One Month Checkup (5.5 Wks)

Talia had her 1-month checkup today with the pediatrician (a week and half late). Everything checked out great and she's growing perfectly. He's very pleased with how things are going! Here are her stats:

Weight: 8 lbs 13 oz (45th percentile)
Height: 21 inches (45th percentile)
Head Circumference: 14.5 inches (50th percentile)

She has developed a bit of a heat rash on her face and neck, but the doctor said not to worry - not even to limit going outside. Oh, and her outie (belly button) is a bit large because she has a small hernia (awhhh), but we're also not to be concerned - it should go away on its own.

Alysia

I'm the Boss

Mommy and Daddy may own this house, but I'm the boss around here..........

"I'll just stretch out across Mommy & Daddy's bed. What? You weren't finished sleeping yet? I'm sorry:)"

"Thank you Daddy for reading to me. If I'm awake, I need attention. Don't even try to put me in a swing or a carseat. I wanna play!"

"And, I'd listen if I were you.... I'll get you with these guns...."

Talia

Newborn No More

In the past few days, it seems that Talia has moved from "newborn" to "infant" before our very eyes. It's amazing that this can happen in a matter of a few days, but just look at the milestones she's reached since Saturday:

• SMILING: Talia has started to smile (when she's awake)! The smiles aren't huge, but there have been at least 1 or 2 every day since Saturday - sometimes triggered by Mommy or Daddy and sometimes by her toys.
• OUTGREW HER FIRST NB OUTFIT: Yesterday, I went to change Talia and decided she would look cute in her orange dress with the fish on the front. Too bad - it doesn't fit anymore! It was hard to get it over her head, and even more difficult to make it stretch over her tummy. I decided she doesn't need to show off her build quite so much and put it aside as the first outfit she's outgrown.....
• NO MORE CRYING DURING DIAPER CHANGES: Talia had been notorious for disliking her diaper changes. She'd scream and kick, making it even more difficult to deal with her tendency to still pee and poop while the diaper is off. Well, in the past few days, she has decided to give Mommy a break! She did not cry for a single change yesterday - and there were at least 10 of them.....
• SLEEPING: Talia has given Mommy & Daddy a fantastic night sleep for the past 2 nights! We may be cheating (and possibly causing ourselves trouble down the road), but we decided to move her swing up to her nursery during the night because she sleeps so darn well in it. Voila - two nights in a row with the first sleep stretching past 5 hours and the second one at least 3 hours. Hmm.......

Alysia

Attack of the Milk Monster

Talia's appetite has been on the attack over the past few days, especially today. This girl is almost out of control. About half of her feedings have been separated by only 2 hours, the rest about 3 hours. Wondering if everything was OK, we consulted one of our baby books and were reassured that she is expected to want more food sometime during the 6th week because of a growth spurt that usually occurs at this time. I thought that this was a good time to remind Alysia what the pediatrician told us a while ago - "she's the boss right now".

Of course, if her digestive system is receiving milk every 2-3 hours, then something's got to give - that "something" is gas, and lots of it. At one point she caused us to turn our heads in amazement of how much she sounded like a grown man. Almost every time that she exerts some amount of energy to move around, at least one slips out. But of course, she's oblivious to all of it... 8)

As if the growth spurt doesn't leave her hungry enough, the coming week for Talia will include a lot of activity: her 1-month check-up, being a spectator at another one of my softball games, and going on her second "big" car trip when we head down to Lansing to help Alysia's brother, Ben, move in to his apartment at Michigan State. Here's to hoping that Alysia doesn't dry up this week...!

Until next time.....

- Mike

Talia - 5 Weeks

This morning, we commented to each other: "Can you believe it's been 5 weeks since we slept through the night?" She's definitely worth losing sleep over..... and we've lost some during this 5th week. Although she does a pretty good job of differentiating between night and day, she has started to struggle falling back to sleep after she eats. And boy, is she ever a hungry girl. A typical night this week has her in bed anywhere between 10-11:30PM, up between 12:30-3AM, and again between 3-6:30AM. Everyone keeps saying she'll eventually stretch out the hours between nighttime meals - We'll see!

We've learned that Talia can be quite the snuggle bug. She likes her space sometimes, but usually thoroughly enjoys being held and cuddled.

Talia is definitely putting on some muscle. She is difficult to contain when you hold her and is really moving around during tummy time!

Oh, and Talia absolutely LOVES her nightly tubbies. She quiets down, looks around, and loves to feel the warm water over her. Unfortunately, she makes it hard to take her out, because she screams when it's over. Awwhh.....

Alysia

Play Time

My Town

Ever since I was born, Mommy and Daddy have been introducing me to my town. They say that it's important for me to enjoy the outdoors in the next few months, because I'll be spending all of my time inside starting in December. So, we go places all the time!

One of the places they say I'll love some day is the Dow Diamond. We went to a Great Lakes Loons baseball game on Monday night. I was a bit bored for the first half of the game, but I got excited after getting my picture taken with Lou E. Loon and stayed up for the rest of the evening!

Although I'll miss out this summer, Mommy and Daddy promise me that I'll get to enjoy ice cream next year. I still don't think it was very nice of them to walk me to the local creamery and enjoy treats without letting me have a lick.

When I grow up, I'm definitely going to like the place we went last night. We were there to celebrate Mommy and Daddy's friend Lisa's birthday and so many of my buddies were there. There were enough of us babies that we could have had our own table. Mmm.... Pizza Sam's!

Mommy and I go for walks every afternoon. I usually get cranky after lunch, and Mommy outsmarts me by taking me somewhere in my stroller. I try so hard to fight sleeping, but those bumps sure do cause me to doze! She shows me new places and talks to me while we walk. I like to listen to her voice and really do hear her - I know I'll enjoy the places we go next year when I'm awake!

Here is the Tridge. We come down here every weekend for the Farmer's Market. There's also a splash park nearby where Grandpa is already itching to take me next year!

I know I'm going to have fun here some day!

Talia

A Special Anniversary

This week last year was a very important one for our family. It was the week Talia was conceived, but also the week our first major attempt at a family failed. It's been on my mind as the days pass so I reviewed excerpts from the journal I'd been keeping during that trying period and am reflecting on the journey we undertook.

7/15/08: We are headed to Rochester Hills tomorrow morning! My estrogen yesterday was up to 2700 ... and the follicles are ready. There are many, and they really grew over the weekend. We have to be there at 9:30AM, so we'll hit the road quite early. I have to fast tonight after midnight. Normally not a big deal, but it will be quite late tomorrow by the time the surgery is over. We are excited, but I think the stress and the reality is starting to show. We are just so busy right now, so perhaps a bit short. I think we'll both feel a lot better in a few days. Please God watch over me tomorrow and in the coming days.

7/16/08: It's 8PM, and I just slept for the past 4 hours on the couch downstairs. My tummy is quite tender, but overall the procedure went very well. We arrived in Rochester Hills early -- we weren't entirely sure how the drive would be. They took me back to a prep room almost immediately with Mike. There I laid with an IV while they discussed the details of the operation and had me sign some forms. I was taken back to the O.R. at about 10:15AM, and don't remember much of anything until I awoke in the prep room around 11:30 or so. They told us that they had removed 26 follicles (well, eggs)! Also, the doctor did not notice any signs of worry concerning hyperstimulation, but of course we'll watch ... 26 is a lot. Tomorrow we will receive a call to let us know how many eggs fertilized and hopefully we'll get an indication of when the transfer will take place. I'll be taking it easy for awhile. My movement is quite slow right now and probably will be tomorrow as well. I was given instructions not to do anything strenuous for the next 2.5 weeks.

7/20/08: Well, it's been 4 days since the surgery. I wish I could say that I feel great, but not yet. But, I'm beginning to think my body is quite the trooper. They actually removed 28 eggs on Wednesday -- 22 of which were fully mature. By the next day, 15 had fertilized! I'm not sure what we'll ever do with that many, but perhaps this is a good sign that I won't have to go through this again. Since the retrieval, I have been quite uncomfortable. The first 24-36 hours were pretty painful, but now I'm just very bloated. Sweatpants feel VERY good. Haha. I worked from home on Thursday and went in to work for half of Friday. Since then, I've really been taking it easy. Mike has been so kind, making dinners and cleaning, getting me a snack or a drink when I'm nauseous, etc. I think I finally realized it's the high hormone levels combined with an empty stomach that cause the nausea. This determination was made AFTER I spent one evening lying on the bathroom floor and another curled up on a couch. Since Wednesday, I've been wearing an Estrogen patch and receiving progesterone injections nightly. These are supposed to thicken the uterine lining in advance and after implant. We're both really looking forward to tomorrow -- it's the big day. Our implant is scheduled for 11:45AM. I have to eat breakfast and have a full bladder for the procedure. It's supposed to be quite painless, but I'll be on muscle relaxers afterwards, so I'll likely sleep the afternoon away. The next 2 weeks will be interesting. I'm sure we'll be anxious to know the results, but I'm also a bit scared. It would be a big letdown if it didn't work. I know we can do it again, and I'm just trying not to get too excited just in case ... but it's hard.

7-21-08: I'm lying on a couch with my feet up! The transfer was this morning -- not too bad. The full bladder thing was a pain, but this was the worst part. They transferred 3 ...... apparently one was of excellent quality and the other 2 were so-so. Kind of depressing that only 1 was top quality for implantation. But, we feel good about this and so excited. Mike got to watch the procedure and we got pictures of the ultrasound AND the 3 embryos. So cute!!

We now know that this transfer failed........ and I'm saddened when I consider our adorable angels who never met this world. But through this rough week last year, Talia's life began -- and for that, we are forever grateful.

Alysia

Which One is Talia?

Everyone is always interested in figuring out who Baby most resembles. So, we've definitely spent some time trying to figure out if Talia looks more like Mommy or Daddy. We couldn't be sure just looking at our current selves ..... but baby pictures might provide an answer!

Which one is Talia????? Hint - two of the babies below are Alysia at 2.5 weeks old!

Alysia

4 Weeks Postpartum

For the most part, this blog is focused on cute pictures of "Our Wish", Talia Mae. However, it has also been a fantastic way to capture the entire pregnancy in diary form and makes a phenomenal keepsake of memories. So, here is the closing entry on the pregnancy - as I've now made it to 4 weeks postpartum!

It took about 2.5 weeks to feel completely back to my normal self (no significant side effects remained from the labor or cesarean). The first week was rough, but I began feeling better very quickly after that - and I now only have 2 weeks to wait until ALL OF MY RESTRICTIONS are lifted! Wow...... I won't have felt so free since last summer.

During the pregnancy, I posted weekly pictures to track Baby's growth and am amazed when I look back at the changes my body underwent in 10 months. I truly loved being pregnant (aside from the bed rest) and have been pleased with how quickly my body has adjusted to "just being me" once again. Here are some comparison shots to document Before (6 wks), Fully Pregnant (37 wks), and After (4 wks pp) for historical purposes:

I've lost all of the pregnancy weight (+2 lbs) and will be focusing on building my strength in the next few months. Ten weeks of bed rest sure did deplete my muscle base........

Alysia

Talia - 1 Month

Talia is already one month old - and boy has she grown! We've been taking pictures of her sitting on her froggy chair each week and look at how much she's already changed (below is 2 wks, 3 wks, and 4 wks)!

TALIA FUN FACTS

Favorite Pasttimes: Eating, Sleeping

Favorite Toys: Mr. Apple, Exersaucer Tag

Favorite Thing to do with Mommy: Nurse

Favorite Thing to do with Daddy: Sleep on his chest

Favorite Noises to Make: Grunting, Crying

Longest Stretch of Sleep at Night (without eating): 4.5 hours, once

New-found "likes": Tubby Time, Story Time, Looking all around, Grasping objects

A Little Personality

Talia's personality has shown through since the day she was born (and maybe even in the womb): She's strong-willed, curious, active, determined, and loving. These traits are becoming even more apparent as she becomes more awake and alert each day. She's so much fun to play with now!

Talia loves story time! She stares at the pages from left to right, and makes the most excited face and kicks her legs when the next page is turned.

Talia loves to cuddle, especially in the evening. She's started to "coo" a bit, and sometimes moves her mouth to talk to you but nothing comes out:)

One of Talia's favorite toys is Mr. Apple. This was one of Mommy's toys when she was an infant. Talia will reach out and push it around to make the bells ding.

Talia's getting stronger every day! Her little grip is really tight now, and she likes to hold hands while talking, eating, and playing.

Talia still enjoys staring at faces. When she's content, she'll lay right beside you and make the cutest, curious faces. It steals your heart.....

Alysia

Talia's Newborn Photo Session

We already received the preview shots from Talia's newborn photo session last Friday - and they're absolutely perfect!

Thank you Brigitte for the photographer recommendation, Renee Deckrow. She did a fantastic job and will easily become the capturer of our family's precious moments! Check out her website below to see Talia's preview and other work from Renee.

http://capturedproductions.typepad.com/cp_photography/

Alysia

First Big Trip

On Saturday, Talia made her first big trip outside of Midland - Ann Arbor! She experienced the sights and sounds of downtown and visited with Uncle Ben and his friends at a brewpub (haha) for lunch. She was wonderful for the 1 hour 45 minute car rides, timed her awake period perfectly to visit with Uncle Ben, and enjoyed the weather in her stroller.

And, since everyone checks the blog out for Talia shots, here are a few more for her fans!

Playtime with Mommy - I stare at faces and reach out to touch them now!

Holding hands with Gramma

Enjoying Daddy's softball game with Gramma

Awwhh.... Beautiful smile!

Alysia