Sydney is 10 weeks old! Where did the time go?

From Pregnancy Weekly.com

Your New BabySydney Alexis reaches an exciting milestone around week 10 as she begins to respond to her name. A sign of recognition may just be a widening of her eyes when she hears you say her name. This development can be exciting, but don't be surprised if it takes many more weeks before her response is consistent.Sydney Alexis's eyesight is continuing to improve and she is now able to track an object with her eyes from one side to directly in front of her face. She may even continue following it all the way to the other side for a full 180 degrees. She is also able to pick your face out of a group by now. When she sees you, she will fixate on your face, her eyes will widen and shine, and she may wave her arms with excitement.When your arms need a short break, or when Sydney Alexis needs a little down-time, try placing Sydney Alexis in an infant seat or swing. She is now strong enough to sit in this semi-reclined position, especially when propped with a small pillow or rolled receiving blanket. However, be sure these objects are not placed near her head where she could turn her face into them and suffocate. While her neck and back have grown significantly stronger in the past few weeks, her head is still wobbly, so continue to provide support.

"Making the decision to have a child-it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body."~ Elizabeth Stone

Over the River & Through the Woods....to St Louis we go

We went to St Louis this past weekend for Meghan's birthday & Jeff's cousin's wedding. It was our first roadtrip as a 3-some. I was very happy that Sydney slept the whole way there, with a quick stop off in Columbia to feed her & change her diaper. Of course, she was ready to play for a bit when we arrived. So I let her visit w/ the family. I changed her into her pj's so everyone could enjoy the naked baby time-its the best! And then she was a very good girl and went right to bed.

This was the first time that Sydney and her cousin Trevor had met. When he first saw her, he immediately started saying "be-be, be-be", it was so cute! He's really gotten big since we last saw him before Christmas and he's at such an active age. I sure am glad that babies come immobile when you first get 'em. I wouldn't know what to do if she was already moving around & getting into everything. I know that day is coming, but I really appreciate my snuggly little non-moving bundle right now.

Ryan and I tried to get the two of them to take pictures together sitting on the couch, but we weren't good enough to keep Trevor there long enough....so this is Sydney waiting very patiently on the couch all by herself.

We went over to Jeff's Aunt Vicki's place to visit with the Johnson side of the family while we were in town. Here is Syd being snuggled by her Aunt Christy....
...and cousin Erin (really 2nd cousin, or first cousin once removed-we couldn't figure it out)...
...and Great Aunt Maura....
...and cousin Colleen...

...and her Great Grandma, Nana....She sure was pooped from all the excitement over the weekend. She crashed hard when we got home Sunday evening. We thought this was a funny picture of our little drama queen sleeping w/ her hand propped on her forehead. Grandma Sharon thinks she should be an actress since she makes such good facial expressions. She can go from frustrated, to happy, to sad, to scared, to excited & laughing-all w/in 30 seconds!

Sydney might be a thumb sucker soon. At lunch today I looked over at her in her carseat and she was concentrating ever so carefully on her left hand. She had it in a fist with her thumb extended and she was "tasting" the tip of her thumb. She didn't really suck it, but she was very fixated on it and couldn't really decided if she wanted it in her mouth or if she wanted to look at it. In the meantime, she was quite crosseyed trying to look at her thumb while having it in her mouth! This kept her entertained for a good 10 minutes.

We've decided its time to give Sydney her first hair cut, or rather more like a trim. Her hair around her ears is so long & she looks like she's got bedhead all the time. Its a little thinner on top, and I was told that trimming it would help it grow out more evenly. I've been to scared to do this myself because I'm afraid I'll botch the job. I'll let you know when I get the courage up to do it & post some pictures.

I left Sydney with her daycare lady this afternoon. It wasn't nearly as hard as I was afraid it would be. I definitely missed her, but that's my selfish mommy coming out because I know that she's fine and will be okay w/out me. Although, I do honestly think she was happy to see me when I came in to pick her up. She was fussy for a bit & didn't take a good nap there, but she did say that Syd was quite talkative and coo'ed and smiled a bit so she must have been fairly happy. We're going to practice a bit more on Thursday afternoon, so hopefully we'll all get used to this new arrangement soon. I go back to work this Monday....wish us luck!

Baby Parade @ 2 Months

So...its not much of a parade yet, since we've only got two months under out belt. But, its a start. Maybe its just the mom in me, but I can really see a difference between the two pictures. Her cheeks are just as chubby, but she's a lot longer. She's grown 4 inches since birth and gained 4 lbs and 1 oz. One of the most noticeable things to me is the color of her skin. She may have had a little jaundice left in the 1st month's picture, but she was definitely more red & irritated than she is today. Her skin has really cleared up & is all peaches & cream now.

1 month2 months I wasn't good enough to get her smiling in the chair, but she perked right up when I went to change her diaper. One of her favorite times to interact is when she's on her changing table. I can't figure out why this is. My guess is that she's closer to our faces so she can see us better. Plus, she likes anywhere she can stretch out and move around.
Like I said before, she LOVES to play on her changing table. This was after bath night tonight. She swings both her arms like she's getting ready to take off, and kicks her legs like a crazy woman. She also loves to be naked-- if she's warm enough. If not, she'll let you know all about it!
This picture was taken right in the middle of an "aa-gooo". I wish I would have had my camcorder instead of the still camera, because she was so talkative.
In the past several days we've noticed her watching her own fist. As she's swinging, it will catch her eye and she'll just stare at it and follow it as she moves it. You can just see the wheels turning in her head as she tries to figure it out. I think she realizes it can be controlled by her, but she just doesn't have the hang of it yet. She's reached out for my face a few times and gets really excited when she makes contact.

Her eyes have been going crossed a lot lately. They say this is normal, and her eyes will be strong enough by the 3rd month not to do that anymore. Its not all the time, and only lasts for a few seconds when she's focusing really hard on something far away. If I run my hand over her face to make her blink, they usually go back to normal. Its kinda funny to see her so serious & crosseyed.

Sydney slept for 8 hours last night & we're so proud. Everytime she has a good night we're just beaming w/ pride the next day. She's sleeping 6 1/2 to 8 hours on a regular basis now. The variable is whether or not I can wake her up for the 11pm feeding. If I can, then we're good until Jeff wakes up for work. If I can't, then she usually is hungry around 4:45am. Last night she was pretty much comatose. I went in at 11:20 for her nightcap before I went to bed and she wouldn't crack an eye. I had her naked & wiped her down w/ cold butt wipes-and nothing! She barely even changed her breathing pattern. I put her back down & tried again at 11:33. Still nothing. So....at 10 till 5 this morning, guess who was hungry? Yep, you guessed it! I still can't complain, but it would be ideal if she'd sleep through more consistently by the time I go back to work.

Sydney's 2 Month Check Up

Sunday morning we went to Ihop for breakfast. (we played hookie from church) We just think she's so darn cute that we take pictures of her for no reason all day long! Her neck is strong enough now that she likes to pull back and look around when you're holding her.
Jeff was trying to photograph her smiling, but was too late and got this "deer in the headlights" look instead.
Finally, one if us had a camera when she was smiling. Of course, its while being fed...and she loves food. She always makes "bedroom" eyes at her daddy. They're so in love!What a chunky little monkey!!! Can you see the milk dripping all over her?

I took Sydney for a walk last week. It was nice outside, but windy so I bundled her up in her little Zoe outfit.


Sydney turned 2 months old on Saturday. I took her in for her 2 month check up & booster shots today. She is 75th% in all 3 areas: 11lbs 11oz, 23" long, and head circ. 15 3/4". So, I guess that means her body is catching up w/ her noggin. She was not a fan of the shots. She got 2 in each thigh and has been pretty tired ever since. She had her first Tylenol right before, and I gave her another dose tonight. I was surprised at how big the needles were for someone so small! She looked right at me as the first one went in, I was holding her head as she lay on the table and had my pinky ready to insert like a pacifier, and she let out a giant scream. It was such a sad cry, and I could tell that she was pretty scared. Her little mouth was open so wide with the cries that she didn't even find my pinky to comfort her. The nurse finished quickly, and I scooped her up off the table to comfort her. A few big crocodile tears, some pinky sucking, and some rocking, and she was just fine. Jeff was pretty worried about her, so he held her most of this evening. She went to bed pretty fast, so I think she was just ready for this day to be over. Everything else was on par with her development. Her umbilical hernia is still there, but no biggie. She's not rashy from the baby acne anymore, and the cradle cap is gone. However, she does have the waxiest ears I've ever seen, and the doc agreed with me. He said its not a problem, just makes it harder for him to see in there. I guess she gets the waxieness from Jeff. Although, I do remember Jamie having some ear wax issues when he was little.

Happy 8 weeks, Sydney!!!

Today makes 8 weeks since Sydney made her grand entrance into this world.

These are just a few pictures from Monday....just a typical day around the house w/ Syd.

"Mommy, look how well I can hold my head up now!"

She's really gotten better at actually holding up her head and looking around, instead of the bobble thing she would do before. She enjoys tummy time much more now. Her neck still gets tired after about 10 minutes of this, so then she's back to smashing in her nose.
"Mommy, look....I have ears!"

This was after bathtime and we just let her play around a bit before putting her to bed. She was pretty cute & talking to us. I was trying to capture a smile on camera, but it still remains unphotographed.
"Mommy, look...its another baby."

I've been trying to see if she is looking into the mirror, but its hard to tell. I think she's starting to pay more attention to it now.
"Sydney, its time for bed."

Just a little snuggle time before I read her a story and put her in her crib.

Jeff and I "won" some "contest" from Flash, an expensive photography studio at the mall. I think I filled something out when I was there a month or so ago. I'm pretty sure they called everyone who did & told them they were a "contest winner". Which really means, they bring you in & give you a 1/2 session & waive the sitting fee. You get 1 pose in an 8x10 and some wallets for free, in hopes that you'll purchase one of there packages & spend tons of dough. The third picture posted is the one we chose. I thought I'd post the link for you to check out:

www.flashportraits.com

click on "my portraits", enter our last name

Password: Morgan

Sleeping Beauty

Sydney slept through the night last night, and I'm one happy momma! She has slept for long stretches before, but none that correlated w/ my sleeping times. Last night I fed her at 8, we bathed her, I read her Goodnight Moon, and then laid her down to sleep. We're letting her "cry it out" if she doesn't go to sleep right away, and she did a good bit of fussing before going to sleep. But, I guess it worked because this is the first night in almost 8 weeks that she hasn't wanted to eat between 2am & 4am. I woke her at 11 to feed her again, a last chance effort to fill her tummy in hopes of a long slumber. At about 5:15 am Jeff rolled over to ask me if she was alright. I couldn't believe what time it was when I looked at the clock. A brief moment of panic ran over me as we both wondered if she was still breathing. At Jeff's request, I went in to take a peek at her-but very careful not to wake her. She looked peaceful & still had color in her cheeks, so I assumed that she was okay. We all slept until 6:15 when Jeff's alarm went off for work and I woke her up for her first morning feeding. This is exactly the schedule I'd hoped she'd learn to adjust to. I'll try bathing her & putting her down a bit earlier tonight, because I think she still needs a longer night sleep. This might not be a permanent sleep pattern yet, but with a little more work & consistency I hope it will be soon.

Everybody loves a naked baby! Jeff was admiring her before dressing her on Saturday.

He quickly discovered that she's outgrown this 0-3 mos outfit. It was a little tight at the crotch, but it was more noticeable that she couldn't straighten her legs. This is actually the exact same outfit she wore 9 days earlier in the pictures below.

You can tell a little better in this picture, especially on her right let. Her foot is all the way to the end, but her knee is still bent.

She's a Man Eater!!!

Here's Sydney shopping with Brooklan Ivans and Brynn Stowell on 3/2 (yeah, I know I'm behind on posting pictures!!!) We had a blast at the Great Mall & of course I had to buy her some precious little denim overalls. Most of her 0-3 mos size clothes are for winter weather, which we're not having much of lately.
Here is Syd's first boyfriend, Tanner Trachsel. Like Syd, he LOVES to eat and was enjoying what looks to be either peas or green beans this evening. Here's how excited Sydney was about her evening w/ Tanner!
This is Syd's other beau, Jackson Schupper and his mom Stephanie. Jackson was born 2/28, and he's got some catching up to do if he's going to fight Tanner to defend Sydney's honor ;)

Sydney sure does have the hots for Jackson...she couldn't keep her eyes and hands off him. In fact, we had to move her away because she kept trying to touch him and he was only 5 hours old here.

Week 7

From babyweekly.com;

Week 07- Your New Baby
Babies generally begin sleeping a little better when they are about 7 weeks old, so now is a great time to establish a bedtime routine. A regular order of events at bedtime will help differentiate nighttime sleep from daytime naps and make a clear transition between playtime and bedtime.
Remember to always place your baby on his or her back for sleeping to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and accidental suffocation.
Your baby is starting to understand his or her senses - he or she will follow dangling objects with his or her eyes, and visually search for the source of sounds. Your little one is also developing more sophisticated tastes in color, preferring bright colored, three dimensional objects over flat black and white ones. He or she may love to watch a colorful, musical mobile above his or her crib.
Your baby is also busy developing his or her motor skills and discovering that he or she can move his or her arms! Your little one doesn't have the hand-eye coordination or muscle tone necessary to successfully reach for an object, but he or she will begin to swipe aimlessly and probably squeal in delight as his or her arms flail about in the air. You might even see your baby's first social smile anytime now.
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Jeff and I are positive that she had her first social smile on 2/21, if not before. She loves to smile and coo when Jeff plays a little game called "I'm going to get your tongue!". Its pretty cute. I'll try to get a video of it soon and post it on the blog...something I need to learn how to do still. Also, they sure are right about her sleeping better. Last night she slept from 10pm until 5;30am-now that's more like it!!

Hiccups in her sleep

I'm trying to figure out how to get this calendar to show up on our main blog page, and not just the individual posts. I have obviously placed it in the wrong place in the code, but I can't seem to find the right one.... maybe you'll log in soon and see this at the top of the page.

This morning during Sydney's nap, she got the hiccups-but stayed asleep!! I heard them start and thought "great....so much for a long morning nap!", but when I went in to check on her, her eyes were shut and she was still, except for the the jerking movement of the hiccups. I didn't know you could get the hiccups while already asleep. She usually quits having them once she falls asleep if she has them already!

Tonight we went to dinner at Chili's since I decided to clean the oven this morning. I put the cleaner on, and was going to leave it all day so it would be easier to wipe out tonight. Well....I forgot about it & failed to mention it to Jeff. So, when he preheated the oven for dinner, well....lets just say it was a pretty strong stench with tons of smoke. We opened the windows in time for the alarms not to go off. Jeff was really worried about the loud noise upsetting Sydney. The smell was so bad that we decided to leave the house for a while & hope it was aired out by the time we returned. Thank goodness it was nice weather today! While we were at dinner, Jeff had Syd out holding her and our waitress was commenting on how cute she is. Just then I looked over and she has poop coming out of the back of her outfit!! Yeah, that's pretty cute, isn't it! Luckily we had a spare outfit packed in the diaper bag, so I gave her a quick once over w/ butt wipes and put on new clothes.

More bath time pictures! Can you tell she's getting chubbier, even from last week's pictures I posted last time?It looks like she's about to sneeze in this picture, but it was actually just a big yawn.Here she is in the cute outfit from Grandpa Hunt. Its complete w/ matching bib and blanket. It has a matching cap too, but her large melon has already outgrown it!!
She used to hate her boppy, but tummy time on it has become more fun. Probably because she can actually hold up her head for a while and look around, instead of just smashing in her nose.

More naked baby!!! Her favorite time is getting dressed on her changing table. This is usually when she just talks and talks and talks.

Sleep Habits

Sunday night Sydney slept from 8:30 until 4:30 am. It was a wonderful light at the end of the tunnel :) I fed her at 8 and then we gave her a quick bath and she was down by 8:30ish. I then tried to wake her for the 11pm feeding, and despite a diaper change w/ cold wipes and much tickling, she wouldn't open an eye. So, I put her back down, fearful that she would wake up again in an hour or so and want to eat just as I was starting to get to the good sleep. Nope, she didn't make a peep until 4:23am. I woke to feed her and change her, and was back in bed by 4:44. She didn't wake again until 8:30. So....we basically went 12 hours w/ a sleeping baby minus one 20 min feeding. Now....the challenge is, how do I get her to have a feeding that is more on schedule w/ my sleeping time?? This I'm not sure.....

So, last night we tried the exact same thing...Feeding at 8, bath, bed, wake her at 11-to no avail, put her back down and hope for a long sleep time. Well, she woke earlier this time, at 3am, and then again at 6:30am to eat. She still slept 6 1/2 hours straight, but it didn't correlate w/ my sleeping times. Maybe I should start going to bed at 8:30 w/ her, but then I'd never get to spend time w/ Jeff.

We'll keep trying the same thing, and maybe one day she'll wake up for the 11pm feeding and sleep until 6 or 7, or maybe even just sleep for 10-12 hours straight! We'll keep praying for that day, I have a feeling it might be closer than we'd imagined just 3 days ago!

I haven't downloaded pictures from either of our cameras in 2 weeks, so its about time.....

We just love naked baby bath time, so we take lots of pictures of her there

She's learning to like bath time, but in this picture it looks like she's saying, "Lady, do you even know what you're doing???" Clean, happy baby, w/ hair styled by her daddy. We decided to take a picture of Syd each month next to this lamb, that way we can see how much she's growing. Do I look like a worn out new mom in this picture, or what!! Really, its not as bad as I make it look like here. I found this picture to be a rather funny memory, and I'm sure I'll appreciate it more as time goes on. I don't even remember what day this picture was taken, but I think it must have been Saturday Baby in the Bed Day.

Syd still likes to sleep w/ her hands above her head. I just don't' understand it, because my arms would be numb in no time if I slept like that. Here she is taking a nap in her pack n' play while mom vegges on the couch catching up on some TV.As you probably know by now, Sydney doesn't normally take a binky, but she will go to town on our pinky fingers. We've tried several kind several times. Last week she took this Avent one for about 20 min, but hasn't touched it again since. It was a big moment for us, so we took a picture to celebrate.About 2 or 3 weeks ago, she became interested in the mobile over her swing. It has a mirror on the bottom, so I'm not sure if she's checking out her own reflection, or the birds that fly around it. This cute J-Lo inspired outfit is what Sydney sported to Jackie Stowell's baby shower on the 25th. The cutsie velour 2-piece is from Great Aunt Debbie McArthur, and the bling-bling onsie is from Sharon Bench. Her baby-couture was a big hit!This is another post-bathtime picture w/ hair stylings by dad. Her hair is actually curly when its wet, but board straight when dry. On the 28th I think it got up to 75 or 78 outside, so it was time to bust our yet another fashion explosion! Doesn't she look like she's posing for the heisman in this?