2 week check up

I can't believe my baby girl is two weeks old already! It seems to be going faster this time and I hate that.

Elaina is a sweet little baby. So far she has been pretty easy going. She seems to have some reflux which upsets her at times but other than that she is a calm, happy baby.

She is a good eater -- usually eating every 2-3 hours during the day. She will frequently give me a 4 hour stretch at night which is nice. She doesn't always want to go back to sleep though. Last night she went to bed at 9 pm -- got up at 1:30 am. Stayed up until around 3:15 and then slept until 6:00. She was only up once which is wonderful! Now I have to figure out how to get her to sleep quicker and myself in bed earlier.

Erik still loves her. He likes to get close to her face and wave hi to the baby. He also loves to hold her and hug her. Elaina is not sure about the hugging part all of the time. He seems a little overwhelmed at times. He hasn't been extra fussy or naughty but sometimes he just lays on the floor and knocks his head on the ground or wall. I am guessing it is because he needs attention/is feeling stressed out but I am not sure. Hopefully, he will stop that soon.

At Elaina's two week check up she was...

7 pounds 3 ounces (25%)
20.75 inches (75%)
13 1/2 inch head

She is growing fast and is perfect, healthy little baby (we are so grateful)!

Few photos

First Family Outing

Victor has been home still this week. I have really enjoyed having him around. We have tried to get out of the house together a few times. Our first trip out was to Old Town Alexandria. Erik played in the park and then we walked over to my favorite restaurant, Cosi! Yum! Everything went well although Elaina was hungry during the car ride home and cried a little bit. I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things although I know it will be much more difficult to go anywhere without Victor being home!

Here is our first family photo (taken at Cosi)....

Poll answer

Elaina -- one week old

Given the choices of bald, wisps of baby hair, and hairy beast -- Elaina falls into the wisps of baby hair category. Only one person, besides myself, voted in this category. If you disagree look below to see what a hairy beast looks like as a newborn.....

Erik -- 6 weeks old or so

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to a great husband and wonderful dad! We love you!

Elaina Katherine

Elaina is here! She arrived 6/15/09 at 6:24 pm weighing 6 pounds 7 ounces, 19.5 inches long. She is tiny and perfect. Like Erik, she has been a little jaundiced, but it seems to be getting better on it's own. No treatment needed!

She is a good eater! She eats every 2-3 hours during the day then every 45 minutes or so from 8 pm - 11:30pm and then seems to stretch out for 3 hours or so until 6:00 am. She is willing to sleep in the bassinet which is nice. Erik was held the first 3 months of his life.

Erik has been great. He loves his baby sister and is very curious about her. He is sweet and gentle (at least tries to be). He likes to share with her -- tried to get her to hold his golf club this morning.

I am physically recovering from labor much quicker this time. I am still tired and sore but overall feeling pretty well.

Victor and I are very excited to welcome Elaina into our family and love being the parents to two beautiful children!

sleeping baby haiku

a sleeping baby
big brother pushed the button
slightly off center

T- Ball

Erik's new favorite toy is his T-ball set. He was so cute because when he accidentally hit the T over he would say, "Oh, geez!" Of course he didn't do it for the video. He will probably only be allowed to play indoors a couple more days as he is getting better at it.

Suburbia

You know you live in suburbia when your son thinks that a paint roller is a lawn mower.I wonder what Grandpa B, who spends hours each week mowing 10 acres (?), would think of Erik's lawn mower.

Poll

See the quiz at the very bottom of the blog page -- if interested! You have to scroll down a long way.

Starting them out young!

37 weeks

I am now officially full term -- yay! I have been feeling much better this week. Other, than physically being tired I am pretty much back to normal. The abdominal is completely gone. My blood pressure was back to normal too -- 115/70 this morning. Nothing really new to report. No weight gain this week. Baby is measuring 34 cm -- small but the doctor thinks it is due to an absence of maternal abdominal fat. I like his suggestion. He did check her fluid levels last week and they were stable so we will just see how I measure next week. Minor progress regarding dilation -- this week he said I am a loose 1cm -- almost 2 cm's dilated. Some progress is better than none. I really think that baby is happy in there though so I would be surprised if anything happens this week. The doctor predicts she will be about 7 pounds at birth.

I was able to reschedule a maternity photo shoot for next Wednesday (the 17th) so she needs to stay put until then (although I won't be disappointed if she doesn't). In order to maximize Victor's time off after the baby is born we really need her here next Thursday the 18th. My doctor is out of town the 19th - 22nd so I don't want her to come then. Now if only I could do something to influence the date of her delivery. It is hard for me not to be in control! :)

Happy Birthday Cullen

Erik's friend Cullen turned 2 yesterday. He had a fun birthday party. Here are some photos from it. Aren't the little boys cute?


This is just a shot of Erik breaking into the spice cabinet...

Downtown DC

Erik is feeling better now! Yay! This weekend the weather was perfect so we spent the afternoon in downtown DC. We explored the National History Museum. Erik really enjoyed the elephant but some of the other animals were scary. The museum is really a zoo, of tourists so our time spent in the museum is pretty limited. The rest of the day we just played on the national mall. It was a fun day.




Erik scared of the rhino! He doesn't understand that they can't get him.

Erik, with Mommy and baby, now a little braver.



Erik at the Washington Monument. He would run up and put his hands on it and say, "I touch it!"
Erik loved the lights along the monument. He would race back and forth along them.
Erik with his daddy on the National Mall - watching a soccer game.

Sick Baby Boy

Poor Erik has had a tough week. It started on Sunday with vomiting and a low grade fever. His stomach seems better but he still has a fever 5 days later. It's usually between 100.5 - 101.5. He acts pretty normal although has been laying on the couch more than usual. He has no cold symptoms at all. We are headed to the doctor this afternoon -- 3rd doctor's appointment in 30 hours between the two of us!

Update:

Because Erik has had a fever for 5 days and no other symptoms at this point the nurse practitioner checked for strep throat and an UTI. Erik was very cooperative for both the throat culture and urine sample (peeing in a bag). They were both negative.

Verdict: Virus - as suspected. The nurse practitioner said she has seen a number of kids with fevers, mild GI distress, and sore throats recently. If his fever isn't gone by Saturday we are supposed to go back in. Meanwhile, Erik's 30 minute TV limit has been lifted until his fever is gone.

36 weeks

One more week and I will officially be full term! Yay! Baby is doing well. At this weeks appointment I measured 34 1/2 cm. I am still 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated. I know that I was 3 cm dilated at 37 weeks with Erik --- I am hoping for some progress this week. However, I have felt for a long time that this little girl is content to stay where she is for a while. Weight gain is about 23 pounds. Very similar to what it was with Erik.

I had a tough week but am feeling somewhat better now. Tuesday I had a bad headache and abdominal pain all day. I called the doctor and he moved my appointment up a day. Yesterday, he checked baby and me out thoroughly. My placenta (via ultrasound) looked healthy, fluid levels were okay (11 -- low end of normal), baby's heart rate was normal and responsive (on a non-stress test). My blood pressure had been mildly elevated (137/88) for two visits in a row though so he had me come back this morning. I am happy to say that today my blood pressure was 120/76, which is normal. My abdominal pain is much better. I still have a headache but the doctor is not worried at all. Phew!

I am hoping to start feeling like myself again soon otherwise the end of this pregnancy is not going to be very fun.