Captain's log: day 28 - 4 weeks

So there is a difference between 4 weeks and one month right?

Today, we had a "free" follow up photo session with the same company that took the hospital portraits. I had a hard time finding outfits because all I have are onesies and everything else doesn't fit Elise. She is just so small and I didn't really want to buy anything that she would grow out of soon. Also everything I would want would probably be crazy expensive 😬

Elise was not a happy camper to be woken up for the photos. She had been fussy all morning and don't really get a good nap in, but that has been her MO for the past few days. So instead of some posed shot like I have been doing, this a photo of my darling girl snoozing away after the session. A well deserved nap. 

Reasons why my parents think I'm incompetent

I think I should start a new post series about the blog title. 

Today's example: there are 5 sources of water for the dogs in my place, not including the toilets ☺️ if at any point in time, ONE of them is empty, I'm a terrible dog owner. It just so happens the coffe mug that serves as Egg Roll's water dish is the one that is empty the most. The smallest vessel for holding water... 

Let's not forget that 5 feet away there is a large water bowl in the kitchen that is never empty!

Captain's Log: day 27 - Sadness and Relief

Since Elise hit 3 weeks and is a good breastfeeder and nipple confusion won't be an issue and the hubster started going back to work, I wanted to introduce the bottle so that the hubster could get some baby time when he got off work and to prepare her for when I go back to work.

We have had no luck with Elise taking a pacifier, I thought that taking a bottle would be just as difficult.  I had read article after article and forum post after forum post to figure out how you deal with this.  We had registered for Comotomo bottles because the nipple are the closest to a real breast, but I wasn't sure if that would work for Elise.  I had read that people tried 10 nipples to get their babies to take a bottle.  I had already added different nipples and bottles to my Amazon wish list just in case.

Well, tonight, Elise took the bottle with no problem and drained down 1 ounce of my breastmilk.  As relieved as I was, I was also really sad.  She didn't need mommy anymore.  I was so sad that I even held her to sleep and didn't complain about it once.  My little baby is already growing up.

All I have to say is that Elise is already exceeding expectations in many aspects.  I'm such a proud Tiger mom!

Captain's log: day 26 - Solitary

Today was the first day alone with Elise. The hubster went back to work and I have to say Elise picked a good day to be a good little baby. She wasn't terribly hard to put down last night after her feedings and she was pretty good during the day except when my mom visited. I think I'm getting the hang of this parenting thing.

My conversion to a mom is almost complete. I have a mom haircut and I joined a FB mom group and am setting up mom dates. All I need are the mom jeans!

Captain's log: day 25 - Beach Day

Elise's first trip to the beach!

Today is the hubster's last day of paid family leave so we decided to make a quick trip to the beach. It wasn't too hot and not that crowded. Elise is officially a California baby!

Inside the half tent (Good buy, hubster) it's huge!

Daddy and Elise chillaxing

Our baller set up. Totally doable with one person. The tent was pretty easy to set up. 

Mommy and baby love 😍😘❤️💋💓💞💕

I love

The feeling of having your baby fall asleep on your chest except when it's the third time in a row and its 3 am because she's a gassy mofo who has burped three times and is still gassy because she eats too fast like her mom. 

She's still super cute though. 

Captain's log: day 24 - Splish Splash

Elise's first tub bath!

Where she promptly poops in the tub and the hubster gets grossed out. 

Captain's log: day 23 - Laws of Babies

It's been unequivocally proven that if you want your baby to wake up or not sleep take her to grandma's.  That is the lesson we have learned today and from our last several visits.

Also if you have said baby there, loud aunts will FaceTime and any chance of sleeping is obliterated. 

Anger

It makes me angry that the hubster puts little to no effort to calm the baby. He went on a 3 hour hike on Mt Woodson Trail this morning and came back in pain and sweaty and smelly. 

I wanted to hand him the baby so I could get a nap. I had been dealing with fussy Elise since 1 am. He begrudgingly takes the baby even though what he really wants is a shower.

So how does he handle the baby? He holds her on the couch and let's her scream her head off. If he's really feeling like making an effort, he gives her his pinky to suck on. If that doesn't work, well she can cry it out. 

I wish he would get up and move with her or check her diaper or use the vibrating swing or try and burp her or re-swaddle her a little tighter. I just wish he would try more rather than the ones that require the least amount of effort. 

I'm also mad that I have to be the one to remind him to extend his leave an extra day and oh by the way he's due back into work on Monday and its fucking Friday. So if he doesn't get t approved by today, he's fucking screwed. So I have to take the baby back with no fucking nap while he makes phone calls. He's been back from his refreshing baby free hike for 30 minutes with 5 minutes of baby time. And when he's off the phone, he jumps into the shower when I try to hand the baby back to him

What the fuck!!!

I don't even know why he took paid family leave. Oh yeah, so he can have himself a fucking a vacation. 

Captain's log: day 21 - 3 Weeks

We've reached three weeks!

I don't know how some new moms take all these pictures of their babies as they age. Some are so elaborately planned and their babies look so well dressed or undressed. This was totally last minute and I had given up on a pretty looking swaddle. Her legs were just not cooperating. So here's our little peanut at three weeks. 

Captain's log: day 20 - Full Day

Elise had a busy day today. We went on a walk to the park where it was really too hot to do that. She was sweating up a storm even after getting back the AC in the house. We also went to a breastfeeding support group to figure out how to avoid hiccups and spitting up. Elise is just too fast of an eater and eats too much like her mom.

We got some good tips to implement and I broke out the Boba wrap to see if it's easy to wear and hold baby. I did set it up, but since Elise is sleeping, I opted not to wake her so I could wear her. 

Things I Don't Understand

Why are all nursing tops also maternity tops?

Are they intended to be purchased during pregnancy and continued to be worn afterwards?  That seems silly.  I get that you might still have the pregnancy weight and your normal close won't fit you anymore, but I'm assuming at some point, some people will get to their pre-pregnancy weight and still be nursing and would need non-maternity nursing clothes.

I didn't buy maternity clothes for a reason and I'll be damned if I buy maternity clothes just to nurse my baby.

Captain's log: day 19 - Weight Watchers

Elise had another weigh in today and was 6 lbs 12 oz!  She exceeded her weight gain again!  This one is already exceeding expectations 😁 such a relief.

The breastfeeding is going well, but we now have other issues other than not having a milk supply. She eats super quick like her mother and because of this is prone to spitting up and hiccups. Hiccups means she doesn't nap well and they keep her up. Then she has to cry away the hiccups and be held to go back to sleep. It adds at least another 30 minutes of awake time with her. We are heading to a breastfeeding support group tomorrow for tips to alleviate these issues. 

Side note: all my pictures with Elise are while breastfeeding. Probably not wise to post those. 

Captain's log: day 18 - Relaxing with Mommy

Elise loves hammock time. It helps settle her down and get to sleep without mommy or daddy walking around for hours on end. Too bad it's hot AF here.

Captain's log: day 17 - Milk Volcano

Holy smokes! A milk volcano eruption from Mt Elise!

I fed her this morning and she was fine, just snoozing along on my chest. When I thought she was thoroughly asleep, I got up to put her down in her crib. The moment her head hit the mattress and ungodly amount of milk just spewed from her mouth all over the (just washed) sheets and her hair. Totally unprepared for it, I screamed.

She's just like her mommy, her tiny little stomach isn't nearly as big as her eyes. I'm just glad I'm producing enough for her. Now to get he to stop overeating. I can't keep doing all this laundry. 

Also Happy Father's Day!

Obligatory Lion King pose

Captain's log: day 16 - Fussy Baby

What a difference a day makes!

Elise was the fussiest baby yesterday. I think she got 6 hours of sleep total compared to the 16 she should be getting. She just did not want to sleep and had to be held constantly. Well today, she has eaten like a champ and fallen asleep right after being nursed. A much welcomed respite for one tired and exhausted mommy. I hope this is a sign that my milk has come in fully and she's getting a full feeding is a happy and satiated baby. Keeping my fingers crossed. 

Why do my parents think I'm an idiot?

I think the more appropriate question is why do my parents think following doctor's orders is stupid. They are both adamant that waking the baby every 3 hours to feed her is unnecessary, that the baby should wake naturally and be fed then. 

Let's just not consider that she was a smaller baby and that she hit the 10% weight loss threshold while in the hospital and that my milk hasn't come in fully and that Elise might not be getting enough for me or that the nursing helps both me and Elise. 

Even the smallest things are questioned and I have to jump through hoops to get my mom off my back. Elise developed baby acne yesterday and I googled it and that's what google came up with. I told my mom. Of course, she doesn't believe me. She knows I'm going to have Elise weighed on Tuesday and she wants me to ask the divorce even though it's not a real appointment just a weigh in with the nurse and the doctor is out of town.

That's not a good enough answer, so I had to call the nurse hotline to just get her to leave me alone. Why must I also care for my newborn child and my mother?  Isn't she supposed to be taking some of the burden off me and not adding to it?

Broken promises and commitments

That's all I have to look forward to. I thought you'd be there for me. Apparently not. Your social life takes precedence. Nice to know where me and Elise stand in your life. 

Husbands suck

Why am I supposed to be grateful to be able to go to Target without the baby for an hour while my husband gets to go to a movie and have dinner in fucking Carlsbad and be gone from 6 pm to 2 am?

Parenting before Amazon Prime

I thought that once I was on maternity leave my spending would go down a lot. I won't be driving (no gas money), I won't be eating out a lot (mommy will cook for me), and I'll be housebound (no shopping). Nope, definitely not the case. I've ordered something from Amazon every single day. Teas, swaddled, mattress protector, nursing cover, vitamin D, and so much more. All these things we forgot or needed multiples of that we didn't think we needed. I don't know how parents did it before Prime. Actually go to the store, but man, that's a lot of store runs and then you'd have to buy whatever they had in stock and not what you really wanted. 

In other news, I broke down and bought some shorts to fit the post preggo body, but not at pre-preggo weight. It's going to be hot this weekend and I can't keep wearing my single pair of maternity shorts and my two pairs of larger running shorts. At least not in public. I also need to buy more nursing clothes. My three tank tops won't cut it when I return to the real world. 

Captain's log: day 14 - 2 Weeks

We hit the two week mark!

Our little monkey still is a fussy butt, but we love her and put up with it. Overall, I think she's a pretty good baby, but I have nothing to compare her too. She's the best!

Captain's log: day 15 - Night Sleeping

It's a miracle. First time that Elise went down without a fuss for the middle of the night feeding at 3 am!! Too bad she didn't sleep a full four hours between feedings. Little victories, I'll take it!

Well that didn't last long, she refused to sleep at her next feeding. No idea why she was crying, lots of tears from me.

Underachieving parents?

Confession: I never want to dress my baby. It's just easier for her to be in a diaper and swaddled. Clothes are too much of a hassle. This coming from someone who's number one thing to look forward to was to dress my daughter and myself in matching outfits!!

Captain's Log: day 2 through 13

"I'll be right there"

In what universe does I'll be right there mean in 10 minutes?

Scratch that. 15 minutes ...

Maternity Leave: Day 1

Captain's Log

Day 1:

Woke up at 6:30 am (?!?!??!)
Filed for disability
Watching Hulu
Bored out of my mind.  It's 7:42 am...