So Big! - 2 months

Jillian is 2 months - well actually she is 10 weeks so I'm a little behind! She went for her 2 month doctor's appointment on Wednesday and she is doing great. She now weighs 12 pounds, 2 ounces and is 23 and 3/4 inches. She is definately a growing girl! She is doing so well. She is still eating about 2 hours during the day but sometimes she goes longer when she takes a long nap, which she usually does in the afternoon. At night she usually sleeps about 7 or 8 hours and will wake up anywhere between 6 and 8. Yes I know this means that I am very lucky! She has been interacting much more with us and is cooing and smiling a lot now! She is getting a lot more control over her head but she is still a bobble head at times. James and I love asking her questions and then seeing if her head bobbles "yes" or "no." Every time you ask her if she is a pretty girl, she gives you a definate "yes!"

Jillian's new thing is that she likes to sit and stand when you hold her. She is actually quite strong and puts a lot of pressure on her legs when she stands.

She also had her first round of shots on Wednesday. She did great but had a very delayed reaction. The nurse had finished all three shots before I think she realized what had happened and started screaming - actually she did that silent cry where they are gasping for air. It broke my heart but I actually didn't cry which I was surprised.

Here she is with her Charlie Brown bandaids. She was a little fussy after her shots and I think all she literally did the next two days was eat, sleep, and poop - no smiles and no playing. She is feeling back to normal though now so we survived.

Easter

Jillian had a wonderful first Easter. Her daddy tried to take off the entire weekend so that he could celebrate with her but he was only able to get off on Saturday and Sunday which worked out perfectly. Jillian and I went to Hallettsville on Friday for the Henke gathering. After church we opened Easter baskets from Granny and Grandpa and took a few group pictures.


Jillian got some new books

The Easter Bunny appeared at the Henke hill. Jillian wasn't too sure about this creature but she didn't cry.

Her first Easter egg

All of the Henke great grandchildren. Jillian made #29 - or course there are a few missing here but this is the first time I have had to actually take this picture.

We made it back to Buda on Saturday afternoon and we went to the Easter Vigil service b/c James had a friend being confirmed. We were a little concerned about taking Jillian to a 3 hour Mass but she did wonderfully. Here she is before church in her Easter dress - she was so adorable!

The next morning Jillian found what the Easter Bunny left her with a little help from Mommy and Daddy

Then we headed to Liberty Hill to spend the day with James' family. Jillian got another bunny from Grandma and Papa.

The grandkids from the Whited family

Now with Grandma and Papa

Jillian enjoyed another egg hunt. She was able to find her egg with Daddy's help and Uncle Bradley some how got her to hold an egg.

Bear Talk

Jillian loves laying on her changing table but she was always starring at the wall so I decided to move 2 of her Beanie Baby bears there so she would at least have something to look at instead of the wall. She in now fascinated by them she kicks her legs and moves her arms, often knocking them off and they fall on her. She also loves when the bears give her butterfly kisses and get her nose. Yesterday after her bath she was having a lively conversation with them and it made me get the video camera out for the first time because I thought it was so cute. This was the 1st time she really talked that much!

Counting Blessings

Today I am very grateful because it was the end of my 6 weeks of leave and I would have had to return to work today if I was not able to take extended leave. It was very important to me to be able to stay home with Jillian and James agreed. We had decided that it would be best for me to stay at home until August with her. We know that it will be very difficult because of course I'm taking this leave without pay but it will be worth it and I know that I am blessed to be able to spend this precious time with Jillian. I could not image having to leave her at this point now and return to work.

A lot has been happening and Jillian is doing great. She is now sleeping about 5 hours at night. She usually eats around 9 and doesn't wake up until around 3. She is also much more alert when she is awake. She is smiling and cooing or at least trying to - sometimes all that spit just seems to get in the way. She also eats alot and is sometimes still hungry after nursing for 35-40 minutes!

Here is what we have been up to...

Jillian has been drinking some bottles and her daddy thought she was a genius so had me take this picture. He said she was trying to hold her own bottle.
We made our 1st trip to Hallettsville 2 weekends ago. We also got our 1st pictures of Jillian smiling. It still melts my heart when she smiles!

Mommy and Jillian in Hallettsville

Bandit also learned a new trick in Hallettsville. He figured out that he liked to drink beer. Unfortunately he also cut his tongue on the can and was bleeding everywhere.

Family picture

I finally got some naked baby pictures. It took a while because every time I went to take a picture when she had her legs cutely folded and covering herself she would spread her legs wide open. I gave up and just got a waste up shot.

Here we were trying on her Easter dress

Mommy and Jillian also made another trip to Hallettsville for Jeff and Teresa's wedding shower. Willa and Graciella were fascinated by Jillian.

Some days Jillian decides she does not want to take a nap and mommy decides she desperately needs a nap so this is what usually happens. She sleeps very soundly when she is next to me and she actually slept for 3 hours on this occassion and it was great. James took the picture because he thought it was funny that we both had the same arm out while we were sleeping.

Doctor's Appointments

Jillian went back for her weight check yesterday and she now weighs 8 pounds and 12 ounces. We were very excited that she is gaining weight and doing well! I was very happy and I feel much better about breast feeding now that I know that she is getting what she needs and is growing. I also had my doctor's appointment yesterday and the doctor said that I am healing nicely. She was concerned about my blood pressure because it was still high (158 over 98). She thinks it might still be residual effects from the pregnancy and wants me to come back to check it again in 6 more weeks. If it is still high then I will have to go see my regular doctor to discuss what to do about it.

Jillian is starting to enjoy baths a little more. She doesn't cry as much and kicks her legs and moves her arms around when you pour the water over her. She is always so calm, relaxed, and happy after her baths.

Now that Jillian is growing she is starting to fit into more of her clothes

Ultrasound results

Jillian went for her hip ultrasound last Friday. She did great and didn't even cry until they handed her back to me. It didn't even seem to bother her when they said they were popping her hip out of socket to check it! Even though the technician couldn't tell us anything officially, she did tell us that we shouldn't spend our weekend worrying about it. The doctor called with the results on Monday and said that everything looked normal. We are happy that everything turned out ok. The doctor said she keeps finding little things wrong with Jillian that end up being nothing - but she would rather be safe than sorry.

Here are a few random pictures!

Mom stayed with us for about 10 days to help us with Jillian. James and I both really appreciated her help and I was sad to see her leave - as you can tell in the picture we were both crying.

Aunt Mel came to stay with me the first two nights James went back to work so that I would not have to be by myself. She also got us "scheduled." The first day she was there she started asking me about a schedule and my response was - "she's 2 weeks old." She also asked if I was swaddling her and I told her that Jillian did not like to be swaddled. She said she didn't believe me. Needless to say we now kind of have a schedule. Jillian takes a good 3 hour nap in the morning and between a 2 and 3 hour nap in the afternoon. The other times she is up, she nurses every 2 hours. At night she is doing really well and sleeping between 4 and 6 hours all swaddled up.

1st time eating out with mom and dad and Mel. She slept the whole time but we enjoyed it

Our 1st dress

Looking at her toys hanging from her activity mat

Jillian is 2 weeks old

We went back to the doctor yesterday for Jillian's 2 week checkup. This was actually the 3rd time we have been to the doctor so we feel like pros already. We have been back a few times for concerns about weight gain and initially for concerns about Jaundice. When Jillian left the hospital she weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces and when we went to the doctor the Thursday after she was born she weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces. This was during the time when the doctor and we were very concerned because she had not been going to the bathroom much and wasn't eating well. Over the first weekend, I did a lot of pumping because I wasn't sure how much milk she was actually getting and we supplemented with some formula as the doctor had told us. When we went back to the doctor on Monday, Jillian weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces and we were really pleased. On that same day the lactation consultant got on to me about using a bottle too soon and told me to not use bottles anymore. Well after one week of nothing but breast feeding, Jillian only gained 3 more ounces and is still not back up to her birth weight. The doctor said it wasn't horrible but she should be gaining more weight. We will go back in two more weeks for another weight check to see how she is doing. I've been trying to feed her more often - trying to do every two hours but sometimes she doesn't wake up and its more like 3 hours. The other problem is that Jillian is a very slow eater and was taking about an hour per feeding. The doctor suggested only feeding her for 30 mintues and stopping her so that hopefully she will want to feed more often and hopefully she will learn to eat more eagerly when she is feeding. I hope it works and she starts gaining more weight.

The doctor was also concerned about the development of Jillian's hips. It was something about them not being symmetrical. She has ordered an ultrasound to be done at Dell Children's Hospital and we are still waiting for word on when that will be done. The doctor said that if there was a problem, now would be the time to correct it. She would have to wear some sort of harness to help correct the problem if need be. We'll keep you updated on the results.

Overall Jillian is a great baby. She rarely cries unless she is hungry are wet. She has been sleeping really well at night - she usually wakes about 3 and a half to four hours for a feeding at night so we are getting some sleep. After a feeding she is sometimes awake but if we lay her in her cradle she will eventually fall to sleep on her own. She has been more awake during the day and seems to be looking around a lot more. She is smiling alot in her sleep and it is very adorable. She really likes her papasan chair but is not really a fan of the swing yet.

1st doctor's appointment - playing with daddy

Chilling in my big girl bed

Jillian also likes sleeping in her boppy pillow - she has really cute sleeping positions

1st shopping trip - we had to make a trip to carter's to do some exchanges

1st walk - yes mommy is doing much better and has started walking. The weight is coming off quickly which I'm really please about. I actually was able to wear my pre pregnancy jeans the other day.

My other favorite place to chill

1st trip to church for Ash Wednesday. Jillian stayed awake the whole time and as soon as church was over she was out like a light. She didn't do as well in Church on Sunday but that was because she was hungry.

Chilling on the floor with mommy and Bandit after church