A Brand New Girl

After six days with no poop, Lauren finally went yesterday. And boy, has she felt like a brand new girl. She has been much calmer than she has in the past few days. I was very thankful for that because I've not been feeling well the last couple days myself. I've had a fever and muscle aches, and it's certainly not easy taking care of two kids while you're sick. Especially when one of them is fussy. I think I'm on the mend today though.

One Month Check-Up

Lauren had her one month check up today with Dr. Smoak. For the family members who might care, here are her stats:

Length: 21 1/2" - 60th percentile (up from 19" at birth)

Weight: 11lbs, 4oz - 90th percentile (up from 7lbs, 10oz at birth)

Head Circumference: 37cm - 50th percentile

Yes, I grow big babies. Mason's always been around the same percentiles too. I guess Lauren is destined to be the same pudgy baby he was. Of course her weight could be affected by the fact she hasn't pooped in three days. (Which, by the way, Dr. Smoak wasn't the least bit concerned about so I will choose not to be either.)

Here's one of our latest pictures showing our fast-growing girl. She started smiling recently and this is the only picture I've been able to get of it so far...

Boys Love Trucks

I'm very happy our second child turned out to be a girl. We needed someone to even out the testosterone\estrogen balance around here. I've never been a girly girl myself. More of the beer drinking, sports watching type. Growing up I preferred hanging out with the guys, I played sports, I've never done very well with wardrobe choices, and I still don't really know how to put on makeup.

For these reasons (and others) I was happy our first child was a boy. I didn't think I'd know what to do with a girl. Not only did I get a boy the first time around, but it has become clear over the last few months that our son is definitely all boy. Mason is a big wrestler and can't wait for his daddy to come home in the evening just so he can tackle him. It's a struggle to keep him from wrestling with his baby sister. He'd play outside all day if I let him (which has become much harder now that it's getting colder and the daylight hours are getting shorter). And he loves anything that has to do with cars and trucks.

And here's the latest evidence we have a very boyish boy... his current favorite thing to watch on TV is an episode of Ultimate Factories from the National Geographic channel that shows how the largest dump truck in the world is made. Dave was channel flipping one night and came across it. Mason was glued, so we recorded it. Every single day since then he has asked me to "watch dump trucks, Mommy". It has really expanded his boy's vocabulary. He knows exactly what machining a rotor is for ("to make it smooth"), knows all about welding ("makes it stick together"), and knows when "they are making rubbers" (for the tires - we're working on a more proper way of saying that one). He can can identify the "engine block", the "dump box", and the "pistons".

So I'm very thankful we have a little girl I'll get to do girly things with someday. Having a boy is wonderful, but after all of the truck talk around here lately, I think it will be nice to learn a little bit about froo-froo dresses and Barbie Dolls. I'll probably even let her wear a bow in her hair when I take her to her first football game :-)

Picture Day

We had our first family pictures made today, which is also Lauren's 1 month birthday! The kids did really well, especially Lauren. She was actually awake through the whole thing and was surprisingly calm. Mason was a little timid at first, but we managed to get him to cooperate for the most part.

Getting three of us ready for pictures sure was an adventure. I started getting ready to go at 6:30am when we all woke up, and it took us every minute until our appointment which was at 11:00. Somehow I managed to give us all breakfast, give Mason a bath and so something with his hair, give myself a shower and do something with my hair, put on makeup for the first time since Lauren was born, deal with a cranky and non-pooping baby, and pickup Dave at work on our way to the appointment - which we made it to on time. I felt like a supermom for the day!

We have always had pictures made at Our Heritage Studio. Dave and I first had our engagement pictures taken there back in 2001, and we've been going ever since. I love that we get to take our proofs home with us. Here are some of my favorites from the bunch. (Please excuse the quality - proofs don't scan too well.)

Oh Please Don't Let This Be Colic!

My previously good-natured baby has turned into one fussy little girl. For the past two evenings and again this morning, she has been very cranky and it's been hard to figure out why.

Saturday night I was thinking it was something I ate or drank that she didn't like showing up in my breast milk. Perhaps it was the half-glass of wine I treated myself to. She was acting like she was starving, but after one swallow, she complained. Loudly. Dave tried giving her pumped milk, but so far, we haven't had any luck getting her to take a bottle. It took a couple of hours, but she finally went to sleep after I found a dark corner under our ticking kitchen clock to nurse her while standing up.

Last night she was fussy again, but this time no alcohol. Again she would nurse for a couple of seconds and then pull away angrily. This went on for at least a couple of hours. It seemed to help when I took off her clothes and diaper and gave her a massage. I think she was having trouble pooping. Once it happened, she finally nursed calmly and went to sleep.

This morning was more of the same. Fussy nursing, and she wouldn't let me even sit down with her. Finally she went to sleep shortly before I had to get her up to go pick Mason up at preschool. When we got back she refused to be anywhere except my arms while I stood up until she fell asleep for her afternoon nap. She hasn't pooped yet today, so maybe that's the problem again. I'm not sure what I should do, if anything, to help her feel better, but I hope we get this worked out soon and that it's not chalked up to colic. A cranky newborn makes everyone else cranky too.

Election Day

Since living in Charlotte, I've never actually voted on Election Day. I've always gone during early voting. However, this year, I was a bit preoccupied with a newborn and a toddler, and I couldn't spare the 2+ hours to wait in line at the early voting place. So today I was able to line up a wonderful neighbor at the last minute to watch Mason while I took the baby with me to vote. I waited one hour while Lauren thankfully slept in her car seat carrier. (This is also the first time I've ever had to wait in any sort of line to vote.)

This election year has just been exhausting to watch. I really hope that by tomorrow the phone calls from various politicians telling me how to vote will come to an end. (I've even been getting phone calls from candidates running in Texas - where we lived four years ago!) I also actually look forward to some regular commercials on TV for a change. And I can't wait for all the ugly signs littering the roadsides to disappear. It seems like this election has been going on forever, and I look forward to it being over, regardless of who ends up winning.