growing growing growing - 2 months

Well she is not really two months until next Tuesday BUT she is eight weeks today and I consider that blog worthy! I have to say that being a mom is getting a lot easier! I am enjoying my timewith her during the day more and more. Here are some of the things we have been experiencing together...

* She is a noisy little thing!!! When she is awake she is always smiling and talking. The other day she was cooing so loud I couldn't help but laugh. I think she likes to hear her own voice. When she is sleeping she is always grunting or moaning. This can get a little frustrating because I am always checking on her thinking she is awake when she is actually sound asleep.

* She is sleeping in her cradle! She grew out of the co-sleeper we were using so we had to move her to the cradle andI am very happy we did. I missed cuddling with my hubby!

* She is holding her head up really well. When we went to our photo shoot with her the photographer was amazed at how well she could hold her head up and also how expressive she is.

* I play a little game with her and hold my hand above her and then go slowly toward her likea claw... her whole body tenses and she smiles sooooo big!

* She is getting used to being on her own. We can actually put her in her swing and vibrating chair and she is perfectly happy.

* She loves the car *YIPPIE* If she is fussy we get in the car and go for a drive and that usually calms her down. She also loves music I think her favorites are Tommy walker and New season. When I put those in she talks a lot like she is trying to sing with them. SO CUTE!

I have been having a lot of fun during the day with her. Edwin and mom leave around 6:30 and then I feed her and we go back to bed and sleep until around 10 or 11. Then we get up and get ready for the day and go shopping or just hang around the house.

Breastfeeding is getting a lot easier! I still don't have enough milk to pump extra but she is getting what she needs from me and we have not had to supplement as much. We did have to go back to the doctor and get her thrush medicine refilled. I am beginning to think that stuff never goes away. But it is getting easier to handle.

At her last doctor apppointment she weighed 10 lbs 4 oz... so she is getting to be a chunker! The weird thing is her newborn clothes still fit. I can tell she has grown though because the premie outfits don't fit anymore they are soooo small and I can't even believe she has grown that much! It is happening right before our eyes.

LEts see what else.... She is wearing size one diapers now and they are starting to get a little snug. I am amazed at how many diapers and wipes we go through. Luckily we found kirkland wipes from costco 15.00 for 700 of them and as soon as she fits into size 2 diapers she can start wearing the kirkland brand for those too!

Well I think that is all for this month. I can't believe how fast it goes Edwin and I start school next week so I will try to keep up on the blog... My unemployment also runs out in February so I need to make sure I have a job by then or we have our finances in order so I can stay home a few more months. I don't know how I can work fulltime and do school fulltime and still have time with the baby... I guess I need to tap into my super mom skills.

Hope everyone is doing well!

6 week doctor appointment

I had my Six week Dr. appointment on the 27th. I still have four more pounds to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight then I plan on losing a lot more! The doctor said that everything looked great and she was proud of how well I am doing. We also talked about what type of birthcontrol to use and we decided on Mirena it is an IUD that will last for up to 5 years but we can have it removed anytime if we decide to have more children (which we will.. but not anytime soon! ) I have to go back on the 14th to get that. She said it is a small procedure but it can be pretty painful so I will let y'all know how that goes. Bu I don't think anything can compare to childbirth.

It was a nice visit and my doctor was in a really good mood so we joked around and laughed. She also wanted some pictures of her and the baby and I. So it was fun to have her hold Malaika and take some pictures. I had the nurse take one with my camera phone and it turned out a little blury but it works! Ihave to say Dr. Byrd was the best doctor for me. I will continue to go to her for my checkups and for the rest of my pregnancies.

The Holidays

It is crazy to think that the holiday season has come and gone already. It was exciting this year to establish more traditions as a family and spend some time together. Edwin requested for some time off so we had two four day weekends together in a row. My mom was also able to get the same time off so we were all home together. We decided to open our gifts on Christmas Eve and leave our stockings for Christmas day. I was excited because Malaika fell asleep and we were able to watch a movie together and open gifts and eat dinner while she slept like a little angel. She probably fell asleep for so long because of all the pictures we were taking! hehe She is probably traumatized for life! I got so many nice things this year...Edwin got me a really nice Winter pea coat and lots of scratch tickets!!! He also got me the new alicia keys cd and a nordstrom gift card and a TOASTER OVEN!!! . My mom got me an AMAZING bathrobe, some earings and socks (which I was in desperate need of). My dad also sent us our Baby's first Christmas ornament and an ornament that says First Christmas as parents. I was really excited about that because I had looked all over for one and couldn't find one that I liked. Edwin got a lot of lounge wear from mom and I. He also got a leatherman from mom and a wine chiller from me (yes we are becoming wino's (spelling) )

Malaika didn't get any big gifts from us this year (we were saving the money for her professional photo's) but she got a TON of new clothes from Grandma. Of course I loved opening every gift! My dad and Cindy also sent her an electric mobile that displays on the ceiling and rotates (it makes edwin and I fall asleep..hehe) We put in her stocking some new binkies since we can never seem to find one when we need it..LOL I also got her some wrist rattles she loves them!

On Christmas day we had Holly and Musonda and Mwila over and also another friend fom Zambia Mapenzie. Mom and I cooked Dinner (roast with mashed potatoes and green beans) and it was sooooooo yummy! I always like visiting with Holly because we have recently gone through the same thing and it is nice to just gab about it. We watched the Blazer game and then they all went home and we got settled in for bed. Malaika is starting to get on a schedule for sleeping which has been VERY nice.

For new years we pretty much did the same thing. New years eve Edwin my mom and I watched the Blazer game and then watched the countdown. I was soooo sleepy and I had had some wine and was soo relaxed that I actually fell asleep before midnight. Edwin had to wake me up at midnight to give me a kiss LOL! Susanna and her sister Hannah came over for New years day and we had a nice dinner and watched a movie. It felt good to be homebodies this year and not go out downtown. We also saved A LOT of money by not going out!

STAY TUNED:

We are starting our own biggest loser competition in our house... we have not set all the rules yet but I will keep everyone posted on who is winning!

I hope everyone had a nice relaxing holiday!!

Mwila is here!

Little Mwila Mwango was born yesterday December 11 2007 at 6:15! She was 7 lbs 2 oz and 19 inches long and ADORABLE!!! Holly is doing really well and will probably get to come home today or tomorrow. I am excited to have someone close that I can share stories with and who will understand. (Who else can you talk about poopy diapers with? ) I am sad that we forgot to take pictures of Edwin holding her and my mom and I but we have plenty of time for that! I am excited that Malaika will have a cousin so close in age to share life with. Great job HOLLY!!!

and we smile through our tears - One month!!!

Poor Baby- after she got her purple medicine

I have a lot of stuff to talk about in this blog and I hope I can get it all typed before she wakes up... (Yeah it didn't happen it took me a couple of days to type this.)

It has been 4 weeks since she was born.. I say it is a month but edwin said she was not officially a month until the 8th sooo tomorrow she will be a month old. This week has been a roller coaster of emotions. Since she was born she has had a white coating on her tongue. We asked the doctor about it and he said it was normal and should go away over time but if it didn't we were to let him know. So we monitored it and the white coating kept getting thicker and thicker and also transferred onto her cheeks and lips. On sunday night she was sooo fussy. She would not breastfeed or bottle feed and would not take a binky. When I finally got her to sleep she started sucking on her hand and her finger scraped her tongue. She screamed sooo loud I felt sooo bad for her. lets just say i cried right along with her. It is so hard to see your little baby in pain especially when you can't fix it. It was such a long night and Edwin had to go back to work the next morning so he needed to get some sleep. This is where I am going to break up my blog a little bit.

Her doctors appointment-

I called the doctor on monday morning and they got me in at 2:00 that afternoon. The morning was really stressfull. With mom and Edwin gone it was just me who had to deal with the tears and the fussy baby. On top of that she was the fussiest she had ever been because she was sick. At one point I didn't know if I was cut out for this "mom " thing. When we got to the doctor as soon as he walked in I burst into tears and handed her over. I told he he had to fix her. LOL

He got this concerned look on his face and was like.."Are you okay? Do you feel depressed?" NOOOO just exhausted and stressed and we need medication! So he checked her out and determined that she did have a bad case of thrush. This bad case of thrush has also passed onto me (This makes your breasts have horrible shooting pains and it is sooo itchy) For those of you who do not know Thrush is basically a yeast infection but in the mouth. It is uncomfortable and painful. The doctor gave her this purple medicine that dyed her whole mouth purple. (I will post a pic) He also prescribed Nystatin for me and for her to take for ten days. I have to soak all of her bottles and binkies in vinegar every night and wash all of my bras and anything tht comes in contact with her mouth in vinegar. (This is just added to the many things I can't find time to do anymore.) And last but not least she has a little yeast infection in her diaper area so I have to put Clotrimozole 3 times a day on her little bottom. Poor thing! The doctor was impressed with her weight she was 9 lbs 2 oz! she has gained almost two pounds since she was born.

When we got home she was sleeping so soundly and pretty much slept that whole day and evening away. I could tell the next day she was feeling so much better because she was smiling and happy again and able to eat without gagging or crying.

My Doctor's Appointment - Might have to much info so skip this paragraph if you want!

This week I have been having really bad back pain. Because Malaika was sick she wanted to be held so much more. She also wanted to be rocked to sleep. At times it was SO hard because my back would be killing me and if I tried to sit down she would cry. I also had a foul odor from my discharge. (which is something that the doctor said to contact them about) So I called my doctor on Tuesday and they said they waned to get me in ASAP. When I got there they weighed me and I only have 4 more pounds to lose!!!! That was a relief ( I obviously have much more than that to lose but it feels good to have my body back) The doctor took some swabs and tested them and said that my bacteria has changed. She gave me some medicine to take and I am supposed to let her know how everything is at my 6 week post appointment. (December 27)

Other than that the doctor said everything looked okay. She did refer me to a nutritionist because I told her I wanted to learn how to eat the right things to provide the best nutrients for Malaika. She said she would refer me so insurance would pay.. YAY!

My first week without Edwin

well... it definately had its ups and downs but I made it! It was a lot more stressful because she was sick but I am getting used to giving her the medicine and the house smells like vinegar!

My main struggle this week has been breast feeding. I pretty much gave up when she had thrush really bad because it hurt sooo much to nurse. So I was pumping as much as I could and supplementing the rest of the time. Today was the first day I have been able to nurse all day long without any pain. I do have to say pumipng is SOOO much easier sometimes I wish I could just to formula completely but I know that breastfeeding will halp my body as well as hers. so we will keep MARCHIN ON!

On a lighter note I have almost all of my Christmas shopping done!!! I wrapped all of edwins presents last night. We are trying to save our money this Christmas because with the new car (we got a 07 camry! Sorry Shanti we let go of the honda) I am still not working and we only paid rent until the end of January. I can't believe I have been out of work for almost 3 months already. It has been a big three months!

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays!

Ready for Christmas

Just wanted to post a picture of our tree we got today!!! It was fun to decorate and we also got a Baby's first Christmas stocking. I love Christmas!

week 3 - Amazed

BEWARE - EMOTIONALLY UNSTABLE, SLEEP DEPRIVED BLOG

Week three was a very emotional week for me. This was edwins last week to be home (he goes back to work on December 3rd) I don't know how I am going to do everything. He leaves usually around 6:30 am (probably 6:00 with the bad weather) for work and he and mom don't get home until around 6 pm. I know that the motherly instinct will kick in and I can do it but I also know when they get home they are both going to be tired and Edwin is going to need sleep. UGH! Here come the water works again. Hopefully I will get over it and just make it happen. All I can picture right now is me sitting there looking like a zombie and crying. LOL

I have also been emotional about her growing... haha you would think I would be excited that she is now fitting into her newborn and 0-3 month clothing but I just think of how my mom must feel and how time flies by so quick. I just want to cherish every moment. (BUT then the night comes and I wish she was 5 years old sleeping through the night in her own bed.. hehe IRONIC)

Enough about me and my emotions lets talk about our little princess... SHE IS SO CUTE!

This week we have enjoyed spending time with her. We are starting to really understand what she needs and so it gets easier to calm and soothe her. We are still supplementing with formula sometimes I feel like she is permanantly attached to my boob all afternoon, but then she is still hungry! So formula is my hero for the time being. I am able to pump about 8 ounces a day so we try to pump and save those so eventually we can just use my breast milk inbeteen my nursing. I have been taking herbs to help increase my milk supply and that seems to be working. The lactation specialist also told me to drink a beer or a glass of wine in the evenings to help with my let down. I was scared to do this at first because I didn't really see any pro's but it is working and helping me relax at night. BUT I promise only one glass.. even though I would love to have a whole bottle sometimes.

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year. Pretty relaxed. I was so thankful that my mom was here to help cook (actually I only did the mash potatoes) We had Susanna, my mom, edwin, holly, and musonda here. we ate until we could not eat anymore and then watched TV. We laughed because when I went to feed Malaika she was really excited about the feeding, sucking like crazy, so I guess she wanted to have her pumpkin pie too!

On friday we went to the mall for some black friday shopping... HECTIC! I stood in line at Bath and body works for amost an hour. I got a cute little hat at baby gap that was on clearance. Then of course we had to stop by MAC and have them do my eye shadow.

My Dad and his girlfriend Cindy came that night and stayed for the weekend it is so great to see my dad interact with her. I can tell he thinks she is pretty special. I think him and Cindy will be GREAT grandparents to her. Cindy got her some cute little outfits and an eeyore stuffed animal.

It was hard when they left because I could tell my dad was sad and he really didn't want to leave her. I hope the winter is not to long so we can drive over to LaGrande and spend some more time with him.

Okay back to Malaika... we gave her her first official bath this week (the umbilical cord FINALLY came off) I was surprised how much she liked it. At first she cried but then once she was in the waer she was kicking and wiggling around it was sooo cute! Then when we took her out she cried!

She seems to love time with DADDY. She will just stare at him like she is mesmerized by him. He plays with her and kisses her and she always smiles this BIG smile.I love it when she smiles.

One thing that she has been doing a lot of is GRUNTING! It is cute during the day but a little annoying at night. She does it when she is awake and when she is asleep. Sometimes it is a poopy grunt but other times it is just an I want to make noise grunt. at night it wakes me up and I check on her and she is fast asleep.. LOL

She is an amazing baby! we have been so blessed. We can take her out to nice resteraunts ( we went to Olive garden last night) and she sleeps or just sits there and stares at everyone. I can't wait to see how much she is going to change overtime.

Last but not least i can fit back into my old jeans!!! Hooray! I tried them on this morning and they fit perfectly! I can't wait for my 6 week appt to see how much weight I have lost. Oh.. and I also dyed my hair brown... I needed a change Thats all folks! Have a great week