Don't blink. That's what they all say. They're all right. My baby girl is three months old. It seems like such a short amount of time when you say it out loud...three.months. But when you're watching your newborn blossom into a fun little infant with so much personality, the days fly by all too quick.
Health: Avery doesn't have a check-up this month, but I assume she's doing great! I think she's probably about 12 pounds now. We've had some trouble with her digestion and bowel movements, specifically constipation. We're having to give her an ounce of prune juice mixed with an ounce of water once a day. I'm not sure how long we'll have to do that for but it seems if we try to skip a day or two we're right back to problems. Can I just say how thankful I am for Darrell? He really took charge of that situation when I was a panicking mess.
Personality: This little girl smiles more than any baby I've ever seen! She is so sweet and loving, funny and silly all at the same time. She keeps us laughing constantly!
Eating: Well, I'm sad to say our breast feeding journey has come to an end. She was exclusively breast fed for two weeks then supplemented with formula for the next nine weeks. I didn't plan on being totally on formula this soon, but I can honestly say that tried. She's fed, healthy and happy so I call that a win!
She's up to 4oz at a time, every 2.5-4 hours, just depends on the day really. Around 10-11 weeks she was eating smaller amounts, more frequently. She seemed to get tired in the middle of a bottle and give up. Then it hit me, we were still using newborn, size 1 nipples! I think she was getting exhausted from working so hard. We went up a size...well, actually we went up two sizes to a 3. I accidentally got the ones for 3-6 months not 1-3 months (size 2). She drank the bottle so quick but it was spilling everywhere! So, size 2 it is for now. She's spilling some but I guess it will just take some getting used to it.
Sleeping: Oh sleep, I finally know what you are again. Avery has slept through the night for a whole week straight. She is usually asleep between 830-9 and up between 630-7. A few nights she went to bed early, around 7, and we just knew it would be bad. Nope, she did 12 hours those nights!! She is such a wiggle worm. She is never wakes up in the same position or spot we put her in.
Her favorites: Avery loves her Fisher Price Kick 'n Play piano play mat. Seriously, the best $50 spent on baby gear. After her morning bottle she plays on this thing for a while. Well, mostly she stares and smiles at herself in the mirror, but occasionally she acknowledges the toys. She also loves her Oball!! She is still very interested in lights and totally ignores everyone and everything if the TV is on. She also loves playing airplane and peek-a-boo with mommy!
She has also found her thumb. I don't love it, but she does, so what can I do?
Things she could do without: The girl is starting to really hate the carseat. She gets so hot and sweaty in it so I don't blame her, but it's really miserable to drive listening to your baby scream. She did her first long road trip this month to Alabama. On the way we drove half way at night and she slept the whole time. During the day...not so much. After pulling over to change and feed her we realized she just wanted out. We had to just let her cry herself to sleep after a break. It was awful.
And as much as she loves the bath, she hates getting out. I guess maybe because she's cold, but it clearly isn't fun for her.
Milestones: I was hoping to say that she had started rolling over, but not yet. She's so close though. She rolls to either side from her back (she sleeps like that now) but can't quite get all the way over. She's doing so much better at tummy time and has some awesome head control. When she's on her stomach, she can either get her legs or her arms ready to roll over, but not both at the same time. Her grip is getting pretty good. She's able to hold on to some things and has managed to bring some things other than her thumb to her mouth.
Big Events: I'm adding a new section. We're finally starting to do more and more with Avery. We were never ones to just sit home but it took some time to get comfortable and get into a routine when taking her with us. This month Avery went to the beach and to Alabama for the first time. She seemed to love the beach. She let us put her little toes in the sand and water and then promptly napped under the umbrella like a true beach bum. She got to meet and visit with a lot of family and friends in Alabama. She got so much lovin'!!
Mommy: I am doing pretty darn good. I'm pretty sure I made it through without any postpartum depression. Darrell might say differently because I cried a lot at first but I think that was just hormones. Sometimes I still get weepy just looking at her. The struggles with breast feeding didn't help either, but (I think) I'm at peace with that. My biggest struggle right now is finding the time to commit to getting back in shape and losing weight.
Oh, wait, that's wrong. My biggest struggle is starting back to work and sending Avery to daycare. Unfortunately staying home isn't an option for one of us right now. We are still on a waiting list for our first choice center, but got a spot at our second choice. She's only gone two days so far. I don't really have any complaints. I'd like for her to sleep and eat on a more consistent schedule there, but I think that's more her getting adjusted than anything. We haven't decided if we'll move her when a spot opens up at the other center. I'm leaning toward yes, only because it's a little nicer and they follow more of a preschool curriculum in the older classrooms. We'll see.
