Emma loves being a big sister! She dotes on Mia constantly. She loves giving her hugs and kisses, looking at her toes, getting her to hold her finger, and showing her toys. If Emma had her way, she would kiss her all the time. This mentality often gets her in trouble, since Mia doesn't always appreciate having Emma's cute face in hers!
I can only remember one time that Emma has had a breakdown because of Mia. I think Emma wanted a snack and I told her she would have to wait until I was finished feeding Mia. Emma's response was that Mia needed to get back in my belly.
She has been very patient whenever I am feeding Mia and initially was very curious about it. We explained that Mommies feed babies milk from their boobies. Now, she will tell me, I think Mia needs to eat from that side and point to a side.
Last weekend, friends who have a daughter 4 months older than Mia were visiting. They were feeding the baby with a bottle. Emma asked our friend, "Do you have boobies?" rationalizing that she must not have boobies if she was using a bottle to feed the baby. Luckily they also have a son 3 months older than Emma and are used to random questions like that!
Since Mia is still in our bedroom, I get to her pretty quickly at night when she starts to fuss. Of course there have been a few times she's been loud. Luckily, Emma has remained in her room and just rolled over and went back to sleep. She does comment in the morning though if Mia woke her up.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
1 month already!
It's hard to believe that Mia is already 1 month old!
At her check up, she weighed in at 10 lbs 12oz and 22.5 inches long. Both these measurements put her in the 95th percentile. Her head measurement was 37cm which is the 50th percentile.
She has started to give us genuine smiles that absolutely melt our hearts! She even giggled for Daddy last week! (She has giggled in her sleep while sleeping on Mommy's chest before too.)
She is holding her head up quite well and loves to look around the room. The pediatrician remarked that she physically, she is more like a 2 month old. Several times in the last week, she let us know that she preferred to be in a sitting position to laying down. We brought out the bumbo seat and she has enjoyed sitting in it several times. She can't sit in it for long periods because she can't hold her head up that well yet but she does manage a few minute stints at a time. She tracks toys 180 degrees when we're playing and will track Mommy when I leave the room and am talking. She does much better at tummy time than Emma did and loves scooching across a blanket and seems to attempt to roll over. (She rolled over 2 times the first week of May, but it was more the position that I put her down in than her actually rolling over.)
Since she was born, she routinely, clasps her hands together and frequently attempts to suck on her fingers. Her movements are getting more fluid, but her hands still jerk out of her mouth pretty quickly. When she was first born she would not have anything to do with a pacifier. Unfortunately, she had an intense need to suck which resulted in us using our pinkie fingers as pacifiers for several hours a day. She started to take a pacifier on April 24th when she had a very painful diaper rash.
During the first week of May, we noticed that her eyes started to change color from the newborn steely blue to a bluer blue similar to Emma's.
She is still waking about every 2-3 hours during the night and still isn't sleeping by herself and prefers to bury her head in the crook of our arm similar to an ostrich hiding. When we do lay her down, her preferred spot is in the bouncer in a bathroom with a fan on. Generous friends gave us a sound machine which has helped her at night as well.
This kid goes through a gabillion diapers. (Ok, slight exaggeration, but only a little) Like all babies, she has gas and poops. A lot. Literally, some days we were going through about 3 to 4 diapers an hour. Whenever she gets angry and cries, she poops. If she sneezes, she poops. If her tummy rumbles, she poops. Also, the poor girl gets so uncomfortable some times with gas it breaks our hearts.
Mia had her first sick appointment on April 25th for a very severe diaper rash. A combination of very sensitive skin and her an active digestive system resulted in a bad rash that wouldn't heal. After about a week of prescription ointment and using cotton balls and water during changes, we started to see improvement and Mia is much happier during diaper changes.
Emma loves to give Mia hugs and kisses. We're not sure if Mia appreciates them as much as Emma loves giving them! Several times, though, Emma has been able to quiet Mia down during diaper changes or if one of us is busy cooking dinner. We're sure that Mia will come to love hanging out with her sister as she gets older.
Although Mia can go from calm to ANGRY in about 2.5 seconds, she generally is much easier to calm than Emma ever was. I can hold her close and tell her softly that Mama has her and she quiets down pretty easily. (Unless it's gas related, which is a whole other ballgame)
Although Mia can go from calm to ANGRY in about 2.5 seconds, she generally is much easier to calm than Emma ever was. I can hold her close and tell her softly that Mama has her and she quiets down pretty easily. (Unless it's gas related, which is a whole other ballgame)
We both remarked earlier this week that Mia seemed older. She is definitely more aware of her surroundings and has even begun making baby sounds while we're changing her. This just started in the past day or two and was most prominent today. (5 May)
Monday, April 30, 2012
Welcome to the World!
Mia Katherine joined our family on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at 10:03 in
the morning weighing in at 8.1 pounds and measuring 19 inches long!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Mia'a Birth Story
It's a long one....
Mia Katherine joined our family on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at 10:03 in the morning weighing in at 8.1 pounds and measuring 19 inches long!
The morning of her birth could not have gone better if planned.
Carrie woke up with mild contractions around 3am and was able to mostly sleep through them for about an hour. Between 4 to 5:30, the contractions got stronger, longer, and closer together, but she was able to remain in bed and rest (and pray that Mia waited a bit longer so that Emma could be taken to daycare, which opens at 6:30, before having to get to the hospital). At 5:30, Carrie was more uncomfortable and went downstairs to walk through contractions and avoid waking Kurt up; she passed time reading useless celebrity gossip online. At 6, she decided to shower and had a series of three strong contractions in quick succession. She woke Kurt up saying, "Kurtie, can you wake up so we can get Emma to daycare and go have a baby?" Kurt sprang from the bed and immediately started rushing around; Carrie tried to assure him there was plenty of time (luckily, he didn't listen to her). Around 6:20 Emma woke up and asked, "Mommy, Why are you walking around so much?" She was very excited when Carrie told her, "I think you'll get to meet your sister today!"
We tried to get Emma dressed while we were all upstairs, but she exclaimed, "But I have to eat breakfast first!" We thought, Seriously, today of all days, you decide to be routine oriented?!? Also as a result of this, we thought she might dally during breakfast so we told her she could have a special treat for breakfast, coffee cake from the weekend. She said that she would rather have an egg from an Easter egg hunt that was filled with M&Ms. Carrie explained to her that she wasn't sure how, but cake was better for breakfast than chocolate was. At any rate, Emma inhaled her cake. :)
After Emma was dressed, the garbage taken out, Carrie's bag loaded, and all of us in the car, we headed to daycare. Carrie was very uncomfortable the entire way. At first she couldn't bring herself to sit the whole way to get the seatbelt on. Kurt tried to tell her that she needed to...she said, JUST DRIVE! Carrie uttered into Kurt's shoulder multiple times, "THIS SUCKS!" (Here's hoping Emma didn't whip out that sentence at daycare!) Kurt and Emma ran into daycare and then made it to the highway. At 7:17, Carrie asked if they would reach the hospital at 7:30. Kurt wasn't sure, but Carrie made him promise that they would. As they pulled into the garage, Carrie barely let the car stop before hopping out of the car. It felt SO much better to stand than sit!
After getting checked in, (It seemed like the lady at the admittance desk was taking her sweet time punching in our insurance number.), Carrie was triaged and learned that she was between 8-9cm. After moving to the labor and delivery room, Carrie received an epidural which relieved the contraction pain but allowed her to still feel all the pressure sensations. It did not relieve the pain of Mia's head pressing against her sciatic nerve which was compressed with every contraction and resulted in shooting pain radiating down Carrie's right leg. After 'resting' for about 10 minutes, Carrie was fully dilated and ready to push. After only 25 minutes of pushing, Carrie and Kurt met their gorgeous little Mia Katherine!
Unlike her sister who started rooting immediately, Mia screamed --not cried, but angrily screamed -- for 2 solid hours! After moving from the delivery room to the hospital room where we would stay, Mia did start nursing. She was an angry girl until she actually got some milk about 2 days later!
We had a quiet afternoon. Kurt's Mom came to meet Mia before going to pick Emma up from daycare, Carrie and Mia rested, and we made phone calls/sent text messages to family and friends. Emma met her sister just before dinner. She was immediately enamored. She was also a little nervous, but very excited. She loved being able to hold Mia with Kurt and snuggling with Carrie in bed.
In the evening, Kurt, Emma, and Laura went to Panera Bread for dinner. Carrie was changing Mia's diaper when Mia started to gag. Carrie wasn't able to get her to stop and called her nurse who ended up having to suction out Mia's nose and mouth and then give her oxygen. The nurses monitored her for a bit but shortly after returning her to Carrie and Kurt, Mia had another similar episode. As instructed by the nurse, we pressed the code blue button and had all the nurses on the floor in our room in about 30 seconds. (They were winded but there!) Following that episode, Mia was taking to the NICU and had her stomach pumped to get rid of residual amniotic fluid which is jelly-like and was getting stuck in her throat. The nurse told us that it was likely that Mia has reflux and instructed us to keep her upright after feedings and prop up her bed.
Since we were obviously shaken and wouldn't rest during the night trying to keep an eye on her, the night nurse kept Mia at the nurses station so we could get a couple hours rest. (AAMC doesn't have a well baby nursery and babies room in the whole time.) Luckily, Mia didn't have any more bad episodes. We did suction out her mouth a couple times when she sounded like she was gagging following feedings.
Although we probably could have left the day after she was born, we were more comfortable staying just to make sure Mia was all right. Kurt's Dad and sister came to visit on the 28th and on the 29th, we were home in time for lunch.
Mia Katherine joined our family on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at 10:03 in the morning weighing in at 8.1 pounds and measuring 19 inches long!
The morning of her birth could not have gone better if planned.
Carrie woke up with mild contractions around 3am and was able to mostly sleep through them for about an hour. Between 4 to 5:30, the contractions got stronger, longer, and closer together, but she was able to remain in bed and rest (and pray that Mia waited a bit longer so that Emma could be taken to daycare, which opens at 6:30, before having to get to the hospital). At 5:30, Carrie was more uncomfortable and went downstairs to walk through contractions and avoid waking Kurt up; she passed time reading useless celebrity gossip online. At 6, she decided to shower and had a series of three strong contractions in quick succession. She woke Kurt up saying, "Kurtie, can you wake up so we can get Emma to daycare and go have a baby?" Kurt sprang from the bed and immediately started rushing around; Carrie tried to assure him there was plenty of time (luckily, he didn't listen to her). Around 6:20 Emma woke up and asked, "Mommy, Why are you walking around so much?" She was very excited when Carrie told her, "I think you'll get to meet your sister today!"
We tried to get Emma dressed while we were all upstairs, but she exclaimed, "But I have to eat breakfast first!" We thought, Seriously, today of all days, you decide to be routine oriented?!? Also as a result of this, we thought she might dally during breakfast so we told her she could have a special treat for breakfast, coffee cake from the weekend. She said that she would rather have an egg from an Easter egg hunt that was filled with M&Ms. Carrie explained to her that she wasn't sure how, but cake was better for breakfast than chocolate was. At any rate, Emma inhaled her cake. :)
After Emma was dressed, the garbage taken out, Carrie's bag loaded, and all of us in the car, we headed to daycare. Carrie was very uncomfortable the entire way. At first she couldn't bring herself to sit the whole way to get the seatbelt on. Kurt tried to tell her that she needed to...she said, JUST DRIVE! Carrie uttered into Kurt's shoulder multiple times, "THIS SUCKS!" (Here's hoping Emma didn't whip out that sentence at daycare!) Kurt and Emma ran into daycare and then made it to the highway. At 7:17, Carrie asked if they would reach the hospital at 7:30. Kurt wasn't sure, but Carrie made him promise that they would. As they pulled into the garage, Carrie barely let the car stop before hopping out of the car. It felt SO much better to stand than sit!
After getting checked in, (It seemed like the lady at the admittance desk was taking her sweet time punching in our insurance number.), Carrie was triaged and learned that she was between 8-9cm. After moving to the labor and delivery room, Carrie received an epidural which relieved the contraction pain but allowed her to still feel all the pressure sensations. It did not relieve the pain of Mia's head pressing against her sciatic nerve which was compressed with every contraction and resulted in shooting pain radiating down Carrie's right leg. After 'resting' for about 10 minutes, Carrie was fully dilated and ready to push. After only 25 minutes of pushing, Carrie and Kurt met their gorgeous little Mia Katherine!
Unlike her sister who started rooting immediately, Mia screamed --not cried, but angrily screamed -- for 2 solid hours! After moving from the delivery room to the hospital room where we would stay, Mia did start nursing. She was an angry girl until she actually got some milk about 2 days later!
We had a quiet afternoon. Kurt's Mom came to meet Mia before going to pick Emma up from daycare, Carrie and Mia rested, and we made phone calls/sent text messages to family and friends. Emma met her sister just before dinner. She was immediately enamored. She was also a little nervous, but very excited. She loved being able to hold Mia with Kurt and snuggling with Carrie in bed.
In the evening, Kurt, Emma, and Laura went to Panera Bread for dinner. Carrie was changing Mia's diaper when Mia started to gag. Carrie wasn't able to get her to stop and called her nurse who ended up having to suction out Mia's nose and mouth and then give her oxygen. The nurses monitored her for a bit but shortly after returning her to Carrie and Kurt, Mia had another similar episode. As instructed by the nurse, we pressed the code blue button and had all the nurses on the floor in our room in about 30 seconds. (They were winded but there!) Following that episode, Mia was taking to the NICU and had her stomach pumped to get rid of residual amniotic fluid which is jelly-like and was getting stuck in her throat. The nurse told us that it was likely that Mia has reflux and instructed us to keep her upright after feedings and prop up her bed.
Since we were obviously shaken and wouldn't rest during the night trying to keep an eye on her, the night nurse kept Mia at the nurses station so we could get a couple hours rest. (AAMC doesn't have a well baby nursery and babies room in the whole time.) Luckily, Mia didn't have any more bad episodes. We did suction out her mouth a couple times when she sounded like she was gagging following feedings.
Although we probably could have left the day after she was born, we were more comfortable staying just to make sure Mia was all right. Kurt's Dad and sister came to visit on the 28th and on the 29th, we were home in time for lunch.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
Snow!
It started snowing this afternoon and was still snowing when I picked Emma up from daycare. I told her as we were putting on her coat and she got really excited. When we walked outside, her face lit up in awe and she held her hands out to catch snowflakes. It was a very magical moment. There are several lights on the walk to the car and we stopped for a few seconds at each one to look at 'all the snow!' When we arrived home, Emma asked if she could walk in the grass. (The ground is still warm and the roads and sidewalks were only wet.) After we went in to change into warmer coats and boots, she took a couple steps in the grass, turned to me and with a look of pure excitement on her face exclaimed, "It's crunchy!" She also enjoyed looking for snowballs. She found a few little clumps of snow where she had walked. (I didn't have gloves and was not about to make her one!) We stayed out for about 10 minutes while we waited for Kurt to get home and Emma showed him how she walked in the snow.
Turtle the Polar Bear
Emma asked for her new stuffed polar bear tonight at bed time. When we got him for her, we asked what his name was. She first said BoBo. Kurt told her that she names everything BoBo and that he needed a unique name and suggested Fred. She said, "No, his name is Turtle." Turtle the Polar Bear.
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