Over these last few weeks Maribel sure has experienced a lot! We had an earthquake (in which daddy was at work and mommy was quite terrified...I seriously did not like the swaying feeling of our apartment building!) We had Hurricane Irene (which was not bad at all in our town but in other areas, particularly in the county I grew up, was horrible.) DH went away for 4 weeks for the Army from the end of August to the end of September. We did fine without him, spending 2.5 weeks visiting family and friends, but we really, really missed him. Just having him here with us and having that extra set of hands to help with Maribel and our dog - we missed everything about him. But he's home now so everybody's happy!
As of last Wednesday (11w1d) Maribel weighed 13lbs 1oz so she's a really healthy girl. She's growing out of clothes, in many cases only wearing them once before we have to retire them. She's currently in 6 month onesies & outfits and 6-9 month sleepers (6 month sleepers are just about to short for her long legs now.) She is still breastfeeding and supplementing with formula. She eats a LOT! Most feedings she'll feed from both breasts and then follow that up with a bottle (anywhere from 2oz - 3.5 oz of formula.)
Maribel started smiling at just past 5 weeks. Oh we love her gummy smile!! While DH was away she also started "talking". It was amazing to watch her "find" her voice and really vocalize to us. The day before he came home she giggled for the first time when I tickled her chin (ok, one of her many chins.) Each day she seems to do more - follow my voice around the room, watch the dog walk past, suck her thumb, drool, actually play with her activity gym, etc.
She still doesn't like to sleep for very long. At night she usually falls asleep around 8pm or 830pm and sleeps until 1am or 2am. She eats and is up for about an hour. Then she wakes again between 430am and 530am and is up for the day at that point. (Now you can see why I'm pretty tired.) She does nap throughout the day, but the length of the nap varies daily.
I'm feeling pretty well, not great, but ok I guess. My joints are a wreck! I'm not sure why but I have a tremendous amount of joint pain throughout my body which gets worse as the day goes on. Hopefully it's just the after effects of being pregnant? My itchy eczema is still present. Not as bad as when I was pregnant but still making me itchy on a daily basis. My psoriasis is coming back - UGH!!! I really don't want to have both skin ailments but it looks like I'm not getting my wish. And lastly I'm actually gaining weight lately. I'm heavier now than I was when I first lost the water weight after coming home from the hospital. Part of it I'm sure is from lack of sleep - I seriously have enough energy to get through the day and play with my daughter but beyond that, I'm zapped. I also am a snackaholic, perhaps to help me get through the long days & nights. But hopefully I'll get myself on the right track soon.
Here are some pictures from weeks I missed posting. Sorry if some are huge - I re-sized them but they don't seem to be cooperating. Ah well, enjoy!
Our little peanut at 5 weeks:
Pics from her photoshoot with Breanne Larkin Photography at just past 5 weeks old:
A little smile from our girl at 7w5d:
Out for a ride in the stroller at 8 weeks:
The next 2 shots are from 11 weeks old. The first is a gorgeous gummy smile wearing a sundress made by Grandma A:
The second is her watching Yo Gabba Gabba while mommy was folding laundry:
Well, I better go. Someone small and adorable just woke up from her nap so I'll write again soon. Bye for now!
