One Month Old

Caitlin,

You are one month old today.  Your daddy and I can hardly believe that you have already been with us for a month!  The first weeks that you were home you were a sleepy baby, but during these last couple weeks, you are starting to be more alert and awake a little more often.  Most days, you'll eat about every 2-3 hours and stay awake for a little while and then nap for 1-2 hours.  If we would let you, you would sleep on one of our chests all day.  This is the spot where you are most comfortable.  You have taken a few naps with me like this. Don't tell Daddy, but I think he secretly loves to let you nap on his chest (this is evidenced by the number of pictures that I have of you sleeping on him!). I know I love it when you fall asleep on my chest or in my arms.  I wouldn't trade these times with you for anything because I know that someday you will be pushing me away and telling me that I embarrass you.  The last couple of days, you have started to get really fussy in the evenings, and we are still trying to learn what your cries mean.  You have this really pitiful cry that breaks my heart everytime I hear it, and when you get really mad, you've started crying so hard that it seems like you are going to stop breathing.  Your little face gets really red, and it scares me because I think you aren't going to breathe again.  I think you just like to make Mommy worry, and if there is something for me to worry about little or big, I will find it.  I think we know the hungry cry, but other than that, your daddy and I are clueless.  By the time we think we have you figured out, you go and change things on us!  For the most part, you are a relatively good sleeper at night.  You usually sleep for a long stretch of about 3-4 hours (remember, it's all relative) and then wake up every 2 hours after that.  Last night, we really struggled to calm you down and get you to fall asleep, but once you did, you slept for 3 hour stretches.  I would love for you to keep doing this (or even start sleeping for 4-5 hours at a time!).  Just like your daddy, you are not exactly a morning person.  You need to stretch a lot, and it takes you a while to actually wake up.  It's fun to watch you trying to convince yourself that it's time to wake up - you make a lot of funny faces.  You love to eat, but we are having some problems with breastfeeding.  We went to visit a lactation consultant and she thinks that you might be slightly tongue-tied and that is what is causing the problems.  You are still a good eater, but you aren't doing it properly, so you are causing Mommy a lot of pain.  We have an appointment with an ear, nose and throat doctor this week to see if it makes sense to fix this problem.  For now, I just grin and bear it because I know how important it is for you to eat, and I am not ready to give up breastfeeding just yet.  Before you were born, I was really apprehensive about nursing you, but now that you are here, the apprehension is completely gone.  As much as I complain about it (and about 90% of the reason I complain is because of the pain), it is our special time together and I don't want to give it up (plus, formula is really expensive!).  Bathtime is really traumatic for you.  Sometimes, we think that you're going to like it, but most of the time, you just scream through it.  We try to limit tramautizing you as much as possible unless you make a huge mess, so you are getting a bath about every third day.  We are still working on tummy time, and have tried the swing and bouncy seat more often this week as you finally seem like you're big enough for them.  Both the swing and bouncy seat are kind of hit or miss.  Some days you tolerate them, but others you scream as soon as we strap you in.  You are great in the car.  Most times, once we put you in the carseat, you cry, but by the time we're at the stop sign in our neighborhood, you have stopped and are asleep.  You also love the stroller.  I took you to the mall yesterday, and you slept the whole time we were there. 

You make us happier than we could have ever imagined.  Every day is a new adventure for us. You certainly keep us on our toes, but the past month has been better than all the months of our lives combined.  You have taught us what it's like to love unconditionally (even when you're crying or have spit up all over us or have a huge blowout diaper in the middle of the Annapolis Mall), and we cannot wait to see what the next month holds and how much you'll change and grow! 

Love you like no other,

Mommy

Here are your one month pictures with your new teddy bear!

And for comparison, here you are at zero months (four days old):

4 Weeks Old

Caitlin, you are 4 weeks old today!  The last week was a very busy week for you! 

You practiced tummy time using your boppy, but you decided it was more fun to try to eat your arm instead. 

We learned that you like to sleep on your side, and you got to use a pacifier for the first time.  You will only take a pacifier from Daddy (sometimes).  You get mad when Mommy tries to give you a pacifier because you know that I have the real thing. 

You got to meet your Great Grandmother (Mom-Mom-Mom), Great Great Aunt Marie, Great Aunt Nancy, Great Uncle Frank, and Great Aunt Maryann! 

(Clearly, you were very comfortable in Mom-Mom's arms!)

(4 Generations)

You wore your first bow outside of the hospital.  You weren't sure how you felt about it. 

We tried the bouncy seat again.  You still aren't 100% convinced that you like it, but I can tell that you're getting bigger and starting to fit into a little better. 

You passed out on the ottoman.

You celebrated Melissa's 30th birthday and were spoiled rotten by the Schapperts. 

You got to see Aunt Crystal again for the first time since you were born.

You hung out with Nanny Linda.

We celebrated Daddy's 1st Father's Day.

3 Weeks Old

Caitlin, you are 3 weeks old today!  What have you been up to?

• We are still working on tummy time.  You don't exactly love it, but you're definitely getting stronger!
• For the most part, you're still a decent sleeper.  Most nights, I get to sleep for stretches of 2-4 hours depending on how hungry you are.  When I have trouble getting you back to sleep after feeding you, Daddy works his magic and gets you off to sleep without much trouble.  You love your daddy! 
• You are eating about 8 times a day - you take after your Mommy with your love of food!   
• You love to sleep on our chests.  We've even taken a few naps together this week! 
• You like the swing, but only for about 10-15 minutes.  After that, you usually decide you've had enough.
• You are still a little too small for the bouncy seat, but you seemed to kind of like when we tried it.
• We took you on your first long walk at Rockburn Park on Wednesday and you slept through the whole thing (even the bumpy parts). 
• You had your first real bath on June 8th in the kitchen sink using your "beach chair" for support.  Surprisingly, you didn't scream through the bath so we think you kind of liked it. 
• You hate having your diaper changed.  Most times you scream/cry through it, but as soon as we pick you up from the changing table, you quiet down. 
• We have a few nicknames for you... Squirmy, Stinker, Punkin, and Squeaker. 
• You're still wearing newborn clothes and diapers.  The 0-3 month Gerber onesies are on the small side so you've been wearing a lot of those.  We've tried a few of your other 0-3 months outfits, and they are still just a little big. 

Here are some of our favorite pictures from the past week!

Walking in Rockburn Park

Passed out on the Boppy after eating.

We caught a smile while you were sleeping.

Daddy is the Baby Whisperer

Proof that you are not always happy with us!

Bathtime!

Chillin' with Daddy

I think someone is in love.

2 Weeks Old

Caitlin turned 2 weeks old on Wednesday!  We had a doctors appointment on Wednesday, and she is doing well.  We are doing a good job fattening her up - she gained 12 oz in 8 days and now weighs in at a whopping 6lbs 10oz.  She has been such a joy and is always providing some form of entertainment to us.  She is very expressive and is always making us laugh, even when we're exhausted!  Here are some of our favorite pictures from the past 2 weeks.

Our Little Squeaker and Tummy Time

Thought I'd share some cute videos of Caitlin.  She's obviously not doing too much yet, but the first is of her with the hiccups.  She gets the hiccups at least once a day - not a big surprise to us since she had the hiccups so much in the womb.  The 2nd video is of her working on tummy time.  She doesn't love it, but doesn't seem to hate it as much as she did the first time we tried. 

Caitlin's Nursery

The nursery is pretty much finished so I thought I'd finally post a few pictures.  We're still working on getting some pictures on the walls - hopefully soon. 

The closet.  How many newborns do you know that have walk-in closets?!

That glider is the most used piece of furniture in the nursery.  It's so comfortable!

This piece of furniture comes in a close second... We spend a lot of time changing diapers!

Other than the wainscotting that Ryan put up, this is by far my absolute favorite part of the room.  I loved Winnie the Pooh growing up, so it means a lot to me that we were able to find this quote to put on the wall.  It's so true - we are completely in love with this little girl! 

Our Lives Have Been Changed Forever

Although a little late, we are so very excited to introduce little Miss Caitlin Ann.  She was born on May 26, 2010 (sharing a birthday with her Aunt Crystal) at 2:04am weighing 6 lbs, 1.8 oz and measuring 20 inches long. 

(Our first family picture)

(All cleaned up and ready to officially meet us)

Caitlin's Birth Story

I decided to document Caitlin's birth story mainly for our purposes since this blog is going to essentially serve as a scrapbook of memories for us.  If you don't want to read about it, feel free to skip it.  A week before she was born, I woke up around 1 am and thought that my water had broken.  I debated whether or not it had actually happened for about 30-45 minutes before I went into the guest room to wake Ryan up.  (He was sleeping in there because he wasn't feeling great, and he didn't want to get me sick.)  I finally got up and told him what happened, and we called the doctor.  She told me to come into the hospital to get checked but also stressed that it wasn't an emergency and that we could take showers and get ready before coming in, so that's what we did.  We arrived at the emergency room around 4 am, and they sent us up to Labor & Delivery.  Turns out my water hadn't actually broken, but my blood pressure was pretty high.  At first, we attributed it to the fact that I was incredibly anxious/nervous that BGL could be on her way shortly, but even after a few blood pressure checks, my blood pressure remained elevated.  So, they decided to run a few tests and also put me on the fetal monitor to make sure that Caitlin was ok.  Caitlin was fine - her heartbeat was great and she was moving all around.  After checking the readings on the monitor, the nurses and midwife all kept telling us what a beautiful baby we had.  My labwork ended up coming back ok around 6 am and after laying on my side, my blood pressure went down a little bit, but the on-call doctor from my practice wanted us to wait for the next on-call doctor to come on to check me before we could go home.  So, we waited... until about 9 am.  The doctor finally arrived and told me to take it easy (but did not put me on bedrest) and said that we could go home (Finally!).  It was an exhausting night, but Ryan and I considered it our "trial run" for the real thing. 

I had a regularly scheduled doctors appointment on May 25th, and I kept telling Ryan that he didn't have to go with me.  I figured it'd be a pretty routine appt - they'd test my urine, check my blood pressure, weigh me, measure my stomach and listen to Caitlin's heartbeat.  He thought otherwise and decided to come with me anyway.  He also made sure that we had all of our packed hospital bags in the car and that we remembered to bring the camera bag (just in case).  My appt was pretty standard - they weighed me (I lost 4 lbs, putting me at a total weight gain of 18.5 lbs), checked my blood pressure (130/90), measured my stomach and listened to her heartbeat.  My blood pressure was still elevated and they found protein in my urine.  These are both warning signs for pre-eclampsia, so because of this, my doctor decided that I needed to take a trip over to Labor & Delivery with the expectation that I could potentially be admitted and induced.  This was when I officially started freaking out a little bit.  It was still 2 weeks before my due date and although Caitlin would be considered full-term and would not have to go to the NICU, it was still pretty scary. 

Off to Labor & Delivery we went (around 10:00am), expecting to start out in the Triage area like we had the last week.  We were in for a shock.  They took us straight to a real room and got me all set up like I was being admitted to have the baby.  They started an IV, put on the fetal monitor and took some blood for labwork.  The on-call doctor took a look at all of the results and made the decision to induce my labor.  So, we started calling/texting our friends and family to let them know that this was it, but not to rush to the hospital because my labor could easily last anywhere from 12-18 hours.  The craziest thing is that Ryan's parents were on their way back from an amazing European cruise vacation, so we had to wait for them to land in Philadelphia that afternoon to tell them that they were going to be grandparents sooner than expected.  I was so very lucky to have an amazing nurse (Terry) who basically spent most of the day with us and was my advocate when it came time for me to get the epidural.  The funny thing was that while I was on the phone calling everyone, I kept telling them I was being induced but that they hadn't actually started the pitocin yet.  All of a sudden, I started feeling cramps and made a comment about how I was starting to have contractions.  Terry just laughed at me and told me she had tried to tell me that the pitocin had been started but that I was too busy talking on the phone to hear her.  In addition to getting the pitocin to induce labor, I was also put on Magnesium Sulfate which helps prevent seizures that can be caused by high blood pressure.  The magnesium was not all that much fun - it makes you feel pretty hot (like a hot flash) and also very sleepy.  In addition to that, I hadn't eaten anything since 10pm the night before and wouldn't be allowed to eat until after I delivered (or so I thought).  As it turned out, I had to stay on the magnesium until early Thursday morning, and I wasn't allowed to eat real food while I was getting the magnesium.  I ate a lot of popsicles!  When my doctor told me that they were inducing me, she also told me that whenever I decided that I wanted the epidural, it wouldn't be a problem to get it, I just had to let them know.  Not only would the epidural help with the pain, it should also help to bring my blood pressure down a little bit.  When the time came that I wanted the epidural, my doctor told Terry that I really needed to be miserable with pain in order to get it (quite a change from what she had told me earlier with Terry in the room!).  So, Terry made sure that she knew I was quite miserable and made sure that the anesthesiologist knew that I needed that epidural.  My pitocin had been started around noon and I labored (without the epidural) for about 4 hours.  That's as much as I could handle, and I was ok with that.  Once I got the epidural, everything was great.  I was having pretty intense contractions and did not even know it.  I even managed to take about an hour and a half nap.  Once I woke up from my nap, my doctor came in to check me and I was 4-5 cm dialated so she decided to break my water.  After that happened, she said I'd probably progress about 1 cm per hour and could be pushing either late that night or early the next morning.  My dad and Crystal arrived shortly after that with Linda arriving an hour or so later, so I spent some time visiting with them.  Dad and Ryan decided to run downstairs to the cafeteria and grab some dinner, so Crystal stayed to keep me company.  Unfortunately, while they were gone, I got sick and Crystal was left to hold my hair back.  My new nurse (Kara) brought me some Zofran to control the nausea and everything was fine after that.  Around 11 pm, I was checked again and I was at 9 cm - they told me that within the next hour, I'd get to start pushing.  That was undoubtedly the worst hour of my labor.  My epidural was wearing off, and I was feeling the most intense pressure.  Granted, I have no idea what it would have felt like without the epidural at all, but it was awful.  I was so thankful that Ryan and Crystal were there to coach me through it - I definitely could not have done it without them!  At 12:15 am, they told me I could start pushing so we kicked Dad, Linda and Crystal out of the room.  I was a little bit scared about the pushing part and had a little crying session, but Ryan was able to calm me down and I quickly realized that I didn't have a choice in this anyway.  Caitlin was coming whether I was ready or not.  After about an hour and 45 minutes, Caitlin arrived!  They laid her on my chest and I think my first comment was "Oh my gosh, she has a conehead!"  After that, I think Ryan and I were both in awe of the fact that she was ours and finally here.  They quickly took her after that to have the pediatrician and baby nurse check her to make sure that she was ok (she was perfect - scoring an 8, almost 9 on the Apgar).  When they finally gave her back to us, we spent a little time together as a new family of three, and Ryan and I finally decided that her name should be Caitlin Ann.  Pretty amazing. 

(She already has daddy wrapped around her finger)

(I was so in awe of this beautiful little girl)

And, for fun, I thought I'd include my last weekly prego picture.  Ryan had taken it on Monday when I was 38 weeks, and I was waiting to post on the blog until after I had gone to my doctors appt.  Clearly, things didn't work out as I had planned!  Looking back on this picture, I can't believe how big I was, but at the same time, I can't even remember what it felt like being pregnant.  It kind of sounds cliche, but I really can't remember what our lives were like without Caitlin.  Today is my actual due date - Kind of crazy to think that I could still be pregnant and waiting for Caitlin's arrival!