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.