Aly 6 Month

Dear Aly,
Wow! We can' t believe its already been half a year of knowing and loving you. You are such a good sweet baby and everyone adores you. You started sleeping in your own room a couple of days ago and you seem to be doing well. Before then we were having some rough nights and Mommy was only getting a couple hours of sleep. You can almost roll over and sit up. You like to make certain noises and screeches all the time. You love to be held and seem to like most people. You went to the park for the first time yesterday and went down the slide. You also laid in the grass but you didn't seem to like that much. You are even more aware of everything around you. You pet the cats and are very gentle. You love to be stood up and can almost hold yourself up. We have started giving you tastes of baby food. Today you ate a baby rice cracker. It was messy but you loved it. Tomorrow is your 6 month check up. we will find out how much you have grown. You are staring to outgrow your 3 month clothes and its time for the 6 month. Mommy loves you so much and you will always be my baby girl.

Love always,
Mom

Aly 5 Month

Dear Aly,

We made it to the 5 month mark. You are growing so fast, and while it is fun and exciting, its also bittersweet for Mommy. I love how little and sweet you are now and I don't want to lose my baby. I know that's a long way off, but time has already passed so quickly. You are becoming so much more aware of your surroundings and more curious all the time. You've started liking tummy time again, and you can hold yourself up really well, and you can scoot a little toward toys. You can almost roll over from back to tummy with a little help. You are obsessed with your own feet, and go around holding them whenever you can. You try to put everything in your mouth, especially blankets and fabric. We haven't started solids fully, but I have given you a taste of mashed potato and sweet potato. You have a little bit of baby allergies lately, so it looks like you will take after Mom in that way. You were sleeping great until about a month ago, and now you have decided you want to wake up about once a night to eat and play with us. Last night was especially bad, because you wouldn't go back to sleep for several hours. We love you very much, but wish you would go back to sleeping though the night. On a sad note, your Mommy's Grandma Lady passed away today. She was a really neat woman. She used to make your Mommy pretty dresses to wear for Easter and the first day of school. She also made clothes for Mommy's Molly doll, which I'm sure you will play with some day. We have a lot of happy memories of Grandma Lady and certain things will always make Mommy remember her. We will make sure you know all about her and what she was like. Mommy will hug and kiss you a little more today.

Happy 5 months my sweetheart.
Love,
Mommy (and Daddy)

4 Months

Dear Aly,

 

Happy 4 Months! Where has the time gone? We can't believe how big you are getting and that you are now 1/3 of a year old. Next stop, college! You are still our happy little sweetheart with your big gummy smile and color changing eyes and hair. You drool a lot and we still have to keep bibs on you to catch dribbles and spit up. You like sitting up and dislike being laid down on your back for long periods of time. You like to watch us eat and think its funny when I make chewing faces at you. You still have a tiny head and can barely wear most of your headbands because your head is so small. You have lots of diaper blowouts at daycare but luckily your Daddy is good at getting stains out of your clothes. You've been going to Libby's for over a month and seem to really like going there. We really like Libby too. You've had diaper rash from hell for a while and nothing seems to clear it up all the way. You spent last Saturday with your Grandma and Grandpa Dickson and they loved having you all to themselves. On weekends sometimes we have trouble getting you to take a nap. On those days the only way you will nap is in the car seat while being pushed in the stroller or in the car. Sometimes you have cranky nights where nothing makes you happy, but luckily it is not too often. You have decided you no longer enjoy tummy time and you will cry if we put you on your tummy for too long. You like to be read to, and we read you Dr. Suess books a couple times a week. You still wear3 months clothes and size 1 diapers. You are getting a little long for some of the smaller sleepers but some of your 3 month pants will fall off around your waist. You are going to be tall and skinny just like your Mama was as a little girl. We can't wait to see what's in store for you in the coming months.

 

Love always,

Mom and Dad

Aly 3 Month

Dear Aly,
Today is your three month birthday. You don't seem to be feeling well. You threw up all over your car seat and your kitty outfit. It was the most we have ever seen you throw up at once. :( Otherswise you are a very happy baby. You smile a lot and talk and babble to us. You started daycare on monday the 16th. Your babysitter Libby seems to really like you. You drink your bottles and take naps and you have had a couple diaper blowouts there but you are doing well. Mommy misses you every day. She gets you up at 5:30 to nurse before she takes you to daycare and you always seem to be in a good mood in the mornings. You are now finally in size 1 diapers and size 0-3 months clothes. Mommy gave most of your newborn stuff to kid to kid. You still don't really play with toys but you seem to like your rattle. We read books to you and take you in the shower with us. Daddy usually is the one to give you a "service" when your diaper is full and someitmes you poop on the towel after a bath. Your eyes are getting darker and you are getting more brown hair. Your head is still pretty small, we tried to put a headband on and it just slipped down around your nose. You still sleep good at night, but you tend to not want to nap at home. You hate being left in the room by yourself, and sometimes you like your "fun time" chair but other times you get overstimulated. You are such a sweet cute baby and everyone adores you.

Love always,
Mommy and Daddy

Aly 2 Months

Dear Aly,
Happy 2 Months! You are growing up so fast! You are getting so cute and chubby. Your face is rounding out. You are sleeping through the night almost every night which is great. You take a couple of naps during the day. You spit up a lot especially on Mom. You still eat about every 3 or 4 hours. You like to sit in your boppy and look at things. You like to do tummy time with Daddy and can hold your head up by yourself. You like to grab Mommy's necklaces and her hair. You still haven't shown an interest in toys but we keep trying. You liked Grandma and Grandpa's christmas tree and all the pretty lights. You are still wearing newborn sized clothes and diapers. We tried you in size one but they were too big especially in the legs. You are getting some light brown hair and your eyes are dark blue. You smile at Mommy when you see her and sometimes at Daddy when he gets home from work. You like to talk to us, and we heard what sounded like "hi" when you were talking to Grandma Robyn on speakerphone. You are a very good baby and we are very lucky to have you.
Love forever,
Mommy and Daddy

Aly One Month Letter

Dear Aly,
You are one month old today. You have been eating a lot today. You cry everytime you get hungry and you are not very patient. You are starting to sleep better at night, and you woke up last night at 1 am and then again around 6. You love to be held. You love your Daddy and like when he burps you. It seems to soothe you. You do really well at tummy time and you are good at holding your head up and doing little push ups. You like car rides but you don't like being put in the car seat. You will suck on your binky if we let you but not for too long. You spit up a lot. You have big beautiful blue-gray eyes. You don't like baths, but you let us bring you in the shower with us and rinse you off. You are still too skinny for most newborn clothes, but too tall for preemie. You love to suck on your hands when you are hungry, and you have a pirate face you make when mom is trying to latch you on to eat. You are very loud when you scream. We love you soo much and I am so happy to be your Mommy.
Love Mom

Aly's Birth Story

 Since Babycenter decided to get rid of their blogs I have to upload this here to save it.


Alexandra Elizabeth
Born 10-22-2011 at 8:07 am.
5lbs 15oz. 19 inches
(38 weeks)

My birth story actually starts on Thursday the 20th. I had my 37 week appointment with my midwife group. I had been planning to give birth at the birth center with the midwives.

Thursday morning I had a migraine headache but otherwise felt okay. I went to my midwife appointment as planned. They took my urine sample and my blood pressure. My blood pressure was high, in the 140s but I attributed it to the headache. Also, they found protein in my urine. My midwife Suzanne told me they wanted to do a 24 hour urine collection to be sure. I took the two orange jugs home. I decided to call off from work on Friday because I didn't know how I would be able to collect the urine while at work, plus I wanted to rest. I was drinking a ton of water but not peeing much. I barely filled half a jug in 24 hours.

I went to my follow up visit on Friday. They were concerned about the lack of urine in the bucket. They had me give another sample and found protein again. They took my blood pressure and it was still high. My midwife got serious and told me with the two high blood pressure readings and the amount of protein in my urine, that I was too high of a risk for the birth center, and that she was going to have to recommend we got to the hospital. At first I thought she meant once I went into labor, but she actually meant right then. I started crying immediately, I was so upset that my plan of giving birth in a home like environment without interventions was being squashed right then and there. I was afraid I would become a victim of the cascade of interventions and wind up with a c-section. She told us she would call the hospital and send over my records, and have a doula contact us in case I wanted to use one.

I cried all the way home. My husband and I decided to pack one bag in case we were just sent to L&D for the night and then released, and then pack another in case we had to stay for the long haul. Unfortunately I had procrastinated and not packed a bag yet so I forgot tons of stuff that would have come in handy. We live really close to the hospital, so my husband would go back home and get the bigger bag if it came to that.

We got to the hospital, checked in with L&D. They put us in a room and had me put on a gown. The doctor came in pretty soon and told me that because I was showing signs of pre-eclampsia, and my pregnancy was considered full-term, the best thing to do would be to induce labor. She checked me to see if I was dilated, and then broke my water. That was some of the most pain I have ever been in, by the way. I was dilated to 1 and my cervix was somewhat effaced, so they went ahead and started me on an IV and a low dose of pitocin.

I labored from about 6:00 pm to 2:00 am with no drugs. My body did not make much progress, and the contractions started to get really bad. I felt that because I was confined to the bed, it was harder to handle them. If I could have changed positions, walked around, etc, I would have been able to tolerate them and relieve my pain. This is when I started to consider the epidural, I was afraid of being numb, but at the same time, I didn't think I could wait to dilate the rest of the way in this much pain. The nurse made things worse by bringing in the anesthesiologist and offering it again. I weighed my options, and decided to go for it. Having it placed wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be and the relief was almost instant, except for the shaking. Once the shaking was gone, the nurse asked me how the last contraction was. I was happy to say I didn't even feel it.

I was able to get some rest, even though the nurses came in to make me switch sides every hour so that I would stay equally numb on both sides. They told me to tell them when i started feeling pressure in my bottom. I started feeling it a few hours in and they checked me and I had progressed to a 6. I think the epidural helped me relax and allowed my labor to progress faster in this case. The nurse made me wear an oxygen mask, which was supposed to be good for both me and the baby, but I found it annoying and just made my lips and mouth dry. After another hour or too, I started feeling a lot more pressure and it was starting to hurt, and I was trying to up my epidural to numb it out but it wasn't working. I then started feeling like I needed to push. I told the nurse and she told me not to push, just to breathe because she was afraid I was pushing against a cervix that wasn't complete, but she checked me and it was.

Then came the longest 45 minutes or so of my life. Because I was completely dilated, they called the doctor to get ready, and they let me push with the contractions. The nurse held one leg, and my husband held the other. It felt good to push, and I felt like i was making progress, but then they made me stop while we waited for the doctor. However, my body wasn't going to listen, and it was pushing whether I wanted it to or not. The nurses were afraid they might have to catch the baby, because she was coming fast. The doctor barely had time to set up the end of the bed before the head was crowning. I remember feeling the ring of fire, but not caring because the pushing contractions were so strong. I must have torn, because she stitched me up, but I didn't think to ask about the severity.

The baby came out pretty fast, one push for the head and one for the body. She was gray and alien like, but they put her on the little table and rubbed her and she started crying and didn't stop for at least 5 minutes. Her apgar scores were 8 and 9. She had to be tested for her sugar level several times but it never went too low. We had a little trouble with breastfeeding at first, but we have had luck with a nipple shield and hopefully we can wean her off that at some point. We stayed in the hospital until Monday the 24th. We love our little family!