21 May 2009
new friends
We gave her some new friends for her carseat handle. here is her reaction. i think this picture explains it all. haha!
Lunch time!!
Kylie's Jungle
We spent most of last week over at Amy's house helping her pack to move into her new home! Avonlea had a play date with her BFF Kylie. Look at those chubby cheeks!! :)
20 May 2009
14 May 2009
6 weeks!
avonlea is 6 weeks old today. :) yay! i feel like the time has just gone by in a blur of sleep deprivation, junk food, late night feedings, and housework. before the nicer weather hit, i was begining to get cabin fever and feel like a house troll. but, in good news, here is what we have noticed about our sweet girl.
she is starting to get on some sort of a schedule. she is still sleeping most of the time, but she does have a couple of periods of longer wake times, mainly between 9-12 am and 5-7ish pm. she is starting to take definitive "naps" now, or at least, i am starting to call them that...mainly between 12-3pm. her new "bedtime" is around 6pm, or whenever she wakes up/we finish dinner/after her bath, etc. and, she is pretty much sleeping through the night with only 2 (sometimes 3) light feedings, allowing me larger chunks of sleep at a time, which is greatly appreciated. it is still hard for me to wake up earlier in the morning, and i blame that on my night job, but also on the fact that we have been going to bed WAY too late. we need to get better about that.
in other news, she started smiling (for real) AT us, not just while asleep, the other day, and every day since she smiles more and more. this morning we had a fabulous smile session, which just about made my rainy day. :)
she has also started to roll from her stomach to her back, and then when she gets there, she cries. which is just funny in itself since she got herself there. her BFF Kylie, (amy's newest addition to the family) does the reverse....rolls from her back to her stomach and then cries. it's pretty hysterical.
i don't know how much she weighs now, but i have started to realize that some of her preemie clothes are too short on her, so i have her in some newborn sizes. and with the extra small cloth diapers that she now fits in, i can JUST about keep those newborn sized pants up on her. :) some of them are still too big, haha.
speaking of that, for those that are curious....the cloth diapering thing is going very well. we only have about 15 diapers right now that will fit her skinny little body, so we pretty much just use the cloth while we are at home, and then use disposables while we are out in public and at night, (which is more often than you'd think! mommy doesn't like to stay home!). i do the wash every two or three days, and it is an easy wash routine, so it's not a pain at all. at $15/XS diaper, we have already made them worth it, and even though we have been using half cloth and half disposables, i would say we have probably already spent about $200 in disposable diapers, as preemie diapers are more expensive. as soon as she fits in the rest of the cloth diapers that i have, i am switching over completely, and i expect we will begin to save lots more money.
and finally, she has gotten MUCH better at the eating part of her life. we have begun to battle less and less over my boobs, and have cut down her feeding time by at least half, which is great because she was taking an hour or more! so, things are looking up and starting to level out.
i hear this is where the fun starts!!! so happy 6 weeks, baby girl!
....until next time, friends. :)
she is starting to get on some sort of a schedule. she is still sleeping most of the time, but she does have a couple of periods of longer wake times, mainly between 9-12 am and 5-7ish pm. she is starting to take definitive "naps" now, or at least, i am starting to call them that...mainly between 12-3pm. her new "bedtime" is around 6pm, or whenever she wakes up/we finish dinner/after her bath, etc. and, she is pretty much sleeping through the night with only 2 (sometimes 3) light feedings, allowing me larger chunks of sleep at a time, which is greatly appreciated. it is still hard for me to wake up earlier in the morning, and i blame that on my night job, but also on the fact that we have been going to bed WAY too late. we need to get better about that.
in other news, she started smiling (for real) AT us, not just while asleep, the other day, and every day since she smiles more and more. this morning we had a fabulous smile session, which just about made my rainy day. :)
she has also started to roll from her stomach to her back, and then when she gets there, she cries. which is just funny in itself since she got herself there. her BFF Kylie, (amy's newest addition to the family) does the reverse....rolls from her back to her stomach and then cries. it's pretty hysterical.
i don't know how much she weighs now, but i have started to realize that some of her preemie clothes are too short on her, so i have her in some newborn sizes. and with the extra small cloth diapers that she now fits in, i can JUST about keep those newborn sized pants up on her. :) some of them are still too big, haha.
speaking of that, for those that are curious....the cloth diapering thing is going very well. we only have about 15 diapers right now that will fit her skinny little body, so we pretty much just use the cloth while we are at home, and then use disposables while we are out in public and at night, (which is more often than you'd think! mommy doesn't like to stay home!). i do the wash every two or three days, and it is an easy wash routine, so it's not a pain at all. at $15/XS diaper, we have already made them worth it, and even though we have been using half cloth and half disposables, i would say we have probably already spent about $200 in disposable diapers, as preemie diapers are more expensive. as soon as she fits in the rest of the cloth diapers that i have, i am switching over completely, and i expect we will begin to save lots more money.
and finally, she has gotten MUCH better at the eating part of her life. we have begun to battle less and less over my boobs, and have cut down her feeding time by at least half, which is great because she was taking an hour or more! so, things are looking up and starting to level out.
i hear this is where the fun starts!!! so happy 6 weeks, baby girl!
....until next time, friends. :)
12 May 2009
happy mothers day!
this is my new favorite picture. she wore this pretty fishy dress for mothers day, given to her by grandma just for the occasion. i was hoping to snap some great pictures of her in this dress for my birth announcements....so, just pretend that you didn't already see it here!! :) i couldn't NOT upload this to my blog!!! i was so proud of taking this one! :)
for mothers day, justin made me some window boxes for my porch. he even planted a variety of pretty flowers in it, which i will have to photograph when they all bloom. :)
*sigh* i am so in love with this child!! LOOK at that face! :)
09 May 2009
why is it that....
whenever people see justin holding the baby, they smile and say (in a ridiculous voice) "awwww.....what a good daddy!" it's almost as though they don't expect him to even be HOLDING her....i mean....does holding the baby make him a good daddy? i find it bizzare.
why is it that certain family members of ours ooh and aah over the baby....how beautiful she is....how quiet she is....what a "good baby" she is....and then tell us that we "did a good job". hate to burst your bubble....but we have NOTHING to do with any of that. and why is it that we define good little girls as beautiful and quiet....still?
while we're on things that drive me crazy...here's one more, and then i'll stop, i promise. i cannot tell you how many people have told me that i need to "break her in" and let her "cry it out" in her crib when she begins to cry. she is a NEWBORN, people! my ONLY job in this universe is to make her feel secure, loved, warm, clean, and fed. she doesn't understand what "crying it out" is....she only knows that mommy or daddy isn't coming to rescue her. she isn't crying without reason...we just have to figure out what she needs, and love her up! you cannot SPOIL a baby with too much LOVE. i'm sorry, but it just isn't possible.
alright. now that that is off my chest---don't send me hate comments! i recognize that there are many different ways of parenting, but some of it needs to be common sense!
alright---with that in mind, i am off to celebrate my first mother's day. who knows what today could bring--hopefully a little sunshine!
have a fabulous weekend!
why is it that certain family members of ours ooh and aah over the baby....how beautiful she is....how quiet she is....what a "good baby" she is....and then tell us that we "did a good job". hate to burst your bubble....but we have NOTHING to do with any of that. and why is it that we define good little girls as beautiful and quiet....still?
while we're on things that drive me crazy...here's one more, and then i'll stop, i promise. i cannot tell you how many people have told me that i need to "break her in" and let her "cry it out" in her crib when she begins to cry. she is a NEWBORN, people! my ONLY job in this universe is to make her feel secure, loved, warm, clean, and fed. she doesn't understand what "crying it out" is....she only knows that mommy or daddy isn't coming to rescue her. she isn't crying without reason...we just have to figure out what she needs, and love her up! you cannot SPOIL a baby with too much LOVE. i'm sorry, but it just isn't possible.
alright. now that that is off my chest---don't send me hate comments! i recognize that there are many different ways of parenting, but some of it needs to be common sense!
alright---with that in mind, i am off to celebrate my first mother's day. who knows what today could bring--hopefully a little sunshine!
have a fabulous weekend!
06 May 2009
my two favorite things....
i know, i know....2 posts in one night?? but they were so different i couldn't combine them.
so, here are (so far) my two favorite things that avonlea does....
1. while she is eating, if my cell phone rings or if i check my voicemail on speakerphone, she furroughs her little brow, squints her eyes and with boob still in mouth, "tells me off". she grumbles and grunts with her mouth full. it sounds like "MMM!!! mrrrphh!!!". she does it until i get off the phone. it makes me laugh every time. she also does this if it takes me a long time to "rescue" her from her naps when she wakes up. it's freaking hysterical.
2. when we are in bed for our bedtime feeding, justin will come in and put his face right next to my breast while she is eating. then he says "daddy's gonna get your snack!" and pretends to suck on the side of my boob. avonlea's eyes get all wide, and she splays her hands and begins to suck furiously just so daddy can't get her snack. it's so adorable that i just want to eat her up!!
that is all. :)
so, here are (so far) my two favorite things that avonlea does....
1. while she is eating, if my cell phone rings or if i check my voicemail on speakerphone, she furroughs her little brow, squints her eyes and with boob still in mouth, "tells me off". she grumbles and grunts with her mouth full. it sounds like "MMM!!! mrrrphh!!!". she does it until i get off the phone. it makes me laugh every time. she also does this if it takes me a long time to "rescue" her from her naps when she wakes up. it's freaking hysterical.
2. when we are in bed for our bedtime feeding, justin will come in and put his face right next to my breast while she is eating. then he says "daddy's gonna get your snack!" and pretends to suck on the side of my boob. avonlea's eyes get all wide, and she splays her hands and begins to suck furiously just so daddy can't get her snack. it's so adorable that i just want to eat her up!!
that is all. :)
let's do the time warp again....
I know it's been awhile since you have seen an actual TEXT posting, but that is because taking care of a newborn is ridiculously busy. i know....how can it be THAT busy?? but seriously....it is! sometimes i look up and it's dinner time suddenly- where did the whole day go?? being a new mother is like being in a time warp!
the past few weeks have been full of wonderful visitors bearing gifts, food (cupcakes-YUM! ;) ) and advice. with the help of some friends to watch avonlea, i got to get my hair done- which i needed sooo badly! i have made a few trips to various stores, mainly target or the grocery store, and one trip to the mall. (where i was mauled by old people and their "coochey coochey coos")
so...let's get to the nitty gritty. here are some random facts about being a new mom....
1. i used to kinda, sorta (sorry!) make fun of my friend amy (in my head) for telling me that she was soooo busy with her newborn that she couldn't shower. i remember thinking "WHAT?? put the baby DOWN, let her CRY, and BATHE forchristssake!". However.....it just isn't that simple. what has suprised me the most about being a mom is how that cry affects you.
there is a terrible, gut-wrenching, soul-eating effect on you when your baby is screaming her head off. (and especially when she gets so upset that her cry becomes almost inaudible from all of the gasping/choking---ugh! i can't even THINK about it without my stomach turning!). i can ignore every other child on the planet, but MY GOD, i can't just let her cry like that! it feels like my heart is ripping out! and i'm a PICU nurse! i deal with screaming children all the time! (ie: when they aren't intubated or sedated) it is just so different! i was shocked at how she affected me so viscerally.
so, i'm sorry i didn't understand, amy. we can be stinky together. :)
2. breastfeeding is HARD! babies REALLY should come out of the womb with this prior knowledge. can't they take a class or something?? it's insane! i spend most of the day battling with her over my nipples! it's ridiculous!
3. so far, it has been IMPOSSIBLE for me to get ready, get baby ready and get out of the house in under 2 hours time. i was impressed with that day it took two hours though! i was awesome and very proud of myself!
i'm sure i will think of more....but it's already time for another feeding! where did the past 3 hours goooo???
the past few weeks have been full of wonderful visitors bearing gifts, food (cupcakes-YUM! ;) ) and advice. with the help of some friends to watch avonlea, i got to get my hair done- which i needed sooo badly! i have made a few trips to various stores, mainly target or the grocery store, and one trip to the mall. (where i was mauled by old people and their "coochey coochey coos")
so...let's get to the nitty gritty. here are some random facts about being a new mom....
1. i used to kinda, sorta (sorry!) make fun of my friend amy (in my head) for telling me that she was soooo busy with her newborn that she couldn't shower. i remember thinking "WHAT?? put the baby DOWN, let her CRY, and BATHE forchristssake!". However.....it just isn't that simple. what has suprised me the most about being a mom is how that cry affects you.
there is a terrible, gut-wrenching, soul-eating effect on you when your baby is screaming her head off. (and especially when she gets so upset that her cry becomes almost inaudible from all of the gasping/choking---ugh! i can't even THINK about it without my stomach turning!). i can ignore every other child on the planet, but MY GOD, i can't just let her cry like that! it feels like my heart is ripping out! and i'm a PICU nurse! i deal with screaming children all the time! (ie: when they aren't intubated or sedated) it is just so different! i was shocked at how she affected me so viscerally.
so, i'm sorry i didn't understand, amy. we can be stinky together. :)
2. breastfeeding is HARD! babies REALLY should come out of the womb with this prior knowledge. can't they take a class or something?? it's insane! i spend most of the day battling with her over my nipples! it's ridiculous!
3. so far, it has been IMPOSSIBLE for me to get ready, get baby ready and get out of the house in under 2 hours time. i was impressed with that day it took two hours though! i was awesome and very proud of myself!
i'm sure i will think of more....but it's already time for another feeding! where did the past 3 hours goooo???
road trip!!
the moisao sisters take avonlea on her first road trip to NH- huge success!! she loved stopping for lunch in VT. :)
05 May 2009
one month old!
Fun times
Cailin and i spent an afternoon together so that Amy and Greg could go close on their new house!! we had fun- she is so delicious i could eat her!!!
swing time
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