Life Lately: The Wonder Week & Hip Update

During Gracia's Doctors visits, her pediatrician was worried about her right hip clicking and wanted us to go to Children's Hospital to have a sonogram on her hip. It is something that is common with babies who are born breech. So as you can imagine, we were asked a thousand times was she breech. She wasn't but the doctor at the hospital also said it could happen if there was low fluid during the time when her hips were developing. I believe it was because she was in an occiput posterior position for so long and came out that way as well. 

I can't lie, being at Children's Hospital made me very nervous and it was downright depressing. So many children were there with illnesses and deformities worse than Gracia and it made me thankful and sad at the same time.

She did so great to be so little and woken out of her nap to two strangers holding her down pressing down on her hips. We both thanked the Lord above that it was such good news and that she will not have to wear a harness to correct any deformity. She was such a happy baby that day. 

I am loving how I can say things to her and she smiles or laughs back at me. 

Now that she is smiling, I am beginning to think that she has a little of me in her (hoping). She looks like her dad mostly, but as her face lengthens she has my smile and my eyes! I had to compare her picture to my childhood pictures and saw that she has those puffy eyes just like me... at least for now. 

Gracia is typically a very happy baby. We are absolutely blessed in the fact that she sleeps fairly long throughout the night and that she usually only cries when there is something that she wants, mainly food. So when she started becoming fussier, we knew that there had to be something wrong. 

When she first became fussy, I realized that I was not making enough breast milk and therefore she was hungry. When we switched to increased quantity of formula instead, we found our happy baby again. 

Well all of a sudden, fussy baby returned - this time she would even squeal and cry with her binkie in her mouth. We knew that something was not right - first it was gas which was cured by me getting her some gas drops. Then she would burst out in fits of tears - when I couldn't get anything done through her tears, I put her in newborn time out in her 4moms Mamaroo. 

Then she didn't want to lay down by herself, which is so not like her - so I had to take to the internet to figure out what is going on with her and her development. 

I discovered "The Wonder Week" app. 

Wonder Weeks are described to be :

A leap in the mental development of your baby means that suddenly there are many changes in his head. Suddenly, his brain perceives things it wasn’t capable of perceiving before. This change is so great that his entire world suddenly looks different.

and because of this she was the Three C's : Cranky, Clingy, and Crying. I texted my husband and told him his child was not herself. She was neither of these things. Now she absolutely wanted to sleep on her mommy or sit with me to be happy. Once I read up on the Wonder Weeks and when to expect them and how long they would last, it made it easier to adjust and be less cranky myself and simply enjoy her wanting to be with me. 

Once we understood what she was going through, it was a little easier to deal with her quickly changing moods. It was obvious that she was developmentally growing because she was starting to coo more and try to "talk". She is holding her head up more and can recognize things a bit more.

Her new friend is a Hello Kitty.. she loves to sleep with it near and her hand and eye coordination is getting better. She knocks it off the couch as best as she can as a means of entertainment.

So what is life like lately? 

She wants to be held.

So it takes me longer to blog as its so hard to type anything holding a baby. 

The best part is - it doesn't take long for her to fall asleep in mommy's arms. Only thing is she doesn't stay asleep not in mommy's arms. Oh well.. I am soaking up all of her wonderful baby smell.

And yes, my baby is one of those who can sleep with her eyes open.

Now that we are at the end of her Wonder Week, her happiness is returning and she is starting to enjoy tummy time a bit more. She can lift that big ol' head of hers with a little more ease these days.

I swear raising a newborn is like pledging... She is hazing us and I have a feeling she knows it. 

This face says I have them right where I want them.