First encounters

Our neighboor's Mark and his girlfriend Andrea came to see JoElle today- Mark says JoElle looks just like Daddy. They both walked off saying how gorgeous (and big) she is...well we think so too (not big though, she seems small to us especially compared to her 7 month old cousin Peyton) Grandma came for a visit, too (my mom). This is her first time to visit since she helped us coming home from the hospital. She changed JoElle's diaper like an old pro!

First bath- still so fussy

Last night we gave JoElle her first sponge bath (yeah yeah it's been almost a week, but she has been fussy! Who can blame us?)She enjoyed it, maybe because she was quite drowsy from Tylenol!!! JoElle is a very touchy, fragile baby. If you know what she wants and what she is trying to tell you, she is happy and responds well. But if you miss it, she gets herself worked up rather quickly! But now we are confident we CAN calm her down, and are finding more ways to do so.She loves to suck, so sometimes it is confusing: is she hungry? Just likes to suck?? So she is on a 2 hour feeding schedule, which is working out well! This morning, she found her thumb! I found her in her swing sucking on just her thumb with all her other fingers up in the air like a big kid. She has always loved to suck on her hands (since birth and before, as seen on the last ultrasound in Dec), and the Dr. told us she was going to be a thumb sucker! Well, she is already!

JoElle is not tolerating milk or soy based formula...

We have made it through a week! WOW!!Poor JoElle has been having digestive problems and not able to sleep for hours on end each night- crying the whole time because she has gas and can't get it out (even with Mylicon). Daddy and I have both been calming her the best we can, but she is in pain. So this morning, we called her doctor and said enough, what can we switch to? So now she is on soy based milk instead. Daddy also has a problem with lactose and both of us couldn't tolerate milk based formulas as babies either, so this is really not surprising.We just can't wait to have a happier baby once she adjusts to her new formula! It is hard to see her in such pain.

First doctor visit

We are going to her doctor today. This will be her first trip out of the house since we brought her home!! At 5 days old, at her first Doctor visit, JoElle weighed in at 9 lbs 12 oz. After birth, she did not lose any weight, she left the hospital weighing the same as when she was born (9 lbs).

JoElle is born! January 17, 2005

JoElle Alexandria was born at 4:52 p.m. on Monday, January 17, 2005 after two and a half hours of pushing. She just didn't want to come out to see the world yet, but we are so happy she is here!

She weighed 9 lbs and is 20.25 in long! Two days later, at her first Dr.'s appt JoElle weighed in at 9 lbs 12 oz. At her two week checkup she was 10 lbs 4 oz and 22.75 in. long. She is just growing so fast!!

JoElle was born with head full of curly gorgeous black hair- it was very curly when she was born, it kinda flattens a little when she is laying down and her hair dries.

JoElle came home from the hospital with us on Wednesday the 19th. We had a rough few nights Wed, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday because her tummy is really upset- We decided to take her off of milk formula and try her on soy based formula. She is doing SO much better! She actually wants to take her bottle now and eat and she sleeps afterwards! She wasn't getting much sleep for hours on end because she was so miserable. This is the baby we THOUGHT we were bringing home from the hospital!! She definitely loves her Daddy, especially his voice. It is adorable how she gazes up at him. JoElle is very precious, and I can't wait for her to meet everybody! From the moment she was born, when Daddy said her name, she stopped crying to look for him as she recognized his voice! Daddy had been reading Hop on Pop to her almost every night, plus talking to her before she was born.

JoElle was born on her Great Grandma Bertha's birthday. JoElle's cousin, Peyton Garlon Schuman, was born on June 14, 2004 to Ana and Dan. Peyton and JoElle are only 7 months apart! JoElle has another cousin due (a baby girl to be named Elena Raye) in May of this year. They will be only about 3 months apart! JoElle's oldest cousin is Isaiah James and he is 7 years old.

40 weeks pregnant

JoElle is somewhere between 7 and 8 lbs (it has been several weeks since the last ultrsound, when she was 7 lbs).Yes I am huge...If she hasn't come by the 17th, our Dr. will be inducing that week, which is a week after her due date. So, no more than a week and 1/2 now!I am still working, keeps me busy. But Tim has been driving me to work for the past few weeks now.

November 2004

JoElle kicks a whole lot. She likes to wake me and daddy up around 2 or 3 a.m. and then again at 5 or 6 a.m. I guess she is trying to prepare us...