1 Year Ago

Mother's Day 2008 was on Sunday, May 11th, and that was the day that S and I got our first ever BFP! IVF had worked, and a had a little "Blueberry" starting to grow inside of me.

I remember those early days: the OHSS fiasco, checking "The Visible Embryo" website every day, and the desperate hope and raw fear associated with each ultrasound at the RE's office.

Annalise is only 3.5 months old, and it's hard to believe that she already existed a full year ago. Our little Sesame Seed / Blueberry / Thumperina / Kicksie is now a growing girl called Sweetsie, Hunzey, Little One, Baby Love and a dozen other names each day. She smiles and reaches out for interesting things and immediately brings them to her mouth for a taste test. She likes to be carried facing forward a lot of the time, and she is a skilled connoisseur of breast milk from both the bottle and its natural source. She is becoming less shy when confronted by our reflections in the floor to ceiling mirrors on our bedroom closets. She also loves to "talk" -- whether with high pitched squeals or throaty croaks or something in between. And when she gets excited, her arms and legs pump in a vigorous frenzy.

This video was about 3 weeks ago:

What can I say? I'm head over heels in love!

3 Months!

I returned to work and I've already completed 3 weeks back on the job. The transition actually went smoother than I had feared, but it wasn't completely seamless. Annalise previously shunned bottles; during these 3 weeks she has started accepting them. However, she only took 4 oz per day during the first 1.5 weeks. This week she has ranged from 4 oz to 8 oz per day. These are usually 8 hour days, so 4 oz is probably way too little. I think she actually lost some weight during the first week or so, so I'm hoping that she'll start gaining again soon. She was 11 lbs 7 oz and at her 2 month week appointment, and my stupid digital scale is still measuring her in the 12 lb range a full month later. Granted, the "weigh mommy-and-baby, then weigh mommy and substract method" is probably not very accurate, so who knows... My friend has a digital scale so I may see where she is this weekend.

Pumping is going well. I can easily get 12-14 oz during the day and since she is only drinking 4-8 oz... well, my freezer is running out of space! I have actually looked online about breastmilk donation but I fear that she'll suddenly decide she wants more and then I won't have a stash to fall back on.

She has been rolling over tummy to back since 11 weeks old, but she doesn't do it at all consistently. She has rolled over about 8 times total, but I think it is accidental when it happens.

I love the vocalizations at this age. The other night we were treated to a whole bunch of cooing in our dark room at about 5AM. She is still in the bedside PnP, but I think we're going to transition to the crib next week. Oh, and she now wakes 2x/night instead of 1x/night. I'm attributing it to being hungry due to not eating enough during daytime hours. It doesn't really bother me too much...(probably I feel guilty about work or something). Anyway, I kinda like picking her squirmy 90% sleepy self up at 3AM and holding her close for a feed, and then rocking and lulling her back to sleep...

I also must say that S is a great dad! When he is in charge of her, his attention is almost always 100% focused on her and interacting with her. (I can't say the same for myself... On the other hand, I do have her a lot more hours overall, so it probably evens out).

We feel so lucky to have her, and we both love her so very much!!