5 Months Old!

Oh boy are you lucky.  I've been working on this post for a while so it's nice and long ;)

Wow! Our 5th month was a really big and busy one! Abby's first Christmas was so exciting, even though she will not remember it. We gave her way too many presents, took a ton of pictures, and shared her with our family and friends.  We did lots of fun things this month like driving through the neighborhood holiday light display, meeting friends for brunch, and of course decorating the tree and the house for Christmas.  We also had some firsts this month.  Other than Christmas and New Years, Abby sat in her highchair and tried solid food for the first time. She also started holding her own bottle and she discovered her feet! And finally, at the end of her 4th month, she started daycare.

It has only been a week since she started so we are still adjusting.  Her sleep schedule is completely out of whack.  She is taking naps but they are small but she is sleeping through the night (and then some) because she's missing naps during the day.  Fine by me... I really like her teachers and her school and I'm confident she's in good hands.  But of course I still hate that I can't be with her all day. And she has a full class so it's hard for her to get the undivided attention that I wish she could have.  I am beginning to think daycare is more difficult for the mom to get used to than it is for the baby... She has been having fun playing with her new friends, reading stories and doing arts and crafts.

Abby's first "artwork". 

This next month is going to fly by, between work, daycare, busy weekends, and our upcoming trip to Disney where she will turn 6 months old.  (This wasn't exactly planned on purpose but it totally works.)  So, it's time to start planning our first post-baby Disney trip.  To say I'm excited about this is a complete understatement.  Not because I think Abby will know or care about being at Disney World, but because WDW is my (and my husband's) happy place and having a baby is a big deal and kind of all I could focus on for a long time.  Our next trip seemed so far away and unreachable and the fact that it's time to start packing means that I made it through the delivery and recovery and I'm a mom now (all things I really wasn't sure I'd be able to do,..haha).  But enough of that mushy stuff.... let's get on to the 5 month update and I'll be back later to talk about the things I am buying, making, packing, reading, doing, etc. to get ready for our trip.

How many? F-I-V-E

Recent Stats No appointment this month. I'll see if I can remember to stick her on the scale. She is getting so big!!!

Clothes size Into the 6 month size we go!  Pants are officially 6 month, and she kind of but not really fits into 3 month onesies, although the sleeves are a little short.  The 6 month onesies are a little baggy but she will grow into them in no time. I'm sad because there are some 3 month outfits she won't get to wear. It's just too cold. The problem with having your shower in the summer is that the clothes in the stores are all summery.  I've done a pretty good job of getting everything on her at least once, though.

The point of this picture is to show you that her eyes are still blue!

Diaper size Big girl is in size 2 diaper.  Before I had a baby I knew NOTHING about diaper sizes. I didn't even know there were diaper sizes.  I was reading an article about how overwhelming it is to make a baby registry because you don't know what anything is and I can TOTALLY identify with that but I want to say that even if you don't think you will, you learn as you go. It's amazing what I know now that I didn't a year ago.  And I didn't really try to learn anything, it just happens. So, if you are panicking, don't.

Feeding Formula strong! I'm feeling better and better about our decision to do exclusive formula. It's fattening her up nicely ;).  We do 1 scoop regular and 1 scoop of the "AR" (rice based, made for spit up but we use it to keep her tummy full).  She does about six 4oz bottles per day, except her last bottle at night is 6 oz to try to help her feel full for longer.  She has started holding her own bottles, reaching for the bottle with her mouth open, etc.  She also has started reaching for anything that looks like a bottle (see below picture). We started on the rice cereal and she made the most horrible face and moved away from the spoon.  I tried it and I have to say, it tastes awful.  I was talking to a friend who is a pediatrician and she said to toss the rice cereal and to give her some fruits/veggies.  So next we tried Sweet Potatoes and that went over MUCH better.  We aren't doing solid food more than 1x per day, but we will slowly build up over the next month or so as she gets used to it.  I have no idea what I am doing so I'm just giving her tiny bites until she decides she's had enough and moves away from the spoon.  That's the scary thing about parenting.  Nobody knows what they are doing.

Rice Cereal FAIL. This face says "This stuff tastes like crap."

No, Abby. That's Daddy's "bottle"...

Big girl holding her own bottle (still needs some help though)

Despite the face, we liked the sweet potatoes!

Sleeping Abby had been waking up once per night for several weeks before she started daycare.  Four month sleep regression is a thing and it happens for many reasons. For Abby it was because 1. she was waking up because she was hungry and 2. she is becoming more aware of her surroundings. I'd take once per night (and she goes right back to sleep) over what some other friends are dealing with so I'm not going to complain.  Once she started daycare she went back to sleeping through the night.  Poor thing is just exhausted.  On her third day she fell asleep at 6 and I woke her up to 8 to eat and she didn't even open her eyes.  I put her in her crib in her clothes, blue paint on her fingernails and all.  She slept all night like that. Must have had a big day ;)

Personality Abby is continuing to be a very cool and calm baby.  She's very easy going and very very smiley.  She's laughing out loud more often (omg it's so cute) and working on her vocalizations.  I've heard "mmmma!" a few times but I doubt she's talking about me.  She does have the "MA! THE MEATLOAF!" thing down pretty good when she's in her crib and she's hungry.  She's also super interested in the dogs.  She has been reaching out for them and we have "petted" them a few times together.  They are tolerating ;)

Milestones
Can sit unsupported for a few seconds at a time (before she topples over)
Is rolling back to front and front to back more often.  Most of the time her daily reports say she did tummy time for a total of 2 minutes because she just rolls back over when you put her on her tummy. Doesn't like it.

Sitting up by myself

Can pick things up, transfer hands, hold with both hands, etc.
She has not dropped her 3rd (or 4th) nap by any means.
Is starting to babble a little bit and I've heard her string a few consonants together but it's mostly just yelling...

Mom's Corner
New this month! Just a little corner where I can talk about how I'm doing, what I'm doing, etc.
So a while back I wrote about my post baby body and my plans to get back into shape.  Well, I'm about 1 week into my official half marathon training and while I haven't seen any physical changes, each run is getting easier for me.  The first several runs after baby were less than comfortable.  Over time it has slowly gotten better.  While I hate the act of running itself, it feels good to get exercise and accomplish something.

Some more fun pictures from our 5th month: 

The last time we wore this Disney Princess outfit :(

Want.to.sit.up.

Being silly with Dad <3

Hanging in my bed while I get ready for work

Anecdote about Internet Safety

I wanted to tell you guys something that happened this morning.

First I'll give you some background.  I have a personal policy of not posting naked pictures of my baby on Facebook/the internet.  I have many reasons for this but the main one is: privacy.  Private parts are just that.

This morning after I put Abby down for nap #1, I was scrolling down my newsfeed when I came across a picture.  A naked little girl was sitting on a training potty, smiling.  I had no idea who it was so I looked at who'd posted.  Turns out I don't know her either.

A well meaning, and super excited Mom had posted a picture of her kid on the potty and tagged 15 (FIFTEEN) of her friends.  What she didn't realize was that Facebook will take that picture and put it on the newsfeed of her friends' friends.  Let's do some math.  If each friend had 100 friends, that's 1,500 people.  If each friend had 1,000 friends, that's 15,000 people that are potentially going to see your naked child. Most of which don't know you. I don't want to look up statistics about child predators but 1/15,000 is probably a reality.

This was totally disturbing to me.  So, in true Sarah fashion, I sent her a private message.  I explained who I was (how I knew her friend) and that I'm a mom and shared my concerns.  I worried abut how she'd respond but she wrote back immediately and thanked me!

I wanted to share this with you guys so you'll always consider before posting things, whether it is your children or even just yourself!  Double check your privacy settings (I will be doing that now) and don't ever give out too much information.

My little monkey is awake, so I gotta run.  Oh man, I REALLY need to start running again........ but that is a post for another day...  Have a good weekend everyone!

~sg

Happy New Year!

So obviously our New Year's eve plans did not include an all-you-can-drink fancy bar tour or a ride on a party bus in a sparkly dress and tux. This year we had a regular weekday night, except we included some hors d'oeuvres and a champagne toast...at 8pm.

While watching various bad TV and hanging out with Abby, I was messing around with my camera and noticed a whole bunch of features that I didn't know about previously.  One is an artsy function where you snap a picture and it makes 5 artsy prints.  The other is the continuous shutter option for a moving subject..... monthly photo shoots just got a whole lot more exciting!!

I'm semi-sorry the blog has become the one place where I don't mind sharing multiple photos of Abby in the same outfit doing pretty much the same thing... (it's a huge pet peeve of mine...)But I guess I rationalize because you are here because you want to be, right?

So, here's a few pictures from our morning shoot, our second morning shoot after I went to Target, Shoppers, Rite Aid, Dollar General and got party hats, and from our New Year's Eve celebration for 3 (and 2 dogs).

Happy 2015, everyone.

Mom, the sun isn't even up yet. Why the flash?! (WTF)

I'm a lot more interested in smiling without the flash.

And it is now daylight.

When I put this hat on her I snapped her chin by accident.  It was so sad and funny at the same time. I'm a terrible person.

"I can make lots of noise with this."

This one came in 2nd place for the "Which photo to share on Facebook" contest.

The crown wins, though.

Let's just share a moment of silence for this picture.  I'm SO DISAPPOINTED that it did not come out. So. Disappointed.

Chloe is an extremely good sport.

Woo!

Abby's First New Year's party

Getting artsy now!

oooooh

ahhhhh

I call this "New Year's Casual"

The one "picture" of Joey.... but mostly Doc

Things got kinda cray cray!

Twinsies!!!

 ~sg

Four Months!

Late late late! We have been so busy with work and getting ready for Abby's first Christmas. Here is her four month update!  We had better luck this month taking photos on a Saturday morning instead of a workday evening.  Abby doesn't want to sit still, and she kicks and wiggles when she smiles which make iPhone pictures difficult... (The real camera was MIA.)  She is also getting easily distracted these days if someone or some dog comes into the room while we're playing, eating, or in this case, photo shoot-ing.  But, we did our best!

How many? 4 months! ~18.5 weeks today

Recent Stats?  We just had our four month check up.  Abby did great.  She was so calm that even the nurses asked if she's always like that.  While she was sitting there on her Dad's lap, I noticed for the first time how she really has control over her head now and also how plump she is getting.  Anyway... to the stats!  Big girl weighs in at 14 lbs 7 oz, and is now 60 percentile for weight.  She is 25.5 inches long and 90 percentile for length.  She's also 60 percentile for head circumference if you care.

Clothes size? We're going strong in 3 month size, although some of the 3 month footies are getting to be too short.  My Mom grabbed a 9 month size sleeper out of the closet by accident and it actually FIT her, albeit a bit baggy.  We're probably going to start transitioning to 3-6 and 6 month soon.

Diaper size?  Still in size 1 although this new realization that she weighs 14+ pounds tells me that it's time for us to move up.  That and she's had a couple blow outs lately, which is usually your telltale sign that it's time.

Feeding?  This baby is on the best schedule.  Every 3 hours.  Eat, play, sleep.  Done and done.  4 ounces 6 times a day. 1.5-2 hour naps. We have been given the green light by our doctor to start solid foods! This is crazy to me.  How are we here already?! She also said Abby is beginning TEETHING. WHAT?!  I plan to ease into rice cereal over the next month or two.  I'm not exactly in a rush.  But Abby is still taking an interest in what we are eating so I think she will be ready.

In process of grabbing at my sticker

Sleeping?  Our little trap baby is also a great sleeper.  She goes down every night around 8 and wakes up around 5 (which is when we get up for work.  I know what you are thinking.)  Lately she has been waking up once per night for a feeding.  If this is the dreaded 4 month sleep regression, I'll take it. We also officially transitioned into her bedroom/the crib.  Such a big girl :(  I still have the pack n play set up next to my bed... just in case... :(

Yelling, kicking, etc.

Personality? Very easy going.  Calm and quiet- likes to take in her surroundings.  She loves to watch the animals.  She particularly likes Doc. She thinks her Dad is hysterical.  I can't really get her to laugh too often but she does laugh at him. She did her first belly laugh the other day, but I guess that counts for the 5 month update since this one is late ;)

Milestones? (Update on this section: basically I google "X Month Milestones" and write down all the ones she has accomplished.  This is for me to look back on, perhaps with subsequent babies.  I'm not too concerned about her hitting every single milestone, being late, early, or skipping one altogether.)
Rolled over both ways, but doesn't really care about rolling often
Can hold up head 90 degrees when on stomach, when helped into propped up position *still hates TT
Can hold/let go of an object, can pick it back up depending on what it is and where it fell
Holds head up when sitting
Laughs out loud (sometimes). I haven't figured out how to get her laughing yet.
Makes tons of eye contact, recognizes us, recognizes the bottle, etc.
Voices her displeasure if we do something she doesn't like (put her down, take the bottle away, etc)
Coos/"chatters"/gurgles/M/B consonants

Fun pictures from our Fourth month:

Oh, hey! Didn't see you there.

This is my blue monkey. It's my favorite toy.

Sooooo sick of Mom taking pictures of me.

Up to no good

With my Grandmothers

Being silly in my blanket with my paci and Taggie

Me and Mom

Me and Santa <3 xoxoxox I've been a good girl!!!!!

Abby's Birthmark

Some of you may have noticed a birthmark on Abby's right arm. It's a dark colored mole and it's fairly good sized.  She was born with it; although it was much lighter 17 weeks ago.  It has since gotten darker. I joke that the melanin meant for her eyes all went into this mole, hence the blue eyes still ;)

The doctor is keeping an eye on it, however she has told me over and over again that it's just a birth mark and it will grow with her. Nothing to worry about.

Plus, how cool is it that when someone asks her what time it is she can legitimately look at her wrist and respond, "Half past my freckle!"??

Happy Wednesday,

The Internet isn't Real Life!

Just a friendly reminder that not everything you see on the internet is real.  Those people that seem to have it all together?  They don't.  That Mom (me), who posts cute smiley pictures of her baby all the time? Don't worry. She didn't get that smiley picture on the first try!  Although it totally helps to have a smiley baby who is in a smiley mood....  Here are some outtakes from Sunday's little photo shoot:

Lemme stick my tongue out

You didn't think I'd make this easy did you?

BUT MY HAND TASTES SO GOOD

Seriously Mom?

Thank goodness for the iPhone which can take picture after picture....

Hope you are all getting excited for Christmas!!!!

~SG

Breast Feeding, the Final Chapter

I wrote this such a long time ago and I never hit publish.  But after talking to some friends this weekend who ALSO had a hard time BFing, I decided it was important to share my story because before our various complications, none of us were aware of the different problems new moms face when it comes to nursing.  I think we are all so focused on what the labor and delivery is going to be like that we gloss over the chapter about nursing.  So here's the rest of my story. And remember, no matter how you feed your baby, the bottom line is that you are feeding your baby!! 

Ahh let's see.  Where did I leave off?  I believe I was just getting into some kind of rhythm with pumping and feeding.  Which was working, for a little while.

We finally bit the bullet and got Abby's tongue tie clipped (around 8-9 weeks I believe).  We should have done it immediately when she was born.  Looking back, I regret this and I think our breast feeding relationship could have lasted longer had we done this sooner.  I think it could have also been less traumatic for Abby.  Although, I hardly call 20 minutes of crying "traumatic".  We went to a really good ENT in the area.  He took a look at her mouth, had Joey hold her on his lap, and after trying to catch her wiggly tongue (again- taking a younger baby would have been better), snip snip and it was done.  She cried her eyes out but honestly she cried harder when she got her shots.  She was really just pissed that somebody was holding gauze in her mouth.  Once the bleeding stopped (5-10 mins I'd say) she was passed out in her carseat and we went home.  We expected her to have pain when she woke up.  She didn't even notice.  It healed SUPER quick and she can stick her tongue out so far now!

Once the tongue tie was fixed, breast feeding was no longer painful.  WHY did I wait so long to do this?!  Because it was no longer painful, I started to nurse more and pump less.  And any time you switch up what you are doing, your body gets confused and you can get sick.  Which I did.  I got mastitis, AGAIN.  This time, I had a really bad infection.  I had a very high fever that made me nauseous, chills, severe pain, etc.  I had to call my doctor to get antibiotics in the middle of the night on a weekend.  I was told to keep nursing because the infected milk ducts needed to be cleared.  I tried EVERYTHING to clear them, to no avail.  I went back to exclusive nursing for an entire week. Looking back, I'm really glad I did that because it gave me one last chance to try it.

I went to my doctor for a follow up after a week of antibiotics, exclusive nursing and worrying about a lump that I found.  They sent me to the hospital to a radiologist for an ultrasound on my breast to make sure the lump wasn't anything to be concerned about.  It wasn't, and I have since been back for a follow up just in case. Talk about a terrifying experience, though.

With less than two weeks to go until I went back to work, I made the extremely difficult and emotional decision to stop breast feeding.  I cried A LOT, I went back and forth, I wondered if I was doing the right thing, the wrong thing, if I was wasting a perfectly good supply of milk, etc.  I was planning on gradually stopping but after skipping a couple nursing sessions in a row, I decided I was quitting cold turkey like my doctors had advised.  I'm glad I didn't know that my last nursing session was going to be my last one ever.

Quitting cold turkey with a good supply is the most painful thing I've ever experienced.  I think it hurt less to birth a child than it did in that first 24 hours.  I couldn't sleep.  I couldn't even lay down.  For about 4 days I had really bad pain. After that it just gradually hurt less and less.

I don't really want to think about or talk about my decision to stop that much because it was a really painful thing for me to accept.  I always said I would give it the old college try and I did.  The first time we gave her a bottle with formula mixed in it she was 11 weeks old.  I made Joey give it to her because I just couldn't bear to do it.  Guess what? She totally survived.  When she was 14 weeks, we started on 100% formula.  I was all nervous about it but she didn't even blink when we gave her a "test bottle".  I honestly don't think she cares.  This baby is so ridiculously easy going, which has in turn made my decision SO much easier to swallow.

I had to make this decision for my own health.  Happy mom, happy baby.  And I was not happy.  Breast feeding was consuming me.  It was all I could think about.  I couldn't get through a single day without having some kind of issue or worry.  I am hopeful, though, that I will have the opportunity to breast feed again and that next time I will be better prepared with all that I have learned.

~SG