Elliott: 2.5 years old

She may only be two and a half, but I swear sometimes Elliott acts like a teenager. She loves babies, dolls, books, tractors, and “colors” (pens and markers). “Princess Jammie dresses” are her obsession.

She’s going through a real Bauman phase as far as looks go, and I see glimpses of Andy’s family members often. Weight is about 29 lb. I’m unsure  of her height, but her torso is long. 2T dresses are all tunics on her, and she’s got a bit of a booty (also not my genetics 😂). We are exclusively purchasing 3T clothes. Her hair is getting so long and is so beautiful when actually styled. Our girl is seriously gorgeous.

Elliott is an A+ big sister. From the moment Leo was born, she’s never shown a hint of jealousy or acted out in any way. It’s really amazing. When I get her out of bed, she always asks where he is and goes to find him. If he’s balling and wakes up she immediately says “he’s awake, he’s upset, I probly get him” and runs to his side. He gets woken up so often because she’ll just go into his room to check on him and squeeze his cheeks. She is all about Leo and tries to take care of him like Mom. She’s a little too aggressive with hugs and kisses and understands nothing about being gentle or quiet. Poor kid. He takes it like a champ.

And yes, she can now open doors. It’s like she figured it out overnight! It’s obviously not convenient but hasn’t gotten too out of hand. Our front door and sliding doors are too advanced for her still, so as long as she doesn’t wander out to the garage in search of popsicles, we will be okay. Elliott now gets food whenever she wants thanks to opening the pantry door (tortilla chips are a fave), as well as the fridge. She can only get to the yogurt and cheese on the bottom of that though ;)

Elliott is a pretty decent eater for a toddler. Favorites are still avocado and most fruits, but she really loves tortellini, macaroni, and cheese in any way. She knows that a DQ sign means ice cream. Since Andy has been harvesting, we haven’t had as much structured meal/table time so I’m looking forward to getting back to that routine.

Speaking of harvest, she loves tractor/combine rides with her Dad. She still refuses to ride with Papa Rick, but I’m still able to get some short breaks from her and she’s able to see her dad for a bit. Andy added a bunch of toy tractors to her fleet and we got the old toy shed from the farm, and she does play with them.

Aside from us being at the hospital to have Leo, we did leave her for one night while we went to STL for a wedding. All went great as far as I know. And since then she hasn’t been quite as afraid of Andy’s Dad, who she’s always been a bit leary of.

She is still in pull-up diapers and has no interest in potty training. I know she’s smart enough but I don’t want to push her just yet so we are riding it out for now. I wouldn’t mind not having to buy diapers for two though 🙄

Smarty pants knows a million nursery rhyme songs and shapes and colors are right most of th time. We’re working on letters but she’s not quite into it just yet. Either way, she is definitely not behind in the school department. Watching her grow is so fun.

Elliott is TWO!

We have a two year old!  This age is just so fun.

 

Personality: Is still stubborn and particular, but less so than when she was an infant. Doesn't do anything if she feels forced (good girl). Has an opinion about what she wants to wear and always requests "princess dresses." I have no clue where she picked up that phrase but now we just say anything is a princess dress so she will wear it. Will do whatever her cousins tell her most of the time and plays really well with other kids! Has no problem going up to kids even if she doesn't know them. Doesn't bat an eye when I leave her places but usually doesn't love if I leave her at home with her dad (because FOMO). This lasts about 15 seconds. Andy and I have actually gone on a date or two and I feel like we could have normal adult social lives if we wanted to!! 

Play time: Loves coloring on paper. Enjoys baths mostly and isn't interesting in showering with me anymore. LOVES to sit on my bathroom counter while I get ready. Doing makeup is already a big hobby of hers. Also into dolls, babies, Tractors, and her vacuum and broom. Still loves to read with me, mostly while snuggled on her bedroom floor. Our basement is now done. Though she mostly colors down there, we do also have a slide, balance beam, books, and her kitchen to play with. She also loves piano, dancing, and singing. Will be so excited when warm weather is here for good because she loves outdoors! 

 

Sleep: pretty stellar sleeper. Puts herself to sleep in her bed with little complaints most of the time. Naps run anywhere from 2-3 hours mostly. Bedtime is around 7:30 pm these days and she wakes around 7:30 am. Will take a while to fall asleep sometimes and is okay lounging in bed before I come to get her. We have yet to attempt climbing out and I'm trying to hold onto having that freedom for as long as possible. Sleep is the first thing to get screwed up when she doesn't feel well (looking at you, teething) and she will only sleep in her room with lights off and fan on though. Napping at any sitter's house just doesn't happen and never has (again, FOMO). Still absolutely needs a paci to sleep, but can go without otherwise as long as one isn't in site.

Teeth: Just waiting for the very last 2 molars to finish pushing all the way up and we will have all 20 baby teeth. But they are definitely visible. She had a few months of patchy bad sleep that I contributed to this. She enjoys brushing her teeth but mostly won't let me in to do the job right. We just visited the dentist and she did so well letting him brush and clean them. He says we are all good so far! 

Eating: mostly anything but is showing more pickiness now. Requested yogurt a million times a day but didn't usually eat it so we are backing off that. Loves all fruit and dairy and is finally warming up to meat. Pasta dishes are also hits mostly. She still eats what we eat and I try not to dumb down her diet. She doesn't get juice but rather gets water with a splash of pedialyte, which she loves. Otherwise she's not a huge drinker. Definitely knows what chocolate and ice cream are and don't even think about not sharing them with her. 

Potty Training: she started to show interest in the potty around 18 months. I got her a small potty then and she would sit on it (with clothes on) whenever I went to the bathroom (she likes to do whatever I'm doing). She started ripping off diapers around 23 months and was irritated from them so we've been actually putting some effort in since then. She sporadically goes diaperless usually a few hours each day but has yet to actually pee in the toilet. It's clear that she knows how to hold her pee though, because she can go a few hours without a mess without issue mostly. She will tell you when she goes though even with a diaper on, so I'm hoping we will get there without much fuss. Andy isn't really into doing it because he's even lazier than I am but I'd like to not have 2 kids in diapers..

Milestones: has a pretty extensive vocabulary and rarely says anything out of correct context. Knows the words to our favorite songs and can patch up some of the abcs (she tries). Counts to 9 hit or miss but definitely 1,2,3.  Still amazes us with her brains. Has great balance and can do stairs without assistance or even holding onto anything. She weighs 26 lb (40%) and is 34 cm tall (60%).

I'm still working on her baby book 😔 I had stayed current on it through month 6 before stopping (also when cheer season started so I will use that as my excuse). Hoping to get that done to give to myself as a Mother's Day present! 

Happy birthday, sweet angel! 

 

   

Elliott: Eleven Months Old

My baby isn't going to be a baby much longer! Elliott is still thisclose to walking. She's getting gutsy and stumbles pretty quickly along the couch. She can also walk using her push toy (mini baby stroller). She will use any and everything to get herself to standing position! 

Missy took her first airplane ride and trip to the beach this month. I'm planning to do a separate post, but in short, she loved the beach. The plane rides could've been better but were certainly manageable. All three of us were sick, so that was a bummer, but we did manage to have a good time. Overall, we learned traveling with a baby is HARD WORK. Gone are the days of napping on the beach all day.

On the eating front, we haven't introduced anything too exciting, although Elliott did get some of my fish in Florida (she also got her first French fry, followed by many more). Elliott is starting to eat a bigger volume of food and really does seem to enjoy it. Cottage cheese, applesauce, Ritz crackers, puffs, and yogurt drops have been the biggest favorites this month. I feel like we haven't been home at all for dinners, so variety has been poor. One goal this month is to push the sippies. At this point, she can survive just fine without milk when I'm away, but it'd be nice to have that option. Plus she needs to start liking water. She nurses 3-4 times a day with a few quick sessions throughout the night. No end in sight for us and breastfeeding.

If motherhood has taught me anything it's to expect the unexpected. Consistency doesn't seem to exist

(atleast for very long), and Elliott is forever teaching me to break the rules. Vacation really screwed up her sleep cycle. We got it back only to have it messed up again thanks to back to back to back nights of late bedtimes for social reasons. Now I understand why some parents are so strict about being home early! Her sleep cycle is all over the place currently but on a good day we will get back to the 7:30pm-8am nights with 1.5 hr naps at 9:30 and 1:30.

One good thing is that we may be edging toward getting her out of our bed. Since we got back from vacation, she has actually been letting me put her in the crib at bedtime! It's still typically for short spurts, but I have been able to stay up until a decent hour. There were even a few nights when she stayed in her room till 1 or so (getting out of bed to tend to her will never NOT be a dread for me-I'm lazy). Truthfully, I miss her when she's not in bed with us. Getting over my anxiety and overprotectiveness will be a big feat for me, but if Elliott is telling me she's ready, I need to do it.

Elliott still has some anxiety when I am away. She always is fine if Andy is around, and she is definitely making a lot of progress with others, but it seems to be hit or miss. Last week, I filled in working at the hospital and she stayed with my mom and sister for 5 hours with virtually no tears! However, Andy and I had a wedding to go to and took it as our opportunity to have an actual night out away from her. I'm the only one to ever put Elliott to sleep so I knew it would be interesting for my mom. She surely wanted to pull her hair out, but Andy and I had a great time and it was really needed. I'm thankful that my mom never pressures me to rush home even when Elliott is being awful. I can still always sense how things are going, though. 

One adorable new trick she has learned is clapping. It's constant and super cute. Elliott is also an expert at 'sharing.' She takes her paci out of her mouth and puts it to your mouth until you put it in. She does the same thing with food. At first I wasn't sure if sharing was her intention, but the more she does it the more I'm convinced that it's definitely to show us whatever she's got at the moment. It's precious. She's also still loving books and constantly is flipping through them. They are all over her bedroom and our living room. I also keep a few in her crib, and when she wakes from naps, she will sit quietly and read for a while. Sometimes I don't even know she has woken up. This also melts my heart. 

Now that we are back from our trip and the cheer season is over, I'm really looking forward to slowing down this month. The only things on the calendar in April revolve around her birthday. With the cold Midwest weather wrapping up, I'm looking forward to some outside fun, too. :)

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.

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.
 

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.