It's that time again....

It's Thursday, and if anyone still even looks at my blog, you know what that means..... WEIGHT CHECK TIME!

Here's the scoop:

Before feeding - 13# 4.3oz

After feeding - 13# 10.9oz

Wow! She ate 6.5 oz in one feeding - that's quite a bit for an 8-week-old. I'm beyond thankful that God has given us such a healthy baby girl. I am so blessed to have been spared the stress that so many moms face when their baby isn't gaining weight. I know my troubles will come - and perhaps they're just around the corner - but I am still praising Jesus for blessing us abundantly in this area. What a great God we serve.

Well I've finally started exercising (1st time since mid-pregnancy)... and all I can say is OUCH!! I can't believe how certain muscles in my body have just atrophied altogether! After my first run of the "postpartum exercise season," my quads hurt so badly (for 2 full days) that I was unable to squat down to pick up anything, or even sit down in a chair! It's been pretty pathetic. Today I went out for my 2nd run, hoping to get over this horrible quad pain sooner or later. Regardless of pain, I'm not going to give up. I love the way I feel when I'm in great running shape, and I also love being able to wear normal clothes! These maternity clothes must be retired pronto.

Elise and I have had a great time helping my grandparents move into their new house over the past couple weeks... I've been able to get a lot of work done on my grandma's behalf while she has the pleasure of holding the precious baby girl :) It's a great trade-off, as I have missed being productive due to being tied down with a little one, and Gram just loves holding her great-granddaughter. So it's been a fun & worthwhile couple weeks.

I think that's about all I can come up with for this post. Now those of you who have blogs of your own are instructed to update accordingly! If you had time to read this, you have time to write something yourself :)

Thursday Weight Check

Another week has passed, and so I bring you yet another Thursday weight check....

Elise is now 12# 12oz!

Her "before" weight at breastfeeding group was 12# 9.1oz, and her "after" weight was 12# 14.5oz.... so I'm just calling it 12# 12oz for now :) We are so thrilled she's healthy & growing. We are certainly blessed with a wonderful baby who continues to make us smile every day. I think God made them so stinkin cute so waking up at 3am to a screaming child isn't so difficult!

On the sleeping front, Elise has actually been doing really well. I got pretty sick last week/weekend, and passed a bit of what I had on to Elise (how sad!).... I believe she slept so well over the weekend due to not feeling well, and now she has gone back to about 4-5 hours at night (versus the 6, 6 1/2, and 7 hours she surprised me with over the weekend!!!). Either way, I'm glad she's sleeping well & obviously distinguishing day from night.

That's all for now. Hope all you readers out there are doing well!

Thursday Weight Check

As always, it's time for the Thursday weight check! We went to nursing group today so I could see how much Elise weighs at almost 6 weeks old. The verdict.........

12# 10.3 oz!

Granted, that was after a full feeding. Her starting weight was 12# 4.8 oz, so we'll just say she's 12 1/2 pounds. Yay!

We've had a good week enjoying the sunshine, hanging out with Gram & Pampaw, and playing with the puppies. I decided to really implement the notion of keeping Elise awake right after I feed her, a) to add more wake time to DAY (rather than NIGHT!) and b) to get her on a 3-hour feeding schedule rather than the 2 1/2-hour schedule we've been dealing with.

Yesterday was the first day I really worked hard at keeping her awake (thanks, Gram, for your rotation in the early afternoon!), and we saw success!!! I fed her at 10pm & put her down to sleep.... she woke up at midnight crying, but as I picked her up & realized she wasn't hungry (I know this because she promptly fell back asleep in my arms, the little stinker), I put her back down and let her cry until she fell asleep on her own. You may think I'm evil, but I assure you I'm not :) And guess what? The crying didn't bother me in the least! Haha (Horrible Mother Alert)

The outcome? She slept soundly until 2:30am when she woke up to eat. So we made it 4 1/2 hours between feedings!!! It was great! I'm going to definitely try to continue the eat/wake/sleep cycle and see if we can have more 4 1/2-hour nighttime sleep sessions. And it also helps being at 3-hour cycles during the day. The 2 1/2-hour cycle was exhausting!

We had family pictures done last week by the awesome Cat Satre, so stay tuned for me to post a few of my favorites and include a link where you can see more. Elise looks simply perfect in them! (And Peter's got it going on, too!) :)

Until then......

Pictures

Well you know I have to type SOMETHING with each post - I can't just put pictures up. How boring! :) I'll keep it short.......

Elise had her 1-month appointment Wednesday and is officially healthy & growing perfectly. Her current stats are:

Weight: 11# 7oz (97th percentile)

Head circumference: 15 1/4" (75th percentile)

Length: 21.5" (75th percentile)

The doctor said she's getting close to the magical weight where babies can sleep 5-6 hours at night. HALLELUIA! Can't wait for that :) I may even throw a party.

Enjoy the pics........

Uncle Philip & Elise

Uncle Philip & Brie

Grandma & Grandpa with their 3 grand-dogs! (Brooke on right is Philip & Kandi's)

Kandi, Philip, Bryan, & Peter playing a game that takes longer than Monopoly to finish.....

Peter & his baby

Agh! So cute!

Asleep on her favorite 'pillow' (no, Peter, I'm NOT calling you fat)

1 Month Old!

Can you believe Elise is already one month old? I've been asked if I can tell how she's changed, and I honestly can't say I've noticed (at least in the physical sense). I see her all day every day, so it's hard for me to acknowledge her slow & steady growth over the past month.... Of course she's grown (she's gained 3 pounds since we left the hospital 4 weeks ago), however, I have to refer to pictures to believe it!

In keeping with the standard dear Andee has set for all us mommy-bloggers, I leave you with her "1 month" picture as compared to her first day alive in this world. Isn't she precious?! :)

For Grandma Joey...

Since I know Grandma Joey checks this blog everyday, this one's for you, Grandma!

I must apologize for having gone an entire week without posting, but I really didn't have much to post about nor had I uploaded pictures to put up until recently.... but now your blog-stalking appetites may be sated!

Today I returned to the Thursday breastfeeding group at the hospital to see how much Elise is weighing these days.

Before weight: 10# 9.7 oz

After weight: 10# 13.9oz

By next week we'll be past the 11-pound mark!

Nursing is still going well & we are VERY thankful for that. The middle-of-the-night feedings are improving, mostly because I'm now used to it. Peter gives me a break most nights & will give Elise a bottle, allowing me to sleep through one feeding. But one feeding is all I can skip! I think it's the 3 or 4am feeding that's the worst. I'll feed Elise around 10 or 11pm, put her to sleep, wrap things up myself and I'll finally go to bed around 12am... then I'm up again at 1 or 1:30am. That part is okay because it's still "night time" to me (I justify this because I used to be a late late late nighter & was used to going to bed around 1 or 2am in my single days!). However, when I go back to bed and am up again at 3 or 4am, I am completely out of it. Ugh! But we make it, and before I know it Elise will no longer require a 3 or 4am feeding and I may just miss it :)

I can't believe she will be 4 weeks old tomorrow!!! In one sense, it has felt like we've had her for months already, but on the other hand I can't believe I already have a one-month-old.

In other news.......

Philip & Kandi arrived to town Tuesday evening from Oklahoma City! Elise was so excited to see her Aunt Kandi and Uncle Philip :) Last night we had a family get-together so Kandi could meet & get to know the family members that weren't able to go to the wedding last November. It was a fun evening of sitting around, talking, and passing the baby around! We have another get-together Saturday for friends to meet Kandi. Hopefully the weather holds out so we can enjoy the 4th of July OUTSIDE!

Okay, enough talk - here are some pics:

Daddy & his girls at lunch last weekend!

Rori making a silly face at the camera :)

Cousin Rori & Aunt Bek with Elise

Uncle Andy and the adorable Nike running shoes he got Elise!

Brie is on high alert watching over her sissy

Patriotic Cousins!

Lucy decided to bury herself underneath the pillows I had stacked up on the chair :)

This is how Elise fell asleep in the swing the other day - too cute!