Elliott: 8 Months Old

The biggest news this month is our little miss is officially mobile. Although Elliott doesn't officially crawl, girl definitely gets around. She can wiggle, roll, and reach from one end of the room to another. She also gets up on all fours and is seconds away from taking off on her knees. She does love to stand and does well walking with assistance so once she crawls I doubt walking will be far behind. I'm not pushing her by any means!

We have also been putting a bit more effort on the eating front. Since cheerleading started, Andy and I have rarely cooked a real meal at home and sat at the table to eat it. It's been pizza and PB sandwiches and whatever we have. Although most days she did get lunch, I usually am in a rush when I get home at night and with the craziness of bedtime, meals don't get cooked and Elliott just didn't get fed (other than nursing obviously). We've been hitting our groove the past few weeks though thanks to Andy doing some cooking, so we can all eat together and I can actually follow through with baby led weaning (I couldn't give her my food if I was never eating!). I only spent $13 on purees when she turned six months and we still haven't used it all... Oops. Oh well! She is way more interested in table foods. So far she has had chunks of carrots, pears, sweet potato, raspberries, and avocado. 

Just when I think we are nearing the sleeping-through-the-night milestone, she throws me for a loop. If there is one thing about parenthood I wish I could control, sleep would be it. She is cranky when she's tired and her fighting it is most exhausting. I don't know if it's more teething, or me being gone a lot more, but girlfriend went on a solid sleep strike. After a rough week of crying to fight sleep, I was determined to train little miss and got on the controlled crying bandwagon. Three or four nights of awful later, I gave up. She screamed bloody murder and even vomitted all over her bed. I draw the line at puke. She never fell asleep on her own once. She then still went a solid ten days not sleeping unless I held her, I think I really pissed her off. Even at night in bed I would pretty much have to hold her lying down. Bedtime was a war zone until I just accepted this is what she needed, especially since she got so overtired. I've been going to bed with her early every night and bypassing the 15 minute intervals of crib sleeping. She has just recently started weaning from needing to be held again.  I'd also really like my evenings back if she could just sleep straight from 7-10!  Yep, she is still in our bed. Sleeping through the night is priority over sleeping in her crib. At this point, I can't imagine her not sleeping with us but she needs to be out before she turns one. She is still probably waking three times a night.  It doesn't help that our schedule is so mismatched but it's hard to find a balance of sticking to a schedule and also having a little flexibility to have a life. It's hard to do that when bedtime is 6:30. I'm also pushing for her to go to 2 naps a day but since she still isn't a long napper, that 3rd cat nap is still sometimes necessary. 

Some fun milestones, she gets more giggly by the day. She also loves music, especially the abc song. She likes me to sing her to sleep. Elliott is fascinated with sticking out her tongue too. She babbles a good amount and still loves blowing raspberries. Elliott has her bottom two middle teeth completely. I think we are starting to see two upper teeth but she rarely lets me get a good look in there to see.

Andy and I are both looking forward to celebrating Christmas with her here this year. Being parents has already added to the excitement of the season and she doesn't even know what's going on. I can only imagine it will get more fun with each passing year!

Elliott: 7 Months Old

The highlight for this month is that Elliott now has two bottom teeth poking out in the front of her mouth. She isn't very drooly, but she does chew on everything and has been very difficult to get to sleep because of it. It could be way worse though and hopefully the worst of it is behind us.

The other big news is that she eats a purée about once a day. She does okay with them but gets over it pretty quickly. Otherwise she still nurses every 3-4 hours. She still has some reflux but it's improved. No bottles still and we've tried 3 brands of sippy cups with no luck. She does hold and chew on them but is not interesting in sucking/drinking. My life will be so much easier once she can eat without me!

She gets time away from me almost every day now thanks to cheerleading. I've only had practices 1.5-2 hours so it hasn't been too tricky just as long as I time feedings right. Games and competitions will add another layer to that. I did cover at the hospital for a week and a half and that was difficult. I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off to finish as quickly as possible, so I was mostly done around noon. Elliott was with a sitter for two days and those were by far the best days. I'm sure she was fussy but I didn't feel as bad not working at the speed of light to rush back to her. She was with my mom for a day and Andy stayed home for a day. His mom had her another day but that was short lived thanks to Elliott's crankiness. She's definitely getting more comfortable with others but obviously the girl needs to be able to eat (please God take a sippy!). I should note that on her 7 month birthday, Andy and I went on our first legitimate date since Elliott was born. She stayed with Saxtons and did okay even though she skipped a meal. We are making some progress, at least! 

Elliott prefers to sit up almost always and doesn't seem to have much interest in moving just yet (I'm totally okay with this). Tummy time is still at the top of her hate list. She has a select few toys and teethers and her favorite seems to be the stackable cups. Even though she doesn't crawl, she has great reach to grab things.  We've officially put away all things baby now that we haven't been using them in months.  

Another big milestone is that Elliott babbles a lot and has said her first word. Appropriately, it was mama. I know she doesn't really understand what she's doing, but she says it often and with enough clarity that I'm confident in declaring it her first word. Bath time will forever be a fave, I think. She loves the ABC song and it's a great diversion if she's fighting sleep. She also loves to stand and bounce in her jumper. 

I'm really enjoying this phase! If only we could get through this teething thing and be cool when mom is away..

Elliott: Six Months Old

Apparently we have a half year old. I'm actually pretty psyched because I feel like we are coming up on a pretty fun phase. But at the same time I still think of Elliott as a forever baby and I should probably kick some of the baby habits I've instilled in her.. Oops!

We have hit our first bout of sickness. I think it started out as fall allergies and dustiness, but morphed into a cold. After a few nights of wheezing with some gross coughs, we went to the doctor. I swore I wasn't going to be one of those parents that runs to the doctor but I feel like with her well visits we are always there! He said it was nothing serious but to call back if it wasn't gone in a few more days. 

Girlfriend is pretty good at sitting up. She does fine when on her own but tumbles after a minute or so. She can also maneuver a little bit if she wants to move. Please don't start crawling yet!

After the horrendous month of sleeping that was last month, this month is so much better. I've learned that Elliott is just a very easily stimulated child who requires a lot of winding down time before sleep. I've learned to take my time with each nap and we spend a good 20 minutes in her room prior to her actually sleeping. Most of the time she eats shortly before needing to sleep so I use that as a cue to start the process. She's been a distracted eater lately so I nurse her in her bedroom. Then after some burps and cuddles, I set her in her crib to wind down. (If we have time to kill after she eats, we just read books or do things in her bedroom). She squeaks and plays in her crib while I do chores or scroll Facebook (she has yet to fall asleep on her own though). This has been a big saving grace, and she usually sleeps after a minute of rocking. She still sleeps with a fan but music is a last resort add in. I've also switched from the swaddles to ZipadeeZips and think they are a perfect fit for what we need. I could order another one. I put her in her crib at 'bedtime' and go to bed with her at her first or second wake up. Unfortunately I'm lucky if I get an hour out of her though. She catnaps in the evening and just sleeps so much better in our bed. We are at about 3 wake ups over a 11-12 hour period, but That's honestly a guess. I'm trying to cut out one middle of the night feeding to help my case, most of the time she eats for only a minute or two anyway. She seems to be sleeping more deeply but that may just be wishful thinking. She still is a short napper, sleeping anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, although she doesn't stay awake very long before getting tired (2 hours-ish).

Only minor changes in the eating category. She eats about every 3 hours, though can go 4. She got her first dose of rice cereal at 5.5 months and did pretty well. It was basically still completely breast milk. I offered once with formula and she definitely noticed a difference because she wouldn't even let the spoon near her mouth (she wasn't in a bad mood). She has gotten only a few servings so far but is eager to eat when it's offered. I'm honestly just straight up too lazy to do it since I have to pump for it. I'll start doing purees now (a new food every 3 days or so) until I add in table foods. I know I need to start pushing bottles again because I'll be away so much for cheerleading. I'm pretty terrified of how it will go and regretting coaching all together but keep telling myself it will be good for all of us.

Andy is done with harvest but has a bit of ground to work still. I'm ready to have him around again, and am hoping Elliott can warm back up to him. I often go 3 days without leaving the house/going to town and am surprisingly sane given how few people I see (no one). It would also be nice to just have the option to do anything without her with me since she still goes bonkers when I leave, even with Andy. We haven't been on a date or done anything 'for fun' without her since I was pregnant. People don't understand this but it is much easier said than done. I'm working on it. She didn't cry the day I left her with mom and Landry so I'm thinking I just need to glue her to him if I'm gone :) 

A few fun quirks: she is really into sticking out her tongue, smacking her lips, and blowing raspberries. Elliott is also fascinated watching me brush my teeth. I got a jumparoo and she super loves it! She is ticklish and has real giggle fits which are fun. She likes taking her clothes off and is still a water girl. I really feel like she's coming out of the colicky phase and just overall has a much happier disposition. Hopefully I'm right!

Baby Clothes Storage

Have I ever mentioned how much I love organizing Elliott's clothes? I get excited to do her laundry and her room is always tidy. The dresser drawers are no exception.

The room has two dressers, plus a large closet. Let's take a peak...

The dividers are from the Container Store. The depth is perfect, and we have just an inch or two extra on width. 

Here is the top drawer. It houses all of Elliott's bows, scarves, and hats. The left bin has her bib scarves, hats, and headbands that she has grown out of. The middle is all clips. I got a big set and sorted them by color. I keep the clips on their original cardboard strips, which fit perfectly in these dividers. Keeping them on the cardboard strips keeps them in order, I can see everything, and they don't get gnarly or broken. Win! The right bin houses her current headbands with a few other clips that don't belong in the big set. I have one slot for 3-6 month size and another for clips, otherwise 6-12 month headbands are sorted by color. The biggest reason this setup is so great is that I can constantly keep inventory and know if anything is missing. We haven't lost any bows yet and I thank this system for that! It also is super duper easy to find what I'm looking for.

The second to top drawer houses bottoms. The back left section for shorts, the front left for bloomers. The middle keeps leggings sorted by color (a few pairs were in the laundry). The right bin keeps folded jeans since those aren't as easily rolled. Again this makes it easy to find everything since it's all completely visible. I also really enjoy putting together her outfits because of it.

The middle drawer keeps clothes she's grown out of that I haven't had time to put in storage yet.

The bottom two drawers keep her knitted blankets, extra crib sheet and changing pad, as well as a few miscellaneous items. Nothing special about these since they aren't used much.

The other dresser...

The top left keeps swaddle blankets and burp cloths for easy access. Rolling is the way to go peeps! And I know people think I just do it for pictures, but no, the drawers have stayed this way for the past 6+ months.

The middle left drawer is for footwear. More bins from the Container Store allow each pair of shoes to have a home. The right bin keeps socks, as well as swimwear.

The bottom left drawer stores clothes that Elliott doesn't quite fit into yet that aren't hanging clothes.

The top right drawer keeps the cloth diapers. I don't fold the covers and I keep the prefolds flat. It's organized chaos but this works perfectly.

The middle right drawer is general healthcare and grooming. I had two random orange bins that I used to corral items with - one for diaper rashes and general bum care, another for general grooming items. I needed easy access to items like the lotion, hair brush, and nail clippers since they are used frequently. I put down some shelf liner and now each has a spot without needing a bin, and I don't have to worry about them moving around the drawer.

The last drawer on the bottom right keeps carriers, wraps, and sleep sacks. 

Onto the closet! It has two sets of folding doors. This side displays the clothes in Elliott's current rotation. On the left are sleepers, followed by everyday wear to the right (tops, rompers, dresses). Both categories are sorted by color so I can always find what I'm looking for. Again, I like planning her outfits because of this!

On the right hangs clothes she doesn't fit into yet. Because little kids grow so fast, I always have a stash of the next few sizes up. I use Happy Baby closet dividers to keep it all straight and would recommend.

With this system in place, I can constantly see what Elliott does or doesn't need as far as clothing. It's all incredibly simple to maintain, as well. This also prevents me from over buying things- especially when it comes to sizing since it's all sorted. It's crazy how happy this makes me. 

Elliott: Five Months Old

I know every parent says this but even though time is flying, I cannot remember my life without our peanut. We are getting such a big girl. She gets more and more personality every day.

Elliott does quite well sitting up with just a bit of assistance. I don't think it'll be too long before she can sit by herself. Also, toe touching is non-stop. If you lay her on her back she will constantly do crunches to try to sit up.

 She still has a great grasp of toys and such, her real favorites are Sophie and her vibrating corn teether. I've been 'brushing' her gums consistently and she loves the brush too, she just shoves it in her mouth too much it makes her gag. No teeth so far but her gums are hard and oddly bumpy and she does like to gnaw on everything.

We are still going strong with breastfeeding. I can't imagine not doing it at this point and am dreading having to throw real food into the mix because it's just another thing to deal with. We still haven't done any solids whatsoever but will try rice cereal in a few weeks before trying a purée at 6 months. I'm planning to mostly do baby led weaning but we'll ease into it with some purees first. (And seriously, I'm sick of the passive aggressive comments about her not doing solids yet. Get up on your recommendations, people. Also, I am dietitian for Christ's sake.)

Anyway... Elliott eats every 2.5-3 hours mostly, but will do more or less often depending on what we're doing. She eats more often at home and less often if we're out and about busy. She could eat both sides most of the time but she pukes a ton doing that so I more often stick to one. We stopped Zantac about a month ago but she is still puking alright. We have done some bottle training. I've been offering her about an ounce in a bottle every so often before giving her the boob. This way I don't waste so much freaking milk. She mostly plays with it for me. I think her boycotting bottles with sitters is mostly because I'm not the one feeding her. The girl knows what she wants! But honestly I've given up that it's gonna happen at this point.

Yes, Elliott is still not a fan of leaving me. She still cries non-stop for sitters. Luckily she is much warmer with Andy now. He has put her to sleep a few times and she doesn't cry when with him if her needs are met. We just need to work on him picking up on hunger and sleepy cues before the window closes and she gets so pissed there is no return. At least when that happens it's for a more logical reason, though. The bad thing is that harvest has officially started so I won't have him as an option really till Thanksgiving. 

When Elliott and I are together things are fairly smooth. She appreciates a routine. It makes me sad that she doesn't show her happiest side to really anyone but me. I've been reassured by a few SAHM family who also nursed that it's normal and will pass eventually, it will probably just take a while.

Sleep has been interesting. The 4 month sleep regression started exactly on her 4 month birthday. She would randomly wake up sad crying and would be tricky to get calmed and back asleep (it still is probably nothing compared to most people, but was certainly out of her norm). I figured it might be her telling us she was ready for her crib, so I tried it out. That only made it worse and I was a zombie for about two days before deciding it was not worth it. Getting out of bed is not for me (Andy had always been on middle of the night diaper duty if it's necessary). I had been trying to put her to bed in her crib so I don't have to go to bed with her at 7:30, but her first wake up is usually really quick so it doesn't do much. Getting her to sleep in general has become a chore for sure. So our bedtime routine is still all over the place, but she ends up in our bed and is back to sleeping well in the night for the most part. She still wakes 3-4 times over a 10-11ish hour period but I don't have to get out of bed or do much typically so I don't really mind. I like her sleeping with us, but we will revisit the crib situation at some point. (But send help if she's not out by her first birthday).

She does have a very set routine for naps, which is lights off, curtains closed, music on, fan on, swaddle, and would rock to sleep with little effort until a few days ago. Now she seems to hate this routine so we are revisiting our options. The swaddle situation is also hit or miss with success. The length of nap is all over the place but I'd say the average is 1 hour. If she wakes before 45 minutes I will rock her back to sleep again. I can definitely tell she is sleeping lighter because I have had to hold her more lately. Most of the time she will chill in her crib when she wakes for a bit so I can finish whatever I'm doing.

A few quirks: she is squealing all the time. I call her Squeaker. She loves it when you blow raspberries on her. E is still a fan of water and outside. She loves (!) the wind in her face and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She watches one episode a day and smiles so big when Mickey walks up the hill to say hello! Andy even says the opening line to her in Mickey voice when she's fussy. I don't think I've ever mentioned that she has always been a blankie girl - she loves to hold them and rub her face. She also doesn't love the paci but it will suffice most of the time. 

Our routine on weekdays is pretty easy. Wake, play in bed, diaper change, eat, and sit in living room while I get breakfast. Nap one. Then typically she sits in her bouncer while I shower and then do dishes or laundry. She eats somewhere in there before nap 2. I usually get lunch while she sleeps. When awake we take a trip to the mailbox and run errands or more random housework before nap 3 late afternoon. She's awake during dinner prep and dinner time before starting the bed time process, MMC is typically on to distract her. 

I love the baby stage but at this point I love seeing her reach milestones and am excited for her to keep growing.

Cloth Diaper Update

We are a good 3 months into cloth diaper usage and things are going great! I have put away the smaller sizes and am onto the bigger one-size options. It's amazing how easy they are. At this point I even prefer them to disposables.

I still am using covers with prefolds for the most part. After finding the best fold for Elliott, it's a breeze and I have had zero leaks. I'm way more likely to get poop on her clothes or changing pad when changing a poopy disposable vs a poopy cloth. Here is how this works:

Prefold and cover

Set prefold over cover, fold in back if too big (for boys you fold in the front)

Set diaper under child (not shown, obviously) and fold the sides between the legs in front

Then you pull the front up and snap wherever needed. Voila.

Sometimes after you put on the prefold sticks out a bit. Just shove it back in.

First, I prefer snaps over Velcro. All of the new covers I bought are snaps and I just feel like they fit better. When it comes to brands, I have developed a few favorites. I have one Blueberry, three Flip, two Thirsties, and one Rumparooz (so 7 covers in rotation). Blueberry and Flip are my favorite brands because they aren't too bulky and I like the fit. (Flip is thinner and cheaper, which is both good and bad. The pink cover in the pictures above is a Flip). Thirsties I also like because they are thin and you can't tell when Elliott has a cloth diaper on because no bubble butt is on display. My least fave by far is Rumparooz because they are super bulky, awkward fit, and the elastic is really tight. I only bought one new Rumparooz but I shouldn't have bothered.

I have two all in ones that get good use too. These are both BumGenius brand and I like the way they fit. They also hold a gallon of pee. Even though we mostly use overnight disposables at night, I have put Elliott in an AIO before and it didn't leak (and she pees a lot at night). But I also use these randomly during the day. 

Andy still doesn't use any cloth but I'm not pushing him to either. He is set in his ways, so it's not worth my effort at this point. I have started using cloth when we leave the house. Most of the time I don't need to change her when I am only gone for 1-2 hours so I've realized it's stupid for me to put her in a disposable for that. I have a smaller wet bag if I decide to push the envelope. 

Washing is a breeze, really. I keep a wet bag on the back handle of Elliott's bedroom door which is right next to her changing area. I wash everything on a delicate cycle (I feel like my washer has weird settings) with warm water, sometimes hot if I feel like it. I add pre-soak and extra rinse to it. Regular powdered Tide is my preference, occasionally I'll add some OxiClean. Everything air dries. I probably average 2-3 loads a week, but could do less if I had more diapers in the rotation or more than one big wet bag. It's not hard because nothing requires folding, which is the biggest hassle of laundry, amiright? 

Overall, I'm really happy I took the plunge with cloth. I think we've broken even with cost so far, which will make using them with future kiddos even more worth it. We've only had to buy maybe 3 boxes of diapers total at 5 months old and we have some left over. It's super simple, really, I swear!

Elliott: Four Months Old

I think we can say at 4 months we have a real happy baby! Elliott has never been a big crank for me, but now she is seriously smiley, and not just for me.

Elliott still enjoys being out in public (the store or on walks in town). She is also very into her routine at home. It's more when we are at gatherings/parties when she gets cranky from overstimulation, although I think we might be nearing the end of this phase just from her attitude the past week. In public, there are distractions but no one is up in her business. She also is much happier if she is being held while you're standing (I think it's a control issue, wonder where that comes from?) Elliott still really likes the outdoors, and when the weather has cooperated she sits pretty content in the shade for a while (which means we can get yard work done!).

We've grown pretty accustomed to singing, she and I. I love singing to her and Elliott smiles loads and it is my favorite. Music is a big part of our routine.   She has had a few giggle fits and they are pretty funny! We've also tried to incorporate a little more 'play time.' She holds toys (rattles and Sophie) really well and is getting pretty good with dexterity! She can even take her pacifier in and out of her mouth and pass it from hand to hand. It's adorable to watch her eyes get wide with concentration. Also, she is constantly putting her hands in her mouth if she doesn't have a paci or toy to put in there.  It's really funny to watch her stare and move her hands slowly as if she is inspecting them with intensity. We rolled from front to back just 3 days before her 4 month birthday and can go both directions. Honestly she can almost go from back to front too.

No big changes on the eating front other than she is eating more at a time. It's not uncommon for her to eat both sides. She still spits up about once with each feeding, but pretty much only as she burps. Overall, this is much more manageable now that we've been on meds for a while and she's getting stronger, although we are phasing off of the Zantac. She is still getting happier each day because of it. She hasn't gotten many bottles the past week or two, but I give her about 3 oz when she does take one, though it takes some back and forth for her to get it down.

About the bottle thing... Remember when I said I had to work for two weeks? Yeah. That happened and it didn't go so hot. Basically, Elliott hates everyone that isn't me. I've never known a kid to have separation anxiety so young, but that is 100% what it is. She would scream bloody murder until I walked in the room like it was night and day. She wouldn't eat for anyone. No, I don't think it means I need to 'leave her more.' She will grow out of it, but this is why I stay at home. It is her personality and I don't blame her for not loving strangers.

Bedtime is still about the same, although she has been fighting me this week - head to bed about 7, nurse (if she is hungry), play music. Although a lot of times she doesn't fall asleep on her own, laying with her usually works eventually. She is a real cuddler. She searches for me with her hands, feels my face, to make sure I'm there and also I think to distract herself from sleeping. She's also still into holding my hand when she's tired which is pretty lovely, too. We have kicked the bassinet to the curb. She and I both get more restful sleep when neither of us have to move at all. (The only issue with this is that she doesn't like to be woken up for diaper changes so we have changed our sheets about 5 times in the last two weeks. We are on to the baby dry diapers now). We don't swaddle at night anymore because I thought she was getting too hot. She still sleeps great so no negative change because of it. We do loosely for naps. All naps happen in her crib, and we follow the same routine as above, except I have her in the rocking chair and she doesn't nurse to sleep unless she is overtired and super pissed. Most naps average about an hour or hour and a half :) Elliott stays awake for 1.5-2 hours between naps typically. She is easily the crankiness when she's tired, but most of the time goes to sleep pretty easily as long as she is not over tired. If it takes me 15 minutes to get her down, that's a long time. She knows being in her nursery, with music on and lights off, that it's time to sleep. I've tried putting her in her crib at bedtime but it hasn't lasted long yet. I'm not going to push being full time in the crib. We are set with crib for naps, so it will happen when she's ready.

Most carter's 3 months clothes have been put away and we are on to 6 months. And I've noticed that 3-6 month clothes for gap and old navy are even larger than carter's 6 month! I still have a few 0-3 month dresses out in those brands. I think for the most part she is average baby size, and very proportional. We have been in size 2 diapers for over a month and should be good for a while in them.

I still think she is the cutest little peanut and am loving watching her grow.

Elliott: Three Months Old

Where the hell did this month go? Didn't I just write last month's post? Time is seriously flying..

Elliott is growing into more of a little girl every day. She is so strong that I can pretty much cart her on my hip (sigh). The girl loves sitting up, and if you hold her hands while she lays she will pull herself up to a sitting position. She does well in the booster seat! I suck at doing tummy time, but I'm sure if I pushed it she'd be on her way to rolling over. When we went to the doctor at 11.5 weeks, she weighed 11 lb 5 oz with a diaper on and was 23 in long, so she's going at a great pace. Right now we are wearing a mix of all sizes 3-6, 3 month, and even some 0-3. We won't be in any 0-3 or 3 month for much longer though. 

Breastfeeding is the way to go, man. After I got through the first two months, it has been a breeze. I'm lazy, it's convenient, and Elliott loves it. We are still on an every 2-3 hour schedule for the most part and I follow her lead completely. When she gets a bottle, it's usually 3 oz, although she's been a bottle fighter as of late and we are lucky if she take one ounce. She may fall asleep after eating (either with a bottle or boob), but if her schedule doesn't work out then I can get her to sleep by swaddling and bouncing with a little effort. We are already halfway to six months and it makes me sad thinking about giving her solids, aka big girl food. 

I had noticed around 6 weeks that Elliott was spitting up a lot. It seemed to get worse, so I tried everything: keeping her upright, burping more, unlatching during let-down, giving her pumped milk, changing my diet, changing feeding frequency. No factor seemed to make much difference. And to top it off, she was getting more colicky every day. It was clear she was uncomfortable or in pain, the poor kid! One morning she puked 7 times within half an hour after eating, so I finally called the doc. Dr. Murphy prescribed Zantac and it is like we have a new baby. I also put her bassinet mattress at an incline and make sure she is almost always sleeping upright. She spits up minimally in this position, but mostly it keeps the acid out of her throat so it doesn't burn. She's much happier. She will smile all day long and pretty much only cries if she's been awake too long. Even though she's still a bit colicky and the volume of puke is still pretty high, I'm so glad she feels better. If we are at home in our own environment it's pretty breezy to deal with.

Elliott has always been a five star night sleeper in my opinion, and that has only gotten better. Bedtime is about 7:30 on a typical weeknight and she sleeps for 12 hours pretty much regardless of bedtime. She gets changed, swaddled, and fed in the dark while in bed. I play lullaby music and she conks pretty easily. I've started just keeping her in our bed during this period. She sleeps like a rock and it starts the night on a great note. I eventually get up and use this time to get other things done. Sometimes she wakes up if she senses I'm not there but she goes back to sleep easily if I just lie with her. When it's time for us to sleep then I move her to the bassinet. During the night I can give her a pacifier and she will soothe herself, but since she started the meds she only really wakes up when she's truly hungry, so the pacifier doesn't work as much. She never cries at night (never has), but I sense that she's awake, feed her, and she sleeps easily. During her 12 hour sleep period, she wakes 3-4 times. I've gotten used to bed sharing because I fall asleep while nursing her and often don't wake up till the next session. Although it's much more difficult to keep her inclined in our bed without taking up a bunch of space. But don't talk to me about her sleeping in her own room. I know I will have separation anxiety and wouldn't sleep well with her not next to me. Not worth the battle- good thing she is only 3 months and I feel like I have plenty of time.

I've never felt sleep deprived since having her, that is for sure. (Yes, I still nap with her about once a day). She naps in our bed, on me, or in her crib, we don't have a set place. I should probably work on more of a regimen, as I can really tell she greatly prefers to sleep with me next to her (though not necessarily holding her). She has been having 2-3 short 45 min-1 hour naps with one long nap in the middle of the day (anywhere from 2-3 hours).

We still aren't really into toys, but I keep her pretty occupied when awake. In the morning she is super happy kicking on our bed while I either sleep longer or slowly wake up. Elliott is happy on the floor for a good while most of the time. We also got a bouncer which has been great; she sits on the counter and watches as I do dishes or clean the kitchen, I bring it to the laundry room or office if I'm working, and she sits in it while I shower. It's nice that it's so easily movable and she does seem to love it most of the time. She also still does the mamaroo (and even better now that she's on the Zantac) although I'm convinced she'd like the plush version better. Elliott hasn't been in the k'tan carrier as often this month, but she still is content in it. Now when we shop, she is often awake and just looks around. She really does love to be out and about. She's been to another wedding, cheer practice, and church and has behaved wonderfully at each. I'm actually glad she does better in extra social settings than when she's bored at home!

However, she is not a car baby. She cries more while in the car than anywhere else, easily. Although I think she likes Andy's truck better because she can basically stare out the rear window from her seat. Diaper changes are also hit or miss. Thankfully she still loves the bath and now that she's stronger I can easily bathe her by myself (Andy always rushes us). She doesn't love to have her clothes changed, although now that I don't put her in many tight onesies, she does much better. She also loves music and dancing! Overall she is more talkative and has started to babble.

Elliott has gotten a fair amount of time away from me this month. Both of our parents have watched her a few times now, also Kayla, otherwise just Andy. She is still definitely a mama's girl, but hopefully now that she is feeling better she will not be a terror for everyone else when I'm away. I'm pretty certain she has screamed bloody murder for at least part of the time every instance that I've left her. I have two weeks of work starting next week, so she will get a big wake up call I think. I love that she needs me so much but I also don't want her to be miserable whenever I'm not by her side.

For the most part, people say she is a mix of both of us in the looks department, though we've had a few see more of me or Andy in her. We haven't really examined baby pictures to tell. She does have Gschwendtner ears but no other features really stick out. Right now she has my exact blue eye color. We are leaning more toward Andy's eye shape, and possibly nose, and my mouth and chin.

She just gets better and better every day! I still spend too much time staring at her and she will probably develop a complex from me constantly telling her she's pretty.
 

3 Months Later: Why My Labor Was Perfect

No, this is not a sappy post. 

My labor with Elliott was pretty much picture perfect. I couldn't have dreamed of a better first delivery. These are some off the reasons why I think it went so smoothly, so for the next one I can reference and duplicate. Many are self explanatory.

1. I didn't have to be induced.

I know most people can't control this, but thankfully I didn't have any medical reason for induction, and could hold off on delivering for as long as I wanted. My body and baby were ready to go just 3 days after my due date. I had a long enough labor as it is, and I'm pretty sure being induced would only add to that. Not to mention I was always scared my body would be stubborn and counter attack pitocin and I'd end up with a section. Remind me of this when I want the convenience of an induction with baby #2.

2. I had the best nurse ever.

I had great nurses throughout my stay in the hospital, but I only really remember the ones during my labor. Samantha was my nurse for the actual delivery and she might as well have been called Saint Samantha. She had the greatest bedside manner and talked me off the epidural ledge at the end when I was losing it. She was the greatest coach and I'm glad she was the one there with me through the worst (and later the best!) part of it all. I still can't believe she was only a PRN L+D nurse because that girl deserves a medal or something. And this was one thing to happen completely by chance, it's not like a bunch of nurses lined up and I got to pick mine.

3. I had the best doctor ever.

I can't say this enough. Dr. Emm was always understanding and respectful, so would be okay with any route I took for delivery. However, our philosophies lined up pretty perfectly anyway. She is really laid back and trusts the labor process. But even more so, she really made me feel like a priority. She didn't pass me on to anyone else just because she wasn't on call. When I was dying at the end, it took her four minutes to get to my room from the time Sam told us she called her.  She came to the hospital a little early to break my water (I was at a 9) and was there with me through the whole pushing process. She will definitely be delivering all of my babies and I will be devastated if for some reason that can't happen.

4. I did a lot of squats.

I am generally in decent shape but I was not all about exercising during pregnancy. The only things I held myself accountable for were stretches and squats, and I was pretty good about following through, especially at the end of my pregnancy. I had always learned that squats help the baby get low, but after delivery I also read an article about squats strengthening pelvic floor to push out babies very quickly. Elliott was out head to toe in one push so that can't be coincidental, at least not entirely.

5. I didn't have an epidural.

Technically this should have no bearing on a successful labor, but hear me out. First of all, I feel like moving around was key to get things to progress. I'm convinced it would have been days if I couldn't walk the halls. An epidural would have made that pretty impossible. Also I am still more scared about the numbness and random side effects of epidurals than a giant needle going into my back. Plus, remember when I said Elliott was born in one push? I'm pretty sure being in pain motivated me to get that done more quickly than if I had been numbed. I'm still kind of shocked that I made it without one, but then again I am pretty stubborn... 

6. I got lucky.

I'm pretty convinced that much of pregnancy and labor is just sheer dumb luck. I accepted early on that things wouldn't always be in my control and really tried to psyche myself up for anything. I prepared myself for various scenarios, but always continued to work toward my ideal vision anyway. It worked out anyway. But even if it wouldn't have, I would've gotten over it. We still have the cutest, cuddly baby!

Day in the Life: Summer 2015

Thursday, July 16

Elliott is 12 weeks, 2 days old

1:45 Elliott is stirring awake. I try to give her the paci but she spits it right out. I pick her up, lay her in our bed, and start nursing. She immediately conks and I follow.

2:45 Stirring again, but I'm pretty sure she's just gassy. Try to give her the paci and end up just waking her. Oops. My boob puts her to sleep in a few minutes.

4:45 She stirs again. Another no-go on the paci. A quick nursing session and we both are asleep by 5.

6:45 The beast is stirring again. I ignore her. Too many wake ups tonight.

7:37 Elliott is awake. Another turn down of the paci, so nursing it is. 

7:45 Shocked that she fell back asleep and isn't just up for the day. I start this post. I need to pump but know that if I get out of bed she'll wake up. I check social media and send some emails.

8:35 She's awake for the day. We cuddle a bit and I finish sending my cheer emails/texts.

9:00 We get out of bed and head to the kitchen. I give her her medicine and grab my pump parts. 

9:05 Time for a diaper change. I pump while Ell kicks on the floor. I update this post.

9:15 She's getting antsy so I call it quits and bring her out to the kitchen. I pour a bowl of cereal and start eating while a bagel cooks. I need to pump a few times today so my supply needs to be on point. I put her down to put away the pumped milk and butter my bagel. At this point she is over it.

9:30 Take her back to bed to eat and hopefully sleep. She nurses but perks right up, so we just sit in bed for a while. I watch last night's episode of Flipping out. She pukes a bunch. 

10:30 She's cranky again and I know she's tired. I change her diaper and put her in clothes. I bounce and rock her and eventually she goes to sleep.

11:15 She's awake too early. But she plays for a bit. Eventually she's over it.

11:45 We go out to the kitchen and I grab a few raspberries. We step out on the deck for a few. I head to the back to change her diaper and start the nap process again. I swaddle and rock her but she's not having it, so we make our way to the porch.

12:00 The breeze calms her down. After 5-10 minutes she has swayed to sleep. I head into the couch. Send a few texts, go through the Carter's selection online, and update this post.

12:30 For whatever reason she will not stay asleep today. I lie with her and she drifts again. We go in and out of sleep together.

2:00 Andy pops in for a quick few. We get off the couch and I eat the rest of the raspberries. Put her in her bouncer and get some chips. 

2:15 I head to the shower. She sits in her bouncer on the floor. 

2:39 I'm out and dressed. I change her diaper. We walk out to get the mail. It's pretty lovely weather so we sit on the porch a bit.

3:15 She's ready to eat. I wrap her in a blanket and feed her on the couch. Bounce her to sleep.

4:00 Another cat nap. She's happy so I put her in the MamaRoo. Andy is home and goes to shower. I flip through a cheer magazine to finalize my supply order.

4:15 I head to the computer while Andy is on baby duty. Send emails, update a few spreadsheets, and get everything ready for cheer tomorrow.

5:10 Andy is bugging me to take her since she's fussing. I head to the couch to feed her. She's not ready for another nap but is happy now that she's full. I put her in her bouncer and we head to fold some laundry.

5:30 Shes over that pretty quickly. She must want the other side so I go to feed her a bit more.

5:50 I decide to brown some meat for tacos. That's a quick process and the food is ready. I take it to the couch and eat while holding her.

6:20 I pass her off to Andy so I can clean up from dinner and get some things done. Do the dishes and put away a few laundry items. 

6:40 Elliott is really ready for bed at this point since she's been up so long and didn't have the greatest naps. I don't want her to go to bed just yet though. Andy changes her into a sleeper and we sit for a bit on the deck. She loves being outside.

7:20 Elliott and I head to the bedroom. I swaddle and feed her and she falls asleep easily. I hold her a bit before putting her down on our bed. I start to read my book.

7:49 Her eyes are open. What is with the cat naps today! I start bouncing her to sleep, not working, I try feeding her, not into it. We head to the nursery and I play some music. Finally she's asleep and I put her on our bed. I stay there for most of the evening to ensure she stays asleep, although prep a few more things for cheer tomorrow. Eventually I sleep:)

It's hard enough to take notes, let alone pictures...

Elliott: Two Months Old

Another month in the books! Elliott is still a great baby. This month she has started to bring out a bit more personality. She is happiest when she is busy and doesn't sleep as much during the day. She will smile a bunch when awake which I absolutely love. She really likes to be held facing out so she can see. She also is constantly searching for her hands to suck on. One thing that melts my heart a little is when she's sleepy, she searches for my hand to hold.

Breastfeeding is much, much improved. We are officially out of the painful stage and have moved on to only occasional discomfort. A month after her tongue tie revision when she was still not getting it, I I took about 3-4 days off of nursing. We gave her mostly bottles and I would nurse just here and there when I needed.  That did wonders for my healing and I think it did train her a bit to latch deeper. She also started to take a paci during this time! We still aren't perfect, but we are really getting there. I never thought I'd see the day where nursing didn't hurt! The spitting up has definitely increased probably due to her getting more food. She is also super duper gassy, so we live on gas drops and I've learned to burp her as much as possible. She still does one side most of the time but eats frequently, still going every 1.5-3 hours through the day, longer at night. Thankfully she eats efficiently and usually doesn't take more than 10 minutes.

Elliott is a near perfect kid during the day. She rarely has fussy periods that aren't easily fixed. Evening is definitely the witching hour. I'd say about 6 is when she gets fussy and needs the most attention, but it's still really doable. Bedtime routine consists of diaper/clothes change, then she gets swaddled, I turn on the lullaby music on her bassinet, and I feed her in the dark in bed. She almost always fall asleep easily with this routine. If I stay in bed with her she sleeps wonderfully. My old self would hate this, but we have pretty much accepted at least partial bed sharing. She will still sleep in her bassinet, but since she's been spitting up more she always wakes up! And conveniently she spits up right after I set her down, even if I hold her upright for 20 minutes after a feeding.  Although it's still really important to me that she sleep in her bassinet, if she has trouble going down I will just keep her with us in bed. She is so fidgety in her sleep thanks to gas (we should buy stock in gas drops). The swaddle is definitely a must in the bassinet because of that. We have weeks where she sleeps with us constantly and others where she's in her bassinet all night perfectly so it just depends on how her evening goes.  I keep telling myself that if Landry's happy disposition has anything to do with bed sharing then we may not be in trouble after all.

She goes mostly 3 hour gaps in the night with one longer period usually. And at night she doesn't ever get upset, she just starts to wiggle and root for her hands to signal she's hungry. Andy is hardly ever bothered. And she is super duper great about falling back asleep no problem in the middle of the night. If I'm awake more than 20 minutes it's my own fault. I'm working on transitioning to her crib for at least 1 nap a day. She hasn't lasted in there for more than 45 min to an hour but we will get there. Blackout curtains and lullaby music help. I am in zero hurry to transition to crib for night time, and won't even consider until she's consistently waking up one time or less during the night.  

She loves the sound of running water, so now she sits in the bathroom when I shower. This might be her favorite time of day because she's always happy in the morning, plus it's bright and a nice change of scenery. She also likes being outside. We have had a few afternoons by the pool and she is calm hanging out. The water she is just okay with. She does much better driving in the car, and if she is upset putting her window down usually does the trick. Elliott still loves the bath and hates getting her clothes changed. She has started to really enjoy lying on the floor or bed and kicking away. She likes to look at ceiling fans. She is spending more time in the mamaroo when awake and has even put herself to sleep in it a few times. Elliott absolutely loves the k'tan wrap! Not only does it make running errands easy but if she is upset it almost always does the trick. She will sleep in that thing no matter how much I move or make noise. Super heart love it. I just got out some of her 'toys' so we will see how she likes them. 

She has moved on from loathing wet diapers, so now we can go all night without changing unless we need to. We put cloth in the rotation and I'd say we are using them about half of the time. She is almost always in cloth when I change her, although at night it's easier to keep her in disposables since we go so long between changes. Andy only changes her to disposables for the most part. The washing is not hard or time consuming, it's only the leaking I have to perfect, but I'm getting the hang of it! It really is surprisingly easy.

Elliott is getting used to some time away from me thanks to cheerleading. And Andy is getting the hang of being with her alone. She did amazingly well on her first overnight trip to Chicago. She has also been to two weddings and done great there, too. So, she seems to be a social baby which is great. We haven't had to rely on sitters yet. I'm saving that for when I really need them, since I can cart her with me almost anywhere I need to be. She is my responsibility (a responsibility that I love). Plus with nursing it's a million times easier to keep her with me because I'm a slacker at pumping. We only have maybe 10 oz of milk frozen now.

After 6 weeks off from the doc we know that she weighs 10 lb 3.7 oz and measures 22.5 in. She jumped a little on all her growth percentiles so we know she is doing great! She is pretty much out of all newborn clothes. 0-3 month and 3 month fit perfectly but we can get away with a few 3-6 month things too. 

We just love her to pieces and I think I tell her she's beautiful about 80 times a day.

Elliott: One Month Old

Our little sweetie has been with us a month. Even though it seems like a year ago that we were in the hospital, the weeks have gone by so fast. I seriously can't imagine people who only have 6 weeks of maternity leave! She's a pretty great kid and we have developed a nice routine.

Elliott is still sleeping most of the time. She sleeps, I change her diaper, she eats, and falls asleep. Repeat. She is pretty much attached to me and sleeps on me often. I try to only bring her into our bed for one stretch each night so she at least learns some separation, although this doesn't always work. Maybe it's just my head but she seems to sleep more soundly when she's with us, although she doesn't always sleep longer. I know I sleep better with her by me. She is a bit of a restless sleeper. She will stretch and grunt often but can usually put herself back to sleep if we wait it out. When I put her down she automatically moves onto her side to sleep. Elliott likes to bury her face if possible. 

Her schedule typically goes as follows: She usually has wake ups at 11, 12, and 2. Between 10 pm and 3 am she is the most restless and requires the most attention - go figure. This has really been more of an issue the last few days since she's coming out of her extra sleepy period of life. She would nurse all night long for comfort if I let her. She is not interested in the paci but if she's awake her hands are likely searching for her mouth.

After the 2-3 am wakeup she sleeps her longest stretch, usually until 6 or 7 am. Her next wake up is usually around 9. When I put her back in her bassinet for that late morning nap, I use that time to shower and do chores. I can swivel her bassinet so I can see her if I poke my head out of the shower. So far she hasn't woken up during any of my showers (tomorrow she will surely scream now that I've said that).

For lunch we head out to the living room. She mostly naps on me the rest of the day, but gets at least one or two stretches in the mamaroo. The mamaroo is hit or miss. She has to already be sleeping to go in it, and needs a blanket. Sometimes I can get a good hour or more out of her, but most of the time it's just a half hour stretch which is okay. We have been using the ocean wave setting recently. Either way she sleeps absolutely superbly during the day (unlike the night time). If she doesn't fall asleep while nursing, usually walking around, bouncing, or rubbing her back will do the trick. More recently she's been awake after feeds so I don't think she'll be dependent on nursing to sleep moving forward.

Breastfeeding is going okay. During the day she gets what she wants in 10-15 minutes, but night time is longer. She only needs one side. She has always seemingly had a good latch, but the second week was pure torture. I dreaded feeding her and would pretty much cry or scream with each latch. It looked like she literally took a bite out of me by the end of that week, so I knew something was wrong. I went to the lactation consultant and she was surprised I hadn't given up due to my current physical state. She said that I was doing everything right, but thought Elliott may have a tongue tie. She got us an appointment with a pediatric dentist that day and he confirmed that she had both a tongue and lip tie. Thanks to a quick snip with the laser that was fixed. Since then, things have been improving slowly. Things are still not great though and I am not healed. Hopefully that won't be too much longer because it has been rough. I have a small freezer stash from the first week, but otherwise I haven't pumped much as to give my boobs as much break as possible. She has had 3 bottles and although it takes some time for her to adjust, she has taken them okay. My supply seems to be fine so I don't think I will have any problems as long as I am motivated to pump. I know she's getting plenty because we are going through diapers like mad men.

Elliott is a mama's girl. She's obviously with me all the time and is comfortable with me. I'm also patient with her and typically know what she wants. We are already BFFs. She will hang with dad most of the time too as long as he is feeling patient and can devote his attention to her. I haven't left her at all yet but I have an overnight trip planned in two weeks which will be interesting (for all 3 of us). 

Now that she's awake more I try to let her "play" for a short bit before eating and sleeping again. This mostly consists of laying her on the floor and letting her be, which she enjoys. She needs a break from me sometimes. Occasionally she will sit in the mamaroo if she is wide awake and can look around (she likes the light shining through the window). Peanut, Nugget, Girlfriend, and Mama are a few of her nicknames.

Everything that we do is baby-led for the most part. If she wants to eat, I feed her. We don't follow a super strict schedule. At this age I know that she cries instinctively out of need and not to manipulate me. I pretty much give her what she wants and for the most part she's a super easy baby. We have only had maybe three nights when she was fussy to the point where we were wiped. I think that's pretty great for being a month old, and she eventually wears herself out.

Elliott enjoys being in her nursery and will sit and look around. She also likes mirrors. She seems to really enjoy bath time, which we do every 2-3 nights. She even enjoys being wrapped up in a towel when we take her out. Car rides are typically not her fave and she often cries during them. She still doesn't like to have a dirty diaper and will cry if she pees while awake (it must scare her). Once we start walking to the nursery she perks right up because she knows what's coming. We have been using all gifted diapers up until now which has been nice. We have one big box of newborns left and she will definitely be ready for size 1.  I plan to start putting cloth in the rotation during the next week. Newborn clothes fit just right but 0-3 month are still a bit baggy.

We have gone on a handful of adventures and she has been great on all of them. She has done well in a carrier so far because she can sleep close to me. One of my biggest goals is to not keep her too cooped up. I figure the more that we take her out with us, the more socially aware and flexible she will be. Obviously this is done within reason and we plan in advance, but so far it has worked out fine.

Elliott has always had a full head of hair and if any has fallen out it has been minimal. I think it's even gotten longer. She smiles and sometimes even chuckles in her sleep which is my favorite thing ever. I kiss her a million times a day. We just can't believe we have this cute, little thing forever.