Aunt Julie's Shower!

Today Shirley, Suzi & Alli threw a baby shower for Julie & Baby Miller, and both came out with some goodies! Melanie cannot wait to meet her new cousin, and we're looking forward to lots of fun times! Mel hasn't been around a ton of kids, at least her own age, for long periods of time. She has met a lot of friends (aka, my friends' kids), but now that she's in daycare and starting to be more cognizant of them, it's fun. Today, she was playing on the floor with her cousin Lily, who is 2 months older than her; it was amazing to see the changes a baby can have in just two months! Mel & Lily were holding hands, and at one point, Lily had her finger in Mel's mouth, and Mel was sucking on it. I would still say Melanie was a bit oblivious to it, but it was funny nonetheless. Below is a photo of Melanie with her cousins Lily (Megan's baby) and Bella (Tim & Alli's 20-month-old)

Daycare Update

Melanie's first week of daycare went pretty well. It only takes about 20 minutes longer in the morning to get out the door and to work, and she has a smile on her face every day when she leaves, so that makes us feel good about what she's doing!

The women at the daycare recommended that we increase the size of nipple on her bottle, which might help with feeding, and it was like a medical breakthrough in the Worzala house. I had bought the next size up nipple, but hadn't used them yet, because I thought Mel was still too tiny; but it does seem to help with the amount of time it takes to get a meal down.

Somehow, when we pick Mel up at 5:30pm, she's the last kid left. I'm interested in what the other kids' parents do that they can get there so quickly!! Poor Mel; but that gives her lots of one-on-one time with the caregivers, so they're getting to know her well.

She's learning to nap without being held (learning by way of necessity - otherwise, she will not get her nap in, she's learning!) She was a little extra clingy the first couple of nights home, but she's adjusting well, and today had SO many smiles all day, I was happy to see daycare hasn't broken her little personality :)

High score & Low score

Melanie's first day of daycare went pretty well! She made lots of new friends and seemed to impress her teachers - Miss Doris, Miss Evelyn, and Miss Amber were the three we met. I called over lunch, and she had just woken up from one of her naps. At the end of the day when we picked her up (early) for her dr appointment, Miss Amber reported that she did really well, and only fussed when the other new baby in the class cried and woke her up. She had a sign on the door welcoming her (and the other new baby), she got a "I had a good day today" checkmark on her report card, and overall I think it went well. She was a little confused as to why her mommy, who is always in favor of sleeping in, was getting her up so early and changing her when it was clearly sleepy time!!

Then her doctor appointment. It went well, and overall everything looks promising - but she had only gained 5 ounces in 8 days. Considering she only gained 9 ounces in the previous month, that is good progress - but I was hoping she'd break 10 pounds. She was up to 9lbs, 14 ounces. Very close!! The doctor was pleased she's rolling over, that the medicine seems to be working, etc. I got him to agree to putting rice cereal in her bottle before bed, so she just got put down with a fully belly, and we'll see if that helps her pack on the weight! She's in the "less than" 10th percentile for weight for her age. If only her mommy could have that problem!

Overall, it was a very productive day for Miss Melanie; I've included a picture above of her getting ready to leave for her first day, and below of her activities this evening after her bath & jammy time.

Rolling over!!

I forgot to post... Melanie is now rolling over from her tummy to her back! She did it for the first time on Saturday, and it was somewhat of a fluke, but then she did it four times in a row today!! What a big girl! If I could figure out how to load video onto my blog, I'd share it with you; but, instead, you can see it for yourself next time you see Mel!

Melanie's baptism

We had a great holiday weekend with our combined families! Friday night we had dinner at our house with Jeff's parents, my parents, Randy, Cory, Charlie, Julie and Matt. Jeff and Randy spent about 8 hours redoing our screen porch, and the work paid off!

Saturday, Jeff and his dad got up for a crazy-early tee time in Frankfort, so Diane, Melanie and I got some things done around here and ran errands before meeting the guys for lunch; it was nice enough we got to eat outdoors! Saturday night Grandma & Grandpa W babysat while Jeff and I went out for a little while, and then we had dinner with them.

Sunday was the big festivity day. Melanie got baptized, and all of her aunts & uncles & grandparents & cousins were there to share this with her! She did great; she got a little fussy right at the end of the baptism, but by the time we got back to our seats, she was asleep, and stayed asleep the rest of the service! She wore Aunt Julie's baptism gown, and we put her Christening cap on her before the service (it's probably not on right in the picture above, but I wanted to show a picture of the dress), but we didn't keep it on for the service. After church, we had our Race Day party, and she got spoiled by all of her family and friends.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, we are very blessed with such a supportive and loving family. Miss Melanie is very loved, and she knows it! She has lots of smiles for everyone around her!

Tomorrow is the big day - I go back to work and Mel meets all her new friends at daycare!

T minus 8 days until Daycare....

Mel took a trip to the doctor today.... She has been doing great, and there are no "big" problems - but since she's starting daycare next Tuesday, and is eating THIRTEEN times a day, I wanted to see what we might be able to do to regulate her before going to daycare. Also, her stomach is still rumbling a little bit every once in a while - nothing like before, but she still does get fussy with it.

Our daycare has assured me that they will feed her any time she's hungry... but I'm a little worried about the formula situation...I prepare the bottles to take in with her. So, if I make a few 3 or 4-ounce bottles, and then she only eats 1 or 2 ounces, they have to pitch the rest. At the rate she's eating now, I'm considering sending a whole bunch of 1 or 2 ounce bottles, and they can just feed her until she gets full :)

So, the doctor was a little concerned about her weight gain. We were in one month ago, and Mel weighed 9 pounds. Today, one month later, she weighs 9 pounds, 9 ounces. He said with that kind of weight gain, he would look at three things - first, is she getting enough to eat? So, he got his calculator out and computed the amount she's eating (23 ounces a day) with her weight - and she's doing great on that front. Second, is she "getting rid" of too much? No. I don't need to go into details there! Third, is there something medical we need to look at? He said we can rule out a heart murmur, but that he may look at GI issues (which her daddy has), or thyroid issues (which her mommy has). So.... she's starting a prescription today, to see if it will help with the potential GI issues. We go back in a week to monitor her weight, and see where we are. Also, I'm supposed to only feed her every three hours, even if she seems hungry every hour like she has for the last week. We may be driving around a LOT in order to keep my sanity as we make that transition!!

The doc also said Melanie was one of the happiest babies he's seen in a while!!

Trip to Grandma's!

Friday night, Melanie spent the night with Grandma Doan. She loves staying at Grandma's; she took a walk, Grandma rented eight movies to watch (and was unsuccessful on that front; I think Grandma forgets Mel is only 11 weeks old....but wanted an excuse to watch all the kids movies she's missed lately!), and generally just got spoiled while Mommy & Daddy had a date night. We went to the Indians game, and then just hung out on our back porch for the evening. Saturday morning we went to pick Mel up and take Grandma to lunch for her troubles. The reason Grandpa is missing from this excursion is that he was fishing, but he's back safe and sound now!

Melanie's shirt in the above photo says "I love Grandma" - which is the outfit she was wearing when she came home.

Happy Mothers Day!

We had a great weekend with our favorite moms! Saturday morning, Jeff got up and took Mel to Frankfort to hang out with Grandma W, who was in town visiting, while he hit the golf course on a beautiful day. In the meantime, I slept in, went swimming at the gym, and got a mani/pedi before going bridesmaid dress shopping for Jenny's wedding!

Saturday night was a great Mothers Day celebration dinner with my parents, Jeff's parents, Randy, Cory, Charlie, Cory's parents and grandparents!

We stayed the night in Frankfort Saturday night, and then spent a lazy, rainy Sunday at my parents' before a nice dinner with my parents and Julie. Jeff and Randy took their mom to breakfast for Mothers Day, and I went to breakfast with my parents and Julie.

All in all, it was a great "first" mothers day. I have been so blessed the last two months with so many people taking such good care of us, I didn't really feel I needed a "day off" today - or a day to celebrate me. But I enjoyed celebrating my mommyhood by looking at Melanie's smiles all weekend!! Happy Mothers Day!!

Random week

The Melster had a very lazy week; we spent lots of time cuddling and napping together, not getting out as much as usual. We ran a few errands, though, and she even went to the doctor with me (rather than the other way around)....

Mel's Grandma D took a teaching gig for this week and next, so luckily the Frankfort school system was out today, so Mel got to see Grandma (and vice versa). I had yet another doctor appointment (I got cortizone shots in my wrists, and the shots were about as painful as the epidural(s) I got!!), and then we spent some time with Grandma and Aunt Julie. Mel had lots of great smiles for both of them!

We're looking forward to a fun Mothers Day weekend in Frankfort with both Grandmas and both aunts! (and the rest of the families as well!) Happy Mothers Day to the mothers reading this !!

Formula Update

Who knew that becoming a mom meant monitoring every feeding and every diaper this closely?? In my life B.M. (Before Mel), I think I had more interesting things to talk about. Maybe I'm wrong.

Our new formula - the "gentlest formula on the market," according to some posters on babycenter.com - seems to be working magic. Little Melanie laughs (okay, smiles REALLY big) when she's happy, and it's a lot more frequent than it used to be. Things that make her happy - her bouncy seat, her mommy pretending to sneeze, a clean diaper, being naked, .... and many more things. As predicted, the proportion of fun baby to the dwindling amount of time of my maternity leave is a negative correlation - the more personality she gets, the less time I have on my leave.....

Thank you for all of the prayers and good thoughts for Mel. I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself by saying this formula is "the one" - because I've thought that before - but she is very happy right now, and that makes me happy.

Happy Two Month Birthday!

Miss Melanie is two months old today! So far in her short life, she has met a lot of people and been a lot of places - although, only out-of-state once. We weighed her today, and were surprised to learn she is only 9lbs, 2oz -and that was with her onesie on. So, in the last two weeks, there has been virtually no weight gain. Similarly, her Mom has probably had virtually no weight loss. However, she seems to be eating and feeling better on her new formula. We'll see if that continues.

Today, as I was buying special "Sensitive Stomach" food for my cat, I realized that, despite the fact I can order extra hot sauce on my Chipotle tacos (and that sauce is HOT!), eat the Habanero Jack cheese from The Cheese Shop (even the people who work there say it's the hottest), and eat virtually anything I want, I sure am surrounded by some bum stomachs. There's Jeff, who had surgery for his, Melanie, who has been on three different types of formula in two months, and Lucas, who needs special food. What's up with that, I ask you??

Keep your fingers crossed that we can get Melanie on a predictable eating schedule by the time she enters day care! As of now, she is eating more times a day, and less amount each time, than she should - It will definitely be hard to predict what types of bottles to prepare for her when she's with someone else who might not be into feeding her every hour!

One more update for Mel's two-month birthday; we are very lucky that she knows her nights from days. Even when she sleeps a lot during the day, she knows when it's night time, and she only wakes up for feedings (that, too, I hope to overcome by the time she goes to day care - as that is when I go back to work!) She gets up, eats, and is right back to sleep!

We continue to feel very blessed for our little girl; and we are very excited for her to get two cousins this summer!