Adele ~ 1 month old

She has to grow into these "paws"

 Our little diva was done

 She regrouped though

 Shout out to all my sheeps...I mean peeps

One thing we have learned about our sweet Adele is that she is very verbal.  She grunts, quacks, whimpers, other sounds I cannot put into words, and most of all is her goat yodel.  It's pretty famous.  It really makes me laugh every time she does it, which is about every waking moment :)  So, this makes her a noisy sleeper too during her active sleep state.  She also likes to smile and giggle before falling asleep.  We found that out the first night when we tried to put her in the pack n' play in our room.  That lasted for an hour and then she was off to her crib.  I was originally going to put her in her crib anyway but then when she came early and had to be on the apnea monitor I thought it was going to be more peace of mind to have her close at night, but it really just made me more restless.  We use a sound machine in her room, which also helps cover those little sounds she makes during the night.  That first night we also learned she does not sleep well on her back yet in an open crib.  We tried to put a pillow under one side of the mattress - trying to mimic the incline of the NICU crib - but that still didn't comfort her.  The next morning after really have a sleepless night we put her in a Boppy Lounger that my sister's-in-law mother bought for us.  We quickly learned that she slept best in this! So we slapped that thing in the crib so she would at least be getting used to sleeping in her own room.

First morning - she has stork bites (birth marks) in the corners of her eyelids - mainly her right eye.  They should go away over time, but may always show up when she gets mad or flustered :)

The smile/giggle process in action

We have tried out tummy time and try to do it to some extent daily.  She can lift her head up and move it from side to side as well as hold it in the air with her legs up like superman.  Now, I know this isn't a huge deal to most, but with the physical therapist telling me she may be developmentally delayed up to a month and a half behind normal kids her age...this is a big deal!  I don't think she'll be too far behind ;)  She was rolling to her side since we brought her home, so I'm sure she'll be rolling over in no time.  She prefers to roll most when on her changing pad and when she wants to sleep and we lay her on a flat surface on her back, well, we try.  She got used to sleeping on her side in the NICU - bad habit ;)  This was her first time to do tummy time.

I love this picture of my girls

We have also learned that Adele is very attentive and likes to be talked and sung to.

Here is a picture of Nana singing and talking to her.  I think my mom's voice is so similar to mine that she loves listening to her!  She also likes to sing the "Favorite Things" song from Sound of Music to her because that is what she sung to me when I was little.  I love that song and sing it to Adele too.  Adele loves to listen to it!

Here are Meme and Pa holding her for the first time.  Sorry Papa Jim that we didn't get a picture of you!!  Many pictures to be taken in the future :)

 I love seeing Pa's big hands and her tiny face together.  Gentle giant :)

She also likes to keep her hands by her face at most times, especially when nursing.  If she doesn't have a sleeper on that covers her hands or mittens, she will scratch her face.  I try to file her nails often, but they grow so quick!

Another thing we've learned about Adele is that she is hard to burp and hard to keep awake for a feeding, but the awake part is normal for most newborns- especially preemies.  I've really struggled with milk supply.  It's all over the place, but so has been my stress level with everything that has been going on.  For those that don't know, I had to go back to the hospital a week after discharged from the NICU for a D&C (clean out of the uterus).  I was passing huge clots and heavy bleeding when nursing.  The first 3 the bleeding subsided, but the 4th time was on Thursday night (1/27) and I didn't stop bleeding or passing clots, so Dr. Mestemacher told me to meet her at Labor and Delivery at Methodist.  The D&D was outpatient, but they put me completely under anesthesia.  I had no idea how my body would react to this procedure, but it was not happy.  I could not lift my head or body for 2 full days.  I had to grab my hair to control my head when laying down or getting up and had Luke's help to get up.  It was crazy.  It was especially crazy that a few days later that I passed another clot.  I went back to my Dr. and did an ultrasound - there was still one more clot left, but she hoped that my body would naturally reabsorb it or pass it.  Well, my body handled it and reabsorbed it.  Not only did my body not react well, my milk supply didn't either.  I think the stress, antibiotics, etc. dried out my body :(

We are both still learning breastfeeding.  It's hard to know when she is done or just wanting to suckle or if I need to supplement Similac Neosure - preemie formula.  I was pumping some after feedings if I didn't think she got a full feeding, but she nurses 45 minutes to 1  hour (sometimes longer!!), so I quit because it was stressing me out and physically hurting me.  Most people have breastfeeding down by now with a newborn, but she is not your normal baby and she will develop at a different "week" or rate than most babies, so I cannot fall back on book advice or advice from normal moms for now, sadly, because I'm so type A that I want structure, but God has really been teaching me to be so flexible and TRUST Him!  He's already been so faithful...

 First doctors appointment with Dr. Blake Bergeron at Pediatric Consultants - 5lbs. 5.5 oz., 19 inches long, and looking good!  She is itty bitty - pictures make her look bigger than what she is people tell us.  She is still too small for some newborn clothes.  We love Dr. Blake.  He is a great friend and even better doctor.  We feel like we are in great hands at this practice.  Blake just kept saying "how cute" she is (well, thanks!  We think so too ;).

She doesn't love her carseat yet, but I think she likes it more since we put the kiddopotomus in there to snuzzle her :)

Her weight stats that we have been taking at home with the scale that Stacey Hays so graciously let me borrow (she's the one that let me borrow the pregnancy pillow too!).  

1/23 5lb 3 oz

1/26 5lb 5.5oz

1/30 5lb 7 oz.

2/1   5lb 7.5oz

2/3   5lb 8 oz

2/5   5lb 11 oz

 First Bath - she hasn't loved her baths yet, but is loving it more that we are submerging her in water in her whale tub and learning she likes her water warmer like mama.  Her umbilical cord fell off the day before we were discharged from the NICU, but it was easier to continue the sponge bath at first until we got our sea legs.  So much to learn as a new parent and I'm sure we'll keep learning!

Pretty big feet for a petite girl!

good ole comb over

Big dog-sister Pippet is still well loved and exhausted from all the activity, but getting used to her new schedule has been an adjustment for her.  She's confused on whether or not she's hungry and she doesn't understand that I cannot take her for a walk because I cannot take Adele out on cold days, but I have braved  the greenline with my girls a few times by myself!

Best buds :)

Daddy and mommy hanging out with Adele - how much does she look like Luke?!

Peace out

I got this "A" necklace for "Adele"

Lastly, some of my favorite things as a new mom:

Triple Paste Diaper Rash Cream - better than Boudreaux's Butt Paste in my opinion, but almost double the price.  Worth it.

Praise Baby DVD

Graco Swing Frame for the carseat - just snap in the carseat when coming home and they are asleep

Play Gym with moving mobile and mirror

Halo Newborn Swaddler Sleep Sack

Carter's Waterproof Pads - go through a lot of them!  I use it as a makeshift changing station on the couch so I don't have to tote the apnea monitor back to her room mid feed - I try to feed her in daylight during the day to set her internal clock and her nursery is really dark with the darkening shades.

Vanilla Scented Soothies that we got from the NICU - we have a paci baby on our hands

That's all for now...already working on the 2 month post since I'm so late with this one!!