3 Weeks Old

Julia turned 3 weeks old today, she had a great week at home spending a lot of time with her Nana. John was home for 2 weeks, but had to return to work on Monday, fortunately my mother-in-law, Ruth, came to stay with us for the week to help out. Julia got to spend quality time with Nana, mom got to take plenty of naps, and the new Caruso family was treated to delicious home cooked meals every night.

Fast Growing

After 2 weeks with our little Julia we have decided that raising a newborn is do-able and compatible with life (we had our doubts after the first few nights!)

Julia is doing very well, she had her 2 week check-up yesterday and she is back at her birth weight. She now weighs 7 pounds, 3 ounces (50% percentile) and her height is 20.5 inches (75% percentile). You might remember that Julia was 18 inches when she was born, while it may sound like we have an extremely fast growing newborn, it's more likely that the original height was inaccurate.

2 weeks

Yesterday Julia turned 2 weeks old and her umbilical cord fell off.

Here is a list of characteristics that make Julia Julia: She loves to be swaddled (tightly), she is an expert at pooping and peeing when her diaper is off and her parents aren't prepared, and she likes to open her left eye to look around and see if it is worthwhile to also open the right eye.

Julia is definitely gaining weight and growing, but she still has a lot of growing room left in her newborn clothes and hats.

Pet Disclaimer: I have heard some concerns about how our household full of pets are responding to their new little sister. John and I want everyone to know that all of our animals have adjusted well to a screaming baby and no pets have been adversely affected by Julia (though I can't promise that as she gets older she won't attempt to dress up Reggie the cat in doll clothes)

First Graduation

Since leaving the hospital Julia has gone to the pediatrician every other day for a weight check. We had problems in the hospital with her losing too much weight and becoming slightly jaundice. Thankfully today the pediatrician happy said to us "Well, today Julia has graduated!" She has finally started steadily gaining weight and we no longer need the regular weight checks.

Several of you have noticed that Julia always seems to be an 'L' position. Since Julia was breech, with her bum down in my pelvis and legs folded up with her feet by her head, she hasn't quite straighted out yet. When we change her diaper her little legs stick straight up at a 90 degree angle.

Mr. Mom

Prior to Julia's arrival, John had not been around many infants and had never changed a diaper. In a matter of 10 days he has become a full fledged Mr. Mom. Since I had to have a C-section there were a lot of things I couldn't do in the hospital. John changed all the diapers in the hospital (in the 4 days we were there I changed 1 dirty diaper) and he became an expert swaddler - many nurses complimented him on his swaddling technique (the one time I swaddled her in the hospital she got her arms out in a matter of minutes).

Storytime with Daddy

Naptime

Doing household chores with Julia (yes she is hidden inside the carrier)

Since Julia currently only weighs 6 pounds 6 ounces (newborns typically lose weight in the first few days), most of our newborn clothes are huge on her. We have 2 outfits for newborns under 7 pounds that fit her well. Unfortunately, these outfits don't have hand covers so we put socks on her hands when in these outfits (rather than her typical uniform of a long sleeve kimono and a swaddle).

Julia's First Photos

For those of you interested in seeing more photos of Julia's first few days, go the link below where I posted all the photos from her stay in the hospital.

http://picasaweb.google.com/saracaruso/JuliaSFirstFewDays?authkey=VYN3EnYtaP8&feat=directlink

Once at the site in the upper left hand side you will see the "slideshow" link to view all the photos in a larger slideshow.

One Week and One Degree

Julia turned one week old yesterday and had a pediatricians appointment in the morning. When we left the house it was 1 degree fahrenheit, which is not an ideal temperature to take a newborn out it. We had the car running for 15 minutes before and had her bundled up in her hat, mittens, and BundleMe (which I highly recommend for anyone with a baby that has to go out in cold weather).

Her other milestone yesterday was her first bath at home, which she did not enjoy. Julia loves to be swaddled tightly, so being unswaddled and naked was not appreciated.
Julia warm, cozy and clean after her bath