Do they still do the Milk Carton thing?

Chris and I were strolling along our street with Caroline and Mally yesterday, and we came across an old lady in her yard. She hollered at us to let her see the baby so we rolled into her driveway. She kept calling her "it" because her hearing wasn't so good and she couldn't hear us calling her Caroline! Anyway, she asks Chris in her little old lady voice, "You wouldn't know anyone who would want to help me get that inside, would you?" (She pointed to this huge piece of plywood she uses as a tabletop in her drape-making shop) After arguing with the lady and finally convincing her we could do it ourselves, we tie Mally to the fence, lock the wheels on the stroller, and proceed to lug that heavy thing into her house. All the while, she's talking WAY too much about kidnapping our little baby girl. You can't always trust old people, haven't you seen Dirty Dancing? So I start making excuses to leave, like I have a hungry baby who needs to be nursed (Caroline is actually crying at this point 'cause she's tired of this lady poking her in the face). We refuse payment but promise to call her if we need any custom drapes or a babysitter (she was adamant about that one) with our fingers crossed behind our backs, and we hightail it out of there. Next time out, we may need to take another route.

In other news, I think I have this kid figured out. Her clock is a little shifted where she doesn't go to sleep until after midnight. So the hours between nine and midnight, when we try to go to bed, she's wanting to cluster feed in preparation for her long morning sleep. I'll just try to shift my schedule a little until we can coax her out of hers. Here's the problem we have (and you parents will definately relate): nights would be such a breeze if you could nurse your baby to sleep, put her down, and then sleep yourselves until the next nursing. But what happens is you nurse your baby to sleep, hear the machine gun poops so you feel guilty if you don't change the diaper right away, so she wakes up. You coax her back to sleep and put her in the bassinet and she immediately awakes with horrible gassy cramps, so you pick her up, get rid of the gas, nurse her back to sleep this time and then she wakes up with hiccups. It's a never ending cycle-until you give in and let her sleep with you. (Don't act like you never did this!) We follow all the safety rules!

Anyway, here's the pics of the post:

Look how small her legs are compared to my hand!

Mom, this is for you. Look at her fingers.

Mally still gets played with, we promise.

First Well Baby Visit

We went to the doctor yesterday for Caroline's first checkup! The doctor said she was in great shape and confirmed that she does indeed have a turtle head. I don't understand. I mean...we were so careful...

But really, she's healthy as a horse (not the kind you see on Animal Cops Houston). Our little baby's not so little anymore. She's gained almost a pound and grew an inch! Booby juice does the body good. Wednesday, Caroline was fussy pretty much all day and night with what we can only guess was gas. She was screaming bloody murder sometimes and the Gripewater seemed to help. So I was afraid she would be fussy for our doctor visit, but she was okay. She just wanted to nurse every five minutes, which the doc said was normal 'cause she's going through a growth spurt. Last night was great, though! It wasn't too hard to get her to sleep! Pray that keeps on going.

NEWS FOR THE DAY: Her umbilical cord stump has fallen off!!! Time for a real bath!

Here's a couple pics, including one of Abby who wanted to pose with Chloe for like 300 pictures.

Abby Meets Caroline

My brother's little girl Abby was at the hospital the day Caroline was born. She decided she didn't really want to touch her (who can blame her? Caroline was crying like crazy, that hungry baby!). But they came to see us at the house this past weekend and Abby warmed up. She kept bringing us toys from the nursery to give to Caroline and kept trying to wake her up by shaking a cat toy! I can't believe how Abby has grown up, and so fast!

Just the Two of Us

Chris returned to work today and left me and Caroline all by ourselves. I think we'll do okay. I've planned a girly movie fest with Legally Blonde and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. We've spent the morning making videos on our camera, so I'll see if I can post one.

Well, I tried. Jamie, I need your help. How do you post a video?

Here are some pictures anyway. Caroline disliked her second sponge bath just as much as her first. Hurry up and fall off, Cord! We also had to run to Target one day and Caroline slept in her sling the whole time! Other updates: we're pretty sure she's got her days and nights confused. She can nurse and fall dead asleep immediately after during the day, but at night you have to coax her into a deep sleep before putting her in the bassinet. We've got nursing down, though. She does a great job. She is still the most beautiful girl in the world with her little turtle head.

Our Little LadyBug

Caroline is as B-utiful as ever! We went for our first stroller ride this morning and she seemed to enjoy it. She wasn't intimidated by all the doggies barking at Mally! And here's a picture of her silly smile! (No, we don't let her sleep in her boppy!)

We've reached a few milestones during her first week of life: her first holiday, her first (gassy) smiles, and most importantly, her first "machine gun" poop! It makes me laugh every time! Her daddy has been reading Dr. Seuss to her (and keeping me up) and she's on Adanced Level 2 on electronic Sudoku! Just kidding, but Chris has taken every opportunity to read to her. It's really fun to see how she's developed this past week. Her focus is getting better and she recognizes our voices. We haven't gotten any pattern at night, though. One night she would have slept straight through, the next night she kept me up the whole time making noises, and last night she wanted to nurse almost every hour. She doesn't cry about it, though. Praise God! We can't wait to see her personality develop!

We're already there.

She's at that rebellious stage. I glanced over this morning to find Caroline with a mohawk. Poking her lips out with an attitude.

Everything is smoothing out here at the Cavin household. Caroline is mainly just eating and sleeping now. She's adjusting well to life at home!

Roll Out the Red Carpet!

Here's our baby girl (while I have a second to post)! She was born April 4, 2007 at 3:46pm weighing in at 6lbs 6oz and 18 1/2 inches long. Yes, she is THE MOST PRECIOUS girl ever born!