okay then...

Okay folks...I get the whole eat, play, sleep thing. I read the book.
Any tips on keeping a baby awake during the day?? Someone suggested ice cubes to me today and I just think that sounds mean.

But we did have an awesome night last night after I spent the afternoon keeping her awake. We used rattles, singing, funny sounds, bouncing...it was exhausting (for both of us). We did a bath, ate, and she was down at 9:30, up at 1, 4, and 7. And she was only up about 45 minutes each time to eat. We're getting somewhere!

Night & Day

Dear Elise,

Even though this is pretty much the cutest thing ever and Mommy loves her afternoon naps, we need to make clear that nighttime is the best time for you to sleep for three hours or more at a time.

Love, Mommy

Any helpful hints would be appreciated. :-)

oh hi!

Hotsling

Today's been a little rough. We went out to the lake this morning to say goodbye to Auntie Lauren who was in town, and then headed home to see Grandpa and Grandma Goote who were stopping by. After that, Elise decided that she didn't want to sleep at all, and was not happy no matter where she was. She would fall asleep in my arms, and if I attempted to move it was over. I busted out the hotsling my wonderful cousin Emily sent to me, and after three different YouTube video demonstrations I finally wiggled her in there.

(yes, that's my boob in the picture. They're sorta big now so I can't help it.)

She was good and cozy for a little while in there while I made dinner and cleaned some stuff.

Note to future self: Do NOT attempt to transfer sleeping baby from hotsling to bouncy seat. You will regret it and spend the next hour walking laps around your house with a crying baby.

This is my daily look nowadays - no makeup, air-dried hair and probably wearing the same thing I wore yesterday. Life as a mother of newborn is definitely not glamourous, but it sure is comfy.

We think Elise is going through some sort of growth spurt or something. She is needing to eat every two hours or she's really fussy. And gassy. I'm so sleepy.....

One Month Old!

Elise had her one month appointment today - she's doing great! She had to have her second HepB shot - but she was pretty tough and only cried for a minute. Poor thing.

Weight: 7lbs 6oz (7th percentile)
Height: 20" (11th percentile)
Head Circumference: 35.5 cm (14th percentile)

(Please don't ask me to define percentiles.)

Also - the vibrating bouncy seat is awesome. We just got around to actually putting in the batteries today - it knocked her out. It gives me hope for her 1am - 3am playtime routine. We'll see how it goes tonight...

P.S. Doesn't her hair look RED in this picture?!

Live from our Living Room...

It's 1am. This is what I'm dealing with. Very happy baby who doesn't want to sleep. I'm annoyed...but she's so cute!!!
Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Grand Haven

Last night we took Elise on her first trip to Grand Haven to meet her Great Uncle Tom and Auntie Carla. We had dinner at our favorite restaurant on the water and took a little walk on the boardwalk. Elise slept the entire way there and almost all the way back!

Uncle Tom is super excited to meet little Elise! I'm sure she'll love him! He pretty much lives on the beach after all...

Also - today is Elise's due date! Can't believe she's been here for a month already. We have her one month appointment tomorrow and I can't wait to see how much she weighs...she's looking a little chubby!

Visitors...

Elise had some very fun visitors today while I went out and ran a few errands. Grandpa and Grandma Goote came over! Do you think they like her?? I think just a little.....

Wide Awake

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Elise laid like this for over an hour. She was having lots of fun. My mom says real babies are not like this and I deserve a baby that cries all the time. I'll take what I get. Thanks Mom.

Hiccups

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Berry Cute

Elise can finally fit into a few newborn size sleepers! We spent part of today out at the Lake, it completely wiped her out.

Nursery

I meant to do this post a long time ago but since Elise decided to surprise us a little early I never got around to it. Elise's nursery! I wanted something girly without being all pink and purple. We love it! I got the wall decal on Etsy and I got crafty with the letters.

And an Elise update: My mom says I now have a "real baby". A little fussy, awake for hours at a time (during the day - THANK YOU JESUS), gassy...Let's just say I haven't showered, I have no make-up on, still in my pajamas and totally sweating. I just hope no one comes to the door or I will scare them with my ugliness. I'm also having a beer with my Lean Cuisine lunch (don't judge - someone told me it was good for breastmilk production - which is the only reason I'm doing it...obviously).

I'm loving it though - this morning she slept on my chest for a good two hours - so sweet. And she can finally fit into a few sleepers! This one is SO cute - Thanks Stacy!
Here's your Elise pic for the day: milk coma.

Hey Jude

Today my good friend Rachel came over with her sweet little boy Jude. Jude is only three months older than Elise - but he looks SO big next to her! As you can see she wasn't too interested in meeting her future boyfriend.

Bathtime...

Last night we gave Elise her first bath in the sink. She did not hate it like we'd thought! Usually the only time she screams is when I was giving her "baths" with a warm washcloth. I think she kind of enjoyed herself.

Chihuly @ Meijer Gardens

Yesterday the whole family (except for Nick, who had to work) headed to Meijer Gardens to check out the Chihuly glass exhibit. We are fancy, we know. It's amazing - all of this stuff is hand-blown glass. I really wanted to put Elise in one of those giant flower looking things and take a picture...

Lauren and Carl are here again this weekend!

This is how Elise spent most of her time. Check out her cute headband!

Apparently this is a super famous DaVinci horse. There are only two in the world, and G-Rap has one. We are awesome.

Do you think he likes her? Grandpa was telling people who walked by our table how cute she is. Which I completely agree with, of course.

Oh, and I finally found my keys. They were inside the changing pad that was in my diaper bag the WHOLE TIME. Three different people emptied that thing out and did not find them.

Rough Morning

Elise and I had a rough morning. It went something like this:

3am: Elise wakes up, hungry. I am expecting this.
4am: She is done eating and WIDE awake. I still find this very cute.
5am: Still awake. She isn't crying or fussing, just VERY interested in life at this particular moment. Much less cute now. Finally get her sleepy enough in her bouncy seat to attempt sleep for myself.
6am: Elise wakes up hungry again. I am expecting this - but I am much less enthusiastic.
7am: She goes back to sleep in bouncy seat. I crawl out of the room on my hands and knees praying the floor doesn't creak. Nick's alarm is going off. I tell him if he wakes her up I will kill him. He is almost perky which annoys me. I fall asleep in 30 seconds and don't remember Nick leaving the house for work.
8:30am: Elise is fussing, I wake up. I take the fastest shower ever and blow dry my hair while she is making noises in her room. We have a doctors appointment at 10:45.
9:15am: Feed Elise. Change diaper and clothes for appointment.
10am: Rush upstairs to finish getting ready for appointment.
10:15am: Elise is in carseat. She fills her pants. Yay. I unstrap her, change her, and strap her back in. Load diaper bag and put it in car. Look for keys to start car. No keys. Anywhere. We have to leave at 10:30. Run around the house looking EVERYWHERE for keys. Dripping sweat at this point. Call my mom who was going with us to the appointment that she now has to pick us up.
10:30am: Call doctors office and tell them we'll be late. Phone call goes something like this:

Me: I'm SOOOO sorry - I cannot find my keys and we will be about 15 minutes late to our appointment, is that okay??
Bitchy Nurse: No. (dead silence)

Bitchy Nurse eventually said she'd "squeeze us in between patients" if we could be there at noon. Awesome. Mom arrives, switches carseat base to her car, and we go to Panera where we both ate an entire Chicken Artichoke panini. We didn't share.

So that has been my day so far. The doctors appointment went really well though - here are Elise's 2 week stats:

• Weight: 6 whole lbs! (3rd percentile)
  
• Height: 19" (9th percentile)
• Head Circumference: 32.5 cm (1st percentile)

So we've got ourselves a TINY little girlie! Doctor says everything looks really good. After the appointment we headed home where we both took naps. And I still haven't found my keys.


This picture is from Elise's very first trip to Olive Garden yesterday.
She had a super time as you can tell.

Update

To all of you who think Elise sleeps all the time: Feel free to stop by anytime between 2 & 5am. We'll be waiting for you. Awake. Apparently life is way more interesting then.

This is our first day alone - just me and the babe. So far so good except for when I had started feeding her and realized I left my coffee in the kitchen. Crap.

And a picture since it would be mean to post without one: