1 Month!

Oh my goodness, where does the time go?  I cannot believe that Caroline is already one month old!  She has certainly grown and changed so much already yet it feels like just yesterday she was born.  She really is a good baby and does not fuss very often.  She loves baths, the soothie, music, and being in the Baby Bjorn.   She can sleep through just about anything which is good due to Maddie barking and all the construction noise around us during the day.  Noisy restaurants put her right to sleep so we have been able to take her out several times.  The biggest change has to be that she can now make eye contact and follow an object so its nice to know she is actually looking at us.

She went for her one month checkup yesterday and she has grown to be 8.8lbs.  She has grown so much from one month ago but she is still smaller than a lot of babies when they are born which is hard to believe (I feel so sorry for those mothers).  I left the doctors office thinking I had an average sized baby until I realized this was based on Singapore curves and then looked up the CDC curves.

Singapore

• Weight - 50%
• Height - 50%
• Head - 75%

USA

• Weight - 18%
• Height - 8%
• Head - 20%

It has been so much fun staying home with her and my mom this last month.  We have taken her all over the place and are looking forward to the next two weeks when Derek's parents visit.  I admit I didn't do the best job of taking pictures of everyday life and hope to do better next month.  I've tried to just enjoy every moment with her and not spend too much of it behind the camera.  I did manage to take some pictures to 

Caroline's Newborn Photos

Over the last year I have become more and more interested in photography and have taken a few classes to improve my skills.  When I found out we were pregnant I debated whether I wanted to go to a professional photographer or try my own hand at newborn photos.  In the end, I decided to do it myself so I could make sure I got exactly what I want.  I have to say I am pretty pleased with how Caroline's pictures came out.  After having completed them, I have a new found respect for newborn photographers.  It is not easy and can get quite messy when the diaper comes off.

Happy Two Weeks / Due Date Day

Sunday marked Caroline's actual due date and two weeks of life so I wanted to give an update of what we have been up to since we came home from the hospital.  We actually only spent one day at home before being sent back to the hospital because Caroline was developing jaundice and needed some phototherapy.  They had to do this in the nursery back on the labor ward where we were before.  Since Caroline was now the patient, they had to find me a bed on the ward where I could lodge for the night so that I could still continue to feed her.  Every three hours they would bring her by for a 30 minute feeding and then back she would go.  It was hard for us to have to do but fortunately just one night did the trick and we were back home the next day.

First time in the crib

So tiny in that huge crib.

Tagged for her second stint in the hospital.

 We needed to make sure Caroline was getting her sunshine to keep the jaundice at bay so we went for our weekly walk to the Botanical Gardens and breakfast with our friends.

One of the couples from Australia was retiring and moving back so we didn't want to miss their going away party.  Caroline got dressed up for the occasion and was the life of the party.

6 days old and ready to party

While I would like to say we just rested at home for the next week that would be far from the truth.  Our week was packed with doctors appointments and paperwork.  Caroline of course had to return to the doctor for a jaundice checkup and it was time to get my mom's ankle looked at.  She had a slip getting on the plane to come here and managed to get a small fracture in her tibia.  After a couple doctors visits we figured this out and she is now on the mend!

On Wednesday we had our appointment at the embassy to make Caroline a citizen of the USA, get her passport and apply for a social security card.  Up until then, she was nationless because Singapore does not give her citizenship either.  We had to produce lots of documentation and fill out some really lengthy forms to get her all squared away.  After a short interview with the embassy, they gave her a small American flag to congratulate her on her new citizenship.  I can't wait to pick her passport up next week!

How is this for a passport photo?  I ended up doing it myself.  Getting a 9 day old baby to open their eyes and look straight at the camera is no easy task?

I finished about half of the newborn photo session with Caroline and hope to finish the other half this week.  More to come but I'll include one of my favorites so far.

Overall, Caroline is an excellent baby.  She doesn't cry very often but when she does, she has one hefty set of lungs.  She loves to be held which is good since she is constantly being passed around for snuggles but she can be very content just laying in her crib and looking around.  She hates not being able to have access to her hands (she is a finger sucker) so we have abandoned the swaddles and just let her sleep free.  We still haven't figured out who she looks like the most yet but we do know that she has my hair.

Despite everything we had going on, it has definitely been two of the best weeks of our lives.  Every moment with her is special and we cannot imagine life without her now.

Caroline is Here!

So when I posted a few days ago that we would just have to wait, we didn't have to wait too long.  Whether it was the long walk in the Botanical Gardens or the Mexican food that did it, Caroline decided it was time to come two weeks early.

My water broke just after midnight on the 16th and I figured we had plenty of time to get to the hospital.  Labor often lasts 12+ hours so I wasn't going to rush out the door.  We took showers and double checked our bags before heading to the hospital.  My contractions started around 2am and progressively got worse.  Around 5am I was about 3cm dilated and ready for an epidural.  At that point I was able to relax until 7am when they came to check again and I was already 9cm so they had to call my doctor to come in right away.  After five good pushes (which I couldn't feel because the epidural was still in full effect, thank goodness), Caroline Harper Mrozik was born at 8:04am.  Caroline was 6lbs, 7ozs and 19.3 inches long.  She is healthy and to us, perfect in every way. It all happened so quickly that it was difficult to even comprehend.  We did not expect her to come quite that early nor did we expect her to come quite that fast but we are so glad she did!

In the delivery ward, expecting this to take a while. If you are thinking about getting your own maternity gown, I loved mine which I got off Etsy

Love at first sight

We were then moved to the maternity ward where we were met by our friends Mike and Shelly.  Caroline wasn't able to wait long enough for my mom to get here and they are the closest thing we have to family in Singapore so we are so thankful they came to see us and share these special moments.  Thanks to John, Kathy, and Bronia for all coming to see us as well!  I should have gotten pictures of Caroline with all her visitors but in all the chaos I forgot.

After spending two nights in the hospital, we were able to go home.  I was so glad that my Mom arrived in the morning and was able to see us before we were discharged.

First picture of our little family. 

Check my Identity tag with my mummy!  The tag was actually really annoying because it played a song whenever Caroline got near me or was put into the bed to confirm you had the right baby.

Blessed with a full head of hair.  We wonder if it will fall out and grown in blond like mine did.

She loves looking at her daddy

She loves to have those hands out and near her face.  When she can find them she will suck very loudly on them.

Ready to go home!

Wrapped in the 62-year-old blanket that myself, my father, brothers, niece and nephew were all brought home from the hospital in.

So tiny in the carseat but happy to go home!

And now the fun begins!