3 months...a week too late

the difference between 2 months and 3 months is astounding.  maybe not as much physically as it has been developmentally.  at 2 months she had changed from a gangly looking newborn to a chubby, round baby.  now at 3 months, she continues to fill out (especially in the face...cue the cheek comments), but otherwise looks about the same.

but her development....oh watch out.  it is crazy that she can now hold her head up all on her own for a long period of time...it helps that it essentially just props itself up on her shoulders...guess that is one perk of having a short neck and 3 chins.  she has pretty good control of both her arms and legs, and sometimes even "finds" them and realizes she can control them...

she can hold herself up really good on her tummy..

and she laugh and smiles all the time.  she definitely knows who her mommy and daddy are and will generally give us a smile if we act goofy enough. 

weight:  i'm guessing about 13.5 lbs (this is somewhat based on the weight her bath tub tells us, if you trust a digital scale on a plastic bath tub)

height: i'm going to say 23"

medical: we have a much better control on her dietary issues than we did last month.  i have tweaked my diet to cut out milk, cheese, butter, eggs, etc (all dairy)...which includes chocolate...boo! (but not dark chocolate).  she is seemingly much better: happy, less spit up, less gas, less crazy big poopy diapers, etc.  

sleep: still sleeping well.  she usually sleeps from about 9-9:30 PM to somewhere between 6:30-7 AM.  Now that she is in daycare, 7 am is about as late as she can go and we still make it to work on time (well we haven't actually made it to work on time yet, but that is what I think).  Sometimes we have to WAKE her up!

clothes/diapers: she has pretty much moved out of anything that says 0-3, she can still wear some 3 month stuff.  sleepers or any full body outfit requires 6 month or it is too short...and I don't feel like she is a long baby??

diet: exclusively breastmilk still

milestones: blowing bubbles, holding head up steady, finding hands and feet, started daycare, grasping and holding toys, closely watching and following objects

likes: riding in the car, taking walks in the stroller, being talked to first thing in the morning (seriously the cutest thing ever), toys that make noise (oh how i wanted to avoid this), watching TV (i think this is similar to the noise toys...lights, movement, and noise. we don't even watch kids shows)

dislikes: being naked after bath time (although she likes bath time itself), being burped during feedings, tummy time

mommy: i went back to work right before she turned 3 months old.  it was hard.  i miss her during the day.  it was nice to feel like a gainfully employeed adult again.  most of my work clothes fit, although I have had to wear the belly band a few times with pants that don't want to button.  i am within 2 pounds of my pre pregnancy weight, but it is definitely shifted from muscle to fat...my clothes don't fit the same.  i have tried to start working out again, i usually get 1 or 2 30 minute workouts in during a week....not going to get back in shape at that pace, but you got to start somewhere right??

one more...because it is to die for

happy birthday big boy!

happy birthday to our oldest and biggest boy (a day late)! we love this guy.  i got rigsby 2 weeks before the end of my senior year season...now he's seven and i'm OLD.  it seems like just yesterday when he was a pup!

My perspective on a crappy subject (pun intended)

I promise to blog more. I know I've said that at least 10 times and I've only been blogging 10 months. Sue me, it's hard to be good at everything. But I do promise, and here is why...I sit in a closet room for at least an hour everyday pumping and I might as well put my time to good use (and who wants to actually work at work). I only have 2 male readers to my knowledge and I'm certain that mental picture didn't freak chuck out too too bad, so if it did my other one...my bad (here's looking at you TJM).

Today I'm going to discuss my our choice to cloth diaper. First, I should preface this with a few things:

 

1. I'm not by any means a spokesperson for any of these companies

2. I'm not a cloth diapering Nazi... I haven't even tried it overnight yet

3. I could quit this whole thing at any minute and I wouldn't be too disappointed

 

Now I'm ready.  Way back when (even before I was pregnant) I read one of my old high school friends blogs randomly one day (because she promoted it well on facebook and i'm a sucker for good marketing) and she had posted an update about how cloth diapering was going for her.  Before this post, i knew absolutely nothing about the world of "modern" cloth diapering.  Now my devoted mother cloth diapered my butt 30 years ago, and although i don't remember it, i knew from seeing her supplies that this was a whole different ball game...and in a good way.  I was interested...

 

After loads of google research, because that is how I learn everything, several appealing reasons to cloth diaper prevailed: price, environmentally friendlier, price, less rash, did i mention price, oh and they are CUTE...it is undeniable. After learning research on the benefits, my searches turned to things like "can i handle cloth diapering", "how bad is cloth diapering", "is cloth diapering really worth the benefits"...you see where i'm going with this...I'm not going to act like a bad ass, i was scared i couldn't cut it.  I was the person, who at the time, had never changed a diaper. 

 

so here the gist (in 50 words or less), since most of the people who read this are family and beyond their child rearing years (not you Al) I don't have to sell it too hard...but there could be a few I sway, so i'll do my best.  The diapers I use are basically just like a disposable.  They dirty it, you take it off and get a new one...you just don't throw it away.  I use what is called a pocket diaper (bumgenius and fuzzibunz, for those that care...I can go into more reviews later if needed).  it is a waterproof shell with a soft wicking layer on the inside, there is a hole in the back where you can stuff any number of inserts to soak up the pee (they come with 2 different inserts, 1 for newborn pee, one for big baby pee...we've already moved up to the bigger one).  when the diaper is dirty, you remove the insert from the hole, and wash both parts separately. bah-da-bing-bah-da-boom...you are done!

did I mention they are cute??

 

so, how's it going for us? so far, so good.  we started using the cloth diapers right after her stump fell off at about 3 weeks (about 8 lbs).  we have used them 95% of the time during the day since then, but we haven't tried them at night yet.  I read a bunch of horror stories about the diapers leaking at night and I'm scared to mess up our sleeping streak.  We wash the diapers about every other day.  

So far i have spend $10 on disposable diapers...in 3 months.  not too bad.  

look at that fluffy butt!!

the first day of many

today was a big day....a big emotional day.  today, as we ALL (well minus rigs) pulled out of the driveway, we prepared our 3 month old for her first day of school. the first day of a routine that she will be in for the next 22 years of her life (if we are lucky she will graduate college by 22...).  that's big...that's especially big for a new mom and an emotional dad.

i'm here to report that we all survived.  yes, i called them before 10.  yes, i went to visit before 12.  yes, i threatened to leave chuck at work when his afternoon meeting ran late.  but we did make it.  and when we stepped foot in her class this afternoon she was laying on the floor looking at overhead toys (laying on the floor by herself without anyone giving her all of their attention!!).  miss debbie said she was a bit fussy at times, but took naps and ate well.  i'm calling it a win! now if i can just stand to take her back tomorrow...

here are some first day of school pictures; although i may be biased...I think she was the best dressed in the infant class.

i was perfectly willing to sit there all day and play...they were gently nudging us to leave

she can almost hold her head up enough for the bumbo chair....big girl

doesn't he look concerned? at this point i was about to pry her away from him