2 months old

Markin is 2 months old today. She had her pediatrician appointment this afternoon and she weighed 10 pounds 5 ounces (40% percentile) and was 22.5 inches long (60%) - the doctor said that was just about perfect! Everything looked fine and Markin survived her 2 shots (we're using Dr. Sear's alternate vaccination schedule, with the exception of moving up the hep B shots because she's in day care).

We went to my old school today and showed the kids the baby that was growing in my tummy all of last year. They were really excited to see her and held her very gently. One first grader kept playing "this little piggy" with her toes :)

After our busy day, Markin helped mommy at school - she was SO GOOD!!! I got lots done and will hopefully be ready for our open house tomorrow afternoon.

"Someone's been eating my porridge"

Or, more accurately, "Someone's been wearing my diapers." My little Goldilocks is having trouble finding diapers that are "just right." Swaddlers size 1 are too big (they leaked all over both of us!), Swaddlers newborn are too small - and we haven't found "baby bear's just right" ones yet.

And the prize for "best baby ever" goes to . . . Markin!

She's such a good baby that I often tell her that she's the best baby ever. She also hears that from her grandparents (and compared to her cousin who was colicky, they love the fact that Markin rarely cries -- fortunately, Naliya is now the happiest, smiliest baby ever and you almost forget the months and months of crying). Well, I was teasing my mom that I expected Markin's day care to tell me that she was the best baby ever. She told me that they wouldn't be allowed to say that (can't show favoritism) - and they didn't, but they did tell me over and over what a good baby she was. Well, a co-worker had lunch today with one of the "teachers" in Markin's room and she told my co-worker that Markin was the best baby ever - so that makes it official (my sister even agrees with the statement as long as best means easiest.)

Of course, I have to admit we had a rough afternoon. I took her to my old school to meet everyone and she had a tantrum! She was just over tired and couldn't fall asleep. As soon as I put her in her car seat, she was happy and fell asleep as soon as the car started to move.

First day of "school"

Markin went to day care for the first time today. It was just a half day, but still hard for me to leave her with strangers! When I picked her up, they commented on what a good baby she was. She hung out on the floor with everyone and had fun "playing." However, she slept through the art project - which I'm fine with. I'm sure it would be cute and part of it is just getting to experience it, but I'm pretty picky about art projects with my students. I had a paraprofessional (associate) one time who would make our students art projects perfect (basically do it for them) - and parents don't want something that's perfect and done by the teacher, they want what their child makes! (We butted heads all of the time on this topic.)

Of course, we did our "first day of school" pics - the first one is from when I dropped her off, the next one is from when I picked her up. She was sound asleep and didn't wake up for another 2 hours. Seems like I missed her more than she missed me, which is the only way I'd want it.

Helping Mommy

Well, even though I'm still on maternity leave, I need to get my classroom ready for the kiddos to come. Class starts on August 3oth for me, but I need to do home visits next week with all of my families. I've been trying to work in my classroom for a couple of hours each day, and Markin is coming along to "help." Today we even went to the staff meeting - everyone commented on what a good baby she is! She was awake and sat quietly in her car seat for the first 40 minutes, then decided to take a nap for the rest of the meeting. Maybe my principal will just let me bring her to work with me everyday and I won't have to leave her at day care - wouldn't that be great??? (the direct quote from my principal was "Wow! What a good baby! Glad you joined us!") The kiddos in my classroom would probably love it as well, if they're anything like my 4 year old niece!

Baby's first tattoo

Well, when I got back from the funeral on Saturday, the first thing I noticed was that Markin had a tattoo - courtesy of my 4 year old niece!

a difficult day

Today was a hard day all around. One of my college roommates' father was killed in a motorcycle accident, along with 3 other motorcyclists, on Monday. Very tragic - he was a great man. I felt I needed to go and pay my respects and support my friend, so I asked my sister to watch Markin. I figured it would be easier to leave her for the first time with family instead of strangers. It was hard for me to walk out the door without her (I left a lot later than I should have, only making it to the funeral with 5 minutes to spare by the time I got done pumping), but I did it knowing she'd be in good hands. Sounds like she had a good time with her auntie, uncle, and cousins. It was a long 8 hours without her, but I'm glad I went.

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Markin's first stroller ride - on her way back from a garage sale

Markin with Naliya's "baby" and the stuffed animal Kalini bought for her

Kalini and Markin hanging out

First bottle

I fed Sweet Pea and she fell asleep, so I decided to pump and see if I could get a little more milk to freeze for when I go back to work in 2 weeks (I'm taking the full 8 weeks because of the c-section and will skip the first week of inservice meetings. There's almost 200 ounces in our freezer now ready for her when I have to leave her at day care, which is going to be so hard!). Well, as soon as I finished pumping, Markin woke up and started making her hungry noises. I decided we might as well try a bottle to see how it goes. She was unsure about it at first but caught on quickly.

6 weeks

Sweet Pea is 6 weeks old already. She's getting so big! Markin weighs about 9 pounds and 5 ounces.

Today I got a genuine smile - definitely not gas! She was asleep in my arms and when she woke up and saw me, she smiled at me. My heart melted.

The dream team

Here are some of the people from the Sher Institute of Reproductive Medicine in Peoria, IL, who helped create my little miracle. I wouldn't have my little Sweet Pea without them. It's probably hard to tell, but Markin is wearing her "I'm Mommy's dream come true" outfit.

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Dr. Schultz


Lisa, Jo, Luanne, Brian

Today we drove (just the 2 of us) to Peoria and had lunch with several other ladies and another little miracle, my friend Jen's son Owen. It was fun to put names and faces together, along with really getting to know more about someone instead of just what I know about them from the discussion boards. We met at McAlister's - my favorite place to eat in Peoria. Hope we'll get together again sometime, and maybe even go to St. Louis to meet some of our friends from the discussion board that got their miracles through that office.

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After lunch, we went to the SIRM office and I got to introduce Markin to them. Everyone was so excited to see her! She got to see most of the people that work there, but not all of them. We also got the sad news this week that Dr. Schultz is leaving the office and going to Chicago. I know that I wouldn't have my little girl without the great people in this office. Maybe I'll be back in a year or two to use my "snowbabies" and give Markin a sibling. Only time will tell!

1 month old

Markin is getting so big! She doesn't look like a newborn anymore. She's already up to 8 pounds and 5 ounces (a gain of around 12 ounces in a week!) and is 22.5 inches long. She has a little roll of fat on her legs now, which is adorable, and she can start wearing her 0-3 month outfits. However, the newborn diapers still fit best so she'll still be wearing those for another week or so.

We have some major accomplishments going on. The first one is that she's learned how to cry :( I'm not too thrilled with this development and blame her cousins for teaching her how, since it started soon after a visit with them. She can make a horse noise that would make her Great-Grandpa K proud! Markin is staying awake more - finally! She's also pulling her hair - bet there aren't many 1 month olds that can do that :) One accomplishment that I love is that she's sleeping 4-5 hours at a time at night! According to her G'ma, Markin has also said her first word ("hi"), is smiling, and can roll over (while laying on a pillow and given a small push) while on our trip to NY. Not sure those accomplishments really count yet! One accomplishment that I've witnessed several times (but never when the video camera is handy) is that she's starting to reach out deliberately to touch a crinkly toy. It's on the floor mirror that she loves (she loves to look at herself in the mirror and I can't blame her since I know I spend a lot of time looking at her and marveling that she's really here), and she was moving her feet and arms one day and accidentally touched the crinkly part, then she did it again, then she started doing it more deliberately. Now she seems to actually be reaching just for that part of the toy. Wow!

4 generations

Markin got to meet her Great-Grandmother (she's 95 years old) this weekend. Here's a picture of the 4 generations together for the first time. It was definitely worth the long drive to see everyone and get this picture! Great-grandma couldn't stop talking about Markin's cute feet :)

Queen of the road

This is Markin's first long car trip - and so far, she's been a great traveler! We're headed to New York for my cousin's wedding and to introduce Markin to my dad's side of the family. I can't wait for her to meet my grandma - she's 95 years old!

We're stopping every 3 hours to let Markin stretch out, eat, and get a clean diaper. Other than that, she and I are both sleeping most of the way while G'pa drives and G'ma does her crafts. It should take us 2 days to get out there, then we'll go to the wedding and visit the family, then head back to Iowa a few days later. Just a quick trip, but it'll be worth it!

3 weeks old today . . .

. . . and it seems like I've loved her forever. I was kissing her for the millionth time the other day and she gave me a look that said "Mommy, are you done yet?" and I wasn't, of course :) Hope you can read what her shirt says in the picture - it's the truth!

I got an email from my parents today, and they signed off by asking me to give love and hugs to Markin from them since they miss her (you know - they haven't seen her for a whole 36 hours). No mention of love and hugs for me or the cats. I definitely see where I rank now!

I slept through my alarm last night at 2:30 when I was supposed to wake her up to eat - or maybe I forgot to set it. Anyway, I didn't wake up but she woke me up at 3:30 to eat. I think that maybe she can go 4 hours at night instead of 3, especially since she ate better/longer last night than she usually does. I might try it again tonight and see what happens.

Nellie

Markin and I brought Nellie home today. It's kind of a relief to finally bring her home where she belongs. I need to find a good place to display her ashes, but for now I have her in one of her favorite spots on the floor by the window - not a permanent spot, but good enough for now. It's nice to have her home again.

Jeredon (her brother) spent several minutes sniffing the wooden box she's in.

The vet's office also gave me a plaster mold of her paw prints with her name above them. That's so nice to have. I really do like that vet's office - they saved her life two years ago after she had to have the feeding tube put in (she had it for about 6 weeks) and gave me that extra time with her. I'll always be grateful for those bonus 2 years with Nellie while waiting for my little miracle baby.

2 weeks old already!

Time is flying by! I can't believe Markin is already 2 weeks old - but it also seems like she's been here forever. After we left the hospital, we stayed with my parents for a week, but we've been home for several days now and things are still going well. We've settled into a nice routine of diapering, eating, and sleeping (mostly sleeping). She's trying to sleep through the night already, but her pesky mommy keeps waking her up every 3 hours to feed her :)

We spent the day at my sister's house, celebrating some belated birthdays (my sister's on the 3rd and my dad's on the 4th). Markin was a great traveler and slept the whole way. Her cousin, Naliya, was excited to see another baby and kept poking her and trying to lay down on top of her. It was so cute!

Pediatrician appointment

Markin had her first doctor appt today for her physical. She weighed exactly 7 pounds today and, with lots of stretching, they said she measured 21 inches long and her head circumference was 14 inches. They said she was right on track with everything and that she didn't have to go back until she was 2 months old, but to call if she didn't start waking up on her own to eat in a couple of weeks and if she had a fever over 100.4. Can't believe she doesn't go back for 6 more weeks - and my doctor appt is 6 weeks out --- it seems so strange to go from weekly doctor appts to not having to go back for 6 weeks!

Markin's umbilical cord fell off when she was 10 days old - it got snagged on my shirt and I accidentally pulled it off but she didn't cry. It doesn't look the best, but her doctor said it was fine and just to keep cleaning it.

Happy 70th b'day, G'pa . . .

. . . and Happy 4th of July to everyone else!

My little Sweet Pea is already over a week old! I can't believe it! Things are going great - I have the easiest baby in the world (and as soon as I post this, that'll change :) She hasn't figured out how to cry yet - she'll squawk and then wait, if no one responds within a few minutes she'll squawk again and then wait again. Anyone remember me talking about how I thought she'd be a morning person? I was wrong! Sweet Pea loves to sleep - up to 22 hours a day! I'm having to wake her up every 3-4 hours to eat. I never thought that as a new mommy I'd get to sleep until 9:00 in the morning! And her most awake time is around 9 p.m., which is perfect for me. She is absolutely priceless!

She is just the most precious thing. She's definitely a cuddler, but is also perfectly content to just lay on the floor sleeping as well. She likes her binky, but hasn't figured out how to keep it in her mouth yet. It'll fall out and then she'll root around for it (thought object permanence wasn't supposed to start for months, but she is advanced so I'm not surprised :)

Breast feeding is going surprisingly well - she's gaining weight (she weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces when she left the hospital on Wednesday and was up to 6 pounds 14 ounces on Friday for her nurse's visit). I'm also pumping and freezing about 5-6 ounces of breast milk each day for when school starts again in August.

Recovery from the c-section has gone great! My last pain pill was on Thursday and I only occasionally take some Advil, at a smaller than recommended dose. I'm so surprised because I was really worried that I would be in so much pain that I couldn't take care of my little one, however my sister said my recovery seems easier than hers did after a regular birth. Only drawback is that I couldn't drive for a week and I have a 10 pound weight limit restriction for 6 weeks (but I had that for my whole pregnancy, so that doesn't seem so bad other than the fact that I can't carry Sweet Pea in her car seat yet).

Okay, enough bragging about how perfect my life is right now. Will keep you updated!

An important first!

Well, "mommy" has been having shopping withdrawals - I haven't been anywhere other than the hospital and my parents' house since last Friday! So, we decided to beg G'pa to drive us to Walmart today (only a half hour away - I was desperate for civilization.) I took pictures to document this important event in Sweet Pea's life - her first shopping trip! She wasn't as excited about it as I was - she slept the whole time!

Introducing . . .

. . . Markin JoyAna

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My little Sweet Pea arrived safely via c-section on 6.26.10 at 10:10 a.m. She weighs 7 pounds and 2 ounces and is 19.5 inches long. She has tons of dark brown hair and long fingers and toes. She is absolutely perfect in every way!

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We did an u/s right before the c-section and she was still breech, so we had no choice but to do the c-section to get her here safely. And it was a good thing we did do the c-section - her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice! Very scary to think what would've happened to her if the external version had been successful!

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Markin had a little bit of a problem keeping her body temperature up, so we did some skin-to-skin cuddling and she also had to go to the nursery to use the warmer for an hour. Other than that, she's been great! She had her first bath tonight and I got to watch - and I only had to watch them change her first messy diaper since I was still stuck in bed!

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I did manage to take a short walk tonight and keep some toast down. I had some vomiting earlier from the meds but a dose of benedryl (3rd med we tried) seems to be doing the trick. I was finally able to sit up at 8:30 and walked around the room shortly after that. Other than the nausea, I've been pretty painfree and hopeful for a quick recovery!

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ps - the pictures are in reverse order.