Going mobile

Over the past several days we've noticed that Madeline is more engaged with her environment than before. Instead of her gaze jumping randomly around the room, she'll focus on an object and study it. She pays more attention to toys that we display in front of her, and she's entranced by the mobile above her bed and the lights on her jungle adventure mat, which she used to ignore.

This weekend I even saw her smiling and laughing at the mobile above her swing, which is made up of simple, colorful shapes Lacey cut out of construction paper. I think a fellow blogging dad said it well: "Nothing strips a fresh parent of delusions regarding the depth of the emotional attachment of his child faster than seeing her give total adoration and allegiance to a cardboard disk."

Well, at least she's happy.

Two-month checkup

Today was Madeline's two-month checkup with the pediatrician. She's still growing like crazy - she weighed 11 pounds, 6 ounces today and measured 21 and 3/4 inches long. That means she's put on 15 ounces in the last 10 days!

She also got five vaccines during today's visit - four shots and one oral dose. She cried out as she was getting the shots - we heard her from several rooms away - but she quieted quickly afterward. The doctor said the vaccines would make her drowsy this afternoon, so we took advantage of the situation and did some shopping and grabbed lunch after the appointment.

The pediatrician listened thoughtfully to Lacey's questions today and told us everything seemed to be going well. She put to rest most of Lacey's concerns about Madeline's sleeping and feeding routines and basically said we're doing everything right. Madeline is growing well and pretty much eating and sleeping when she's supposed to (although we would like it if she slept a little more at night without needing intervention from us - just because she goes six hours between feedings at night doesn't mean she's sleeping all that time!).

The eighth week

Two months. I guess it's almost time to stop measuring Madeline's age in days and weeks and move on to the next larger increment - months.

As things smooth out over the passing weeks, we sometimes find ourselves wondering what we can be doing to influence Madeline's development. Lacey has focused on the baby's routine - when and how much should she be sleeping, and does it matter where she sleeps? On paper it looks as if Madeline has a well structured day (we still make written notes of feedings and naptimes). She generally feeds on the same schedule every day, and she's down to one overnight feeding.

We also focus on other developmental issues - thinking about the time she spends on her tummy and using books, toys and sounds to stimulate her.

Along those lines, Madeline seems to be progressing nicely. She's more vocal and has even used two-syllable words. I'm not sure if she's laughed yet, but sometimes when she's smiling and engaged it's obvious her high-pitched vocalizations are a result of her excitement. On her tummy she holds her head up and looks around, and she's starting to use her arms to push her chest and shoulders up. Lacey reports that Madeline batted a spinning toy for several minutes a couple days ago, and she's been reaching and grabbing more frequently in general.

And, as you can see in the pictures, she's been sitting up with the help of the Boppy pillow. While she tends to topple frequently, she's getting better at supporting her head and looking around.

Note: The acid reflux seems to be getting better after we started the medication last weekend. It seems like there are still times when she experiences sharp discomfort, but she's sleeping better at night and during the day. We'll find out more at her two-month check-up on Monday.

Lost in a good book

We have been trying to read to Madeline at least once a day. Many times she loses interest after only a couple minutes, and other times she's completely enchanted. In this photo, taken Monday night, she can't wait to discover what Brown Bear sees next.

Thoughts on an outfit

It seems odd writing this when Madeline is only seven and a half weeks old, but here goes:

Where does the time go? This weekend we folded for the last time one of Madeline's favorite infant outfits. When she was new, her clothes were large enough to have to roll up the sleeves so her hands would be visible. Now, weeks later and pounds heavier, she fills out the tiny outfits, the ends of the unrolled sleeves creeping up her forearms as she reaches and stretches.

Everyone says to enjoy each moment because the time passes so quickly, but who would imagine this would be so apparent after only seven weeks? Am I already reminiscing about her early infancy? Surely I don't miss the endless nights and the constant uncertainty that come with a newborn.

Maybe I'm just getting used to having a baby - my baby - in the house, and I am wistful about those firsts - the first sight of her, her arrival home and the initial process of getting to know her.

It's silly that the retirement of a piece of infant clothing brought this on - kids grow and move on to new wardrobes with alarming swiftness. But I guess this helps bring home the idea of appreciating every day, of not falling into such a mechanized routine that I forget how lucky I am to have Madeline (and Lacey) in my life. One day I'll probably miss Madeline's late night cries, although right now that seems like a day that's still far off (but getting ever closer...)

Afternoon at the park

The weather has been so nice recently that we decided we had to get out of the house. So today we made our first trip to the park. We enjoyed a pleasant afternoon by the lake at Pocahontas State Park, complete with lunch for both parents and child.

These first outings are instructive because they help us learn by the things we forget. It takes a few tries before the diaper bag is properly stocked, before you learn the right number of burp cloths to bring along and before you settle on the best travel snacks. So, after today we have a checklist of vital supplies we'll need next time we plan a picnic lunch.

The seventh week

Oh, that smile. Madeline has definitely found her smile. Every day for the last week she's broken into a wide grin when she sees me for the first time in the morning. Lacey reports the same development. Madeline also smiles throughout the day when she's in a good mood. She coos and babbles and, at the risk of sounding maudlin, her face literally lights up when she's engaged with me. I look forward to these moments with great anticipation.

We visited the pediatrician today, and the diagnosis of acid reflux was confirmed. The doctor prescribed an oral antacid that we'll administer twice a day, indefinitely. We'll re-evaluate the medication at about four months, a point when many infants start outgrowing the reflux. The doctor also said the medicine should produce results in as little as two or three days, so we're hopeful about that.

Today's weigh-in was surprising - Madeline is now 10 pounds, 8 ounces (although today she was wearing her onesie, so she's probably closer to 10 pounds, 7 ounces). We've already retired some of her infant clothes as she progresses to larger sizes.

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Otherwise, we're all doing well. Lacey is discovering that being a mother means worrying about every little detail - Is the baby eating enough? Is she eating too much? What does each cry mean? I try to convince her that she's doing an amazing job because, honestly, she is. In every aspect she puts the baby first, whether it's an enjoyable task such as sharing a book in the afternoon or a more onerous duty like tending to Madeline's cries at 3:30 in the morning. (I, on the other hand, have developed the disturbing ability to sleep right through all but the loudest noises - even though the baby is sleeping on my side of the room!)

Her little tummy

Madeline has been growing more restless through the week - she seems happy, or at least content, most of the time she's awake but will occasionally erupt in screams. She also sleeps fitfully, hasn't been feeding as well and spits up often. We attributed the symptoms to excessive gas and the general state of being a baby, and Lacey scheduled a check-in with the lactation consultant today to address the feeding issues.

During the visit, the consultant brought up the idea that the symptoms indicate acid reflux. That would explain the excessive spit up and the howls of pain that wake her from sleep and interrupt her happy periods. We have an appointment with our pediatrician tomorrow to investigate further.

I guess the good news is that reflux is a common situation as infants' digestive systems mature, and she will grow out of it. In the meantime, there's not a lot we can do outside being mindful of the way we feed and burp her and the position in which she sleeps. Lacey is also going to eliminate dairy from her diet for a couple weeks as recommended by the lactation consultant.

I think am beginning to understand a basic principle of parenting: while this is a minor issue, it still hurts me to know my daughter is in pain, especially now that she's started smiling at me every day and I know what I am missing when she's crying.

- Note: Madeline weighed 10 pounds, 3 ounces at the lactation consultant's office today. Tomorrow we'll get an "official" weigh-in at the pediatrician's office, but it seems like she's still putting on weight at a healthy clip.

Tummy time II

I don't really have any updates - the last few days have been pretty nice. I just really liked this picture, which was taken Saturday.

The sixth week

Our days over the last week have settled into a little more of a routine: Madeline has somewhat regular periods of alertness in the morning and afternoon, and a final burst of alertness (often accompanied by increasing fussiness) in the evening during her pre-bedtime cluster feeding.

While the daytime routine has become, well, routine, the nights are another matter. Many nights this week Madeline has been restless for hours on end - she'll sleep well in our arms but fuss within minutes after she's put down. We attribute the restlessness to gas discomfort and have been using Mylicon drops regularly. They seem to help, and on Wednesday and Thursday nights she finally slept for longer periods.

Of course, Madeline is getting all the sleep she needs through all this. It's just her parents, who have to rock and hold her almost non-stop through the night, who have been sleeping little. We both take overnight rotations to make sure the other gets at least a few hours of shut-eye.

The funny thing about babies - they are so cute you just can't get too frustrated with them. One look from those big eyes or a high-pitched "gah!" delivered with a toothless grin erases everything else.

Notes from this week:
- She's growing! We haven't had an official weigh-in this week, but Madeline is noticeably heavier and is filling out her clothes more obviously. Thursday we were running errands and came across a family with a 9-day-old baby who looked to be about half Madeline's size. I wonder how big she'll be in six more weeks?

- Also on Thursday we bought a swing. Madeline already loves her vibrating bouncy chair, and we're hoping the swing will help soothe her during these long, sleepless nights.

The pacifier

Well, we finally broke down and offered Madeline a pacifier. There are times when she's just fussy and diaper changes, burps, feeding and rocking don't seem to have any effect. It's our nuclear option - a last resort that is pretty effective. We waited five weeks before using it to give her plenty of time to adjust to nursing, and the more we use it, the easier it is for us to come to grips with the idea of sedating our child.

Daddy's little girl

Madeline is getting some practice at melting daddy's heart!

Sleep update

A few days ago I wrote about Madeline's shifting sleep patterns. As if to illustrate that post, she slept five hours Friday night, and then slept about one hour on Saturday night. On that second night I kept telling myself, "she has to sleep sometime, right?" But, after each feeding, she was either expectantly wide-eyed or fidgety and fussy, but not sleepy. I finally got her to sleep for about an hour between 4:30 and 5:30 a.m., but after that it was more restless fidgeting.

The picture above was taken at about 11:30 this morning when I finally got her to snooze for about an hour.

Lacey and I are reviewing the foods Lacey ate yesterday and wondering whether something in her diet caused Madeline's restlessness. It seemed as if she might have been tired, but some sort of discomfort was keeping her awake. It's frustrating that she can't just tell us what's wrong!

The fifth week

This week, the theme is sleep. At our pediatrician appointment on Monday, Lacey and I chuckled with disbelief when the doctor said Madeline could be sleeping up to six hours a night within the next few weeks. It seemed like such an impossibility.

Then, on that same night, Madeline slept for more than four hours in a row. At 2:45 a.m. Lacey came to make sure everyone was still alive because we hadn't come to get her up yet. Four hours was the most uninterrupted sleep she's had in a month. On Tuesday night we got another 4-hour stretch. We wondered if we had turned a corner.

On Wednesday and Thursday we were back to our old routine - up every two or three hours overnight. We're not naive enough to believe that one night's experience is the beginning of a pattern - there will be more good nights and there will be more bad ones - but we've seen that glimmer of hope.