Our Baby Girl is Nearly 2 Months Old!

Maude is now eight weeks old.  It is truly amazing how much a part of our life she is and it hasn't even been two months.  I would have never expected that spending day after day with no down time and a lack of sleep would be okay, and even enjoyable. 

Last week, I mentioned Maude's talent with projectiles.  I even gave an example via a video of a projectile booger.  (I've heard some thought it was a little too gross - sorry about that!!)  Anyway, she showed off her projectile talents last week, but from the other end.  While changing her diaper one afternoon, she sent a little gift flying at least 3 feet across the room.  It hit the nearby bathroom door and overall, made quite the mess.  This was definitely the grossest, and possibly funniest, part of parenthood so far...

Along with all of the nasty moments in parenting, there are many sweet moments. Mike gives Maude a bottle every night just before bedtime.  We made a playlist of songs the two of them listen to while he feeds her and rocks her to sleep.  One of them is "Lullaby" by Billy Joel which he wrote for his daughter.  Mike shared with me that he dreamed of having a daughter and playing that song to her.  Another song on the Daddy & Maude playlist is Paul Simon's "Father and Daughter" which is one of my favorites.  Watching Mike rock her and sing to her each night absolutely melt my heart. 

Enjoy the pictures from this past week!

Daddy and Maude in her rocker.

Bundled up.  We had some chilly days this week as well as days in the 90s.

Tummy Time!

I'm loving these bows - they're velcro!

Maude and her buddy Pete.  Maude is trying to hold his hand.

Things are going pretty well from Maude's perspective.

Clearly Pete doesn't feel the same way about Maude as she feels about him!

Maude is 7 Weeks Old!

Our 7th week with our baby girl has been wonderful.  Her smiles light up our days.  She is a pretty agreeable and happy little gal.  After having the last few weeks with just me and Maude during the day, I've started to figure out her days much better than I was able to before.  I'm starting to understand when she's hungry vs tired vs has gas.  I know about how long she stays awake between naps.

Other things we've figured out this week:
- Maude is not a big fan of the swing.  She doesn't hate it, but it is certainly not the go-to bucket to put our baby in.  She's satisfied in that thing for maybe a full minute.  Luckily, we borrowed our swing from friends who visited this weekend and were able to take it off our hands.  We're happy to have our living room back.
- Maude is able to projectile many things from her little body.  Use your imagination.
- Mike is better at swaddling Maude than I am.
- Maude can shove her entire fist in her mouth.
- Maude likes to shove her entire fist in her mouth so we're now doing the one arm swaddle so she has access to that fist in her sleep.


Today has been a rough day.  Maude got her first round of vaccinations.  The poor gal hated them which was to be expected.  She's been Ms. Fussy Pants tonight as well.  She's been sleeping then will suddenly start crying and fussing.  I feel terrible for her.  Most of the other moms I've talked to said their babies slept a lot the day of the shots and then were cranky for a few days afterward.  Maybe since Maude is cranky on the day of, it will be over by the morning.

We also got Maude's updated stats while at the doctor.  She's now 9lbs 7.5oz and is 21.5 inches tall.  Her doctor was impressed with her neck control.  Our devotion to tummy time has paid off.  Maude and I even took a tummy time class at our favorite place, the Pump Station.  We go there at least once a week for various classes or support groups with other new moms and babies.  It's become our second home.

Below are a few videos and photos from the past week:

Hanging out on her bedroom floor.

Time in her activity gym with Stella keeping a watchful eye.

Daddy after getting a very upset little Maude quieted down.  Shots are no fun!

Close up of the hand on her face.

6 Weeks!

Today is Maude's 6 weeks old.  Woah.  In some ways, it feels like she was just born, but it also feels like she's been a part of our lives forever.  As we do every Sunday, we celebrated her birthday at her birth time.  I'm sure most everyone does this after they have a baby, but it feels like a special little thing that the three of us do together every week (four of us when Stella chooses to chime in on "Happy Birthday").

Our first full week alone went really well.  We had something going on every day which made the week fly by!  Since it takes nearly the entire morning to actually get out of the house, once we're out and go do what we need to get done and then get home, Mike is almost home so I don't feel like we've even had much hanging around the house time.  I decided to leave at least a day or two in the coming week without plans so we can have a little more down time.

We had friends visiting from Seattle this weekend.  Uncle Jason and Aunt Tonya took a few days to come over while on their annual trip to Vegas.   Maude went out to eat for the first time at night.  It was a sport's bar and with the NCAA tournament, it was quite a lively (aka LOUD) place!  She did great - I think it was a lot of excitement for her with many things and people to check out.  The entire weekend was pretty stimulating for her.  Mike, Jason and Tonya went to Magic Mountain yesterday and Maude took a 3+ hour nap!  I was able to shower and get ready all at once (that never happens anymore!), eat lunch, bake some bread, pick up the house, unload the dishwasher, and even relax a little bit.  It was amazing! 

In other sleep news, last Thursday night, Maude went to sleep at 8:30 PM and didn't wake up until 5 AM, then went back to sleep after eating and slept until 8:30.  I felt like I'd slept forever and had so much energy on Friday!  This weekend wasn't as good, but I think the excitement of the guests and the late bed times messed her up a bit.  Here's hoping we can continue with the good sleep patterns starting tonight!

I reported last week that we thought Maude was smiling for real and I can now confidently say that she is!  (We're still pretty sure she's been smiling at us for a few weeks now, but there's now no denying it.)  There's nothing better than getting a wide grin from her just because she sees our faces.  She's also making more little noises and practicing using her voice.  Her very favorite place to be is on her changing pad.  We get more smiles and "oohs", "goos", "gaaahs" and "ahhgs" when she's laying there than we do anywhere else.  She has a colorful, toy-filled, musical, light up play mat that she enjoys, but it's nothing compared to her changing pad.  I spend a good portion of every day standing there and talking, reading, and singing to her. 

Maude's favorite songs are the "Hokey Pokey" which we sing when we're putting an outfit on ("You put your right arm in...") and "Mary Had a Little Lamb" with modified words.  She has a soft little lovie which is a pink lamb so we made the song about Maude and her pink lamb.  Here is how it goes:

Maude had a little lamb

Little lamb

Little lamb

Maude had a little lamb

Its fleece was pink as a pig

Everywhere that Maude went

Maude went

Maude went

Everywhere that Maude went

That lamb was sure to go

It followed her to school one day

School one day

School one day

It followed her to school one day

And went to calculus class

(We also replace "calculus" with geometry, biology, chemistry, AP English, or some other class she's sure to love someday)

We're looking forward to what new thing the next week brings! 

Here are updated pictures from this past week.  I felt like we took a lot more than this, but then I realized that Jason and Tonya took a lot with their camera.  It was the first time since the day she was born that we got a few pictures of us as a family so hopefully we can share those once we get them.

All smiles on her changing pad!

I bought her a hat which she obviously loves! (Note that she is on her changing pad, but it doesn't have its cover on and Maude is naked except for the hat.  She'd just peed all over her clothes and the cover.)

Again, loving life on her changing pad!

All dressed up!  I think she looks like she's trying to be all mysterious and model-like in this photo!

Snoozing with Uncle Jason.

I don't know if you can see it, but her shirt has a little scarf on it.  It's cold and rainy today in LA so it is a very appropriate top.

A close up.

5 weeks old!

We skipped the 4 week/one month post mostly because I just didn't have the time.  My mom was visiting during that time and I just didn't get around to updating the blog.  So here is a 5 week update.  Because February was a short month, Maude's 4 week birthday was also her one month birthday.  We celebrated by buying an ice cream cake and letting Maude go to town eating it.  Kidding!  Mike and I sure enjoyed it, though!

As we do every Sunday in celebrating her birthday, we relive the day she arrived.  I have a few funny stories from that day that I forgot to share in our first blog post after she was born.  First off, my water broke at home and we needed to get going to the hospital but I was determined to shower, wash my hair, and dry it before we left.  We also had to pack a few more things for the hospital.  Mike thought I was nuts when he said "ok, let's go" and I said "no, I need to shower and get ready."  Thankfully he was patient and let me do my thing before we left.  We left our house to drive to the hospital at 2:30 AM on Saturday night/Sunday morning and I was absolutely convinced that every driver on the road was a drunk driver.  I think I drove Mike about crazy as I exclaimed about every car "WATCH OUT!  There's a drunk driver!"  Our hospital had recently changed it's procedure for arriving overnight.  It used to be that you'd enter at their main entrance which was right next to labor and delivery.  Beginning February 1 (5 days before we showed up), check in was at the emergency room.  So we parked in their parking ramp and went into the emergency room around 3 AM.  The staff on duty didn't seem to quite know what to do so they gave us some paper name tags and sent us on our way.  After we walked about 10 feet, I realized we didn't know where to go so I went back to ask.  The security guard just pointed at the name tag where it said "East Wing, 1st Floor" and said to look for that.  Ok.  So we set out on our own to find labor and delivery.  Let's just say that finding the East Wing is NOT an easy feat and Mike and I walked around that hospital, completely lost for quite some time.  Because it was 3 AM, there was also nobody around.  (And let's keep in mind that I was having very regular and not so pleasant contractions at this point.)  We thankfully, finally ran into a maintenance worker and begged him to help us find our way.  Even he wasn't entirely sure where to go and didn't even have proper access to get there!  We did finally get there but the whole adventure was a bit stressful at the time and now makes for a good story.

While my mom was here, Mike and I were able to go out to eat BY OURSELVES twice!  A huge thanks to my mom for watching Maude and to both her and my dad for paying for our dinners out.  =)  What a treat!  We were gone for maybe an hour and a half both times which felt like a long time to be away from Maude but it was also nice to have some adult time.

Maude is starting to be awake a bit more throughout the day.  It's fun to have more time to interact with her but also makes it difficult when I need to get things done.  I think she also got pretty darn spoiled with my mom being here and holding her all the time.  In the 4 days since she's been gone, Maude hasn't wanted to do much else besides hang out in our arms.

We think we've seen a few smiles that aren't of the I-have-gas variety but we're not 100% sure.  We like to think she's smiling at our silly antics but I think it's more likely they are involuntary grins.  She should definitely be smiling in reaction to our smiles sometime in the next few weeks.  She's also starting to make some noises that aren't just grunts or cries which is a lot of fun.  There's a part of me that can't wait for the next new thing she'll do, but I also want her to stay her tiny self for a while longer.

On the subject of staying her tiny self, our gal is packing on the pounds (er, I mean ounces)!  As of our last blog post, she weighed 7lbs 5oz and just four days after she weighed in at that, we had to go back to the doctor and she weighed 7lbs 13 oz!  It's been over a week since that appointment and my guess is that she's around eight and a half pounds by now.  She can still wear about half of her newborn outfits, but some are a bit snug at this point.  She's been starting to wear some of her 0-3 month outfits, too.

This will be Maude and my first full week on our own.  I'm really hoping to get into some sort of routine.  Not sure how possible that is with a 5 week old, but we'll give it a try.  It will be nice to have our time together and figure out our days.  I'm very much looking forward to it.

Here are more pics of the little lady.  Enjoy!

Ice Cream Cake!

Clearly she was thrilled to be having her ice cream cake celebrating her one month birthday!

She's a big fan of her fingers when she's coordinated enough to get them to her mouth and have them stay there!

One month old!

Had to get one of Stella in here.  She loves to lay on Maude's play mat.

As long as that pacifier is even near her mouth, she's fine.  If it moves too far away, she lets us know!

5 weeks!  As you can see, we give her a bath each Sunday and take a lot of photos at that time.  We have a photo that looks almost identical to this from each week since she was born.

Maude - 3 Weeks Old!

Our baby girl turned 3 weeks last week.  Mike, Maude and spend every Sunday at her birth time celebrating her birthday and singing "Happy Birthday" to her.  I get teary eyed (okay, I actually flat out cry) every time.  I don't even want to think what I'll be like on her first birthday! 

Maude is still a fairly agreeable little gal.  She has some fussy moments in the evening which I think is pretty common for babies.  She sleeps pretty well at night which is all I can ask for.  I even laid her down in her bassinet last night while still awake and she fell asleep on her own.  If she's well fed and dry, she's pretty good at "entertaining" herself. 

We visited the pediatrician today - her first visit in two weeks since her daily trips after she was born.  She's now 7lbs, 5 oz (up over a pound since birth and a pound exactly from her appointment two weeks ago!) and is 20.5 inches (up half an inch since birth).  She's in the 25th percentile for weight, 50th for height and 75th for her head circumference.  Apparently we're raising a tall skinny bobble head!  =)

In the hair department, we both think her hair is starting to thin a bit and I can see some lighter hair coming in under the dark.  I don't know how long it usually takes for a babies hair to finalize what it will look like, but I'm quite curious to see the final product.  I never could have imagined that she would have been born with LOTS of dark hair - I seriously only envisioned a bald baby so her hair was our biggest surprise.  

Stella has been a great big sister.  When we brought Maude home, I came in first and took Stella out for a quick walk.  While we were out, Mike brought Maude in and set her down in her car seat in the kitchen.  When we came back in, she discovered Maude and was so curious as to what she found in her house!  She's been just as inquisitive ever since.  She is especially interested whenever Maude sneezes.  The only time she seems annoyed is when Maude is crying - she usually runs away and finds another place to sleep.  Every morning after Mike walks her, she comes running back upstairs to check on me and Maude.  It's so sweet!

And now on to some pictures! (We know that's why you're all here anyway!)

Photo speaks for itself - Maude at two weeks!

What a funny face! 

Doesn't it look like she's praying?!

Maude - 3 Weeks!

Clean hair getting all fluffed up.

After a bath.  I think she looks so sweet here.

 Thanks for reading! 

Our Baby is 2 Weeks Old!

By Marnie:
Where did the time go?  How is Maude already two weeks old?  The last few weeks have flown by.  From the aspect of lack of sleep and other tough moments, that might be a good thing.  From the aspect of taking it all in and enjoying every moment with her, it's going way too fast.  I have my moments where I can't handle how quickly it's going by and the tears start flowing.  Every day I get sad that this is the last day she'll be this age. I'm looking forward to watching this little gal grow up - I just don't want that to happen too quickly!

Life at home is going well.  I know it's just been two weeks and I don't want to speak too soon, but we've been lucky that she's been a good baby.  I've been getting a decent amount of sleep every night, she hasn't had any terribly fussy moments, and she's generally a very happy baby. 

Mike had two weeks of paternity leave so he's been home since Maude was born.  He goes back to work tomorrow which is a huge bummer.  We've been having a great time and Maude and I have been completely spoiled having Mike here.  He makes all of our meals, runs around and gets whatever we need, and encourages our nap times together.  I have no idea what I'm going to do without him here.  I should have actually held off on the above paragraph about our good baby until after Mike has been back to work for awhile. 

As much as I'm  dreading not having Mike around, I really hope that Maude and I can get into a routine and find our groove.  We have many more weeks here at home together and we need to figure out our day to day. 

Maude's jaundice cleared up and we ended up having to do the phototherapy for five days.  We were so thankful to be done. At her appointment last Monday (she was 8 days old), her levels were going down AND she was already 2 oz above her birth weight.  Go Maude go!  I can't wait to see how much she weighs at her next appointment. 

Here are some photos from the last few weeks.  I really thought I would have been better at updating this blog on a regular basis.  Hopefully as we get more settled into a routine, I'll be a little better about it.

I just love this photo.  It's of Maude and Mike hanging out on the couch together while she was still having her phototherapy treatments.  I love how she's hanging on to his arm.  =)

Our first outing (other than the doctor's office).  Maude is 6 days old here and we went to our favorite local pizza place which also has a great outdoor seating area.  We took Stella, too!

She loves her hands up by her face and her daytime naps are usually taken with her hands somewhere around her face.  I think she looks so peaceful and content here. 

Maude at one week.  This was taken after a little sponge bath (couldn't have a real bath until her cord came off).

 

First bottle!  It looks bigger than her head!

 

Nap time on the couch with my girls.

 

First real bath!

After the first bath.  We think her hair has a touch of red in it.  I'm sure over the next few months her hair will change a ton - I'm anxious to see the final product!!

That's it for now.  Have a great week!

She's Here!!

From Marnie:
Well, if you haven't already heard, Maude Katherine Overman arrived into the world on her due date, Sunday, February 6th at 1:55 PM.  She weighed 6lbs, 3.4oz and was 20 inches long. We love her so much and are enjoying these first few days of parenthood.  I was so thankful that she came when she did.  As of my doctor's appointment on the Friday before she was born, they were concerned because I had low amniotic fluid and they said that the placenta was aged beyond what they felt comfortable with.  I had another appointment on Monday and if she hadn't come by then, I was going to be induced.  I can't tell you how much I did NOT want that to happen so when contractions started on Saturday night, they were quite welcomed! 

A lot of people have asked about her name.  Maude is a name we've just liked for a long time.  I have a unique first name and although I had phases as a kid where I hated having a different name (I desperately wanted my name to be Nicole), I now love my name and am so glad there aren't many people out there with it.  I wanted our daughter to have the same kind of name.  Katherine is a combination of both of our mother's names.  Mike's mom is Catherine and my mom is Kathryn.  We combined the spelling to get Katherine.

Recovery has been going well.  I feel good and haven't had much pain.  I'm tired but feel like I'm getting a decent amount of sleep.  She was a great sleeper in the hospital so that helped a lot.  She's also a really good eater so we've had it relatively easy so far.  The only hiccup is that she's a bit jaundiced.  We spent the second night in the hospital with a phototherapy blanket which brought her levels down to low/intermediate and they let us go home with no further treatment.  We visited the pediatrician the day after we got home to have her levels checked again and they were up quite a bit.  A phototherapy machine was delivered to our house yesterday afternoon and we started her on it right away.  She doesn't seem to mind it.  The only thing I don't like about it is that she and I are now bound to the living room and within 4-5 feet of them machine at all times.  We took her back to the doctor today and her levels were up more from yesterday which the doctor said she expected.  They let us come home again and are continuing using the phototherapy machine.  We go again tomorrow to have her levels checked.  I was under the impression that this would be a 2-3 day process and then we'd be able to stop the therapy and move on, but the doctor told us today that we'll probably be doing this for a week.  I kept it together at the appointment, but as soon as we left, the tears started.  It's honestly not a huge deal - I would just like to be able to move around the house with her, go on a walk in the neighborhood, and snuggle her without her being hooked up to this stupid machine.  I know jaundice is very common and we're lucky to be able to treat it at home.  I just can't wait to be done with it.  =)

Here are a few photos from Maude's first days of life.  I hope to take lots more soon - the glowing ultraviolet light attached to her at all times doesn't make for very good pictures, though. 

First picture:

Weight:

Maude and Momma taken just a few minutes after she was born:

Maude and Daddy right after she was born:

The day we went home from the hospital, waiting to be discharged.  Maude and Momma having a chat:

Maude in her crib, checking out her new digs:

We're loving our life as new parents.  The days are flying by though and I'm trying to take it all in and remember everything.  We don't get a lot accomplished each day, yet are so busy we don't even know what we did with ourselves before her.  I'd love to be able to return the calls, emails and texts, but this updated blog will have to do. 

Hopefully we'll be able to update this blog as often as we did before Maude arrived.  If not, know we're busy loving on our little girl.