operation NAP!

for the past 2 weeks, elise has not been able to nap on her own.  she will only nap while being held and bounced, oftentimes simultaneously.  and since babies her age need to nap 4-6 hours per day, you can imagine how exhausting this is for mommy.  i've read 3 sleep books and countless online posts about infant sleep, but all the recommended tricks and methods are not helping and i'm starting to feel a little desperate.  i'm unable to get anything done and my entire days consist of sitting on the couch and holding her or going for walks, since she can sleep in the stroller or carrier, albeit not in a deep sleep.

from what i've read, i need to let this phase pass, especially since she's too young to implement any kind of sleep training.  i'm not sure cry-based sleep training would work with her, however, because she can be quite the resilient crier.  she cried one of her hardest during the drive home from the americana day and i had to quickly pull over to the first open spot, a bus stop, to try to calm her down because she was nearly vomiting!  it turned out she had a major blowout; i guess i would cry that hard, too.  :)

anyway, i'm hoping and praying that elise will be able to nap on her own so that i can do one of the 29384 things that need to get done around here!  i still have things unpacked from my mom's place!

Americana playdate

We hung out at the Americana with Amy, David, Toby, Richard, and Grace yesterday.  We've all been friends for so long and now we're talking kids and real estate.  How time flies!  I like how Toby is dressed in a super-boyish outfit and Elise is dressed in a super girly outfit.  :)

week 6 to 9 videos

i'm 2 months old!

she discovered her tongue around this time and was constantly sticking it in and out.  this photo and video doesn't quiet capture it but it's still cute!

week 7 and 8 photos

working on that head control

strike a pose!

playdate with norah

tummy time

i can hold up my own bottle! (this was a one time thing)

drool and spit up on a proud daddy

here's lookin' at you...

better head control

thanks auntie grace for the pretty outfit!

look at my cradle cap!

toothbrush troubles

due to lack of sleep, here are two toothbrush-related incidents we've had:

1) i used what i thought was an old toothbrush to scrub elise's cradle cap. i later saw bryant using it as his toothbrush!

2) i was brushing my teeth and noticed that the toothpaste consistency felt weird. i then realized that i was using extra strength diaper rash cream, not toothpaste!!!

week 8 update

elise had her 2 month appointment yesterday. her stats:

weight: 10 pounds 14 ounces (50th percentile)
height: 22.5 inches (50th percentile)
head circumference: 15 inches (25th percentile)

she got 3 shots, including her hep B shot, which we chose to delay. she did surprisingly well and bry had to hold her down while i sat across the room and winced in worry. although she did not cry much after the shots, she was pretty sensitive the entire day and needed to be held tight in certain positions. she's fine today and is as smiley and playful as ever.

week 8 was definitely a turning point for elise. she's become more responsive, interactive and alert. she loves it when we play with her arms and feet and she's liking her swing more during her awake times. she's less fussy and we are very thankful for that!

sleep-wise, she still wakes up every 3-4 hours during the night. as a mom, i try not to compare her to my friends' babies who are already sleeping through the night, but my own mom says that her wakefulness is a sign of intelligence, so i'll take that (although i doubt it's true, haha). we are doing surprisingly well despite the lack of restful sleep but bry did unfortunately get into his first (small) car accident a few days ago.

feeding-wise, she is improving ever so slowly week-by-week! i am still supplementing most of her meals but she is struggling less and is actually starting to smile while nursing. it is so precious to see that as a mom. :)

we'll post pictures soon!

some videos

we have a lot more videos but they take FOREVER to upload! will upload the rest sometime later. these videos are between week 4 and 6.

week 7 update

We moved back to Pasadena today! We have no idea how we managed to accumulate four carloads of stuff, but our apartment has somehow transformed into a very messy Babies-R-Us. It's the true test of parenthood for us now-- can we survive without GRANDMA?? My mom has been truly indispensable these past 7 weeks! She spent countless nights rocking and feeding Elise, cooked and cleaned for us, changed boxes of diapers, and gave us space so that we could enjoy some alone time (i.e. naps, showers, and meals). We are truly spoiled! Elise is spoiled, too, and we suspect that she even prefers my mom over us because my mom has a special knack for stopping Elise's crying and making her smile and giggle.

I also would have never made it this far with breastfeeding had it not been for my mom. I don't know how other challenged moms do it without the extra help because with pumping 8 times a day, someone needs to hold and entertain the baby and that person cannot be me! I do feel a little nervous about managing everything on my own while Bry is at work, so we'll see how things go.

We are, however, really happy to be back in our own home and community. One thing we learned while living in the OC is that we are NOT suburban people! It was such an ordeal to ever leave the house in our car. We are really looking forward to urban living and lots of WALKING now that we're in Pasadena! We also learned that we do not like living in a large house. My mom's place isn't even huge- it's a townhouse! But we constantly talked about how we actually missed our tiny, cramped space. I'll probably end up spending many nights sleeping on the couch because I can't sleep with Elise's little sleeping noises. At my mom's place, I would sleep one 3-4 stretch in a separate room for good solid sleep and then return to our room for light sleep for the rest of the night. Let's see how long I can fare like this!

So happy to be home! We're looking forward to all of our visitors. Thanks to Judy for setting up our Care Calendar!

Visiting dad's office

Since this was the day after her surgery, she was very fussy the entire time.  However, she calmed down once I put her on Bry's desk to change her diaper.  I just left her there for awhile because she loved looking at all of Bry's math problems.  :)

Add caption

I'm one month old! (actually, she's 7 weeks now)

Waffle sandwiches at Bruxie

We learned that we are located near the #2 most popular restaurant in the country, according to yelp.  Here are some pictures from our time there.  The food was quite good, but probably a kind of "experience just once" novelty restaurant.  We've learned as new parents that if we need to go out, we need to time everything perfectly with Elise's feeding, my pumping, and leaving as soon as possible so that the routine can start again once we come home.

I'm growing!

I realized that she hadn't worn this cute outfit I got in paris.  She barely fit into it!

Favorite sleeping position

She loves getting her diaper changed because she gets to look at these cool pictures (baby loves high contrast images).

Exploring the world

We are probably sitting at a red light since she usually likes riding in the car.  She ALWAYS fusses at red lights!

Checking out her reflection for the first time.  "Hey, I'm pretty cute!"

Playtime

Daddy, why are you holding me like a football?

I'm flying!

How Elise slept at a conference in San Diego.  She seemed pretty content despite the less than desirable accommodations!

week 6 update

On Tuesday, Elise got surgery to get her tongue-tie and lip-tie lasered off. She has NOT been happy since and has to be constantly held and rocked to calm down. She hasn't been eating as much (probably due to the residual pain) and this has been hard on everyone. We were fortunate enough to go to one of the nation's top tongue-tie specialists, Dr. Jesse, and he told us that her ties were making it difficult for her to breastfeed properly. Although her tongue-tie was diagnosed and clipped at the hospital soon after birth, Dr. Jesse informed us that it was improperly done, which can now explain some of our breastfeeding woes! I can already tell a difference in her latch, although she is still acting fussy due to not having good associations with nursing after these 6 difficult weeks. I am really hoping and praying that we turn a corner because mommy is WORN OUT!

I am thankful to have the support of friends during this season, two of whom are pictured below- Amy and Rachel! Auntie Amy has been so generous enough to share some of her milk, making Toby and Elise milk siblings! According to Islamic law, they are not allowed to marry each other. This photo was taken during Elise's first week at a breastfeeding clinic. Yesterday, we had a family playdate with Rachel, Kevin, and baby Norah at Huntington Library and Gardens. We are looking forward to many more playdates to come!

Sleep, cry, play. :)