Fourteen Weeks!

(Sidenote: Lizzie is currently 15 weeks, but life has been crazy with my going back to work!)

Weight: I'm a total creep and I took Lizzie in to be weighed at Andy's work this week on a shipping scale. I wanted to know how much she weighed more accurately than my usual bathroom scale trick, but I didn't want to look like a nut job at my doctor's office :) Anyway, it paid off, because I found out that she weighs 10 pounds, 12 ounces. That's up three-quarters of a pound in three weeks... yahoo!

Sleep: Is anyone incredibly tired of hearing about the swaddler saga? One week it's on, the next it's off, and then it's back on again... but I'm please to report that we've finally come to a resolution that I have a feeling won't change: we've broken free from swaddling for good, my friends! After Lizzie caught a taste of life without the straight jacket swaddler, she just couldn't go back and sleep very peacefully. She was waking up a lot in the middle of the night (like, four times... which is up from her usual one or two times a night), and I noticed that her arms and legs were flailing a whole lot less when she wasn't swaddling, so I let her try it without... and it's been a success! So I think she's graduated out of it.

Also, I've mentioned a lot about my anxiety to do with her learning to fall asleep on her own and how I've consulted many mommas about it. Well, as it turns out... baby girl just needed to get a little older and I needed to worry a lot less. This past week, I decided I wasn't going to worry about trying to get her to fall asleep on her own because it was my last week off before going back to work -- so I decided, instead, to enjoy her fully, which meant rocking her to sleep for all naps and at night (and maybe even holding her for the entire length of some of her naps! I think I am more spoiled than her now :)). However, when I put her down in her crib for a few naps and in her bassinet at night, she woke up bright eyed and fussed a little for her pacifier. And then the magic happened: I popped it in her mouth, and she turned her head to the side, closed her eyes, and fell asleep. Unbelievable. I'm not going to lie: initially, this may have caused a tiny mommy meltdown. I might have shed a few tears over the fact that she no longer needed me as much as she once did -- that she's becoming more "independent". Ha! I know, so dramatic. But I cried about it on the night before I had to take her to daycare for the first time, so my emotions were mega-high.

Anyway, she's awesome. She falls asleep on her own (when she's drowsy) and is starting to sleep longer all the time. She's slept another night fully through the night now, and other nights she tends to wake up just once around three or four, and again at six or so to eat again, at which point she falls asleep again. When she wakes after that varies... sometimes she sleeps in until 10:00!

Her naps remain hit-and-miss. Some days, they can be 40 minutes long. Others, they will be two to three hours! I haven't figured out what the ticket for those long naps are yet, but that's okay.

Medical Issues: None!

Clothes: Last week I said we were officially in our 0 to 3 month clothes, but I think I spoke too soon. Last week I put her in her 0 to 3 month jeggings to wear with a t-shirt (rather than a onesie) and they fell right off her when I picked her up. Whoopsies. So I would say we're still in between newborn and 0 to 3 months... but I think we're having a growth spurt, so I have a feeling we'll be in 0 to 3 soon.

Socialite!: Last weekend, we went to my sister-in-law's family's cabin to celebrate my nieces' and nephew's birthdays. We had such a great time in the sunshine, but Lizzie girl basically slept the entire time. Not sure what that was all about, but once we got home, she was bright eyed and bushy-tailed. So I'm not sure if she was just snoozing because she was in a new place and wanted to sleep through it, or if she really was that sleepy... either way, we didn't see her eyes much!

Diet: Milk -- still nursing exclusively. However, I'm starting to prepare myself for going back to work and having to pump and have her bottle fed part of the day while at daycare. She's going to daycare across the street from my classroom, so I'm hoping to actually go over and nurse her (rather than pump for her) on my prep and at lunch, but we'll see how/if that works out. If it doesn't, I'm okay with it -- but it would be nice. 

Baby Gear Love: The Snugabunny Swing remains a favorite, as is our play gym. She also loves her O Ball and some of her other toys that she can reach up and try to grab. Her favorite is a little pink butterfly that makes a pretty jingling noise :) As always, her Bright Starts Carrier Toy Bar is a favorite for traveling in the car, even when we're close to home.

And "Mommy Gear Love" this week would be Nick Lachey's lullaby CD... I'm a sucker for anything Nick Lachey related. Don't judge.

Crying: She's a sweet girl! Only cries when she's hungry or tired basically :)

Mommy News: Well, it finally happened. I finally left Lizzie girl at daycare for the first time last Wednesday. After many subsequent nights where I laid in bed, crying and telling Andy how much I was going to miss her and how I couldn't go back to work, the day came and I had to do it. I got up and got myself ready before waking her to eat and get dressed. I thought I was doing really well -- all while I got myself ready, I felt just fine. But once I went to wake her, it was all over. I couldn't stop the tears from coming. Baby girl is so sweet in the morning and full of smiles and coos -- it's my favorite time of the day with her -- but on that day, I couldn't hardly look at her. She'd smile at me, and I'd try to smile back, but would only cry harder. Oh, so sad. I cried as I dressed her, as I put her in her seat, as I drove to town (with Nick Lachey serenading us all the way... ha!), and especially as I unbuckled her from her car seat to hand her over to someone else. Someone else. Not me. Oh, so sad. Handing my baby over to someone else for the day is one of the hardest things I think I've ever done. But, I did it. And it was fine. Especially since I came back to nurse her a few hours later, which certainly does make me feel better. So it was definitely a good decision to opt for a daycare so close to me. Luckily her daycare visits and my workdays last week were limited to that one day, so I got the rest of the week off :)

That night after her first trip to daycare, I rocked her to sleep in her nursery, and I just cried. I was sad because I had missed so much of her day, because I missed her. And the most interesting thing happened -- Lizzie looked at me in a way I'd never seen her look at me before. She's never seen me cry before I don't think -- so she just stared, wide-eyed and so carefully, directly into my eyes. Like I said, it was a look I've never seen her give me before -- almost as though she knew I was sad, and she was trying to understand it. And I think she did -- because she then gave me the most genuine, soft smile I've ever seen my baby give. And I'd like to think it was her way of telling me, "It's okay, Mommy". She continued to offer me those smiles as I cried and we rocked -- and I thanked God, again, for her sweet little life. What a blessing she is. My heart is truly so full.

Milestones: Lizzie is beginning to swat at and reach for toys! It is so awesome how much she's developing lately. We love this little lady!

Thirteen Weeks!

Weight: I'm guessing baby girl is around 10 and a half pounds at this point.

Sleep: After resuming the use of our swaddler, Lizzie's sleep still isn't quite as good as it was before I started messing things up [by banning swaddler use for a few days]. I think it's because she realizes now how great it feels to sleep not in a straight jacket-type contraption. Whoops. She did have one awesome napping day where she had an hour-long nap in the morning and a three-hour nap in the afternoon. Aside from that, she tends to be sticking to her 25 to 40 minute naps during the day, and waking a couple times at night.

Any advice from anyone about how to help your little one take longer naps? I think Lizzie is waking up on her first "light sleep" phase of her sleep cycle, which is why she's only taking 25 to 40 minute naps most days. 

Medical Issues: None!

Clothes: I would say that we've officially stepped foot into three-month clothing almost exclusively! Though Lizzie is still wearing a lot of newborn things (and is still waiting to grow into some of it, too!), we've transitioned her into 0 to 3 month jammies and onesies for the most part. Right now, it all fits how her newborn clothes fit when she was first born: way too big! But we have to start somewhere, right? 

Socialite!: Sweet girl got to see her godfather, Norm, again last weekend! We were lucky enough to have him stop in Alex on his way through and have supper with us at Zorba's. She was a good girl, and even let Norm snuggle her for a little bit :) Unfortunately she wasn't giving out any free smiles at that point, so he didn't get to see any. Guess he'll just have to come visit again... :)

Diet: Milk -- still nursing exclusively.

Baby Gear Love: Loving our Snuggabunny swing, as well as this amazing contraption that hangs from her carseat handle that entertains her endlessly that my mom and dad gave Lizzie before she was born. 

Crying: Only crying when she's tired, wet or hungry. She's a sweet girl!

Mommy News: Please don't remind me that I have to go back to work in a little more than a week. Don't get me wrong, I love my job! But what will baby girl do without me all day (or maybe more like what will I do without my baby girl all day)?! Yikes.

In other mommy news: I've heard people talk about how they're not sure if they'll have enough love to go around for all their kids when they get pregnant a second (or third, or fourth...) time. This seemed like a ridiculous notion to me. However, this last week has started to help me realize why they say that. I honestly thought that when Lizzie was born that the amount of love I felt for her (which was already a lot) was how much love I'd always feel for her. Wrong. It is incredible to me how much my love grows for this little girl each day. It's hard to explain, but it's this gradual love that kind of sneaks up on you as it grows and grows and grows, and when you realize how much you love this little one, it completely knocks you over. I know that's a weird way to put it, but it's as best I can explain it. Anyway, I kind of see what people mean: how can you possibly love one little person this much, and still have more room to love another little person that much? Not that I don't think it's possible -- I know it is! I just kind of understand it a little more now. And not that I'm pregnant again -- I was just thinking through it all.

Also, I can't believe how much more emotional I am now that I'm a mommy. I wasn't any extra emotional really when I was pregnant... but now that Lizzie's here: watch out world! Crazy mama who cries at everything has arrived. Yeesh! I got the sweetest board book from my aunt and uncle when Lizzie was born called "Wherever You Are, My Love Will Find You" and I can't read it to Lizzie without getting all choked up. And don't get me started about watching the news... is it possible for me to watch it at 10:00 before bed without getting teary eyed? Oh boy.

Milestones: We are getting so much stronger at tummy time! Lizzie no longer gets mad (right away) when we put her on her tummy because she actually enjoys being propped up on those little elbows and looking at the world in a new way! 

Twelve Weeks Old!

Weight: Earlier this week, I finally decided to step on the scale with baby girl to see what she weighed, as I hadn't done that since her two-month check-up. When I stepped on, the scale showed that she weighed 10 pounds -- which was very concerning, because at her two-month check-up, she weighed almost 10 pounds already. So we stepped off and stepped on again, thinking it was a scale-read error.

Nope.


It was right. Ten pounds.


My stomach churned. I knew what this meant: we'd be introducing formula to supplement nursing, because she obviously isn't getting what she needs to thrive.


Defeated, I called my doctor's office and asked if I could get Lizzie in for a weight check. So off we went, where I placed her on the scale and saw the same dismal news: baby girl is 10 pounds, 1 ounce. My heart sank, again.


"That's not good," I told the nurse. "She was nine pounds, 14 ounces last time." She went to grab her computer and returned a few moments later.


"She's eating great! She's gained almost a pound and a half since last time! She wasn't nine pounds, 14 ounces... she was eight pounds, 14 ounces at her last check-up," the nurse informed me.

Sweeter words were never spoken to a worried mommy in this situation! So all is well and I was just getting ahead of ourselves by a pound.

So weight this week? Ten pounds, one ounce :)

Sleep: Why do we mess with things that work? On Monday of this week, I decided (for some unknown reason) that Lizzie shouldn't be swaddled any longer. My thought process was that I should wean her off of swaddling now so that it's not such a big deal later, when she's older. So for the last four days and nights, Lizzie girl has had both naps and overnights in a non-swaddled state.


Mistake!


Poor baby girl can't catch a break with those flailing arms. Just when she's starting to fall asleep... POW! She socks herself in the eye with those crazy arms. I kept telling myself it would get better, that she'd get used to it -- and maybe, probably, she would. But while talking to my mom and aunt about it last night, I realized that if swaddling baby works -- go for it. They both told me about a few people who swaddled their babies until they were (relatively) big, and it helped them sleep more soundly and control those silly arms. Once she can roll from back to front, I'll certainly stop -- but why endure waking up every hour in the nighttime or 30-minute naps during the daytime that just lead to a sad, cranky baby?

So anyway, that's basically how sleep was this week: waking every hour or so at night and naps that lasted 30 minutes, all because of flailing arms. Let's just say we returned to the swaddling again today :)

I also noticed this week that she's super tired around 7:30... like, can't stay awake tired and if she falls asleep, she's out for the night. Normally bedtime has been 9:30, but maybe we're starting a new phase? It makes me sad to have her crash so early (I want to play more!) but it is nice to have some extra time to get things done at night.

Medical Issues: None!

Clothes: We're now in a spot where we're using about half newborn and half 0 to 3 month clothes. We have a few 0 to 3 month jammies that are small enough to work, as well as a few onesies and pants that work in that size as well. Otherwise our other 0 to 3 month stuff is still way too big, as is some of our newborn stuff!

Socialite!: Baby girl got to meet her great-great aunt from Texas last night, as well hang out with her great aunt and uncle, her great grandparents and her grandparents. Unfortunately she was a little cranky (remember? I was silly and didn't swaddle, leading to a lack of naps...) so she either preferred hanging out in Mommy or Daddy's arms or kicking her little legs on the floor.

Diet: Milk -- still nursing exclusively.

Baby Gear Love: We just love that play gym and our SnuggaBunny swing! We're also big fans of the SnuggaBunny bouncy chair

Crying: Not too bad, just fussy at night still. Maybe I shouldn't say "fussy" as much as I should say "sensitive".

Mommy News: Not gonna lie: there have been some tears now about heading back to work :( But every mommy survives, and every baby does fine, too.

Milestones: Baby girl is starting to notice her fists and bring them to her mouth to suck on. It is way too cute :)

Eleven Weeks Old!

Weight: My best guess is 11 pounds, but we haven't made any attempts at weighing her lately. All I know from carrying her around and how my arms feel while nursing? She's definitely heavier than any of the free weights I pick up at the Y :)

Sleep: Still really good. Naps are much better, though she still has a tendency to wake up 40 minutes in and requires me to stay with her until she falls asleep again for another couple of hours. So she's usually taking one nice, long nap in the morning and one nice, long nap in the afternoon, followed by one or two smaller cat naps toward evening. She's going to bed around 9:30 these days and sleeping four or five hours in her first stretch, three hours in her next, and three hours in her next, before waking up for the day. She did have two nights in a row now where she's slept very soundly. One night she slept a full eight hours in a row (10:15 p.m. to 6:15 a.m.!) and last night she only woke once in the night.

So, call me crazy, but I'm actually a little sad that she slept that full eight hours because that might mean she's going to start sleeping an entire night's worth soon. Don't get me wrong, I love a good night's sleep (which I haven't had a full, uninterrupted one since early on in my pregnancy!), but it's one of her first ways of asserting some "independence" from momma. I'm sure it sounds weird, but I'm also sure there's some other mommies who have felt the same way (right?). And now that I've breathed a word of this more publicly than my own mind, she'll probably start waking up every two hours again :) Ha! Wouldn't that be ironic?

Medical Issues: None :) Gas issues have resolved themselves and sweet girl seems to be doing very well.

Clothes: Our newborn pants continue to look more and more like flood pants every day, and some of our newborn onesies are making her look more and more like the Incredible Hulk! So I've (sadly) begun to phase out some of her smaller newborn onesies. I've tried to bring in a few 0 to 3 month things, but most are still too big -- which is fine, because much of our newborn things still fit. Target finally got in some new onesie packs with matching leggings this weekend, so we picked up a pack of each in the three month size, but I'm sure they're a little big yet.

Socialite!: Where to start?! Sweet baby was lucky enough to meet some great friends from the school I taught at in Fargo last weekend when one of my friends got married (woohoo!). You could tell that all of my friends are recent mommies... they are baby-holding experts :) It was another great example of having good friends -- things don't change even after being apart for a long time... I am so blessed! Great times were had by all in our family -- even daddy had fun!

She also got to meet her newest baby friend! Beautiful little miss Peyton was born last Monday, and Lizzie, Andy and I went to visit her and her mommy and daddy and bring them some food and a little gift. (Sidenote: If you know someone who's just had a baby, give them food. My mom did this and so did a sweet friend of mine, and it was amazing to not have to think about what to make when you come home from the hospital those first few days!)

Finally, Lizzie got to meet all kinds of family over the weekend on her first visit to Andy's family's cabin! We loved spending time with Andy's cousins and aunts from Portland and Wisconsin, as well as his grandparents, parents and sister. They were so great with Lizzie and it was so nice to just get a chance to talk with them.

Diet: Milk -- still nursing exclusively.

Baby Gear Love: Still loving her play gym! She's officially more interested in herself in the mirror on her play gym than in Andy or myself :) I'm also loving that SnugaBunny bouncy chair and swing as well -- she can see far enough now to watch the birds and see the mirrored dome on her swing, so she stays very entertained while I'm cooking supper or if she's just getting fussy.

Crying: She's a sweet baby girl :) Most of the time she's not fussy -- only when she's getting tired, when she's wet or is hungry. 

However.

She hates the car. As in, despises it. She can maybe make it five minutes to the YMCA before she starts to cry -- but that's a 10 minute trip, so it doesn't offer enough time for her to get very upset... just fussy. And if we're in the car for longer, she'll typically fall asleep, which is good. But if the ride is too long, she'll wake up from her nap and be very agitated. Let's just say we had a four-hour ride, and baby cried for a third of it (and mommy cried for probably half of that third!). Anyway, our best remedy for that was to drive through the night, after her bedtime. And lucky us: worked like a charm. Not a peep -- just a content baby. And a content baby = content mommy = content daddy.

Mommy News: Not a whole lot in mommy news. Just trying to ignore the inevitable: going back to work in a few weeks!

Milestones: First trip to Andy's family's cabin! Maybe next year we can get in the water and go on a boat ride!

This week was also the first time Lizzie has been interested in reading books (well, looking at the pictures and listening to Mommy's voice, anyway!).

She's also starting to giggle with more than one syllable, if that makes sense. It is too sweet :)

First time sleeping eight hours through the night!

Also starting to push up on her arms more during tummy time!