5 Weeks and Counting

Notice the finger AND the bottle in her mouth.

The Great Grands and Ivy.

Great Grandma, also known as GG, and Ivy.

Great Grandpa and Ivy.

Sorry it's been a few weeks since my last post. Things have been crazy around here.

Ivy and I went over to Redmond for 1.5 weeks (with my mom) to spend time with my grandparents. My grandfather was having some serious health problems and it was nice to be able to spend some time with him and my gram. It was also nice for them to get to spend some time with Ivy.

However, it was difficult on the new daddy, but Ben was great about us being gone and even drove to Redmond for Ivy's 4 week birthday.

We got home on Sunday afternoon. It's been nice to be back home.

Ivy is doing well. We took her to her second Blazer game last night. She slept through the game with a few fussy moments.

She went to the Dr. yesterday and she has already gained 2lbs and has grown 3 inches since her birth just 5 weeks ago. She's growing like a weed. She is out of her newborn clothes and into her 3 month clothes. It's CRAZY.

She also may be lactose intolerant so we are switching her formula, yet again, and mommy is going dairy free for the next month. The soy formula doesn't seem to have phased her at all. She does most of her eating off of me, but she tends to down a 3oz bottle along with her mom's milk.

She is also learning to sleep longer at night. She prefers to sleep in her swing, so that's what we do at this time. She typically sleeps 7-8 hours each night and takes 2 3 hour naps each day...All in her swing. She seems to love movement.

Ivy has also started to show her personality. She loves to smile and has just started to giggle and coo. It is SO cute. She'll be sitting in her swing on with one of us and just be looking around and then all of a sudden she'll make a little noise and seem a bit surprised by it. I LOVE IT!

I am still home with Ivy. It's been nice, but I'm getting the itch to go back to work, so I have the feelers out.

Ben just finished 2 weekends worth of swim meets. We have a few weekends free before his big sectional meet in Federal Way. That weekend Ivy and I will go with him and spend time with Brock and Katie.

I'm posting pics of our time in Redmond.

Enjoy.

Happy 3 weeks old!

It's been over a week since I updated our blog. Sorry for those of you in Ivy withdrawals.

Ivy has been a busy girl.

She went to her first Blazer game, first conference championship swim meet, first Valentine's Day, first tea party and first trip to sushi...

She also went on her first road trip to Seattle to see her Uncle Brock and Aunt Katie.

Ivy is getting bigger. I can't believe how fast she changes.

As I write this, she is sleeping in her swing with her little foot hanging out of the blankets to keep her cool. :-)

She is slowly getting into a routine of sleeping in blocks at night.

Last night Ben was up with her for a few hours which was nice cuz I actually made myself stay in bed and sleep a bit. At 6 I got up to Ben saying, "she's rooting for food on me". That was my cue that it was time for mom to take over. Ivy's new routine is to eat at least 4 oz of formula and then want to nurse to relax her and help her sleep. I don't mind because I know she'll sleep that way. Plus, I love holding her close and just watching her for a bit.

Today Grandma Joanne came for a visit. She and Ivy spent some time together while Ben and I ran some errands. It was nice to get out for a bit.

I know I've said this before, but we are really lucky to have our families around to help us out. Ivy is a very luck little Bean to have so many people around that love her.

I've posted some random pics in this posting because I just found them on the camera chip.

2 Weeks Old

As I write this I am reminded of where Ben and I were this time 2 weeks ago.

It's currently 9pm so that means Ben was heading to basketball with the guys and I was having contractions. I can't believe that Ivy was born only 2 weeks ago. I feel GREAT and she is doing well.

We had her 2 week appt this morning. She now weighs 7lbs 14oz and is 21 inches long. I guess she really is having a growth spurt with all of her cluster feedings. She is also treating me extremely well with her sleep patterns. Since Friday she's been sleeping from 11-3 waking to feed and then sleeping 4-7:30 or later. It's quite lovely to get to sleep in my own bed and be near Ben again.

Over the past few days Ivy has had more visitors and admirers. Jen and Cyndi came to visit and it was fabulous. It was great to see them. For those who don't know, Cyndi was our amazing birth coach.

Saturday afternoon Ivy was introduced to my cousin Erin and her new daughter Regina. Regina was born on Dec. 21. It was so fun to get the girls together and for me to chat with Erin about labor and motherhood and how Ivy is progressing.

Andrea came to visit on Sunday after her book club meeting. Ivy loved cuddling with her Auntie.

Sunday was also an exciting Blazer game. We contemplated taking Ivy, but I was concerned about the noise, so we waited until talking to her doctor. Dr. Ollor said to go ahead and take her to the game and put a little hat on her, but the noise won't be too much.

So, Sunday afternoon/evening Ivy spent with her Grammy and Gramps. It was really nice for Ben and I to have some mommy and daddy time to ourselves, but I definitely missed Ivy.

We will be taking Ivy to the game on Wednesday evening. That should be fun and interesting.

Getting Bigger

It's been a few days since my last post. In that time Ivy has gone back to the lactation clinic for a weigh in. She now weighs 7lbs 12.8oz so we are free to keep doing what we're doing.

Ivy loves to eat and has decided that cluster feeding for 3 hours twice a day is a really good idea in addition to her meals every 3-4 hours. At first I was worried by this, but after speaking with my cousin, who has a daughter 1 month older than Ivy, I learned it is not just Ivy doing this.

Ivy is also learning to sleep in her crib at night. 2 nights ago she slept in 3 hour spurts only waking to eat. I thought that was a pretty sweet deal. The following night she didn't sleep at all so I thought maybe she was just teasing me the previous night.

Last night she slept from 11 - 3 and 4 - 7. Then she also slept from 8 - 10:45 but I didn't need that sleep since I had slept in my bed for 7 hours the previous night. YAY!

Today Ivy and I explored the neighborhood some more while daddy was at the pool. When Ben got home we went on another walk with Charlie. It's a GORGEOUS day to be outside.

When we got home Ivy crashed and so did Ben so I had some quiet time to just sit and read the paper.

Tomorrow we have a Blazer game and we are contemplating taking Ivy. Either way, she'll be sporting her new Blazer gear and there will be pictures.

For now, here are some pics my cousin Jen took at the hospital after Ivy was born.

1 Week Old

Ivy turned 1 week old yesterday and it was a day of firsts.

She woke up to her first diaper explosion which led to her first real bath. She didn't seem to mind this bath because she was in the water not just getting a sponge bath. Let's hope this continues. She seems to be taken by water. If she's fussy, she calms right down when we turn on the sink.

Once we got her all clean, dressed and fed we decided it was too gorgeous of a day to spend inside so we took her on her first walk with Charlie-Bill. It was not as bad as I thought it would be. Charlie did well and wasn't really phased by the fact that we were toting a stroller on the walk.

After the walk we dropped Charlie at home and walked over to Holy Cross School where Keegan works. Ivy was met by Keegan's class as they headed to the church to practice their mass. Then we went inside for Ivy's first visit with Sr. Ruth and Sr. Mary.

Last night Julian and Amanda came over for a visit and some pizza. Ivy slept most of the time they were here. Then she proceeded to be up all night first with Ben and then with me.

When she took her morning nap today, we put her in her crib on her back and swaddled. She decided that she would prefer to sleep on her side, so she rolled over!!! Um, we aren't ready for that yet. :-)

Today she had a visit from grandma Joanne and grandma Connie and Kathy Kadera. She was awake a good part of the day which is also a first, so I'm hoping it leads to a first night of sleep in blocks. :-)

Tomorrow is Ivy's first trip to the pool to meet Ben's team and all of the parents.

Ivy's first check up.

Well we made it through our first weekend at home with Ivy.
She's been a busy little thing.

Ivy and daddy shared her first bath at home. She does NOT like her baths. She screams so loud when we get her naked or even just change her diaper. We hope/think she will like bathtime more once we can submerge her in the warm water.

Saturday we went to Keizer to see Great Grandma Holly and the salem grandparents. Ivy loves the car. She falls asleep immediately once we get going. She doesn't love the stop lights though. Each time the car stops she gives a little grunt to let Ben know he needs to step on it.

Our visit was really nice. We spent the day with grandma and grandpa Swinehart and auntie Andrea. We finally realized that Ivy looks like Papa Rod when she's sleeping. She's definitely a Swinehart. Then Joanne got out Ben's baby book and we saw a picture of him as an infant. Ivy and her daddy are IDENTICAL when she is awake and alert.

Sunday we spent the afternoon and evening with grandma and grandpa davis, uncle Julian, uncle Keegan and auntie Morgan watching Ivy's first superbowl. Although it wasn't the outcome we had hoped for, we had a great time. Unfortunately all of the pictures that were taken are on mom's camera and that's NOT digital. :-)

Today was Ivy's first check up. Dr. Ollor said she is doing great. She looks wonderful, her jaundice is going away and the gas is just her little system trying to figure things out.
I was surprised that she hasn't gained any weight. When I look at her she looks bigger, but I guess not. She still weighs in at 7 lbs 5 oz which is what she weighed when we left the hospital.
We have another appt next Monday morning so we'll see how much progress she's made.

Auntie Vikki stopped by to visit and meet Miss Ivy. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture. We'll have to have lunch soon and take a pic. :-)

Uncle Jake also stopped by to visit Miss Ivy. Ivy must seem small to Jake who's niece was born in October and weighed 9 lbs at birth!

We are still adjusting to a different schedule, but overall I'd say we are doing well and we are DEFINITELY enjoying our little Miss Ivy.