4 weeks old!!!!

I seriously can't believe how fast time flies! Seems like just yesterday we were in the hospital.

On Tuesday she smiled at me for real. I know that most of her smiles she doesn't control, but I feel like this was. We were waiting in the car for Daddy to pick up my free birthday ice cream from cold stone. I was sitting in the backseat with her because I can't stand to hear her cry while we are driving and I can't do anything about it. I leaned over the carseat and she looked at me and smiled huge. Melted my heart. Then I had cake batter ice cream with Twix in it and was in pure heaven.

Last Monday (11/22) we went to her 2 week Dr. appt. She had been doing really well until that day. She was really fussy and her belly was huge so I knew her tummy was upset. She has not been the same since then. She is fussy a lot right after she eats and doesn't do so well at night anymore. I am trying everything I can think of and everything anybody suggests. It may be milk in my diet or the bottles we use- but it just doesn't make sense that it would take so long for a reaction to happen.

As for size- she weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. at the 2 week appointment. According to the growth chart she is small for her age (she should weigh about 8 lbs. by that point), but right on for height.

I'm not complaining- at least she will fit in clothes and her car seat longer if she is on the small side. And she is gaining weight perfectly so no need to worry. At 4 weeks, she still wears newborn clothes and diapers.

She developed a horrible diaper rash a few days ago. So bad it was bleeding. Of course that makes me feel like a horrible mother, but her digestive system is kind of crazy. She seriously has very loud gas and poops every 30 mins. or so. She hates having her diaper changed or her clothes taken off, so it just seemed best to wait "until she was done" to change her diaper so frequently. Plus she has a knack for waiting for just the right second until the diaper is open or off to pee or poop. Seriously, about half of the time I change her diaper we go through several in a few minutes or require a change of clothes too. Thankfully the rash seems to be going away with tons of desitin and we changed diaper brands too.

I have had spit-up down my shirt and been pooped and peed on so I am a real mom now :) I'm waiting for the spit-up in my mouth or poop running down my arm someday.

Brynlee does not like to be in the swing for more than 2 minutes at a time. So glad we didn't spend money on a swing (we borrowed John's parents). She will sleep in the vibrating bouncer for an hour or so and will be awake and happy in it for 15 minutes max. We bought a playmat for her Christmas present and so far she seems to like that too.

We all went to Cedar City for Thanksgiving. We left Thursday morning and came home Friday evening. Our car was full of baby stuff. She required her own suitcase plus the bouncy seat for all the "just in case" moments. My cousins who are about 16 & 18 years old had a blast holding her. It makes me feel really old because I babysat them for years from the time they were born.

I still haven't figured out who Brynlee looks like. She just seems to look like herself :)

Brynlee is so much hard work but is such a cutie. We are so happy to have her in our lives!

Her nicknames so far: Pumpkin, punkin, sweetheart, honey, sweets, cutie, smelly bum, and lady liberty (because she puts her right arm over her head as if she's holding a torch)

She makes the cutest sounds sometimes. Our favorite we call the "contented sigh". It's pretty loud and we hear it when she is happily drinking her bottle. Her cough and sneeze are still the cutest thing in the world to hear. She also has an angry sound. It literally sounds like she is saying "Ew, ew" (like yuck/gross). That sound always makes us laugh even though she is crying.

More recent pictures...

Finally enjoying her bath!