And so it begins...Teething that is

That's right.  Audrey cut her first tooth today.  At 12 weeks old, I must say that I was surprised.  We had suspicions that she was teething when she started drooling relentlessly about 3 weeks ago.  However, her demeanor didn't change much, so we began to think that maybe it was a false alarm.  Then, yesterday evening, she was extremely fussy.  She was acting like she was hungry, but wouldn't eat.  So, I gave her a pacifier, and she was perfectly content. 

We forgot about the fussy spell when we went to bed that night, and everything seemed normal.  At 2:00 am, Audrey decided to remind us.  She woke us up with her fussing; I thought she might be hungry, because she seems to be getting a bit rounder lately.  I fed her, but she only ate about half of what she normally would.   She fell back asleep, and I went back to bed. 

Only 45 minutes after she fell asleep, she woke up and began fussing again.  All it took was the pacifier to calm her down, and she was asleep again in 5 minutes.  Then, only 45 minutes after that, she awoke once more.  This time, I let her daddy put her back to sleep.  At 5:30, she woke up for the day, as did her extremely exhausted parents. 

I described her behavior the previous night to some coworkers, and several of them mentioned teething as a potential culprit.  So, when I got home during my lunch break to feed Audrey, I did an investigation of her gums.  That revealed one little white tooth poking through the gums in the bottom-right side of her mouth.  I was surprised that it wasn't one of the front teeth, because most babies I know had those ones first.  Nonetheless, Audrey has a tooth coming in.  While it is exciting, I do wish she was old enough to know how to hold the teething toys in her mouth by herself!  

More Milestones

Audrey continues to show us new tricks every day.  This week, she began rolling over from her back to her tummy.  When she gets over, she hasn't quite figured out how to pull her arm out from under her.  That means that after just a couple of minutes, she decides that being on her stomach isn't that exciting.  She is also starting to reach for things.  It is so cute, because she has to concentrate so hard; it takes so long for her to reach for something that isn't even moving! 

Tongues

That's right...tongues.  The past couple of days, we have noticed that Audrey is learning to play copy-cat.  She tries to imitate actions that Billy and I do.  Yesterday, I would throw my arms up, and then bring my hands back in front of me to clasp my hands together.  When I threw my arms up, Audrey would do the same.  She struggled a bit with bringing her hands back together, but made the attempt nonetheless. 

Since we brought her home, she has always been fascinated by tongues.  When we stick our tongues out at her, she stares as if she is mesmerized.  Tonight, she put her interest in tongues and her new found skills at copy-cat together, and she learned to stick out her tongue.  She did it halfway a couple of times on the couch.  Then, when her dad took her in to give her a bath, he decided to look in the mirror with her.  He stuck out her tongue, and she did the same.  She stuck it out as far as she could in a clearly intentional act.  I don't know if all parents get this excited when their baby sticks out his or her tongue for the first time.  We don't care though; it is just as exciting as her first smile.  I know that in a couple of years I won't think it is as cute, but I am going to enjoy it while it still is! 

And Mommy Goes Back to Work

That's right, I started back at work this week.  To be honest, it was not as difficult as I thought it would be.  I think that was due to a combination of two things.  The first is that our friend Kim is watching Audrey for us at our house for the rest of the summer.  Since I know and trust her, it is much easier to leave Audrey and go to work.  I also think I was getting a little stir crazy being at home 24/7, so getting out of the house is a nice change of scenery.  I actually think I am going to have a harder time going back to work tomorrow after a nice weekend then I did last Monday. 

Audrey has reached a couple more milestones this past week. 
1.  She stayed overnight at Grandma Lana and Grandpa Bill's for the first time without her mom and dad.  We were at Jennifer Speidel's...Baker's wedding in Memphis. 
2.  Audrey stayed at home while mom went to work this week. 
3.  I believe Audrey has begun teething.  She is drooling a lot, is constantly putting her hands in her mouth, and is growing increasingly fussy for no apparent reason.
4.  Audrey stayed in the nursery during church today.  I felt so weird walking up to the sanctuary with not diaper bag or baby in my hands. 

Two Months

Audrey is two months old today.  That meant visiting the doctor for a checkup and her first round of shots.  The shots made her scream like I have never heard her scream before.  Usually, her cry is a loud "wahhh" noise.  This was a shrill scream that made it sound like she was being tortured.  It was so bad that I even teared up a little bit.  Make fun of me if you must, but I had never heard her carry on like that before. 

Other than the shots, the visit went very well.  She is healthy and developing well.  She now weighs 11 lbs 9 oz and is 24 inches long.  That puts her in the 75th and 90th percentiles respectively.  Her next checkup is at 4 months old; I think I'll make her dad take her to that one so I don't have to hear her scream like that again when she gets more shots!

The Adventures Continue

Audrey’s adventures continue.  She is going to be one well traveled little girl before she is a year old!  Last week, she went out to dinner with her Phi Mu aunties and even made her first trip to Ted Drewes.   The next night, she went to Hacienda with the KA bunch, and on Saturday ventured out to St. Charles for a BBQ.  She is constantly on the go, and her parents are learning that even with all of the outings, it is very important to keep her eating/sleeping schedule intact.  The schedule got off a bit last week, and she started waking up in the middle of the night again.  I know we shouldn’t complain, since many parents don’t get to sleep through the night for the first year, but we’ve gotten used to it! 

Audrey is continuing to develop very well.  Her next doctor visit is tomorrow, so we’ll find out the expert analysis then.  I can’t wait to find out exactly how much she has grown.  From what we have read though, Audrey is doing great.  She holds her head up on her own pretty well, even if it is still a bit wobbly.  She is starting to try to control movements with her hands.  When we put a rattle in her hand last week, she actually pulled it up to her mouth so she could suck on the rattle.  She coos all of the time.  Last night, her dad kept repeating “hello” to her, and after a bit, she began cooing “ehhh – oooooo.”  It’s not quite “hello,” but to parents of a 2 month old baby, it is very exciting. 

The next big milestone we reach actually has more to do with me than Audrey.  I start work again on Monday, June 8.  Kim, one of my Phi Mu sisters, will be staying with Audrey at our house during the summer.  That does put my mind at ease, since she’ll be right next door to work, and I’ll be able to run home if I need to.  I know that Kim will have a lot of fun with her, too!