Growth Spurt

I think Miss Mia is going through a growth spurt. She's eating like a little piggy! I fed her every two hours almost all day, and she was still mad when it took me 2 minutes to make her bottle. She wanted her food immediately!! On the plus side, she really isn't taking long naps during the day, so she's sleeping very well at night. Last night we put her to bed at 10 and she didn't wake up again until 5:30 this morning!!! I got 7 1/2 hours of uninterrupted sleep!!! Who knows how long this will last, so I'm enjoying it while I can. 

Mia is so much more animated these days. She smiles so much, especially when I talk to her. When I make clicking sounds with my tongue she sticks hers out like she's trying to imitate me. She has been turning her head in my direction when she hears my voice since birth, but now she makes eye contact with me when she turns her head. When I put her into bed and try to sneak out of the room she turns to look at me, warning me that if I go, she'll cry. She's also grown to love her baths so Mike and I give her one after her 7 p.m. bottle each night. 

I weighed Mia today and she's 10.6 pounds. I've currently got a pulled muscle in my back from lifting the little porker! She's outgrown her newborn size diapers and clothes, and most of the size 0-3 months we have are for much warmer weather. Mommy may need to go shopping if this cold weather doesn't go away soon!

Moda

I can finally share some great news with you (although there are a few of you who may have already heard): Mike and I are business owners! We have gone into partnership with Jennifer and Freddy Western and we'll open a men's retail clothing store called Moda in June. We'll sell trendy, higher-end denim, casual shirts and accessories. Our target market will be young, professional men. Jennifer and I will keep our current jobs and the guys will operate the store. We'll be located in Westport Village, at the upcoming Watterson exit at Westport Road.

Some of the brands we plan to carry are Stitch's (Brad Pitt's favorite jean), English Laundry, 7 Diamonds, 191 Unlimited and Buffalo. We're gong to a trade show in Atlanta next weekend to meet with brand reps and finalize our list. But it will be a boutique concept so we'll carry limited quantities of each item so the buyer has a feeling of exclusivity. We'll also rotate brands and merchandise frequently to stay on top of current trends.

One of the things we're most excited about is that we're partnering with Louisville Glassworks. They will have 200 square feet of space in our store. We knew we wanted to feature local artists in the store and it just so happened Glassworks was looking to partner with a merchant in the development. It will be great for us since they are so well known in the community. 

All the details aren't finalized just yet, but everyone involved is very excited, including the bank president where we're getting our loan and the guy heading the development. I'm so happy to finally get to share the good news with you!

Sleep, glorious sleep!

Friday night our girl slept a 4 hour stretch, Saturday night we had a 5 hour stretch, and last night she slept 6 hours straight! Hallelujah!!! Mike and I were startled this morning at 5:30 when she woke us up. We thought maybe she was sick or something was wrong. But she is just fine and as happy as ever. She hasn't been nearly as fussy the past few days and we're hoping and praying that we've turned a corner with the recurring diarrhea. How nice it is to have a content baby, for however long it may last!  

Happy Easter!

Formula Switch-up

Well, it became evident pretty quickly last night that regular formula is not the way to go. We started the regular formula at noon and by 5 pm Mia was screaming. By 8 I made the decision to switch back to the soy but it took until about 2 am to get her calmed down enough to sleep. She was mildly fussy today, but calmed down long enough for me to take some pictures of her. Here's our girl!

One Month Check-up

Well Miss Mia has grown! She's now in the 50th Percentile for height and weight at 21.5 inches and 9 lbs 4 oz. Some of the concerns Mommy addressed with the doctor:

• Mia is still having extremely bad stomach pains, gas and diarrhea every 2-3 days. I think she is passing something around with Mike and me, since we've had the same symptoms. The doctor would like to rule out the formula, and if the formula does not impact her symptoms at all, she'd like us to switch back to the regular instead of soy. So we'll start that immediately.
• Mia has had some congestion so we have saline drops to use in her nose, along with the nasal aspirator. She was not happy with that at all!
• She will continue to look more and more like a little old man as she loses her hair. Right now her hairline resembles Grampy Bruce and her Hollkamp uncles.
• Mia also has a mild case of cradle cap. We'll use dandruff shampoo on it twice a week until it clears up.
• The doctor said we can feed Mia 3 oz of formula every 3 hours or 4 oz every 4 hours, whichever we prefer. She suggested 3 during the day and 4 at night, which is what I've been doing the past couple days anyway.

Her next check-up is in a month. Can't wait to see all she's accomplished by then!

One Month Old!

Miss Mia turned 4 weeks yesterday, and today is her official one month birthday. Happy Birthday baby girl!!

• Last week had its ups and downs, mostly for Mommy. On Thursday Missy and Cara came in. Mia had been awake since about 2 a.m. and I went to Dad's to visit. I took a brief nap but kept feeling like I was imposing by having he and Sue watch Mia while I slept (my crazy imagination at work, not reality). We went to Mom's afterward and Aunt Roni, Aunt Alice and Jennifer Morris came to visit. I ended up having a meltdown and Mom gave me a Benadryl and put me to bed. She watched Mia that night while I got some much-needed sleep (thank you so much Mom!!!).
• On Friday Missy and I ran some errands while Granny babysat the girls. That evening we took them to Girls Night at Havana Rumba. It was nice to see everyone. Afterward I took Mia to Mamaw Carol's and she stayed the night there. Mike and I went to Jimi and Jaime's to watch the UK game, but it was postponed due to tornadoes in Catlanta.
• Mike and I hung out with our girl the rest of the weekend. On Sunday Mike bought us a new Apple computer. Still trying to figure this thing out.
• Yesterday was my Dad's birthday. Happy Birthday Dad!!!! For his birthday he and Sue watched Mia while I attended an awards ceremony at work. Thank you so much!
• The awards ceremony was awesome!!!! I've been working with four other women to plan this event for nearly a year. It was a "best practice" event for our division. We gave 21 awards and had an Ac@demy Award theme. It was held at the L0uisville Palace. It was extremely successful and I'm so happy I got to attend.
• Mia is getting so big! We have our doctor appointment tomorrow but I'm sure she's well over 8 pounds now. I've had to start packing up her newborn clothes already. She'll be in high school before I know it!
• She makes the cutest squeaky noises. I love listening to her. I've started to mimic her noises and she seems to enjoy it. I've read that it will help promote early communication skills. I don't care as much about that as I do the fact that it feels like we're having our own special conversation. I love how she watches me when we "talk".
• I also love her smiles. She does that a lot. She actually smiles a lot in her sleep. I wonder if she's dreaming of George Clooney too? ;-)
• Mia is still battling the occasional bout of diarrhea. I've correlated her "bad" days to those when she has diarrhea. Otherwise she's a wonderful, happy baby. Poor thing just had to get Mommy's stomach, didn't she?
• As of last week, I've lost all but 5 pounds of my baby weight, but things sure don't look the same - at all! I still have an extra 3 inches on my waist and an extra 2 on my hips. I'm two sizes bigger in my jeans. Everyone was right in how a baby changes the shape of your body. Everything feels so mushy! I have no idea how other new moms fit exercise into their days, but I guess at some point I'll have to do that. Mia and I have taken a couple walks, but I think weight training is what I need most right now. Exercise is definitely not my priority this week, but it's something I do need to start thinking about. This week I'll focus on getting Miss Mia into a better daytime routine. First things first, huh?!

Three Weeks Old

I have a feeling now that Miss Mia has arrived, this blog will mostly consist of "lists".

• Last Saturday we got about a foot of snow. Mike and I talked about how much fun we'll have when Mia is old enough to go sledding. As it were, we were all cooped up in the house together and she cried and screamed most of the day. By 4:00 p.m. Mia and I were both crying. We called Mamaw (Carol) and decided to take her up on her offer to watch Mia. Mike and I dropped her off, then went out for dinner (Mommy had a nice glass of wine to take the edge off!). After dinner we went home and crashed for a few hours. At midnight Mike went to pick Mia up, but he called me from his mom's and said he and Mia would just spend the night there, giving me the rest of the night to sleep. It was heaven!!
• On Sunday Mia and I visited Granny and Grampy (Mom and Bruce). Mom and I went to Target while Grampy babysat. It was a nice visit.
• Yesterday I took Mia to a birthday lunch at Tumbleweed with some of my co-workers. It was so nice to get out of the house!!!
• After the lunch, I decided to stop by my office to show Mia off to everyone else. We were there for two hours! Everyone was crazy about her, and I got to have lots of adult conversation, something that I have missed on those long days at home.
• Mia and I made a final stop at Pawpaw and Nana's (Dad and Sue's) and cousins Sam and Emie got to meet Mia for the first time. Mia started getting fussy toward the end of the visit, and she proceeded to be that way for most of the evening.
• Missy and Paul had to take baby Cara to the hospital for an MRI yesterday. She is not gaining weight. The results were normal, and I just spoke to Missy who has been adding some formula to her breast milk. Hopefully it's an easy fix for our girl.
• Today has been a good day. Mia has been relatively calm. She's sat in her vibrating seat for awhile and I got to watch General Hospital, only stopping once!
• I can't believe my little girl is three weeks old now. Despite all the fussing, I am so crazy in love with her. I love to snuggle with her and drink in her baby smell. I love how she looks at me when I feed her, and how she turns her head toward me when she hears my voice. I love her big dimpled grins, and I refuse to believe they're all caused by gas! I also love all her little noises. She snorts like a pig when she's hungry (I call her Piglet), and she has a little kitten squeak she makes at random. Then there's the "I have to poop" pirate grunt. I was actually laughing and mimicking her on that one yesterday. Basically I love her, I love her, I love her, and I'm so blessed to have her in my life.

• Miss Mia hasn't been feeling well this week. No more screaming since we switched her to soy formula, but she has had a few bouts of diarrhea and has lots of gas. She doesn't sleep comfortably and is very worn out. Mommy is getting there too! I took her to the doctor yesterday and I will have to watch her for dehydration. They think it may just be a stomach virus, or a result of switching formulas. Since I'm reading The Secret, I'm not entertaining their other option of colic.


• I met with the lactation consultant on Wednesday and told her my milk supply is decreasing, not increasing from the supplements as we'd hoped. She was so sweet and told me that whatever my body is doing is what's right for Mia. She said I've done everything I can do, within reason, and that I've made more of a commitment than many mothers would have. She also commented how well Mia latches on and how comforted she feels by the experience, even though she isn't getting much milk. She said she obviously enjoys that time with me and I could always continue to put her to my breast as a comfort and bonding experience, regardless of the lack of nourishment. She made me feel really good.


• We are gearing up for a big snow here tonight. I look forward to hanging out with my wonderful husband, perhaps making a fire and drinking a glass of wine. I find myself very eagerly anticipating a romantic evening with him. It's been FAR too long!!

Mia and Cara

Holding one another's babies.

Granny and her "twins".

A New Day

When Mike came home from work last night, I was sitting on the floor of Mia's room, in my bathrobe, never having brushed my teeth for the day. I had her swaddled, in her swing, and was using the hairdryer to mimic the white noise she heard in the womb. And we were both crying. Mike had been busy at work all day and hadn't been aware of the chaotic afternoon I'd had, but nevertheless he came home with roses and the sweetest card I've ever read. I don't know how he knows just what I need, but he does. He layed on the floor with me while I cried and reassured me I'm a wonderful mom and that Mia was just having a bad day. He then cooked dinner and told me to go out for awhile to get some time to myself. So I did.

I went and bought The Secret, and started reading it this morning. I've decided that Mia does not have colic, she's a calm and happy baby who just had two bad days. Wouldn't you know it, today was better. We went to the lactation consultant this afternoon and she basically told me I've given breastfeeding such a good try, but it appears it won't work for me this time as a primary source of nourishment. Mia is latching on wonderfully, I just don't have much milk to give her. In our session today she got 1/4 ounce from both breasts combined. But Mia loves it. The consultant said it could be used as a comfort thing for her since she and I both enjoy that time. So that's what I'll do. I also switched her to soy formula and we'll see if that helps her tummy any.

Dad and Sue came over this afteroon and played with Mia. I just love seeing my parents with her. It's so sweet and so clear they're crazy about her. They took some great pictures and I'll post when I receive them. Here's Mia before our trip to the consultant.

Colic?

Mia cried (okay, screamed) yesterday from 1:00 p.m. until 5:00, when I finally just held her and allowed her to sleep in my arms for an hour. Today the crying began at 10:00 a.m. and I'm crossing my fingers that it's now stopped for the day. I've been trying the usual soothing methods, like gas drops and swaddling. I've also been trying the 5 S's (Dr. Karp), and they work for a few minutes, then she's back to crying. Today I tried the sleeping-in-my-arms thing again, but no luck. This last time I used the hair dryer to quiet her and then turned on this stuffed animal Robyn and Kenny gave us that plays different soothing noises: a heartbeat, rain, the ocean and a whale. I have it on the ocean right now and she's been asleep for about 20 minutes. Today has been a bit stressful, but if it goes like yesterday, I will at least get a good night's sleep tonight. Wish me luck. Oh, there she is. Guess I'll keep trying.

Two Week Update

It's amazing how quickly time goes by when you're completely focused on the needs of another human being. Mia will be two weeks old tomorrow and I can't believe she's been part of our lives for so long already. Not that I don't succinctly remember what life was like before her arrival, watching reality TV all night long, or spending my weekends napping or reading books. But my heart is filled with love for her and I am so blessed to have her in my arms each day. I realize I never recapped our birthing experience and I still don't have time to do that now. I want it to be as complete as the story Mom tells me about my birth each year on my birthday. But here's some of what we've been up to:

• Mia was jaundiced in the hospital and lost over 10% of her body weight, mostly due to the fact that my milk never truly "came in". We started her on formula, supplemented (in very small part) by my breast milk. I'm happy to report that at her doctor's appointment today she weighed in at 7 lbs 10 oz and has grown an inch and a quarter, up to 20 1/4. What a big girl!
• I have had a lot of feelings of inadequacy due to the breast milk situation. Mike and I went to see a lactation consultant last week and she said my lack of milk could very well be from my p0lycystic ovarian syndrome. That would also explain why my breasts never grew larger during pregnancy. She still charged us a ton for the visit, and advised us to rent a hospital grade pump, instructing me to pump 8 times a day. I'm also taking herbal supplements, feeding Mia a bottle, and having her nurse, in addition to the pumping. When I follow this regimen, feeding Mia can take up to two hours at times. It's exhausting and I've had just about all I can take. It wears me out mentally, a constant reminder that I'm unable to do something I'd always dreamed of sharing with my child. I absolutely want to continue to pump and give her whatever milk I can, but 8 times a day seems ridiculous to me. I never would be able to leave the house if I followed that plan.
• Mia loves sleeping in her room in her crib, so Mike and I are currently sleeping in the living room, which lies between her room and the kitchen. It's made getting up with her at night so much easier (we have a split floor plan) and we are getting much more sleep than when we tried keeping her in the room with us at night.
• Mia also loves to be swaddled, and she loves her aquarium mobile in her crib. As long as she's swaddled, has her paci and can watch the mobile, she's set!
• It's amazing how I feel even closer to Mike now that we share a child together. I feel like we are really a team now, and we work so well together to care for her. He is an incredible father and is so involved in what she's doing. He's also extremely concerned for me and how I'm feeling and doing. It's so hard to find adequate words to thank him and tell him how much he means to me, but I will definitely continue trying.
• Mia has been to three restaurants in as many days and has behaved like the little angel she is. Mike and I took her for a walk around the neighborhood yesterday and met some of the neighbors. And today Mia had her first trip to T*rget with Amy and me.
• Missy and SP welcomed baby Cara into the world the very day after Mia was born. Cara is beautiful and she and Missy are doing great (as I knew they would!). They and cousin Jake all came to visit on Saturday. I'll post pictures when I can.
• Mawmaw and Pawpaw (Carol and Brent) also came to visit, as did Granny and Grampy (Mom and Bruce). Charlie and Mary came in from Nashville to see Mia and celebrate Pawpaw's birthday. Mia also saw her cousins Logan and Beau, as well as Aunt Kelly, Uncle Chris, Aunt Jenny and Matt and Reilly.

Before I go, I'd like to also congratulate Amy and Rob on the birth of RJ. Guess we're now the Pink Mommies???