2 Weeks

Our little peanut hit the two week mark today! It's hard to believe that much time has passed already...I am trying to remember to cherish every moment.
Here are a few more tidbits about our life together:

-Isla is definitely a little night owl! We've had a couple really rough nights the past two nights as she is waking up at about 10 PM and staying wide awake and alert until about 1 or 2 AM. She'll finally sleep until about 4 AM and then wake up for the rest of the night. Graham has been taking her for the first half of the night "shift," rocking her and trying to get her to fall asleep on his chest. She will fall asleep but then the moment she is laid in her cradle, she begins her grunt fest (which we are trying to capture on video to share--it is really quite hilarious, just not when it happens constantly through the night.) I have found myself wishing she would learn to scream and cry (rather than grunt) at least so I'd know she was upset or needing something. People have asked what happens if we just leave her in the cradle when she begins grunting. Well my friends, she will grunt for an hour straight and never seems to wear herself out!! We are trying to wake Isla more in the day and gradually hope we can sneak her awake hours earlier into the evening. Until then, I may just be going to bed at 8:30 to get a couple hours of sleep in before she wakes. I know we will get through this but it is proving to be quite the challenge. People warn you about the lack of sleep you will experience with a newborn but I don't think there is any way to fully prepare for what that looks like--I mean, how hard can it be? Yeah you have to wake to feed the baby in the middle of the night but then you just go back to sleep again, right?--HA! If only it were that simple... My dear friend reminded me yesterday that my job right now is to keep our sweet baby girl alive--which I am doing--and therefore, I am a success. That was encouraging to hear!

-Isla is gaining weight wonderfully (so is feeding well). We had to bring her in to the doctor on Labor Day because her belly button had been spotting little bits of blood for more than three days and they wanted to check it out to make sure there was no infection. It turns out she has a small granuloma (a small area of inflammation in tissue due to injury per the mayo clinic) in there but nothing bad enough to treat. She weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces at 13 days of age which means she has gained more than an ounce a day over the past 6 days--she's a real foodie I'm thinking.

-We've been trying to sort out a lot of important details this week such as when Graham has to go back to work. He initially was going to take the entire month of Sept off but then was told by Human Resources that he couldn't use his sick time to care for Isla and I and therefore would have to use all his vacation plus have a couple of weeks of unpaid leave in order to be off for the whole month. So he was going to have to go back this coming Friday instead. BUT, people kept telling us that it's ridiculous that he can't use his sick leave and that we should fight it. So we are. And I think we're winning. Tomorrow we will pick up a note from my OB stating I need him at home to help care for Isla and I. I mean seriously, isn't that a no brainer?! I definitely need his help--I honestly don't know how single parents do it! Anyway, I don't think HR can argue with a doctor's note so Graham may get to stay home for a few more weeks after all!

-Isla is quite the pooper. And I'm not really talking about frequency here. More force. It's like she's shooting a missile out her little behind. And I must say she has the most audible poop I have ever heard come out of a baby. So loud that I usually have to ask "Graham, was that you?" It's great in church...I'm sure we're going to get a lot of funny looks. Anyway, Auntie Lani was over last week and sweetly volunteered to change Isla's diaper. That night after she got home, she was recounting her day to her husband and the story went something like this:

Michael: "So how was your time at Kelsie's?"

Lani: "Good! Oh and you'll never believe what happened!!! I was changing Isla's diaper...." (Long pause, wide-eyed expression on face, giggle). "That reminds me!! I forgot to change my clothes!!" (Off she runs to her room for a clean pair of pants).

She didn't even have to finish the story for Michael to know what had happened. So far I have managed to avoid her poo missiles during diaper changes but Daddy has not been so lucky. He got hit a couple nights ago. Thankfully, we see the comedy in it all and just have to laugh.

-My turnover time for laundry is 5 days (meaning, if I start washing a load on Monday, it is finally dried, folded and ready to be put away by Friday). We'll get better I'm sure!

-Isla and I vacuumed for the first time yesterday. It was during her awake and alert time (which we're trying to prolong during the day so she'll sleep more at night). I decided it was a great activity that would keep her alert for longer. I put her in my Moby wrap and she did great. She was awake for the first 15 minutes but by the time I was done, I looked down and the loud roar of our vacuum had lulled her to sleep--go figure!

All for now....