The 17 lbs. monster

Of course, Colleen isn't a monster, but she is huge for 4 months! She weighed in at 17# 11oz. on Thursday, March 27 . But she is sooo cute.

Also, Colleen has been sleeping blissfully for 10-12 hours a night in her bassinet (as opposed to in our bed) for a month or so now. We are very proud of her and grateful to whatever powers that be that made her this way!

I (Maren) go back to teaching tomorrow (!), so Colleen will be cared for by her Grandma Mij one day a week and at daycare for two 1/2 days. This quarter is an experiment. If I hate being away from her too much, we'll revisit teaching come Fall 2008.

Here are some pictures:





Here she is with "Grandpa B," my dad Jim, on Easter Sunday.
















Here she is with "Grandpa A," Charles's dad, Steve.























Here is Colleen with a friend.









Colleen likes mugging for the camera.
















This was taken on Easter Sunday. I guess she likes that holiday!













Happy Spring!
Maren & Colleen

More Pictures

Colleen is doing great. At her last weigh-in she was 14 lbs. 10 oz (though I had just fed her 6 oz. before she was put on the scale). She's a regular chub, which is great.

She and I go to a Mommy's group at the hospital she was born at every Thursday. I highly recommend such a group to mothers of babies. It is so nice to compare notes with a bunch of other women. You feel so much less alone and crazy when you are in a room full of people who are going through similar things.

Here are some shots from February, 2008.


















Here Colleen is modeling a pretty hat.



















Here Collleen is cuddling with Daddy, Charles.















Here she is practicing for her Rockettes audition.
That's all for now.
m

2 months old!

This is baby Colleen at two months old.

Taking care of a baby takes up so much time that it has taken me this long to update her blog. Bad Mommy!

Charles took this picture because she was sleeping so hard it was damn cute.












Here is Colleen on her "gym" which has toys hanging down for her to look at. She is also fascinated by the ceiling fan.

Here is an example of one of her first smiles.














Here is Charles with Colleen when she was a week old. Notice that the cat is much bigger than she is.



















Here I am with Colleen on Christmas day when she was one month old. Notice we're on the same couch as Charles. We live on that couch.










This was our Christmas card. I knit this stocking for her, and it says "Colleen 2007" on it under her arms. She's little-er than her stocking!




I hope you enjoyed this parcel of pictures. More update soon!

maren and Colleen (aka "Peanut")

Baby Colleen is here!

Stats:
Birthday: 11/24/07
Time: 8:23 a.m.
Weight: 5 lbs. 13 oz.
Length: 17 3/4 inches

Apgar scores: 9 and 10

Nicknames: Peanut (nurses), Sweetness, Colleen the Queen.

Maren's water broke on Friday evening. She checked into the hospital at about 8 p.m. and Colleen was born 12 hours later.




Colleen at 1 day old.





Colleen was due 12/16/07, so she was about 3 weeks early. This means that she sleeps even more than a normal newborn, but she is pretty danged healthy otherwise (note the Apgar scores).

Yes, she is adorable, and we love her to bits.




Colleen (minutes old) and Momma Maren

obgyn visit 32 week

Everything is good as far as the doctor can tell. :)

Interesting fact: every week they measure the belly from pubic bone to fundus (top of uterus). Normal uteruses grow 1 cm a week, whether you are a tiny little thing or a whale to begin with. At 20 wks, most are 20 cm, and so at 32 wks, mine is 32 cm.

amazing, huh? :)

Colleen is wiggling around whenever I sit still. I think she's running out of room, since I don't feel her spinning as much. She's still facing outwards, although I hope she turns before the big day so that I don't have the dreaded "back labor."

That's all for now.
maren

brief update for week 32 (8 months)

Hi Everyone!

1) The glucose test came back normal. The "long" glucose test is worse than I thought: not only do you have to fast a total of 15 1/2 hours, but they draw blood FOUR TIMES during the "3 1/2 hour" test. Total sucko.

2) Baby Colleen gets the hiccups pretty regularly now. It's cute so far.

3) Things on the floor have never seemed so far away...

4)My energy level is pretty darned low. I could be working on the baby room, writing thank-you notes, or working on the picture collages for art on the baby room walls, but no, I am dozing on the couch while football plays on the TV.

5) Part of #4 is that I am still not sleeping especially well. My legs still tingle and feel sore at night which wakes me up. Bleh.

6) We are rolling in baby paraphenelia, especially clothes. Our friends and family are soooo generous. A big collective "THANK YOU" to all who have given us things. We are very, very grateful.

7) Finally, I am 90% done with an "Adams" pattern Christmas stocking for Colleen. It is HUGE...I can't remember if my stocking is so big or not. I used some eyelash yarn on the top and on Santa's beard to make it a little cooler. I'll post a picture when it's done.

That's all for now.

maren the whale

Gestational Diabetes test

Grumble-

My screening test for Gestational Diabetes came back high. I'm annoyed because I've been careful to keep my weight down and exercise like a good girl.

But now, I have to take a far more annoying test that involves fasting and three to four hours of sitting around quietly. I have one friend whose second test was negative and one whose test was positive. I watched that friend struggle with the GD diet, so I know I don't want to go down that road.

I'm just annoyed.

Baby shower in a few days! I need to focus on that...and schedule the long test for AFTER the cake, etc.

Colleen continues to be very active. I think she is situated with her head by my left hip and her feet under my right-side ribs. I judge this by the amount and kind of kicking I feel in those places. I also think she's facing out towards the world. I appreciate this since it means that she isn't punching any vital organs. Yet.

maren