Different Baby

I swear Petra is changing so quickly! When we were in OK, she slept swaddled in a crib just fine! Good girl, but as much as I wanted to push her out of her swing and get her to STTN, it makes me sad to see her grow up. I didn't sleep in the nursery last night as usual, and I missed her!

She did great in Oklahoma. Everyone loved seeing her and holding her. I was having oversupply issues when we were traveling, which makes her choke (scary!) I wasn't pumping in the morning and she just seems to be eating less frequently. I'm trying to get her to stretch to 3 hours, but it also makes me really full and sometimes I only give her one side. I think I'm regulating now...

There were 5 babies on our side at Mark's family reunion. It was so fun to see them all together, and I felt so happy that we have Petra.

Another change-- she took a pacifier on the way home and really seemed to like it! Daddy gave it to her, so maybe she just won't take it from me when she can have the real thing? That's okay, as long as she can be soothed!

Experiments in Sleep...

So from very early on Petra has been sleeping swaddled in her baby swing. And it works-- she goes to sleep ~7-2, 3-7, 8-9:30. But we're starting to feel like this can't go on forever, so we should probably transition her out of the swing. We were also thinking about not swaddling-- she's been sucking on her fingers lately, so she may even start soothing, which would be GREAT since she won't take a paci!

We tried to do it all last night-- what a disaster! Without being swaddled, it took her forever to fall asleep. When I tried putting her in the crib, her eyes popped right open! URG! I spent about 2 hours trying to get her down and then passed her off to Mark. He was with her until about midnight. I then fed her, swaddled, and put her in the swing. She slept 12:45-6:45! which is good, but what a nightmare getting her down, and she really needs a lot more sleep than that.

I think we need to do things one at a time. So, first goal is to get her out of the swing. I've been using the timer on the swing, so she swings for about 30 min, but then just sleeps in the swing not swinging. That has been going well, so hopefully we'll be able to move her out of the swing after a week.

We're visiting Mark's family in Oklahoma soon, which we're all really looking forward to, but I do worry about how the nights will go... His cousins have babies, so I'm hoping one of them will have a swing! But minimum, she'll be swaddled for sure!!

Car Seat Update-- she has suddenly taken to the car seat!! YAY!! We've been driving around without tears and even went in the stroller in a few stores and she fell asleep!! YAY!! She also fell asleep on the way home from Grandma's and took a nap in it for a few hours!

cabin fever!!

Ugh, I really want to get out of the house sometimes, but I feel like I can't. Petra really hates her car seat, which means she hates her stroller. She can't sit up yet, so her stroller is just a frame that the car seat fits into. I wish I had taken her more places in the first few weeks to get used to it, but with the weather and cold & flu season, it really wasn't a good idea. And maybe she would still hate it?

If I put her in her car seat to go someplace, she'll be fine when she's in the car, but as soon as we get out and go into the store, she screams! which is awful if we're in Target or a restaurant or anyplace.

To go on walks, I put her in her moby wrap because we usually can't even get to the end of the block in the car seat-stroller. :( She just falls asleep in the Moby. I like wearing her, and I'm find with it for now, but I would like the option of using our stroller! Plus it is going to get kinda hot sooner or later.

My Happy Girl

She's starting to smile!! (at the end of the slideshow)

Healthy Hips!

Yay! I just got back from the specialist, and Petra DOES NOT have hip dysplasia!! Apparently the ultrasounds are notoriously wrong.

The doctor was SO NICE. He came in and examined her physically and said he didn't feel anything, but said we should do an x-ray just in case. She was a really good girl for her x-ray, and he showed me that she has totally healthy hips. He even pointed out some ball(?) that he said they sometimes don't see until 6 months. So he thought she was a very healthy girl! :) She goes back in June, just to be safe, but he didn't think she'd have any problems. And we don't have to do anything special for her.

Awesome! I'm so relieved! We would have dealt with it, but it definitely sounds like it can be a real challenge with this harness, casts, etc. I wish they had waited to let the doctor diagnose her, but now I am more aware about this condition, so if I ever see a parent with a baby that has it, I will know how to respond. I was so concerned that she would be treated differently, and that made me really sad. I also didn't like thinking about my baby in a harness or having to hold her a special way and not be able to snuggle her close. These parents are really strong for getting their kids the help they need.

I have a hip baby... (kinda bad news)

So Petra was diagnosed with hip dysplasia. At her 1 month appointment, her hip was making this clicking sound, so the pedi ordered an ultrasound.

The u/s it showed that her left leg/hip was out of socket. It is more common in girls, first born babies, and breech babies (although Petra wasn't breech). This can cause problems later on when she is walking like a limp and arthritis. She has an appointment Monday with an orthpedic pediatric specialist.

Good news is they found it early (before her bones have calcified) and it is easily treated. Since we found it now, she probably will not need surgery or major casts and just need a harness that holds her legs in a 'froggy' position, but it is still a little distressing as her mom. I just want her to be healthy and happy.

I have felt a little sad about this, and I'm sure it will be hard to see her in her harness, but I feel so lucky to have her and she is still my beautiful, perfect baby.

Some links about hip dysplasia:
http://www.hip-baby.org/index.html

Mommy meltdown

I think we're in the 6 week growth spurt. At least I hope that's what all this fussiness is about. A few days ago someone swapped my angel baby with this little devil! She is not sleeping nearly as well and it was really taking its toll.

Yesterday, I finally broke down and called Mark to come home early. He came in and I just left the house! I was crying when I left and felt really bad, but I just couldn't be around her for one more second. I was out for about 2 hours just to Kohl's and Target, but it was what I needed before I could face being a mom again.

Mark agreed she has been pretty hard to please lately, but she goes from a total pain in the ass to the most adorable baby in minutes!