New Moby Position

I'm trying out a new way to wear Annabelle in the Moby today. She seems to really like it. She can see a lot more than when she's facing me. And, since she's crazy strong, she has the head control to be able to sit like this..

Baby's First Vacation

Yesterday we returned home after a 8 day vacation. Annabelle has now been in 5 states! We spent time with my mom's side of the family at a lake in Kentucky. Then, we visited with my immediate family and in Danville, KY for a few days. Annabelle's Great-Grandma Dube got to meet her (pictures coming soon). And, finally, we went on to Cincinnati where we had a blast at my uncle's entertainment complex, my cousin's housewarming, and a trip to the aquarium. Annabelle LOVED seeing new people and places and is sooooo lucky to have such a loving family. We can't wait to see everyone again some day...

Annabelle had her first swim. The sun was a little bright so she looks a bit upset, but she seemed to really like the water!


She also got to put her feet in the sand at the lake "beach."


Grandpa Dube enjoyed her company almost as much as Annabelle enjoyed his :)


Our trip to the aquarium was a little overwhelming and she was quite upset by the time we got to the last room (the jellyfish).


Hope to have more picture soon!

Milestones

We can't believe how fast Annabelle is growing! Right now it seems like she's learning new things every day!

Annabelle is a little powerhouse! She has always been a leg-kicker. In the past few weeks, she been trying more and more to push on things with her legs...my stomach, the table (when she's in her highchair), etc. Amazingly, she can support her entire weight on her legs now. I thought it seems a little early to be doing that, so I looked it up. Average age? 4 months! Doesn't she know she's not yet even 2 months old?

On a side note, this strength must run in the family. Our nephew, Noah, just took his first four steps....the day before he turned 10 months! Ack! Dear Annabelle, please do not follow in your cousin's footsteps :)

Last night, as Kris and I were eating dinner and Annabelle was sitting in her highchair, she was very active. she was moving her arms and legs all around, so I decided to try giving her something to hold on to. In the past few weeks she's gotten better and better at holding things. It started with our fingers, but more recently she's begun grabbing her clothes, her other hand, her burp cloth, etc. So, the only thing that was within reach was a pen, so I handed that to her. Lo and behold, she grabbed it and held on for quite a while. I decided to try something a little more baby-appropriate and ran to get the clacker that I had when I was a baby. Perfect! She held on for about 2 minutes! Here she is...

Our First's First Fourth

Annabelle had quite a day for her first Fourth of July. We had very nice weather in the morning, so we decided we would go for a walk at the nature reserve. But, on the way there, it started raining. So, we continued on to St Louis and ended up having a great trip. It was Annabelle's first big outing (she's been to quick visits to Target and once to the mall, but this was almost 6 hours)

First, we went to the Butterfly House.
Annabelle wasn't too interested in the butterflies.

Perhaps they were moving to fast for her to really see them. But, she liked all the leaves and the waterfall. It was a little warm in the butterfly house, so we didn't stay inside too long.

She really liked the mounted butterflies (they moved a lot less than the ones in the butterfly house).



And, she had the same reaction to the cockroach exhibit as Mommy.


After a break for a meal (for her) we went outside for a walk and "played" on the playground.

After the butterfly house, we took a trip to the mall and Babies R Us. We found some sunglasses and a sun rash shirt for her (on clearance, of course). Maybe we'll find a baby pool in the next few weeks.

Although we decided it would be too late (9pm) to take her to the fireworks display in Washington, our neighbors had some fireworks they were setting off in the street. She paid no attention to them unless there was lots of light and colors (unfortunately, most of them were just a lot of noise). Here's her festive outfit (thank you Denise) that she spit up on by 9am and had to change (one of four outfits yesterday!). The hat is an addition from Kris' collection.

One Month Old

Hi! I'm one month old!

I took the above picture on Sunday morning. Her one month "birthday" and happened to catch one of her sort-of smiles.
She is now 20 1/2 inches and 9 pounds, 2 1/2 ounces. So, she's grown one inch and gained 1 1/2 pounds! What a good little eater!

Yum! Chili Spaghetti! (Thank you Aunt Clare and Erica for the awesome high chair)

She had her one month pediatrician appointment today. It was also my first experience with taking her to the doctor (I couldn't make it to her one week appointment...epidural headache). She did very well. First, she had all her measurements taken. Then, she had a quick exam with a nurse practitioner student and another with the pediatrician. She wasn't a happy baby by the time it was the pediatrician's turn.

I had a happy parenting moment at the pediatrician's office. She was screaming by the time the doctor was done and still screaming when the doctor picked her up, but she calmed down almost immediately when the doctor put her back in my arms :) Now, if only she'd do that from about 9-11am and 4-9pm every day. Speaking of her fussy times... That's the bad news...after writing down my observations, convinced there was something about her feedings causing all the fussiness, the pediatrician diagnosed it as...colic :( She said to just keep doing what I'm doing in trying to calm her down and that things should start getting better by the time she's about 3 months. So, what am I doing? Here are some things that (sometimes) calm down a fussy Annabelle:

The swing (as previously mentioned and photographed)
Being propped up in the Boppy pillow and watching the fish tank (or mom/dad's face)
Having someone walk around with her (the Moby makes this much easier)
Being swaddled
Rocking in glider while I hum
Going outside (as I discovered yesterday, she loves looking at the leaves)
Rocking in the car seat
Driving (well, being driven around)
Being pushed around in the stroller
A pacifier
We just never know which is going to work and for how long (2 minutes? 40 minutes? not at all?)

Here are some pics of the Boppy and the Moby.


Ah...this is the life (at 5:30am).


Can you see her head of hair poking out?

I also finally got some pictures of her little, tiny feet.

Annabelle Update

We can't believe that Annabelle is already 3 weeks old! Where did the time go?
Here are a few more updates about the little bundle...

Annabelle has been pretty good so far. But, like all babies, she has her fussy times. Mainly when she's trying to make her diaper dirty or get out all though gas bubbles. (On a side note, anybody have any success with gripe juice?) The other day, she was having a particularly fussy time and we couldn't find anything to calm her. Until...the swing! I am so, so, so glad we found this at a garage sale earlier this spring! And, yes, that is her natural hairdo. Apparently, she has hair just like her dad did as a baby...lucky girl :)


There is no better feeling than when Annabelle gives one of her unexpected smiles. Although they are still random at this point, I can't help but get a huge grin on my face as well. I haven't been able to catch one on camera yet, but here's a little one she gave in her sleep on the 13th.
She's also starting to grow out of some of her newborn clothes. The legs on some of the sleeps are a little too short (as seen in this pic) and the gerber newborn onesies never fit her :( the good news is that we have lots and lots of cute 0-3 month clothing just waiting to be worn (although a lot of it is too big still).


I've had the awesome blessing of having the help of my mom through this entire time. She'll be heading home early next week and I'm really nervous about my first days on my own! Mom has been great support and Annabelle has had a wonderful time getting to know her grandmother. Here's a pic of a peaceful Annabelle sleeping on grandma's shoulder.


Annabelle has also had two visits from her Grandpa Dube! The first time he was here, I was impaired by the epidural headache, so the visit wasn't very much fun. But, this past weekend he got to see Annabelle in action and had a chance to hold her, play with her, and take lots of pictures (which I hope to get my hands on soon!). Here's a picture of Annabelle with her grandpa.



Kris is a great father! Not only is he back to work full time; he comes home and plays with Annabelle, changes her diapers and helps out with feedings. You can see the adoration he has for his baby girl in his eyes when he holds her. However, just like any one else, he dislikes those smelly diapers. Here's his attempt to get out of dirty diaper duty. Good try...

A Little about Annabelle

Some things I've learned about Annabelle during her first few weeks.

She is a pretty good sleeper. She loves to be swaddled although I'm afraid she's getting too hot sometimes. Maybe it's time to turn down the thermostat a little more. A pic of her all swaddled up.

She can follow things with her eyes as long as you don't move them too quickly.

This face means, "I'm trying to poop!"


We have the Dr Seuss quilt folded over the back of the glider. While burping her over my shoulder, she loves to lift her head up to look at the characters. Sometimes she'll try to scratch at them.

Speaking of holding her head up; she's incredibly strong. Here's a pic of her holding it up to look at Kris while hanging out on the Boppy pillow.



She hates baths. But, on the upside, she wears herself out and sleeps really well afterward. Something we'll have to keep in mind. Here's a rare moment that she wasn't screaming during her first dip in the tub.


And, no matter how I try to comb it, her hair has a mind of it's own and generally ends up looking like this.