14 & 1/2 pounds and counting!

It's been a while since I posted. Tomorrow will be Aub's first day back at work. This has to be hard for a mom. I could easily spend every day just hanging out with this kid but I also understand that the bond from the mother is especially strong. The part Aub is having the hardest time with is that we will spend a short time with her in the morning and a little time at night. Porter goes to bed so early this may not be enough for mom to get her fix!

Aub is taking it all in stride however. She is a strong woman, and I am very proud of her. I do hope that Porter takes some of the many wonderful qualities my wife has. From me I just hope she gets my twisted sense of humor and the ability to laugh at yourself. The rest she can get from mom.

What I really should do is post the many lists that have appeared around this house. I do happen to live with a true planner; a good compliment to the seat of the pants living that I prefer. While the items may not all be spelled correctly, she is really good at this. I know event planners that are not this organized. The vehicle is fueled, the lunch is packed, Porter's stuff is loaded (or labeled and in place to be packed), laundry is done. I, um... well, I cleaned. A little. That was my contribution.

Ok, back to my usual gushing about my beautiful kid...

There is nothing like your own child's smile. I look into her eyes and I am just in awe that this little girl is only four months old and she seems to understand so much. I love that I can make her smile with just words. Words that I know she can't understand, but from my intonations, she interprets that I love her. At least I hope she does. Maybe she just really enjoys having more hair than I do. Speaking of which, her hair was falling out but seems to be growing back slowly. She still has this thick patch in the back which does look quite silly sometimes (unless she is going for the male patter baldness look).

The good news is we found a great day care and we really like the gal who watches Porter. We were undecided for so long what we would do for care for her but I think we have found a great solution. When Aub finally wins the lottery, there may be a change. Until then, we will stick to plan 'B' but I expect the lottery to come through soon.

Haloween is just two days away. Expect some sweet pictures soon of a 'P' in the pod. Thanks to Auntie Erica for the great costume. And if you didn't catch it from the title, she is putting on the pounds. She is now on the growth chart for a term baby (actually in the upper percentile). We may have a volleyball player on our hands. Check out those sweet, chubby legs. And these pictures are a few weeks old.

14 & 1/2 Weeks and counting

Ok, my second stab at blogging, please bare with be. First, I can't believe Porter is 3 months old and I can't believe I've lived my entire life without having Porter in it. She's amazing! The love I have for this little girl is overwhelming.

Sleeping - everyone asks about sleeping.
Porter has put us on a schedule. She likes to go down for the night around 8PM. As we approach 8PM we begin our nightly routine: bath, diaper change, jammies, SWADDLE and nursing while rocking. Since we moved her from her bassinet in our room into her crib in her very own room. She's been sleeping from 8PM to around 2AM. Moving her from our room to her own room has really helped both Porter AND Dave and I get a better night's sleep. Porter sleeping for six hours in a row is great. However, after 2AM she'll wake between 4:30-5:30 and then again around 6-7AM. The 4:30 feeding is a tough one, but we're making progress so that's all that counts.

Dave has been amazing! Often he'll get up with her at 6AM and rock her and/or change her diaper... whatever she needs to get her settled so I can get a few more zzzz. Once she is up for the morning, Dave will make me breakfast before he's off to work. It's been SO helpful to have breakfast in bed everyday while I'm feeding Porter. Dave makes a fantastic over-easy egg!

Huckleberry - Porter's tumor/birthmark

To date, Porter has had 3 laser treatments for the birthmark on her left cheek. Prior to the last treatment, Porter had a bad reaction to the numbing cream used to numb the site before the laser zap. Her poor little face around the birthmark ended up blistering and peeled off, leaving some open skin. Good news, Porter did not seem to be in any pain or discomfort. All the same, this scared Dave and I. After another topical Rx from the baby dermatologist, her skin has healed and she will have her 4th laser treatment this Thursday 10/9. The dermatologist estimates that Porter will have another 6 to 8 treatments (roughly every 3-4 weeks) and the birthmark will be significantly reduced, if not gone! We are anxious to have the small red circle gone from her face, regardless, we think she's the most beautiful little girl!

How life has changed

Everyone says life will change when you have kids, and this is an understatement! I never knew how much I could love someone until Porter came along. I nearly cry daily at all the little things she does, the smiles, her talking, her progress, the toots from her butt! Dave is extremely smitten too. Porter has him wrapped around her little finger.

Dave and I are doing our best to take care of one another too. We are making time each week for a date night for us. It's funny how much I look forward to these few hours a week! Our parents have been wonderful about watching Porter during these times. This past weekend was Dave's 39th birthday. Friday evening we dropped Porter off at Grandma McKim's house for the evening while we celebrated Dave's birthday with 20 or so friends. Saturday evening Grandma and Grandpa Pruatt came over to watch Porter while I took Dave out to dinner and Phantom Of The Opera. So we've been getting out a fair amount.
The down side, Porter has forgotten how to take a bottle... Something we learned all too well this weekend. The Grandparents had a rough time feeding her. My goal for the next two weeks is to reteach her to take breast milk from a bottle. I need to get her back on the waggon before Dave and I head to Leavenworth for our ONE YEAR anniversary (October 17th).
We can't thank our parents enough for helping out whenever we need a hand.

Porter's Development

Being a preemie (born 5 weeks and 4 days early), we've been curious how Porter would grow physically and progress mentally. Can she truly be called 14 weeks? Or is she more like a baby who is 8 weeks old?

Physically, Porter is growing like a weed. She weighs ~13lb (born @ 5lb 5oz). She's more than doubled her weight! As Dave likes to say, she's Papa's little "chow hound" and has "sausage legs". She does love to eat and poop & toot! She's also beginning to hold her head up on her own. It's a little wobbly, but she's getting better.

Mentally, we think Porter is right on track with a normal 3 month old. She's able to follow objects from side to side with her eyes. She's able to bat at objects in front of her. She's smiling when talked to and is beginning to laugh. The smiling and laughing brings tears to my eyes every time!!! Especially when she smiles for Dave!

How we spend our days

Porter and I generally spend our days going for walks in the morning. She likes to "work out" in her little floor gym between naps. Afternoons are spent getting a few things done, chores or making dinner for Papa!

Going Back to Work

Ho Hum, going back to work... I have a little over 3 weeks until I go back to work on October 30th. The past few weeks have been really tough coming to grips with the idea of leaving my baby girl everyday. To add to the fact I'll only get to see her a few hours a day, we are behind the 8 ball in regards to child care. Our whole timeline was shifted to the left with Porter's early arrival. We are on the waiting list for daycare at a FANTASTIC center, Bright Horizons. However, we had always planned on an early 2009 enrolment, with their waiting list being full, we'll be lucky to get in in January. So how to care for Miss Porter until then?

We have frantically been interviewing possible nannies, but I'm so apprehensive about leaving Porter alone, in our house, in a stranger's care!

We've also been researching other daycare centers, but waiting lists are LONG (Sept of 2009 in most cases). If only I didn't have to go back to work... with the economy turning the way it has the past few weeks, quiting my job is not an option (just plain silly to turn away my great job at T-Mobile. I do love it there). Once we find a solution for this dilemma, we'll post.

Thanks to everyone for their continuous support!

xoxo

Aubrey