1 month old!

Happy 1 Month Birthday Miss Amelia!  Let's hope Month 2 brings more sleep, smiles, and fun!

The past week has definitely been challenging with her sleep schedule.  I am not kidding, last night she was up every hour, on the hour.  We just don't get it, but she does have a doctor's appointment tomorrow so maybe they will have some recommendations for us.  Poor Grandma Z came last week and experienced the sleeplessness we call Amelia too.  Luckily, she doesn't mind too much since she says she is able to recover the very next day.  Kevin and I sure do appreciate her coming in though, a good 5-6 hour stretch of sleep feels AMAZING!

We also had my family from Freeport come in.  Grandpa O, Uncle Kenny and Aunt Lorraine, and my cousin Jessi all made the trip.  They were also so fortunate as to witness all of Amelia's temper tantrums.  It was so nice to have them in though.  It makes the day go faster, helps to have someone else console Amelia, and gives me an opportunity for adult conversation.

Aunt Mara came to visit again too.  Of course, Amelia slept pretty much the whole time she was here.  Mara can't seem to understand how fussy Amelia can be because everytime she is over, she is a perfect little angel!

Chicago's Air and Water Show was this weekend and we had Kevin's best friend and his family come for a visit.  Ryan, Kristy, Jack, and Baby Michael all drove in from Elgin to meet Amelia.  It was nice to see them and talk to Kristy since Baby Michael is only about a month and a half older than Amelia.  Jack had colic so she had a lot of good advice for me.   

I also hosted a baby shower for my friend Kelly this weekend.  It was so fun to celebrate her daughter who is set to make her debut on September 30th.  Kevin had to take care of Amelia and Freddie for a few hours, but he managed really well! Thanks to Greg and Pauline for letting him crash at their house during the party. 

Pictures from the last week below:

Thanks for all the help Lorraine!

A nice surprise to see Jessi!

Grandpa O checking Amelia out!

Her favorite way to sleep

Kelly 35 weeks pregnant - gorgeous!

Happy Kujawa family, Amelia not so much...

High school seems pretty far away, huh boys?

Amelia and Freddie in the play gym

1 month birthday

Thanks for the Tiffany's brush, BCG!

Anything to keep her sleeping - water running in the background.

Getting so big

Sleep? Hello? Are you out there somewhere??

Sleep deprivation has definitely set in.  Amelia seems to be a little high maintenance. :)  It's not that Kevin and I can't get her settled down, it's that she does not seem to stay content for too long.  I am reminding myself that the doctor said 6 weeks is the peak of fussiness, so we are over halfway there.  She will be 4 weeks on Friday!  She has another doctor's appointment next Tuesday, so we are looking for some big gains in weight since she seems to eat constantly. 

In other news, we moved - AGAIN!  We had so many issues with our last place, but the final straw was the leaking ceilings that started growing black mold.  What a pain, but we are almost settled in a new unit in the same complex.  Wish us luck!

People better not think that I am her nanny!

Freddie is still our baby too!

Brother and Sister

Cousins!

Love this pic with Aunt Mara

Fun in the nursery

August 15th

Big Girl!

Amelia had her 2 week appointment on Friday and it went well.  She weighed in at 8 pounds 6.5 ounces and 22 inches.  Those measurements put her in the over 98th percentile for height and 75th percentile for weight.  Kevin and I are just happy that she is eating well and growing! 

We do have to follow up with a small lump on her jawline.  The doctors are not quite sure what it is, but they said it does not seem to be too concerning.  We have to keep an eye on it and let them know if it grows or turns red.  I was hoping it was an injury due to her forceps delivery, but that does not seem to be the case.

Amelia has been getting fussier and fussier and the doctors say the fussiness peaks at 6 weeks.  I am definitely not looking forward to that time frame, especially after I was up from 1:00am to 4:30am this morning with her.  She obviously takes after Kevin, since my family says I was a good baby and hardly fussed.  :)

Status Check

Michelle Update:

Mom is doing SO much better!  I'd say I'm about 90% back to normal.  I will know I'm 100% when I can walk with Freddie to the dog park without feeling pain.  I'm in no type of rhythm or routine with Amelia yet, but I don't have very high expectations since she isn't even two weeks old yet.  So far, the hardest thing for me has been trying to set some time aside for myself.  It is such a process to even find time to shower, let alone actually doing my hair or make-up, or leaving the house to run an errand.  One day at a time.....

Kevin Update:
Kevin went back to work on Monday.  It's hard for him to leave his little girl, but he receives a lot of pictures and updates throughout the day.  Taking care of Amelia at night is definitely a challenge (especially when she wakes up 6 times in 6 hours!), so he's getting up with her at least one or two times a night now to help me.  We'll see how long he can last since he's also working a full day at work, but I sure appreciate the help! 

Freddie Update:

Freddie is slowly getting used to his little sister.  He is very careful around her and will sniff her from time to time, but he knows she is special and he better not press his luck.  He is mostly just jealous. Whenever he can, Freddie will sleep on my feet or in between my legs when I'm holding her or he'll sleep on Kevin's chest or beside him.  Freddie has been acting out a little though, he keeps ripping the bathroom trash apart, jumped on the bed in the third bedroom and POOPED on it, and today ate an entire bowl of honeydew that Aunt Mara brought for us! 

Amelia Update:

Amelia has been eating like a champ, which means lots of dirty diapers!  She has her two week appointment on Friday, and I am guessing that she will surpass her birth weight and come in at 8lbs 4 ozs.  Grandma Z came in on Monday and Tuesday to help out again, and discovered that Amelia loves to be held, rocked, and walked.  I hadn't really been able to do that much since I was immobile for so long, so it's nice to have new ways to soothe her.  She already has her baby acne coming in (geez, she's looking more and more like mom everyday!) and her umbilical cord is almost completely healed.  More to come after her appointment on Friday, but so far so good!

Some quick thank you's:

Thanks to Sharon, Mara, and Kristi for visiting and bringing food!
Thanks to Dave and Kyle for the food and animal books!
Thanks to Gina and Sheila for bringing food and cute little outfits for Amelia!
Thanks to Lauren for the clothes, shoes, socks, and book!
Thanks to Charlene and Steve for the adorable clothes and drinks!
Thanks to Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Kenny for the start of Amelia's college fund!


Here are some more pictures from the last few days.  Lots of visitors for Amelia!

Amelia can really hold her head up already!

Auntie Kyle

Family Nap Time :)

Auntie Lauren

Auntie Kristi

Grandpa Z!

Freddie wants in the picture too

Aunt Kris

Uncle Gary

Her hair is like a grandpa's

Auntie Gina and Auntie Sheila stopping by after a hard day's work!