Weekend with Grandma & Nana

On Saturday, Grandma Linda visited us. Cory and I were able to get out of the house and go grocery shopping at Wegman's; something we hadn't done together since Claire was born. A little bit different than the date nights we used to have :) On Sunday, Nana came for a visit and we went out to breakfast. Claire was great at the restaurant.

Claire loves her mobile, a great distraction during diaper changes:
We have been seeing more smiles:
Making cooing sounds at dad:

Visit to dad's office

This afternoon we visited dad's office:

Already accepting and denying students:
A nice nap after a long day at the office:

Last night we tried something different for Claire's spit-up issue. After her 4:00am feeding I burped her and placed her in the infant seat so she could be sitting up after her feeding. We were hoping she would fall asleep and we could transfer her back to the bassinet. No such luck, while no spit up happened, someone didn't want to go back to sleep. After much rocking she went down around 5:30am. So yay for no spitting up, not so great for getting back to sleep. We haven't give up on this strategy yet and will try it again tonight.

Sleeping like a baby

We had rough night, Claire spit up a lot of her 4:30am feeding making a not so pleasant night for any of us. This past week she is having more spit up issues, especially after this feeding. We are trying to figure out if it something I am eating or going on her back with a full stomach is causing the issue. The above photo is from her mid-morning nap, much happier.

Thanks Natalie for the Saint Patrick's Day hat!

Visit to mom's office

Today Claire and I stopped by my office to visit co-workers and have some lunch. She was perfectly content to be passed around and we had a great visit. It was nice to get out of the house and have some adult conversation.

After the visit Claire had a very long afternoon nap. On Friday we visit dad's office.

A day in the life

We are in a pretty nice routine with Claire. I'm afraid by writing this I am jinxing us, because just when you think you have a routine babies have a way mixing everything up. But for right now this is a pretty typical day with Claire:

7:00-8:00am: Wake-up time for Claire: feed, change diaper, and dress.
8:00-10:00am: I get breakfast and a much needed cup of coffee, dad leaves for work. Start household chores (laundry, emptying dishwasher, sanitizing the previous night's bottles). I bring Claire's infant seat in to the bathroom and grab a quick shower.
10:00am: Claire's mid-morning feeding
10:30-noon: We do some tummy time on her play mat and then cuddle in the rocking chair. Sometimes I put her in the Moby wrap or Baby Bjorn and finish up chores while she naps.
noon: Dad comes home for lunch. We take turns eating and holding Claire.
1:00: afternoon feeding
2:00: Claire's afternoon nap in the pack n play. I try to squeeze in a cat nap depending on how the previous night went.
4:00pm: late afternoon feeding
4:30pm: Claire sits in her infant seat in the kitchen while I start prepping dinner.
5:00pm: Daddy comes home
5:30-6:30pm: Claire's fussy time and our dinner time, we take turns eating and soothing her.
7:00pm: Claire's evening feeding
7:30-9:30pm: Bath time (we don't do this every night - usually 3x a week). Give Claire her vitamin drops - every day we have to give Claire yucky tasting vitamin drops. She makes funny faces and smacks her gums to get the taste out of her mouth, it's kinda of adorable. Claire dozes off after her bath.
9:30pm I pump a bottle for Claire and go to bed at 10:00pm.
10:00-11:00pm: Cory gives Claire her late night feeding, puts her to bed, and then he goes to bed.
3:30-4:30am: Claire's middle of the night feeding. She is consistently extending the time between her 10:00pm feeding and the middle of the night feeding. We have fingers crossed that she will sleep through the night in a few more weeks.
7:00-7:30am: Claire wakes up and we do it all again!

1 month

Babies have a way of messing with your concept of time, some days we feel like Claire just came home from the hospital and other days it feels like she has always been here. It is hard for us to believe that she is already a month old.

Things we learned this month:
Have a routine as a goal, but be flexible: We quickly learned that having a routine was essential. Messing up a feeding or sleep schedule by an hour could have ramifications into the next day. And once you think you have a routine Claire has a way of letting you know that she is the boss.

5 hours of sleep is heavenly: Before Claire, I would have considered getting just 5 hours of sleep a bad night; for Cory, 5 hours of sleep was a typically afternoon nap on the weekend. Now getting 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep is a lofty goal.

Finding the favorite pacifier: We have 8 different types pacifiers in our house. It seems like every week Claire has a new favorite and we make sure each room is stocked with the current choice. Who knew pacifiers came in so many sizes, shapes, colors, and textures?!?!?

Don't change the diaper at the first rumble: We learned to give Claire a few minutes before rushing to change her diaper, because most times she is just giving us a preview of what is to come.

A typical weekend for Cory would include reading books and articles for school, the only books Cory has cracked this month our baby related like "What to Expect the First Year" and "Happiest Baby on the Block".

Endless laundry continues...and the search for the best stain pre-treater.

Claire is the loudest sleeper of any baby either of us has known. Sometimes we think she is louder asleep than awake. Many new parents check on their babies countless times in the middle of the night, worried by the silence. We don't have that problem, Claire coos and vocalizes throughout the entire night, more likely keeping us awake.

We have 1 month down, so only 17 years and 11 months left until college.....

Birthday wishes