4 Month Appointment

Chatham had her 4 month doctor's appointment yesterday... unfortunately that meant another round of shots but she did very well. It seemed like she was more confused/sad that someone "hurt" her versus any serious pain from the shots. As always, it was a very sad day for Mommy! Little C and I were spoiled yesterday because Mimi was in town (Patrick's Mother) - definitely a huge help to have the extra set of hands and explosion of love for the sweet pea!
Chatham is still in the 25th percentile across the board, which is great because she's stayed consistent at this percentile since birth - she's a steady, healthy growing little girl :) She weighed in at 13 lbs 12 oz and measured 24.5 inches in length.
I expressed my concern over Chatham's "rolling" to the doctor - specifically in her crib during the night, since every time I go in to check on her she's rolled onto her stomach. She will not stay on her back! There really isn't a lot we can do about it -  her doctor explained that since she enjoys tummy time and is abnormally strong for her age we should have nothing to worry about. If she is uncomfortable or struggling she will let us know. The doc was very happy and surprised to hear how advanced Chatham was strength-wise and seemed even happier to hear about her 10 hour minimum sleep time in her crib at night (and consistent nap times during the day). All good things! We may have a gymnast on our hands... we all know she doesn't get this (or her amazing sleeping habits) from Mom! I took a video of her rolling from her back to her stomach a few weeks ago (one of her first 'rolls') which I'll post later on!

Our Rolling Little Lady!

At two days old Chatham was rolling from her tummy to her back, and yesterday she rolled from her back to her tummy for the very first time!!! She was enjoying some "me" time on her activity mat while Mom was putting some things away in the kitchen, and within 10 seconds of taking my eyes off her she was on her stomach :) She's a very determined little one... I have a feeling most of her "firsts" may come a lot earlier than expected! She's already frustrated in the bumbo seat and looking to sit up on her own (she can hold herself up for about ten seconds before slowly falling to one side!) I may start keeping our flip cam on and set up to record every move she makes so I can capture these first moments!!! More soon... :)

Three Month Update!

We can't believe our sweet pea is already three months old... seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital. We are so blessed to have such a sweet, happy and "low maintenance" baby. She's always smiling/giggling and the only cries we hear are for a reason and short-lived. She spends her days playing on her activity mat, bouncing in her jumperoo, sitting in her bumbo seat with her favorite toys, reading books with Mommy, going for walks around the city when it's nice out... consistent spring weather cannot come soon enough!!!
Chatham has been sleeping through the night since she was three weeks old and now sleeps away from Mommy and Daddy in her big girl crib (very hard for Mom to break away from having her so close!) Her sleeping positions are hysterical... arms up, legs out, head arched back and absolutely NO BLANKETS touching her (think snow angel). We swaddled her the first couple of weeks, but she let us know very early that she liked being able to stretch out her arms and legs during the night. I've tried to sneak a blanket over her a few times, but within minutes she was clearing her throat (that's her signal to look at her or fix something that's bothering her).
Chatham's baptism took place on April 10th when she was exactly three months old. We traveled home to Massachusetts for the big event, where she got to meet most of her relatives (including her two baby girl cousins Molly and Finley, all within four months of age!) She was amazing for both plane rides (we'll never hesitate to fly with her!!!) and continued to sleep through the night for at least ten hours while staying at my Aunt and Uncle's home. She seemed to really like the play yard! Below are a few pictures from our weekend trip home.

Watching Brooke's soccer game!

Daddy/Uncle Patrick with his girls :)

Uncle Jared with his nieces before the Christening

Brooke & Chatham girl

First Daughters... Mom absent, but there in spirit :)

Our Little Family

Father Quinn blessing Sweet Chatham

Mommy's Family

Daddy's Family

With the God Parents, Tara & Brian

"God Bless Chatham"

Daddy's Birthday Cake from Chatham

Best Buddies...the three baby girls!
Finley - 7 months, Chatham - 3 months, Molly - 5 months

Video of Chatham's first reaction to velcro...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoHNW87W3Oo

Chatham's first "hi's" and "bye's" at 7 weeks old...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgqY2VWol3M

GO SOX!

Chatham and I were pretty excited yesterday when Uncle Jared told us the Sox-Phillies game was on ESPN... very rarely is a RED Sox game televised here in Chicago (especially during spring training!). Unfortunately we lost, but we enjoyed watching :)

May take a bit to grow into my hat...

Can't wait to see the real thing at Fenway!

The day after... :)

Chatham is doing very well post-immunizations... she ended up sleeping most yesterday after her shots at 2:30 p.m. We gave her a dose of Tylenol at 6 p.m. and a second dose at 11 p.m. She slept comfortably through the night and woke up around 7:45 a.m. She was definitely a little out of sorts last night and wasn't her usual cheery self, but this morning she was all smiles and "talking" away as we leaned over her co-sleeper :) I gave her another dose of Tylenol at 9:30 a.m. as she had a very mild fever and minor discomfort.
Here is a picture of sweet babydoll last night... you can tell she isn't her usual self, but very cute nonetheless.

Two Month Appointment

Our snuggle munchkin :)

Chatham had her big two month appointment today and she's resting comfortably with Mom and Dad now :) It was a tough day for the little angel, but she handled it well all considering.

We first met with her doctor and went over her feeding and sleep schedules -- he was so happy to hear that she's sleeping through the night (eight hours on average!) He suggested that we put her down an hour earlier in the evening, at 9 p.m. versus 10 p.m., and we may see her sleep for 10-12 hours straight within a few weeks!!!

Chatham now weighs 10 lbs 6 oz and is 22.5 inches long. She is in the 25th percentile for both her height and weight (and head circumference).... growing steadily and looking very healthy! :)

She received her DTaP, IPV, HepB (combined in the combo vaccine Pediarix), Hib, Prevnar and RotaTeq immunizations (RotaTeq is an oral, liquid vaccine to protect children from Rotavirus which is a common cause of vomiting, diarrhea and later dehydration in children).

We opted for Chatham to receive an oral dose of TootSweet before her shots to help ease the pain (see link below for more information) While the nurse administered the shots Patrick and I tried to distract her... worked for a few seconds, but nothing can distract anyone from that kind of pain. Right after Chatham's last shot I wrapped her up in the blanket and snuggled her close while feeding her -- calmed her immediately and we left the office with a content baby :) I've had a few people mention that I could have given Chatham some Tylenol before her appointment to help ease any pain, but even a small dose of acetaminophen can mask a fever. It's better to wait until AFTER the immunizations and then administer the Tylenol if your munchkin has fever, discomfort, etc.
More information on TootSweet: http://www.natus.com/documents/003416%20Rev_A%20-TS%20FAQs.pdf

I gave her a small dose of baby acetaminophen a couple hours after her appointment to help her rest more comfortably -- it seems to have helped. The doctor suggested we start letting her sleep in her 'big girl crib'... we're going to hold off until early next week because of the immunizations. It's going to be very difficult not having her by my side during the night... I know it has to happen, but I'm not looking forward to the transition :(

So in love with my sweet baby girl...

Happy Valentines Day!

XOXO! ~ Chatham

She's growing up so fast!!! A couple sweet pea shots :)

Cooing, Cawing, Reaching, Flipping and Following

It is so fun watching our little girl grow and develop each day. Chatham has gotten quite vocal this past week... she's such a happy little baby - cooing and cawing in between her sweet smirks and "ahhhhhh"'s. I can't get enough of her!

"Good Morning!!" (Little C always wakes up with a smile)

Her eyesight gets stronger by the day -- she always has her eye on Mom and Dad as she follows our every move throughout the room!

Chatham LOVES bath time... we really get a kick out of the contented noises she makes while getting bathed. She had a mini meltdown the first time we took her out of the tub, but now that she understands a warm towel and big snugglefest are to follow she's quite content :)

The doctor and nurses were quite amazed at how strong little C was at just a day old... they told us we'd have to keep an eye on her a lot sooner than most newborn parents! Sure enough, at just two days old she flipped from her tummy to her back on her own during "tummy time," and continues to do so today without any struggle. Patrick was quite proud to see this on our first day home from the hospital, naturally :) She loves her activity mat... batting away at the hanging stuffed animal toys above her and kicking her feet up in joy!

... it's been quite a tough day :) Night night

Chatham ~ the inspiration for her name

My husband and I fell in love with the name Chatham just days after finding out I was pregnant. Growing up I had some amazing memories with my Mother in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, particularly in the town of Chatham. Every time I say her sweet name I think of my Mother and it brings a smile to my face... I can't wait to tell my precious baby girl all about her amazing Grandmother who provided the inspiration for her name.

My Mom... Chatham's Angel 

Holding Chatham before leaving the hospital... wearing my "I Hope You Dance" 

locket (with Mom inside) from my Dad in memory of Mom. I didn't take it off from the moment I started going into labor until we got home from the hospital. My niece, Brooke, wore her Mom's locket while I was in labor for "good luck." Precious.

Me and My Munchkin ~ 3 weeks postpartum!

We decided to have some fun with the camera again and do a "tummy pic"... this time Chatham was an active contributor :) 

It's crazy looking back at this same "pose" less than one month ago... (a few posts below) 

Our Little Piece of Heaven :)

Chatham Marie Walsh

January 10th, 2011

6:41 p.m.

7 lbs, 4 oz; 20.5 in long

Delivery Room Shots

Quick pre-delivery nap while waiting for the doctor to arrive

So happy :) 

Perfect Apgar Score :)

Eyes wide open - she was so alert! 

The Team with Little C

January 10th, 2011

Our sweet pea decided Monday, January 10th, was the day to make her grand entrance into this world. It was a long ten day wait, but boy am I happy that we let her come on her own - it made for an "as good as it gets" labor for Mommy and Baby :) Here is a very brief outline of the best day of my life!

January 10th, 2011

4 a.m. ~ woke up feeling a little "off"... strong menstrual cramps

5 a.m. ~ cramps getting more intense but still didn't feel like contractions - had a little bleeding so called my doctor's office. At this point I'm up and out of bed... had something very small to eat and woke up my husband because I knew something "wasn't right." I worried that something was wrong with the baby because of my (what I thought were unusual) symptoms

6:45 a.m. ~ still hadn't heard back from the on-call doctor, but now these cramps have intensified and feel like contractions, coming at regular intervals (every 10 minutes, every 8 minutes, now every 6 minutes)

7 a.m. ~ on-call doctor calls me back (who had never received my page) After listening to my symptoms she told us to go into the hospital triage as soon as possible

8 a.m. ~ arrive at hospital with all of our bags, thinking could this be it? The contractions are getting more uncomfortable but not too bad at this point.

8:45 a.m. ~ had been monitored and baby/mommy are doing well... only a centimeter dilated, but my doctor tells the nurses to keep me in there... this is happening late today or tomorrow (sounded like it could be a long day!)

11:45 a.m. ~ had my water broken

12:00 p.m. ~ started me on very small dose of Pitocin via IV Drip

12:30 p.m. ~ epidural administered

1 p.m. ~ I get sick (no surprise) from reaction to epidural

2:00 p.m. ~ I'm 2.5 centimeters dilated (at this point I'm thinking I'll be delivering early the next morning! At least I'm resting comfortably...)

2:30 p.m. I'm feeling a lot of pressure and a little pain with each contraction so nurse has anesthesiologist increase my epidural dosage. I get sick again minutes later

3:30 p.m. ~ Nurse checks my cervix and I'm fully dilated. My doctor hears the news and is in shock that I dilated so quickly (same thing happened to my Mother so I shouldn't have been too surprised). He wants me to relax for a bit like that. I could have delivered this baby by 4:30 p.m., but since we waited the delivery was lightening fast

5:45 p.m. ~ Doctor calls and asks nurse to have me do a few pushes to prep for when he arrives in minutes. I do one push and have to stop because the nurse is worried the baby will be coming out moments later

6:10 p.m. ~ Doctor arrives and is shocked to see baby's progress - I start the first of five sets of three pushes at 6:25 p.m. and our little piece of heaven arrives at 6:41 p.m. I felt no pain, and just a bit of pressure. I had an amazing experience in labor!!

** We were discharged on Wednesday morning, January 12th. Our doctor told us we could be discharged Tuesday evening if we wanted to be in our home for the night, but we decided to live it up in recovery for a day and a half instead of less than 20 hours :)

8 days overdue... the last of the tummy pics!

41 Weeks and Counting

This morning we had a non stress test for the little peanut... fortunately it was a quick 20 minutes and she passed with flying colors. The doctor told me that I've started to dilate a little, so hopefully I'll continue to do so and go into labor over the weekend! If not, we have our last dr.'s appointment on Monday where we'll have a second non stress test, an ultrasound, and an exam to see how far dilated I am. If we still have no baby by early next week, I'll be induced late Tuesday evening (the 11th).
The goal at this point is to have our little one make her way out on her own terms -- I'd really rather not get induced until it's absolutely necessary. Don't get me wrong, I am beyond frustrated, feel pretty yucky, functioning on very little sleep and break down in tears at least once a day as of late, but I know waiting this out a bit longer is the best thing to do for all of us :)
Several people have asked me whether or not I've tried any labor inducing techniques, and the answer is: ALL OF THEM.  The eggplant parm, pineapple, licorice, spicy foods, long walks, bouncing on exercise balls, walking up and down stairs, cleaning like a mad woman, and a few other unmentionables... I've tried them all, repeatedly... she will come when she is ready :)

She's content where she is...

We saw the doctor this afternoon (40 w 3 d along) and unfortunately I'm still 0 cm dilated - she's not budging! We had an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid and placenta, and we got a "pass" on both so the doc feels comfortable letting me go another week (ugh!)
Because I haven't started dilating it wouldn't be a good idea for me to be induced at this point; an early induction would lead to a LONG labor, probably resulting in a c-section. That said, we are going back into the doc on Thursday for a stress test, and then on Monday we have another ultrasound. I'd be induced late Tuesday night (the 11th) if I haven't already gone into labor on my own.
I'm really hoping to be caught by surprise over the next few days, but I'm not getting my hopes up... clearly she's quite content in there!