7 weeks and infant acid reflux.

Linna got Daddy good!

I'm going to admit it now... we've had a rough couple days/nights with Baby Linna.  A few days ago, Linna started spitting up almost all her milk, rejecting the bottle after just a few ounces, not sleeping well, and she was just plain fussy!  She was even spitting up a ton in her sleep (and mama was having to wash her bedding every day).  This is so the opposite of the content and happy baby we've been used to.  So yesterday, we took her to the pediatrician and they diagnosed her with infant acid reflux.  Poor baby!  They gave us a prescription for Zantac and it has worked wonders!  Linna is back to her content little self, and the spit up has completely stopped.  She takes the medicine in the morning and at night.  I hate having her on medication when she's so little, but if it makes her feel better and keeps mom and dad sane, well then I'm all for it:)  She was also weighed at the pediatrician, and she's already 11 lbs. 6 oz.!

Snug as a bug.

Linna turned 7 weeks old on Monday and she celebrated by smiling at mommy and daddy for the first time!  She's starting to recognize people's faces, and the other day she "coo-ed" at AJ.  She's still sleeping in her crib (after spending a couple nights in the bassinet due to her acid reflux), and this morning I came in to find her sleeping on her side!  She used to stay in one place in the crib, but now we find her in different positions when she wakes up.  She's still sleeping 4-6 hour stretches at night.  Last night, she slept 10:30pm - 2:30am, 3am - 6:30am, and then she slept until 10am.  She's up a lot more during the day, and we really try to keep her awake from 5-7pm.  Although, once 7pm hits, she takes a little snooze.

Mama and baby all ready for a cool night outside

I'm finding it kind of hard to sleep at night, because I'm constantly waiting for Linna to wake up.  I can't seem to get into a deep sleep.  I started turing the monitor off in our bedroom at night, because it picks up every little peep, which wakes me up.  Linna's room is right next to ours, so as soon as she starts crying, I can hear her without the monitor on.  I know this is just a "worried mama" thing, and I need to realize that she is just fine in her crib (there's nothing in there but her blanket), but I'll admit that it is tough!  AJ and I are celebrating our one-year wedding anniversary on Saturday and my parents are taking Linna for the night, so it will be nice to finally get some sleep!

6 weeks old.

Linna at 5 weeks

Holy cow, my little baby girl is already 6 weeks old!  This weekend, I packed away her newborn onesies because they're too small.  It seems like just yesterday, her newborn clothes were too big for her!  It's so fun though to watch her grow.  She's starting to just stare at AJ and I when we talk to her, and it's almost like she wants to talk, but nothing comes out.  I can't wait until she starts smiling and coo-ing:)

Linna's photo session at Flash Photography

I've had so much fun staying home with her every day.  I have about a month and a half left of maternity leave, so I'm cherishing every minute I have with her.  We started sleeping her in her crib at night and it's going pretty well.  We feed her about 4.5 oz. at 8 p.m., change her and put her in a sleep sack, and she'll sleep until about 1 or 2 a.m.  We feed her about 4 - 4.5 oz. at that point and then she sleeps until about 6 or 7 a.m.  During the day she eats about 4 oz. every 3-4 hours.  I'm still pumping and bottle feeding.  The first night that she started sleeping in the other room was rough on me because I worried the whole night.  I maybe got an hour of sleep.  Whenever I hear her make a peep on the monitor, I wake up.  Since her room is right next to ours, we're thinking about not using the monitor.  Last night, I forgot to turn the monitor on, and I slept until I heard her cry, which was a pretty good stretch of time!

Breakin' out the fall coat from Aunt Pulie

Linna can hold her head up, and sometimes I think she's ready to roll over... but we're still waiting on that one:)  She's starting to lose some of the hair on the top of her head, but not her side hair.  She looks like a balding little old man, but I had the same thing when I was her age.  I can't wait to bring her in for her next doctor appointment so we can see how much she weighs.  She is getting SO Big!

Linna on the Today Show.

We entered Linna's newborn photo in the Today Show's "Cutest Baby Photo Contest", and her photo aired today!  She hasn't won anything... yet... but if her photo is chosen, they will fly us out to NY to be in a baby fashion show.  How great would that be?!  CLICK HERE to see her photo on the Today Show (you have to scroll to about 8 minutes in).  So proud of our little lady!

One month old.

She's THRILLED to be one month old

Baby Linna is already one month old!  Time is sure flying by, and I am learning so much as a new mom.  One of the biggest lessons I've learned in the last month, is how important sleep is.  I think I was running on adrenaline during the first few weeks after Linna was born, and she and I were always on the go.  Well, that finally caught up to me after running on just a couple hours of sleep every night.
Up until last night, I have primarily been the only one getting up with Linna at night.  AJ works, and I felt like since I'm home with the baby, I should be able to do it.  I've always felt like stay-at-home moms should be able to "do it all" (laundry, take care of baby, keep the house clean, run errands, make dinner, etc.), and I always wondered how stay-at-home moms get so tired.  Well, now I get it!  I've been working so hard to be "super mom" that I ran myself into exhaustion.  I hit a wall this week.  I became so emotional about everything, and realized I can't do it all without help.

I'm learning how important it is to ask for help.  I've had major anxiety about letting AJ (or anyone else) wake up with Linna at night, thinking he's going to accidentally roll over on top of her, fall asleep and drop her, etc.  I've also had anxiety about letting other people hold Linna, watch her for a few hours so I can sleep, feed her, etc.  I'm quickly learning to get over this, and this may be the best lesson I've learned in the last month.  Last night, AJ woke up with Linna so I could get some much-needed sleep.  I slept downstairs in the guest bedroom, so I couldn't hear Linna cry, and I got about seven hours of rest.  This was a HUGE step for me, but AJ did such a good job, which really help put my fears aside!  I'm so thankful and lucky so have such a supportive husband.

New hat from Nana Beanie

While I'm working on getting more "me" time, Linna is growing up SO fast!  She's definetly found her lungs, and lets us know when it's time to eat, change her diaper, or when she's just tired.  I'm learning how to distinguish between her different cries.  She's eating three ounces about every three hours, and I'm still pumping and bottle feeding.  She's a great eater and burper too!  She wakes herself (and us) up every three hours to eat at night.  We don't wake her up to eat if she's sleeping.  She's kind of making her own schedule.

I love watching her eyes try to focus on our faces when we talk to her.  When Grandpa Specken talks to her and says, "where's grandpa's smile?", she actually smiles (well, she's done it once).  I can't wait until she starts reacting to our voices:)  Although I still think she looks a lot like me, I'm seeing more and more of AJ in her face.  I think we have a perfect mixture of the two of us in this little baby!