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Today Jordan is 8 weeks old! I can hardly believe it! She weighed in today at 10 pounds, 6 ounces!! She’s getting so big! I’ve started a box of outgrown clothes already, and though there isn’t much in it, there are a couple of things! She’s doing well, though the reflux issue has returned. I thought she didn’t have it, but after going to the breastfeeding clinic and having Susan, the lactation consultant observe her during a feed, she’s thinking it may be reflux afterall. So I’ve started the Zantac again this evening. It takes about 3 weeks to really see a result, so I’m going to give it to her consistantly for 3 weeks, and see how she does. The main issue right now is that my milk comes out so fast, she’s almost choking on it, or spitting it out all over the place. We both need baths after every feed almost! And when she’s eating 8-10 times in a 24 hour period, that’s not so easy! I’m lucky if I get my morning bath! So we shall see how the Zantac goes.
In other news, we did sign up for Gymboree. We went again today, and there was a class of about 6 I think. Jordan seems to enjoy the songs they sing, and the toys they have there. She also likes looking at the other kids. Today she was facinated with the little girl named Shayna that was sitting next to us. She’s almost 5 months old. There’s another girl there named Merrigan who’s 2 days older than Jordan. She was adopted by a woman who has been wanting a baby for 10 years. I think there is a chance of me making friends with some of the mothers in that class, so that’s a very good thing. Well, it’s time to feed Jordan again, so off I go. Check out Jordan’s 8 week old pictures!

We survived our preview class at Gymboree. There were only 2 other babies in the class, and they were both 4 months old, so my little 7 week old was quite a youngin’! But she kept up fairly well with the class, impressing everyone with her head/neck control at tummy time, but she refused to look at me, or the toys that I was shaking in front of her, and instead watched the 4 month old boy next to her and his toys. Going for the older men already!! I’m not sure that we’re going to sign up for gymboree yet, as she’s a bit young to get too much out of it, but we shall see. They said I could come back on Tuesday as there would be more kids, and closer to her age. She did seem to enjoy the singing sections, though. Well, she’s sterting to get sqirmy, so I better go. But check out the gallery for her 7 week old pictures!

Just a quick post to say that there are more pics taken today up in the gallery. The Infant massage class was fun today. We didn’t get any massage done, but we did get to chat a lot, and talk about other classes that the other ladies are taking. All the good classes are in Long Beach, so it looks like I’ll be putting a few more miles on the car! I may get to take some classes with some of the friends I’ve made at that class, so that’s a good thing! Well, Jordan’s sleeping, and I should be too!

Today Jordan rolled over from her tummy to her back while at the breastfeeding clinic! I was showing off to the lactation specialist how strong Jordan’s head is (she can lift it all the way up 90 degrees when on her tummy) and then she just tucked her arm under herself, and rolled over on to her back by kicking her little feet! I couldn’t believe it! Now I’m really going to have to watch her very close! She can’t roll on to her tummy from her back yet, though I did catch her on her side in the crib when I put her down on her back, so I know it will be coming soon. Also she is a champ at smiling now- as I’m sure you can see by the pictures. She still smiles when she wants to, but sometimes I can get her to grin really big my kissing her tummy, or sticking my tongue out at her. Also if Mike smiles really big at her she will sometimes smile at him, too. Also as of today she weighs in at 9 lbs, 6 oz! She’s just a bit more than I was at birth, and she’ll be 7 weeks on Thursday! The Pampers Newborn size diapers are really tight on her now, and we’ve finished the last of the ones we had here, so now we’re finishing up the Newborn size Huggies, then it’s on to Pampers size 1! The Newborn Huggies still fit her, but so far I’m liking the Pampers brand better. She seems to leak less in those than the Huggies. She has also officially outgrown 2 pairs of socks, and is dangerously close to outgrowing one of her pj’s. It still fits around her neck, and around her belly, but the feet are stetched when she straightens her legs. A couple of the other pj’s are getting a bit small in the neck, too! I can’t believe how much she’s growing, but she’s still smaller than some babies are at birth!
Yesterday I went shopping and decided to splurge at Toys R Us in the baby clothing section. I had a couple of coupons, so I thought I would pick up a couple of things I had been coveting. First in the cart was a little cartigan sweater that was on the sale rack that matches a little outfit my brother and sis in law gave her that has a little duckie on it. It’s a very cute white sweater with ducks around the bottom edge. Then I picked up the cartigan that matches that blue flower outfit with the butterfly on the front that Gigi gave her. It’s a blue sweater with flowers on it- also very cute. Then of course I had to pick up the matching blue hat and socks! And the last thing I picked up was a 3 piece set- a bib that says “I’m the cat’s meow” that has a kitty face on it, a onesie with little rose buds on it, and a “sleep and play” that has kitty faces on the feet. So my total should have been around $45. I gave the clerk my coupons, and he was very distracted. He kept on calling other desks to see how they were doing, and answering a million questions from other co-workers. He scanned my coupons, but kept scanning one of them because it wasn’t registering. Well, he finally finished and told me my total was $5.60. Umm… I told him that I thought he was wrong, and he said, “Nope, it’s $5.60.” and he was in quite a hurry for me to leave so he could go help another co-worker with a return. I said again “Are you sure?” and he responded with a very annoyed “Yes.” Well, alrighty then! When I got home I looked at the reciept and saw that my 30% off one item was applied to 3 of my items, and my $5 off a purchase of $25 or more was applied 5 times! At the bottom of the reciept it says “You saved $38.47″ and the total paid was $5.60. Some of it was on sale, but I really should have spent around $30 at least! But hey, I’m not complaining! I got 7 items for 5 and a half bucks! Quite a successful shopping trip!

I have just added some more pictures to a bunch of different albums. They were on Mike’s camera, so they are from a few different weeks. The oldest ones are in the 4th week, then there are some in the 5th-7th weeks as well! I’ll let you find them, since I want to keep them in order of when they happened.
Things are going well here. I know I haven’t updated in a bit, but we’ve pretty much been doing the same old thing. I’m really enjoying the infant massage class that I’m taking on Wednesdays. It also seems to help a bit with Jordan’s gas, so that’s a blessing. I have been told that if I do the massage earlier in the day when she’s not having trouble, then she might not have as much trouble later, but I haven’t had a chance to try it yet. I didn’t go to the breastfeeding clinic at all this past week (the first week I haven’t gone since she was born!), but I will most likely go back on Tuesday, if not for the clinic, then for a weight check only. I also signed up to take a free Gymboree class. Not sure what a 7 week old child can do in a class at Gymboree, but I guess we shall find out. Really the reason I signed up for it was to meet other mothers in the area. It’s really close to the house, so I’m hoping to meet some people that I can hang out with!
My follow-up doctor’s appointment was this past Thursday, and it went well. I’m still not totally healed from everything, so I’m back on some meds for another week. Hopefully I will return to “normal” (the new normal) soon. I’m also looking forward to being healed enough to start my new excercise DVDs. I bought Dance Baby Dance and Baby Reps- one’s a cardio workout meant for the mother and the baby (basically you dance with your baby), and the other one is a strength and toning workout where you use your baby as a weight! Sounds like fun to me! I already know that Jordan likes to dance, as I have tried dancing when she’s fussy, and it’s made her stop crying. I had read in a book that babies like the waltz, so one day when she was crying pretty hard, I got up, and thought of the only waltz that came to mind- Sleeping Beauty Waltz, which is actually a Viennese Waltz. Well, I started singing that song, and Waltzing up and down the hallway, and within seconds she was quiet. Baby likes ballroom- oh yeah!
Well, that’s pretty much it, I guess. Next week looks like it’s going to be busy- Monday I’m driving back to the Dr. to get a “return to work” note, then driving to Disney to deliver it, then signing the leave of absense paperwork to go on Family Care Leave, Tuesday I might go to the clinic, then that afternoon the pictures from JCPenney will be ready, Wednesday I have the massage class, and Thursday we go to Gymboree! Whee! And Friday we sleep. All day long!

Today Mike gave Jordan her first bottle since the first week she was home. She had bottles then of both formula and breast milk, but that was to clear up her jaundice. This bottle was just to practice, and she did great! No problem taking it, and no problem taking it from Daddy! Yeah!

What is the reward of the sleepless nights, the days when you barely get a shower, and the child is screaming in your ear the majority of the day? Right here:

We’re still trying to figure out this whole “fussy/colicky/acid reflux/high-need baby” dilema. She is now 5 weeks old, and the fussiness seems to have been better- or at least we’ve learned new ways to calm her. I still don’t think it has to do with dairy in my diet, so I’ve gone back on dairy. We also have introduced a pacifier, but only in certain circumstances. I don’t want her to become dependant on it to sleep, or use it “just for fun” when she’s older, but for right now it’s working for the car trips when she becomes frantic, and does nothing but scream. When we’re in the house there are a lot of ways to soothe her, but in the car, I’m stuck driving, and I can’t reach her in her car seat, so the pacifier makes the trip much better for both of us. I’m also still trying to figure out the sleeping thing. She’s currently asleep, but she’s nestled in the Boppy pillow, not in her crib. She fell asleep on my lap after a feeding, in the Boppy, and when she started drowsily stirring, I moved the Boppy off my lap, and onto the couch. (Which is right next to my computer, so yes, she is being watched. ) This is supposed to be her “long nap” time- from whenever the 12:00 feeding ends to 5pm. We’re still cluster feeding in the morning and evenings, but I’ve been told I can feed her every 2 1/2-3 hours (or sooner if she demands it) in the morning from 6-12, then from 5-10 I’m to feed her every 2- 2 1/2 hours, but no more than 2 1/2 hours apart. Then supposedly she will someday sleep through the night from 10-6. Who knows when that will happen. For now she seems to want to eat around 11, then again around 2, then again at 4 on some nights. Other nights she’ll eat at 2, then be happy until 6, or sometimes almost 7! Last night was a difficult night- she wasn’t really hungry, but seemed to be in a lot of pain, and I couldn’t quiet her. She was having gas issues, and eating wouldn’t help, it would only make it worse. I tried the pacifier then, too, which worked sometimes. I’ve been told that sucking will quiet their tummies sometimes. I guess that makes sense, because when I have had medications that cause nausia, they suggest sucking on a piece of hard candy to minimize the nausia.
Another “soothing technique” I’m starting to try is infant massage. I started a class this past Wednesday that meets in a woman’s home, and there are 4 other moms and babies in the class. Seems like it’s going to be a pretty cool class. I’ve only had the one session where we learned “legs”. Next week is tummies, which is supposed to really help with gas and colic, so we shall see! The other thing I want to try is “baby wearing”. I’ve heard a lot about it, and it was mentioned in a book I recently read, and I think it sounds like it would work. (Plus I could get more done around the house!) For those who don’t know about it- it’s basically wearing your baby in a sling, or other carrier, during the day. Some wear their babies longer than others, but the books seem to suggest that even a few hours out of the day will produce an effect. With the baby in a sling, the baby gets to be close to the mother (or father, or whoever is wearing the baby), and the mother gets to have 2 hands free to get things done, but still be close to her baby! I have a Baby Bjorn right now that I’ve used, but I think I would like that one better for long walking trips, etc. I’m hoping to have my friend Stephanie make me a pouch sling so I can try out this baby wearing around the house as well. It would come in handy on days like today when she wants to sleep curled up, but I want to get some housework done. I can’t let her sleep in her crib on the Boppy, because she could suffocate on the pillow, so I’m supposed to watch her while she’s sleeping on it. Doesn’t allow for me to get a whole lot done.
In other baby news, yesterday Jordan was weighed and she is now 8 lbs, 12 oz, so she is growing quite rapidly! She’s almost outgrown some socks, and is getting pretty snug in one of her sleepers, but her other clothes are now starting to actually fit her! (Still the Newborn size) And I think I’ve purchased my last box of Newborn size diapers. I believe she will be into size 1 by the time we go through the 96 diapers I bought yesterday. My guess is they won’t last past the end of this month, if they last that long!
So there’s a glimpse into what my life is like these days- feeding baby, changing baby, soothing baby. But I still love it! Yeah, it’s tough to go on so little sleep, but it is so worth it to see the little miracle snoozing, or playing, or just looking at me. Motherhood is truly an amazing experience!

Jordan is 1 month old today, and we took a trip to JCPenney to get her 1 month portrait taken. She really did quite well, and only started fussing at the end when we were trying to do some pictures with Mike and me in them. Unfortunately none of those really turned out too well, but we did decide on 4 poses that we really liked. She was a trooper, and I would say her first trip to the mall was successful. Only a bit of screaming at the end, but that was to be expected as she was hungry! I’m not going to put the portrait shots on the web, as they are professional pics, and shouldn’t be scanned for printing out on your own. (Even though the portrait prices for reprints are a bit steep) But they were cute shots. I also took some pictures of her at home in my old dress that she wore for the announcement picture. I even got one with a very similar pose, so I put that picture of me in that album as well. I also got some pictures up of her at 4 weeks old, and those are at the end of the 4th week album. The newest pics were taken Friday and today, and those are in the 5th week album.

As of last Thursday she is officially 8 lbs! Yeah! And her “up to 8 lb” clothes are still a bit big on her. I think she’ll outgrow the length on most of them before the width. But I guess that’s usually the way it is. So far only one of her Newborn size pj’s is getting a bit snug in the length. (And no, Mom, it’s none of the ones you got her! )

Jordan’s doctor on Friday doesn’t think she has acid reflux, but just thinks she’s colicky, or just “an average 3-6 week old baby”. I guess they’re supposed to be fussy from 3-6 weeks, get to the peak of their fussiness at 6 weeks, stay there for a couple weeks, then gradually come down until they’re 3 months old when they magicly become angel babies. Who knows. She’s followed the textbook examples fairly well so far, I just hope that the fussiness doesn’t get worse!! Anyway, the doctor did gie her a percription for Zantac to see if that helps her tummy troubles, but I’m to try that after a full week trial of no dairy for me, and trying the other suggestions from the doctor. This week has been a tad bit better, but then again, I haven’t been forcing her to sleep in her bassinet or crib for naps, or at night. She likes to sleep on people, and she especially likes to be in our bed. I don’t want her to get in the habit of sleeping in our bed, but at the moment that is the only way any of us get any sleep around here. She’s usually only with us for a few hours at night, when she’s the most fussy. I refuse to let her “cry it out” at this age, and there’s no way we’d get sleep that way either. Now I realize that I have opened a can of worms here for everyone to think I’m making horrible mistakes in my parenting by letting our baby sleep with us for even a second, but that is what works for us right now. And no, we will not still have her in bed with us when she’s 5 years old! Anyway, I’d better scoot- I want to get a few things done before feeding the little one and heading to bed!