4 weeks old already??!!

Oh No. It's starting. Somehow, Audrey is turning one month old tomorrow. TIME. FLIES. Even during the first week that she was home I found myself getting emotional over how fast it was already going. It scares me to know that it is only going to get faster and faster from here out...

Here is Audrey at 4 weeks old:

We saw her hip doctors again last week. Thursday we had the ultrasound done at Fairfax Hospital. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike doctors, nurses, hospitals, staff, insurance companies, and just about anyone that has to do with healthcare??? Well, I don't like them much. I apologize for the generalization, but I just seem to have more bad experiences with them than good ones. And the ultrasound experience was a bad one. Audrey had a full tummy and was sleeping in her carseat when we got to the ultrasound room. The technician came in and had us undress her, which of course woke her up. Then she had me hold Audrey on her side with her leg pushed up to her abdomen, while she put jelly on A's hip and tried to get a picture. Audrey was crying within minutes. The tech asked, "Don't you have a paci to give her?". Well, no actually. She doesn't take pacifiers, thankyouverymuch. After a couple of minutes, Audrey was in full on scream mode. The technician was getting very huffy and puffy and kept saying things like, "I can't get a good picture if she doesn't sit still". Really? Is this the first time you've ever seen a 3 week old baby. Then she left the room to go get another tech to help her. Audrey calmed down while she was gone since I was able to pick her up and cuddle her. Then the techs came back and made me lay her down and it all started again. "Can't you give her a bottle or something?", she demanded. I was getting pretty mad at this point and I told her "NO, she is a breastfed baby and she's not crying because she's hungry, she's crying because she's being restrained by two strangers in a freezing cold room!". After about 20 minutes of listening to poor Audrey cry, they finally got some images they could use and it was all over. It was traumatic for me. Unfortunately, the results showed that she still is a little loose and needs to wear the harness for another 2 weeks. Which means we have to go BACK and get another ultrasound done this coming Thursday. Let's hope this is the last one. We also have her one month appointment next Friday. I think she's grown a lot, so I can't wait to see what the scale says!

People keep asking me if she sleeps through the night. I think that is a strange thing to ask considering she is 4 weeks old and needs to eat every 3-4 hours, and sometimes more. But to answer the question, no she doesn't. I usually put her down around 11 and she'll wake up between 2 and 3. Then she'll sleep again until 6 or 7. That's pretty reasonable for me, only one nighttime feeding. A couple of nights this week she has been up every two hours though. I think she is waking up due to gas and not hunger. She screams and her face gets really red and she pulls her legs up like she is completely miserable. I hate that, I feel so bad for her. I am working on getting my burping technique down so she won't have to be so uncomfortable.

We went yesterday and had some photos taken by a friend of Lisa's at Manassas Battlefield. Despite it being a chilly and windy morning, we had fun and hopefully got some good shots. I will post them once she edits them and sends them to me. She already sent me a couple of preview shots, but I'm going to make you all wait to see them! While we all wait, here are some photos to hold you over:

Aunt Cristina and Baby Audrey

Dora and Audrey cuddling:Mama and baby naptime:Like Father like Daughter!Daddy and his girls:

Pretty baby girl..."Stop messing with me!!!"Milk Drunk!That's all for now. Josh goes back to work on Monday and Lauren leaves for Basic Training on Tuesday, so next week will be my first with just Audrey and me. Should be interesting! We have two doctor's appointments, so wish me luck with getting Audrey out and about all on my own! I will give you all updates and let you know that Little A survived the week with me.

xoxo

Beth, Joshua, Audrey, Dora, Pussycat, and Frank