Archives for August, 2008
posted by Kristin on Aug 28, 2008 |
OK, so maybe “exploding” is taking some literary license – but we want to blame it on the diapers so that Elisa isn’t traumatized in later life! On Wednesday, we had our first experience with a diaper that did not contain its contents. “We” is accurate since we each had an opportunity to deal with such a diaper – and another today! Kristin is willing to claim user error on her part for the first two diapers; she has a bad habit of putting on the diapers low enough that Elisa has plumber’s butt by the next diaper change. However, Elisa decided to improve and even beat out one of Daddy’s diapers!
Of course, no one wants to see pictures of exploding diapers, so here is a picture of her in the third onesie she wore yesterday (the first was entirely soaked by spit up and the second and third went the way of the exploding diapers so she ended up dressed for bed early). Clearly we are experiencing more laundry as a side effect!
posted by Kristin on Aug 28, 2008 |
Today Elisa is three weeks old and we made another visit to the pediatrician since she has been slow to gain weight. Today the news was very happy: she has gained 13 oz. since last Thursday so that she is up to 7 lbs 6 oz. We have another appointment again next Thursday – hopefully the last weekly appoinment – when she will hopefully be back up to her birthweight!
With her new weight, she has been gaining strength quickly the last few days and doesn’t get swallowed up in her swing or car seat anymore. She is also holding up her head much more and pushing her whole upper body off the shoulder as well as her head. Of course, she is also using her neck strength to more effectively push back while she is supposed to be nursing…so while feeding is getting much better, there are still challenges!
posted by Andrew on Aug 27, 2008 |
Since the timing of Elisa’s birth made knowledge of the event quite public, I decided to place a post on the blog for executives of the Seventh Day Baptist General conference. You can read what I wrote by visiting that site.
posted by Kristin on Aug 25, 2008 |
Elisa has had two doctor’s appointments so far and has another scheduled Thursday because we are watching her weight closely – both of the first two she was losing weight, down to 6 lbs 9 oz at her two week appointment. Therefore we are following doctor’s orders and have started supplementing every other feeding with a bottle – either formula or breastmilk. So far it seems like she may be gaining weight (her diapers certainly have!) and she is sleeping more soundly, so we are very thankful! So you can share in our occasional feeding frustrations we have included a few faces that exemplify what we encounter when feeding her…
Yawns…
Sleep…
Interference from hands…
Thankful with a bottle we can just open her mouth and get her to eat, even if she seems asleep most of the time!
posted by Kristin on Aug 25, 2008 |
Our cat, Ink, continues to warily make overtures of friendship to Elisa. From the first day when he ran away when she cried, he progressed to sitting on a neighboring lap and then to sharing Kristin’s lap as she was holding Elisa. Tonight he even got his nose to within two inches of hers – and immediately backed off even though she was sleeping and sublimely unaware. Since we were concerned he would feel very threatened by Elisa (having been an only ‘child’ for 11 years) we are very happy for his forbearance even if Kristin’s lap is a little full at times. Perhaps what we need to be concerned about at this point is her reaction when she finally realizes his presence…
posted by Kristin on Aug 25, 2008 |
This evening Elisa rolled from front to back (to her right) twice! We were both a little surprised – we just wanted to give a little tummy time to help strengthen neck, arms and legs and she flipped herself over. Of course, she didn’t want to do anything halfway, so she kept going onto her left side after a brief rest on her back (270 degrees says mommy!) We were so sure it was a fluke (and she’d not protested at all in the process) that we put her on her stomach again and made sure she wasn’t up on her arms to have an unfair advantage and she flipped herself over again within a minute. Of course, surprises are never caught on video, so we only have a picture of the preparations for the flip. While we are very proud of her, we’re not quite sure we are ready for any real mobility on her part – we’re still learning to have the next diaper and the burp cloth always handy so we don’t get sprayed from one end or the other!
posted by Kristin on Aug 25, 2008 |
Elisa lost her umbilical cord stump Sabbath afternoon, so the belly button has now made its appearance. Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten a good picture, but you can trust her (unbiased) parents when we say it is beautiful like the rest of her! This has made it much easier to dress her in onesies, so we have started wearing all the great onesies she got from friends, including this beautiful model which her cousins Cate and Eve previously modeled.
In a timely fashion, Elisa experienced her first use as a sermon illustration earlier in the day – that her umbilical cord was not the source of nutrients or a good way to be connected anymore. As her parents are both pastor’s kids, this will not be her last use as a spiritual object lesson, even if we’ll try to be good…and lest you blame her father the preacher, her mom had already used her feeding habits to make a point about spiritual growth in Sabbath school!
posted by Andrew on Aug 16, 2008 |
We have continued to take pictures of Elisa by herself and with her parents and Rood grandparents. You’ll find a gallery of the shots in the full article. (edited – the gallery has been removed — goto http://ajcindustries.com/photoblog to see the photos.)
posted by Andrew-admin on Aug 16, 2008 |
Today Elisa went to her first Sabbath School class (she didn’t have all that much to say) and decided it was time for a meal before the class ended. She greeted several of our friends with a smile before the worship service began and slept through the service.
posted by Kristin on Aug 13, 2008 |
Tomorrow Elisa is a week old and has her first visit to the pediatrician. As a warmup, today we went to the bank and paid for the new carpet that got laid in our renovated rooms today. (It was made more interesting by the fact that they laid blue carpet instead of brown the first time – but we also got it a day earlier than expected!) She also got to sleep in her Pack ‘n Play bassinet for the first time today. After supper, Elisa and dad and mom tried out the new stroller and visited the neighbors.
Overall, things are going quite well. Elisa is learning to burp so hopefully this will lead to less fussing nights. She does a good job pushing up on her knees when she has tummy time. Her neck is getting stronger so she is holding her head back from shoulders longer and more frequently. Tonight she also learned to fold her hands!
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