big update

arden had her first pediatrician appointment on thursday. here are the specifics:

weight: 12 lb. 4.8 oz.- 90%

height: 23.4 in.- 90%

head circumference: 15.71 in.- 83%

arden took the oral immunization just fine, and howled at the 3 shots. i just about cried along with her. what i really struck me was seeing her bleed. i just wanted to take all her pain away. i wasn't able to BF her while she got the shots, but was ready right after. the doctor said she was doing well. they gave us a print out at the end that listed developments that are expected to happen in the 2-4 month time frame. arden has accomplished some of these. here's the list, if you're curious:

makes babbling, cooing sounds- check

eyes follow moving objects; focuses closely on faces- check

head bobs when held sitting- check, but still floppy

reaches for objects, may hold rattle briefly- not reaching consciously yet, but is holding items we give her

sucks fingers, thumb, or pacifier- check, but not the pacifier. i wish she would take the paci. it seems like it would make things a bit easier for me :)

rolls side to side- nope

smiles; responds and enjoys people- check

i've also noticed arden's attention span is expanding. she is becoming more comfortable being left on her own in her crib, bouncy seat, and swing. she really likes the mobile we put up. she doesn't fall asleep while watching it though. if she gets tired while in her crib, she wants us to pick her up. she has fallen asleep in the bouncy and swing. this has been a slow, gradual thing though.

sleep is easier, but still not easy. here's how it goes starting from when she goes to bed at night. she's been typically been going to sleep between 9 and 10. she sleeps for 4-6 hours. she wakes to eat, then sleeps for 2-3 hours. this puts us around 6 am. i get up and feed her, put her back to bed. she could sleep for 1-2 hours. i get up and change her if it's been an hour, if it's been 2, i feed and change her. then, either way, we hang out in the living room for 45 minutes. i call arden a "one hour baby". she gets fussy after an hour of being awake. so we interact/play for 45 min. then she gets fussy and i swaddle her. i dance/walk/jiggle her around the living room. if she gets really fussy and can't stop crying, i go to the bathroom and turn the cold water on full blast. this typically snaps her out of it and she falls asleep. i've discovered that she can't be set down right after falling asleep for a nap. i hold her while i do stuff on the computer. she tends to wake up every 10-15 minutes, but not completely. i just need to jiggle her a little, and pat her bottom to get her back to sleep. after an hour of this, she seems to be more deeply asleep and could sleep for another 1/2 hour to an hour. this is our routine for the rest of the day, with some variation when we go for walks. when she is ready for going to bed at night, it could take up to two hours of holding her before we can really put her down.

this whole process is a lot less stressful than what we were doing before (laying her down after she falls asleep). i actually feel more free with this routine. but it could be better. it would be nice to be able to eat dinner with anna (she takes over with arden when she get home from work), for us to be able to do things around the house together. i love that arden does sleep so long for the first part of the night. i'm feeling more rested than i have since she was born. i know each week (each day even) will be different with arden. she'll continue to grow and mature. i thing i learned from the pediatrician was, supposedly, once a baby reaches 14 lbs. they shouldn't need to eat during the night. i'm not expecting this to happen, but it's a nice thought :)

arden is eating every 2 hours during the day. she is such a good eater. i really enjoy feeding her. even though i don't like waking up in the middle of the night, i love seeing her fall asleep after eating. she seems so content.

i usually pump once a day in the morning. i've noticed an increase in the amount i get out. i get more from my right side than the left. midwife told me this is pretty normal, most women are uneven. the past few days the amount has increased from 2 oz to as much as 6 oz. my left breast is only giving me as much as 2 oz. i've been pumping the breast that arden didn't just eat from and then i "empty" the one she did eat from. i'm hoping my lefty will get with the program :) i don't really need to be getting a lot, but i like having a good bit in the freezer. most often i'm pumping because i'm getting engorged. this morning i had a dentist appointment (8 am, yuck!) and anna was able to take care of everything because we had freezer milk. i was even able to stay out to get my hair cut :)

the past two weeks have been good. i've enjoyed all the things i've had on my schedule (except the dentist). yesterday, we met lynn from family style love. the whole family was great :) harris was just as cute as he looked in the videos. he seemed rather taken with me, haha. stella was such a doll. i love her red hair. lynn and mindi were so friendly. i really look forward to our future playdates:)

i've been wanting to post a video of arden. i finally downloaded all the photos and videos we've taken to my laptop. i feel i need to counteract arden's grumpy photos from hanging out with lynn too :) kidding. i'll post a video, hopefully, later today. the file might be a bit large. i was having trouble with it just now.

hope everyone is having a great weekend!