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

2 months

here we are, over 2 months in.  i can't believe it.  chuck and i literally stare in disbelief at how much she has grown and changed since birth.  she is much more aware of her surrounding and it is freaking awesome watching her learn the world.  who knew (or would have thought) that I would be the kind of mom to get hung up on this kind of stuff...but i am.  i'm not ashamed at all to admit that i cry almost every day when i realize how fast this is all happening.  we love this child more than anything!

weight: 12 lbs at her 2 month appointment

height: i'm going to say 22", chuck is going to insist on more

medical: we have had a bit of a "whirlwind" medical month (nothing too serious) starting with a trip to the childrens ER. the simple diagnosis is that she has a intolerance to proteins in certain foods.  the tricky part has been trying to figure out what foods...so that I can cut them out of my diet.  so far we have eliminated all dairy and eggs and we still aren't 100% fixed.  this intolerance has cause lots of gas, fussiness, stomach aches, spit up, etc...so we are eager to get it figured out. otherwise, she is a healthy baby.  

sleep: still sleeping well.  we have actually moved her up to her nursery (since the 2 month mark) and she has transitioned very well.  she usually sleeps from about 9:30-10:00 PM to somewhere between 3:30-6:30 AM (I prefer the 6:30 days...) then will sleep again until about 9 AM.  

clothes/diapers: she is mostly 3 month clothing, but they are starting to get small.  she sleeps in size 1 diapers and we still do cloth during the day.

diet: exclusively breastmilk still

milestones: holding her head up really well during tummy time, cooing and smiling, 

likes: the swing, riding in the car, taking walks in the stroller

dislikes: being naked after bath time (although she likes bath time itself), being burped during feedings...simply because it is taking away from her eating!

mommy: i feel great! i got the "all clear" from the doctor at 7 weeks...i just haven't found my motivation to get back into the gym, i'm not sure if it is because I don't want to leave her or if I have just gotten used to not working out.  i'm hoping that the motivation will come on it's own and I won't have to force myself to start working out.  thankfully breastfeeding is taking care of most of the weight...the last few pounds are just going to be pesky and will require some toning to get my back to my old self. 

things to remember...and some to forget

after almost 2 months with our sweet baby it is almost impossible to remember life before her.  she has already changed so much in such a short time and there are so many things that i feel the need to write down so i don't forget! (and some that i'm sure i won't mind forgetting).  some of the things that i want to remember that i'm sure will change soon or already have:

• the smell of her newborn hair
• how warm and squishy her cheeks get while she is eating...when she finishes i rub my face all over her cheeks
• the way she stretches in the morning when I first undo her swaddle blanket
• the first few times she smiled and it was a giant mouth open grin...for no reason
• the first bath that she took that she enjoyed the whole thing...no tears, no pooping, just relaxation
• the first time chuck read her "pat the bunny" when she didn't cry at all...she has cried during every other book

and among the things i will happily forget:

• her colicky time almost every night between 6 and 9
• the projectile poop that narrowly missed my mouth and landed on the bedspread
• the countless times she throws up in my shirt right creating a puke stream in my bra
• our first (and so far only) trip to the ER that lasted 6 hours in the middle of the night

what we've been up to lately

7, almost 8 weeks in! and while i am not compelled to write anything structured..here is some of the things we have been up to lately.

• visiting LOTS of family and friends.  if you ever feel lonely, have a baby.  everyone who loves us has come to visit in the last couple of months. we are actually taking our first road trip on friday to gallatin...that may deserve a post of its own
• smiling and "talking". C is now interactive.  she can pick out faces and voices, and she spends an awful lot of time smiling at the ceiling.  

i know it is blurry, but look at that face!

• growing.  she weighs 10 lbs, 10 ozs; is wearing all 3 month clothing (and some 3/6); and eating lots to keep up with all her growing
• getting out of the house.  we have gone to dinner, the grocery store, the doggy park, the doctor.  at least i don't feel trapped any more.  
• talking to the pediatrician...a lot more than I have ever talked to a doctor of mine or a vet.  babies are complex, and as a parent you sure don't leave any symptoms untreated.  after spending a friday night in the ER, we learned that we *think* she has a milk protein intolerance.  which means no more dairy for me as long as i am breastfeeding.  that is HARD...oh how i love cheese! but again i would do pretty much anything for this face 

it was great to see all of my side of the family this weekend, we had a great time! the cheesy pizza and cheesecake and cupcakes looked fantastic...good thing i like these people. (note: there should be a picture with alex and C, but she got sickly and distanced herself)