Scheduling a seven week old

It seems like Victoria Renee came with instructions. Am I speaking too soon? Well, the child loves to sleep..and eat..and sleep some more. My daughter was like that. And Victoria's Nana, Daddy's mom confessed that he was a very easy child too. When people talk about 'children do not come with instructions', I assume they are speaking about their parental instinct. Some are stronger than others, I can imagine. But learning your child's language before they can speak seems to be a feat my daughter and daddy has already learned. It seemed so simple that I would like to think I know what Victoria is saying.

A few weeks ago, I was searching online on how one can start a sleeping schedule for their child. I've been racking my brain to remember how I put my daughter on a sleep schedule but unfortunately it has been too long. Luckily for my own forgetful mind, there is the internet. I've read almost every website dealing with 'what to expect' and I have come to the conclusion that this 'scheduling' is a personal thing. The cues I have learned from Victoria have been pretty easy to read. She prefers to be changed before eating?? (I thought that was the norm with babies.) She is also pretty active with the cooing and chatting, exploring and smiling after her bottle. I made it a habit to keep her upright for at least 20 minutes after eating. It has helped with the reflux which is now subsided. She has also made a little friend! Mr. Clock! We have a clock hanging up in the living room. She absolutely loves it! She stares at it constantly and even tries to coo at it as if she is having a conversation with only two of them in the room. But the best part of this whole scenario is that she began to smile....and Grandma Titi was the first one she smiled at!! All in all, she has a way of communicating with me without crying. She uses her eyes and I see that, just before she starts to smile on her face, I can see it forming in her eyes first. She's actually a pretty fun little person.

By now, Victoria can recognize different colors and shapes with detail. Just a little bit of detail. She mostly sits on her lounger to get a glimpse of Mr. Clock and her mother and I offer her rattles or hand-sized stuffed animals so she can become more stimulated with every new shape and design. After this, her mother lays a blanket on the floor, sets the toys around her and lays Victoria on her belly. I've heard this is a great way for them to get ready to crawl. I hear it is termed “Tummy Time”. It's great to see her try to lift her head and her arms try to support her upper-body. It must take so much energy away from her because she falls fast asleep as soon as she's done! For right now, she is comfortable and happy. Next week she goes in for her two-month check-up and will have to have immunizations. That will not be fun but it will keep her healthy.

The Easter Bunny: An Obtainable Goal

Boy! Are my dogs barking! What a fun day I had on Easter eve. This morning was no different from the rest, fixing bottles and preparing her diaper bag to spend the day with Victoria's daddy and her Nana. As we hurry to get ready to go see the elusive Easter Bunny, I make sure we have enough diapers and wipes while my daughter is getting her hair ready. This is Victoria's first Easter and we will get a picture even if we have to get an old stuffed animal out and set it next to her in the living room. But being parents and grandparents that we are, we want to make sure it is professionally done. At first, I thought it was silly to have a one-month old all gussied up to take a picture and not even know what was going on around her. I used to think that in my younger years. I remember when my daughter was still an infant, her father and I brought her to the mall to see Santa Claus. Well...her grandmother wanted a picture and I was too narrow-minded to see that they wanted a picture and enjoy their grandchild in the arms of Santa. Now I know how they originally felt. The night before my daughter's friend posted something on Facebook about the Easter Bunny and pictures in the mall of our little town. We made plans with Daddy and Nana to accompany us to achieve our goal. As we were walking into the courtyard in the mall, we noticed....nothing. No long lines, no kids running around chasing one another, no bows of pink and green to signify 'come take a picture with the Easter Bunny'. Nothing. My daughter went up to an employee to ask if the Easter Bunny already came for a visit to the mall. The lady looked at her and said, “We have decided not to have the Easter Bunny here this year.” This year? My grand daughter is finally born and you decide that you aren't going to have the Easter Bunny come to your mall this year?? Nana and I did not take the word 'NO'. Back to the car we go. We also heard about a park nearby and they were hosting the Easter Bunny. It was our town's Park and Recreation. If we hurry, we can finally lay our 'grandparent' eyes on this elusive Easter Bunny and snap a picture with him holding our bundle of joy. We see many people walking with their kids to their cars as they carry baskets of eggs and other belonging, collecting their children from running out into the street. We parked the car and I walked up to a bystander. I asked her if the Easter Bunny was going to show up today. “You missed him an hour ago! He was here but left!” I turned to Nana and threw my hands in the air. Nana wasn't going down without a fight either. We are going to see this child with an Easter Bunny even if we have to dress up like one ourselves and take a picture! Back at Nana's house, we had a lovely dinner: steak with baked potatoes and corn on the cob. It was good for us to gather our strength while we decide to go to the next city to see if they have an Easter Bunny on display. Nana called the mall clerk and received some good news. We found out that one of the bigger malls does have a professional Easter Bunny (and the best part is we can get pictures!) It was 20 minutes away but that didn't stop us. As we pulled into the mall, we could see a lot of people walking back and forth going into the doors of the mall, exiting the building. I was prepared to wait in line, no matter how long, just to see Victoria and the Easter Bunny. Walking into the courtyard, there is the Easter Bunny we have been searching for all day!!! AND the line wasn't long. I noticed people with baby carriages taking out their babies for the Easter Bunny to hold. I didn't feel so bad after that.

I want Victoria to know that there are so many people out there that care about her. That care about her being HERE. The love that her Nana and I express for her is so powerful. We are the lucky ones. We are Victoria's hip grandmothers.

Never Ending Sleepless Nights

There inside a baby's crib is a beautiful angel...an angel that refuses to sleep at night. How did this happen?? This little creature that I love to cuddle and hold against my body is an active night-owl in sheep's clothing. There has to be a better way before I go insane. Before my daughter goes insane. I understand that we couldn't set a sleep schedule before because she was still a newborn. Thank heavens she has grown enough to step out of that category, or so I thought. It has been a ritual now that I go to bed early, my daughter stays up with Victoria til the wee hours of the morning. Then I wake up about 6 A.M. and let my daughter go to bed while I stay up and have bonding time with Victoria. Those days might be over.... So now we have to get on task. In order to have this child become a day person (which I am not and never have been), I am going to have to get strict with myself and strict with my grand daughter. Having said that, I have taken the liberty to research on how to keep an infant awake during the day. This will not be a fun ride but I have a feeling that the outcome will benefit us all in the long run. I understand that I have to be patient with her; it won't happen overnight. Even if she's up most of the night, I have to stick with the time my daughter thinks is best. For right now, that time will be 8 A.M. We are instructed to keep the shades open while she attempts to fall back asleep. Gosh that seems so barbaric....she cries in frustration because she can't get what she needs....or wants. I am going to have to play lively music during the day or even have the television on. Noise is going to happen in our home anyway. She will just have to deal with the fact that we aren't censoring ourselves anymore.

As the days and/or weeks go on while we are striving for our goal of having her sleep at night rather than the day, we keep in mind that this feat isn't going to happen overnight. Patience is going to play a big part in this scenario but united with my daughter, we will help my grand daughter through this. http://www.babycenter.com/404_my-baby-is-up-all-night-and-sleeps-all-day-how-can-i-get-him_3129.bc

One month old and her instructions are clearer!!!

Ok. Ok. By now you know how excited I am about this little bundle of joy. What you don't know is all the things she has had to deal with through this whole month. If you can remember, she had to deal with constipation in (what is my opinion) the worst way. She was rushed to Children's Hospital in Knoxville only to get her first x-ray showing that she was engorged. After an enema and five diapers later, she was good to go home. Her mother then made an appointment with her doctor and had been instructed to use oatmeal cereal (1 tsp per 1 ounce) and that should help with the constipation. It did help...until the following week when we had the next problem...gas! Newborns come home to parents that wish these babies came with instructions. Sometimes even the grandparents are at a loss to what the newborn is actually crying about. Just like everyone else in the free world, we have all the information we will ever need at our fingertips. Google, Bing, Yahoo....the list does go on. Poor baby had been dealing with acid reflux! I did notice when she refusing her pacifier after a certain amount of time. It probably had acid from her tummy on it. Again, her mother made an appointment to her pediatrician to rectify this problem. She was given liquid Zantac. Zantac! For a baby? I've never heard of anything like that but I do hear that it does work and has been prescribed to a lot of babies dealing with this problem. I didn't have this problem when my daughter was an infant so again, this was all new to me. Now that we are at the 'month' mark of her little life so far, she seems so much healthier and happier. She does sleep a lot (especially throughout the night) with one feeding at 5 A.M. Maybe her 'instructions' are a bit easier for us to read. After all, every baby is different and a new individual. But then again, I heard newborns can get cranky if they need more sleep. I suppose she isn't ready to stay awake most of the day. This is the main reason we acquired a swing.

I've heard that swings can help with tired babies to rock them. And a little fact that I, myself have learned about Victoria. She likes music. Yes..she is put in her swing and rocks back and forth. She should be good, right? No. She calms down once the music is playing. After eating, I sit her in her lounger (I call it her throne) to help keep extra acid down and help her digest the last bottle she has been given. I do this for about 20-30 minutes. Then I put her in her swing and she listens to her music and eventually falls asleep. It sounds crazy but Victoria actually enjoys her music playing. (It must be from listening to the Beatles and Baroque music while she was in her mommy's stomach.) I agree that it is.

Hey Grandma Titi! I'm 3 weeks old!!!!

We have finally made it to THREE WEEKS! There is a lot that has gone on in this household. 'Somebody' has decided to start sleeping all day and is awake for most of the night. That does go with our 'former' sleep schedule. It was just my daughter and me when we would sleep til noon on weekends and at least nine during the weekdays. Ahhh what a change. And I am positive there will be more changes to come. The constipation she was experiencing has 'hopefully' come to an end. See, I was told that she has acid reflux. The pediatrician gave us the medicine she needed and because of the reflux that cleared up, her constipation went away. Thank goodness she can now lay comfortably in her swing and has stopped making those painful-looking facial expressions. Shaddow finally met her first hand. We have been leaving her blankets and spit-up rags out in the open for weeks so that he can smell her scent. Shaddow is a very, very good cat with an awesome disposition. We are very lucky to have

him. He did, however walked up to her swing (while she was in it) and smelled her hand. We watched him closely to see what he will do. What he did next surprised me. He started smelling her hand then rubbed his face on her hand. That means that he accepts her into his 'group' of 'fellow felines'. lol We took a picture of him during his meeting with her...then casually walked away. I believe we are still in the 'danger zone' for an infant. Every little fever or jolt that she has makes me jump. She is also trying to focus with her eyes. She seems to know both her parents. And the other day my daughter was holding her, I called to Victoria and she turned her head in my direction. I hope that means something.

Breakfast and Classical Music with Victoria Renee

Miss Victoria had her second doctor's visit today! She is now 7 lbs. 4 oz..a bit of a jump from 6 lbs. 10 oz. of her birth weight. She is moving right along. Unfortunately she has been dealing with constipation and reflux, (as I have heard a lot of newborns do) she has been prescribed medicine for the reflux and eventually, the constipation will stop. The doctor also said to add a bit of infant cereal which surprised me. I would think she would be too young. But for right now, she is hanging out with her hip grandmother listening to Bach and Beethoven. Gotta start them early with the music!

One small step for babies...One giant leap for Victoria

There are many things to be thankful of in my life. Victoria is one of them. She is basically the sun in my whole universe. Its unfortunate that I have to 'pull back' a little when I hear her whining in her crib while her mother picks her up to hold her. I want to be the one to do that for her. Realizing that her mother has been up every two hours with little Victoria, I wake up from a comfortable nights sleep. I Sleeping Beautyhear her whine in the crib (she doesn't have the chance to cry because she is rescued from hunger by her mother) as I let her mother sleep in so I can have that one-on-one time with my beautiful grand daughter. I suppose that is my way of getting what I want. Hee hee!

Victoria is definitely not a crying baby as of yet. She does, however have a whine that sounds a little over-dramatic which is why I refer to her as a 'drama queen'. And her name is Victoria. How appropriate! As I tiptoe by her crib with a nice warm bottle of a mixture of breast milk and formula, I turn off the sound machine my bestie gave my grand daughter (to drown out any foreign noises). Awake and alert is what I find! She is trying to turn over. So young! I remember she did that the first week of being home. My mother mentioned that I was constantly doing that as well. My daughter is sitting up from her pillow and I tell her to “stay in bed, I will change and feed the baby.” My own bonding moment with the Queen!

A very helpless feeling

Here I am. The grandmother of a 10 day old infant. Although I have been getting enough sleep, the 'every two-hour' feeding time has not yet bothered me. Looking at her face mesmerizes me every time I hold that little bundle of joy. She is such a good baby; always sleeps, never cries and has a great little disposition as of late. Both families are truly blessed with her. I am in charge of cleaning and preparation of the bottles. My daughter has decided to breastfeed but also use formula. We have already gotten the 'green light' from the pediatrician to do this. She seems to be satisfied with two ounces every feeding: one ounce of formula and one ounce of her mother's milk. But we have noticed something missing: it has been ½ a day since she has had a regular healthy bowel movement. I know this is not something one should blog about. If anything, I would love to hear some advice. I am in route to the store to get her some Karo syrup for her tummy. We tried gas drops last night but still little pellets are found in her diaper. She is having so much trouble staying comfortable that she seems to always lay on her side. Imagine what my little grand baby is going through....still...she doesn't cry about it.

Dear Victoria Renee ~

Dear Victoria Renee ~ Today you came into our lives with such grace and made our lives worth living. You remind us that there are positives in life. You are a blessing to my heart and I love you. Before you were born at 9:48 pm Monday 3-10-2014, before your mommy's water broke while she was being admitted into the hospital, before mommy woke me up at 1:00 am Sunday that she was dripping fluid, your mother and I was saying goodbye to your grandfather at the airport. I wished that he could see you in real life. You came into this world a little more than 24 hours away from when we left him off. It's okay, though. Perhaps he and his fiance, your step-grandmother can come for a visit. That would be nice. While you were waiting to come into this world, I have to say that I was worried if your mother was going to make it. I mean, I questioned why your mother couldn't dilate passed 3 centimeters in a matter of 18 hours. We were all pacing in the hallways; both mommy's family and daddy's family. Finally the doctor told us that your mother needed a cesarean which really scared me. As she was being wheeled into the operating room, she could hear the Beatles playing on the overhead speakers. I also know that when you were lifted from your mother's open belly, the song "Here comes the sun" was playing.

Grampa's Visit

As I look out the window, I can see the sun rise above the clouds. It has been unseasonably warm on a wednesday and I knew just the style of clothes I wanted to wear when we pick up my daughter's father from the airport. He came up from West Palm Beach, Florida (my hometown) in hopes that the baby will be born during his stay. Unfortunately he would have to return on Sunday but there is so much we can do during his stay.

Walking into the airport to the escalators, I notice there are not very many people running around to grab their bags or check in at the rental cars area. Soon my daughter will be able to see her father who she hasn't been able to hug in two years. We finally found some comfortable benches to sit and wait until he gets off the plane. We notice a lady (maybe in her 20s) waiting for her boyfriend to come off the same plane. My daughter strikes up a conversation with her while I look on. Just to joke with my daughter, I tell her. “There he is!” My daughter jumps up, looking at the empty ramp and giggles “No he isn't” with a smile. I continued to do that two or three more times until she stops paying attention to me. Suddenly there are people walking down the ramp that just got off the plane, the same one her father is getting off. “There he is! There he is!” I shouted. She didn't even turn her head from not believing me. He walked up to me, gave me a hug and turn to her. She jumped up in his arms like a child. “Daddy! I've missed you!” I whispered in her ear, “Told you he was coming.” Day 2 of Grampa's visit was rather exciting. We decided to ditch the Smokey Mountains and explore what Knoxville has to offer. As we are driving along, I have the great idea to drive to a place where I love to walk around and check out the local shops and art galleries. This is downtown Knoxville in a place called “Gay Street”. It has beautiful architecture of the different buildings. There is a place right beside it called “Market Square”. Its set in the middle of Market Square downtown with a concrete stage and the shops are surrounding it. During early fall, the city of Knoxville provides a big screen that shows family-friendly movies so the whole family can have a wonderful evening sitting on blankets and sipping on soft drinks (if they wish). Today it is empty. Still...no baby.

Day 3 of Grampa's visit was even more exciting. Although I personally prefer the city where there is civilization, my daughter and her father decided they wanted to go to the mountains. To me, it was a no-brainer to get my daughter to walk and hopefully dilate a little bit. When they asked me to go, I shrugged and said “Sure”. I made a few sandwiches, brought some fruit and packed my backpack with water. It was a beautiful day! Seems every time I go to Cade's Cove, in the Smokey Mountains National Park, its always a beautiful day! A few cumulus here and there but no rain clouds. Being in the mountains, you still have to wear a light jacket though. It was a very old place. We toured a cemetery and the headstones were dated as far back as the 1880s. We also got to see some deer feeding on the grass and a lot of other wildlife. Still...no baby. Day 3- Cades Cove Day 4 of Grampa's visit was a cloudy, dreary day. I wanted to stay and clean up the house a bit and her father stayed in his hotel room. It wasn't a very eventful day at all. Still...no baby.

Day 5 was Grampa's last day to visit. We went to a few shops around town and drove to different places. His itinerary said that he needs to be at the airport by 5:00 pm so thats where we spent most of the time hanging out, talking and going down memory lane. As we three said our last goodbyes, my daughter shed a few tears, looked down at her belly and whispered in her father's ear “Sorry Daddy, still no baby.”