G’n'R Out West

I thought it was just about time to put up a few new photos with Greg’s family and give a little update on our week.  All of Greg’s family arrived safely.  They all adore Adelle and spend lots of time holding her so I have lots of spare time now!!

First off, I’d like to say our little girl has had a very independent week.  It seems like somethings have really started changing with her lately.  It is pretty cool.  Just a week ago she wanted to be held constantly.  Now she spends lots of time hanging out in her chair, or her swing, or looking at her mobile in her crib.  It is an amazing change.  She even hung out in her stroller for 1/2 and hour the other day.  She is so grown up now!  I’m already starting to miss her newborn days!  Although, she is so great now, it is hard to waste time looking back.

The sleeping situation is going really well.  We’ve had her successfully in her crib for a few hours every night.  She seems ok with the change, and I am getting used to it.  Not only does it give Greg and I some time to ourselves, but for those first few hours I sleep really great (she is a noisy sleeper so she often wakes me up at night when she is next to me).  Plus it makes me look forward to the first nighttime feeding because that means I get to spend some time with her and bring her back to our bed afterwards. 

This week at yoga was amazing.  She slept through the first 1/2 hour (which is mama yoga), she woke up for the next 1/2 hour (baby yoga, which she seemed to enjoy) and then she got a bit fussy for the combined yoga, but the instructor taught us a good relaxation nursing posture and that worked amazing.  So we had a fabulous yoga session.

Today I started a playgroup/discussion class.  It looks quite promising.  Every week you alternate between attending an adult discussion group on parenting issues and looking after all of the kids.  Since Adelle is so little I probably won’t leave her with the other kids when I attend the discussion sessions, but I am told that if I’d like to I can.  It seems to be a great way to meet some other parents that live in the area and I think it will be very interesting to attend these discussion groups to talk about different parenting issues.  Since I will also spend every other week playing with all the kids it will be a great opportunity to learn, observe and play with kids in all different stages of development.

Doting Grandparents

Lots of people have recommended bouncing on an excerisze ball to sooth Adelle - it is an amazing tool…kinda like and on/off switch

The ball also has some other uses

Celeste had a go too

And so did Greg - I may have fallen too…but I’m the one who takes the time to write the blog…so I choose the pictures!

Last night we put our daughter to bed at 10pm.  She woke at 1am, but wasn’t hungry so Greg rocked her back to sleep and she was back in bed by 1:20 am. 

At 6 am she started to stir a bit so I woke her up because I was in pain from not feeding her for so long.  I put her back down at 6:40 and she is still sleeping and it is 8 am.

This is ridiculous.  The worst part is that I hardly slept because I was so confused about why she was sleeping so well.

Too funny.

All of Greg’s family is here now.  I will post some pictures sometime today or tomorrow and catch up on the weeks events, but we are off to a baby class this morning so no time for a long post.

So, two nights ago we put Adelle down in her bassinet, we figured she’d last about an hour in there and then we’d move her into our bed.  She slept for 5 1/2 hours!  I missed her like crazy by the time she woke up (who thought I’d be saying that…I was the one that NEVER wanted to sleep with my baby!).  So last night we thought we’d try it out again, see if it was a fluke that she’d slept alone like that. 

We put her down in her crib at 8pm…I cried when she didn’t immediately wake up.  She didn’t wake up for 3 hours, which was 4 hours from when she last fed - so she was likely just hungry.  I brought her into our bed after that (I missed her way too much to put her back in the crib) and she hardly slept.  Maybe she sleeps better without us (I hope not!), maybe she is punishing us for putting her in her own room, or maybe she just had bad gas after eating….

I was so sad when we went to bed without her last night.  It is amazing, how much I have changed in how I feel about sleeping with her.  It is just so wonderful to have her with us (even if she does keep us up half the night with her grunting!).  I haven’t the slightest clue how I’ll survive her moving out of the house to go to university, if I am having problems dealing with her sleeping in another room for 3 hours!

Anyway, I think this new sleeping arrangement might be best.  It is great for Greg and I to get a few hours alone in our bed, but it is so wonderful to have her sleeping with us - so once I get used to the change hopefully it will work for all of us.  I think we’ll keep it up another few nights and then see how we are all feeling.

I have another fun milestone to share.  Adelle was given a crib mobile from our friends Jeff and Alicia.  I had put her in her crib a few times to let her enjoy it during her awake time. Each time she immediately turned her head to the wall.  Now, the wall captivated her attention for a good 10 minutes each time - so it wasn’t like she was bored, but she showed no interest in the mobile.  Well, after the smile fest on Friday night I wondered if she was ready to look at the mobile.  Well, she was in awe of it.  It was awesome…she just smiled away at it the whole time she was in the crib…or at least until she gave me a holler to let me know she was done hanging out on her own!  It is so fun to see her be stimulated by her environment and to give such exciting feedback. 

I love her smile so much  My friend Jen told me her girls didn’t smile until they were 3 months old (because they were so premature).  I think it would be so hard to wait so long for such feedback - I feel so fortunate.  Adelle has always been awesome and amazing and wonderful and beautiful, but the smiles are like icing on a cake.

It was my dad’s last night in town and we had our cousins over for dinner.  It was a big night for baby Adelle, she was a smile monster almost all night. 

For a while we’d been getting the occasional smile from her.  We were pretty sure they were real smiles, but we couldn’t be certain.  Well, last night she proved to us she is really smiling.  She had smiles for everybody, unfortunately, they were a bit hard to capture on camera.  Regardless I don’t think I’ll be forgetting about last night anytime soon, it was so special.

A big smile for Serene

Hanging out with Kevin and Kathleen

Cousin Luca and my dad making music
 

It has been wonderful having my dad here.  He got my butt in gear and had me exercising almost everyday, my body is aching but it was nice to have some motivation for walking and a little aerobics.  He was great with Adelle - he never shys away from a crying baby - which was great for Greg and I! 

With my wrap I can take Adelle for a walk on a cool day, keep her warm and cuddle the whole time - it really is the best invention ever

All tuckered out with her dad after a long day

Adelle with her Grandad

Well, it is official, Adelle is now one month old.  I am teary eyed just thinking about how old she is.  I can’t believe a whole month has passed already.  It seems like she’s been here forever, and only a few moments all at the same time.

My friend Jen does these fabulous Official Monthly Updates for her girls and I’m going to try to follow the standard that she set because it is fun and makes a great record of what has happened.

Sleep:
Once we figured out our baby was a co-sleeper sleeping went wonderfully.  We were usually guaranteed at least one 4 hour and one 3 hour stretch each night.  Until about a week ago when things fell off the rails.  Sleeping has gotten better again, but now our little angel needs to eat every 4 hours - and she feeds for 1 1/2 hours.  So sleeping has started occurring in 2 1/2 hour intervals which I am getting used to.  She has also become and incredibly loud sleeper and will stir a fair bit during the night during her 2 1/2 hour stretches.  Usually she just needs a little attention from us and we can get her to calm down again without picking her up.  It makes for a bit of a restless sleep but it is another indication that she needs to co-sleep.  If we had to get up and go into her room to sooth her we’d be up all night, but rolling over and rubbing her arms is pretty easy when she is next to us in bed.

Eating:
She is a really great eater although often looses focus.  She is better during the day / or I am more patient during the day / or a combination of those two things.  At night eating is a bit of an ordeal.  My philosophy is that if she has gotten me up at 4 am then she is going to eat until she is good and stuffed - NO SNACKING at night.  That being said nighttime feeding lasts about 1 1/2 hours.  She usually has a little snack and then gets interested in the light I have on, then she snacks again and falls asleep.  In the day I pay a lot less attention to how much and how often she eats, because I don’t really care how often or how much - I am much more willing to feed her as she wishes during the day.  She has also successfully taken 2 bottles.  She was a bit confused both times but quickly figured out that they were everything she wanted and more.  She gulped them back in a matter of minutes.

Hair:
She still has LOTS of it!  I think it might be getting a bit lighter but it is hard to tell for sure.

Eyes:
Greg thinks they are going to be my colour (greyish-blue) but I think it might still be too early to tell.  But the shape of them is definitely all Greg. 

Stuff that happened this month:
- we finally met her, and decided we love her TONS
- she met her Grandma Sue, her Grandad, her Auntie Amy and her cousin Noam (Greg’s parents, his sister and my brother have yet to visit.  Unfortunately, her uncle Hugh and cousin Wynne had to leave before she entered our world, but we are hoping that they’ll get their chance to meet her this fall)
- we learned she mostly prefers to be held at all possible times
- she can sleep on her own for 2 hours in her little bassinet
- her record for awake independence is 45 minutes - that was just a few days ago in her swing
- we sometimes think that she is smiling at us - but we aren’t sure if it is just a really big coincidence
- she went to baby yoga for the first time and spent most of the time crying (poor baby)
Baby Adelle 31 Days Old

Baby Adelle hours after her birth

My dad arrived on Saturday and has been a great help with our little fussy baby.  He has spent many hours trying to sooth her.  It has been a nice break for Greg and I.  We’ve gotten lots done while he was here too.  It was good timing as we had to run some errands the other day to buy some warm clothes for Adelle.  We have warm clothes for when she is a bit older but the weather has turned cold very early this year and we don’t have much warm stuff for a newborn.  So we hit the second hand store and picked up a few things and I feel much better equipped now. 

Today Adelle and I attempted our first Baby Yoga class.  Adelle was the youngest participant and also the most vocal.  Unfortuantly, we didn’t get much yoga-ing done since everytime I attempted to join the class she screamed.  So we spent our time either breastfeeding or walking around watching all the other moms and babies.  The instuctor actually took her for the last 20 minutes so I was able to enjoy the relaxation portion.  Normally I find yoga very boring, especially the relaxation at the end.  However, today I thought it was the most marvelous thing ever.  I guess I haven’t been able to do much relaxing lately so it was a fabulous indulgence on my part.

I think we will definitely stick with Yoga.  The instructor said that eventually the babies get used to the class and I found the relaxation amazing - so I’ll go just for that.

Since we didn’t get much exercise at Yoga class I came home and attempted Tae-Bo for the first time in 9 months!  I did my easiest tape and it felt so wonderful.  The last two weeks I’ve really started to feel normal again and it is nice to know I can start getting back in shape.  I’ve been craving that tired muscle feeling since I had Adelle.  Mind you, I get tired on a 45 min walk, but for some reason I still crave a good workout.  I’m excited Tae-Bo went well so I look forward to trying it again.

Meeting Grandad

Adelle’s First Real Outfit - ain’t she cute!

Greg’s dad sent me these pictures today to show how much Adelle looks like the Forgerons.  I thought I’d post them.  I find she looks so much like her dad that I am surprised she is my daughter.  My mom says that she has my mouth, but I find the only thing we have in common is her cuddly personality!

Baby Celeste

Baby Greg with Celeste

Last night our little girl got 5 consecutive hours of sleep - and so did we!  We are so grateful.  She is in a way better mood today then yesterday (perhaps because she finally got some good sleep!)

Anyway, I thought that was an update worth posting and celebrating!!!

Our friend Erin and her baby Eric are coming over today for a visit.  Erin said she’d watch Adelle while I showered!  This day is just starting out perfect - first sleep, then a guaranteed shower - I’m the happiest girl alive!

Well, my friend Jen warned me not to talk too much about successful sleep-filled nights or else I’d jinx them.  Well, I got too confident and now we seemed to have lost our sleep rhythm.

After working out our little cosleeping arrangement baby Adelle adjusted beautifully to sleeping at nights.  We could pretty much count on one 3 hour stretch and one 4 hour stretch each night.  The feedings seemed to be taking a good 1 1/2 hours, but that was a small price to pay for all that sleep.

Well, the last two nights have been a bit of a mess.  We aren’t really sure what to do about it.  We put her down totally passed out and she seems to grunt or moan or squirm herself awake pretty quickly.  We don’t always have to pick her up, but no matter how we comfort her, we aren’t getting our sleep anymore.  We are at a bit of a loss.  It seems as though she is uncomfortable with her little red face and all her squirming and grunting.  Except, as soon as we pick her up she relaxes.  So perhaps she is just lonely.  Either way, we are hoping to find a way to keep her comfortable and us asleep! 

Tuesday night was particularly bad, and I almost cancelled my plans with Shan for Wednesday.  But by the time Wednesday morning rolled around I decided Adelle and I needed some outside stimulation or else we might have a more terrible day then night.  That turned out to be a great idea.  We met Shan and Paityn at the mall and we had a great time.  The mall is a different world during the weekdays.  It is just full of strollers.  Every time you turn around you are bumping into somebody with a stroller.  A whole new world I never knew existed!

Adelle spent a fair bit of the time in a sling (with me pushing an empty stroller) but she had a few good stints in her stroller as well.  Slowly but surely she’s getting some Independence!…maybe…

Adelle also took a bottle for a the first time this week.  She gulped down 3 oz in just a short few minutes.  It was very surprising.  No wonder she’s doing so well in the weight department - she is a very effective eater.  She initially seemed a bit confused by the bottle concept, but she took to it pretty quickly and at her next feeding did well with the real thing.  So hopefully that is a good sign.  We are going to try another bottle this weekend and will try to give her at least one a week to remind her that it isn’t terrible.

She also took a soother for the first time this week - but she seemed less convinced of the soother than she was of the bottle…so we’ll see how that goes.  We have mixed feelings about the soother, part of us would like her to take one in hopes it would help her in the car (and perhaps with sleeping at night), but part of us doesn’t want her to be dependant on it.  Who knows what the right thing to do is.

Babies are complicated.

Anyway, it is almost the weekend and my dad arrives on Saturday.  So we have 2 more nights alone before the expert arrives.  My dad has some experience with needy, clingy youngsters (that’s right, I was a real treat as a baby)  - so he’ll be able to help us and give us some great advice.

Hanging out at the mall:

Passed out at the mall:

Her first bottle (aka - a little Independence for mama):

Well, we’ve had a fabulous week at home - just the three of us.  Greg took the entire week off and we’ve had nobody staying with us since my mom left at the end of August.  It has been really fun spending all this time together.  Greg goes back to work tomorrow - we are both very sad he has to go back.  It has been wonderful to have him at home. 

So Adelle and I are on our own during the days next week.  But my dad arrives on Saturday and is staying for an entire week - so if we have a hard time I know that I will have help during the days again soon!

We’ve had a busy week of organising some house stuff, we even got so adventurous as to go out to ikea to buy some furniture (believe it or not I got Greg to go back to ikea)  It isn’t exactly Greg’s favorite store, but despite the usual ikea headache and drama we successfully bought furniture for our basement. 

Friday night Greg and I went over to Roy and Shan’s house as our friend Doug was in town.  It was fun to catch up with Doug as we hadn’t seen him since we left Cold Lake.  We had a really late night and didn’t get to bed until 1am.  That was about 41/2 hours later than we’ve stayed up since Adelle joined our family.  Needless to say, Saturday was a little rough.

Saturday we officially introduced Adelle to the Cape Breton Forgerons.  We all hooked up on our webcams and Greg and I got to show off our little gal to some of her extended family.  Technology is so wonderful.

Today our friends Shannon and Mark hosted a little party for Adelle.  We all had a wonderful time and got the chance to visit with lots of people we hadn’t seen in a while.  Thanks Shannon and Mark!

Successful car trip:

 Unsuccessful car trip:

Adelle’s Live Action Cape Breton Debut - if you look at the large picutre on our Flickr site you can see Greg’s parents and his Nana on the screen (4 generations of Forgerons)

Celebratory Cake: