What's Up With Zoey: Week 10

This has been a week that started poorly and ended wonderfully. Zoey's first day at day care was Monday and her last day was Tuesday. Long story short, Aunt Rachel decided she couldn't live without seeing Zo-bot five days a week so she offered to nanny for us full time! You have no idea how relieved we are. I know she probably would have been okay in day care but for now while she's so young it's probably better that she's at home with family. Plus it's super awesome that we don't have to wake her up in the morning to feed her and get her ready. She can wake up when she's ready and Aunt Ray is there to take care of her. Hooray!

Zoey had her two month appointment yesterday, and this is when the immunizations begin. Jimmy and I are okay with giving vaccines, however we aren't sure we like the amount of vaccines they give at once so we decided to do an alternate schedule. So instead of the normal five to six shots she would have gotten on the usual schedule, yesterday Zoey got only one shot and one oral vaccine. Since we're doing fewer shots at each visit this of course means that we will have to go to the pediatrician twice as much, but the peace of mind is worth the inconvenience. Zoey was also weighed and measured (see below) and checked out in general by the doctor, who said Zoey looks great! She and the nurse were surprised at how long and how well she is sleeping. I guess Zoey's doing really well for a baby her age. She's quite advanced, I knew it.

• Age: 10 weeks
• Weight: 10 pounds 14 ounces, 35th percentile (she's almost doubled her birth weight!)
  
• Length: 22 1/2 inches, 31st percentile
  
• Meals: 4-6 ounces at each feeding, about six to eight times a day.
  
• Bed time: 9:00-10:00pm. The pediatrician recommended we put her to bed earlier than we had been since we reported some eating struggles before bed which could be a result of Zoey being overtired.
  
• Sleep: Zoey is still sleeping through the night, about 8-10 hours straight. Woohoo!
  
• Milestones: Nothing new this week but she is smiling more often.
  
• Sounds: Hear for yourself...
  

Day Care: Day One

This morning was not fun. I just had a bad feeling about leaving Zoey with someone I barely know all day. I teared up a few times but was able to hold it together pretty well once I got to work. Of course I kept thinking about her all day long. Needless to say this was not my most productive day on the job. I stopped in to check on her on my lunch break and she was doing just fine. She doesn't understand that she's away from mom and dad all day, all she cares about is eating when she's hungry and sleeping when she's tired. As long as her needs are met then I'm not sure she really cares yet who is watching after her. That makes the transition easier for her but I'm still a wreck! I know each day will get easier, but wow, I really missed her.

What's Up With Zoey: Week 9

We're nine weeks into life with Zoey and I've already forgotten what she was like just a few weeks ago. It seems like she's changing so fast now and I want to remember all the little things she's doing week to week. I thought I would try to do a weekly update with highlights of her activities and changes, kind of like I did to track my pregnancy. The topics may change as we go along but it will generally look something like this:

• Age: 9 weeks
• Weight: Not sure. Zoey has a doctor appointment next week so we will have an official number then. Let's just say she looks normal baby size now.
• Length: I'll measure her in the morning...
  
• Meals: 4-6 ounces at each feeding, about six to eight times a day.
  
• Bed time: 10:00pm
• Sleep: Great! She just started sleeping through the night this week. Mama is way stoked. She also takes about three naps a day.
  
• Clothing size: Some newborn outfits and mostly 0-3 month outfits.
• Favorite toys/activities: We do tummy time twice a day, and she always holds her head up really well and kicks around a lot. Zoey really likes her play gym and bats and kicks at all the dangling items - rattles, stuffed toys, and other noisy things. The bouncer is the favorite right now - it vibrates, plays music and has interesting lights and things to look at - lots of fun for a little one. Another "activity" she likes is to lay on her changing table and stare at the painting on the wall next to it. She really gets a kick out of it, I have no idea why, but it's so cute to watch her kick around and talk to the bird in the painting.
  
• Milestones: Zoey can roll from stomach to back now! She is also starting to smile with some regularity. I have only seen one smile, and today she smiled a lot at Rachel while I was at work (boo). She always seems so serious so I can't wait to see her little face light up more often! She can also grasp toys with her little hands.
  
• Sounds: She chats at us pretty regularly. It's the cutest thing you'll ever hear in your whole life, honest to god.

I started back at work last Thursday, and it's going much better than I thought it would. It's good for me to get out of the house regularly and have things to work on and interact with other adults (I love talking to Zoey but unfortunately she doesn't talk back yet). But I hate that I only have a few hours with Zoey each night, and she's been napping for part of that time lately so that makes our time together even shorter. Having to work makes me really appreciate the time that we do have together.

Zoey starts daycare on Monday. Not looking forward to it. I've been giving her pep talks every day, telling her she has to be brave when she goes to day care and to not cry too much. Maybe I'm giving myself a little pep talk at the same time, because I know this will be harder on me than it will be on her. Luckily she will only be in day care on Mondays and Tuesdays and Rachel will be watching her the rest of the week, but that first half of the week is going to kill me. I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually but it's going to be rough for a while. *sad face*

Ask and ye shall receive!

Zoey slept ALL NIGHT last night! Holy cow! She went to bed at 10:00 and woke up at 6:45. I woke up so confused when it was 6:00 and I had yet to be disturbed by baby cries. My little girl is a champ! It's been so much easier to put her to bed lately too. Day by day it all gets a little easier. I love it. That's what helps me keep my sanity. I keep reminding myself that these many time consuming daily activities we have to do - eight to nine bottle feedings a day, pumping four times a day, hand washing bottles every night, the endless attempts at burping a nearly un-burpable baby, and the diapers (oh, the diapers!) - are all temporary. Eventually she will feed herself and will not require bottles, I will give up pumping, the gas will hopefully let up and then potty training will be just around the corner. Some of these milestones are a long way off but I tell myself what I have to in order to maintain my sanity. And this sleeping through the night thing sure is helping my cause!

Keep it up, Zoemeister!

Success!

Zoey slept seven hours straight last night! I just had to document this amazing occurrence. She's been sleeping about four to six hours at the first stretch lately, which hasn't been too bad. She will usually go to bed around 9:30-10:00, then wake up between 2:00am and 4:00am to eat, then back to bed for two to three hours. Last night she went to bed at 10:00 and woke up at 5:00. Score! Now if she can make it to 6:00 that would work great with my morning routine! Come on, Zoey, make mommy proud!

Parental lesson learned: It's the little things that count, and you learn to really appreciate these small wins.

Two Months Old

My little lady is two months old today. Wow. So much has happened in the last two months, it feels like it's been two years. What Zoey's up to now: she holds her head up really well, likes to kick and bat at the toys that dangle from her play gym, and makes the cutest little babbling sounds I've ever heard. She has us wrapped around her little finger.

My intention was to update the blog weekly, but in retrospect that was quite an ambitious goal with a newborn around. I'm going to do a look back at the past 8.5 weeks and try to document all the highlights in one post. Should be a doozy. Stay tuned.