Maia's Ticker

Maia's Ticker

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

She smiled!

She did, she really did! Up until now I wasn't sure if it was gas or the beginnings of a smile. But today when staring at her face and talking to her, she definitely smiled at me. Three times! It was clumsy in form, but definitely smiling instead of gas! Totally awesome! And she is definitely trying to "talk" as well. Matt or I will make little "ahhh" sounds, and she will repeat it back, only about half the time, but it's obvious she is trying it out. She is also definitely interacting/playing with some things we have hanging over her changing table. She stares at them, but has also started waving her nearest arm at them and bumping them with her hand, to see it move more. Again, more awesomeness!

Monday, May 23, 2011

One Month Old!

Maia is officially one month old now! Yay!

She had her one-month check-up today, so I have some stats and such for everyone. She weighed in at 9 pounds 4.5 ounces, so our scale wasn't too far off. And that means she has jumped from the 25th percentile when she was born, to the 61st percentile now! Her head circumerence also increased from being tiny (not even at the 5th percentile) to being average (50th percentile). I think she just had a lot of shaping when she was born and the measurements showed that. Her height has remained the same at 20.5", so she has gone from the 75th percentile to only the 25th percentile. Not sure they measured that correctly, or maybe they were wrong at the hospital. I am not surprised at her becoming more of a shorty, since I am definitely a short person...and Liam was like that as well. But I expected at least SOME change in four weeks. Hmmm. I guess when we take her back for her two-month check-up, we'll see what numbers they get that time.

She was well-behaved at the appointment, only fussing momentarily at a few of the checks, but otherwise pretty happy...even though the room was FREEZING! Everything about her is good, she is healthy and continuing on a good path. We will deal with her gassy-ness as best we can, but the pediatrician said it was okay to let her wake us up overnight, instead of having to set an alarm. YAY! Might mean another half hour or so of sleep...or a few minutes (she is usually fussing right before the alarm goes off, or when it does, never just sound asleep) more likely.

I think I mentioned in a previous post that she will push back with her legs when you stand her on them. She has been doing that a lot today, pretty much standing. It's awesome. Great leg strength. And she is definitely making attempts at talking, making little "ahhh" cooing sounds. So adorable!

Happy One Month!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Four Weeks...and a visit from Granny

Maia is now four weeks old. Feels like she's been around a lot longer, and though I loved her from the beginning, the love is growing stronger now that I am getting to know her more and more. Her sweet face, the shape of her lips, her little sighs, the smell of her skin, her hair, and her breath, and the feel of her weight in my arms or on my shoulder. Love her. She is starting to make sounds, little cooing sounds that seem to be the beginnings of "talking". She is also far more alert, awake for longer periods of time, watching the world around her, staring at mommy and daddy, and almost even smiling. She holds her head up very well, keeping it upright for tens of seconds. She also tends to push back with her legs when you try to stand her up on her feet, so she actually stands for a few seconds. She seems so much older in just these few weeks, and so ahead of the game. I think she might be doing better in that department than Liam was at this same time.

(post edited to add weight check, done two days later)
Maia now weighs 9lbs 2oz! She is really growing. Nine days after we last weighed her, she has gained 10-12 ounces. Wow. Maybe she is getting TOO much to eat, since she is supposed to be gaining 4-7 ounces each week and she is definitely going over that. Not doubling it, but definitely well more than that. Guess we will have to ask at her appointment on Monday.
(end of edit)

This past week, my mother-in-law visited so that she could finally see her granddaughter. "Granny" loved seeing Maia and holding her, and I made sure to take a lot of pictures of them. Here are a few of them, as well as a few of Maia by herself.
(check out Liam's Journal for pictures of Liam and Granny together)








And some of just Maia (can't get enough of them...hopefully it's the same with anyone reading this)



Monday, May 16, 2011

Three weeks old


I am a few days late with this, but it's hard to find time to do stuff, and when I did find time, other things were more important. Today Maia is 3 weeks 2 days. Two days ago she weighed 8lbs 6oz (or maybe 8oz, my scale couldn't decide). Meaning she gained at least 8oz in 7 days, so she is definitely on par with keeping up her weight, even keeping on the heavier side. No worries there. Her baby acne is starting to diminish some, but her fussiness is not. Sleep is very sparse here at casa de Miller. *sigh* Matt and I are taking shifts throughout the night so that we get SOME sleep. I feel like I have no routine and more than half of my day is spent in a daze. Don't like that. I am a planner that thrives on routine. *sigh* So send some non-gassy, lots of sleep vibes our way. And if you are local, feel free to arrange small visits where you can hold Maia during the day so we can get some stuff done.

Anyway, I am about to throw a lot of cute pictures of Maia your way. Enjoy!
(I LOVE the ones of her on the boppy, with her tiny tush up in the air!)







Wednesday, May 11, 2011

More Mother's Day pictures

Finally got the pictures from Jay, but since it's been a few days, I figured I would just do a second post. Just some more cute pictures of Maia.








Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mother's Day pictures

Here are some pictures from Mother's Day, showing off Maia's cuteness even more.

Aunt Jackie


Aunt Sandy


Aunt Michelle


Grandmom/Mom



Another shot with Aunt Jackie, enjoying the outdoors, with her eyes actually open (Maia's).



And Mommy/Sister/Brother shots (sorry, don't seem to have any with Matt holding her on my camera...wtf?)







Oh, BTW, we weighed her and she is 7lbs 14oz. So she has gained 13 ounces since she was last weighed 10 days ago. More than an ounce a day. And since she is supposed to be doing about an ounce a day for the next two weeks, she is definitely doing well. So I don't need to worry about her short feedings (seriously, anything over 10 minutes is long for her and there is a chance for her to spit-up), that she only feeds on one side at a time, and that when she DOES spit-up, it seems like she is re-enacting the Exorcist. She is gaining healthy weight and is producing the diapers, so she is all good. *smile* A few more ounces and I can start wearing her in the maya sling wrap I bought for her.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Some Milestones

Figured I would post a few little things that seem to be noteworthy regarding Maia.

First, her umbilical cord fell off on Thursday (Cinco de Mayo), so now she looks more like she has a belly button. Although it still has some healing to do. It actually scabbed over and that fell off as well, today. More scabbing is happening, not sure if it will also fall off. I don't remember details with Liam, but I don't remember this much scabbing. Still, it's nice not to have a weird thing hanging off her threatening to catch on everything.

Second, Maia rolled over. Twice. I am sure she hasn't learned how to do it yet...she just got lucky twice. But it was surprising. Matt had put her on the couch on her belly, just to try something different to help ease the gas bubbles, and while he was watching her, she twisted onto her side, arched her back, and rolled onto her back. A few minutes later, he put her on her belly again, and after a few minutes, she managed to do it again. Totally amazing. I am sure she will forget how to do it, that this was a lucky fluke. But it does mean that we need to watch her more, especially if she is on her belly, because she apparently can turn herself over.

Third, she has started tracking...following us with her gaze. Not sure when that is supposed to happen, so maybe she is right on target with that, maybe she is behind, or maybe she is early. It's just nice to see...to know she can see us and is happy to look at us. I love feeling that connection.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Eight-legged Protector

Big brother Liam has some interesting ideas regarding Maia. Such as, his stuffed spiders are good spiders that protect Maia, and Maia's blanket is actually a spider web made by the "good spider", protecting her from the "bad spider" (which one was good and bad kept changing).




Sleep well, little Maia...protected by your arachnid friends. *smile*

(*SIGH* big brothers....)

Monday, May 2, 2011

Cute outfit, and polling results

I finally got a chance to clean some of the new girly clothes that Maia got, and was able to dress her in one of the outfits. Family members have been asking me to put her in some of them and take pictures, so after her bath today I finally was able to oblige. This outfit was just given to us by my Grandmom, and I mainly chose it because it was a two piece and fit the best. And yeah, I am starting to become a pink lover. I mean, I don't want to go overboard, I want tasteful pink, but...I AM liking it more now. She is pretty darn cute in her little pink outfit...thanks Grandmom.




Once Maia's cord stump falls off, I will be able to put her in more of the other outfits, which are one-piece outfits. For now, the separates are easier.


Also, I wanted to acknowledge the birth polling results, both for gender and for stats.
link ---> Gender/Stats Predictions
First, we DID finally open the envelope in my wardrobe, with the prediction from the ultrasound taken at the halfway point. The ultrasound picture wasn't something we would have figured out, but it DID say "GIRL" on it, so they were right! Thanks Colleen for reminding us to open that. And congrats to Mom, Michelle, Sandy, Jackie, Lisa, Sue K, Nigia, Suzie, and Jeremy, who guessed a girl (although some of them just wanted it to be a girl).

As for who was closest to Maia's birth time, that would have to be my grandmother, since she had the latest guess on there and Maia blew past all of them, by 27 hours almost. I DID go into labor early enough that Michelle was still in the running, but nature apparently want to even come close to giving her a chance. *sigh*
I was the closest in weight, since every single one of us guessed higher than what she was and mine was only as low as it was because I was HOPING for a smaller baby. I honestly thought she would be a bit heavier than Liam was (he was 7lbs 3oz) because she was several days late and Liam was a whole week early.
No one guessed her length dead on, but four people were close by a half-inch (Jackie, Jeremy, Kevin, Grandmom).

Thank you all for playing...it was fun.

Maia and the Greats...

Okay, that's probably a cheesy title, but just blame it on my sleep-deprived state. It's referring to my Grandmother and Aunt Susan visiting yesterday...and to Maia, they are Great Grandmom and Great Aunt Susan. So...yeah...

Anyway, just trying to keep the pictures going, and not fall behind. Grandmom and Susan were very happy to meet Maia, and she stayed awake for them pretty much the whole time, which was pretty cool. (I know my sister Sandy has yet to see Maia's eyes, since Maia has been asleep each time she has visited...even through feedings).
Oh...Maia hasn't spit up since she was in the hospital...she only hiccups after feedings and burps, but apparently is pretty efficient with what she eats. But wouldn't you know it, as SOON as I handed her to Grandmom...BLECHHHH!!! ALL OVER HER! The biggest spit up I have ever seen her do. A whole week without spitting up, and she chooses to do it as soon as she gets in Great Grandmom's arms. Way to go, Maia...show off those lady-like habit. *sigh, rolls eyes* At least Grandmom didn't mind, said some cultures consider it lucky. Heh.

Here is Maia with her Great Grandmom, staring away.




And here she is with her Great Aunt Susan, who I couldn't seem to catch smiling most of the time, even though she was doing it often enough. I blame sleep deprivation again...lack of good reflexes and attention.



Sunday, May 1, 2011

Lovely Little Maia

Time for another dose of Maia. She just keeps getting cuter and cuter somehow, even though she really isn't changing as far as I can tell.
Here are more charming pictures of her with her brother, who is most definitely smitten with her tiny little feet.




(I swear, Liam was thrilled to hold her, he ASKED to hold her, we just never caught him smiling when we took pictures. He was too enthralled with her).

Here are some of Maia with Liam and Mommy, and Liam and Sue K.



Here is a good picture of Maia with Sue K., who is visiting from San Diego.


I've noticed that we don't seem to have too many pictures of Maia with Mommy or Daddy, but especially not with Mommy. I guess because I am more inclined to take pictures, so I will take them of Matt (and others). Matt doesn't tend to remember to grab the camera and I often have to remind him, and when I am holding Maia, I am not usually thinking about having a picture taken. I will have to try to think about it more. *smile*
Here is one of Maia and Daddy, though.


And finally, some pictures of lovely little Maia all by herself. Isn't she sweet?! She just makes me melt. How did we create something so cute? *smile*
(okay, the one does have her looking a little cross-eyed...but she is still cute in it.)