Daddy's little girl

I've said since Brooke was born that she looks like Daddy! Here is a picture of Doug as a baby:

What do YOU think??

Hospital photo

It turned out cute, but it doesn't really look like her to me. LOL. I think it's the thing she's doing with her mouth. You can really tell in this pic how flat the sides of her head were, from laying on them so much while in the hospital. I can't believe how much her head has rounded out already since she's been home!

Better night!

I went to bed a little early...10:00. Not quite as early as I'd planned, but oh well. Doug gave Brooke her 11:00 feeding and then brought her up to bed. I'm not sure what time it was, probably at least midnight. I did stir and hear him bring her in, but didn't look at the clock. I also didn't hear her at all. I set my alarm for 2:45 to feed her at 3. I vaguely remember shutting the alarm off and then woke at about 5 'til 3 and realized I hadn't heard her at all and panicked. I looked in the bassinet and she had slumped SO far down in the Boppy that I was afraid she couldn't breathe. I hurried and pulled her up some and she was fine. Yikes. Anyway, she was done eating around 3:30 and went right back to sleep! I rolled up a small receiving blanket and tucked it under her butt and that held her up in the Boppy pillow, so I guess I found my solution until the lounger gets here : ). And she slept straight through until about 6:45 this morning. Wooot! ; ) If only every night could go that well. LOL. But I'll take what I can get!! : )

Long overdue update

Brooke started spitting up more often and having times where you could tell something came part way up and she was in pain, arching her back and crying. So pitiful. I called the ped. on Friday and explained what was going on and he called in Zantac for her. I don't think it's working, though. I'm going to ask about Prilosec or Prevacid, I think.

This morning when I was changing her, I noticed when I took her socks off that she looked puffy right where the sock line ended. The socks were snug, so I thought maybe that's why. The home health nurse came today so I mentioned it to her and well, she obviously saw it when she looked Brooke over. You could only tell on her left leg at that point and it wasn't as pronounced. So since everything else looks good with her, then we're just assuming it was the socks for now and she was going to call the ped. with an update and go from there. She's supposed to call me back today or tomorrow. Brooke has been eating more at her feedings. It used to be we could barely get her to take 45cc's (an ounce and a half) at most feedings, but now she's usually taking about 2oz. (60cc's), sometimes as much as 70cc's. I could tell she was getting bigger and heavier and dare I say chunkier, lol...so I couldn't wait to see what she weighed. And she was 5lb. 5.5oz.! That's a 5.5oz. gain in 6 days : ).

Have I mentioned how gassy she is?? LOL. She can be quite the smelly little thing. Seriously! The home health nurse smelled her today (and actually Brooke peed on her today when she took her diaper off to weigh her, lol...and then she almost spit up on her). Between the gas and the reflux, she's pretty fussy : (. Probably about 4 nights ago, I tried her in her bassinet in the regular Boppy pillow (vs. the swing downstairs) and she slept so-so in there. I don't like it much, though, because she slides down and I worry about her being able to breathe okay. So last night I decided to try her in the bouncy seat, but she didn't take to that at all. Last night wasn't a very good night, period. She fussed a lot. Funny thing is, after her 2:30am feeding when I couldn't get her to settle and go to sleep, I ended up laying her in the bed, kind of hold her with my arm around her, and she slept fine like that until about 6am! I don't sleep very soundly when I have her in bed with me (which hasn't been often...that might be changing, I guess), so I'm pretty tired. I'll probably crash early tonight and have Doug do her late night feeding and bring her up afterwards and then I'll do the middle of the night one. A good friend from my loop that I'm on from my pregnancy with Ryan graciously offered to send us a Boppy newborn lounger that they are no longer using, so we don't have to buy one. So sweet! I'm curious as to if she'll maybe sleep better in there. If not, then it's back to the swing or maybe time to break down and get an Amby bed. We'll see!

Okay, here are some pictures!

I can't wait to see how they get older!

Found that thumb again.

Hanging out in the Boppy pillow on the couch. This may be the last pic of her swaddled, lol. She cannot stand having her arms wrapped up anymore! The past few days she's actually been holding her temp up without being wrapped at all. We just dress her in a onesie and socks and sleeper and hat. It's finally staying warm out for the most part, too, so that helps!

Going for her first walk!

I love this stroller! It's a Peg Perego Venezia and it has a reversible handle, so baby can face you or out, and you can enclose it like a bassinet. It also has a step on the front and back for an older child to stand and ride. I got a SWEET deal on it on Ebay!

These next 6 pics were taken at my mom and dad's house on Memorial Day.

He loves all sports (thanks to Wii Sports)! LOL. Tennis, baseball, basketball, bowling, golf, etc.

Golfing on the deck, lol.

Going after a stray ball.

I had to snap this real quick before he looked away! He doesn't like getting his picture taken anymore.

She hung out in her bouncy seat in the pack'n'play on the deck a lot of the time.

Awwww ; ).

I love her expression.

Yes, she is sucking on her arm!

Relaxin'.

It was almost time to eat. LOL.

I love the feet in this one ; ).

Sleepy baby.

She has the sweetest face :*).

The place Doug works for sent her this blanket right after she was born. Then we just got a 2nd one (for some reason?) a couple days ago!

Looking like a big girl!

Her headbands fit!

One of her funny faces.

Trying on her first outfit (vs. a sleeper), but she went in to a sleeper then. She would've been too cold in short sleeves! She looks so cute in it, though : ).

I still can't believe I'm a mommy of 2 (plus an angel) now!

5 pounds!

That's how much Brooke weighed today when the home health nurse came : ).

She's starting to hold her body temperature up a little better without have to be completely wrapped up in a blanket. I'm sure it helps that it's finally warming up outside and our house is staying warmer! She no longer likes having her arms wrapped in the blanket anyway. She gets sooo mad until you pull them out. LOL. So it's a good thing she's staying warm better!

Yesterday we had a cookout at my mom and dad's. She got to spend the whole day outside on the covered deck. Lots of fresh air!

We decided not to get the Amby bed for her. Instead I think we're going to get her a Boppy newborn lounger to sleep in for awhile. It's a heck of a lot cheaper AND I know of a few people whose babies slept in them for awhile due to reflux/spitting up issues. Either that or I'm thinking of trying her in the bouncy seat instead of the swing where she's been sleeping. I'm leaning towards the lounger due to the fact that I can put it beside me in the bed (king size bed and I sleep in it alone because the mattress kills Doug's back), however I'm worried about her getting used to sleeping in our bed and not being able to get her out. Ryan transitioned easily from the bouncy seat to his crib when he was around a year old, so hopefully :::fingers crossed::: Brooke will adapt to change just as well, lol.

Sorry I'm slacking so bad on pictures. I think I need to try out this Picasa site for pictures. It's such a pain for me to put the pics up on here. First I have to get them on to the computer. Then I rename them all according to date and resize them (make them smaller). Then I have to upload them to Photobucket and then C&P the links for the pics in to the blog. YUCK. It's getting old! I'll post some more soon.

PICTURES!! Finally...

Here's a bunch!

Thursday, May 15th

First day in her "big girl bed", 2 days before coming home.

Friday, May 16th

All strapped in for her carseat test. She had to sit in it for an hour and make sure she tolerated it okay. We have to roll a blanket and put on each side of her and then one between her legs, to get a good, snug fit!

This is back in the "rooming in" room. We took her back there about 3pm on Friday and we were back there with her until she was discarged Saturday morning! It was actually pretty fun : ). I didn't take pics of the room (should have), but it was pretty much like a small hotel room....bed, arm chair, rocking chair, armoire, dresser, nightstand, TV, and adjoining bathroom. Very nice!

: )

Saturday, May 17th

In the car, leaving the hospital!

Home, Sweet Home : )

"Vogue"-ing. LOL.

Ryan just saw his baby sister at home for the first time. He was excited!

He was so happy she touched him. LOL.

My two babies :*).

Fascinated. LOL.

Trying to give her a toy egg, lol.

Our first family picture!

Awwww :*)

Sunday, May 18th

Our little burrito, lol.

Aunt Diane (my sister) and Uncle Shawn (her boyfriend). Ryan wouldn't look at the camera...he was too worried about his Gameboy : P.

Wide awake after her 9pm feeding (of course, lol).

So we had a photo shoot. Doesn't she look thrilled? ; )

Her faces crack me up.

Sitting pretty. I love this pic.

Being this cute is exhausting!

She is sooo long that she is just fitting in to newborn sleepers! Ryan wore preemie until he was 7-8lbs!

Monday, May 19th

First bath at home. She didn't protest too much.

She reminds me of a little monkey in this pic! LOL.

She could wear that washcloth as a dress! LOL.

Newborn onesie, which is still quite roomy on her. She has long legs and a shorter torso...Ryan is opposite!

Okay, that's all the pictures for now! I have more from the rest of the week, but they're still on the camera.

I bought a Dr. Brown's bottle Friday night. She actually drinks out of it really well! It seems to come out faster than her other bottles, but she hasn't choked or had any problems with it. Her feedings have been going a little faster with this bottle. It does seem like she's not as gassy, but she's still spitting up a bit. But I think just for the fact that she seems to be much more efficient drinking out of it that we're going to go ahead and get some more. I'm wondering (Molly), if the formula does have something to do with her gassiness and spitting, but I don't think there's an alternative preterm formula. Ryan never had a problem on Neosure, but I know all babies are different! Like I said, though, she doesn't seem as gassy. And the spitting up isn't frequent or large amounts, so we'll wait and see. Hopefully it won't get any worse!