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

Scottish Rite Hospital for Children

We had our appointment at Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (http://www.tsrhc.org/) yesterday afternoon to check Gwendoline's hip alignment and sockets. Sometimes babies that are in the "frank breech" position in utero for an extended period of time, like our Gwendoline, have some level of hip dysplasia that needs to be treated before the hip cartilage starts firming up. Although he was fairly confident that Gwendoline's hips were normal, our pediatrician did feel some "clicks" he wanted to get a second opinion on, so he referred us to the experts at Scottish Rite for further evaluation out of an "overabundance of caution."

At Scottish Rite, we learned that Gwendoline meets three of the four risk factors for hip dysplasia: female, firstborn, and breech; the fourth factor would be a family history of hip problems, but we don't have that. After being checked by two physicians at the hospital, including the head of the orthopedic department, we were happy to learn that Gwendoline's hips seem to be just fine! They did feel the clicks our pediatrician felt but said that is fairly common in newborns who still have more cartilage than firm bone. We are taking Gwendoline back in one month for a follow-up hip ultrasound just to be sure, but the doctors think that should come back normal as well. 

While we were very happy and relieved to learn that Gwendoline doesn't have any hip dysplasia, our joy was a little tempered by what we saw at Scottish Rite. It reminded us in big ways how incredibly blessed we are to have a healthy, whole child. There are so many precious children who are not as fortunate to have all of their limbs, and have them in good working order. So many families are blessed to have the Scottish Rite Hospital, its doctors, and volunteers available free of charge to provide excellent and much needed care for their little ones. The hospital relies completely on donations from individuals and corporations to operate; they receive no federal or state funding. And I'll say it again because it still blows my mind- all of their services for children are free of charge, therefore a huge blessing to those families who may not be able to afford care for their children otherwise. If you are interested, there are several ways to give to Scottish Rite: http://community.tsrhc.org/.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 

your works are wonderful, I know that full. -Psalm 139:14

By the numbers, newborn edition

We love our baby girl! She definitely has us (especially daddy) wrapped around her little finger. And for good reason... She's quite helpless. As a newborn, I knew she would be, but having never spent extended periods of time with a newborn before, I am still shocked by just how much she needs us. And we are more than happy to comply and come running at her every whimper (though we never have to run more than about two steps). We're whipped.

We're also learning that there is a lot of math and numbers associated with a newborn. Here's a breakdown of some of the numbers that are floating around our house lately.

• 19- Number of days old Gwendoline is today. I can't believe she's already almost three weeks old!
• 3- Number of hours between each feeding around the clock. When I learned that she would be eating every three hours, I assumed that meant we'd be getting a three hour nap in between each feed. This is not true. By the time we have changed her, fed her, cleaned her up, changed her again, and gotten everyone resettled, about an hour and a half has passed. If you do the math, that means we get an hour and a half nap every three hours, around the clock. But we love seeing her belly full and hearing her satisfied coos and squeaks.
• 7 lbs, 4 oz- Gwendoline's latest weight. Those three hour feedings are paying off- my little piglet gained over a pound in ten days and is still going strong!
• 288- Number of diapers we have gone through in just 19 days! I've been told that doing the math on the monetary value of this statistic is depressing, so I haven't done it.
• 320- Number of wipes we have gone through in just 19 days! 
• 3- Average number of outfit changes, for mommy and daughter, in the course of a day due to "baby explosions."
• 6- Average number of loads of laundry required each week to keep our clothes, blankets, and sheets clean.
• 2- Number of very confused, depressed dogs moping around the house. They still don't know what's hit them; they just know there's lots of new rules and less doggie snuggle time.
• 1,000,000- Approximate number of kisses we've given Gwendoline since she was born!

She's here!

She's finally here! And she's utterly perfect! Our daughter, Gwendoline Celeste, arrived as scheduled at 9:43 am on Sunday, August 26, 2012. She weighed in at a respectable 6 pounds, 9 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. After a rather eventful and somewhat complicated pregnancy, the birth was smooth and absolutely textbook. Praise God!

We are so in love with our little girl. The magnitude of it seemed to hit Jeph like a ton of bricks as soon as he saw her in the operating room. He'll tell you he cried because he stubbed his toe, but that man was absolutely captivated. Before the procedure started, I had made Jeph promise to go with Gwendoline to the warmer for tests and cleaning once they got her out. As soon as she emerged, he was off like a shot! I didn't get to see either of them for several minutes, but I could hear them. Those strong cries and first comfort coos from daddy are the most precious things my ears have ever heard. During this time, I heard them announce that Gwendoline had two arms, two legs, ten fingers, ten toes, and scored a 9.9 (out of 10) on the Apgar. After what seemed like an eternity, Jeph came to give me a report. His first words, through tears, were "She's perfect." And so she is! She's also the most beautiful baby I've ever seen, if I do say so myself.

After four days in the hospital, we are now at home and trying to settle into life with a newborn. My mother has been staying with us to help and our house has never been so clean! She's making excellent food every day, too. We're not getting much sleep, of course, since Gwendoline feeds every three hours around the clock, but we're loving every minute and are fully enjoying her preciousness. Though it has taken me four days of typing a few sentences at a time to finish this post. Ah, the life of a new mom!

Please enjoy these pictures of our beautiful girl.

First family portrait

Alert baby girl

Hanging out with daddy

Spending time on the big bed

Final prenatal appointment

We've reached another milestone- our final prenatal appointment! There was not much change from last week, other than my putting on another couple of pounds, of course. Gwendoline is sticking to her guns and is still breech, so we're on for our Sunday morning (August 26) delivery! That's only three days!!! We're so excited and ready to meet her. Our next post should include some baby pictures.