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!

Ten Weeks Old!

 And another 10-week picture... because I'll have the "I just can't decide" platter. Thanks!

Weight: I'm guessing anywhere between 10 1/2 and 11 pounds at this point... which would mean that we've doubled our birth weight! Way to go, little Lizzie!

Sleep: Sleep this week is super. I've decided that parenting is such a "learn as you go" type of thing. You go through trial and error, and do a lot of 'critical thinking' about your little one's personality to determine what works and what doesn't (at least, what works and what doesn't this week :)). Anyway, last week I mentioned how I wanted to get back into more of the routine where I put her down for a nap when she starts to yawn, in hopes of getting better naps and a happier baby. And guess what? It's worked quite well, really. But at times, I was still getting these little 30-minute naps, which isn't conducive to having a happy baby. So I did a lot of reading and a lot of mommy-consulting about what to do to help baby put herself to sleep (both when naptime begins and if she wakes prematurely, in the middle of a nap). I've ruled out the "cry it out" method for us -- it may work for some parents, and that's totally great -- but for me, it's just not right. So what we've been trying is what I've been hearing other mommies have done and what I've read to be the "No-Cry Sleep Solution". Here's what it's all about:

We rock her, lullaby her, love her, until she's almost completely asleep. Then we put her down just barely awake, rub her tummy and stay with her until those little eyes close. Sometimes this does require us to pick her up again to settle her back down if she gets fussy and restless, but we're okay with that because she's still learning.

If she wakes up in the middle of her nap and fusses, we go in, put her pacifier back into her mouth or rub her tummy, and walk out. If she fusses again, we do the same thing. Today, this happened probably 10 times before she decided she'd go back to sleep. But I'm a stay-at-home mommy for the next five or so weeks, so the beauty of it is that I have the time to do this right now. Anyway, it seems to be working for us... especially because when she has woken mid-nap and we've used this strategy, she goes back to sleep for another two or so hours afterward.

So overall, she's napping a nice one and a half to two hour nap in the morning and a three hour nap in the afternoon, with another cat nap at night before going to bed. At night, she's sleeping great. Still on her usual schedule of sleeping four hours, then three hours, then another three hours before waking up for the day.

Medical Issues: We've cut out gas drops completely, and baby girl seems to be doing just fine without them :) Yahoo!

Clothes: Still hanging out in our newborn clothes. I've been testing the waters on our 0 to 3 month clothes, but they're all still way too big!

Socialite!: Lizzie got to meet some pretty special people in our lives this week, so that was pretty awesome. Hanging out with her usual crowd at the YMCA while I hit up yoga classes and also spending some time with her Grandmas, Grandpas and aunties as well.

Diet: Milk -- still nursing exclusively.

Baby Gear Love: We are loving our play gym this week! Lizzie Bear is finally starting to take an interest in it, especially the mirror, and doesn't get mad when we put her underneath it anymore! We're still loving our swaddle blankets, as well as a nifty sound machine that my grandma gave us. Sleep Sheep is still in heavy use at night, but he has an automatic off after 45 minutes, and the sound machine is constant, which makes it perfect for nap time, so that's gotten some pretty heavy use.

Crying: The crying has gotten so much better. She just gets fussy when she's tired and hungry now, but she is still a bit more "sensitive" at night and cries more easily then.

Mommy News: Last week I mentioned that I was going to start making her headbands rather than buying them... so I put my nose to the grindstone today during one of her three-hour naps and made a whole bunch of them!

I've also been having second thoughts about going back to work. I think this is coming just because it seems like school is getting so close now. And it's not that I don't love my job -- I do! And I love the people I work with. But I just keep picturing myself dropping Lizzie off and walking out the door without her. It breaks my heart! And I don't want to miss out on her, either. Sad, sad. I know it'll be fine. I just might need to wear waterproof mascara and have a fanny pack with Kleenex around my waist those first few days!

Milestones: Her smiles and coos become more frequent all the time :) She also discovered herself in the mirror on her play gym! She loves to look at herself and smile and talk. It is too sweet!

Nine Weeks Old!

Weight: My best guess is around nine and a half pounds. When I did my nifty scale trick yesterday, I first got that she was nine and a half pounds, and when I did it a second time, it said 10 pounds... so I'm guessing we're around nine and a half, up from almost nine pounds last Monday at her two month check up.

Sleep: Remember how I was all bragging up my baby and my mad parenting skills last week because I thought I'd had Little Miss all figured out? Well, God sure knows how to humble a lady, because we have no sleep schedule at the moment! This last week, her daytime snoozin' has been erratic, to say the least. The most I'd been getting out of her for naps was 30 minutes... 30 minutes! So we went from three hours naps last week, to half hour naps this week. Sheesh!

Which wouldn't be a problem, if she were happy when she woke up.

But she's not.

More on that later.

Anyway, luckily, I've  been keeping a little journal for her since last week, and I noticed a trend. When I stop paying attention to her "sleep cues" (or encourage her to stay up a little longer, even after I notice the yawns, because I don't think she can possibly be tired yet!), she has crummy naps. However, when I am mindful of those little yawns, she naps like a dream (i.e. today... yay me!). It seems baby girl has trouble staying up for longer than an hour and a half at a time, because after that, she gets cranky. And I think overtired -- because when I consulted my friend, Dr. Google, about crummy baby naps, "he" shared with me that if a baby is overtired, they won't sleep long enough to come out of being overtired -- does that make sense? Well anyway, I decided to go with this and with what my little sleep diary was telling me, and whaddya know? Today, she's sleeping like a champ for naps. She took a one-hour nap this morning (after sleeping in until 9:20... whoa!) and is going on two and a half hours for her afternoon nap. Wowza. Let's hope my revelation is for real, and I'm not just getting lucky today :)

Her nighttime sleeping generally remains the same, with a four hour stint in the beginning, and then another three hour stretch, and finally another two or three hours after that. She and I did have a few mornings where we battled from 3:30 to 4:30, but that seems to have passed.

The big question I'm struggling with at this point is: When should she honestly be putting herself to sleep/self soothing? And how do we do that? I'm having slight panic attacks of letting her "cry it out", but maybe that's how it goes? Help, mommas!

Medical Issues: We're still using gas drops after each feeding, except in the overnight hours. I did introduce Gripe Water one evening this week because her gas issues seemed to be bothering her.

Clothes: Newborn items are still our friend, and still working on growing into a few things. Still haven't outgrown much, but our pants are starting to get a little short! So we might have to start wearing our 0 to 3 month pants because of that. We'll see.

Socialite!: Lucky babe got to meet some of our college friends over the weekend at a wedding in the Twin Cities! They loved her, and she equally loved them ;) It was so fun to see some of those faces again. I love friendships that don't change, no matter the time or miles that separate you.

But this is about her, not me, so enough about that.

Lucky girl also got to meet a dear friend of mine and her daughter yesterday. They stopped by to visit on their way from Fargo to the Outlet Mall in Albertville. We had a short but sweet visit and they got to snuggle Lizzie Bear all up :)


Diet: Milk -- still nursing exclusively.

Baby Gear Love: Still loving our Sleep Sheep and SwaddleMe swaddlers. She's also taken a real liking to her Snuggabunny Swing. She loves looking up at the little birds that rotate around while she rides in it. It is so sweet to watch :)

Crying: As mentioned previously, sleep has become an issue again simply because poor sweet baby isn't a happy girl when she wakes up from one of her cat naps. She wakes up crying, and she doesn't hardly stop long enough for us to enjoy her -- which makes me feel  bad because she's not getting fun interaction, but instead some bouncing or some "shhh"ing in her ear (I promise we're not mean... just read Happiest Baby on the Block and you'll get it) just to keep her from crying. When she does get enough sleep, she's a complete dream boat and full of smiles and coos. She is a sweet, sweet, sweet baby! But everyone needs good sleep to be in a happy mood, including this little one!

Mommy News: If you haven't noticed by photos of my little lady, I have a slight obsession with headbands for her. I've invested a fair amount of money in them, thanks to Etsy and VeryJane, and I've decided that's foolish. I mean, really -- how tough is it to make a cute headband, especially with Pinterest tutorials galore? So gone are the days of paying for headbands, because I'm opening up my very own sweatshop in my very own living room, with myself as the sole worker. Now let's hope I can find the time to finish a few :)

Also: the baby clothes obsession continues. BabyGap, stop making cute clothes already!

Milestones: The smiles and coos just keep coming and keep getting sweeter and sweeter! Yesterday I was singing to her, and she joined in and "sang" along :) It was so. Darn. Cute!

Eight Weeks Old!

 Weight: Baby girl is officially eight pounds, fourteen ounces... so not quite breaking that nine pound mark yet. I seriously look at my sweet girl multiple times a day and honestly wonder, "people push out babies your size or larger? How?!" It's hard to imagine having a newborn the size of my two-month old!

Sleep: Lizzie girl is starting to fall into more of a routine now, which has been awesome. I don't want to brag (mostly because she'll probably end up falling out of this routine next week or something and then I'll feel like a fool!), but I've made some changes after seeing her doctor on Monday and also after reading The Happiest Baby Guide to Sleep by Dr. Harvey Karp (read it? You must if you're a mommy or mommy-to-be of an infant!) and I really think it's made some amazing changes around our house. More on that later. Anyway, back to sleep: she wakes around eight, eats and "plays" with me for about an hour and a half, and then goes down for a nap that lasts a couple of hours. She wakes again to eat and play for another hour to hour and a half, and then goes back down for a nap for a couple of hours. Basically, long story short: this routine pretty much goes on the entire day, with her naps becoming shorter and her awake time becomes longer as we get into the evening/nighttime hours. She's still sleeping in a bassinet next to our bed at night, and tends to sleep her usual: four hours for her first stretch, three hours for the next, and another three hours or so after that. This provides me with plenty of time to get in a full eight hours :)

I should also mention that when we saw her doctor on Monday, I inquired about when she should be "putting herself to sleep". He said it really should start happening soon, and that we should think about putting her in her crib when she's drowsy and allowing her to cry for a little bit before rescuing her, to see if she will start to put herself to sleep. Now, I knew I wasn't totally ready for that yet. I mean, she's still my baby! But I know he's right. So I picked up that Happiest Baby book I mentioned earlier that I had gotten at the library a couple of weeks ago and read half of it in a couple of days and learned a lot about how to get your baby to be "good" at that skill. So for the past four days, I've been getting Lizzie to sleep, then putting her in her crib, allowing her (or causing her) to wake up just a teensy bit, and then shaking the crib just a bit to soothe her back to sleep. I should also mention that I purchased a "Sleep Sheep" to help with adding white noise, which also helps her stay in a deep sleep. Anyway, the purpose of this rigamarole is that when she wakes up that teensy bit, she has to put herself back to sleep on her own... and though it was tough for her to do the first few days (and we had to repeat the process four or five times in a row with me picking her up and soothing her in between before obtaining success...), she's got a report card of 100% today as far as putting herself to sleep goes. Now, we haven't done the whole, set her down while awake but drowsy and walk out of the room yet, but that will come. Baby steps :)

Medical Issues: We've been talking about gas troubles the last few weeks and I'm hoping we've figured out how to curb them. After hearing and feeling little gas bubbles in her tummy and having a cranky baby, we decided to try out gas drops. Every time baby eats (except when I feed her at night since it would be too much fumbling around), I give her a little dose. Though they don't work for everyone, I do think they are helping her a lot. We don't feel or hear those gas bubbles as much now, and she's getting rid of gas in a much less painful manner (we can easily tell by how she no longer struggles and turns red... so sad!). We did also buy "Gripe Water" but haven't used it yet because of the success with the gas drops.

We also had our two-month shots on Monday :( It was definitely the most heartbreaking moment of mommyhood yet! I read somewhere that you should talk to your baby before they give shots because it distracts them, but I'm not sure how I feel about that. Here I was, giving her smiles and talking sweet to her, and then BAM! Stabbed in the thighs times two, plus one more to back it up! Poor baby girl's face at the moment of impact is a face I hope she never has to make again... and that poor little silent cry! AH! Burned into mommy's memory. So it was sad, and there were tears from both of Andy's girls after Lizzie got her shots. But I fed her right afterward, gave her some tylenol four hours after the shots (our clinic's recommendation) because her legs were definitely sensitive and baby girl was wimpery, and she slept a good seven hours (save when I woke her to eat)... and when I woke her around seven that night to eat, my sweet girl was back to normal! We got lots and lots of smiles and had one happy sweet baby on our hands :) We survived two-month shots... hooray!

Clothes: Still hanging out in our newborn items. We haven't outgrown much of anything yet (just those coming-home-from-the-hospital jammies :( ), but we're still too little to get into our 0 to 3 month jammies... they are huge on us! Poor girl just swims in them! Maybe in a few weeks.

Socialite!: The Fourth of July was this last week, so sweet girl got lots of socializing in. She got to meet some cousins of mine that she hasn't met before and got lots of snuggles from everyone. My best friend from high school also made her way through town on Saturday, so Lizzie was lucky enough to spend some time and get some cuddles from her, too! And I mention this every week, but the girls at the YMCA drop-in childcare continue to be her biggest fans! They love when she has her eyes open when I drop her off so they can talk to her and snuggle her, too!

Diet: Milk -- still nursing exclusively.

Baby Gear Love: So many new things! We are back to loving our SwaddleMe blankets because that's what Dr. Harvey Karp (author of my new favorite book that I've mentioned three times now!) recommends to help baby sleep longer. My ultimate favorite, however, is our new Sleep Sheep. Love it! We had it on our registry but didn't receive it, and since it was $20 and didn't seem like a necessity, I opted not to pick it up until now. However, Dr. Harvey Karp (again!) recommended white noise to help soothe baby and also help her sleep longer -- so I knew just what to get to help us in that category! Plus I'd read other, very positive, parent reviews on a lot of blogs I read about Sleep Sheep. Anyway, he's become our new best friend and is always on the "rain" setting. (Sidenote: we got the Travel Sleep Sheep, as our Target didn't carry the full-size version. Full-size has a sound setting for "Mother's Heartbeat", while the travel version replaces that with whale sounds? Whatever. Anyway, I would have preferred full-size, but it's not that big of a deal. My only complaint about our Sleep Sheep is that it has a 23 or 45-minute automatic timer, which means it switches off after that. I'm not a big fan of this, as I'd like the option for it to be continuous for naptime. At night we have a fan going to still offer some white noise, but during naptime otherwise it's quiet. Anyway, that's my quick review of our Travel Sleep Sheep).

Crying: After a couple of rough weeks of a crying baby in the evening hours and Lizzie's doctor confirming that she does, indeed, have colic (I was definitely in denial!), I decided we needed to make some changes. I had already purchased gas drops (love them!) and Gripe Water (which we have yet to use) the day before her appointment, but afterward is when I picked up Sleep Sheep and started reading my new favorite book. Her doctor also suggested that maybe she's getting too overstimulated (I'll get to a revelation about this in "Mommy News"). So anyway, like I said, we made some changes... and, my friends, these changes have made a world of a difference! We have a totally different baby living in our house this week! Let me explain...

I'd been in denial about what a yawn from my sweet baby meant. I assumed that, like adults, babies sometimes yawn randomly throughout the day. Doesn't mean we need naps necessarily. But, go figure, if a baby yawns, that's one sign (amongst a few) that he or she is tired. Duh, mommy. So that was my first revelation: if she's yawning, put her down for a nap. This has made a huge difference. Instead of bouncing baby on my lap, singing her happy songs and pulling out toys to make her "happy" (and, ironically, just making her more angry!), I swaddle her up, turn on Sleep Sheep, sing some lullabies and rock her until she's asleep (which isn't long because she's yawning because she's tired. Duh, again!). Then when she wakes, she's rejuvenated and much happier... so I get smiles and love when she's awake rather than wails and cries! Love it! I think I just didn't think she could possibly be tired again for a nap, so I wouldn't put her to sleep... and they say that by the time your baby's eyelids start to droop, if you're not in the process of putting them to sleep, you've pushed them too far. So I'm learning to watch for her "tired" signs.

Our nighttime hours are a little more tricky, as I don't want to put her down for a nap at 8:00 at night, nor do I want to put her down to sleep for the night just yet. However, her doctor pointed out that maybe one reason she's crying at night could be because she's demanding to cluster feed (basically "stocking up" her tummy with milk so she can sleep longer). So I've been more sensitive to that and offering her opportunities to eat, and that seems to help. However the crying has been a lot better at night now, so we haven't had to worry about it as much.

So anyway, here're my theories: One: the gas drops have helped alleviate some gas pain and we now have a happier baby! Two: I've stopped "training" my baby and stopped overwhelming her with toys and play gyms and nursery rhymes and now we have a happier baby! Three: She was overtired before, and now I'm letting her sleep and so now we have a happier baby! Or four: a combination of all of the above.

I'm voting reason four :)

Mommy News: As I mentioned, my doctor said Lizzie could be getting overstimulated throughout the day. He also explained that it seems like I'm "training" my baby. Ha! We all got a good chuckle out of that :) Because I feel like it's true! But here's why: I've read a lot of parenting books and so many of them say that every moment your baby is awake is your opportunity to shape them and help them learn and grow... so I've felt like I need to constantly be entertaining her, or trying to get her to track a toy with her eyes, or to try to get her to coo more and smile more and to make sure she feels wanted and loved by my being in her face and smiling at her. Now, I realize, that's not true. Babies can have some downtime... in fact, they need some downtime where Mom isn't throwing an annoying, hot pink, jingling butterfly is their face (a common occurrence in our house prior to this week...)! So I've stepped back and tried to give her a little space. And I truly feel like this has helped her to be happier and less stimulated as well. I think I just want her to be on-track developmentally and I worry that she won't be if I'm not doing those things. But, again, she needs that time when she's not being bombarded with songs and toys. Live and learn, friends... live and learn.

Aside from that, with our newfound napping schedule during the day and the swaddle + Sleep Sheep combination, I've found myself with a whole lot more free-time... which means I've been taking a baby monitor out on my deck and reading books in the sunshine :) At first I was engrossed in The Happiest Baby Guide to Sleep (new favorite, remember? How annoyed are you by this yet? Ha!), but I've since moved on. Now I'm reading a book called Summer's Child by Diane Chamberlain. Seriously, if you're not usually a reader (or if you are!), read The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain and you'll be hooked on this author. She. Is. Awesome. Anyway, the point is, I've been really enjoying having the opportunity to read again and the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine as well.

Milestones: We survived our two-month shots... yay!

LOTS of smiles this week :) LOVE it! I swear there was even a giggle today... :)