17 weeks!

This week has been full of exploration! Wren has been very hands on and wants to touch everything!  ...and then put it in her mouth.  She really wants to be leaning forward to maximize her reach and tries to twist toward whatever has caught her eye.  As mentioned previously Wren really loves to look up at her clothes when she's laying on her changing table.  One night she was beside herself with excitement watching a particular pair of polka dotted pajamas as I slowly lowered them toward her.  She got so excited and as soon as I set the pajamas on her chest she grabbed them, wide-eyed, and promptly tried to eat them.  We repeated this with every clothing item hanging over her and she responded with as much enthusiasm each time!  Wren has really been enjoying feeling different textures and her curiosity has led her to Jay's beard!  While laying in bed on Sunday and then again Monday night while sitting on Jay's lap, Wren's hands reached right up to his chin.  

On Saturday we got together with three Mommies and Babies for a play date with a nice long walk on an unseasonably beautiful day.  All of the babes fell asleep on our walk but I'm sure they enjoyed the sun from their rolling perches.  

Our favorite moment from the weekend stemmed from a rendition of "Head, shoulders, knees and toes" and how much Wren seems to like the motions.  This got us thinking about what other songs involve arm/body motions, leading us to YMCA and, of course, the MACARENA!  That song just cannot die with our generation and we are trusting that Wren will spread the song and its undeniably rad dance moves to her fellow Generations Z-ers (I'm guessing that's her generation....)  After testing out the moves (ok...we had to look up the video for a refresher) we settled on The Chipmunks version for Wren to shake, shake, shake it.  Of course the camera was rolling for all 3 minutes-plus but we'll spare you the full version.  Here is a clip of one of the best takes of the chorus:

And then we have to follow it up with the funniest take of the chorus.  Wren was a good sport throughout the whole song, though her strong legs gave out after the first few dance moves, so she carried on in a seated position:

It's so hard to pick a favorite part of this video. Is it the straight-faced Wren, smiling only before her special surprise?  Or is it my excessive enthusiasm?  Either way when we watched the whole video repeatedly last night we just couldn't stop laughing!  Apparently America's Funniest Videos is still on the air (!?!) so maybe we can be the grand prize winners and take home some battery operated scissors or something equally amazing.  

Don't mess with this stroller posse!

An anniversary

One year ago today we learned that a baby was in our future.  One year ago today we were getting ready to fly to Hawaii the next morning.  On a whim I bought a pregnancy test on my lunch break and figured I'd throw it away once it, of course, read negative.  Much sooner than the recommended 3 minutes of waiting was a reading of:

I called Jay to tell him while we were both at work and he was extremely surprised!  Having no idea that I was even thinking about taking a test you can imagine how he might have felt!  He spent the rest of the afternoon researching the probability of a false positive (slim to none).  That night we drove to Portland and the next morning we hopped a plane to The Big Island.  Since we are both cynics we figured that there still might be a chance that we weren't really pregnant, but we went along as though it was really true.  I abstained from alcohol under the guise that I would be starting Weight Watchers when we returned from vacation and I wanted to get a head start on reducing calories.  (I really had been looking into WW!)

When we returned from Hawaii we agreed to take another at-home pregnancy test to check again.  We waited until February 15th.  Almost immediately this one gave the plus sign! 

Forgive the hat - I had just returned home from my 5:30 AM fitness class.  I'm often up at 5:30 these days but there's very little that's fitness-y about it.  

So now we had 2 tests giving us the thumbs up.  But we still were skeptical.  So we made an appointment with my Nurse Practitioner for another opinion.  When we told her we'd had 2 positive tests but wanted a definitive answer she looked at us like we were crazy and said "You're pregnant"

And the rest is history!  Here's a snap from our very first ultrasound on March 2nd, 2011.  We had been  very curious about how far along we were since I had a bit a lot too much fun on Christmas and New Years.  Have no fear, we were informed that the holiday festivities were B(efore)B(aby).  

16 weeks!

It hadn't hit me that Wren is 16 weeks old today until I got my weekly update email from Babycenter.  Each week just flies by!  This past week Wren has been refining her grabbing skills.  Today she took her pacifier from my mouth and tried to put it in hers - she's still not quite able to match her pacifier with her mouth but we were very impressed with the grabbing action.
Wednesday marked the longest amount of time I have been away from Wren since she was born - 10 hours!  I had to leave town for work and wasn't able to see her for lunch but she did great!
The 6 month pajamas I was waiting to put Wren in because they were too big are now fitting pretty well...almost too well.  We weighed Wren yesterday and our not-very-accurate method produced a weight of 16.6 pounds.  Two more weeks until Wren's 4 month appointment.
Today we snagged a well-loved Exersaucer from Craigslist to give Wren an opportunity to stand and explore and the little bit of time she spent in it was very exciting.  Wren's "strong legs" time is increasing - she loves to stand!
Jay and I very often remark to each other that we are so lucky to have such a happy (and cute!) little girl and we are enjoying every moment of our parenting adventure.  It is all even more rewarding when we hear laughter!  We'd gotten a few little chuckles here and there but Wren laughed as we tickled her feet one night. The laughter turned into tears, so we're not sure how true the laughs were, but either way it was the cutest thing we have ever heard and we managed to capture it on film!  There will surely be more lengthy giggles in the future!

Wren comforting Shep at his vet appointment. 

Super special card from Aunt Mickey! 

Discovery in the Exersaucer!

15 weeks!

This past week saw two more rough mornings at daycare but we are hopefully leaving those behind us with some solutions.  With Aunt Liz's advice Wren upgraded to medium flow bottle nipples and daycare is now offering Wren milk much closer to her arrival at daycare.  The last two days of the week went much smoother and here's hoping for more of the same when she returns tomorrow.
Over the weekend we have been working on Wren napping on her own and she has done a pretty darn good job.  She has been taking some 2-hour naps at daycare and got pretty close to replicating that at home this weekend. The two little boys at daycare, B & G, both seem to really like Wren.  G wants to help get Wren out of her carseat in the morning and both boys ask about "the baby".
Wren has been a little chatterbug and is especially vocal when hanging out in the vibrating chair and playing with the plethora of rings and teethers dangling from the mirror.  Grandma Brynn visited yesterday eliciting squawks I hadn't heard from Wren before!  Drool output has upped its game necessitating bib wearing.  One day at daycare she went through three bibs by the time I picked her up!  Still no little teeth signs.  Wren's buddy from the block, Baby G, laughed for the first time this week, her mommy tells me.  Wren's laughter must be around the corner!  The more we try to get her to laugh the more she looks at us like we're crazy!
Wren is doing an awesome job of holding on to things and even grips a bit when being carried - so sweet!  Last night Jay removed the sling from Wren's pink tub and she sat in the reclined infant portion - what a big girl!  She even splashed a little bit!

Lazy Saturday morning!

Wren held on to the book and pulled it right to her mouth!

No tub sling needed for this lady!

14 weeks!

Sorry to be a day late!  This week Wren had a full 4 days of daycare.  There seems to be plenty of activity for Wren to watch and listen to with kids of different ages running around.  It seems to be pretty exhausting - she falls right to sleep in the car and is fairly sleepy once we get home.  She is a super champ with taking the bottle now though nap time isn't quite as super...yet (it will get better, right?).  In the mornings, once Wren has been at daycare for a little bit and starts getting sleepy, she winds up working herself up and becoming pretty upset.  Once she wears herself out and takes a nap she's in a good mood for the rest of the day.  Perhaps this will subside as she becomes more and more familiar with her daytime surroundings.  

Wren is now grabbing on to objects much more frequently and purposefully.  She can grab her pacifier handle and pull the pacifier from her mouth - getting it back into the mouth, well, we're a ways off for that.  She has a pretty strong grip, too!  She does a great job practicing her "strong legs" and standing up on our laps.  Her favorite place to hang out continues to be her changing table where she can look up at her clothes and grab at the feet of her pajamas hanging from above.  She loves her bath time, too, and soon we will be removing the sling so she can recline in the infant portion of her pink tub.  Wren isn't quite interested in her feet yet.  When we show her her feet she looks pretty intently at them, then as soon as her hand comes into her field of vision her attention is stolen away.  I'm sure it's just a matter of time before her little toes become amazing entertainment.  

We haven't tried to check Wren's weight lately but she is definitely staying sturdy!  This morning at daycare I was told that Wren appears to have grown since Friday!  The drool continues to flow at a steady pace and no onesie is safe, so Wren has started wearing bibs during the day to keep her chest dry.  No visible signs of little teeth yet!

A visit from Gramma Sondy! 

Jay had two days off over the holiday weekend - doesn't happen very often!  Here he is at mile 34 of his 68 mile ride Saturday.  

13 weeks!

Last Tuesday marked the end of maternity leave and the start of work and day care.  Wren came with me to work first to say hi to everyone and we headed over to the babysitter's house around 11 AM.  The sitter's children (home schooled) were excited to see Wren and the two daughters quickly took to playing with Wren on the floor as she happily participated.  I decided to linger and eventually Wren missing her morning nap caught up to her, leading to a pretty significant meltdown - I can only guess that my nervousness about leaving her didn't help.  There were many tears from both of us, with Wren finally falling asleep and me composing myself in the parking lot as I returned to work nearly 2 hours later.  The rest of the week went much better.  Wren seems very happy at daycare and we feel that she is in a good environment.  The two little boys who are also watched at this house have offered Wren their toys (though one boy nicknamed her "Rat"...) and the older kids read to her.  Taking the bottle has been mixed but our girl likes her meals so we know she won't choose to go hungry.  The home is so close to my work that I went each day at lunch and plan to continue as long as I can get away.
Our challenge now is naptime - not that she won't sleep but that she wants to be held.  A few naps were taken in the pack-n-play she is using there and I'm sure things will only get better.  We are trying to help reinforce crib naps at home but I have to admit that my arms have not been baby free very often this weekend (which I am lucky enough to still be enjoying - thank you 4-day work week!).  We are, however, having great success with the bottle - Wren took part of a bottle Saturday night and downed about 5 ounces yesterday afternoon - we are so proud!
Wren is grabbing at toys that hang near her and trying to put them in her mouth - soon nothing will be drool-free!  She has been very vocal the last few days, practicing different sounds and pitches.  Jay and I both try to get Wren to laugh every day - we know it's coming! - but we love that we get smiles from our little gal!

So pensive early in the morning

Great tummy time comes with drool! 

Shep is warming up to Wren more and more! 

Yum!

12 weeks!

According to the book Wonder Weeks, week 12 can come with some challenges due to transitions in baby's abilities and perceptions.  I concur.  This past week Wren had a few days of poor napping unless she was being held - we love our snuggles but it makes for a tough time accomplishing things around the house. She ate very frequently and fussed more than normal over things we were unsure of.  The only times she was really happy during these devilish days were during free time (aka naked) and bath time.  Silly girl!  We did pause to reflect on the fact that she's such a good girl pretty much all of the time that in the moments she's unhappy we are completely thrown for a loop - we are pretty lucky overall.  I'm happy to report that our little angel baby reappeared today - yippee! - and she did a fair job of napping on her own.  Nighttime sleep has been back to the pre-8 hour nights (all 4 of them!) of 3-6 hour stretches at a time.  With daycare starting mañana I am a little nervous about her non-routine during the day, but I'm sure all will go well.  This evening has been spent making a wet bag and stuffing pocket diapers to take to the sitter's house while Jay made delicious chicken machaca for dinner and we discussed all of the supplies that might be needed to care for our little lady.

Wren continues to enjoy gnawing on her hands and when she isn't doing that she's probably practicing her raspberries.  We think it's pretty darn adorable and both Jay and I encourage her and she mirrors us with her own flair of drool.  With all of the practice, though, I think we've created a little bit of a monster. During a 2 am diaper change she kicked and flailed and blew raspberries - luckily she went right back to sleep afterward.  Drooling is now a full-time job for Wren.  That combined with the hand chewing makes for quite a wet scene.  Wren is also showcasing her neck and body strength while practicing sitting up.  While she is laying down if you offer her your thumbs she will grab on and start to curl her head toward her chest and scrunch up her little belly as you assist her in sitting up.  She seems to really enjoy being upright.
We are starting to have some experiences that you hear about but don't expect to have happen to you.  In her darkened room during a middle of the night nursing session, I lifted her for a burping and was met with throw up in the face, down my neck and all over my shirt.  The good news - my mouth was closed.
We had a visit from the Mommy/Daughter from the neighborhood yesterday and after a bundled walk to the store and back we unwrapped the babies to find that they had on matching onesies!  Wren and Baby G laid together and posed for the camera, practically holding hands - too cute!
We weighed Wren today and got her at approximately 14.6 pounds!

Snuggle suit! 

Tummy time!  Notice the string of drool...

Wren and Baby G in matching tops!  Don't be so serious, girls!