Julah - Week 7

Date: April 15-21, 2011
Weight: ??? I'm guessing 12 lbs
Length: 22.5"
Sleeping: Now sleeping 5 hour stretches (with a dream feed). 30 minute cat naps during the day leading to over-exhaustion for both Baby and Mommy
Eating: Back up to 3oz on average & doing dream feeds at night
New things this week: Found her hands! She loves to hold her bottle, pacifier, our hands, and her own hands clasped in front of her chest
Diapers: Size 1
Clothing: 0-3 months
Facial Expressions: Smiling alot more
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Reddish Brown

Growth Spurt! This week we feel like she’s doubled in size. Her 0-3 month clothes went from being loose to tight in one weekend. Hard to keep up with this girl! Too many cute outfits and not enough days to wear them!

On Friday, April 15th, I celebrated my 5th anniversary of turning 25 years old and Duffy surprised me with a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas. Grandee and Grumps offered to take care of Julah for a few days. Julah had a fabulous time in Rosebud while she went to church, threw up on Grumps, threw up on Grandee, and got more kisses than she could handle.

It was tough being away from my sweet baby, but I survived by sitting on the beach, sleeping through the night, and spending lots of time in a hot tub. We went to Miami, Nassau Bahamas, and a private island where they jet skied and saw a Sting Ray, Conch, and Starfish. For my birthday, Duffy gave me a wonderful book of letters and pictures he’d compiled from friends and family members. So special!

Formula Drama? Not so much this week, thank goodness! We got Julah’s constipation figured out this week. A drop of Karo syrup in the bottle took care of that. She’s still throwing up every couple of days, but she doesn’t act like she’s in pain before or afterwards.

I’ve been reading a new book called “The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer,” by Tracey Hogg. It’s been really good and I think it’s giving me some insight into why Julah may be fussy at certain times of day. I think she fits into the category of “Spirited Baby”:

“This is a baby who seems to emerge from the womb knowing what she likes and doesn’t like, and she won’t hesitate to let you know it. Babies like this are very vocal and seem aggressive at times. She often screams for Mum and Dad when she wakes up and needs to be changed….Her body language is a bit jerky and often needs swaddling to sleep because her flailing arms and legs keep her up and overstimulated. If she starts crying and the cycle is not interrupted, it’s like a point of no return, and her crying leads to more crying until she’s reached a fever pitch of rage. She’s likely to grab for her bottle at an early age. She’ll also notice other babies before they’ll notice her, and as soon as she’s old enough to develop a good firm grasp, she take their toys away from them as well.” pg. 31

Well…what can we say? She’s got two strong willed independent parents. How else would she be other than a spit-fire spirited kiddo? The grandparents are laughing at us and mumbling things about “pay-back”. In a strange way…I’m kind of proud that she’s got this saucy side to her. Love this girl…wouldn’t change a thing!