The first vaccinations

On Monday, we took Riley in for her first check up and vaccinations. She did so well while the doctor looked her over. She cried when the nurse gave her the vaccinations, but lucky for us she was lightning quick with them and Riley only cried for a couple of minutes. As soon as her daddy picked her up, she was fine. I thought we were in the clear, but bought some infant tylenol just in case. So about 2:30 that afternoon, she woke up crying a cry I've never heard before. My heart just broke for her "I'm hurting mommy" woes. So after some tylenol, some nursing, and lots of love, she was her sweet self again. By that night, she was great. She didn't even flinch when we bathed her and put lotion on her legs, I thought for sure they would be sore for at least 24 hours. She's such a quick healer.

I was pretty excited to get her measurements too. She weighs 10 pounds and 7 ounces (42%), and she is 21 & 3/4 inches long (28%). In my unscientific measurements, which consist of the number of baby fat rolls and the way she fits in her Sleep N Plays, she was a long skinny baby. However, my mommy measurements have been proven completely wrong since she's shorter than other babies but about average in her weight. I think she's going to be a little girl. I feel for her. I remember trying every year to stand up and be as tall as possible for class pictures in elementary school. I wanted to be in that coveted back row, you know, the one for the vertically graced. Instead, the photographers saw through me each year and I ended up in the front row, the row for the short kids. :( I think she may end up with the same fate.

But she's healthy, and that's the best thing we can hope for.

Daddy/ Daughter Talks

I talk and sing to Riley all day everyday. Last night Woody got home right after she finished nursing. We sat her in her infant seat and Woody talked about his day. She started talking back! Not only was she talking back, but she talked to him for 10 minutes straight! First of all, this was SO adorable that I wouldn't help but giggle at them the whole time. (the thought occurred to me to get the video camera out, but by then she was done talking) But in the back of my mind, I was wondering why she doesn't talk to me! Oh well, this time is good for them since she doesn't get to see him as much as she gets to see me. I hope she continues these talks with her dad throughout her life.

These pictures aren't from last, just random cute daddy/daughter pics.

Woooo Hoooo!!!

Riley slept last night from 10:50 until 5:00 this morning!!! I consider that sleeping through the night (even though we both go back to sleep after that 5am feeding). Babywise said most "Babywise" babies sleep through the night by 8 weeks. She was 8 weeks yesterday. I am not expecting this to happen every night from here on out, but now we know she is capable of it.

After that much sleep last night and a long shower this morning, I feel a little bit like my old self today. I might even tackle the laundry with all of this extra energy!!!

Big girl naps

Yesterday was the most extraordinary day Riley has had yet. She nursed very well (not so unusual) and she went down for naps in her crib for the first time. As I was putting her down for her first nap, she was wide awake. I thought, for sure, she would end up in her swing or with me holding her. So I laid her down, turned on her sound machine and left the room. I didn't hear a peep from her. I checked on her about 10 minutes later and she was sleeping like an angel. She continued this phenomenal behavior for the rest of the day! Amazing. She didn't cry all day long, until 7:30 because she was dirty. Again, amazing. She has set the bar high for herself because now we know she can do it. Now I'm wondering if we should move her into her nursery for the night time sleeping too...

Unfortunately we have not been having the same luck today. She has already made it into the swing as her crib was unsuccessful (even after running the vacuum and the sound machine). Hopefully her next feed, wake, sleep cycle will be a repeat of yesterday and not this morning!

She's getting so big!

It is so fun to watch Riley's developments everyday. It seems like everyday she wakes up with a new skill. She has become mostly a happy baby. We still have our fussiness at night, but daytimes are great. She smiles so much and has just started cooing and talking. This pulls at my heartstrings in a most wonderful way. It makes all of the frustration of no sleep, nursing woes, and lots of crying bouts (on both of our parts) so worth it.

Her newest favorite thing to do is stare at the pictures frames behind the couch. Lately to get a better look, she likes to stand on my legs. Look at her holding her head up (which she does so much lately). I am amazing at how quickly she is growing. Before I know it, she'll be walking and talking!

Bed Time Ritual

We have a bedtime ritual that needs to be broken. After bathtime and a small nap, Riley gets another feeding, then falls asleep. Unfortunately we've started the routine of my nursing her while laying down in the bed and she falls asleep while nursing. Then I let her stay with me until I know she's fully asleep. If not, we start the cycle of crying, pacy trying, then me holding her again in bed. I don't get much sleep this way.

So our new routine involves me nursing her with the nursing pillow, then one of us putting her down in bed for her to fall asleep on her own. (more on that success/non-success later) So the other night after nursing her, I asked Woody to put her down. My intention here was for him to put her straight into bed without stimulating her. Selfishly, my hopes were that she would be asleep before I made it into the bedroom. Instead of finding her peacefully sleeping in her bed, this is what I found. If it weren't so cute, I would have been rather mad and frustrated at my husband. Not only was he flashing the camera at her, he also had her smiling and talking. ~As for her going to sleep early, no. She didn't fall asleep this night until an hour after this picture was taken... so much for not stimulating her.

More Bath Time Fun

You don't realize that you don't see your baby's butt very often. I think it was only last week that I realized this little girl inherited a high butt crack, no low rise jeans for her! This also means that we have several outfits that have been ruined in the back. :)

She loves bath time. She isn't so fond of laying on her back when we are putting lotion on her. But she loves it when we put her on her belly to lotion up her backside. My hand is normally supporting her head, but we wanted to snap a quick picture of her modified tummy time. She is too precious for me to explain in words.