3 Month Update

Unbelievable, Riley will be three months old on Tuesday. People are right the time does go by quickly. Riley will be starting daycare on Monday because mom has to go back to work. She had a trial run for a few hours this week and it went well. And mom is feeling good about where she is leaving her baby.

There have been a few small milestones in the past two weeks. Riley has rolled from her back to her side. Dad missed it but she is on her way to rolling all the way to her stomach. We will see how much longer for that. And yesterday we noticed a tooth starting to break the gum, that explains some of her fussiness. Not sure how long it takes to come all the way in but we will keep you updated.

And it has been a busy few weeks at the Achterhof house. Grandpa Smith came for a few days to visit. Also, the church we attend through a baby shower for us, which turned out wonderfully. Riley will be styling in some new clothes for awhile. It seems no one can help but buy the adorable girl clothes. I can't blame them and we love having such cute options. Afterwards the visitors didn't stop. We had Oma and Opa Achterhof come out for the day. And we were given a break to go out to the movies while they watched Riley.

And than we had a very special visit by Great Gramma Hawes, which is the reason behind Riley's middle name Jean. It was a full house for the visit Aunt Chrissy, Melissa and Sarah came down with her. And we surprised her with my mom/Grandma Block and my brother, Uncle Don coming from Illinois to visit. We aren't able to get together often and we had many laughs. Oh an I don't want to forget Cashew & Lucy who also came to visit my brothers two dogs. Like I said definitely a full house but worth every moment.

Below are a few new photos of Riley.

Weeks 8 & 9

Riley has had a busy two weeks. She went on her first big trip to Northern Michigan for the 4th of July, a family tradition. And she had a great time meeting the Hawes side of the family. And they loved meeting her. She especially loved meeting the boys, I think my cousin Rochelle needs to look out, Riley might be eying her boyfriend Nick. And Riley went to her first parade and fireworks show. She slept through both and I don't even think she needed the extra ear protection you will see in a few of the photos.

Riley also had another doctors appointment and she got a clean bill of health. She is now 11 lbs and 21 inches. She is staying in the 50th percentile for weight but her height is at the very low end of the chart at 10%, I wonder if she will take after her mom with the shorter genes. And we have noticed a big increase in her smiling and cooing. She really tries to talking to you and likes when you repeat back. She will go back to the doctor next week for a few more vaccinations that they didn't have this time. So I will see if they will weigh her for me because she won't have another appointment until she is 4 months.

Below is a slideshow of photos from Riley's trip Up North. If you click on the slideshow you can open it up and it will be larger and you can scroll through each photo.

2 Months old - Where has the time gone

It is unbelievable to think that Riley is now 8 weeks old. She is changing everyday, this morning was the day that I realized how much bigger she has gotten. It hadn't really hit us yet. At her last doctors appointment about 2-3 weeks ago she hit the 9 lb mark. And we think she might even be approaching 10 lbs already. We will find out after the 4th of July the updated weight. She is definitely more alert with cooing and even a lot of smiles. She especially likes staring at her daddy when he holds her. Riley has been busy with visitors the past month. Many new ones and many others who have already visited. She has seen all of the grandparents again. They can't seem to get enough of her. We have taken pictures with most of the newly introduced family members. She met mom's old college roommate "aunt" Rae Anne, also the rest of Drew's extended family members, Uncle Blake, Aunt Val and their little ones Dylan & Lennon. Also, very excited Uncle Doug, Aunt Gail and Sara & Rachel, while we were Uncle Russ' & Aunt Liz's house in Tinley Park for there sons 8th grade graduation party.

There was also a stop at our house by Uncle Don on his way to a 24 hour bicycle ride. And she met his cheering squad Randy (old colleague) and our cousin Brian. And we are proud to say he biked 205 miles in 24 hours. What a huge accomplishment!

We also had our first try at cloth diapers and so far it has been successful. We are getting ready to stock up and switch over. There is pic of Riley in her first cloth diaper.

We are happy to say that we are starting to get more sleep at night. Riley is finally starting to be big enough that she can start sleeping more without us waking her up for feeding. Last night she slept 7 hours before waking up. We will see if it keeps up.

And Riley has a big adventure coming up for a trip to Northern Michigan for a mini-vacation. We will see how well she travels. She definitely needs to be a traveler in this family.

Enjoy the new photos!

Finally, Riley's 3 & 4 Week Update

The family has been doing well the past few weeks, just a little behind in things. So I am finally updating with some new pictures. There haven't been any big milestones in the past few weeks. The big change is the bath has changed from a sponge bath to the bathtub. She wasn't real thrilled the first time but is starting to like it more and more. She seems to love when her hair is being soaped.

Also, we have started to notice a change in her eye color. It was a very dark slate blue/dark grayish. And you can now start to see more of the real blue coming thru we will see in the next year what color they turn out. And we are still taking bets on if her hair will change to blonde, we will be very surprised if it stays brown.

There have been quite a few visitors lately, Grandma & Grandpa Smith, Oma & Opa Achterhof and even meeting Uncle Kyle for the first time. And the month of June is filled with more visitors. It will be a busy month.

Click on the photo below and it will take you to the new photos. And there will be another update this week once she has her 1 month check up. We will see how she has grown in the last two weeks.

Three & Four Week Photos of Riley

2 Week Update

It has been another crazy week as mom & dad battle colds while trying to keep Riley content & happy. But good news on the sleeping front, Riley is now sleeping through the night except for feedings. And is now awake during the day like she should be. As I am sure you can tell we are very happy about this!

Riley had her 2 week appointment with the pediatrician. She has gained 11 ounces and is now 7 lbs 2 oz and has moved from the 10th percentile to 25th for weight. Her height has stayed the same at 19 inches but her head is growing so the doctor says she is doing well. We were a little worried she had a cold because she has had a lot of nose congestion but we were told this is normal and not to be worried. Her next appointment is in two weeks. It will be amazing to see how much she has grown in a month. She is still not fitting into newborn clothes so we will see how long that takes her to catch up.

Enjoy the new pictures below.....

Bath Time!

Wrapped & Warm after a bath

Riley's little feet


Riley enjoying her swing

Riley's 1 Week Update

Riley's 1st Week Update

We have had Riley home for a little over a week now. And it has definitely been an adjustment for us. Riley seems to have her days and nights mixed up. She sleeps like an angel all day and than at night she is up for a good part of the night. So mom & dad do not get much sleep. We will see how the sleeping saga continues, we have a little hope for tonight since she was awake for over an hour today. That is a big accomplishment!

And she had her first pediatrician appointment, which went really well. We love the pedi, she is awesome. Riley gained 3 ounces so she is now 6 lbs 7 ozs but it seems she has shrunk from the hospital measurement. They could barely get her to measure at 19 inches. She is only in the 25th percentile for height and 10th percentile for her weight. She is definitely on the small side, which makes it difficult to find clothes she is too big for premie but too small for newborn. So she is swimming in her clothes. We have about 4 outfits in rotation that fit her the best.

We did have to talk to the doctor about an issue Riley is having with what we call "the milk explosion". She was having issues with keeping her formula down. So she suggested we switch to soy formula which we were not real excited about doing but it has actually helped. But than on Friday the problem started reoccuring so we called and she suggested changing bottles. So Drew went out and bought another brand and that seems to be really helping. And it is helping her gas issues too so I think it will help her not be as fussy during the night.

This week our house has been busy with some visitors. Drew's parents, Oma & Opa Achterhof stopped by to meet Riley for a few hours. And than on Sunday Colleen' mom & stepdad, Grandma & Grandpa Block came for a visit. Grandpa Block only stayed one night and took the train back to Chicago. And Grandma Block stayed for the week to help take care of Riley & Colleen as she recovered. What a huge help! And we had some wonderful people from our church stop two nights to drop off dinners, yum! Last night family friends Lauren & Todd stopped to meet Riley too! So it has been a busy week!



Enjoy the Slideshow of Riley's 1st Week

Achterhof Family Update 5-9-09

Riley Jean Achterhof has arrived happy & healthy! She arrived on May 5th at 11:44 am weighing in at 6 lbs 4 oz and 19 1/4 inches. We had a two day stay at Elkhart General, which all the nurses and staff were wonderful. Riley had a few visitors while at the hospital, Grandma & Grampa Smith, Uncle Don and also the pastors and their wives stoped to check in. And all were head over heals for her, she seems to have that affect. On Thursday afternoon we made the trip home. It was great to be home and not have someone in and out of the room every half hour. Riley and family have been settling in. Riley definitely sleeps and eats like a champ but still needs to figure out the sleeping at night. And Dad is taking great care of both mom and Riley as the recovery goes on and the adjusting of the expanded family.

Today we will be having a vist from Oma & Opa Achterhof. And on Sunday Grandma & Grampa Block will be visiting and staying for a few days to help out while Drew goes back to work.