Road trip! - Part 1

Last week, we decided to take a road trip to visit family and friends in Illinois and Wisconsin before I go back to work July 5. We left Wednesday morning and Abigail slept for the most part except waking up to eat until around 2:30, which made that part of the trip really easy! We found a nice wayside to stop at just as she was waking up.

In Claude's mom's tradition, if you are travelling and you come across a body of water, you need to at least put your feet in it (preferably bathe in it). We wanted to make sure Abigail didn't miss out, though she was clearly less than thrilled. I'm sure it'll be more fun as she gets older!

We were able to make it to Mount Carroll, Illinois to visit my great aunt Vonnie and uncle Pete before it got to be too late, and then head to my great aunt Nancy and uncle Carl's for dinner.

Abigail has a tight grip on great great uncle Pete's finger!

My great uncle Bruce and aunt Gloria and cousin Karlynn and her kids (including little Kaden who was born 3 weeks before Abigail). We had a great time seeing them until both little ones started crying, telling us it was time to call it a night!

I love that they're both smiling at each other!

The next morning we visited with my cousin Keely and her son Dale. Keely said Dale often gets bored since there's no one to play with him (his sister is older than he is) so he and Claude played air hockey and some spinny toy thing - I am pretty sure Claude had just as much fun as Dale did!

And thanks to Auntie Mari and Michelle for the cute outfit that kept her cool as temps hit 100 degrees!

We stopped back at Nancy and Carl's for lunch and put Abigail into a very special dress for her trip up to see Vonnie and Pete. This is a dress that was my mother's - found in a tub of my grandma's in a small bag that said "Rae Jean's dresses". We think one of her aunts (likely Grandma Jeannine, Nancy and Vonnie's sister JoAnne) probably did the embroidery!

We then went back up to see Vonnie and Pete since 2 other cousins were driving down from Madison to see them as well - a mini family reunion! 

Apparently Abigail was getting hungry!

So great to see so many family members!

Highlights of Month 2

Wow, it's been a busy month and has gone by so fast!

We are very grateful that my dad was able to come back to visit for a few days in May on his way to Michigan to work. It was a very busy few days but we had fun, Abigail got some quality grandpa time (thanks for taking her on that long 6am walk so we could get an extra couple of hours of sleep, Dad!), and he helped us buy a fantastic car (as discussed in the New Toys post)!

We have also had several more friends and family come to visit and we are grateful to have them!

As for Abigail, she continues to grow and interact with us more and more. This month, she started her "social" smile as they call it and she does really well following objects with her eyes. The public health nurse suggested putting some toys on the toy bar of her bouncy chair so she' have something to look at, and with those, she will now stay in her bouncy chair and entertain herself for 5-10 minutes at a time! Hooray! That's almost enough time to eat a meal with 2 hands or drink a cup of coffee while it's still hot!

We have been doing "tummy time" with her since almost the beginning with her lying on our chests as we're somewhat reclined. This month, we've also put her on the floor on a blanket and Boppy pillow, and she seems not to mind that either. Plus, the great thing is that her neck is getting really strong and she's getting good at controlling her head.

In general, she's much more alert and interested in her environment now, so that's fun and we get to see her big, bright eyes open a lot more. She does better in her car seat now, and we feel more comfortable in general, so we've been out and about a lot more in month 2.

This month Abigail and I also started attending a 6-week new mama class with 8 other new moms and their babies. A nurse facilitates the class and we've had good discussions on everything from sleeping and eating to postpartum grief and adjustment and going back to work. It's been really nice to spend time with other women who have babies within a few weeks of Abigail.

Claude also started playing soccer most Sunday evenings, so Abigail and I have gone several times to be his cheering squad (when she's sleeping or not crying and I can pay attention to the match!).

Now that we're a little past survival mode, I've had some time to go through all the baby clothes we have and organize them (surprise, surprise, right?) and it's been really fun to find and dress her in some of the outfits I wore when I was a baby (good job saving them, Mom!).

Caught her mid-sneeze!

Finally, we have rounded a corner on sanity when it comes to sleep. In the early days, she would only sleep if she was being held or had some constant physical contact with us. For several weeks, one of us would sleep on the couch with her in the bouncy chair next to us and we'd keep a hand on her belly so she's sleep. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I realized that if we took our bed off the frame and set it on the floor, it'd be at the same height as the couch and we might be able to use the same technique but with us actually able to sleep in the same room together! And sure enough, just when you think you've got it figured out, the little one changes on you - this time for the better! Several days later, she started being able to sleep without the ever-present hand and for longer stretches. She still sleeps in our arms or in a carrier for daytime naps, with a rare exception or two, but she now sleeps in her bouncy chair (which was her MDs recommendation due to her reflux - so she is at an angle and not flat on her back) all by herself next to our bed at night. She still wakes up several times a night to eat, which is to be expected at this age, but the nice thing is that she now goes right back to sleep after eating, so I'm only awake for 15-20 minutes at a time. And her first stretch of sleep is now stretching out to 4 to 5 to sometimes even 6 hours, which feels miraculous. Funny how 4 hours of consecutive sleep used to be a "bad" night of sleep!

Finally, thank you to the many of you who have already signed the petition and are praying for the situation with Claude's mother, but for those of you who haven't heard, we were hoping for Claude's mom to be able to come and spend the summer with us and get to meet and help out with Abigail. Unfortunately, she was denied the visa. She will apply again on July 6 for one more try for this summer.