Jazlyn is 4 months old

Jazlyn turned 4 months old on September 15th. I took her in for her 4 month check-up on Wednesday. Well she is growing as she is now 23 1/2 inches long, but she only weighs 8 lbs 13 oz. She gained a whopping 1 lb in 2 months. I could tell she was growing because her newborn outfits were getting small on her (the onesies were becoming too short). I didn't think she had gained a lot of weight but thought she was at least over 9 lbs. She's close. The doctor didn't seem too worried, but he does want me to get another feeding in a day. She is now up to 4 ounces at a time. Since she has been sleeping through the night since she was 4 weeks old, she doesn't get any feedings in the middle of the night. She was only eating 5 times a day. We are squeezing another feeding in during the daytime which means her naps get cut short. I have to take her back in a month just for a weighing.

We did get Jazlyn's 3 month proofs back. We were able to get a couple good ones with her smiling. They turned out really good. I hope to have the pictures back sometime this week and then I will scan some to post.

Jazlyn is now starting to really hold onto things and bring them to her face. She likes to put her blanket in her face. She is blowing lots of bubbles. Although she is not teething just yet, she definitely drools alot and loves to suck on toys and teething rings. She continues to coo but is now starting to laugh out loud. Alex really gets her laughing. I think his mustache and goatee really get her tickled. Or maybe it's just because he's funny looking that does it. JK :)

I was struggling a little bit with breastfeeding, but after a few suggestions it is getting better. The doctor prescribed a pill for me that seems to help mothers produce more milk. After taking it for 3 days now, I am starting to see an improvement. I have also added one more pumping in during the work day. My job has been keeping me so busy that I was only getting 1-2 pumpings in a day. It just wasn't enough. I am now making sure I take time out of my day to do this as it is so important as long as I am wanting to breastfeed Jazlyn. My goal is to breastfeed her until she is 9 months old if not longer.

We just recently got great news that Jazlyn is going to have a little cousin to play with come this next Spring. Alex's sister Audra is expecting her first child in March. So they will be less than a year apart. We are still praying for Melanie and Kyle to get pregnant again soon as well.

Jazlyn is 3 months old

Jazlyn turned 3 months old on August 15th. She is still a tiny little thing but she IS growing. I think she has finally grown out of her newborn clothes. There are a few newborn outfits that were a little on the big side that she can still wear, but definitely not the newborn onesies. I'm glad though....now she can get some use out of the 0-3 month summer outfits before it gets too cool. Just this last week we jumped her up to 4 ounces at each feeding. I haven't started on cereal yet. She does pretty good with all of her feedings and she sleeps through the night, so I don't think it's necessary to start yet.

We took Jazlyn to get her 3 month pictures a couple of weeks ago. We are still waiting to get the proofs. I am anxious to see how they turned out. Jazlyn was in such a good mood when I picked her up from Alex's mom. I fed her when I got home so she would be content while getting her pictures taken. On the way to French Lick, she smiled and cooed to my sister the entire way except the last 10 minutes when she fell asleep. When we got there she woke up in a fairly good mood, but when it came time to take pictures we couldn't get her to smile like she usually does so much for us. We might have gotten a few. I ended up having to feed her again for like 10 minutes because she got so fussy. That was the only thing that would calm her down. We tried again. Still couldn't get much and then all of a sudden she started getting tired on us. After falling asleep we ended up just taking pictures with her sleeping then. They were so cute though.

Jazlyn discovered that she can take her pacifier out of her mouth and manage to put it back in. She would always get her thumb caught on the ring and pull it out of her mouth but then could never get it back in and would start crying. Well she has finally figured it out. I was able to capture it on video.

Back to work....well 3 weeks ago :)

I have been back to work now for 3 weeks. The first day was so hard for me. I cried several times that day. It got easier as the week went on, but was still a rough week. I called 2-3 times a day to see how she was doing. I spent 10 weeks at home with her and enjoyed every minute of it. It was so sad to have to leave her. It made it worse coming back to work and walking straight into stress mode. I so wish we had enough money saved up where I didn't have to work. Maybe in time I will be able to do this. It's a goal of ours...just don't know how long it will take us to get there. Jazlyn is getting to enjoy lots of time with Mama Zehr Monday - Thursday and Grandma Watts and Aunt Tammy on Fridays though. The Papas get a visit in there every once in awhile as well (lunch times, home from work early, etc). I still call once a day to see how she is doing.

July 17th weekend we celebrated Breanna's 8th birthday. On Breanna's actual birthday (July 17th), Alex and I dropped off Jazlyn at my mom and dad's to babysit for her, while we took Breanna out to eat, putt-putt, go-karts and ice cream. We brought my parents ice cream back as well. Of course they enjoyed the few hours they got to spend with Jazlyn watching her smile and coo. On Saturday we had a birthday party at our house with Breanna's friends and family. Aunt Mellie came home to visit as well. She spent 4 days with us. It was great to see her and spend some time with her. She definitely enjoyed her time with Jazlyn too. Since Melanie was home, we decided to head to French Lick after church for lunch and then we stopped by my grandparents house and my aunt & uncles. They hadn't seen Jazlyn in a while so that was a good time. Grandma just cracks us up with her. Grandpa always has to hold her first before anyone else does. When she gets heavy or starts to fuss then Grandma can hold her. Although Grandma doesn't like it...she waits patiently for her turn.

Jazlyn got to experience her first Jasper Strassenfest. I entered her baby picture in the Baby Photo Contest. There was 96 entrants and only the top 15 got prizes. Unfortunately, she didn't win anything, but we did get to show her off as we walked around the square. She also participated in her first Strassenfest Wettlauf. She enjoyed the 5K ride while I walked and pushed her. She had it made while I struggled pushing her up those big hills. Thank goodness my mom was with me and helped. We took turns. It was a beautiful morning for it. Alex also participated in the Wettlauf, but he ran the 5K. We all met up at the end and enjoyed pancakes made by our church youth group. Instead of going to the parade on Sunday, Alex, Breanna, Jazlyn and I headed to Holiday World for the day. We always usually take Breanna once or twice during the summer and this year we hadn't gotten a chance since Jazlyn was born. It was a beautiful day. I was worried about it being too hot for Jazlyn but it wasn't at all. Her and I hung out and watched Alex and Breanna have fun. Next summer she will have a blast there.

This past Sunday, we traveled to Illinois to attend a baby shower for my cousin Darin's wife who is having twin boys sometime in October. We can't wait to meet them. Jazlyn and the boys will have so much fun playing together at our holiday gatherings. It was the first time that most of my relatives got to meet her with the exception of Darin and Candice. They came in for a visit the weekend Jazlyn was born. But it has been 3 months for them.

Overall Jazlyn is still a very good baby. She has been sleeping through the night for probably 10 weeks now. Every once in a while we have to get up in the middle of the night just to put her pacifier in, but then she goes back to sleep. We enjoy every morning waking her up and seeing her smile and coo like crazy. What an awesome way to start the day off. She is still tiny as can be. She is probably about 8 1/2 lbs or so. I can tell she is getting longer. She is eating about 3 ounces at each feeding. I am sure she will be jumping up to 4 ounces soon though. When we get home from work she is typically in a really good mood, although last week there were several days in a row that she was really cranky. Alex and I both had trouble calming her down. We ended up having to rock her to sleep. I think it was because she wasn't getting long enough naps during the day. We made an adjustment and now she is good again. She definitely needs 2 really good naps during the day if not a short third one as well. In the evenings she loves to sit on the boppy pillow and watch TV. I think she likes the blinking lights and movement. It doesn't matter what is on...she stares at the TV.


Happy 8th Birthday Breanna!!



We love these faces.


You never knew what grandma was going to say to her to make her smile.


Awwww...HOW ADORABLE!


Jasper Strassenfest Wettlauf - 5K Run/Fitness Walk


She's ready for the sunshine.


"Does this diaper make my butt look big?"

Jazlyn is 2 months old!!!

Jazlyn is 2 months old today by the date or 8 weeks 5 days by the day of the week (Friday). Jazlyn now weighs 7 lbs 13 oz and is 21 1/2 in long. Her doctor told me today that she is going to be small and petite like her mommy. We are okay with that though. :) She is below the 5 percentile in weight and between 10 and 25 percentile for length. At this appointment she was also tortured with her 2 month shots. She got 3 shots and one liquid vaccination. She screamed her head off for about 2 minutes and then when mommy picked her up she calmed down...until I had to lay her back down to put her clothes back on. I prepared daddy to be ready when we got home because she was probably going to be mad at mommy and want daddy to comfort her. Surprisingly, she got over that pretty quickly and was in such a good mood when we got home. She smiled and cooed a lot.

Since it has been a long time since I have posted I will try to capture as much as possible as to what's been going on with Jazlyn. About 3 weeks ago Jazlyn started 'noticing' us more. She began to have more eye contact with us. When my dad was holding her and I was talking to my dad, her eyes would follow me as I moved around the room. It was an exciting milestone. That same week, she also began to smile when she was awake. Prior to this she would smile while she was sleeping...she must have been having some pretty exciting dreams. Now she smiles, laughs and coos when she is awake. It just brightens our day. She definitely hears mommy and daddy's voices and turns her head towards us when she does. Jazlyn also got to meet the IU head basketball coach Tom Crean and get his autograph. Daddy was very proud of this moment. Jazlyn experienced her first chiropractor appointment. We were experiencing a lot of gassiness and fussiness with her, so we decided to take her to a chiropractor to see if that would help. She did not like her first visit so much, but after going three times, she seems to be doing much better. After the devastating loss of baby Cora (Jazlyn's cousin), Jazlyn got to spend some precious time with Aunt Mellie and Uncle Kyle in Indianapolis. We spent three days with them. Daddy missed us back home, but he understood and talk to us every day. Mommy sent daddy pictures that were captured while we were gone. That made his day. Jazlyn got to experience her first holiday celebration for the 4th of July. We had several people over to our house on July 3rd...thank goodness because that was the only beautiful day that weekend. She didn't quite like the fireworks. We watched them from inside and looked out a window.

Ever since Jazlyn was born she has picked up many nicknames from the family: SUGAR (no particular reason...just came out the day she was born and has stuck with mommy and daddy), TURTLE (when she stretches she looks like a turtle), LIL' FART (she gets it from her daddy), MONKEY (she makes some cute monkey faces), MAGGIE (she sucks on her pacifier like Maggie from the Simpsons) and JAZ (for short). Not sure how many of these will stick with her as she gets older.


Daddy's Little Alarm Clock

Mommy's Little Angel

IU coach Crean autograph

First chiropractor adjustment

Hangin' out with Aunt Mellie...she's so comfortable

It's been a long day!

My first 4th of July outfit

Watchin' 'So You Think You Can Dance' with mommy

I feel refreshed after daddy gave me a nice warm bath

See my band-aids from my 3 shots? :(

First week home

We have now officially been home for one week after the birth of our precious daughter Jazlyn. We are adjusting well. We are still trying to get a pattern established as far as eating and sleeping. Jazlyn likes to sleep during the day and be up at night. It is getting better though. Mommy spends several hours on the couch with her sleeping so daddy can get his ZZZZ's. We have discovered that she doesn't like to lay flat nor on her back. Her favorite position is on her sides and a little propped up. It is so hard to keep her awake during the day so she sleeps at night, but we have had a few really good days/nights. We will get there.

We took Jazlyn to the doctor last Friday for her initial follow up after her birth. Everything checked out well. When we left the hospital Jazlyn weighed 5 lbs 9 ozs which was normal as a baby tends to lose 10% of their birth weight. We were anxious to see if she had gained since and she had gained an ounce and a half. She's getting plenty of milk as she is going in the right direction as far as weight gain. We take her back again next week. Breastfeeding is going well. She eats about every 2 1/2 hours.

Big sister Breanna is loving Jazlyn. She said many prayers that she would get a little sister and her prayers were answered. Alex called Breanna at school as soon as we found out that we had a girl and Breanna just screamed for 5 seconds. She was so excited. Her first day back to school after Jazlyn was born, she had to take pictures with her to show everyone her little sister. She still carries them around with her. She has been such a big help around here with Jazlyn. She is like a little mom. Alex and I surprised her last Friday when we picked her up from school. We brought Jazlyn to school so her teachers and classmates could see her in person. All of the kids wanted to see Breanna hold her little sister. They all gathered around her. It was so cute and Breanna was very proud.

Alex and I were very blessed with some wonderful friends who brought meals to us last week and still continuing this week as well. It was also good to have my sister Tammy and her husband Dustin stay with us for a week and help us with Jazlyn. They helped out in so many ways. Tammy even stayed up until 2:00 am one night with Jazlyn to allow Alex and I to get some sleep. She brought Jazlyn in when she needed to be fed and then took her back. This was one of those nights when she was WIDE awake.

Daddy has gone back to work, but wishes he could be home with mommy and Jazlyn. He calls several times a day so I can give him updates on what Jazlyn is doing. He is always so anxious to see her when he gets home. It's especially nice when she is awake...that makes daddy smile to see her eyes. Mommy is still a little sore from the C-section, but getting better and better each day. I love being a mom. Jazlyn is so precious.

Sunday was our first adventure out with Jazlyn. We were excited to show her off to everyone at church for the first time. They were all amazed at how tiny she was and her head full of blonde hair. That has definitely been the talk since her birth. The nurses at the hospital couldn't believe it. They said they usually see peach fuzz or a head full of dark hair but very rarely a head full of blonde hair. After church we headed to a graduation party for Alex's cousin. Needless to say it was a big day for Jazlyn and she was ready for an afternoon nap.


We're heading home...first car seat ride.


Introducing Jazlyn to the puppies (Rosebud and Budderball)


Jazlyn gained 1.5 oz 4 days after leaving the hospital. She was 6 lbs 6 oz when she was born but weighed 5 lbs 9 oz when we left the hospital 3 days later.


Jazlyn's Pediatrician Dr. Bies checks her out.


Breanna holding Jazlyn for all of her classmates at school. She is a very proud big sis.


Breanna's classmates look on as Alex shows them Jazlyn.


Jazlyn's first adventure out was to church. She was sporting her first outfit that was not a onesie.

It's a girl!

Today at 12:39 p.m., Jazlyn Grace Zehr was born. She is 6 lbs, 6 oz., 20 inches long.

It's getting closer......

Sorry I haven't posted for awhile. Not a whole lot happening. Just sitting back and waiting. Only 9 more days to go. No real signs yet that Baby Zehr will come early. I've experienced some Braxton Hicks contractions, but none that are consistent or frequent. I still deal with my swollen ankles and slow moving waddle. Alex and I went to the doctor Monday for the last time as a regular visit. We will go again next Wednesday for our pre-surgery visit. My blood pressure still remains normal. My protein levels are good. The baby's heart rate is 132 bpm. I have now gained a total of 19 lbs since the beginning of the pregnancy. I do have to say it is all baby right in front. Baby is moving around like crazy. I am experiencing the cool feeling when the baby has the hiccups. Sleeping is getting less and less. My bag is packed for the hospital just in case I go into labor before next Friday. We finally have our names narrowed down...that was tough. Alex and I are very excited for the arrival of Baby Zehr. I do have to admit that I am pretty calm and relaxed now, but come next Wednesday I think it will all become real and I will probably become very nervous. I will have lots of help though.

So the big question is.....who will Baby Zehr look like? Will it have blonde fuzz for hair like it's daddy or red curly hair like it's mommy? I am sharing both Alex and I's baby pictures below. We'll have to compare all of the traits very soon.