Another blow out = An early bath

Reese and I just got back from a walk to the park where I met a nice lady who has two children, one who is 8 weeks old and weighs over 11 lbs and is also 23 inches long. She and I couldn't believe that Reese actually looked bigger than him. She definitely has more chunk than he does! Perhaps because he is a boy he weighed more even though he looked skinny compared to Reese.

When we got back to the house and I began to take Reese out of her car seat, I noticed that her back was wet. I thought, "man did she sweat that much?" It is pretty warm out today. Oh no! She had another major poop or, as we also like to call it, a blow out! Jeez child, what's up with that? The entire back of her onesie was covered in stinky, ole yellow poop and it got on the car seat again. That's twice this week!

So needless to say, I stripped her down and put her in the tub. Well at least we got her bath out of the way. She's sleeping soundly right now, so I thought I'd do a quick post!

Maybe those size 1 diapers aren't strong enough for her poop after all. :)

8 to 9 Week Milestones

I have to brag on Reese a bit and mention some of her milestones over the past week. Just when I think we'll never get there (like getting her down at night) she surprises me and does something great. I think it's her way of letting us know she appreciates us (by throwing us a bone i.e. giving us a little break) or more likely that she is growing up!

Here are some of her milestones:

1. Mimicking us: she smiles back at us when we smile at her and she sticks her tongue out when I do.

2. Talks more or at least she tries: shes makes sounds like aaga and eew.

3. Follows you with her eyes when you walk around her.

4. Doesn't get upset anymore after her bath. She loves her bath, but was crying hysterically afterwards when we were drying her off and dressing her. I think she was getting cold. So we started dressing her in the bathroom so she would stay warm.

5. Graduated into size 1 diapers; these go up to 14 lbs.



6. And the biggie...last night after her last feeding and diaper change which began around 9:40 and ended around 10:45 or 11:00 (she nursed and took 3 oz of formula) she fell sleep on her own last night after a little cuddling with Mommy. I put her in her bed around 11:30 p.m. and she fussed for less than 5 minutes and then conked out. Matt said, "Did she just fall asleep on her own?" We sneaked a peak and she was out. Hallelujah!!! This was major for us because getting her down the last time each night has been a struggle. I hope to decrease the amount of time it takes to feed, change and get her down, but let's do one thing at a time.


7. And the even bigger biggie...she slept until 6:10 a.m. this morning. I heard her wake up at 4:40 a.m. and I anticipated I may have to feed her, but I waited and she fell back asleep. I heard her again around 5:30 a.m., but she fell back to sleep until 6:10! Let's hope she keeps this up!





8. She is still doing pretty good at putting herself down for her daytime naps. I think we are getting into more of a routine of eat, play and sleep. Yay! Supposedly this will help her sleep through the night and be a happier baby. I must say, she is pretty happy most of the time and when she isn't it is pretty easy to calm her. What a good baby.

...I'm editing this post to add more milestones...

9. This afternoon she laughed in her sleep. It was the first time she has ever laughed. I was holding her and she fell asleep and gave me a big smile and a laugh. I can't wait to hear her laugh when she is awake!

10. Yesterday I noticed she was drooling a lot. There was a pool of something wet in her bed and I thought maybe she had spit up, but it was clear so I realized it was drool. She's been doing it today too. This makes me think she may start teething early. The book "What to Expect the First Year" says she could start teething as early as 3 months. I wouldn't be surprised if she does.


Getting chunky!


Not enjoying her tummy time!


Helping Mommy fold clothes.

Happy 1st Easter!

Matt and I had great plans to attend church Easter Sunday, but then thought we'd better make her first church visit a non holiday. I knew it would be super crowded and as soon as we got there I would need to feed her again and would end up missing most of the mass. We did listen to praise songs on our way to Matt's parents house; Grandma Ruth hooked me up with all of her good cd's. We recently registered as members of St. Vincent de Paul which is right down the street, so we hope to attend soon. Our last visit was for Christmas Eve mass.

We were up bright and early at 7:30 eating breakfast, getting ready, taking pictures of Reese in her Easter dress and preparing a dish for lunch.

It was all we could do to get out of the house by 11:30 to arrive at Noon (we were a little late).

Here is Reese in one of her Easter dresses. I think we are getting pretty good at this picture posing thing, but I do plan to get professional photos taken soon.


On the way to Pat and Joe's, Reese didn't sleep, but just hung out and talked to herself. She didn't get fussy until we were almost there. Once we arrived and took her out of her carrier we realized why she was fussy. She had a major poopy diaper which leaked out all over her pretty dress and down into her car seat! Yes, it was bad. Everyone jumped in to help clean up the mess. Matt carried Reese to Pat's room, and helped me start to change her while Mom and Joe took the car seat apart so the covers and pads could be thrown in the wash. While I went through 20 something wipes and put Reese in her second Easter dress, Matt and Pat washed out the car seat as best they could. Joe came and got her dirty dress from me and put it in the wash with her car seat stuff. I realized that I wouldn't be able to finish off her newborn diapers which go up to 10 lbs and would need to break out the size 1's as soon as we got home! I really should have put her in them sooner, but just found out she was 10 lbs 8 oz last week. :)

Here we are, Reese in her clean dress.

Here is Reese with her surrogate Great Grandmother, Nita. Nita was best friends with Grandma and Grandpa Sicinski who are now watching Reese from heaven.

Pretty Girl!

Reese with her Great Aunt Sharon.

We had a great Easter celebrating with Joe, Pat, Mom, Sam, Scott, Lauren, Chris, Nita, Sharon, Andy and Angela.

It's funny how having a baby changes everything. It's the greatest change, but I realized (again) that our lives will never be the same. Everything revolves around sweet Reese. While we ate lunch, she was napping on the chair and started fussing, so I got up and tended to her and ended up bringing her to the table with me. I also had to step away for 45 minutes to feed her for the second time since we had arrived (Mom fed her a bottle the first time). Then when we left, I made the rounds to make sure we had everything: blankets, bottles, pacifier, bibs, etc. etc. She is so worth it!

Reese, Mommy and Daddy love you very much! Happy Easter sweetie!

Good Friday Dinner at Ragin Cagin

Friday night we met Chad, Jennifer and Brady at Ragin Cagin for dinner.

Afterwards, we went to Paciugo for Italian Gelato.

A great start to Easter weekend

Reese has been feeling good today, so I think she is handling the vaccination shots ok. She did wake up at 3:15 a.m. to eat though, so neither of us got a full night sleep. Matt is off again today, so we've been taking turns running errands while the other one hangs out with Reese. I went out for bagels and Starbucks this morning (so Matt watched Reese) and Matt went out for a haircut and I watched Reese.

After eating breakfast, Matt was watching Reese. He decided to watch her while she lay on our bed rather than holding her and walking around the house. We caught one of our baby girl's smiles on film:


Here is a picture of Reese chilling with daddy:

Matt decided to become a Marsupial. He couldn't figure out whether he wanted to be a Kangaroo, Koala, Wombat, Tasmanian Devil, Bandicoot, or Opossum, but he definitely knew the Baby Bjorn brought him closer to the Marsupial family (the aforementioned list is not an inclusive list of all Marsupials . . . just a listing of the most famous Marsupials). If you will remember from your middle school science classes, a Marsupial is an animal that has a pouch to keep care of its young. Anyways, I digress . . . now back to more Reese:

Here is Reese for the first time at the neighborhood park with a sun hat . . . . not her first time at the park, just her first time at the park with a sun hat:

Too cute . . . .

Looks like she found Daddy taking a picture of her . . . .

The future Stanford, Harvard, Rice, or Angelo State graduate ponders the local scene at the park . . . . .

Daddy . . . . with his new haircut . . . looks in amazement at Ms. Reese Addison Sicinski:

Some of you are probably thinking . . . WOW, two blog postings in two days . . . This is just a bonus for you . . . because Matt and Adrienne have had the past couple of days off. It will most likely go back to a more normal schedule of once or twice a week.

Until next time, Chao!

P.S. Matt wrote most of this post too; he's on a roll! He is really as spoiled as you bloggers are when it comes to wanting to see the latest post, so I guess he's posting while he has the time. What a great Daddy Reese has!

2 Month Shots Deserve an Ice Cream Treat

Today was Reese's 2 month doctor's appointment. We had sort of dreaded it all week because we knew she had to get her shots this time. Matt took the day off so he could go with us. It was nice to spend the morning together with Reese. We dressed her up and took lots of pictures.

Before the appointment, we gave her Tylenol in preparation for the shots she would get.

The appointment went well and Dr. Miller said Reese was perfect! She weighed in at 10 lbs 8 oz (50th percentile . . . i.e. only 50% of the infants her age weigh more than she does) and was 23 1/4 inches long (70th percentile . . . i.e. only 30% of the infants her age are taller than she is). Dr. Miller is so patient with me. She answered all of my questions; I write them in a journal and we discuss them and she writes the answers beside each question. After we saw the doctor, Reese had to get 5 vaccinations, 4 shots and 1 oral. I knew I would not like seeing her get them.

The needle went in one thigh and Reese just stood there and thought for a second or two . . . she was happy for one second and then you could see her brain start to work . . . she moved her head a little bit and then you could just see the light turn on . . . . she realized the nurse just stuck her with a needle. She then did one of those cries where no sound comes out of her mouth for the longest time (really only a few seconds) and then she reached far down into her little lungs and let out the loudest scream (I think the windows were shaking).

Matt and I don't think she even noticed the other shots. Reese just stared up at the nurse and you knew she continued to abhor the nurse who inflicted the pain upon her. I had tears running down my eyes and Matt was smiling at Reese to let her know everything was going to be fine.

She eventually calmed down and we wrapped Reese up and got out of Dodge as quick as we could. Matt and I decided Reese deserved some Amy's ice cream (Adrienne as a proxy for Reese), our favorite! Reese passed out in her car seat and we enjoyed the best ice cream in Houston!

Mom came by after work to check on Reese. She has been eating and sleeping since we got back from the doctor. I am guessing the appointment and shots plus the Tylenol has worn her out.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE THINKING . . . MAN ADRIENNE DOESN'T NORMALLY WRITE BLOG POSTINGS LIKE THIS . . . WELL THIS IS MATT . . . . I EMBELLISHED ON SOME OF THE DETAIL ABOVE AND ADDED MY OWN COLOR COMMENTARY TO THE EVENTS OF THE DAY. I LOVE MY TWO GIRLS (ADRIENNE AND REESE) MORE THAN THEY WILL EVER KNOW.

Tearful Goodbyes...

We had a fun, but tiring weekend. Aunt Jamie, Ashley and Lexi came to visit and to pick up Grandma Ruth. We were so glad to see them, but so sad to see Grandma Ruth go home.

Before I elaborate on our weekend, here are a few pictures of Reese last week.

Her onesie says "I don't have to be good...I'm cute". Lucky for us, she is a good girl and the cutest baby! :)



My friend Della suggested I take a picture of Reese on the same day of every month laying on a solid fabric with a doll beside her to chart her growth. Here is the first picture taken on March 14th, 7 weeks old.





On Friday, Mom and Grandma Ruth watched Reese while Matt and I met with our architect. Mom got Reese to fall asleep in the bouncer; another first. Since then Reese likes to sit in her bouncer and look around. The new house plans are coming along great, but it'll still be a while before we build.

Aunt Jamie, Ashley and Lexi arrived Friday night. They were so excited to finally meet Reese. Reese enjoyed meeting them too!

Here is Reese with her Aunt Ashley and cousin Lexi.

Lexi loved holding Reese and helping with everything from diapering to dressing her. On Saturday morning, Reese woke up around 5:15 a.m., ate and went back to bed. Lexi heard her making noise around 8:00 a.m. and ran in her room to see if Reese was awake. Reese slept until almost 9:00, and Lexi could not wait for her to get up. Lexi kept going in her room and peeking into her crib hoping she was up. (Reese is now too long for the I Love NY jammie; I didn't realize it until I had it on her).

Aren't they cute?

We had so much fun dressing Reese in this outfit. It was the first time she wore shoes and a head band. The bow only lasted long enough for the pictures.

After getting Reese all dressed up we went to Mom's to pick her and Aunt Jamie up. We went to Escalante's for lunch. Reese always gets hungry when the rest of us are eating, but before she had her bottle I had to change her because she had major poop! It got all over the cute outfit, but we had another one!

We quickly realized it took what Mom called "a village" to change Reese in public. (This was only our second time to change her in public) Here's how it goes: I lay out the changing pad and hang on to Reese while undressing her, Mom gets her diaper, wipes and new outfit, Lexi hands me the wipes and throws the dirty diaper away and Ashley pulls and puts things in and out of Reese's bag. Then we all wash our hands and try to get out of the restroom without touching the door handle. Whew, that was a task!

When we got back to the table, Grandma fed her so I could finish my meal.

Reese is already expressing her college preferences. She was giving us her best Texas Tech "guns up" on this hand and her UT "hook 'em horns "on the other.

After lunch we headed to the Galleria to shop for Lexi at The Limited Too. On the way, we heard Reese pooping again! Aunt Jamie gave us a new word for this, saying that Reese had "sharted" (coining the word from sh*& and fart...hehe). Mason had originally said the word; it's from some movie. We cracked up laughing the whole way to the Galleria as we went on and on about Reese's "sharts".

Over the weekend we had a lot of laughs about Reese's poop and blow outs. Matt and I had been singing, "Who let the poop out...poo, poo, poo, poo poo!" when we change her dirty diapers. Then Lexi changed it to, "Who let the poop out...Reese, Reese, Reese, Reese Reese!" And when singing it you've gotta put a real emphasis on the poo or Reese just like the song, "Who let the dogs out". It's amazing what silly things we come up with to entertain Reese and ourselves. It's fun!

After a diaper change at BabyGap (this time it only took Me, Mom and Lexi to change her; maybe one day I'll be able to do it on my own!) we picked out some cute outfits for Lexi at The Limited Too. Then we headed to our favorite cupcake boutique, Sugarbaby's.

Later that evening, we had dinner at Mom and Sam's.

Here is Reese with her Aunt Ashley.

On Sunday, everyone let me sleep in after I fed Reese at 5:00 and 8:00 a.m. Reese ended up sleeping until almost Noon afterwards. I was so tired! I could hardly keep my eyes open when I nursed her at 8:00. I think the shopping and running around on Saturday wore me out.

After watching the movie, "She's the Man", we dressed Reese up again before heading to Mom's.

Look at her cute shoes! These didn't last long either, but they are so sweet.

Before they headed back to Abilene, we took a few more pictures.

4 generations: Grandma Ruth, Mom, Me and Reese.

Lexi, Me, Reese and Reese's Great Aunt Jamie.

It was so hard to see Grandma Ruth leave after she had been here so long. I knew it would be sad, and we couldn't hold back our tears when it was time to say goodbye. We hope she'll come back more often and we'd like to make a trip to Abilene soon.

When Matt and I got ready to eat dinner, we both noticed it was weird not to have Grandma there. We really enjoyed her company and all of her help.

Later that night, Matt read a book called, "Daddy Hugs" to Reese before bedtime. She is in awe of him.

Today is St. Patrick's Day and Reese is 8 weeks old. Throughout the day, she sat in her bouncer in the kitchen and watched me wash dishes, eat lunch and prepare dinner. She looks around at everything. So far this is a great way to entertain her in between her feeding and her nap time.

Speaking of nap time, Reese now puts herself to sleep when I lay her down. I am so proud of her, and it turns out she doesn't want to be held all of the time (as much as we may want to hold her). She's tired and wants to sleep in her bed.

Woo Hoo! Reese slept through the night!

So this is the absolute earliest post I have ever written. It's 6:54 a.m. and I just put Reese back down after feeding her and reading Goodnight Moon. She slept through the night for the first time last night and I am so proud, rested and relieved it happened already at 7 weeks. We fed her at 10:00 p.m. last night, put her down around 10:45. She was asleep by 11:30. We have been working on getting her to fall asleep by herself as we have had to rock her to sleep the past few weeks. I had to give her the pacifier a few times and rock her tummy, but for the most part she fell asleep on her own the past two nights. Last night, Matt and I went to bed around 12:30 a.m. and I woke up around 3:00 a.m. and didn't hear a peep out of Reese. I fell back asleep and slept until Reese woke me up at 5:48 a.m. ready to eat. I was so excited that she slept the entire night. She went about 8 hours since her last feeding at 10:00 p.m. (according to the books below she shouldn't go more than 8 hours without eating at this age since she is breastfed, so I was anticipating a 6:00 a.m. feeding if she slept through the night).

Now, I'll be working on her nap schedule and getting her to put her self to sleep during the day. We are following an eat, play, sleep routine that I read about in the book "On Becoming Baby Wise". So she should eat, then play (read a book, have tummy time, go for a walk, run an errand or take a bath) and then go down for a nap or bedtime. I am also referring to a book called "Sleep Deprived No More" both which talk about getting a baby in a sleeping routine anywhere between 6 weeks and 3 months old. I've been using the books as a guide when I have time to read them, but it was up to Reese to decide when she was ready and able to sleep through the night. Mission accomplished! Let's see how she does tonight! ;)

I can hold my bottle...well, sort of!

Isn't this the cutest picture? When feeding Reese with a bottle she'll grab your hand and hang on tight ensuring you don't take the bottle away. Sometimes when the bottle is almost empty, she can hold it herself!

My first trip to the Galleria and to see my Grandparents

This past Wednesday, my friend Debbie came over to visit. She played with Reese and fed her. Matt made dinner while we chatted and then Debbie watched Reese so we could eat. Afterwards, Debbie finally let Matt hold Reese since he'd been home. :) Matt and I gave Reese her bath and Debbie and Grandma Ruth talked about their favorite soap "The Young and The Restless".

On Friday night, Matt and I took Reese to dinner at Palazzo's, one of our favorite Italian restaurants. Here is Reese before we left for dinner. I was trying to get her smiling. We only made it past appetizers and salad before she woke up. Holding her was the only way to keep her from fussing, so we got our entrees to go and headed home. It was nice to get out, all 3 of us together, even though we had to cut the evening short.

On Saturday, Matt and I took Reese to the Galleria. He needed to have his suits altered at Brooks Brothers and I needed some khaki's from The Gap. We feed Reese right before we left and she slept peacefully the entire time. We took a break from shopping around 3:00 p.m. and headed to Mom's house to feed and change Reese. It was her first trip to her Grandma Fredda's house. It was my first time over their since Reese was born and maybe even since we moved out in December.

Afterwards, we ran a few more errands and later that evening Mark, Valerie and Baby Isabella came over with dinner. It was our first time to see them since they came to visit at the hospital.

On Sunday, we went to visit Matt's parents. So Reese got to visit both of her Houston Grandparents this weekend.

On our way back home, we picked up Grandma Ruth from Mom and Sam's. Reese was blowing bubbles on the way.