Night 2

Last night went SO much better! Once we got her down, she didn't wake up until around 5:15am! Granted, she didn't get to sleep until 10pm. I really want her bedtime to be around 8 or 8:30. After reading up on sleeping habits & printing out this table that says how much sleep they should get day & night, with the number of daytime naps included, I'm confident I can make this happen. It helps me when I can see things in writing.

On a side note, many of you asked how the fried butter tasted. Lane said it was delicious. It's really like a biscuit with butter inside. Definitely try it if you go to the fair.

Down Time

This week Lane had 9 days off, so we went to Arlington. We stayed super busy visiting all of our friends & family. In fact, I wish we had MORE time because it's hard to fit it all in. We visited my sister & her kids. They hadn't seen Elliot & I haven't seen Eleanor. Here's a picture of the 2 girls. They're only a month apart.

I hung out with Regina & Amy for an afternoon with the kiddos. Kelly was so sweet to Elliot! We kept telling him to give her kisses & it was too cute.

kisses

loves

We happened to be around for the State Fair. I have been wanting to go FOREVER. Every year I say I'm going, but never make it.

This sign is probably why Texas is the fattest state in the country. Surprisingly, Lane was the one who tried a couple of the fried foods.

Fried Jelly Beans

Fried Butter

I stuck to a fair favorite...cotton candy!

There were so many gimicks. This guy was trying to sell these Bionic bands for $60. Basically it's a piece of cloth with a tiny scrap of metal attached. It's supposed to make you extra strong. Here he is trying to get Lane off balanced while he's wearing the band.

The tiniest horse in the world. I felt sorry for him because he was in this hole & couldn't look a round. It looks like he's being punished.

Lane rode 1 ride & this was his choice. The arms roll around while it's spinning. I would have thrown up for sure, but he did alright.

We also went to visit Lanes mom. While we were there, we practiced shooting their bow & arrows.

I felt like Robin Hood.

Not too bad, huh?

This one is out of order. Here's one of things they were selling. I don't know how the salesmen can keep a straight face with this product. Watch the video & you'll see why. Sorry it's sideways. I couldn't figure out how to rotate it.

1st Night in Elliot's Room

We just got back from Arlington yesterday & instead of setting the pack 'n play back up, we decided it was time for Elliot to sleep in her own room. She didn't do horrible, but I wouldn't call it a great night either. The first part of the night she did fine. Slept til 3am. Then I fed her & put her back down. This is where things took a turn for the worse. She could not get back to sleep. I gave her the pacifier to help her out & it did, but the only problem was she would doze off & it would fall out, causing her to wake back up. I would then have to go in there & plug her back in only to repeat several times. I was watching all of this through my monitor by the way. After about an hour, Lane got some rubber bands & made a little head band for her. Don't worry it was loose. I really do think someone should mass produce something like this. I had a picture up, but my mom just called & chewed me out for posting it, so I took it down. She thinks someone may think I'm a terrible parent & get me into trouble. Anyway, like I said, it was loose, so it still fell out & I took it off. Well after about 2 hours of on/off sleep I finally took her out of the crib & put her in bed with me for about an hour & then it was time to feed her again. We will try it again tonight. I really think a main problem was that she's hot. I normally swaddle her because it helps her sleep, but at the same time the poor thing is sweating. So I took off the swaddle & she just flaps around. I don't know what to do to get a good balance. Any suggestions?

What a Morning

Today was my first day back to church. I should have known things would go wrong & make me want to pull my hair out, but I was in denial. Lane worked a night shift in the ER, got home at 8:30 this morning & immediately passed out. Things were going fine at first. I fed Elliot, put her in her bouncer as I took a shower & got ready. When I picked her back up I noticed this huge wet spot on the front of her onesie. It was too low to be spit up. It was pee. I have no idea how it got there! So I changed her & discovered she had the mother of all dirty diapers. There was no way I couldn't give her a bath. All the steam from the bath caused my hair to fall & I had to re-curl it. (disaster #1). This was not in my schedule, but had to be done. Then once she was all cleaned up, I got dressed. I decided to put on some lotion. As I press down on the pump, the lotion shoots straight out onto my black dress instead of into my hand. (disaster #2). I then changed outfits 3 more times since things don't fit quite the same as before. This was also not in my schedule. Finally I settle on something that I'm not crazy about & go to dress Elliot. The dress I had planned for her to wear didn't fit anymore, which I find ironic since she doesn't even fill out her newborn clothes. (disaster #3). I was really disappointed about this & go to get another dress which of course didn't fit her. I tried another one with the same problem. This resulted in her wearing a sleeper. By this time, church is starting & we are just now walking out the door. (disaster #4). All of my planning ahead, by laying out both of our outfits had gone to pot. At this point I'm so irritated that I don't want to go anymore, but I had to teach a lesson, so I had no choice. Then all my irritation gets directed towards Lane, because he was asleep during all of these mishaps. We finally make it 15 minutes late & have to settle for the fold out chairs instead of the cushy ones. (disaster #5). Now I know I'm being dramatic, but that was my miserable morning. Fortunately, Elliot was great throughout all 3 hours of church. Hopefully next week goes a lot smoother.

1 Month

Our little girl is already a month old! She has been a great baby so far. She doesn't have a 1 month check up, so I have no idea how much she weighs or her length. Lane did try to weigh himself & her on the scale & then just himself. With that, he got that she's 8lbs, but who knows if that's accurate. I want to say it's not because she's still tiny. She doesn't fit in any of her 0-3 month clothes. Her newborn clothes are even too big, especially the pants. I went out yesterday specifically to buy a newborn outfit for her since I had to change her 3 times yesterday because everything swallowed her. She's a great sleeper. She's still in our room. I was going to move her to her own room this week, but we'll be going to Arlington soon & she'll have to go back into the pack 'n play. I figured it would be easier to just wait til we get home. She now likes her baths. I started filling her tub up more, so she would be more immersed in the water & she loves that. She's starting to eat more. About 4-5 ounces. Her favorite place to be is her bouncer. It usually always knocks her right out. Her are some pictures.

All stretched out.

I can't wait til she starts smiling. I just pulled her pacifier out here & she's not in the best of moods.

The pacifier is back in place & she's content.

Face the Fat

So it's been 4 weeks post baby & since I've been on maternity leave, I haven't really had to dress up & wear normal clothes because I don't leave the house too often. And when I do, I just put on my maternity jeans. But now that's starting to get a little old & my pants are too baggy to really be cute & you can sometimes see the unattractive elastic. I told myself that I wasn't going to try on any of my normal pants for at least a month. It's funny how you have this warped self image. I mean, I actually thought that I could probably fit into my jeans by now since I can wear my shirts. Boy was I wrong! It's very disappointing. I tried putting them on & can't even zip them! Bummer! I've been working out pretty hard the past 9 days & I've even been watching what I eat lately. And I'm watching The Biggest Loser this season to stay motivated. Hopefully it won't be too long before I'm back to my normal self. In the meantime, I think I'm going to have to buy a few "in between" clothes.

Sentimental Shmuck

Lane is in the other room talking to one of his good friends on the phone & being the great eavesdropper that I am, I happened to hear the sweetest thing. He was talking about being a father & said, "You can never understand how much your parents love you until you become one. My thoughts are always turned to her & it makes it hard to go to class. I just want to stay at home and hold her." Doesn't that just melt your heart? I know he's going to be a great daddy!

Heart Checkup

We had our appointment with the cardiologist today & they did an EKG. We had to wait FOREVER (1 hour) just to get called back. Then another hour once we were in. I was worried Elliot would start to get fussy seeing as it was time to feed her again, but she was good as gold. Calm & relaxed the whole time...even when she was hooked up. The tech was very impressed.

The doc said she still has mild pulmonary stenosis, so we have to come back in a month. There's still no need to worry right now. We'll just take it one step at a time. He said if it doesn't get worse over the next 3 months, there's a 90% chance that there will be no further complications.

Girls Visit

Regina & Amy drove down to Houston to meet Elliot on Monday & Tuesday. It was so fun having them around. While they were here they helped me take pictures. And we all agree that they don't do her justice!

They also cooked for me both nights! Regina made the best taquitos ever! And Amy made fajitas. We had 4 different dips! Did I mention we had desserts both nights? You would think they were cooking for an army! I swear I've probably gained 5 lbs. Amy also gave me a lesson on how to use the breast pump. That thing is so cool. I was so sad when they left, but I plan on making a trip up there in a couple of weeks. I have to say it was a very productive couple of days.

On a side note, Elliot had her 2 week checkup. She now weighs 6 lbs 11 oz (10th percentile).