mastitis, united, & coco's.... oh my!

sorry, lame title.... i tried.

but yep, mastitis... oh boy. got that last week & it hit me hard. it's an infection from breast feeding & i was sick, sick, sick as a dog. throwing up, fever of 103, aches, chills, not fun. but got on antibiotics & immediately started feeling better. not sure how i got it..... i think it's from going to zumba, sweating my toukas off & then sitting in the burger king drive thru for 30 min (it's guam & at 8pm at a fast food drive thru with an old chamorro lady trying to run the joint, it alas, does take 30 minutes) - side note: this is a pretty funny story so i'll backtrack in a minute but this is so OOG (only on guam).... i pull up & wait behind a truck at the squack box for like 10 min, then he pulls up & i can order, ordering an oreo shake for jeff - i was being good - & it takes her a minute, i had to prompt her to make sure she was still there, but after she figures it out & i can, i pull up. then more waiting, about another 15 minutes & then i make it to the window. i get up there & she says "chocolate?" & i say "oreo shake" & she says "with chocolate?" me: "whatever it's made with." her: "we only have chocolate." me, in my head: "why'd you ask?" , out loud: "sure." she goes away, comes back & says "we don't have chocolate. do you want something else?" me: "no." her: "i will just give you cash back (i had paid with debit card, i never have cash) because i don't know how to do a refund"...... so i waited in a burger king drive through for 30 minutes for nothing. SO, this is when i think all that sweat & nasty-work-out-ness caused my inflammation. sitting with my stinky breast pads that long couldn't possibly have been good. but who knows, i just know i don't want to get it again.... or go through the burger king drive thru anymore.....

& yay!! i booked our tickets back to the states! & got the good seats.... for no extra charge! on continental i have the seats with the bassinet hook-up! & on united i have extra leg room! well i had to pay $49 for that one, but it'll be way worth it when the seat in front of me is not compressing us into a big ball of baby, blankets & tray tables.

& coco's island.... jeff swam from guam to the island yesterday! wish lena & i could have gone to watch, but he was gone all day & came home burnt (even though he says he reapplied), so that's no place for a baby.

on a sleep note.... lena's in the crib for the first part of the night again! have yet to see another 7 hours straight, but we get some good sleep time in before the little midnight tap dancer takes over our bed.....

that'll show you

ok, so i shoulda kept my big mouth shut.... after cheerfully sharing, um.... bragging, that lena slept 7 hours straight in her crib on facebook, she has decided to show us who's boss by not sleeping in her crib at night again..... sad face here. yep, that night of 7 blissful hours was followed the next night, by one, yes one hour in her crib & the rest of the night spent back in the big kid bed so us parents could get some sleep. and again last night, same thing.... she won't stay in her crib.... i put her down, she sleeps for about an hour & wakes up & cries. i rock her, put her back down & immediately with the crying again. rock her some more, feed her, put her down.... no bueno..... hmmm......

on a better note, a much cuter, sweet note.... a video of lena laughing! this will melt your heart!

yes!

the past 2 nights have been a success.... she's sleeping in her crib..... but we have yet to see for how long. the night before last, she went down around 9 & i woke her up around 3 to feed her. she was out when i went to get her from the crib. & then last night she went down at 830 & the stupid monitor's battery died around 1230, so i didn't feel ok leaving her in her room by herself without some way of hearing if she was ok. so she came to our bed at that point. BUT, monitors are charged & we are ready for another night! i'm just so happy she is liking her crib! now what are we gonna do when we leave here & go to va? hope she's adaptable!

the good, the bad & the baby

last night was full of 2 notable firsts..... to start, lena is pretty good whenever we're out, not fussy, usually sleeping or at least interested in looking around.... well, that ended last night when jeff & i went to eat at our fav restaurant mermaid tavern (ruby tuesday holds a close second). not shortly after we ordered did the sweet sleepy lena rouse from slumberland & turn into a major fussbutt. ok, she wasn't that bad, but jeff & i had to take turns eating our food as one of us constantly walked her around so she wouldn't start howling again. so the sweet newborn days of constant/ consistent sleep are coming to an end..... ah boy.....

second, & this one is big, lena slept in her crib for part of the night!!!! ok, let me back up & put our embarrassing secret out there. lena sleeps in our bed. gasp! shock! i know, i know, not good.... bad habits, SIDS, accidently elbowing the baby in the head, etc. but it just happened one night when she was around 1 month old & it just was so nice to finally have sleep (she is a fantastic adult bed sleeper) & it was so easy to breast feed & honestly it was so sweet to have her right next to us (she's also a wonderful cuddler). so we kept doing it. & it's great, we all have been sleeping well at nights since she was a month old. (& she hasn't received any el-blows to the noggin.) but in the back of my mind is that little voice saying, "amy, when will she sleep on her own? if you don't start soon, you'll end up with a 5 year old in our bed...." plus i'm also really ashamed to talk about it, but honestly out of the handful of people i've told there has only been one negative commenter, the others have pretty much said, "whatever works for you" ..... to my face & probably much worse behind my back.

SO, anyway, i've been taking baby steps to get her there. starting with consistent napping during the day in her crib. & now that she's comfortable there i think it might be a reality that she'll sleep at night on her own. i put her down last night for a little evening nap at 730 (we all go to bed around 9pm) until she'd wake for the next feeding & then we'd all go to bed together. well 930 rolled around & she was out, so jeff & i just went to bed. took the baby monitor in our room & left lena in hers & i felt certain she'd be awake within a half an hour of us falling asleep, but nope..... she slept until I woke HER up around 1230!!! i just couldn't take it any more, my boobs were rocks & i needed some relief so i had to get her up to feed her, but i wonder just how long she would have slept?

this was surprisingly easy, well for jeff & lena, a little harder for me...... jeff fell asleep right away, but i laid awake most of that time & went in to check that she was still breathing i think at least 3 times. but this is promising! i won't have to go to college with her, she will gain independence!! yay!!

we'll try again tonight & see if she can do it again & then eventually maybe after i nurse her she can go back in the crib & do the whole night sometime soon!! i'll keep you posted! baby steps....

lena video

here is a montage of lena moments age 0 to (almost) 3 months...... she turns 3 months next week, but i couldn't wait any longer to post the video..... here are some highlights of her developments too......

she has started "crawling"... scooting herself backwards!

she kinda does a mini push up in tummy time - can hold herself up on her elbows

she brings things to her mouth with her hands.....

she brings both hands together (she's done this for a while)

she hugs your neck when you are holding her & especially when she's sleepy, she'll nuzzle into your neck & chest

she's blowing little bubbles with her mouth

she is laughing more & very "talkative"

she is much more predictable.... mommy can tell now when she's hungry, tired, bored, etc

she is napping exclusively in her crib!!!! next step is nights.... but for naps i rock her for a minute, put her white noise cd on & put her down in the crib & with her thumb in her mouth she drifts off & sleeps very well now!

she is very interested in new things.... & really likes people watching!

enjoy the video.... there was so much to chose from, but i tried to keep it short & in most of the clips i try to state what age she is, but not all of them.... it's kinda neat to see how big she has gotten in comparison to her play gym! she is gonna be a tall one like her daddy!