Venema camping 101

The Venemas can surely be camping folk, right?  Yeah right! Have you met me?! Since Hurricane Irene rocked us over the weekend, and took our power with her on the way out of town.  So we have definitely earned our camping badge this week.

We are on day 4 of being pilgrims. 

In all honesty, it hasn't been so bad. Luckily, we have a generator that is juuuuuust big enough to power the fridge, a fan, and the laptop. What more do we need any way?!  We do a lot of grilling, a lot of laying on the couch watching DVDs, a lot of bouncy seating, and a lot of snuggling. The weather has also been in our favor since the hurricane - not like a normal VA summer heat! It's nice during the day and cool at night. 

Phil's McGyver style pizza making skills.

And to top it all off, this mommy had to return to work with week too! UGH! 

Go Go gadget super balanced awesome career mom!

We are hoping that our power will be restored by the end of the week.  Until then... this how my evenings are looking, and I am totally okay with it.

A little behind

Sorry, I am a little behind in my postings... this is my last week of maternity leave and I am trying to enjoy every minute of it!  Not to mention, I am trying to cram all of the things I thought I would get done in the last few weeks into this one!  Oh how I wish I could just be a stay at home momma with baby girl.  But le sigh...momma's gotta pay the bills!

On the news front

Lainey is starting to sleep for longer stretches of time.  Thank you, Baby Jesus!! So far, her maximum has been 5 hours, but the average is closer to 4 these days.  When I weighed her last week, she was 7 pounds-ish.  I say "ish" because I am not sure how accurate me standing on the scale with her and then without her really is; but it gives us a general idea!

As far as sleeping is concerned... 

when she's out - she's out! She even slept through yesterday's earthquake!  Yes, you read that right... earthquake! A 5.8 Magnitude rocked through Virginia and then shook the rest of the East Coast.  I must admit, I didn't know what it was at first.  I thought it was the washing machine being way off-balance. (I had it full of blankets, so it seemed logical.)  Next thing I know, Philip is coming through the front door saying, "Did you feel the earthquake? You ok?? Tim says it was an earthquake!"

Earthquake? What earthquake??

ps.
Yesterday we had the pleasure of working with my friend Blair to have Lainey's newborn photos taken... so be on the look out for a post of *gorgeous* portraits! There's a sneak peak on facebook and I couldn't be happier!!

Things Momma is looking forward to...

I have been spending my afternoons napping with Lainey on my chest.  Watching her breathe, talking to her when she wiggles, but most of all, I lay there thinking about all of the things we have to look forward to as a new family.  Not that I am wishing away time, because I know these naps, snores, smiles, and even cries are precious; but really... how can I not look forward to more fun adventures!

As a new mom, here are some things I am looking forward to (in no particular order):

• Fitting into newborn clothes
• Finding Lainey's style
• Halloween
• Christmas (yes, I know... Lainey will not know what is going on, but I will!)
• Family vacation at the beach next year
• Her first birthday party
• Hair bows
• Finger painting
• School supply shopping
• Making baby food
• Baby giggles
• Photo shoots

But most of all, I am looking forward to my new life as a momma.  Raising Lainey will be my greatest accomplishment and I am looking forward to every minute, every milestone and every memory. 

As our due date approaches

We are three days away from our due date... in just a few days, the pregnancy app on my phone is going to send me a notification saying "you are due this week!" Little does it know... Lainey nearly 7 weeks old already! 

Yesterday we went to the doctor's office for a check up, and it went incredibly well!! Couldn't have asked for a better visit!! The doctor has officially labeled Lainey a "normal baby."  Now to most people, that doesn't seem like a big deal, and in all honesty, she has always been a normal baby in my eyes. But now it's medically official!! Praise God for this miracle! 

No longer do we have to go to get weighed every week to monitor her weight gain; she is gaining like she is supposed to and eating like a little piggy!  I can now turn off the 3-hour alarm on my phone and let Lainey tell me when she is hungry.  Since she has been home, I have been religiously making sure she ate every 3 hours, whether she was asleep or not.  We are even graduating to big girl bottles - big girl bottles filled with a combo of breast milk and hypoallergenic formula. 

Lainey's stats:

Weight: 4 pounds 13.6 ounces

Length: 18.5 inches

Head Circumference: 32.7 cm

Lainey is almost outgrowing her premie clothes - anything with feet on the bottom is pretty much a lost cause at this point.  There are a couple of sleepers with feet on them that she can still wear, but for the most part, she lives in Carter's onesies and matching pants.

Another awesome milestone for Little Miss is that she sleeps in her crib all night!! No more bassinet and no more sleeping on Mommy's chest all night; which also means no more Mommy staying awake to watch baby breathe.  She still cuddles and takes naps on my chest, but that first week of me just staying awake all night were pretty exhausting!  

Some of you may remember earlier I said Lainey was getting a delish combo in those new big girl bottles... that may have you asking, "what happened to the breast milk?!" Well maintaining her feeding schedule and then trying to keep up the pumping, was also proving to be REALLY EXHAUSTING! Ideally, one could feed the baby, pump, do chores and take a nap all while baby sleeps between feedings.  And believe me, I tried!! But 2-3 hours is not as much time as it seems! Lainey's doctor agreed that the hypoallergenic formula is good for her and said we could go on with the transition to formula.  This transition will also be helpful once I go back to work in a few weeks.

All in all... Lainey boo is doing phenomenal! Every day she is growing and changing.  

We couldn't be happier to have her home with us.