Car seat safety

I just want to put it out there that I am NOT a certified car seat specialist and I don't think that I know more than you.

So we recently had a baby, SURPRISE! When Veda was born, we didn't even have a car seat bought yet.  She came a month early and we had planned to go to Babies R Us the night she came, but they had closed.  Luckily, my husband is a fantastic human being, and went to Babies R Us on Veda's birthday to get the remaining necessities.  And, thankfully, he is charming enough to have convinced two women, who worked there, help him complete our list!

Since we didn't have the car seat prior to her birth, we obviously didn't have it installed when we were ready to take her home.  About a week after she was born, we had a Certified Car Seat Specialist come check out how we had done and give us some helpful hints.  I just want to share these with other mamas because I've seen A LOT of my friends' kids NOT properly secured in their car seats.  I just wanted to write a quick post, to hopefully educate you on what is key so that your precious little bundle is as safe as (s)he can be!!

The man that we hired came to our house and talked to us for about an hour, including instructing us on how to put baby into the seat and going to the car to learn how to correctly install the seat. He voluntarily does this because he lost his grandson in a tragic car accident and this is his new passion.

A few things he told us:
Do not add any thing to your car seat.  For example, furry seat belt covers.  If you are to get in an accident, the car seat company will not take fault because they do not approve of any such attachments.

Do not use a backseat baby mirror.  You have likely figured out what each sound/cry your baby makes means and using a mirror is a major distraction when driving (especially out here!!)

Do not let the car seat touch the seat in front of it.  There should be at least enough room for your finger between car seat and seat in front of it.  This has to do with the shift in gravity when you hit the brakes or get rear ended and so on.

You should not have anything left unsecured in your backseat (or if you have a hatchback).  Imagine, if you get in an accident, everything will fly around.  Would you throw your purse, for example, at your baby's face.  Probably not, secure it with your seatbelt!

What he showed us:
The buckle of the car seat should go over baby's chest, not his abdomen.  As in, the most important organs (heart & lungs).  This is the most common mistake I've seen.  It should be almost aligned with the arm pits.

This is correct.  Buckle over chest, at armpit level. 

NOT correct. Move the buckle up!!!

To be sure the straps are tight enough, you should do the 'pinch test.'  This simply means that between the buckle and shoulder, you should not be able to pinch any fabric - or minimal fabric.  

Pinch Test

The straps should enter the car seat at shoulder level or LOWER.  This ensures that the shoulders are cupped, so to speak, if you should experience impact.  This helps baby to move less in an accident.  It keeps the baby down in the seat, rather than sliding up and then back down - which could cause head trauma. This is the second most common mistake I'm seeing.

It's hard to see, but straps should be either level or BELOW shoulder height. 

Also, the base of the seat should be in so tight that with your non-dominant hand, you should not be able to move it when applying full force.  The seat belt itself should not be locked.  And, of course, the safest place to have the seat is in the middle back seat, rear facing (until 2 years old is the new recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics).

Please, please understand this is not to make it seem like I know everything and you don't.  Keep in mind, my one and only baby is three months old, I'm far from an expert.  However, I felt this information needed to be shared because I can't imagine anything happening to my (or your) baby.

Also, thank you Veda for being such a wonderful model :)

12 weeks // 3 months

Found this on one of our many, many walks.  VR = Veda Riley
Somebody must have snuck out.  Oh, and we have a spirit with us on our walk,
notice the bottom left corner =)

Prepare for photo overload.  I swear, she went from a newborn to a grown up over the last month.  She's just changed so much!  Her personality/demeanor is typically pretty calm.  She has cried a lot this last month, but I think I'm finally figuring her out.  She will let you know when she's tired or hungry and it's usually RIGHT.NOW! She needs to take a nap about every three hours, usually an hour and half after wake time.  If I can put her down as soon as she shows signs (slight whimpering, fussiness) there's no issue (well, except that I can't put her down anywhere, I have to hold her - spoiled!).  If it goes into full on meltdown... it's not pretty!

Beauty Queen Veda, being an angel at the doctors office.  Right before shots :/

Routine/Schedule: Not a lot has changed.  We wake up around 7 every morning and get on our every three hour schedule of wake/eat/play/(attempt to) sleep.  Week eight was a big week for us, she started sleeping through the night.  We're talking 10PM-6-7AM.  At that point she was still in our room, so once she was doing it consistently (maybe a week or so) we transitioned her into her own room.  This was much harder on mama than baby, but we both survived.  Initially I put her in her "bassinet" (an attachment of her Pack N Play that she'd been sleeping in since birth) in her crib.  A week later I tried no bassinet, directly in crib.  She woke up at 2am and required a feeding, I was afraid she wouldn't sleep the rest of the night so I put the bassinet back in and continued to let her sleep in it.  Well, then she started getting pretty long and it was inevitable that she'd need to be in the crib alone soon.  So we tried again, same thing, up at 2 but this time I put her back down in the crib.  Then next night, and every night since, she's slept soundly.  I usually put her to bed awake and let her fall asleep on her own.  Last week I added a mobile to her crib to give her some noise (I always put it on heartbeat rather than music) and something to look at as she's drifting off.

Matching outfit from head to toe!

This doesn't really fall into this category, or any category, but overnight she outgrew her newborn clothes and now wears 0-3 months, or 3 months.  Her feet seem to be the first body part to outgrown an outfit, guess we'll have to teach her to swim ;) She also finally outgrew newborn diapers and wears size 1.  PS I was told the cheap ones are just as good as the expensive ones... not so much! She's had a few blowouts, including one where I had to cut her onesie off of her! We were gifted a few of the cheap brands and I had coupons for a few as well so she's tried a bunch of different kinds. I put her in the cheaper brand (Luvs or Huggies) during the day and Pampers Swaddlers at night or if we're going to be in the car/stroller for awhile.

Oh yeah girl, I hear ya!

Feeding: I'm still feeding Veda every 3 hours, over the last week or so it's been closer to every 2.5 hours - must be a growth spurt. I plan to start spacing them out a little bit more, hoping to feed her every four hours.  She's had some pretty rough days with a lot of gas, we had tried a couple different kinds of gas drops but she still seemed to be having some pretty serious pain, so we started BioGaia.  It's a probiotic that our pediatrician recommended.  We've been on it for about 3 weeks now and its safe to say I can see a change!   The only problem is, it's hard to find on the West coast.  We buy it from our pediatrician, but I finally found it at Walgreens this week! It's expensive, but works. She still occasionally has gas and our friends introduced us to Gripe Water which also helps.
She is still getting only breast milk.  For the first 3.5 weeks of life, I pumped and bottled because her latch was not good.  I got really tired of washing bottles, which I'm sure I've mentioned, so I transitioned her to the breast via a nipple shield. Again, I got tired of washing the nipple shield and it's not that easy to manuever in public under a cover, so I worked really hard and finally got her on the breast! Woo Hoo!!!! Good job baby girl!  She gets between 3-5 oz per feeding.   

I think she may have an allergy to eggs.  Just like daddy... great! I'm not sure when you can get infants allergy tested. My theory behind this, is that I had been eating eggs every day for breakfast since I came home from the hospital.  She had been fussy and gassy pretty much the entire time.  She also had a reddish rash on her face, it looked a lot like the baby acne they can get so it didn't really concern me.  I even mentioned it to her doctor, but he seemed to think it was just my hormones coming through.  Then I noticed it spreading behind her ears and even to her neck, her chin was also getting bright red.  So I cut eggs everything has cleared up.  Brett's pediatrician told me to be careful with things he was allergic to, smart man! 

I also think coffee upsets her little belly.  I was drinking a couple of cups a day, then quit because I thought it was effecting her. I would occasionally get something half-caf at Starbucks with no issues on her end.  This week I started drinking half-caf at home and again she's fussy, so no coffee either.  

Sleeping: My little girl is an angel and is still sleeping through the night! She stirs occasionally, but never cries and puts herself back to sleep.  It doesn't seem to matter what time I put her to sleep, she pretty much always gets up at 7am.  My goal is to get her sleeping twelve hours soon.  Its good to have goals! ;) Napping is another story, however! She is not a good napper! Unless it's on me which means I can get nothing done, she doesn't want to nap.  The only thing that's working right now is to take her for a stroll, so we're getting lots of walks in around here! I have to figure out how to get her to nap, maybe swaddling, or putting her in the front pack or Moby so at least my hands are free!

After a loooong walk with mommy, when she still refused to sleep!

Just napping on mommy, the preferred spot. 

Not Veda, obviously, but I think tis is her motto! 

Stats: We don't have an official update since our next doctor appointment is not until 4 months (May), but I weighed her last week and she was up to 10 pounds 12 ounces, so up 5 pounds since birth!

Modified Tummy time. We're not really a fan of the tummy time ;)

Struggles: We've had a pretty good month, I have to say.  I was starting to get anxious about Brett leaving to go back to Kansas for four days.  After his last little road trip, I didn't know how I'd do it again by myself.  I called and begged my mom to come out and help me out! She so graciously said yes! I'm sure she didn't mind ;)

First 'social smile' Daddy said, "Good Morning, Beautiful"
and this is what we got :)

That Daddy guy is funny!

Lazy morning with Daddy

Milestones: Well, she's still working on that social smile.  I can't wait until it's consistent! Her smiles are huge and so freakin' adorable, but they are like seeing a shooting star at this point.  I'm also super excited for her laugh!!  She is cooing up a storm and her most common 'words' are "Ah-goo" and "Yeah."  So cute!  Her neck is getting stronger and stronger and her hands are no longer in constant fists.  

Adventures:  Holy moly! We've been busy this month! We went to our friend's, Derek (our ring bearer) and Jay (his dad),  joint birthday party at a local bowling alley, had brunch with my friend Alyssa who was visiting from Minnesota, went to my coworker's house for a gathering, had friends visit for a day to meet our little princess, had Brett's Uncle Chris and his family stop by on their way to Palm Springs, went to the zoo, went bowling - twice, went to sushi, went to a mommy & me group at the hospital with friends and finally Grandma Rhonda came to help me out for the weekend while daddy was gone.  Wowzers!

Look at her checking Derek out! Happy 4th Birthday D!

It was Nana's birthday, she said this was the best card ever!

It was Daddy's birthday, too, this month.  

Veda & her friend Henry

Veda & her friend Brooklyn

Grandma Rhonda came to help out again, and totally spoiled us!

Realizations:  Man these little ones grow up fast! Physically, Veda is getting so long.  She really is a little string bean.  I never in a million years thought I would have a long/lean baby! Brett & I were such chunky monkeys, it just doesn't make sense! Her little cheeks are filling out though, so maybe it's just a matter of time!
Her eyes are so focused now and she tracks Brett and I when we're moving about the room.  She's just such a little doll face, I can't stop staring at her!
I know we are so, so blessed that we both get to spend so much time with her during this age.  I am looking forward to the next few months when she's holding her head up, smiling on command and beginning to sit up, but I'm also savoring every single second.  Even when she's upset, I remind myself we will only get to do this once (with her... I'm sure she'll have siblings eventually). 

I just love her! She is so perfect!

How we (the parents) are doing:  We are doing amazing! I am still on maternity leave, and plan to be until the first week of June.  I am so fortunate to be able to stay home with her for five months! I wish I didn't have to go back, but, again, I'm lucky that I only have to work three days a week.  I had a job interview last week - it has to do with the decision I'm struggling with, but can't say too much more about it at this time.
Brett's new manager is keeping him BUSY! She's on the exact same page as Brett when it comes to what he wants to do with his career.  We consider Veda his good luck charm.  Since she came a month early, he was forced to reschedule one of his shows, where he met his now manager! He's already had multiple auditions and opportunities, so we are VERY excited to see where this goes.  Maybe I can retire soon and be a full time mommy!

Still not done making these silly faces!

Looking forward to: Brett and I (and Veda, of course!) are going to escape LA for a couple of days to celebrate our anniversary.  We've been married for one year on April 7th (together for 8 years - on the same date).  I can't believe how much our lives have changed in just one year. It's amazing and I'm feeling so much love! We are heading to Pismo Beach, which is where we got married.  I don't have a lot on the agenda, because what can you really do with an infant (?), I just want to get out of town and relax! Also, our wedding photographer ran into Brett at the SLO comedy Festival (where he was named Best of Fest) and offered to do our first family photos! We are going to take them up on that offer this week when we head to Pismo.  I'm so excited, I hope Veda will cooperate!

It started getting hotter,
so I busted out my summer clothes!

And in case you forgot... I was trying to think of a cute way to capture her growth over the next year, so what I've decided is this: I bought a dress that's size 12 Months and I plan to put her in it every month until it fits.

3 Months

8 weeks // 2 months

Here we go again, another month has flown by ... :( Let me just say, month two... not as easy as month one. Month one = lots of sleeping and cuddling while month two = lots of belly aches and fighting naps! However, we still love this little squirt and I think we've decided to keep her around a bit longer!

8 weeks old, looking like a sad puppy

Routine/Schedule: Not a lot has changed in terms of our schedule, I'm still following this plan. I found it on Pinterest either when I was pregnant, or thinking about getting pregnant and it was intriguing because it said "Get your baby to sleep 8 hours by 8 weeks." Guess what, Veda is 8 weeks and she's sleeping 8.5 hours!! I put her down between 9-10PM and she sleeps through until 6-6:30!! I couldn't believe it the first night she didn't wake up, I don't know how many times I checked to make sure she was breathing! So, in other words, mommy is not yet sleeping 8 hours ;) I have to wake up to pump anyway.  I'm bathing her every other day at this point, but we just moved bath time to nights to see if that would help her sleep at all since they tend to make her pretty drowsy.

Taking a bath in her big girl tub

Feeding: I'm still feeding her every 3 hours during the day and then no longer waking her up at night to feed. This means daddy has gotten out of his late night feedings and she hasn't had a bottle for awhile.  However, now that I'm pumping at night, he'll be able to feed her during the day if I want to sleep in or I can freeze it for when I go back to work. I have no idea how much she's eating, I know that when we give her a bottle it's up to 5oz. She's a little pig!  She also started randomly spitting up, sometimes somewhat projectile, around week 5 or so.  Of course, first timers over here, rushed to the MD to make sure she didn't have reflux or any other issues.  It really just came out of nowhere and seemed like a lot to me, but I guess she's just normal!  We just want to protect her so much, I wonder when that wears off... oh right, never. ;)

Sleeping: Aside from her long stretch at night, she's still napping pretty frequently during the day. Sometimes she'll stay awake for 1.5 hours after eating (which is what I aim for), sometimes up to six hours, which I think is crazy. Actually, thought it was crazy until last Saturday when she decided she could not nap at all and stayed up for 12 hours straight! It was ridiculous and ended in a meltdown from about 6-9PM... Of course this happened the weekend Brett was out of town but that's also the first night she slept 8 hours straight so maybe it had to happen!

Stats: Our little girl has gained almost 4 pounds since birth!!! She's up to 9lb 8oz and has grown 3 inches, bringing her up to 21.5"  She's doing very well and was such a little show off at the doctor's office.  She laid on the table and cooed at our doc, all bright eyed.  She really is a little sweetheart.  Then the nurse came in and stuck her with 5 needles! Isn't that a bit ridiculous? I'm not understanding how we have not yet figured out how to combine these vaccinations?! She also had to drink an oral vaccine, which I'm pretty sure she spit about half out...

Getting bigger every day!

Struggles:  I do not understand how single moms do this job. I have so much respect for those women!  Brett went out of town for a comedy festival from Thursday - Monday and while I loved every little snuggle and smile I shared with Veda, at times, it was exhausting! It's just nice to have an extra set of hands when you want to say... go to the bathroom! I literally got almost nothing done. I did one load of laundry and did a few dishes when she would sleep outside of my arms for 10-15 minute stretches. She's also been really gassy and, therefore, fussy for the last few weeks. When we went to the doctor to discuss her possibly having reflux, he suggested she start a probiotic called BioGaia.  Up until Thursday, we had just been thinking about it, and have since started it.  It's a liquid and she gets 5 drops a day, it's completely natural and even if it doesn't work, it can't hurt her.  I've actually already noticed a difference in only two days of starting it (coincidence? Maybe).  She's no longer waking herself up due to gas, so that's a big improvement!

Let's be clear, it's not all cuddles and kisses!
This was some really bad gas kids!

Milestones: Again, there really aren't too many at this point.  She is not yet socially smiling, she mostly smiles with gas and when she gets sleepy.  She holds her head up for decent periods of time, although her only real tummy time seems to be on me or Brett, it doesn't last too long on the floor! Our pediatrician told us not to worry if she hits her milestones a few weeks late since she was born early.  Frankly, I'm not worried about it at all... she'll get there when she gets there.

Adventures:  Let's see what else we've been doing... more hiking, more restaurants, more trips to the grocery store.  Brett's family came to visit in the last month in three separate trips.  First his mom (Nana) came for a week and cuddled and spoiled this little girl.  I don't think she spent more than five minutes outside of her arms! The day after she left, Brett's brother (Uncle Matt) and sister (Aunt Melissa) both flew in for a few days. A few days after they left, Grandpa Steve came in for a few days.  Veda just loved his low rumble of a voice and I think she was amazed by his facial hair! It is so fun getting to share her with our family. I can't wait for a trip home to introduce her to the rest of the crew!

Nana Nancy
And I just realized all the pics of the rest of B's family are on his phone.... sorry guys!

Realizations: I think I've just realized that we are incredibly blessed, although I've known that for a while now.  I also realized that this is definitely a two person job, sometimes more! I'm so lucky that we're in the situation that we are in, where both Brett and I are home most of the time... for now.  I know that'll change when I go back to work, but our schedules are so flexible that I don't see it being a problem.  I've also realized remembered how great my husband is.  He really is such a great guy and is always looking out for what's best for me, Veda and us as a family.  He went to SLO for the comedy festival and ended up being one of six in the Best of Fest (plus there were over 400 applicants and only 40 got in).  I am so proud of him, he really is going to accomplish everything he ever said he would! Being a nice guy pays off, too.  He brought home a few bottles of wine that he was gifted from fans of his and he even ran into our wedding photographer, who has since offered to do our first family photo session (on her!) near our one year wedding anniversary, which is fast approaching! How awesome is that?!

Daddy's current favorite picture

How we (the parents) are doing:  Brett and I are doing well, actually, really well! Brett has some huge things fast approaching with his career and we could not be more excited! He just signed with new management and is in the process of revamping his website, reel and he's off to get new headshots tomorrow, and then it's on!  This new manager is very excited about Brett, she's also very motivated and honest... and I believe, somewhat of a bulldog.  I'm really looking forward to seeing where she can take his career... hopefully to a place where I can retire from mine ;)
I'm feeling really good.  I need to go to the gym, that's for sure, I'm still hanging on to these last ten pounds or so... I've read that you sometimes don't get back to your pre-baby size until after you stop breastfeeding.  I'm not sure if it's true, but I'm relying on that.  I'm still wearing my maternity jeans for crying out loud! Boo! Maybe it's all those mini Cadbury eggs I've been eating... haha, I love Easter candy!

Sleeping through her lunch date with Mommy.

Looking forward to: Spending every last minute with this little nugget until I return to work.  I seriously do not even want to think about going back to work, but I know it's inevitable.  I'm struggling right now with some decisions that will need to be made very soon regarding work and am just praying that I make the right choice for our family.  More on that later... 

And in case you forgot... I was trying to think of a cute way to capture her growth over the next year, so what I've decided is this: I bought a dress that's size 12 Months and I plan to put her in it every month until it fits.

2 Months Old

2 Months Old

One Month Old

One Month Old

4 weeks // 1 month

Oh my gosh, how can one month have come and gone so quickly?! I guess what people say is true, "When you have kids, time speeds up." I know it's been a while since I last blogged, but I've been cuddling with this adorable baby you see...

There have been many times I have wanted to blog about specific things (breastfeeding, car seat safety, etc), and I will, stay tuned! But for now, I want to recap the last month... which is the first month of Veda's life.

Since we've come home from the hospital a few weeks ago, we've settled into a somewhat 'normal' routine that I'm absolutely positive will get jumbled back into chaos as soon as I go back to work, but I don't even want to think about that. I am really wishing we lived in one of those marvelous countries where mommies get one whole year of paid maternity leave and a few weeks each year after to bond with the baby. Come on America... Get it together already! What on earth can possibly be better than a mother spending some quality time with her baby?

I haven't completely decided the format for these monthly updates besides flooding my blog with incredibly cute photos, so bear with me please! If you want to see a million photos of baby girl, check out my Facebook page or Instagram (chaynarae).

Routine/Schedule: I swear I've done so much research regarding all things baby including what kind of schedule, if there should be a schedule, to try. PS What did other generations do without the Internet?! So, I found this website through Pinterest and we are attempting to utilize this pattern in order to get Veda sleeping through the night in a few short weeks (Wish us luck!).  Basically it keeps the child on a 3 hour schedule for the first 4-8 weeks of life; changing diaper, feeding, awake time, nap time, repeat. So far we've done pretty well with it. Not everyone agrees with this schedule that we're doing, but luckily, we are the parents, so we decide :) Veda was such a little runt when we brought her home and she probably would have slept through the night immediately, but as her mother, I knew I had to beef her up a bit. I had no choice but to wake her every three hours to eat. Now she pretty much has a little alarm clock in her body and when my alarm goes off every few hours at night, she's already stirring, knowing it's time to eat!  I've joked to Brett that she's going to become like Pavlov's dogs and start salivating every time she hears my cell phone alarm ;)

Feeding: Let me first just say, breastfeeding is not an easy task! Since Veda was born three and a half weeks early, her suck reflex wasn't completely developed. We had a really hard time in the hospital, even an emotional break down... but we're making progress! The first nearly three weeks, I pumped and bottled exclusively (Every three hours!). It was incredibly time consuming to feed her and then wash/sterilize all the bottles and pumping equipment.  I was getting really tired not having any sleep and was really worried that she would get 'nipple confusion' and never take the breast.  Our pediatrician was confident she would return to the breast by her due date and to continue pumping/bottling to (A) be aware of how much she was eating & (B) make sure she was getting enough nutrition to put on some weight.  I'm so happy to say, he was right, I'm now breastfeeding all day long, pumping twice, once before bed and once after her first feeding in the morning. My night owl husband takes the midnight and 0300 feeding while I sleep through the night, it's glorious! Thank you B!

Sleeping: Veda sleeps quite well at night... so far! Again, utilizing the schedule we've decided on, we try not to stimulate her much at night. We wake her up, change her diaper (in dimmed light), feed her with no distractions, swaddle her and put her right back to bed. She typically falls right back to sleep after the first feeding; after the second she'll lay down with her eyes open but doesn't really fuss and eventually falls asleep. During the day, that's a different story! The first two weeks she slept and slept and hardly opened her beautiful blue eyes... that's not the case any more! She is definitely her father's child, she is not napping well at this point. She may be up for an entire three hours at a time, fighting sleep as long as she possibly can, fussing to the point of scoring an additional feeding and then finally passing out... usually on me until I can put her down. Sometimes after I put her down, her eyes open right back up. It's a work in progress!

Stats: At birth, Veda was 5lb 12 oz, 18.5 inches long and her head circumference was 12 inches. When we left the hospital, she was down to 5lb 4.5 oz. At her three week check up, we found out she had gained more than an ounce a day (The pumping and feeding was successful!); she weighed in at 6 lb 11oz, 19.25 inches long and her head circumference was 13.75 inches (thank you for coming early little one!). She is noticeably filling out, no more baggy thigh skin!

Struggles: We have had our ups and downs with feeding/breast feeding, but as I said earlier, I'm working on a blog about that topic. Recently she's starting having some serious belly aches related to gas :( She's been pretty fussy this week, crying and turning red and then farting and returning to her normal self. We've been bouncing her, rubbing her little belly, holding her on her side, doing the 'bicycle' and everything else we can think of. Over the weekend we saw her have real tears for the first time and decided it was time for something more ... We went out and bought Little Remedies for Tummys gas drops and have used them once a day for the last three days, which really isn't bad. I'm still not convinced they work, but we'll see.  I've also eliminated all spicy food from my diet, because I really like spice and I think that may have something to do with it. If I don't see any improvement, I'm sure I'll have to modify my diet and eliminate dairy and acidic foods (I really hope not, I'm not good at adhering to any type of diet, but I'd do it for her). I'm also avoiding the foods that Brett is sensitive to, because in case you didn't know, I'm married to Bubble Boy - he's allergic to so.many.things.

Milestones: There really aren't too many milestones to list at this age, but her neck and back are getting stronger and she can lift her head and turn it from side to side when on her stomach. She's also smiled a few times, not purposefully, but it sure is cute :)

Adventures:  Veda has been on multiple walks, usually to the grocery store, on a Target run, out to dinner and to the Getty Center in her four short weeks of life. She is becoming so cultured ;) However, now that the flu has officially hit California, we've been laying low. We are incredibly careful with this little peanut, but we can't just sit in the house all day!  We've also had a few visitors, but most importantly, Grandma Rhonda came to help and bond with baby girl for a couple of weeks! We sure miss her!

Realizations: We really need to patent a new 'swing/mamaroo' called "Daddy's hands," because Brett has a special hold he can use to put her in a straight up trance even if she's screaming! Seriously, I need to work on this during my maternity leave! Also, seven years of nursing has really taught me a thing or two about time management, organization and being flexible! Or maybe it's maternal instinct (?), but either way, I'm grateful!

How we (the parents) are doing:  Brett & I have both wanted kids for as long as we can remember, so we were most definitely up to the task. I think we're both adjusting to much less sleep than we were previously getting. Right now he takes nights and I take days but we're not really seeing much of each other, so we're trying to tweak it a bit. I know I really appreciated having my mom here for a couple of weeks, she kept up with all of my wifely duties (laundry, cooking, cleaning) and even helped to feed Veda when I was bottling.  Brett and I even got to go on a date... to sushi of course, and a movie. The good-bye really sucked though, not gonna lie. Both Brett & I are getting showers (almost) every day, which I think is a good sign ;) Brett has been doing a lot of comedy shows at night, I only have ten pounds to lose before I'm back to pre-pregnancy weight... things are progressing!

Looking forward to: Now its Brett's family's turn to come visit. We pick up his mom Wednesday for a week, the day after she leaves his sister & brother are coming through the weekend and then his dad will come towards the end of the month. Everyone is very excited to meet our little peanut and I can't wait to take her back to the Midwest and show her off.  She really is such a little bundle of joy and I'm so proud to call her mine!

I was trying to think of a cute way to capture her growth over the next year, so what I've decided is this: I bought a dress that's size 12 Months and I plan to put her in it every month until it fits. So here's the first month!