I'm a Mom

Every so often I have these strong feelings where I realize whole heartedly that I am a mom. The feelings don't overwhelm me or frighten me, they just kind of stop me and remind me of my new role in life. I have a baby. I am a mom. Someday I will hold my daughter's hand as we walk to school. I will buy her her first bra and talk to her about sex. I will hate her boyfriends. I will watch her fall and encourage her to always try again. I will help with her homework. She will give me grandkids. It's just so crazy how much changed when she was born. All of it for the better. I'm just glad that I'm at a place in my life when it made perfect sense to have a baby and that I'm 100% ready to do everything in my power to be the best mom that I can be.

Time for her crib

I never would have thought that I would be the type of mom who would have their baby sleep in my room for 5 months. When I was pregnant I assumed that I would be kicking her out of our room after about a month. I had a hard time kicking her out of our bed after a month. Given that Copper has about 4 inches of clearance in her mini pack n play that she currently sleeps in next to our bed, it's about time to move her into her own room. This would also allow Aubrey and I to be able to talk to each other at night and allow Aubrey to let his alarm clock go off in the morning. I believe that I no longer have concerns over her safety at night and she only wakes up once a night to eat. I do like the convenience of just picking her up and laying back in bed to feed her. When she sleeps in her room I'll have to go all the way upstairs (which I actually do every night anyways since I always have to pee and we don't have the downstairs bathroom finished yet) and feed her in a chair in her room. Doing that will probably help me be quicker about getting her, and me, back to bed though. I currently let her eat/hold her for 20 minutes to an hour. I told Aubrey that within the next couple weeks I would have her sleeping in her room. We joke that I'll sleep upstairs the first few nights that she's in her room, but the reality is is that I will definitely sleep upstairs those first few nights. She spends time in her crib, but has never really slept in it. I just want to be close so that when she does wake up she realizes that I am still close by. I will miss waking up in my bed and being able to see her and talk to her while she's in her bed next to me. I always sing a little "good morning" song to her while we're both still lying down when she wakes up. Now I'll have to get my ass out of bed, get dressed, and climb a flight of stairs before I can sing our song.

She Likes It!

My sister-in-law Rian had suggested that I try feeding Copper some cereal with boobie milk since she wasn't overly found of veggies. So last night I mixed up rice cereal with some milk that was pumped at 4:30am (when my clogged duct decided to release itself) and gave it a go. And by golly, she liked it! She fended off my first few attempts, but once she realized it was her favorite meal/snack/drink/dessert, she decided to open up and eat. Most of it made it into her tummy and not all over her face and bib. Tonight we tried it again and she ate it again. Our little girl is growing up so fast.

Quote of the Day

"Huh. I must have slept through that one."

-Aubrey

While feeding Copper a couple nights ago I told Aubrey that I needed to get her to eat from both sides so that she'd be good and full before going to bed. I said that I was tired of getting up a 2 am to feed her. Aubrey responded that she had done really well the night before since she didn't wake up until 6:30. The "Quote of the Day" was his response to me telling him that 6:30 was the second time she woke up that night. That she also woke up at 1:30 am and needed to be fed.

Copper no like green beans

We tried green beans for 4 days with no luck. She even started tucking her lips into a tight mouth when I brought the spoon to her mouth. So tonight we tried sweet potatoes. Unless we were really good at distracting her, the spoon didn't make it past her tight lips. Isn't she too young to already learn those games? I had Aubrey try feeding her too, but that didn't work either. I'm not sure if she's completely ready for food yet, but I really want to get her on probiotics to hopefully help with her poop issues. Food is the only way I can do it. Any advice or tips? She loves watching us eat and drink and seems quite curious about food. How long is it supposed to take before a baby will learn how to swallow food?

4 Months - Green Beans

Copper turned 4 months old on Saturday! The night before we celebrated with green beans. Our pediatrician recommended getting her started on baby food and I need to get probiotics in her somehow (for her food allergy issue). Since she won't take a bottle, she has to get them in baby food. I don't think that any of the beans actually made it into her tummy, but I assume this skill takes a bit of time to learn. The second day of trying ended up much like the first...with a lot of green beans on her bib.

At 4 months, Copper weighs 14.18 oz (50-75%), is 25.25" long (75-90%), and her head is 40.5cm (50%). Tall and skinny like her daddy?

She has learned how to spit and has discovered her tongue (see below).

Don't forget to vote

I had posted a survey to the left asking you to vote for who Copper Jo Jo looks like, but apparently either only 2 people read my blog (Aubrey being one of them) or no one noticed the survey.

It's just not fair

It's 7:30 am and Copper is still sleeping. She went down about 8:30 last night and has barely made a peep since. I should be happy right? So why the title "It just not fair"? Because I was up at 6:15 with my right boob as hard as a rock with yet another massive clogged duct. After an hour of pumping, massage, hot compress, and prayer to the breastfeeding gods it came unstuck and I produced enough milk to feed a small army of infants. Okay, it was only 7 ounces, but that's a lot of milk to put in 1 "A" cup booby.

I hold Copper...a lot.

Copper pretty much falls asleep every time I feed her. Since she is a total pill to get to fall asleep outside of nursing, I often sit with her for 30 minutes to 1+ hours while she sleeps. (I admit, sometimes even much longer.) I never thought that I would be that mom that is always holding their baby. I have the luxury of spending that time with Copper and it's only a very short time frame of our lives that I'll be able to do it. Her face looks completely different when she's asleep in my arms. Time kind of stops when I'm holding her. My to-do list becomes less important, phone calls can wait, everything that I could be doing can wait. I wish that Aubrey could have the same experience (minus the breastfeeding of course). I'm sure that there will be some issues with getting her to fall asleep on her own at night, but I'm willing to pay the price to be able to have so much Mommy-Copper time. I will never feel guilty that I didn't hold my baby enough. She is my #1 priority. My life revolves around her right now and I'm okay with that.