Poopsie

Another parenting first today. And Eva has a new nickname: Poopsie!

It had been 7 days since Eva had pooped. Yes, SEVEN days. Needless to say, I was really freaking out.
Last week we put a teaspoon of rice cereal in a few of her night bottles in hopes she'd sleep longer. Since it didn't really seem to help too much and all the hype about arsenic in rice came out, we had stopped. But that's not the only thing that stopped. So did her bowel movements. We were used to at least 3 a day so it to go to nothing really freaked us out. We assumed the rice cereal had backed her up a bit, but when the weekend came and still no poop, first time parent worries kicked in big time. She wasn't fussy and didn't seem in pain at all, but let's just say her gas was hazardous. P-U!
We also had Eva's baptism on Sunday and my biggest fear was her having a blowout in the antique gown! We heard all sorts of advice from friends and family including giving her water, using a rectal thermometer, putting our pinky in her butt (no way!), using suppositories, massaging her belly...and more. Although we really wanted her to poop, we also knew we should call the pediatrician's office to find out what was safe to do.
We made it through the baptism with no blowouts, though I'm sure she gave off quite the impression with those stinky toots :)  I called the nurse triage line on Sunday night, frantically concerned about the lack of poop. However, the nurse assured me Eva was fine and it's common for breastfed babies at this age to only have one bowel movement a week. What?! Really?! Apparently they are absorbing more of the nutrients...so less waste. She told me to keep an eye on her and if she hadn't gone in a few days, to call back.
Tuesday came along and there was still nothing. Although the nurse told me it was okay, we were still freaking out. How can one not poop for a WEEK!? I called the pediatrician's office again, frantic of course. I spoke to a different nurse who told me the same thing. Eva is fine and this can be normal. (whatever, I still don't believe you) She told me to soak her bottom in a warm bath, use a rectal thermometer and give her 1/2 to 1 ounce of apple or white grape juice to get things moving. Done and done and done. Still nothing.
So today was Mission Poop Day. I even kept Eva in her pajamas all day, waiting for a massive blowout and multiple outfit changes. I decided to do all the tips the nurse told me yesterday again. I gave her an ounce of apple juice and she sucked it down. While I did the dishes, I looked over and heard Eva grunting away. Could this finally be IT?! YES! She POOPED!
I literally yelled out loud "We have POOP!" and did a happy dance in the kitchen with a smiling, relieved little Eva staring at me. Who would've thought one would be THIS excited about changing a poopy diaper! Definitely a parent first today.
And although it wasn't a huge blowout, I have a feeling there will be more to come. Bring it on Poopsie!!

July Moms Playdate

When I was pregnant, I found a group on Facebook called July 2012 Moms, and it was a group of women all over the country who were due in July 2012. Some of them were first time moms, moms with other children, pregnant with twins and even other moms here in the Minneapolis area! This group was fantastic to have while being pregnant for the first time and not knowing all the little things and changes that happen. We were a big sounding board for each other!

I previously posted Let's Dish, when me and the other Mpls moms got together and made meals when we were all pregnant. And now that all the babies are here, we all got together for one big playdate about a month ago! It was so fun to see everyone again and meet all the babies! We met at a local Caribou and got caught up on how little sleep we were getting and sharing all the secrets to keep ourselves sane. It was great! We sure got a lot of looks from other customers :)

Here's a picture of the July 2012 Moms and our babies:

We also got a picture of just our babies...and since they were all still so little, car seats are the props! It will be fun to watch them all grow up!

Top Left to Right: Levi, Evelyn, RJ
Bottom Left to Right: Eva, Cecilia, Aidan, Charlie

War Wounds

Although Miss Eva weighed almost 10 pounds at birth, I was lucky enough to go through the pregnancy with barely any stretch marks. The only ones that appeared were some on my behind and then a few after she was born on my hips and by my belly button. I was really worried about them my whole pregnancy and oiled up twice daily to prevent them. None of them are that bad and I'm very thankful for that. However, I saw this photo and realized stretch marks or not, vanity has no place when it comes to pregnancy.

I know a handful of women who would take every possible stretch mark to have a happy, healthy baby in their belly and/or arms. So many things that women take forgranted, and unfortunately it's how society has made us. Instead of being shameful of things such as stretch marks or c-section scars, we should embrace them!

These are the best war wounds anyone can ask for!

Locked In and Locked Out

I've officially earned a spot in the Worst Mother Ever list.

We're still working on Eva's sleeping habits and let's just say, it's not going as planned. Not sure if she's in a growth spurt or just really dislikes sleeping, but Tuesday night was a rough one, so I started off Wednesday pretty tired. Since we got an early start to the day, Eva and I ran to Target and then wanted to go to Babies R Us before dropping her off at my parents house so they could watch her while I had an appointment.
I pulled into Babies R Us and it was really starting to rain and Eva was starting to fuss, so I wanted to make the jaunt to the store as quick as possible. I grabbed my keys, wallet and cell phone rather than my whole purse and opened the back door to grab Eva in the carseat, who was now crying probably due to a wet diaper or in need of a bottle.
I usually stick my wallet in the diaper bag and my keys and phone in her carseat, making for easy access. Since I was in a hurry as not to get wet, I dropped my wallet on the ground and when I stood up, bumped her car door shut. And then it hit me. Not only were my keys in her carseat, but the car was LOCKED. OH MY GAWD.
It took a matter of seconds for it to really hit me and I started to panic. Eva was locked in my car and now screaming. And I was standing outside, in the rain, totally helpless. And then the tears hit. Hard. I called 911 and hysterically let them know I was locked out of the car and my 5 week old baby was inside. They connected me to the local police and assured me they were on there way. The local police station is about a block away, though I swear it took them a half hour to get there (really it took them about 7 minutes). Two young female officers got out to help me and before they started, told me I'd need to sign a waiver for any damage to my vehicle. I looked at this young community service officer and said "You can break my windows for all I care, get my baby out!!" She saw the panic in my face (though how could she not, I was still totally crying!) and began working on getting my car unlocked while the other officer got the waiver for me to sign. After a few minutes, my car was open and I can't tell you how fast I was inside. Not sure who was crying louder, me or her! I got her in my arms, got a bottle and sat in the car snuggling her as tight as I could. Pretty sure I was more traumatized than her because once she had the bottle, she was totally fine while it took me a good 20 minutes to calm down to drive out of there.

Now that we're all safe, it might be funny to hear that 911 tape. I was definitely a hysterical mother in a situation that was actually pretty safe. Thankfully it was a cool, rainy day and not 90 degrees like it was the day before and she was at least safe inside my vehicle. And thankfully she's way too young to ever remember this incident, though I know I'll never forget it!

Sleep Week

Now that Eva is one month old, time to work on SLEEP. The one thing this house so desperately needs but can't seem to get. I think we've almost forgotten what it really is!

First step was moving her to her own room and her crib (aka: big girl bed). She was sleeping in the pack-n-play bassinet in the guest room with me up until now. It was working well since I need to get up with her all night, but she is a noisy sleeper so she is keeping me up when I should be sleeping! Plus we figured it's best for her to get used to her own bed as early as possible.
Her nursery is right next to the guest room so this shouldn't have been a big deal, right? Ha, not so much. Funny how it's harder on the parents! Daddy was having a really hard time with her not being right next to me all night, but with the video monitor all set up, I assured him that she'd be fine. So Monday night was her first night in her big girl bed and she did great! I'm pretty sure she'll sleep anywhere, the bassinet and the crib didn't make a difference to her. I did catch Dad getting up at midnight to come check on her though :)

We added music to her nightly routine in hopes she'd have long, sweet dreams. The nurses at the hospital gave us the tip that babies like white noise/music, which makes sense since it's loud in the womb. Good thing we have great taste in music!

**Thanks Auntie Jenni for the awesome Bob Marley lullaby CD and thanks Aunt Jessica and Uncle Kyle for the sweet onesie!

The next step in our sleep conquest was getting Miss Eva to sleep longer than 2-2 1/2 hours. I am beyond exhausted getting up so much throughout the night and getting such little sleep. The first few weeks we expected it, but not sure I can survive much longer like this.We had stopped swaddling her a few weeks ago as we discovered that she likes to sleep on her side with her hands by her face. However, if we really want this to work, we have to go back to the "sleep bible": Happiest Baby on the Block. We swaddled last night and she slept 3-3 1/2 hour intervals = WIN! I know it's not much, but we'll take it!

We plan to watch the DVD to really get educated on the 5 S's and I will do what I can to make time to finish the book. Good ole SLEEP is right around the corner!!

One Month - Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day!
I had my own little Labor Day celebration as it was exactly one month ago today, I labored all day and half the night and finally got to meet our little miracle baby. It's amazing how much has changed in our lives in one month and how much we love our little Eva.

Everyone says time goes by fast, but WHOA! This month has flown by! We're still only sleeping in 2 to 2 1/2 hour intervals and really hoping that gets longer sooner, but I've grown accustomed to lack of sleep and can really pull it off. We're getting into a daily routine (if that is really possible) and I am enjoying all the time I have with Eva before going back to work in two months. As of last week, I only had 4 more pounds to go, to be at my pre-pregnancy weight so hoping it starts to cool off soon so we can enjoy daily walks. I'd also like to knock off a few extra, so bring on the cool autumn days!

Miss Eva wants to be much older than she is. It may be partially because she was born a toddler baby (our little joke), but she really is strong for being one month old. We do a lot of tummy time and activities to get her to practice holding up her head. She loves to be at our level, not in a bouncy seat on the floor, so we thought we'd see how she'd do in the Bumbo (of course knowing she's much too little). Sure enough, she loved it! In fact, she loved it enough to fall asleep in it....our little Eva is one month going on 3 months :)

I've been much too busy to prepare a cute monthly picture of Eva but I got a cute snapshot of her in the Bumbo today that I had to share.

Looking forward to seeing what changes Eva will bring in the next month!