(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 thestraight 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.
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
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!
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!
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!
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