Maggie at 11 Weeks
Hello! There’s quite a bit to update everyone about. Last week, Maggie had her first round of vaccinations. The nurse was very quick but Maggie was only upset for a few minutes or so. They did give her some Tylenol to help take the edge off, but she was pretty fussy in the early evening before bedtime. However, she was down for the count once she did fall asleep. In fact, since last Tuesday, Maggie’s been doing some good sleeping. Despite the occasional wake up around 2:30am or 5am (sometimes both), Maggie seems to be stretching her sleep time from as early as 7pm and going until as late as 8am. I think if she could eat enough during her waking hours, she’d probably sleep an entire twelve hour stretch. Still, when she does wake up, it tends to be very brief. Sometimes the fix is as easy as putting a pacifier in her mouth. Other times it involves a bottle, a diaper change and some soothing time. All in all, maybe 45 minutes to an hour tops before you can crawl back into bed to sleep.
We moved the bassinet into the nursery and Maggie seems to be just fine with that. This also means a better night’s sleep for me since the slightest noises from her would jolt me awake unless I was ridiculously tired and sleeping deeply (that almost never happens - me sleeping deeply that is). Now, I keep the monitor on very low next to me and when I hear a waking noise from her, I’ll hit the video button to see if her eyes are open. If she looks like she’s going to only wake herself up more, I get up or nudge Brad awake to get up, and go assess the situation. So far things seem to be working well on the sleep side of things. It just means that, yes, we are in for the night around 7pm or so unless we’re fine with her falling asleep somewhere else in my arms, and then bringing her back home and tucking her into bed. That’s happened a few times and while I really want to establish a bedtime routine at home, I also think it’s good to mix things up a little bit.
Maggie also seems to be falling into a bit of a pattern, for now, with a nap of an hour or so in the morning - or naps that equal to an hour when you put them all together. And then a longer nap in the afternoon - especially if we go for a walk with Sasquatch. Maggie will get to ride in a carrier or the stroller and then we go for as far as I can walk. Usually it’s not more than a mile or two. Anyhow, they are long days when it’s just me, but I usually get a lot of help from my awesome Mom friends. JoAnn across the street is a fount of knowledge and has that gentle mom touch. She’s super generous with her help. Tiffany is also a new mom. Her experience and calm attitude has been invaluable. Sara, a super fantastic mother of two down the street always has wonderful words of encouragement. Karen, who is about to be a new mom herself, has lent us a hand numerous times and will be a marvelous mother judging by the adept way she handles Maggie. Helen and her daughter Lily Belle who spent time over here keeping me company and helping out. And then there’s everyone who has reached out by phone and email…thank you!
A couple other items that need an update:
- The lump in my breast - they did an ultrasound and said it was engorgement. However no amount of pumping helped it move. I did heat compresses. I tried massage. It didn’t help. It’s still there.
- Maggie is drinking exclusively formula these days. I don’t know if I ever spelled out what happened. But the breast feeding proved to be so much of a challenge given all the obstacles (low milk production, Maggie being used to formula and a bottle being so much faster, and a weak suckle/improper latch combo) and the dedicated time we could have spent to try and turn things around proved to be more than we could handle during those early weeks of next-to-no-sleep.
- Maggie’s stats: 10 lbs 8 ounces - putting her in the 30% for weight. 23” long (64%) It’s amazing to me how much bigger she is these days!
Maggie is cooing a lot these days. She can track objects very well and loves to bat at her hanging toys. She loves bath time. She enjoys conversations - where she makes a noise and we talk back at her. I read a book to her the other day and she seemed very interested in the pictures. Toys are wonderful objects of focus for her and she loves to stare at them for quite a long while. I’m glad she has the attention span that she does.
I know there was more I wanted to write about, but I can’t remember. I’ll save it for next time. Thanks for checking the blog!
