new pics... info to come

so sorry i haven't posted on here in over a week. we've had some issues in the past 2 weeks that have kept me from it. but i'm putting together a new post with all the recent happenings in our new little world.

in the meantime, enjoy the vast array of photos i've posted! she's changing so much day by day...

this is the sequence of how anna jae wakes up. she's the funniest thing...

in her little jean dress (thanks dawn!)...

showin' off her bloomers with aileen!

just relaxin'

it's funny cause it's true!

tummy time!

with andrew

i think she was flirting!

aunt carrie took this series the other day. how great are these photos?

8 weeks, 4 vaccines, 2 temper tantrums, and one date

anna jae is 8 weeks old today!! and the poor kid had to celebrate with her first round of vaccines.

i want to do a recap of the past week or so...

anna's first tantrum(s)
oh yes, this kid is starting early. she has officially given us a first look at her temper tantrums. granted, at this stage, it's all about a newborn's need to be held NOW, but still, it's not a pleasant view into the future.

last week, anna cried a couple of times when she was put down to be changed. the cry was new though -- louder, and with a screech involved. a piercing screech. i couldn't tell if it was just that she wanted to be picked up and held, or if she was over-hungry at the moment. well, i got my answer on friday... my mom and i took her down to seaside, nj to visit some family friends, and on the way back, she started to cry in her carseat. then the cries got more intense. i decided to sit in the back with her to keep her calm. when i got back there and i started to soothe her, she started to screech again. i had told my mom about this new cry earlier that day, and when she heard it, she said, "THAT'S a temper tantrum!" oy. all we need is a kid that will throw tantrums, right? ha! i was able to soothe her, but she did it again after we switched cars and i headed back to brooklyn. man, this pretty little girl can scream.

mom and dad's first date night!
yep. dave and i got to go out on a date! i had been getting more than a bit baby-worn, so my parents and grandma offered to babysit for us on saturday night while dave and i went out. we were so excited about this, we talked about it all week.

i wanted to go to dinner and a movie. sounds passé, but honestly, we can't go to a movie with anna. so we decided that slumdog millionaire was our choice, and i found a theater that was playing it not far from pj clarke's, where we wanted to have dinner. well, we drove in, and after we parked the car, we found out that the theater wasn't playing it after all. eek! i was kinda sad, but we decided to go to dinner and then decide what we wanted to do.

we had the most wonderful dinner. we ordered the raw bar sampler and a bottle of wine -- two things i hadn't been able to have in almost a year! -- and then some yummy burgers. the conversation was great, we got to relax and be adults... granted, we talked mostly about anna, but that was ok. she wasn't sitting right next to us, or nursing from me at the moment. it was the first time i had been away from anna since she was born, and it was heavenly.

realizing that a theater nearby was playing coraline, we opted to go see that instead. when i called from the theater to check on anna, my mom said that she wasn't sleeping. crazy kid hadn't slept all day! so i said she should sleep after her 8:30 feeding... well, we called on the way home, and she STILL wasn't sleeping!! she wasn't being difficult, but i was worried we were in for a fit later on as a result.

when we got back, dave dropped me off first to go look for a spot. i came in, said hello to everyone, and then picked up anna to say hi. she immediately put her head down on my chest and got quiet. my mom exclaimed, "i've been trying to get her to do that all night!" aw, anna missed me! it was enough to make me cry. though, as i explained to her at that moment, not enough to keep me from going out again. =) still, it reminded me of the magic of having a child, which can get lost so easily in the daily chores and frustrations. that brought me back to our little private heaven.

anna's first shots...
anna jae received her first round of vaccines today. while the rest of her 2-month checkup went well (she's now 9 lbs 14 ounces, and 22 inches long), the vaccines were awful. poor kid was all content, lying on the table and discovering everything around her. then mommy held her arms and made sure she had her pacifier in her mouth while the kind nurse gave her her first dose of outside pain. oh man, my heart broke for her. she went from happy to so very, very upset in a split second. she screamed with each one (remember that screech?), and couldn't stop crying and screaming even after they were done. i held her for a bit to calm her down, then got her dressed and put her in my babyhawk. thank god i brought that, because i think being held next to me was the only thing that was going to really make her feel better at that point.

i don't get riled up by anna's crying anymore, as most of the time she's just fine. but this time, since i knew she was in pain, i wanted to cry right along with her.

plus, i had a migraine all day (yes, they're back), so that didn't help.

anna is sleeping now, hopefully will wake soon for a feeding, and then i'm sure will sleep more. i hope that tomorrow she'll be better.

my thoughts so far

i've realized that we've developed some favorites in our new little world -- things that really make anna happy and/or make our lives easier. and we have a few things that she has just refused, making us miserable in the process. every baby is different, it's so true...

clothing/furniture items/accessories:
- swing. yep, our girl couldn't live without her swing. in fact, she couldn't sleep without it. sure, she'll deign to go down in her bassinet for a nap, or for a few hours at night, but sleep the whole night through? surely you jest. give her the swing and she'll sleep until the morning. the REAL morning, not baby-world 3am morning.
- babyhawk baby carrier. i got both a sling and a babyhawk. anna liked the sling for a whole 2 weeks, and then went on a sling strike. the babyhawk worked much better for her. it holds her close to me at my chest, which is her favorite position. she can look around for a while, and then fall asleep while i do housework or walk to the store. it's a lifesaver for both of us.
- receiving blankets. we swaddle the heck out of our girl. whenever we want her to sleep, we need her to be swaddled. the carter's receiving blankets (the regular ones, not the organic -- the organic are too small) are the perfect size and weight to swaddle her without making her uncomfortable or sweaty. it's the only way she can sleep for any length of time.
- car seat stroller attachments. if i put anna in the car, and she falls asleep, do i really want to wake her up? of course not!
- pillows. not for her, of course. but for her feedings. i like the boppy breastfeeding pillow, but it's heavy and stiff, and so really bothered my incision. so i used all the other soft throw pillows in my house for feedings. sure, i look silly, surrounded by mismatched throw pillows, but it's comfy and helps support her.
- footie pajamas. i like her feet to be warm, and socks fall off.
- swaddlers. sometimes you don't want to have to do blanket origami to get her to sleep. or, if you're dave, you can't do it at all. =) so the swaddlers are an easy fix. granted, they look like baby straight jackets, but they work.
- snow suit. ok, so i still hate the big pink snowsuit that grandma bought for anna, but it does come in handy. as a winter baby, we wouldn't have even been able to get her home without it. on those cold 40-and-below days, it's the right choice. (next year i want one that makes her look like a teddy bear)
- portable changing pads. we don't have a changing table, but we have several portable changing pads. one stays in the nursery/office for daytime changings, and one in our bedroom for nighttime changings. easy, simple, and eliminates the need for moving all through the house to get to a localized change table.

soothing items/methods
- white noise. again, can't stress this enough. it's the only thing that calms her at times, and we keep it on all night to ensure that she sleeps more soundly (it's not so bad for our sleep either). we have a white noise album that plays on a loop on our iPod, and her sleep sheep is a portable way to take the white noise with us for easy calming.
- pacifier. it took a while to get anna to take it. and she still doesn't want it all the time. but when we want her to go back to sleep in her swing, or are trying to get her to sleep while rocking her, the pacifier works like a charm. we like the soothie's brand, and their shape is ideal for breastfeeding moms (apparently, the other types encourage biting. eek!).
- car ride. yeah, if you have access to a car and a cranky kid, this will help out a lot. anna does tend to cry if you stop at a light, since she likes the movement so much, but finally quiets down when she falls to sleep.
- warming her bassinet mattress. it's still chilly in this place sometimes, and if the sheet on the bassinet mattress is cold, she jerks awake and doesn't want to go down. so i discovered that warming the mattress, either at the heater, with a hair dryer, or at the mouth of the oven will aid in getting her to sleep each time. totally genius.
- baths. she just loves her baths! that's daddy/anna bonding time, and she just has the best time. if we want her to relax, it's a great solution.

things she/we could do without
- sleep sacks. a great idea, but they don't keep her swaddled. so we don't use them, unless we're leaving the house. maybe we'll like them when we're out of the swaddling phase.
- car seat. obviously, dave and i like the car seat. and we need a car seat. but most of the time, unless she's in a great mood, anna could do without it. and she HATES being buckled in.
- breastfeeding cover. i got one of those capes so that i could be discreet when i fed her. but she hates being under there. it's dark, it gets hot, she freaks out. so now i just use a pashmina around my neck or something similar when i feed her in public.
- sling. as said above, she really doesn't like it. but i know many babies who do. ::shrug::


this list will change/grow as she gets older, but we like where we are at right now.

pumping help...

hey out there. if any of you ladies have suggestions on how to pump more efficiently, please let me know. i'm having some trouble. =(

weekend with nana...

this past weekend, anna had a visit from her nana (dave's mom, barbara). it was too short, of course, but we were so glad to have them spend time together. friday night we went to great-great aunt pearl's for dinner, and also got to see aunt helene and uncle howie. anna was so well behaved! we couldn't get over it. the kid was making a liar out of us. saturday, nana came to our house to spend the whole day with anna (by the way, anyone else notice that they rhyme? just saying). except for when i was feeding her, anna was in barb's arms all day, either sleeping or having fun.

sadly, with my stupid migraines returning, i was completely out of it and forgot to take photos. but the next day, anna wore a onesie that barbara gave to her, and so i took pics of her and dave together and sent them over to barb. and that's what is posted here.


anna is getting over a cold, but she's much better than she was. and she's decided that sleeping through the night may not be her thing after all, so i'm exhausted. sigh...