It's been a great week!

The Kryzak family has had a great week! Gwendoline has been sleeping a lot better over the last several days. Last night, she slept for a seven hour stretch! Sure, it was from 7pm to 2am so not completely during parental sleep hours, but it was nice to get more than three hours of sleep at a time. And guess what? The child is NAPPING! She's still not putting down huge nap numbers, but she's been more consistent in taking a one hour morning nap and a one hour afternoon nap (approximately). According to my new favorite book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, this pattern should only continue to improve as she gets closer to the four month mark.

More good news: we had our follow-up appointment and ultrasound at Scottish Rite yesterday to check Gwendoline's hips. The specialist there said her hips are "excellent" and "perfect"! That means no brace, no future surgery, and no need to ever go back to Scottish Rite. This is a huge answer to prayer. :)

Finally, Gwendoline had her two month appointment with the pediatrician this morning. She got an excellent report- another A+! Here are her new stats:

• Weight: 10 pounds, 7 ounces (27th percentile)
• Height: 22.3 inches (42nd percentile)
• Head circumference: 15 inches (45th percentile) 

Even though Gwendoline got an excellent physical and developmental report from Dr. Newton, it was a traumatic visit because she had to get two shots, one in each thigh. It hurts my heart to hear her pain cry. Thank God we don't hear it very often- only when she gets shots. And thank God her daddy was with us this morning to help scoop her up and comfort. He's our hero!

Gwendoline is getting bigger every day! She sat in her Bumbo seat for the first time this week. It only lasts a couple of minutes each time before she decides she doesn't like it and slumps over, but we're working on it. And she has decided that she loves her swing! We tried it once a few weeks ago and she did not approve, but this week it's her new best friend.

We're looking forward to another great week full of firsts now that she's been vaccinated: first service at Fellowship Church, first lunches (in restaurants!) with friends, and first Halloween!

Bumbo!

"I am unimpressed by your attempts to amuse me."

Sleep Lite

After 7 weeks, I feel comfortable with officially declaring that our baby is not a napper. The kid just does not nap during the day. Instead of the two or three 2 hour naps I keep reading that your baby "should" take at this stage, Gwendoline seems to think that catnapping for 30-45 minutes once in the morning and once in the afternoon is sufficient. While I don't like it for obvious reasons (I want some naps, too!), I'm now more confident that she's not harming herself by not sleeping much during the day. According the the latest book I'm reading on the subject, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, not all babies are created equally in the napping arena and, thus, parents "cannot make short nappers into long nappers." So while I'm doing my best to get the kid to nap during the day, I'm a little less frustrated and worried when she doesn't. Did I mention she's stubborn? She's incredibly stubborn and will proceed to cry (off and on), kick, and flail her way through one and a half hours of a two hour napping period. She doesn't give up. Definitely her mother's child... And before anyone tells me I should try swaddling her to keep the kicking and flailing to a minimum, I already do that. But she has superhuman strength and busts her way out of a swaddle in five minutes flat. So instead of trying to force the poor child to nap during the day, I've decided to accept her for who she is and who she is not; and she is NOT a napper. She'll sleep when she's sleepy, and I'll probably get some rest sometime in the next 18 years. But be warned, Baby Girl... As soon as I see those eyelids dropping, we go straight to nap mode. Maybe one of these times it will stick.

The silver lining is that Gwendoline is a good little nighttime sleeper! Bedtime is around 7 pm, then after our late-night feeding around 11 pm or midnight, she usually only wakes up once to eat around 3 or 4 am and will then go back to sleep until around 7 am. Or in today's case, until 8:20 am and counting!

Back to the superhuman strength I previously mentioned... Gwendoline is crazy strong and super alert for 7 weeks old! She holds her head up all by herself for minutes on end. She also loves to "stand" on my lap and bounce herself up and down using her tiny feet. When she's fussy, this is one of the only things that will distract her and turn that frown into an immediate smile. And when we do tummy time, she pushes herself across the activity mat from one side to the other with her legs. It makes me laugh because one side of her face is usually smushed against the mat when she does this. Maybe all babies are this strong... But until I see or hear otherwise, I'm claiming Gwendoline to be superhuman. 

We have a busy week next week that includes her 8 week appointment with the pediatrician and her follow-up hip ultrasound at Scottish Rite. Neither appointment will be very pleasant, especially with the pediatrician because she will be getting four shots. Please pray for us- that the shots would go as smoothly as possible with no side effects or reactions and that her ultrasound would reveal utterly and completely normal baby hips.

P.S.- It's now 8:44 am and she's still asleep! Though I am starting to hear some tell-tale grunts...

Seasonal family fun at a Frisco pumpkin patch

Spending some quality time with Grandma

Tummy time hilariousness!

This picture cracks us up! Little old man Gwen.

It's been a month already?

Gwendoline Celeste turned one month old a few days ago, on September 26. Time has flown by so fast, but has gone really slowly at the same time. I can't believe how much Gwendoline has grown in such a short period of time and how fast the days turn into evening and night. But I'm also really tired; so is Jeph. So while time seems to be moving quickly, it's as though through a drowsy fog. I know all new parents feel this way, and I also know that it passes! We definitely look forward to more sleep in the near future.

Gwendoline had her one month check up last week and has some new stats to share with you:

• Weight: 8 lbs, 12 ozs (32nd percentile) 
• Height: 21.3 inches (54th percentile) 
• Head circumference: 14.5 inches (56th percentile)- what a smart, juicy brain!
• Overall development grade from Dr. Newton: A+

We've also had several firsts over the last couple of weeks:

• First mommy-milk bottle so dad could participate in nourishment
• First night in her own room and crib, made easier on mommy's heart and emotions with a video monitor 
• First blow-out diaper, which happened while snuggling with daddy (whew!)
• First meeting with her twin cousins, Parker and Presley, forming the Kryzak "triplets" 

We look forward to another month of stellar development and firsts!

Happy one month of life, Sweet Gwendoline!

Proud papa, feeding his baby girl for the first time

Baby train! Kryzak cousin "triplets"- Parker, Presley, and Gwendoline