Adventures in Mommyhood: We all know who rules the roost now!

Well, I am now 2 weeks and 5 days in....going strong. I feel like I am finally starting to feel like myself again. I look back and the last couple weeks seem like an eternity, but they went by in a flash at the same time. I can't even imagine life before our little Mia got here. I also can't remember what it was like to be 40 weeks pregnant (that's probably a good thing when it comes to the probability of increasing our family number). I put on 40 lbs, 15.5 in, and 2 full cup sizes when I was pregnant. I have managed (by no fault of my own) to drop 24lbs and 7in since then. Although, I fear those were the 'easy' ones to lose. From here on out, I may have to do more than stick my boob in my kid's mouth....but now the thought of that does not make me completely physically exhausted, so chances are good I will part ways with my couch at some point in the near future and start trying to make some progress on that front. Speaking of boobs, I have also put on another cup size since birth....yep, regular old Pamela Anderson over here ;-) I'm sure Dan is hoping they stick around....and we won't fill him in just yet on what happens once I stop breast feeding....no need to kill the dream this early.

As far as Mia goes....well, she's amazing :) We had her 2 week doctor visit last Wednesday at 8AM (I will have more to say about 8AM appointments later on in this post) and our little baby is growing up quick!! When she was born, she weighed 7lbs 6oz and, as babies tend to do, she lost some weight the first couple of days we were in the hospital so we left with her weighing 6lb 15oz (which is on the low end of the weight loss spectrum, but that probably had to do with her 12 hr marathon nursing spree on night 2). On our 3 day check up with the pediatrician, she told us that they generally expect them to be back up to their birth weight by their 2 week appointment. Well, Mia, not unlike her preggo Momma decided to blow those numbers out of the water! Our little one, as of last Wednesday, weighed in at 8lbs 7oz!! My jaw dropped! It kind of made 2 weeks worth of nipple mutilation seem worth while ;-) We can even fit into some of our 0-3 mo outfiits now! I just can't get over how fast she is growing.....its awesome, but kind of sad at the same time. I know everyone warned me that this time goes by quickly, but I really had no idea until now what they meant.

Aside from, her weight, Mia is changing so much from day to day. She is awake a lot more often, so we get to stare at her beautiful blue eyes and she is so aware of things around her now, its incredible :) She love sitting in her swing and staring at the mobile and moving her arms like she is conducting an orchestra....its precious, but that may be just to us because we are slightly partial and totally infatuated with her ;-) I put her on her tummy yesterday and she is already holding her head up like a pro (at least for a not quite 3 week old). Just as we expected, already very advanced for her age....we're starting her French lessons next week, you know, once she's mastered English ;-)

I said I was going to have more to post about 8AM appointments, but now that I think about it....my thoughts are probably understood by everyone out there with a kid! Manty props to you working moms.....I cannot tell you how much respect I have for what you have to do to get yourself out the door in the morning while trying to get your little one(s) fed, dressed and packed up to leave!

I think the hardest part for me so far has been the unpredictability of her schedule. Every time I think I have it down, she throws a 5 hour nap (not complaining) into the mix, or decides to pull an all nighter.....neither of which I am ever prepared for, and both of which make me feel very uneasy and highly inadequate. For the most part she is on about a 3 hour schedule as far as feeding, but I wouldn't set my watch by her or anything. Also, I feel like I'm not producing enough milk.....she is ALWAYS hungry :( We are supplementing breast milk with formula for now, and praying that eventually my body will make enough to keep her content from feeding to feeding. The hard part is judging how much formula to give her....if anyone has advice at all on this subject, PLEASE give it! I have read too many books and I feel like I'm failing every time I mix up a bottle :-/ I have spoken with the pediatrician who has assured me that I'm not, so that makes me feel better....at least a little.

We have started venturing out of the house at least daily and that is getting a little easier. She is generally pretty content for about 2ish hours before we hit meltdown mode, so its given me just enough time to meet up with my mom for lunch and MAYBE run an errand or two. I tried my hand at taking Mia to the grocery store the other day and let me just tell you, after trying to figure out how to get her stupid carseat into the basket without it tipping out over the side, and being approached by 2 different people offering help because i looked so completely out of my element.....that will be the last time we make that trip sans Daddy Jones. Ridiculous.

I guess what I have learned this week is that this child will sleep when she's tired, she'll wake up when she's hungry....and she doesnt really care what time it is when she does either! Dan and I are clearly not the ones calling the shots these days.

I finally was able to upload some pics from the hospital, so I'm attaching a few.