alert. She loves to watch her surroundings. She has started to grab at her toys and put them in her mouth. As I am writing this, she is just chatting away in the nursery.
It is so cute.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Brooke. I can just hear her squeal every time I look at it.

This coming week is going to be a busy week. I begin my transition from working at HEB and moving to Cook's. This is my last week at HEB and I will work 3 days, but then I have one day of orientation at Cook's, so I will have 4 full days that I will be at work and away from Brooke. This will be a difficult week because I already think it is difficult to work three consecutive days in a row and now I will have 4. I have been trying to build up my milk stash, but not with very much success. We will see how the week goes. Please keep us in your prayers. The next week I have two more days of orientation and then I will start training for my position. That week will also be a big week because Brooke will be starting at the church daycare. I will be glad when I finally get into my work schedule of M-F 4 hrs a day.

Mother's Day Weekend

My parents and brother's family came in to spend the weekend with me. It was the first time Brooke met my brother, Chris, his wife, Amy, and her cousin, Andrew (13.5 months). They came in Friday night. Ryan grilled us some hamburgers and we spent time visiting. Ryan went to Longview to go fishing the next day, while we went to the Ft. Worth Stockyards and to the Ft. Worth botanical gardens. It was forcasted to be a rainy day, but it turned out to be nice and cool. We ate a good lunch at Risky's b-b-que and then Andrew got to sit on a live longhorn. He was interested from a distance, but not to sure once he was on it. The botanical gardens were very pretty. There were lots of blooms and we got some great pictures with the flowers. I had a great weekend spending it with my family. I loved seeing Andrew and how much he has grown. It was cute to see the cousins together.












Ryan got me a gold bracelet with amethyst stones (Brooke's birthstone) for my mother's day gift. It is very beautiful and I can treasure it forever.

For those of you that didn't know, I have been looking for another job. My current employer, still wanted me to work weekends and evenings after coming back from maternity leave, which is not what she told me before I got pregnant. I found a job that is at a local pediatric surgery center. It is M-F 7-11, which is just what I was looking for, part-time and works with Brooke's daycare schedule. I will truly miss working with my coworkers at HEB. They were a fun group of people. I will be starting my new job in June. Wish me luck.

On a good note, I finally got Brooke rolling over on videotape. I need Ryan to install the software and then I will try uploading it to the blog.

Well, that is all for this week. I hope everyone has a great week.

12 weeks and counting...

Sorry for the long time between posts. We have been so busy with me starting work and Brooke has been going through a huge growth spurt. Based on my home scale she has gained 7oz in 5 days. Yeah, Brooke!

I can't believe that Brooke is already 12 weeks. She is still working on rolling over. She has discovered that she has a voice and is talkative all the time. She loves to hear herself coo. She is also getting a lot better hand eye coordination. While in her swing, she reaches and rolls the rattle in front of her. While in her bouncy seat, she reaches and grabs the monkey and parrot in front of her. While on her activity mat, she reaches for the animals above her and swats them around. She is also starting to hold herself up a little better while I am holding her. She is starting to pull away a little from my shoulder and using more upper body strength. She has just started to razz and it is so cute.

I had to return to work on May 4th. I was excited to see my coworkers, but at the same time very sad to leave Brooke in daycare. I didn't like leaving her with someone I didn't know. Daycare has been tricky trying to figure out how much Brooke is actually eating, since I have been nursing her I have no idea how much she actually drinks. At daycare, they want me to have each bottle ready for feeding ahead of time. I have been sending 2oz bottles, but I was just informed this morning that they need more milk in the bottles. Guess I will need to pump more, now I just have to find more time in the day. It breaks my heart to leave her at daycare and go to work, but I know I have to do it. Hopefully, it will decrease her severity of separation anxiety and build up her immune system.

Brooke is the joy of my life and I love spending time with her and watching her grow.

Rolling over....

Brooke's big milestone this week was rolling over from stomach to back. She is early compared to her peers at this age. Babies normally accomplish this closer to the 3 month mark. I couldn't believe it myself, but she has done it twice. She has been rolling from side to side while on her back for several weeks now. So, once she was able to roll on to her side from her stomach she could roll all the way to her back. I have been unsuccessful getting pictures of her rolling over, but I have the camera loaded and waiting. She is doing excellent with tummy time. Look how high she can lift her head now. Pretty impressive.

I took her to visit my coworkers on Friday. She did very well and was full of smiles. I am so glad that she is a happy baby. She loves to show off those dimples! Everyone was excited to see her.

On Saturday, we took some pictures of her showing off her new summer hat.

Easter Weekend

First, Brooke's 2 month well check...

The visit went very well. She weighs 9lbs and is 22.5 inches long. She is progressing right on track for her individual growth. She is just above the 10th percentile for her age, but she has maintained that for the past 4 weeks so that is good news. She is still on the prevacid for GERD. She did very well with the immunizations. She was mad that she had to get shots, but the car ride home was still able to put her to sleep. No adverse reactions except maybe sleepiness, but I am not complaining. :) She doesn't have a set sleep or feeding schedule. She still nurses about every 2 hours. Her nights are going back and forth between every 2 hours and 3-4 hours feeding schedules. I think she is still in a growth spurt and just trying to catch up to her peers. She does very well around visitors, but when it is just me at home she would prefer to nibble all day rather than feed in one sitting. I dread going back to work. I love being with her all day and watching her learn about the world around her. She is much more alert and focusing on things around her. She is doing great with tummy time and she is also holding her head up remarkably well. This past weekend she started focusing on her feet. She still loves her bouncy seat. She is also full of smiles. I love to see those dimples. :)

Now, Easter weekend...

Ryan had to work on Saturday, but had Sunday off so we were able to make a quick trip to Longview to visit family. We got in for supper on Saturday and ate dinner with Ryan's family. We got to see his sister's new house being built and it will be beautiful once it is done. Ryan's aunt Dona and cousin Jill came over to meet Brooke. Then we went to my house and stayed with my parents. It was a lot of fun seeing my parents enjoying their first grand-daughter. On Sunday we went to 2 church services. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperating and it was rainy pretty much the whole day, but the worst in the morning, right when everyone was going to church. Brooke did very well in the early church. She slept through the service and then was bright eyed when people were visiting. I was hoping to time it so that she fed right before the early church service and right after so that she would be sleepy for the second church service. She started a bottle before the 2nd service and finished it just after chruch started, but was still hungry. So, I had to step out for a little while. I have to say she did well for a 2 month old. After church, Ryan's mom had a big Easter feast and all of Brooke's grandparents, great grandparents on Ryan's side, and aunts/uncles on Ryan's side were able to come. I was a lot of fun visiting with everyone and I am glad that everyone got to meet Brooke. We took a lot of pictures. This was a really good Easter and I am glad that we were able to make it to Longview for the holiday. Brooke did very well in the car. It was her first big trip and it was a huge success. We really enjoyed the time and fellowship with our family on Easter.

Before we left Longview, we went out to Jonathan's and got to meet the new baby donkey that was born on Easter. It was so cute and looked like it was thriving.

Last week, Ryan worked on getting most of our photos posted to Smugmug. Here is the link: pevey.smugmug.com to view our pictures. I will post a few to the blog, but this is a great website for displaying the true quality of the photo and the rest of our pictures will be on the smugmug site. Ryan was on call today and will work on getting the rest of the pictures from this past weekend posted later this week.

I will try to post a new blog every week. So, check back for updates in the adventures of our life as new parents.