Caitlyn's Page

We were sent home two days after she was born, which is normal. Abby and Aidan, my first two kids, were very happy to have us home. They seem to like their baby sister. The only one not happy to have us home was my cat, Shakespeare. He immediately started growling at Caitlyn. He would even growl at the empty car seat because it smelled like her.

Our problems nursing continued. It was painful all the time and when the milk came in it was even more painful. Caitlyn and I went back to the hospital on the third day home to see what we were doing wrong. The nurse said that Caitlyn wasn't staying on and to try to not let her pull off. She also weighed Caitlyn to make sure she was getting enough to eat. She weighed 6 pounds 6 ounces. We didn't have her go home weight, so it was hard to know, but since she was wetting and pooping like she should the nurse was not concerned. We also had a one week check-up in a few days. At the check-up she weighed 6 pounds 12.25 ounces, surpassing her birth weight by 0.25 ounces! Her length was 19.75 inches. The doctor was very happy with this, since they want the weight back to the birth weight by two weeks, and Caitlyn did it in one. The doctor also said that everything looked good.

When Caitlyn was only four days old Grandma Louise, Grandpa Bob, and Great Grandma Cec came to visit us. We enjoyed the visit as it had been a while since we saw them last. Three days later we made the drive to see the other grandparents, Grandma Cathy and Grandpa Dennis. Caitlyn met a lot of new people while we were there. She met Aunt Jocelyn, Uncle Mark, Martha, Jonah, Uncle Leo, Aunt Jonie, Aunt Laura, Darren, Uncle Shane, Uncle Shaun, Aunt Kristi, Taylor, Connor, and Madison, along with Grandpa Dennis. She also met her Great Aunt Jane. It was a busy couple of days.

Caitlyn's umbilical cord stump fell off at 11 days old. We went to Caitlyn's first parade for the 4th of July. She slept through the entire thing. Abby and Aidan had fun collecting all the candy that was thrown out for them. When Caitlyn was three weeks old we started giving her formula. The nursing was not going well and I was in pain all the time. The lactation consultant visited a few times and I tried everything that she suggested. Some of it helped a little, but none of it got rid of the pain enough. I was dreading the feedings and not enjoying them at all. By the end of the feeding I was usually in tears and Caitlyn never seemed fully satisfied. Most of the time she would end up falling asleep and that made everything harder. Once we switched to feeding formula in the bottle the feedings got better. I enjoy them a lot more and she seems satisfied. I am glad that we tried nursing, and a little disappointed that it didn't work for us. The most important thing is that she is growing and that I am happy with the decision. The day after we started the formula the lactation consultant came over to weigh Caitlyn. She weighed in at exactly 8 pounds, wearing only a onesie and a diaper. She has grown so much!! I am very happy that even with all the problems she was still getting enough to eat.

Caitlyn started to coo at almost one month old. She also smiles sometimes, which are a joy to see. Abby and Aidan have both gotten to feed Caitlyn and love to hold her. They also like to give her the nuk to calm her down.

Caitlyn now smiles more often and I can get her to smile at me. She will smile when I talk to her and when I smile at her. She is also spending more time awake, staying awake for around an hour or so between feedings.

At Caitlyn's six week check up she weighed 9 pounds 7.75 ounces and was 21.5 inches long. She sure has grown a lot since she was born.

Caitlyn was Baptized at almost 8 weeks old. She did great and only fussed a little bit when the water touched her head. All the grandparents and great grandparents made the celebration along with two uncles and one aunt. We are happy that they could all make it to the baptism.

Caitltyn now sleeps through most of the night. She will go up to nine hours between her last feeding at night to her first morning feeding. Her favorite time to wake up is at 5am, no matter what time she last ate. I am thankful that she sleeps through to that point now.

At 8 weeks old, Caitlyn was weighed again. She weighed 10 pounds 8 ounces, with a wet diaper. She was also measured and was 22.25 inches long. She has grown a lot since she was born.

Caitlyn is now 2 and a half months old and getting better at holding her head up. She can lift it off the floor a little ways and will hold it there for almost a minute. Once it falls back to the floor she gets mad and tummy time will be over. She can hold it steady for a few minutes at a time when she is held upright. She is also getting closer to rolling over. She can get onto her side by herself now and once she starts doing it more often, she will be on her tummy in no time.

Caitlyn now sleeps through the entire night. She fusses a little after 3am, but with her nukie will go right back to sleep. She has done this for three nights in a row now. Last night she fussed a little more than most, but she is a little congested right now. Hopefully that will go away quickly.

We took Caitlyn in on Friday because of her cold. She was having difficulty starting her bottle at each feeding. She would scream so loud that I felt like we were hurting her just to feed her. She was weighed in her clothes and was 11 pounds 6 ounces. The doctor said that it is just a cold with some drainage that is causing her some pain. She gave us a few things to do and they seem to help some. Hopefully her cold will go away soon. Her feedings are better now, but she struggles some nights to stay asleep because of the congestion. Other than that she is her normal happy self.

Caitlyn laughed for the first time today. I was tickling her and she laughed a couple of times. It was really nice to hear her laugh and I look forward to hearing it more often.

We recently went on an overnight camping trip for Abby's girl scout troop. Caitlyn did very well, except she didn't like the wind.

Caitlyn rolled over today. She was on her tummy and tipped over onto her back. It was very nice to see her do it. When I put her back on her tummy she rolled over again.

Caitlyn is really good at finding her thumb and putting it in her mouth. She is also getting better at grabing the toys that are in her reach.

Caitlyn had her 4 month well-child visit. She weighed 12 pounds 14.5 ounces, just under the 50th percentile, and was 24.5 inches long, just over the 50th percentile. Her head measured 16.75 inches. The doctor said that she is perfect and growing right along the curve like she should be. This is a comfort to us since Caitlyn spits up a lot, though she is not very fussy. The doctor also said that we can start her on solids at 5 months if she seems interested in them, otherwise we can wait until she is 6 months old. She is also very into putting her hands in her mouth, and anything that happens to be in her hands. She also had her shots earlier in the week and has done fairly well with them. She has had very few side effects other than some fussiness that day.

Caitlyn can now roll over from her back to her front and back again. Now she doesn't stay on her back very long before she rolls to her tummy and then rolls again. She no longer stays where I put her. She gets pretty excited when she gets over too.

Caitlyn started solids today. She tried rice cereal mixed with formula. She wasn't sure what to think of it, but seemed to like it once she figured out what to do. She had been chewing for about a month now, so she was definitely ready for it.

Caitlyn is attempting to crawl already. She can scoot forward on her belly to get a toy or other object that catches her attention. She also gets up on her hands and knees and tries to crawl, but can't hold herself up very long. When she falls from the hands and knees position she ends up going backwards. Between scooting, rolling and trying to crawl she can make it across the living room fairly quickly.

Caitlyn is babbling more all the time. She now makes the "Dada" sounds, though she doesn't like to do it of you say it to her. She also likes to make the "ah" sounds and loves to hear herself talk.

Caitlyn is now 6 months old and is able to sit, sort of. She sits really good when she is held and can sit leaning forward for a few seconds, until she moves a tiny bit. She has also started on green beans, though she isn't sure what to think about them yet. She also can get around the floor really fast, though she isn't hands and knees crawling yet.

Caitlyn had her 6 month check up and the doctor said that everything looked good. She weighed 15 pounds 1.75 ounces and was 25.75 inches long. The doctor said that she is growing right along the curve. She has now started on green beans and will be starting other foods soon.

Caitlyn had her first Christmas and did very well. She was scared of Grandma right when we got there, but warmed up to her very quickly. She even tried unwrapping her presents. She would grab onto the paper and then I would pull the present so that the paper would tear. It was really fun to watch her excitement at the bow that came on the package.

Caitlyn is starting to crawl. She can go a little ways on her hands and knees and then drops to her belly. She is faster scooting on her belly than on her hands and knees. It is really cute to see her crawling.

Caitlyn is learning more sounds. She can say "dadada" and just started to say "mamama."

Caitlyn is getting more mobile all the time. She is starting to get from her hands and knees to a sitting position, though she ends up sitting on her foot. She is able to get from sitting to her belly without falling now. It is nice to see her change positions without hitting her head in the process. Today she got up to standing all by herself, but then proceded to fall and hit her head when she tried moving along the couch without moving her feet. Thankfully she doesn't have far to fall and was fine once she was cuddled up with me.

Caitlyn was weighed again. She is now 16 pounds 6 ounces and 26.5 inches. She is growing so fast and she is only 7 months old (in 2 days).

Caitlyn now can get to standing very fast. She is also able to get back down without falling all the time. It is fun to watch her stand up, get down, crawl 3 feet and stand up again.

Caitlyn had her first taste of food that she actually has to chew. She really enjoyed being able to grab the food herself and put it in her mouth.

Caitlyn's first tooth has finally poked through at almost 8 months old. She now has 2 teeth, the middle 2 on the bottom. She is also started to "walk" along the couch and the side of her crib.