Baby Straitjackets and MiracleGro

The little critter is asleep right now so I actually have a moment to update the fambly blog. We've got her wrapped up in what my dad likes to refer to as the "Baby Straitjacket," an unusual blanket that we purchased online specially made for baby Houdinis like ours. We discovered early on that Sybilla likes to be swaddled and will stay asleep longer when she is swaddled (growth spurts don't count, sadly). As she's been growing bigger though, we've run out of blankets that were lightweight and big enough to contain her growing chub chub. We'd read Dr. Karp's book "The Happiest Baby on the Block" (any new parent should read this preferably BEFORE they get home from the hospital and their child decides to go on a 6 hour crying jag at one week old when Daddy is forced to work an overnight shift and Mommy is still on bedrest. It will save their sanity and a lot of heartache) so we became pros at the swaddling thing, but she still managed to wiggle her way to freedom. Since trying to swaddle a thrashing, fussy baby at 3 am could be considered a form of torture for use at Gitmo, we caved and spent $30 on this thing called the Miracle Blanket. It's WAAAAAY better than the stupid SwaddleMe by Kiddopatamus and I strongly doubt Houdini could get out of this one. If you're truly curious as to what the Baby Straitjacket looks like, visit www.miracleblanket.com and watch the video!

So anyhoo, on to the update: Billa is two months old now and weighs a whopping 13 pounds. No, I am not making this up. Apparently my milk must be made up of MiracleGro and steroids because we got one chunkey munkey! Our doctor was impressed with her development and strength and informed us that she has hit the majority of the developmental milestones for a four month old. Don't be jealous...considering what I endured during pregnancy, the whole BP thing after birth, and the fact that she has to eat just about every two hours (that's from the start of one feeding to the start of the next), I've earned bragging rights. So yeah, I got a smart kid who will probably end up like the Incredible Hulk by the time she's two and a half...we won't like her when she's angry!

Since she is so big now, she is outgrown all of her newborn clothes and is now starting to fit into all of the 3 month stuff, which is kind of nice since I have quite a few cute outfits for her in that size range. Now if she'll stop the crazy spitting up I can actually dress her in them! We haven't had any Exorcist re-enactments for the past two days, which has been a relief laundry wise. I think it's mostly due to the fact that I have been pumping like crazy to try and get the less fatty foremilk and fattier hindmilk to balance out. I could go on about that whole subject but I'll refrain since some folk may find it uncomfortable or weird. Suffice it to say, whatever I am doing currently, it seems to be working and I hope I am not jinxing it.

It's getting late now and I am going to sign off so that I can get some rest before the next feeding. I will post a video on the blog (hopefully it will work) and attached is a picture I just took of Little S this week with her big goofy grin. Please enjoy and stay tuned for more!

Love, Kelly and the Gang