Is the fussiness over?!

Well, I am happy to report that I am even contemplating asking myself, is the fussiness over? Literally, starting the end of last week, I feel like a switch just went off and Meredith is all of the sudden a much happier baby!! She is smiling all the time and loves sucking on her hands and reaching and grabbing things hanging from her activity mat or her bouncy chair. She is just being so much fun all of the sudden. Don't get me wrong, she still can fuss and just want to be held, but she seems content just sitting on my lap, instead of needing to be in constant motion. All I have to say is, this is the happy baby I have always dreamed of!

All of this is coming at a perfect time, because my hubby is MIA, in Peru for 12 days to operate. He left last Friday afternoon and will be returning in a week (next Tuesday). I have to say, I feel like we're doing well, all things considered. Last Saturday night until Sunday afternoon was a bit overwhelming, but only because I tried to get too much done in too little time. On Saturday I decided to run errands with Meredith, and for some reason I ended up buying way too much, and way too many heavy and bulky items - like dog food, litter, diapers, frozen dinners, etc. And when I got home I suddenly realized, I would have to be the one to bring every thing into the house and put it all away! Well, if that wasn't bad enough I had less than 2 hours to do that, feed Meredith, pump, get her down for a nap and get ready for a party we were going to! Needless to say, I was stressed, Meri didn't end up going down for a nap, and we were late for the party, but we did get where we planned on going - which was the Plastic Surgery Department Christmas Party. For some reason I thought it would be fun to go with Meredith, even though Jon was gone. And I have to say, it wasn't that much fun. I did know a handful of people, but there were a lot of their office staff and PAs that I had never met and who didn't know me at all. And because I wasn't that familiar with the other party goers, I didn't feel comfortable asking for help - so I basically hauled Meri around all night, trying to figure out how to eat, go to the bathroom, warm up her bottles, feed her, change her, etc all by myself. I know if Jon had been there, it would've been much more fun - oh well. Meredith ended up falling asleep in her carseat just as I was about to leave, so I took advantage and sat down and relaxed for awhile before heading out - which meant we didn't get home until 11pm and not to bed until after midnight... Then the next morning I was supposed to attend a friend's 2 year old's birthday party at 10am. Meri did decide to get up by 8am, but between pumping, feeding her and a bit of play time, I didn't think we'd make it. Meri went down for a nap at 10am, giving me some time to get myself ready and then I decided to throw her in her carseat and make a go for it. We were there by 11:30am and I was so glad I went. It was almost the total opposite of the night before - tons of babies, space, food and friendly people offering their help and praises! It really raised my spirits and I felt totally comfortable and happy! And it was great seeing some friends I hadn't seen in awhile and meeting a few new friendly people! Then it was off to my Uncle Bob's to watch the Viking's game and hang out with my aunts and uncles! I originally was a bit worried about being gone from home so long and how Meri would do - but she did great! She got her bottles, I found time to pump, she took a great nap on my uncle's guest bed and I had my aunt's to help me with her. I didn't get home until 7pm, but I was well fed and felt happy and relaxed after having such a fun and low stress day with family and friends!

And so far this week, I'm getting to work on time in the mornings. I have to get up by 4:45 am, but I then have time to get myself ready, feed Meredith and get her ready and out the door by 5:45am. It's a lot easier with Jon's help, and I'd get a bit more sleep with him around - but it hasn't been that bad. And the evenings, as I mentioned above - have been pretty fun. I've started trying to get Meredith on a nap and bedtime schedule and so far, I've been successful. We get home around 3:30 or 4pm and play until she eats around 4;30 to 5pm - then she naps until no later than 7pm (I wake her up if I have to) - then we play and she eats again around 7:30pm. Then by about 8:15 to 8:30 we start her bedtime routine - lotion, change into PJs, read "Goodnight Moon", swaddle, then in her crib with her mobile on. It usually doesn't take long and her eyes are closed. Sometimes she stirs and fusses and I have to come up and put her pacifier in her mouth - but not always. Then around 10 to 10:30pm, I do a "dream feed". I pick her up out of her crib with her eyes closed, put a bottle in her mouth and she eats. She never opens her eyes and I don't do anything else like change her diaper or even burp her. I just let her eat until she's full and then put her back to bed. And so far - knock on wood - she then sleeps through the night until I get her up to do her only breastfeeding of the day at 5am (she gets all bottles that I've pumped the rest of the day). This schedule has only been going on a little over a week - but I'm hopeful. I'm also concerned at how early she wakes up on my days off, since she's used to getting up around 5am on my work days. I have 4 days off in a row starting on Friday- so we'll see how that goes!

I do have Friday through Monday off this week, at my request, so I can go down to Blue Earth. I'm looking forward to the extra hands and help - as well as just seeing my family in general - though packing is taking me every night this week so far and I still probably won't get it into my car until after work on Thurs because I have to come home to pick up my dog after work before heading home! I have an appointment to get my hair done and a date planned with my best high school girlfriend on Saturday night. It'll be fun! Though I do have one not so fun plan for the weekend.... I think I may stop breastfeeding. I know this subject is very charged, so I hope I don't offend or bother anyone - but I think I'm ready to stop. I've been exclusively pumping and bottle feeding Meredith for over 2 weeks now and it's actually going pretty well. But it is a huge time commitment and it get's a bit challenging when Jon's gone - which isn't just now, but also when he gets home late in the evenings or is on call on the weekends. I actually pumped while I drove on Sunday (I hooked up while parked, used a hooter hider, it was completley hands free....) and I'm pumping right now! I also am worried at how painful quitting may be and think having several days off of work in a row may be helpful - as well as being around my family so they can help with Meredith. We actually had her 4 month appointment this afternoon and I discussed this possibility with her pediatrician and she didn't give me a guilt trip at all. So, I plan on starting to mix formula in with breastmilk tomorrow and stop pumping on Friday - we'll see how it all goes!?

Speaking of her 4 month appointment - yep Meredith is 4 months old. She is 13 lb 11 oz and 23 inches long. The pediatrician says we can start baby cereal anytime and then slowly can start introducing other fruits and veggies as tolerated! I can't believe it. I think I'll do formula and get that established for a few weeks and then start rice cereal for a few weeks and just see how that goes. I'm excited to feed Meredith with a spoon - I'm sure there will be a lot of good pics!

There have been a lot of changes lately, but most for the good. She is definitely starting to be super fun. I wish I could be home with her more. Here are some of her 4 month old happenings....

- She is smiling so much more and giggles when I tickle her and sometimes even when I talk to her or kiss her

-She loves laying under her activity mat and grabbing the monkey or giraffe and putting them in her mouth.

-She likes to spend a little time in her Exersaucer- I can see it quickly becoming her favorite place

- She's starting to like tummy time. She's getting a lot more upper body strength, so she can look around and work her arms and legs.

- She is getting close to rolling over - when laying on her back to arches her back and swings her legs around - she ends up on her side, but hasn't quite figured out how to get to her tummy- though I'm not sure she'd find that preferable.

-She's eating like a little piggy. Now that she's bottle fed, I can see what she's eating. And after a few weeks of gradually increasing how many ounces I give her - she's now being offered 6 oz of breast milk 6 times a day and often eats them all, as well as 1 breastfeeding session. I think she may even eat more than 6oz sometimes, but she remains happy between feedings and I don't want to over do it!

-We've started the transition to the crib. She's been napping in it since mid-December, but only since the last couple weeks I've been brave enough to put her in there overnight - and so far - so good.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch of new fun stuff - but I should feed Meri and head to bed. I hope all is well with everyone and I'll update soon if I can!