Sleeping in the night

Notice that I write sleeping in the night and not through the night. I laugh any time anyone asks if Miss C is sleeping through the night. Really who sleeps through the night anyways. I certainly don't...my cat who is a master of sleeping even wakes up in the middle of night, sometimes this coincides when I wake up, I think she is hoping for food.

No Miss C is not sleeping through the night but she has managed to sleep for 4 hours in the night...in a row. This is what I call her first shift usually from 9 to 1. Then she wakes up, eats and generally goes back down without even knowing that she even woke up. The second shift is trickier this usually happens around 3am, notice that while she can sleep 4 hours for the first shift the second is only 2 to 2 1/2 hours. This is where I try to sneak in a diaper change and this is inevitably where she pees mid-diaper change which then means outfit change. I am usually cursing at my self wondering how I could let this happen yet again, fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me, fool me for the 6 billion times...why don't I learn. There is no sleeper out there that is quick to change her out of so by the time we are done she might require more food. I have been known to crack during this feeding and if she does not want to go back to sleep this is where I sleep with her in the single bed in her nursery. Actually, she sleeps I wait till she falls asleep and wait for 30 mins or an hour and then try to put her back in her crib. Sometimes I fall asleep and wake up to her grunting and squirming. She isn't awake. Ceilidh suffers from morning gas and while she doesn't wake up you can tell she is trying to work through something "complicated". This can be from 5am till when ever I crack and pick her up third shift. I have tried several things to relieve pressure or move things along, rubbing back, warm blanket on her tummy, putting her on my lap on her tummy, vibrating chair. She isn't truly happy till a couple of diaper changes later. So that is our night. I must say it isn't bad and it's amazing what you get use to. The nurse this week mentioned that once they hit 12 pounds they are then capable of sleeping through the night which is 6 hours. Ceilidh is only 10 lbs 9 oz this week.

I don't think we will hit 12 for another 3 weeks. But nap time during the day is better I think she has 5 naps during the day, really her and the cat could be partners in crime. They need to combine their forces and nap together.

Hitting the double digits

This week Ceilidh has hit the double digits in weight. Our little girl is now in the 10 lb range and I can sure feel it when I pick her up. Although the cat still weighs more then she does.

Swimming, napping, and puking are the highlights of this week.

What happens when you sleep on damp hair.

I will start with the napping. Why is it the babies won't nap when you know they need to. Sadly we learned this the hard way. She had two horrible days where we didn't force her to nap, although in our defence we never had to before she napped willingly on her own. The result was a fuss pot of a baby. The whole evening she just could not be consoled. This was the weekend so at least both M and I were dealing with this together. After ruling out everything else I figured it might be the napping issue so Monday come hell or high water I made sure she napped. This meant her sleeping in my arms a few times, not so comfy for me but what a much happier baby.

Puking. This is another fun event. I have become the master of directing Ceilidh to get puke on things that are easy to clean. I can always tell when she is about to do it but can never prevent her. We have tried many things. I spoke to the nurse and she has let me know that for babies their valve to their tummies doesn't fully close till they are one. And some babies are more sensitive of this then others. Guess which one I have. So as long as she is gaining weight, which she is, and she has no other issues or signs of illness ie no fever then we will have to just embrace her sensitive gag reflex. Joy! Might make people think twice before asking to hold her. Of course this  usually happens right after feedings.

Lastly swimming.

Ready to swim in her bathing suit

This week I took Ceilidh swimming in an indoor salt water pool. I know the weather is hot but outdoor  pool water generally is not warm (plus our local pool only opens on the 18th) so indoor pool guaranteed warmer water. Now while Ceilidh likes her hair being washed she does not like bath time in general. Taking her swimming was a gamble. But it worked out really well. While I did not dunk her completely in she enjoyed the water from her chest down. We started with testing the water with her feet while I held her close to me and then continued slowly submerging her ever so slightly.  And while I can not wait for the day where I can play with her in the water like the other moms I went with I am totally proud of her. And her next bath time wasn't as traumatic so maybe its a change in times.

Vaccination time

Yesterday Ceilidh got her first vaccinations. Ouch, one on each thigh. But I must say though she cried she took it like a champ. Nothing that an offering of breastfeeding couldn't fix. She quickly forgot about her needle woes and focused on other things. I often wonder if she remembers all those procedures done on her in those first few weeks of life. Two needles must be a walk in the park compared to the rest. But no fever or side effects of her first vaccinations and she got major cuddles the whole day.

Summer dress

Outfit after summer dress got spit up on.

On other news she is still packing the weight on. While though the doctor tells me that she is in the 25th percentile for weight and height I can see she is gaining and growing which is the important part. Not only have I had to change her infant carrier straps to adjust to her new found growth I have also had to designate clothes as too small.  Her cheeks are definitely filling out more so that she is starting to look like me. Cheeks I have plenty of. She is also starting to make cooing sounds. Sounds other then the grunts she usually makes, more ahs and bas. She also has a new found love for her fingers as she sticks them in her mouth. I am trying to offer her the pacifier as compensation but she still likes those fingers more. We will keep trying.

9 weeks and 9 lbs 10 oz