Month Four

I was fortunate to stay home with you a lot during this past month. The South had some crazy winter weather and my office was closed probably more than it needed to be. Atlanta basically shut down, but all of our friends and family were safe. The winter storms brought us your first snow! Like the fantastic parents we are, we did not play in it or get any pictures with it. It totally kills me that we did not take advantage of this, but we both had pretty bad colds and your father was adamant about not taking unnecessary chances. I was also told by your teachers at school that we are their favorite parents. Assuming they do not tell everyone this, J and I had to laugh about it. Their reasoning is that we are totally honest and upfront about things and not delusional. This is very, very true. They seemed to enjoy hearing about how your father said I looked like a meth addict who had been up all night when he saw me the next morning after the night from hell. You are doing so well at school and we have been very happy with it so far.

Sleep: Sleep is such a sketchy thing. You started off month four sleeping through the night (for the most part). Then you began waking up to eat around 4-6 AM, which was not so bad since your dad gets up around that time to go to work. Four months to the day you were born (literally), you started waking up twice during the night. You would wake anywhere from 11 PM to 1 AM. I honestly attributed it to the shots you had that day or even the four month sleep regression. We moved you into a convertible Wombie sleep suit because you started rolling from back to belly. The first few nights were crazy with you occasionally sleeping on your stomach and sometimes it would wake you up. Since it’s been a few weeks, it’s gotten so much better. I am sure you would be fine in your Magic Melin suit, but it’s so fluffy that it freaked me out with the whole rolling skill. We put you to bed either asleep or somewhat drowsy. If we put you down and you are still awake, we may give you a paci. You continue to not be a good napper. Yesterday at school you slept for forty minutes around lunch and forty minutes in the afternoon.

During this month we also experience what your father and I lovingly call the night from hell. Your dad fed you and then you screamed your cute little head off and refused to go to bed. Mom came in to nurse you and you continued to scream. Your tummy felt gassy (or so I thought because really I have no idea what a gassy tummy feels like) so we gave you gas drops. Then you proceeded to throw up all over me. You would only quiet down if we held you and walked around the house. About the time we realized this, I received word that work was closed for the next day so your father escaped to the bedroom to get some sleep. I cannot walk for hours on end and you started crying again. Dad and I put you in the car to drive around. Yes, we were those parents and it worked - until we came back home and tried to put you in your crib. At this point, your father moved us downstairs and he went back to bed as he had work in a few hours. I walked you around the house for a while and finally was able to settle into our recliner with you sleeping on my chest. That lasted for a couple of hours until you work up screaming. I walked around with you a bit more and then decided to try the swing. You fussed for 15 minutes as I gave you a paci to use and then you were out! When dad came down to go to work we moved you into your napper and went back upstairs so I could sleep in my bed. Finally. You woke up a few hours later like nothing and happened and you were all smiles. Really?! Since my office was closed for the day, but school was not, I took you to daycare and told your teachers “good luck!” The point of this long novel is to pay attention when you feed a baby with a bottle. If the baby finishes the bottle and is sucking in air while you watch Netflix on your ipad, you too can experience a night of hell with a gassy baby.

Clothes and Diapers, etc: You are pretty much in 3-6 month clothing. There are very few 3 month pants that fit you. We also moved you up to size 2 diapers. Forget Soothies or Wubbanubs! I never really wanted to get you hooked on pacifiers, but in reality you are not too fond of them. Your favorite pacis are the plain, basic ones. You pretty much chew on Wubbanubs when we give you one. We truly do not offer them to you a whole lot except maybe in the evenings if you fuss while we eat dinner or get ready for bed.

Bath: Bath time has become a much happier time for every member of our family. With the random cold weather, your skin was getting very dry so we started using Burt’s Bees lotion and now use lotion from the Honest Company. Thanks to the prescription shampoo you used, the cradle cap seems to have gone away. We also discovered that you and G Daddy have the same prescribed shampoo. Weird. It the cradle cap continues to stay at bay then we will go back to using the shampoo/body wash from the Honest Company.

Medical: At the beginning of this month you caught a yucky cold. At first we were convinced that it happened to get too cold in your room and we did not dress you properly for bed. Everyone else liked to blame school. You had a very stuffy nose and bad cough so we had to squirt saline up your nose and suck everything out. You loved it! In actuality, you despised it. We happened to be in Atlanta that weekend and Granny Fox and I caught the cold. About a week later, your father woke up with a horrid stomach virus. I threw you into the car and took you to school to get away from our house. That Friday evening, I caught the stomach virus and seriously wondered how on earth either of us could take care of you without you getting sick. J woke up feeling a bit better and I stayed away from you pretty much all day. You managed to miss out on the stomach fun and I am SO thankful you did!

Food: You are still EBF. I try and nurse you in the morning before work and in the evening before bed. Sometimes we will give you a bottle before bed depending on the time. Around 15 weeks, you had a crazy growth spurt and started to cry when you finished your bottles. Plus, you nursed a ton and I was constantly starving. We increased your feedings to 4.5 oz – such a big girl you are! I also changed to level 2 nipples for your bottles and you seem to be handling that well. We have the go ahead to try rice cereal, but since you show very little interest in food we are probably going to hold off for a bit longer. We attempt to put you in your high chair so you can sit with us at the table when we have time to sit and eat together. Some nights are better than others.
Stats: You weigh 14.6 lbs and are 24.5 inches long. Your head is 39.9 cm.

Development/Mannerisms: You have started to grasp objects and love your orange ball because you can easily grab it. Everything goes in your mouth and I mean everything. You chew on your hands like it’s going out of style. It was confirmed at your doctor’s appointment that your bottom gums are swollen so the teething process has begun. It makes sense because you are a drooling mess. You started off the month by rolling on your side and at 17 weeks you rolled onto your tummy. Thank the Lord it was literally right before bed. I came upstairs and your father was like “Hey. She just rolled on her stomach so I rolled her unto her back again.” I flipped out and he was all “What is this a big milestone?” I went over to you in the crib and you did it again! We put you into your convertible Wombie sleep suit as I was afraid that Magic Merlin suit would somehow be bad for you since you were rolling.
Appearance: You were born with a head full of dark brown hair and luckily your hair has remained. It has changed from dark brown into a much lighter brown color – more like your fathers. He said his hair turned blond when he was younger so we shall see if yours will too. Since you have spent so much time laying on the floor, in a swing, napper, etc. the hair on the back of your head has started to fall out. I will not lie to you – it is kind of awkward looking. J Your eyes are gorgeous! They are a beautiful, deep blue color. I know eyes can change colors (as mine did when I was younger), but J has amazing blue eyes so there is a chance yours may follow suit. Your eyebrows are still very light in color, but your lashes have started to grow. Woo hoo! The nails on your fingers grow so quickly and can get very sharp. In my humble opinion, you have a lot of ear wax as well.

Likes:
Play Mat at school and home
Your father – you love looking at him and have the biggest smiles for him
Chewing on anything and everything

Dislikes:
Gas – maybe dairy?
Your swing in the evening
Naps



All About Mom:
- Down 33.5 lbs from pregnancy. Still not sure when I will be able to use that gym membership.

- My awesome, long finger nails have disappeared.

- I am losing so (and I mean SO) much hair. It falls out all the time now. I knew this could happen and it started for me around 3 months post-partum.  

- Confession: I miss dates with my DVR. As soon as I get home in the evenings I am trying to get dinner ready, finish getting dinner ready or eating. Then it’s time to feed the foos, wash and sterilize bottles and pump parts, get pump bag packed, make labels and bottles for the next day, pack breakfast and lunches, get the coffee maker ready for the next morning, etc. We both get E ready for bed and one of us will feed her and put her to bed. Around this time, I usually take a shower and J gets in bed since he works such early hours. I may watch a bit of tv or Netflix while I pump before bed and then it’s lights out. I thrive on having a schedule/check list for the evenings, but the day is literally over before I know it. J helps out SO much. I have no idea what I would do if I was by myself or if he did not help. Guess I will find out in the next month or so since it is grass cutting season! It is totally worth it, but I sometimes daydream about the time I will have when I am no longer your food source. Oddly enough, it saddens me to think about it.

Month 3

I went back to work in January after 10 weeks with you at home. You also started school on the same day that Auburn played for the National Championship. Unfortunately, you and I were way more successful at going back to work and starting school than Auburn was at bringing home the win, but we love our tigers regardless! I also started using the “Moms On Call” app to assist with getting us on a routine schedule. It has been very helpful and I believe it greatly aided us in being able to get out of the house. As much as I miss being home with you, I get so excited to pick you up after work! It also gives me a sense of great accomplishment when we make it out the door in the morning, like I am a super mom or something.

Sleep: This month began with a sleep regression that resulted in a 5 hour stretch at night which amounted to me getting up 1-2 times a night. Luckily that only lasted a short while and you went back to sleeping 10 hours straight around 11 weeks. Glorious! At this point we decided to (lovingly) kick you out of our room and transition you into the crib in your room. At exactly 12 weeks old, you spent the night in your Wombie in your crib. Obviously you had so much more room to move about so you were a crazy wiggle worm that first night. I stalked you through our video monitor (which I LOVE) and your father and I decided to forgo the sleep sack. I feared that you would roll over on your stomach and I could not deal with that anxiety. For the next few nights you went without a sleep sack and it was okay, but not great. At our household we like to “go big or go home!” Clearly this is evident in our parenting as we switched you out of our room, into a new crib and without any sleep sack all at once. What is wrong with us?!? Surprisingly, you only had trouble falling asleep and would wake yourself up a few times with all the movements you continued to have. I decided to order another Wombie that freed your arms and a Magic Merlin sleep suit to try. The Merlin sleep sack reminds your father of the kid on the movie “A Christmas Story.” It’s so thick and allows you to move, but muffles the movement so you are not constantly waking up. You once again started sleeping through the night. Success! There have been a few times we have put you to bed awake and you have put yourself to sleep. You typically wake up in the morning and peacefully hang out until I come and get you. Although you are still not a great napper, you are doing much better. This past month we have gotten better about reading your tired cues. In addition to actually yawning, your eyes get a bit red and you will continually rub them when it’s bedtime.

Clothes and Diapers: You are in 3 month clothing and typically wear onesies to school. I have also discovered that it was a successful day if I pick you up from school in the same outfit you were dropped off in! You are a size 1 in the diaper world, but will be moving to size 2 soon. We began putting you in size 2 overnight diapers (they do not make them in a smaller size) when you go to bed or when we head on a longer car ride out of town. So far there have been zero leaks, but I’m sure something crazy will happen since I put that in writing. You wear Target brand diapers during the day and Pampers Dry at nighttime. We primarily use organic wipes from Earth’s Best or the Honest Company. I swear it helps keep diaper rash away!

Bath: Good news – we still bathe you! And it is still a family event with you, the two of us and the foos. Twice a week we attempt the craziness that is bath time. I seriously need to Google easy ways to bathe a baby. Bath time makes your parents want to drink.

Medical: We haven’t had any more blood issues so the GI specialist was not too concerned. Between you, myself and my medical degree from Google, I really think you are anti-most dairy. I still eat some, but have cut out a tremendous amount.

Food: You are still EBF. I try and nurse you in the morning before work and in the evening before bed. Sometimes we will give you a bottle before bed depending on the time. You currently take 3.5 oz per bottle and will eat anywhere from 3-4 bottles when you are at school.
Stats: You weigh 13 lbs and are 23.5 inches long. Your head is 39 cm. You had a big head when you came into this world. Yup.

Development/Mannerisms: Your fists are unclenched! You have now discovered your hands and love to chew on them and stick them in your mouth. The drooling has begun and you blow bubbles all the time. Such a pleasure you are to be around because you smile A LOT. You are a happy girl and we love to see that big gummy smile! Like mother, you love to stare at yourself in the mirror on your swing – you make yourself smile and are so happy to see yourself - so sweet and vain at the same time. J My favorite new development has been conversing with you. I will sit in front of you to talk to you and you get so excited and “baby talk” back. I always talk to you about school and explain what I am doing (making dinner, cleaning/prepping bottles, etc). I love it.


Likes:
Mommy Milk
Playing on the play mat
Chatting

Dislikes:
Dirty Diapers
Diaper Changes
Gas


All About Mom:
- Joined a gym. I have no idea when I have time to even attempt to work out, but it’s there when I can.
- Went back to work.

Month Two

Sleep: You are now sleeping in a 6-8 hour stretch at night - it's glorious! However, I am writing this a week late and for some reason this week you have gone back to 5 hours, which I predicted would happen because I was going back to work and things like that happen to me. You have also started to nap a lot less. I am hoping school can help with that.

Clothes and Diapers: I have moved you to 0-3 month outfits with an occasional newborn outfit thrown in there (although they are getting snug)! You are a solid size 1 in the diaper world and we beat the diaper rash - for now.

Bath: We bathe you about twice a week and we aren't very good at it. You are so fresh and so clean, clean, but I feel like there is an easier way to do it. Right now it's a family event with the three of us and the cats. They watch, but keep their distance from the water. The first few times your fussed a bit, but as long as we keep you warm you are content.

Medical: Sometimes I think that we are picking up thrush again and give you a bit of medicine, but I am beginning to think I am just crazy. Currently, I do not think we have thrush. Hehe. You had your first well visit with the doctor and received your first vaccinations. The whole debate to vaccinate or not to vaccinate freaks me out, but I simply pray about it and leave it to Him who has already written the story of your life. I got to hear what your "ouch" cry sounds like and I may have cried more than you. I also cry when I take the cats to the vet so I knew taking you to the doctor would be harder! On a more serious note you have been having some blood in your diaper so we will be seeing a GI specialist in January. The pediatrician ran some tests to rule out any infection and everything came back negative. It's not necessarily a lot and it's very sporadic. I think it is something that I am eating that bothers you so I have cut back on my dairy intake and it has been MUCH better, but I am not a doctor.

Food: You are primarily EBF, but I have mastered the whole pumping thing. Thankfully I can still nurse you and you will take a bottle. We try to stick to the Dr. Brown bottles to cut back on gas. You will take anywhere from 2.5-4 oz. You love to eat at night before bedtime. So much that we usually give you a 3 oz bottle and then I nurse you for a bit before you start snoozing. You also took a bit of formula when being baby sat in Atlanta because you gulped down all the milk left for you. It eased my mind that you would take it if necessary.

Stats: You weigh 11 lbs & 6 oz. and are 22 inches long.

Development/Mannerisms: You are not a fan of tummy time, but you love to hold your head up. Your neck muscles are getting quite strong! You clench your stinky fists ALL THE TIME and it's a battle for me to clean them. I have no idea how they get dirty, but they do. On Christmas Eve you freaked out and had a meltdown at one of our many stops to see family. You screamed your ouch cry and then you actually cried tears for the first time. So very sad. It shook your dad and I up for a few minutes, but you calmed down after a few HUGE burps. You have also mastered the skill of sticking out your lip before you cry. It's totally cute.

Events: You are a good luck charm to our Auburn Tigers! Thanks to the bottle situation, mom and dad went to the Iron Bowl this year. It was epic!!! Auburn won in the last second of the game (literally) and headed to the SEC championship game. Thanks to a fantastic friend, your parents were able to see Auburn win the SEC championship in person in Atlanta. Later that night Ohio State lost and Auburn is headed to play for the national championship in January! You had your first Thanksgiving and slept through most of it. When we were in Atlanta the following weekend you met your great grandma, great aunt and one of your great uncles on J's mom's side. When we did our brief trip back to Atlanta for Christmas Eve & Christmas Day, you met your grandma (J's mom) and your other great grandma from J's dad's side. During this month I finally felt a bit more comfortable taking you out in public so we went out to eat a few times. A week ago I received a phone call that our first choice for day care or "school" for you was available! Such an answer to prayer and an ease to my Law & Order/CSI mind.
 
Likes:
Mommy Milk
Car Rides
Nighttime Feeding
When G Daddy or Auntie Perry sings to you. You love it!

Dislikes:
Dirty Diapers
Diaper Changes
Gas


All About Mom:
- Down 32 lbs ish, but I need to work out and focus on building back my muscles.
- Have really weird joint pain in my hands and knees. Doctor thinks it will last until we are done nursing.
- Had my follow up doctor appointment and was cleared for everything.
- My BP was down, but I have to wean from the medicine for the next 30 days
- Had an allergist appointment and no more allergy shots for the first time in many, many years!
- Left the house by myself for the first time and went to Target for the Britney CD and to grab groceries. It was heavenly.
- The Iron Bowl marked my first adult beverage in 10-11 months. I heart mimosas....and pumping.
- Speaking of beverages I celebrated my 30th birthday with some fabulous friends while J babysat. He was totally jealous. #thirty&thirsty

- Mastered the pumping and even got a little crazy with it at our tailgate and in the parking lot of a MARTA station. Sketchy, but worth it to go to the football games. War Eagle.