Happy Easter!

Lucy admiring herself in the mirror
Asleep in the swing
Lucy's First Easter!

Wow, can't believe I've already been back to work for 2 weeks! It is definitely very hard being back to work. I hate being away from Lucy for the whole day! I feel like I'm missing so much. This week was especially tough because one of the dentists in the practice was out this week and they asked me to cover Wednesday and Thursday, my usual days off. So I worked a 5 day week this week and feel like I didn't get to see Lucy much at all.

Lucy is doing some fun new things...we signed her up for Gymboree so we go there now on Thursday evenings and she really likes it! We do all kinds of things there, sing songs, tummy time, use fun props like parachutes. And yesterday, Lucy rolled over completely from her back to her tummy. She's been rolling over halfway for a couple of weeks now...she'll swing her legs over and go from her back to her side, but yesterday, she was lying on her back in her Baby Einstein gym playing and looking up at the musical star and then all of a sudden, Chris heard her grunting a little bit. He went over and she was on her tummy! So she had completely rolled over. Unfortunately nobody saw the actual "roll", but I'm hoping she'll do it again this weekend!

Sleep has still been a struggle...we were working on transitioning her to her crib, but that didn't go so well...she was waking much more frequently, so after a few days of really trying, we decided to keep doing the bassinet in our room for one more month and trying again at 4 months old. We've started doing a really good bedtime routine at the same time every night, so we usually start around 7:30 giving her a bath, then doing PJ's and a little massage, the we read a couple of stories and then I feed her. Usually after all of that, she's pretty sleepy and we put her down in her bassinet. Usually she'll cry a little bit at first or wake up in that first hour we put her down, but we are trying to let her cry it out a little bit when we first put her down, but we go in every few minutes to reassure her. This has been working reasonably well, and she seems to be going down much easier now and doesn't cry for long at all. We're hoping that pretty soon we'll be able to just put her down and she'll just go to sleep without any crying! The hard part about her sleeping is that she does wake still 1-3 times every night but will usually go back to sleep easily after I feed her. But I am also trying to get her to go longer at night between feedings, definitely not feeding her more than every 3 hours, and she'll often go 4-5 hours, so some things are definitely getting a little better! We're also going to buy a sound machine this weekend and try that out...a few moms I've talked to swear by that. Sleep and babies is just one of those issues that is tough...I've been reading different books and talking to lots of moms about what they're doing, but every baby is so different, I think we just need to tough it out! Some babies are sleeping great at Lucy's age, but there are many who are still waking quite a bit just like Lucy.

I am back on Weight Watchers to try to lose those last few pesky pounds left over from the pregnancy (and maybe a few more that were there before the pregnancy)...this was my first week back on Weight watchers...it was rough, but it'll get easier. I'm also thinking about joining a gym so I can do aerobics a few times every week, but not sure yet...I want to make sure I'll actually have time to use my gym membership! One thing I plan on doing with Lucy is Baby Boot Camp, which is working out with your baby in their stroller...it's on Wednesday nights, so I think we might check it out next week.

We're looking forward to Easter...I have an adorable dress for Lucy's first Easter! I'll have to post a picture of her in it next time I write the blog. Tonight we're going over to Chris' Aunt Helen's house to dye Easter eggs and eat pizza!

The picture above is happy Lucy in her swing...she has a bunny next to her that her Grandma Marian sent that says Baby's First Easter!

Chris' dad, Grandpa Bob and Peggy are coming to visit next week and we're very excited for them to meet Lucy!

3 Months Old!

Nap Time with Dad & Daisy Dog

Lucy turned 3 months old Friday. And she's definitely into her 3-6 month clothing now. It's really fun to pull out some new outfits! Lucy has the funniest personality. She loves to squeal and laugh. We had heard little giggles quite some time ago, but she gave her first true laugh last Sunday before I left for Dallas. I was giving her zerbers on the bottoms of her feet and she was laughing so hard. It was the cutest thing ever! And I've noticed she can see me from quite a distance now, so her eye sight must really be developing. She's also becoming increasingly more content and can amuse herself for long periods of time just staring at her hands or lying on our bed staring up at the ceiling fan (she loves that thing!). Bedtime is also going a bit better. Many nights, we're able to put her down in her bassinet awake, but sleepy, and she'll fall to sleep. And she's going longer periods at night now without waking...usually at least one 5 hour block before she wakes up hungry, which is a big improvement!

This week was a busy week. I flew to Dallas Monday to take my board exam Tuesday. It was difficult. The exam is an oral exam, 8 cases, 15 min. per case. I was pretty nervous when I first started the exam and I feel like I kind of bumbled through the first couple of cases. I feel like the second half went much better, but I'm nervous about the outcome because the first half I could've done much better. We don't find out our results for 4-6 weeks, so I'll try to put it out of my mind until I get the results in the mail some time in April. The other really difficult part of the whole thing was being away from Lucy for so long! We are still breastfeeding, which meant that I had to take my pump with me and try to pump every few hours. Since my travel time was about 8 hours, that was a challenge. I managed, but it wasn't very much fun! The highlight of the trip was seeing a friend from residency who I haven't seen since I left Connecticut. We had dinner Tuesday night after the exam which was a lot of fun. And the hotel was amazing. It was the Hyatt suites, and we got a really good group rate. The room was huge with a full kitchen, walk in closet etc. I was excited to get back Wednesday and smother Lucy, Chris & Daisy with a million hugs & kisses!

Then we left for Sunriver, OR Thursday for a conference. We had a great time. We stayed in a beautiful house with a couple other people from my work. The house was decked out with a hot tub, pool & ping pong tables, a huge kitchen and lots of other stuff. It was great. Lucy did amazingly well in the car (she usually hasn't tolerated being in the car for very long)...it was a 3 hour trip...we did have to stop one time to feed her, but other than that, she was perfect! This was Lucy's first overnight trip away from home. I couldn't believe how difficult it is to pack everything you need to travel with a baby. It's insane...her stroller, her pack & play, her swing, her papasan, all the bottles, the breastfeeding pillow, plenty of clothing because you never know when she's going to spit up or have a little blow-out, tons of diapers & wipes, a few toys...the car was loaded down! A friend from work has a 4-week old baby girl and it was amazing to see the difference between her & Lucy. It really made me realize how Lucy has grown!We made it back this afternoon and now I'm just getting ready for work tomorrow. Back to my regular work schedule of Monday, Tuesday, Friday. Chris unfortunately came down with a sinus cold last night and really isn't feeling well. Hopefully he'll feel better soon.Time to go organize Lucy's closet a little bit and pack up some of her newborn clothes and dig out some of her big girl things!

Off to Dallas tomorrow

I can't believe it's March 2nd and I leave tomorrow by myself :( for Dallas to take my board exam. I really feel stressed, not so much about the exam (although I am nervous), but guilty about leaving Lucy. She's been so happy & playful this week...I don't want to be away for 2 days! It seems like it'll be forever although I know it will go by fast. My exam is Tuesday from 3-5 central time, so please keep me in your thoughts during that time if you think about it.

Bethany will be with Lucy during the day while Chris is at work and Chris will take care of Lucy at night. She goes back and forth really easily now between the bottle and breastfeeding, so that's a relief. I know she won't starve while I'm gone!

Last night Chris & I got to go to a dinner & auction that was a fundraiser for a local elementary school that our dental office sponsors. It was really fun! We bid on a 2-night stay at a cabin up on Mt. Hood this summer as well as a day trip fishing that Chris is excited about and we won! It was really exciting.

I'm so excited to have this exam over with and be back home Wednesday. Then we have a fun weekend planned down in Sun River, Oregon where we'll get to play in the snow a little bit. We're sharing a big house with a few other families from work. The dental conference is just for a few hours Friday and Saturday morning so we'll have most of the weekend to play and relax. We're really looking forward to it! And then it's back to work on Monday...

An exciting thing about Lucy...she's definitely outgrowing her 0-3 month clothes and we've put her in a few 3-6 months things and they actually fit pretty well!

Maternity Leave Almost Over!

Professional Photos taken of Lucy--6 days Old

Lucy grasping an object--1st time!

Although I do feel like I'm ready to go back to work in some ways, most of me wishes I could just stay home with Lucy indefinitely! This is really my last full week of maternity leave, because I leave for Dallas in exactly one week for my exam, and I'll be there for 2 days. When I get home, we'll leave the next day for Sun River, Oregon (all of us are going) for a pediatric dentistry conference. That should be a lot of fun. And then I start back to work 3 days per week on Monday March 10. Lucy will just have turned 3 months old. I know I keep saying this, but time is just flying by, and already, I can see how much she is changing! i don't want to miss anything she does! She is so so interactive with us...cooing, smiling, laughing all the time...she's checking everything out and is starting to enjoy some of her little toys. And yesterday was the first time that she grasped an object (that wasn't our finger)...there's a picture of her grasping her little rattle. We're finally more comfortable with uncovering her hands...she seems to be less interested in scratching her face these days, although she still has her moments!

The other pictures many of you have seen already over e-mail, but above are some of our favorite shots of Lucy from the professional pictures we had taken when she was only 6 days old.

Sleep has still been on and off. Last night was great...she only woke up once in the middle of the night to eat and went right back to sleep in her bassinet after. But she still has nights where it seems like she's waking up all night long. We really wanted her in her own room around 3 months old by the time I'm back to work, but we'll have to see in a couple of weeks how she's sleeping. This week is more of the same...playing, studying, and even working a little...I'll go in Saturday morning to the office to work and am volunteering up at OHSU on Friday morning for "Give Kids a Smile" day, working with the dental students.





Hope everyone has a great week...can you believe March is almost here?

Chillin in the Bumbo

Grandpa holding Lucy
Nap Time--we nap like this a lot
It's Bumbo Time!!!

Lucy is gaining a lot more head control which makes sitting in her Bumbo chair a lot easier for her. She's really been enjoying it. We usually turn on the musical, light-up star on her Baby Einstein gym, plunk her in her Bumbo chair and she's usually content for quite awhile, smiling, laughing and cooing. Above are some cute pics of her doing that very thing.

We're loving our cooing conversations with Lucy too. She is mimicking facial expressions and our coos, and sometimes we have conversations that can last 10 minutes or so just cooing back and forth. She likes to throw in a squeal with her coos every now and then too. This morning, she was in her bassinet after I changed her and I heard her cooing...so without her seeing me I coo'd back...and then she amazed me by mimicking me from her bassinet! We weren't even looking at each other and we were having a conversation. I thought that was pretty cool.

This past week, she enjoyed meeting her Grandpa Andy who was here for a few days at the end of last week. He also enjoyed playing with the Daisy dog.

She's been a little fussier than usual this past week which had us concerned that maybe her reflux medicine wasn't working as well for her, but I talked to a friend from the new Mom's group who said her baby acts similarly when going through a growth spurt. Lucy has been pretty sleepy this week too, and she did gain almost an ounce a day, so maybe it's just that. Yesterday she slept so much during the day that she was restless all night and didn't sleep well. Hopefully she'll get back on a good sleep pattern.

We're starting to think about transitioning her to her room and her crib around 3-4 months old which would be coming up soon, but she's still eating sometimes several times during the night, so we'll probably wait until she's sleeping a little bit better through the night.

Bethany is here today so I can study (my big exam is 2 weeks from today...I'm very nervous!)...and I'm working this Thursday. I can hardly believe my maternity leave is almost over and that my exam is almost here! Time flies...Lucy will be 3 months old in a few short weeks!

Happy Valentine's Day (early)

Not much to report from Portland, but I thought I'd post a couple of pictures from this past weekend. It actually stopped raining long enough for us to put Lucy in the Bjorn and take a nice walk! She really likes the Bjorn and enjoys looking at the scenery outside.

Everything went well with her 2 month check-up last week. She weighed 11 lb. 1.5 oz, height was 24 1/8 in. and head circumference was 16 1/4 inches. She's in the 90 percentile for height and head circumference and 50% for weight. She did fine for her vaccinations, screamed briefly and slept most of the day after, but didn't seem to be bothered beyond that.

My dad is up visiting for a few days, and he enjoyed meeting her this morning! She gave him lots of smiles and coos. Daisy is always happy to have visitors too.

I've been working a half day here & there to fill in at the office when needed. Tomorrow I have my first OR case at the hospital here...I'm a little nervous about that just knowing where to find things and paperwork etc., but I'm glad to be back to work a little bit and keeping busy.

Chris & I are going on our first date alone since Lucy was born, this Sunday evening and our friends Dianna and Aaron are going to babysit Lucy. We're excited we'll get to celebrate Valentine's day together, just a few days late. Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!

2 months old today!

Lucy is 2 months old today, and she's doing great. She loves to smile and coo...she's so interactive these days. She also loves to look at lights and really likes to lie in her Baby Einstein gym and stare up at the musical star that lights up. Tomorrow we go to the pediatrician for her 2 month check-up. I think she'll need 3 shots :(

I think we've all pretty much recovered from our horrible day Friday. This week has been pretty good. Lucy enjoyed watching her first Superbowl with dad on Sunday while I did some studying. Then Monday at the breastfeeding group we go to, I weighed her and she had gained 7.4 ounces in one week! That's over an ounce a day, which is super for her...like I've said, she averages only about half an ounce a day, so maybe she's having a growth spurt! She's an ounce shy of 11 pounds now.

Bethany came Tuesday and Wednesday this week, giving me a chance to grocery shop, study and I got that massage I was supposed to have last Friday. Because of little Freddie, we've gotten a headstart on baby-proofing the house. We have baby gates to block off the kitchen and the stairs and we've rearranged things in the living/dining area to be out of baby's reach. It's a good thing...we won't have to worry about all of that when Lucy starts moving around.

Chris & I decided to give up eating out (or really take-out) and sweets for Lent which will be quite a challenge for us. It's only been one day, and already I'm craving sweet stuff.

This afternoon, we go to the new Mom's group which is always fun. Look for Lucy's 2 month stats from the pediatrician in our next blog!