Aveline's First Bottle

I pumped for the first time Tuesday morning, and we attempted the first bottle with Aveline yesterday evening. She had just awoken from a somewhat long evening snooze and was quite hungry, and therefore fairly impatient in waiting for the milk to warm up enough to feed her. She was also irritated as an unfamiliar rubbery bottle nipple approached her mouth. But after that first drop of milk reached her taste buds, she was sold. She finished the bottle without a fuss, and, in fact, we had to warm up two other servings of milk. So she drank all the milk I pumped yesterday morning, half of what I pumped Tuesday morning, and most of half of what I pumped while Jarrett was feeding her the bottle yesterday evening. Apparently she is a much more efficient nurser than I am a pumper.

So, yay! She seems to be completely fine with a bottle (the Dr. Brown's brand, anyway), at least at this point.

Jack-o-Lanterns

Elsa and I carved our jack-o-lanterns while Avie napped in the swing yesterday. And then, as the darkness swept in, we went outside and lit them. Elsa was quite pleased. Avie gave them a bit of a look, but was really far more interested in the tree branches.

First Road Trip

Aveline made it to North Carolina even earlier than Elsa, at five weeks of age. Elsa was eight weeks, but she also got to stay at a cabin in the mountains and go hiking at Grayson Highlands. This trip was not made for fun and leisure. Unfortunately, we went for Jarrett's grandmother's (on his mother's side) funeral. Grandmom Craven was a sweet, graceful, giving woman. And she will surely be missed. Thankfully we can rest assured that she is now in a much greater place. We look forward to seeing you again one day, Grandmom!

Despite the circumstances, we still had a wonderful time catching up with extended family, including some we had not seen in years. We headed up on Wednesday, meeting my dad at his place of work in Gastonia to drop off Merckx so that he and my mom could watch him while we were in High Point. The drive up was not nearly as excruciating as I feared. I drove the whole way, which meant Jarrett had pacifier duty. He did a fine job, though probably had a nearly dislocated shoulder by the time the six-hour drive came to an end. Really, though, the girls did well, and we reveled in the 15 to 20 minutes of complete peace we had when both of them were asleep.

We were at Jarrett's mom's house for four nights, going out and visiting various other relatives during our stay, including Dad and Susan and Grandmom Helms. Bethany and her fiancee, Rob, were in town, and it was great meeting the boy everyone has been speaking of -- we approve! And Stephen was around quite a bit, so it was great to spend some time with him. Elsa had a grand time running around in the great expanses of land outside, including some time with Jarrett's cousin's (Jason's) kids while they were in town. My brother, Billy, even made it up to visit on Friday afternoon, which was a special treat. Elsa really tried to give him a workout, and even requested he change her diaper at one point. Sadly, he declined.

We visited the local farmer's market (me, for the first time) and another local farm's roadside shop, which had a fantastic selection of organic veggies, fresh baked bread, milk in glass bottles (with even an option for raw milk), eggs, flour and grains, spices, grassfed beef and pastured chicken, and even some gluten-free options! I was quite impressed.

The drive home was not completely horrendous either, though we did have one questionable span of time. It went something like this:

Aveline was crying and Elsa decided to act roughly with the iPad, so I took it away from her. This offense, combined with the emotional trauma of Avie's crying, sent Elsa into the screaming fit. I just stared out the window, attempting to ignore her, and Jarrett followed suit. Until he started laughing. And then I started laughing. Then he said, "If someone would have shown me a video of this prior to making the decision to have kids, I may have decided against it." That prompted me to pull out the small camera and take the above video for prosperity's sake. I better not show it to the girls when they are older or I might not end up with grandchildren in my future.

Uncle Rob, Aunt Bethany, and Uncle Stephen

Meeting Uncle Billy for the first time

Elsa in the country

Elsa and Great Grandad

Grandmom and the girls

Grandmom Helms with her grandson and great grandaughters

Sleeping Avie

First Major Solo Outing

With the beautiful fall weather, I decided to get out and take the girls to the Atlanta Botanical Garden last Friday. This was my first solo outing with the two girls besides taking Elsa to Gabriela's and running out one evening last week to grab the CSA box (but it only takes me about sixty seconds to run into the store and grab the box, so I did not even attempt to get them out of the car), and it went really well. Elsa did a fantastic job sticking with me as I pushed Avie around in the stroller. Elsa wanted to walk, and I told her that was the deal, and I was so proud of her for listening and not running off.

We had a good time looking at all of the scarecrows -- the main reason I wanted to get Elsa there before the month is over. We spent a good deal of time in the Children's Garden, where Elsa played in the sandbox some while I nursed Avie. Then, for her good behavior, I treated Elsa to some custom-made trail mix (GORP), and we sat an enjoyed it on a bench by the big, grassy field. As we left, Elsa insisted we visit the fountain with the "icing on top" (the fountain in the Parterre Garden, with the Chihuly glass sculputure adornment).

Aveline's One-Month Appointment

It seems our little Avie is one healthy little girl. She weighed in at 10 pounds, 3 ounces (75th percentile), was 22.5 inches in length (90th percentile), and her head circumference measured 15 inches (75th percentile). We were supposed to see the nurse practitioner, Susan, this morning, but she was running a little behind, so Dr. Owen took us instead (which I was secretly fairly happy about -- I also really like Susan, but there is something special about getting to see Dr. Owen).

I asked her about the gurgles and slight coughs we have been hearing from Aveline lately. I told her that I read in Dr. Sears's The Baby Book that infants start developing saliva around the end of the first month, and it can often pool in the back of their throat. Because they are not yet used to swallowing this new saliva, it often causes them to cough. Jarrett and I were first concerned that she was getting her first cold, but there was not really anything coming from her nose, so after I read this, I chalked the coughing up to the new saliva. Dr. Owen said that could certainly be the case, but in watching Aveline just the little time we had been there, she thought she was also refluxing a little bit. She said it seemed to be mild, though, and did not seem to bother her terribly, so it is nothing to worry about at this point. Dr. Owen said most babies grow out of the reflux fairly quickly, and since this seemed to be a mild case, she felt it would soon pass. Let's hope so. It definitely does not seem to be as bad as it was with Elsa.

I also asked her about Avie's slightly watery, slightly goopy eyes. Dr. Owen thought her eyes looked fine, and that any of the watering could be due to tear ducts that are not quite fully open yet. She says they should open up fully in the next month or two.

Dr. Owen listened to Avie's heart -- no murmurs whatsoever, which is great. She generally just checked her out all over and said she seemed like a healthy baby. She even joked about her advanced nature as Aveline tried to grab the stethoscope and pull it to her mouth.

We go back at the two-month mark, I guess for her first vaccinations. Often she will have babies come back at six weeks, but since this is my second child and I know somewhat more what I am doing, and because Aveline seems very healthy and is growing well, she said eight weeks would be fine. Of course, if either the reflux or the eyes seem any worse, we are to schedule another visit earlier. Hopefully that will not be necessary.

Aveline is One Month

Today marks Aveline's one-month birthday. She made her mommy happy by sleeping her longest stretch of sleep at the beginning of last night -- six-and-a-half hours! Seeing as that is, on average, the amount of total (broken) sleep I have been getting since her birth, I was quite happy. And it felt delightful.

Avie is a joy. She continues to cry "appropriately" for her age, it seems -- when she is hungry, has a dirty diaper, or is tired. And at the typical baby witching hour in the evening before it is time to go to bed for the night. She has started having longer periods of awake time, and though she is not always happy during these moments, she is also not always crying. In this way, she certainly differs from Elsa. Bystanders continue to comment how alert and peaceful she seems, and this makes my heart smile. Elsa is my dear, precious, most lovable first child. I love her beyond measure. But I have to admit that I prayed for an easier go of it with the second child, and so far I have been blessed.

Aveline seems to have started taking more interest in things around her, especially, as I mentioned before, the wall hanging above the changing table and, of course, our faces. She also continues to enjoy bathtime, and in feeling comfortable about the healing of her belly button, she finally had her first "real" bath last Thursday. Lately she has been attempting to meet her fist with her mouth, and much to her sucking satisfaction, has even succeeded a couple of times. She has also developed a new skill -- blowing bubbles with her saliva. She is our pacifier baby and, though not always, can often truly be pacified via those means.

I take her to the doctor tomorrow, so I will have all of the official one-month stats to report then. I hear her waking on the couch now, so it is time to get back on Mommy duty!

Visitors

As I mentioned in the previous post, my mom was down here helping me out last week. She was here for four nights, two of which Jarrett was away on a business retreat, so it was especially nice that she was able to be here during that time. We split our time running around and doing things and "lazing" around the house.

My mom arrived on Tuesday evening, and on Wednesday Elsa went to her playgroup while my mom, Aveline, and I went to my two-week post-partum visit with the midwife. I saw Anjli, which was great since she was who ended up actually delivering Avie. She ooed and ahhed over the baby, and we basically just chatted about how things were going with me, how things were going with Avie and Elsa, and what birth control plans we were mulling over. As my mom said after the appointment, it seemed Anjli was willing to stay and talk with me for as long as I wanted/needed, which is a great feeling to have when it comes to medical professionals. I will go back in a couple of weeks for my six-week appointment, at which time I will actually be examined to make sure everything is healing well, my uterus is going back to the proper size, etc. After the appointment, we ran a few errands and grabbed lunch out before heading back to Gabriela's to pick up Elsa.

Elsa played hookie from playgroup on Thursday, and we met up with Kate and James and all went to the aquarium for the morning. My mom and I had gone together once before fairly soon after its grand opening, and the crowds were outrageous. This time she was able to get closer to the exhibits, although maybe had to move through quicker than she would had she not been helping in keeping up with Elsa! That evening, my mom took over Elsa bedtime duty and let me head out for a girls' night over at Kate's house. I took Avie, so I was not completely child-free, but it was still so nice just to get out for a bit and hang out with some of the girls.

On Friday we made the trip to the pumpkin patch, and then late Saturday morning my mom headed back home... with Elsa! In the middle of the night Friday/Saturday, when I was up with both Aveline and Elsa, I had the brilliant thought that maybe Elsa could go home with my mom for just one night and then Jarrett's dad and Susan could pick her up on their way down here on Sunday. My mom was totally for it when I mentioned it to her the next morning, and Bill and Susan were nice enough to go with the plan to meet my parents on Sunday. And, best of all, my mom decided to surprise my dad. He had no clue until my mom arrived home and told him she had a surprise for him in the backseat. He was delighted! And so was Elsa. She even got to see Uncle Billy Sunday morning! And she was introduced to her new sleeping option at my parents' house -- a little tent that looks like a house, which fits over an air mattress. Apparently she was thrilled with it.

It was so nice to my mom here, and I know Elsa appreciated all the time she had to play with her grandma. Thanks, Mom!

This past Sunday, we had the pleasure of welcoming Jarrett's dad and Susan. They were here until yesterday morning, and were also a huge help. Jarrett's dad fulfilled a couple of chores that had been on our to-do list for some time -- installing a chain on our front door so Elsa can no longer escape (another story I should probably blog about at some point) and hanging a wall hanging my grandmother made above the changing table (Avie is already totally enthralled with it during diaper changes). Susan helped with a lot of the meals, which was very nice. And Elsa had two more playmates around. They took a walk in the drizzle and collected leaves, walked over to the park and played hide-and-seek and "I'm going to get you," and spent the length of many verses of "Humpty Dumpty" in the backyard. I also really lucked out and got a really wonderful massage from Jarrett's dad. It was incredibly relaxing, and I am fairly certain I even dozed off for a small amount of time while on the table. It was great to be able to spend time with them both.

Now, the past couple of days, I am trying to find some sort of a routine again in our daily lives. So far, so good. Things might look a little messy at this point, but we are all getting dressed, fed, delivered to where we need to go, and loved on as much as possible. I am not saying that it is incredibly easy -- having this second child has certainly been a huge adjustment for us all, not to mention all of the other stressors we are dealing with these days, but we are making it. And I know things will only get better... and easier.

Pumpkin Patch

While my mom was here last week, she, Elsa, Aveline, and I caravanned up to Dawsonville on Friday with Kate, James, Shelly, and Christian to Burt's Farm to pick out pumpkins and take a hay ride. We have made somewhat of a tradition out of this trip now, as this was our third time to the farm. I was certainly thankful to have my mom with me this time around, as it was about an hour-and-a-half drive, and she spent part of it turned around in her seat, trying to quiet Aveline with the pacifier. Despite some crying on the baby's part, Elsa did a fantastic job coping. There were no freakouts. And both girls eventually fell asleep in the back seat on the drive home, so we really could not complain too much.

We lucked out with a gorgeous day and no crowds there in the mountains. It was cool early on and then warmed up just enough, with lots of sunshine and bright blue skies. The leaves were just starting to change into their beautiful reds, golds, and oranges. The hay ride was fun (Avie slept through it), and we came home with pumpkins of all sizes, one of which we will carve sometime soon. Elsa even picked out a miniature pumpkin specifically for Aveline.

Aveline at Two Weeks

Aveline turned two weeks old this past Friday, and celebrated by going to the doctor for the third time. So far she has gone on the Monday following her birth for her first checkup, where she weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces, and they told us her jaundice was looking better and no additional tests would be necessary. They were slightly concerned by the amount of weight loss (though I read post appointment that bigger babies tend to lose more in their first few days), so we went to a second appointment that following Thursday morning for just a weight check, where she weighed in at 8 pounds, 9.5 ounces, so they were happy to see she was gaining back just fine. At two weeks, she weighed 9 pounds, two-and-a-half ounces (so not quite back up to her birth weight, but getting there -- and at 75th percentile), was 22 inches long (between 90th and 95th percentile), and had a head circumference of 13.75 inches (not sure where this falls on the charts).

She has had kind of a strange belly button. Her umbilical cord stump (or a sizable portion of it) fell off a week ago Saturday while at Finnan's fourth birthday party. It seemed kind of early, being she was eight days old, and most of what you read will tell you that the earliest it should fall off is around ten days. That evening, while I was attempting to apply some more rubbing alcohol to the area to continue to clean it out, I noticed a white area at the base of her belly button that really looked like an opening. It totally freaked me out and I had to have Jarrett take a closer look. He was not so sure what he was looking at either, so we ended up calling our doctor on her cell phone and leaving her a message. I was prepping myself for a trip to the emergency room. Dr. Owen called us back about 30 minutes later and we explained what we were seeing. She said it did not sound like anything we should be worried about and that it most likely just fell off a little too early and needed to continue to heal (and the remainder would eventually fall off too). Friday, at Avie's appointment, we had the nurse practitioner take a look. The white area had decreased a decent amount, but was still there in part, and she thought that Dr. Owen might want to go ahead and cauterize it. Sure enough, Dr. Owen took a look and decided that is what should be done. So she took a wooden stick that had silver nitrate on the end of it and just swabbed it in Aveline's belly button area. Dr. Owen assured us that it did not hurt the baby (and the baby did not cry, so I believe her) and that it should take care of everything. That evening when I was changing Avie's diaper, I freaked again. Her belly button now looked inflamed and oozy -- worse than it did that morning at the doctor's office. She still was not running a fever and the outer area of her belly button was not red (which is a warning sign of something bad), so we figured she was probably not in any real danger, but we called Dr. Owen anyway. She said it was likely aggravated by the silver nitrate and that we should put some hydrogen peroxide on it. If it looked the same or worse the next morning, we were to give her a call and she would meet us in the office. It did not look any better to us the next morning, so Jarrett took her into see Dr. Owen. In the end, everything was fine, but we are to continue applying rubbing alcohol once per day. Already it is looking a little better, but this has been quite the ordeal. Could it not just fall of normally and present us with a cute little baby belly button?

Aveline has been sleeping pretty well. Sometimes it is hard to get her down at night initially, and it seems that sometime between 11:00 p.m. and midnight is her preferred bedtime for now. I only seem to have to get up with her twice at this point, and last night I lucked out with a four-and-a-half-hour chunk of sleep at the beginning, and then another two-and-half hours after that feeding. All in all, I have been averaging between five and seven hours of sleep, albeit broken up, per night. I am tired, but surviving.

As Jarrett says, at this point she seems to "cry appropriately," as in when she is hungry, has a dirty diaper, or just needs some cuddling or help getting to sleep. We have had a few other fussy moments, but nothing too terrible. Unlike Elsa, she seems to like a pacifier, so that has come in handy during said fussy times. She loves her baths thus far, even though they have just been by-the-kitchen-sink sponge baths. And she has the biggest, numerous, and most fabulous sleep grins.

So far, aside from doctor's visits, Avie has been to the Farmer's Market, Whole Foods, Finnan's birthday party, the Oakhurst Garden, the First Annual Madison Avenue Soapbox Derby Race (which we were able to see from Kate and Tim's front yard), church, the Harvest Festival at Ms. Gabriela's, REI, Lenox Mall, Abbadabbas, DSW Shoe Warehouse (the last three all in search of a new pair of shoes for Elsa), and Farm Burger. And, of course, several walks around the neighborhood.

Jarrett's paternity leave ran out at the end of the week last week, and he is taking today and tomorrow as comp days before headed out of town on a work retreat for two nights. The lucky guy gets to go down to Florida and get massages and go deep sea fishing. He deserves it. Even with not feeling well, he has been a HUGE help, especially with Elsa and all the cooking. He cannot fool me now -- he is quite the chef! Really, though, he has always been a great cook. It's just been nice that he has had the time to actually plan out some meals and really take the time to cook them, even with all the dietary restrictions. My mom arrives tomorrow evening and will be here through Saturday, and then Jarrett's dad and Susan will be here Sunday through next Thursday, so I will not truly be on my own until after that, which is very nice. We shall see how things go after that! Even as it is, our house is a wreck and I am hoping to have someone come clean soon. Although it is severely difficult for me to live in a dirty house, I have done a pretty good job turning a blind eye and reminding myself that it is okay. Despite my lack of free time, extreme fatigue, and Elsa's difficulty adjusting, I really am trying to make myself enjoy these early days of Aveline's life, as I know they are fleeting.

And now, what you have all been waiting for, some photos of Aveline from these early weeks:

Going to second doctor's appointment

First bath

"I can't hear you!"