1st Night in the Crib

Ok, so I often wondered why my friends who have blogs that actually got me started doing this (actually it was LA saying "you ought to do that for us" or "so and so has a blog, we need a blog - always trying to keep up with the Jones) have big gaps in posts or either the blog goes to blog heaven after the baby is born. I now know why...it's busy (4 hours between feedings actually means .5 hours with feeding, diapers and taking a nap), we are down to one computer, you take the small things for granted as they happen and forget to post about it, and the actual reason is the realization of the monster that you have created by ever starting a blog and the hope that it will just fade away if you don't post but it won't - people are demanding.)

So what’s been happening since the last post. I say not a whole lot but that goes back to the taking the small events for granted. Aubrey is still eating, sleeping peeing and pooping. She still sleeps about 4 hours at a time and about 6 or 7 after she feeds around 9, 10 or 11pm. You would think that we are spoiling her but actually she is spoiling us. If they were all as good as she has been we would have a population problem like China in the US. We are spoiling her but I think all parents do. It's just the nature of loving someone so much. Sometimes she will cry when we both leave the room and stops when we walk back in. She will cry to be held and loved on. It's not all the time but it's good when she does do it. Most of the time she is perfectly content to be propped up somewhere to look around or sleep. She is becoming more alert and is starting to focus on items. It is funny to watch her go cross-eyed as she tries to focus. She is starting to find her voice - making cooing sounds. She will now even give you a little smile. She has figured out that daddy's shirt is the burp cloth. You can use a burp cloth but it never seems to hit it. Her favorite game to play is to pee or poop without her diaper on. It goes something like this - remove dirty diaper, clean up mess with wipes, turn head to get a new diaper and turn around to find she has peed or pooped on the changing pad or she pees or poops on the new diaper as soon as you get it underneath her or on her. That is frustrating...Leigh-Ann says I am too slow (but it happens to her also). Aubrey is good at making "upset" faces just before she starts to cry.

We think she is going through a grow spurt because in the past week she is wanting more to eat. The other evening LA gave me a bottle with 6 ounces of milk and asked me to feed her. It looked like she was starving as she sucked down the first couple of ounces. When I took the bottle from her to burp her, you would have thought the world was ending. She was crying and getting upset and didn't stop until I gave her the bottle back. This went on for the rest of the bottle as she ate all six ounces. We were certain that she would give some of it back but it all stayed down. This has happened on a couple of other occasions in the past week. We know she is growing because she is starting to outgrow some of her new born items...great, week 6 and already needing a wardrobe change (this is going to get expensive).

LA is going back to work on November 10th. We have met with the Andrea and Andy who are going to be keeping Aubrey. They are a super nice couple and we know Aubrey will be well cared for from 7:30 to 3:00pm each day. They have a 9 month old son Garrick and two greyhounds that will be keeping Aubrey company each day. It is funny because we were apprehensive about taking her anywhere but now we are worried that she will not want to come home because of all the toys, swings, pack n' play and everything else that she doesn't have at home that she will have access to each day. Andy will be home on most days until around 12:00pm until he goes into work. This will be a good situation for Aubrey and much better than daycare. I would love for LA not to have to work but until a couple of condos disappear from our liabilities it just not feasible. Anybody out there want a condo cheap for Aubrey's sake...

Saturday night was the final night in the bassinet/pack n' play. We moved her to her crib on Sunday night and LA and I slept through all her crying - solid wood doors block the crying pretty good. Actually, she slept fine in her crib. The crib is so big for her right now. She has plenty of room to stretch out.

PS = We purchased a baby monitor yesterday. So we can sleep in peace, knowing she is ok.

PSS - A couple of other real quick things that she has done - She went to the State fair for another hog show (Aubrey 2, Daddy 1). She is real good in Sunday School...mommy and daddy are working on a schedule for church. She visited daddy at work. She has been to Summerville high school a couple of times (she hopes something new will be around buy the time she gets to high school, instead of the old buildings that daddy went to school in).

PSSS - Check back for Halloween pictures....they are going to be great! What's she going to be?

Hog Show/Hospital Bills

It was a pretty big weekend for Aubrey. She attended her first ever Hog Show (I am pretty sure it was my first ever. However, if you’re giving out points, I am a goat show veteran. It's got to count for something) at the Orangeburg County Fair on Friday night (What did you do on Friday night sit around the house? Thought so.) and attended her first ever birthday party (Emmy's) on Saturday night. She didn't get to see much at the hog show because she was doing what she does best - sleep. If she had she would have seen the Ulmer clan rack up the ribbons - Wes, Garrett, Hayes and Emmy all brought home the awards. She didn't see much of the birthday party except for her Uncle Wesley (who will no longer be mentioned in the blog after this post, along with Mike because of a little alligator hunting trip that allegedly took place where they killed a 12 footer. I have seen the photos but still I am not a believer) and Mama. The family rule is that once Mama has the baby no one asks to hold her...funny.

So we got the majority of the insurance claims from our hospital visit with Miss Aubrey. No one told us the $25 office visit co-pay we've been paying didn't cover EVERYTHING. I thought we were prepaying. Hope they have a payment plan. Wow, it's expensive to visit a hospital. We're glad we didn't stay an extra day. After reviewing the claims submitted by the hospital, doctors, nurses, and cleaning staff, if we decide to have another child we are going to look at a destination birth for $850 per night we can stay a couple of nights at a five star resort. When LA goes into labor if we can time it right all we have to do go to the lobby in a panic shouting "my wife is having a baby" and "ask if there's a doctor in the house" and before the ambulance can get there the doctor delivers baby number 2 - saving on two doctors charges, the cost of the epidural and "medical supplies". I am going to the post office tomorrow to tell them to hold our mail or either I am going to change our address and not forward the mail. That way we can tell them "we haven't received a bill from you, baby we didn't have a baby". We probably won't be answering our home phone anymore in case they start calling for payment. We are sure the bills with "Amount Due" will be arriving any day now. Better stick to email and calling us on the cell phone, if you want to get up with us.

PS - Since I had to actively participate in the delivery and not just be the support person, I am sending a bill to the hospital and doctor for my services and my counseling.

Two Week (Actually 18 Days) Doctor's Appointment

Aubrey had her two week doctors appointment today. The tell of the tape and scales were as follows - she weighed in at 9lbs 3oz and was 21 inches long. This puts her in the 75th percentile of all girls her age.


We weren't real happy with her performance. It's only a solid "C" performance - "C" equals comfortable. Were not going to let her be satisfied with "C's". Were not going to let mediocrity creep into her lifestyle this early. She's not going to be just average. We are expecting much more and I am sure you feel the same way (her dad was just average and we are expecting a whole lot more form her). All the effort (love, support, gifts,..etc) you are giving her and she's not excelling is disappointing. LA and I are taking this seriously and are addressing the current issues so she is a top performer at her two month check-up. Please don't give up on her, it's just going to take a more focused effort on everyone's part. We will be addressing the weight gain with more frequent feedings by waking her up to eat during the day and night. Tomorrow she will be meeting with a baby trainer to stretch her legs and arms to help them grow more.

Her head circumference is 14.5 inches which is only in the 25th percentile - little head, big body. All I can think about is the Carmax commercial where the guy brings a head shrink doctor to negotiate buying a car and a mechanic asks the boss to go home from work because his tiny head hurts (the head shrink doctor had evidently shrunk his head). Look it up on youtube. This is actually a blessing that she doesn't have a big head (there are those in both our families that have big heads and LA insists my head is big but I am pretty sure it is average). We not worried and the doctor is not concerned. We’re going to let her underachieve in this area. All it really means is that she is going to have to pack a lot of knowledge in a smaller area.

Don't worry about anything, LA and I have everything under control and are going to stick to the plan of action to remedy this case of "I'm going to be average blahs", Miss Aubrey is mired in. We will keep you posted and our next doctor’s appointment is November 18th - 4 weeks. This is going to take time so be patient but I am hoping for a strong "B" for the next visit.

PS - The redness around Aubrey's eye has nothing to do with LA poking her or us trying to make her eat (might be the cause next month) or Melissa F giving her a black eye. It simply is a place where she has a lot of capillaries and they burst during birth. They will eventually heal and it will no longer be noticeable. It might be six months or a year. However, the doctor did tell us that it will be her truth indicator. If she lying to us, it will turn red. This should be interesting. How long before we tell her about it - probably after college.

Nothing To Post

So for the past couple of days its been pretty low key with Aubrey, nothing much to post. So I wasn't going to post anything until tomorrow after her second visit to the doctor - two week checkup. However, something funny did happen last night during Aubrey's bath. LA got her bath water ready and asked me to undress her which as you know with a baby it is a dangerous time when she is without a diaper. You expect a number 1 or 2 is going to happen so you plan for it - if you must pick her up it is done at an arms length distance - no cuddling without a diaper. If you do it is at your own risk. So I picked her up and took her to the bathroom just knowing that she was going to something to show us who's in control. However, I successfully got her to her bathtub without incident which I thought was pretty good. She is beginning to like taking a bath which translates that she isn't screaming (some people call it crying) her head off but isn't cooing and laughing about it. So as LA is washing her, Aubrey explodes a number 2 into her bathtub. Now you might not be laughing about it but it was funny. I don't know why it's funny, it just is. So, here we are trying to clean her and she contaminates her bath water. We both looked at each other and laughed. So while we are cleaning up and changing out the bath water, LA gives Aubrey to me to hold which means I get to be in line for the follow-up shot (which didn't happen thank goodness - cause that might not have been funny) The best part is that we saved a diaper (which help save the environment, so were doing our part).

Nothing much else is happening. She does seem to get whinny from her late afternoon feeding until her nighttime feeding (4 - 9pm). We don't know why but other mothers have told us it is just a bad time for all kids.

Stay tuned for some more of our adventures.

PS - I know were not the first that any of these tales/experiences have happened to but those that have kids can relate/remember and those that don't can be prepared.