Maggie will be 8 weeks old tomorrow! She is growing big, and is very strong. She has reached a new level of fussy this week, which is testing our patience a little. Running water seems to be the only thing that calms her down, so I guess we'll have a high water bill for a little while! We really can't complain though, she's usually very sweet and is still sleeping well at night. But geez, when she's upset, she's UPSET!
Jamie stayed home from work on Thursday and Friday because he had a high fever and wasn't feeling well. I was so worried that Maggie would get sick, so I didn't let him near her. Thankfully I have a pretty tough immune system so we both stayed healthy.
We've been taking Maggie to church each week, and each time we were so relieved because she didn't make a peep. This week she started crying at the very beginning, but Jamie did a good job calming her down in the back, and then she slept the rest of the time. I really enjoy going to church as a family, but it sure can be tense!
Maggie will have her 2-month check-up on Friday, and I'm excited to see how much she's grown.
I'm a little late in posting this... turns out it's hard to find free time when you have a kid, who knew?
Anyway, Maggie had her tenotomy surgery this past Tuesday, and it was a piece of cake! We got to the hospital at 7am, did some pre-op screening stuff, and then she went in at 8:30 as scheduled. We had only been in the waiting area for 20 or 30 minutes before they told us to head back because she was finished!
Pre-Op: Jamie thought this Jail photo would be funny
Changed into her surgery gown, in high spirits
She was very upset afterward because it had been about 6 hours since her last feeding. She chugged her bottle, and therefore half of it came right back up during burp time. It took a little while to calm her down after that, but she was just fine once she settled back to sleep. She didn't seem to have any pain during this week, so I guess it wasn't a big deal!
Finally calmed down
We've had to give Maggie sponge baths since birth because of her casts and her umbilical cord. This week we gave her a "real" bath before her surgery when her casts came off. Grammer did all the work because I didn't really know what I was doing. She was freaked at first, but enjoyed it by the end.
What is this!?!? Make it stop!
Ok, maybe this isn't so bad
Maggie is definitely more fussy this week, usually after eating. Our pediatrician warned us that weeks 6-8 is usually where babies peak in fussiness (is that a word?). She seems to want more to eat each time, so I think we'll up her volume from now on. She drinks her bottles way too fast, so I think we're going to invest in some slow-flow bottle nipples for her. Hopefully this helps with the angry cries after eating!
Her hair is getting thicker and longer. I hope I don't have to give her a haircut anytime soon, it's too soon!
I have no doubt that her smiles are now genuine. We get them most of the time after she eats - who isn't happy after a good meal?! She looks right into your eyes and it melts my heart. She has Jamie's little dimples and they are super cute!
Not much else on the horizon until these casts come off. She gets her braces on February 4, and I'm heading back to work on February 7. I think I'll be mentally prepared by then (I hope)!
It's hard to believe that Maggie will be 6 weeks old tomorrow! It seems like time has dragged and flown by at the same time... that doesn't make sense, but that's what it feels like.
The best news is that Maggie sleeping a much longer stretch at night! Thanks to the "Baby Whisperer" book that Allison lent me, I figured out how to get her to skip a feeding at night. We feed her at 6pm, then 8pm, and then let her fall asleep around 9:30. At 10pm we feed her a full bottle while she's sleeping; since she's so relaxed, there's no need to burp her. She usually makes it to a little before 4am before she needs to eat again! I can usually get 5 hours of sleep in a row each night, and then catch another couple hours after her 4am feeding. Needless to say, I'm feeling much more sane these days!
Striking a pose after the diaper change
Big news - Maggie is having tenotomy surgery on Tuesday. The procedure itself is very short and simple. They take a tiny "knife" (more like a needle) and snip both of her tendons. The scary part is that she has to be under anesthesia. I'm sure everything will work out fine, but I can't help but be a little nervous about it.
Afterward she'll be in a cast for 3 weeks while the tendon grows back to the appropriate length. She'll be getting her casts off the week I go back to work... I'm anxious about this because she'll be in the foot brace for the first time, and most parents say that the first few days are pretty bad while she gets used to it. I just want to be there to make her feel better!
I forgot to take photos of her feet during her bath, so all I got were these fuzzy pictures at the doctor's office:
Still, you can see the difference compared to her feet when she was born:
I'm bummed because I have to return to work earlier than I expected. I lost 6 vacation days because they limit how many days can be rolled over into a new year; I'm rather irritated about this, but I'll save my venting for Jamie. I'll be heading back in the beginning of February... I have 3 weeks to figure out daycare and get my brain into engineer mode again!
Daddy knows how to relax during feedings!
I've been trying really hard to capture Maggie's smiles on camera, but so far, no luck! Here's a few other faces of Maggie... turn the sound off if my baby-talk voice annoys you!
Those are the major highlights for the week! Maggie looks like she's starting to smile intentionally, but it's not very obvious yet. She follows things with her eyes, loves looking at lights and into people's eyes. Her hair it getting thicker and longer; she's rocking a mini-mullet right now. She's definitely more fussy than ever, but usually only after she eats. If we give her gas drops, she usually calms back down, though I try not to use them after every feeding. She's a total sweetheart!
We had a little photo shoot on Thursday to commemorate Maggie's 1-month birthday! She was a little angel for us!
Maggie is continuing to hold her head up during tummy time and seems more observant than before. She likes when we sing to her and being swaddled tightly. Oh, and she's learned to fly:
I don't want to brag, but how many of you had children that could fly at 1 month? Maggie is pretty much the most awesome person ever.
Here's a few more photos of her feet from her last casting appointment (after 4 weeks of casting).
Looking much more straight!
These feet have come along way!
We'll get another cast next Thursday, and she'll have a little procedure the following week to snip her tendons. She'll have anesthesia and hopefully not much pain afterwards. They'll wrap her in her last set of casts, which have to stay on for 3 weeks. The doctor made the surgery sound like no big deal, it only takes a few seconds, but I'm sure we'll be freaking out!
Punk rock hairdo:
Here's Maggie being observant:
Here's Maggie being gassy (you might find this annoying, I just wanted to have a sound clip for us):
Maggie celebrated her first Christmas when she was just 3 weeks old! I think she had a good time, but was pretty worn out at the end of each day (so were we!).
We had busy days all week long:
Christmas Eve: We went to Frankenmuth to keep up the tradition of Bronner's and Chicken Dinner with Amy and Rex. Jason and Justin also joined us at Bronner's to get the annual family photo with Santa. I will say that Maggie was not particularly impressed with Santa Claus, but she tolerated him. It was our longest trip out with Maggie so far, and went pretty well!
I've been a good girl, Santa!
Chillin with Uncle Justin
Ready to go home!
Snuggle time with Uncle Jason
Christmas Day: We did our own Christmas at home in the morning, and then headed to Grandma and Grandpa Donoghue's house to celebrate with Jamie's side of the family. Maggie got lots of great presents and was in someone's arms all day long - she was loving it! In the evening we stopped by Aunt Jane's house to see everyone. Maggie was spoiled again with more presents - we were also a little spoiled because we got a bunch of diapers, best gift of all for parents!
Merry Christmas, Aunt Amy!
Day after Christmas: We drove the treacherous, snowy path to Harrison Township for my extended family's Christmas dinner. Yummy food, lots of toys, lots of snuggle time.
Great Grandma Grace, or Grace the Great!
Grammer and Maggie
Bobby and Luke color-coordinated very well!
2 Days after Christmas: Finally celebrated Christmas with the immediate Rabine family in Grand Blanc. Maggie got to meet most of her cousins and also her Aunt Jody and Uncle Ed (technically they met the night before, but I'm bad about getting photos). We had a nice relaxing dinner and exchanged gifts.
Almost all the cousins except Jack and Sophie - great kids!
The Candy-Cane sisters - perhaps a future doo-wop group?
Alex and Katy are pros at baby-holding
Playing with Aunt Jody
Santa Booty!
3 Days after Christmas: Visit to the orthopedic's office for our fourth casting. She was a champ as usual, and her feet are looking great. The doctor said we might be able to get the final 3-week cast at 6 weeks... not counting on it, but that would be great news!
The past few days we've just been trying to relax a little bit and get into a routine. Jamie goes back to work in a week, and I want to make the most of our time together!
Life with Maggie is getting easier every day! She is now going four hours between most feedings, which makes sleeping at night a little better. Maggie is predictable, and we usually know how to differentiate her cries now. We are trying to make sure she has more activity time during the day, which pretty much consists of opening her eyes and looking around. She is starting to follow objects with her eyes, but not much yet. She is an awesome baby, we are so lucky!
.JPG)
