Weight check & the Jumperoo!

Yesterday we went to nursing group to get Miss Elise weighed. She came in at....

15# 6.2 oz!

She has been gaining approximately 1/2 pound per week for the last month and a half or so - I think it's great, Peter thinks it's great, Elise's doctor thinks it's great, but my grandmother thinks Elise needs to go on a diet. Ha ha! Sorry, Gram - I'm ignoring your 'wisdom' on this one (How, after all, does a breastfed baby go on a diet?).

Also making headline news in the Chapman household is the addition of a jumperoo! Elise has been bearing weight on her legs since I first held her in the hospital (seriously!), and for the past 12 weeks it's been a fun exercise to let her stand up & sit down while holding her. However, the laundry, dishes, mail, etc have been piling up and kind of needed to be dealt with :) So we added a jumperoo to our lot of baby accoutrements & so far it has been a big help! (Although Elise is "hefty" for her age, she has yet to reach the height needed to really get her feet on the ground while using the jumperoo... I keep a photo album underneath her for now so she's able to stand/jump on something!)

Enjoy the chatty video :)

Finally!

Sorry to have left you hanging for almost TWO weeks (wow, I've been slacking!), but to be fair, we were out of town for 4 full days and I didn't want to broadcast that fact until we had already returned. That said, Peter & I packed up the baby girl and Brie (Lucy stayed in Greenwood with her grandparents!) & we headed north for an extended weekend. Well, "extended" only describes my weekend - Peter still worked Thursday and Friday, but because his work took him to Ft. Wayne and Chicago on those days, I tagged along and we ended up in Michigan to visit some friends. Do any of you really care about the details? Didn't think so....

Anyway, we stayed with our friends, Chris & Jill Chambers, who just had a baby as well - Luke was born July 10 (exactly 5 weeks younger than Elise). It was so fun to see a smaller baby when, in my mind, I assumed he'd be about the same size as ours. I guess 5 weeks makes a big difference when they're this young :) Luke isn't a SMALL baby either... he was 9# 5oz at birth! But Elise is definitely the chunky one in comparison at this stage. I'm sure it'll all even out in a few months.

Unfortunately, because Peter & I left Thursday morning, I didn't get to go to nursing group & see how much Elise weighed last week. I'm excited to go this Thursday and jot down how much she's gained. I love knowing what she weighs each week - probably because I'm OCD about random facts. Nonetheless, it's what I consider fun, so that's why I go :)

Alright alright! I'll share some pictures now! (Just for you, Peggy)......

Babies Luke & Elise

Jill, Luke, and Calvin (Brie's soulmate)!

Sushi pic - BEFORE

Sushi pic - AFTER

Double fisting

Mommas & babies switching it up

All Sorts of NEWS!

I'll start off with the boring stuff: Elise's weekly weight check!

Yesterday at our nursing group, she weighed 14# 7.4 oz before eating & 14# 12.9 oz after eating! What a big girl (but we already knew that, right?)

Next up: Elise's 2-month appointment

Althought her 2-month doctor appointment was predominantly a "well check" (just to see how perfect & wonderful our little girl is), it was also the dreaded vaccination appointment. I actually wasn't anxious about Elise getting all those shots, but it's also not something any mom really gets excited about :) (Forgive the placement of a preposition at the end of that sentence - I know it must be awfully disturbing to so many of you!)

Anyway, Elise did really well during her shots... She screamed while receiving the vaccinations, but as soon as the needles were gone & I picked her up, she didn't even whine. That just goes to show she's on her way to becoming a very spoiled brat, huh? Haha! In the future, I'll just throw her out on the street until she quits crying...... uh, just kidding :)

You already know her weight (which is above the 97th percentile), so I'll just tell you her length: 23 1/2" (50th percentile)... yup, our baby is short & fat! We love it though - and we're well aware that those kind of measurements are very common for breastfed babies. Once she starts rolling around & crawling, things will even out. For now, I LOVE holding her chubby little body in my arms and kissing her chubby cheeks.

Okay now for the super duper exciting news:

I'm going to be an aunt again!!!!!!

Peter's twin brother, Philip, and his wife are expecting their first baby in April 2010! We are so excited for them & hope Kandi enjoys her pregnancy. I, being the extremely impatient person I am, will probably be the most anxious of all for this baby to arrive. I just can't wait!

Well I can't top that with anything, so I'll call it quits til next time..... See ya!

Thursday Weight Check

Okay here are the stats from this morning's nursing group:

Before weight - 13# 12.3oz

After weight - 14# 4.0oz

She ate almost 8 ounces in one feeding!!! Can you believe that? She is such a hungry baby! I'm so glad she's healthy... it puts my mind at ease whenever I get into "paranoid mode" when thinking she may catch a bug or encounter horrible germs :)

In addition to such wonderful weight gain, Elise slept longer than ever before last night.... 7 hours! From the start of one feeding to the start of the next, it was 7 hrs 45 min, but those are just details. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling the best so I wasn't able to sleep all of those 7 hours, but I DID get in about 6 which was amazingggggg. She is sleeping so well for being so young - we are very thankful.

That's it for now - you can expect further updates soon, as always!

2 months old! plus a little RAIN

Can you believe Elise is now 2 months old? Where has the time gone? On the other hand, it sometimes feels like it's been 6 months :) She is growing so well and turning into an even more beautiful little girl every day.

As of late, she's been smiling A LOT as well as "talking" and making all sorts of fun noises. She's been sleeping so well for the past 3 weeks... we still have some rough nights here and there, but for being so young, I must say she is a pro sleeper.

Rain - Rain - Rain!

Yesterday Greenwood got POUNDED with rain.... I was on the south side and came upon a couple of roads with very high water. The one pictured appeared to have at least a foot of water flowing over it. I couldn't believe the nimrod that decided it would be a good idea to drive on through. I, being the exceptionally intelligent and astute (and humble?) person that I am, opted to turn around and find another route. I ended up having to drive through a different flooded road, but it looked to be only about 8 inches deep - MUCH more safe, right? haha! So thankful I made it home safely.

Stay tuned for tomorrow weight check post!

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!