Mallory 4 Months

Already 1/3 of the way to a year.  I'm excited for the little fun person she's becoming, but at the same time not wishing the time away.  I don't feel like I have to cherish every single moment, and when she's non stop crying I for sure don't cherish that moment, but still, those moments are flying by. 

She's rolling over now - not consistently - but has gone back to belly several times in the last week and a half.

Lots of talking and smiling here.

She loves to suck on her hands, and is grabbing and holding onto toys more.

Still is a very poor napper.  Cat naps in the car or while nursing are usually the best I get, but she is still doing okay at night so there is that, although still frustrating because I can't spend the time I need to with Eleanor.

I've been super lax about having her crib nap so hoping I don't regret that choice.

She has her checkup on Thursday so I'm not sure about stats, but I'm guessing her to be in the 13/14lb range based on a quick check the other day at home, and around 24 inches.

I've put most of the 3 month pajamas away & some of the 3 month pants.  3 month onesies are usually still okay.  Still in the size 2 diapers, and fitting a little better into some of the cloth, which I'm happy with because cloth are cute and save money.

She went into nursery at church for the first time, visited the zoo for the first time, went to the public museum for the first time and visited the cottage at Sand Lake for the first time as well.

17 Week Update ~Mallory~

I totally forgot to finish this post yesterday.  I forgot to take her picture until after she had fallen asleep.  Ooops!  I thought about it earlier in the day and then got distracted and didn't remember.

Breastfeeding:
Lately she's been fidgeting while nursing, likely because she's getting distracted, and she'll pull back while still latched on and that's a little

Sleep:
Monday she rocked the naps, but Tuesday she did not so maybe she was just super tired from the weekend.

Tuesday she was up at 5:45.  I hadn't gone to bed until after midnight the night before (thank you Eleanor) and seriously struggled.  My awesome mom came over on her work break and I napped for a half an hour or so.  Not much but enough to give me a little boost.

Wednesday she slept in until like 7:30, every other day she's been up around 6:30.

Misc. 
She rolled over from back to belly a few times.  It took a few days and a few times before I saw her do it, but she did it.  (Eleanor was about six months before she did back to belly; although she went belly to back at 3 months)

The shrieking!  Girl gets mad she can't roll, or grab a toy and yells.

But she also 'talks' and coos.  I'm pretty sure she's said 'hi' a few times back to me. lol.

When she wakes up she is all smiles and it's so precious.

Eleanor is 7 months

7 months already.  We are more than halfway to a year and I look back at pictures and get sad that my memories are already fading a little.

Eleanor:
She's become very mobile with scooting but only going backwards.  She hasn't figured out how to go forwards although she does get up on all fours and rock.

She can roll and turn herself to get where she wants also.

We've been doing solids and have tried several vegetables and a few fruits and she's been pretty good with everything she's tried.  No reactions yet.

No teeth yet.

Still breastfeeding about every 3 hours but really I just follow her cues.  Sometimes it's less and sometimes more.

She's moved up to size 3 diapers for disposables although I use cloth most of the time - expect if we are out of the house and Rob still uses disposables (but will take off a cloth).

Clothes are mostly in the 6-9 month range, pajamas with feet are in the 9 month size and when she wears a cloth diaper I go up to 9 month usually.

Likes the vacuum and anything anyone else has. :)


Me:
Last week I started to have some random stomach pain and I realized that it was near the c-section site and was most likely connected.  Since then it's been on and off.  I haven't had any issues from the time I was 'healed' (November ish) but I know it's normal to have some for a long time post surgery.

Still losing hair like crazy.  It's worse when I wear it down, and I usually don't but it get's out of control sometimes.  I have to vacuum all the time now that Eleanor is mobile (not that I didn't ever vacuum before)

The Eleanor Update: 27 weeks

This was a crazy busy week for that sweet girl.

Last Monday Eleanor turned 6 months (read the update post here).  We visited the Fredrick Meijer gardens with my mom, niece, sister, nephew, my sisters sister in law (also Rob's bosses wife) and her 2 kids. Eleanor loved looking around at all the plants and watching the butterflies.

That night we have her solids for the first time (not counting the licks of stuff she's had from our fingers).  She's had carrots, carrot and pea blend as purees, bell peppers and baby carrots in a mesh feeder and oatmeal.

The next day she rolled over from back to belly.  She did it once the week before, but this was several times so I knew she had figured it out.  A few hours later we went to the doctor for her checkup.  She was 17 lbs 7 oz and 26' and her head was in the 95% (umm whoa!).  She also got her shots but she did well with them. 

2 days later I went to the store for a quick trip.  While I was gone she learned how to say 'dada' and has been saying it ever since. 

I know you all are thinking it... :)

We had this crazy freak flash no warning storm come through Saturday afternoon that left us without power until Sunday morning.  So we spent the night at my parents.  It was her first night not at home but she did okay.  

Breastfeeding:
I'm thrilled we made it to 6 months!  I wound up with a bruise on one side, but I nursed her in the cradle most of the weekend because we were gone so she was latching differently.  It's still there but I'm sure it will eventually go away. 

Sleep:
See any of my other updates because I'm always saying the same thing.

I've been reading all sorts of sleep books, and basically she needs a bedtime routine and to be put down drowsy but not asleep.  I have no consistency and she usually nurses to sleep.

Once she is down finally she will usually only wake up once a night.

I've been bed sharing a lot and am trying to break that habit.  Although I sleep better when she is in bed and she does too, I'm worried for when she starts to roll over.

Hey 6 months!

6 months = 26 weeks =182 days.



Yesterday my sweet precious baby girl was half way to a year.

Eating:
Still breastfeeding!  I still get pain when nursing and sometimes I have to unlatch her and re-latch her, but I was thinking back to the beginning when I would cry and curl my toes when she would latch and we've come a long ways since then.  I'm not at all ready to stop yet.  I love that she's getting the benefits and so am I.

I would like to keep going past a year.  I know it's not the norm at all, and Rob thinks it's weird (but I think a lot of people think that), but my sister will be at a year nursing my nephew next week with no signs of stopping and I think it helps having that example (and I'm super proud of her for getting there- love you Ali!).

I'm pumping once sometimes twice a week (so maybe 6-10 oz) despite the fact that I probably have about a 10 day milk supply.  It's more to keep it fresh, if it makes since.

We started solids last night! We gave her carrots as a puree and she loved it.  We will probably mostly do baby led weaning though.  But that means we need to eat healthier if she is going to eat what we eat.

Sleep:
Seriously all.over.the.place.  One night she would sleep 8 hours in her crib and the next she'd be up every hour.



The night she turned 5 months we put her in her crib for the first time at night.  It was hard for me because I missed her, but it got easier.

Then a week or so later she started waking up all the time and I wound up bed-sharing.  That's something I said I would never do, but she slept better and I actually slept (not better though).

Her naps are actually getting better though.  I put her on her belly for naps and that helps.

Still no schedule.  For us I think rather than set times, such as nap at 9, a better way would be to maybe take a nap 2 hours after waking or something like that.

She usually wakes up at 6:30 am.  This is the one thing that is consistent with her.

Growth:
We are about to move up to size 3 diapers.  She probably could stay in size 2 (at least the Target brand since they seem longer) but we are about out of size 2 so we will give size 3 a shot.  If they don't work, I'll go back to size 2.

Using cloth more (although with the whole starting solids, I'm nervous about that change since breast milk poop washes out easily) and she's fitting into some of the one size diapers better so we have a lot more options and I'm addicted to fluff again.

For clothes she's mostly in 3-6 month onesies with a few Carters 3 month (which really are 0-3 since they run small).  Pants are 6-9 month and pajamas are 9 months (I can still get her into 6-9 but they are snug).

She had her 6 month appointment this morning.  She was 26" (70%), 17 lbs 7 oz (75%) and her head was at 95% (Whoa!).  Other than the head thing (which the doctor thinks might have been an error-but they didn't remeausre) her growth has been pretty steady.



Misc: 
We've been getting out and walking more, now that the weather is getting better out.  She loves to walk in the big girl stroller because she can check everything out. Before, in her other stroller, it would put her to sleep in minutes, and now she could stay awake 15-20 minutes.

She loves to talk and makes this scrunchy face when she thinks something is funny.

She just just (as in this morning) figured out how to roll back to belly. She did it a few times so I think she's learning.  She did it once last week, but not since - until today.  And actually I've yet to see her do it because she always seems to do it when I look away.

She fake coughs when she wants attention.  Hilarious.

Me:
I knew post-partum hair loss was a possibility, but it didn't really happen until this last month.  And I lose a lot.  Every time I shower, brush my hair, take out my pony tail, get in the car, walk down the steps (so basically always) I lose hair.   That plus when Eleanor grabs a fistful and yanks it out of my head.  I'm not sure how I have any left.

This is a completely random and not sure if it's related observation, but before being pregnant if I would lay on my back, and stretch my legs out (like lift and straighten) my hips would kind of pop.  Every time, and on both sides.  I noticed the other day that doesn't happen anymore.

For funsies here is the birth story.

Eleanor is 5 months

Breastfeeding:

Still going strong.  I'm pumping a little more often now (and by that I mean maybe 3-4 times a week; I pumped and stored a whole 40 oz in February)- I'm paranoid about losing my supply randomly and want to have some milk.  

Actually I'm contemplating donating the milk from October.  I didn't know to freeze in small portions and froze it in 5 oz and it won't get used probably.  But even if I do that I probably have a weeks worth of milk stored. 

We haven't introduced solids yet. I don't think it's quite necessary yet, although in the next few weeks I think we will probably.  I wanted to wait until 6 months, but she is super into anything we are eating or drinking.

She is going longer stretches between eating now. She can go 3 hours on some occasions. 

Sleep: 

I don't know what that is, and she doesn't want any part of it.

She is on a major sleep strike lately.  Like she's up super early (before 7), not sleeping until 9 pm, and where she was taking short naps (but at least taking them) she's no longer doing that.  This last week I have spent an hour or more struggling to get her to take a 15 minute nap.  Bedtime is the same way.  Last night she was up 4 times from 9 pm -7 am. 

This is how I've felt lately with no sleep, and I think it's worse than when she was a newborn.

Misc:

She hadn't had her 4 month checkup when I wrote the last monthly post, but was 75% for head and weight and 50% for height a few weeks ago.

I did weigh her today and she's about 16 lbs.


I'm pretty sure part of her major sleep retaliation comes from the fact that she's teething.  No teeth have popped through, and I keep checking, but it would explain things.

When she's shy or being silly she'll bury her head in my neck/shoulder.  I think it's so sweet and I love it.

The last few days she's rolled belly to back a lot more often, but I've yet to see her go back to belly.

We started putting her in the church nursery and she does pretty well.

She also sits up pretty well, she has been for a while so maybe I wrote about it last month.  Here is a video from today though.

Me:

Still no postpartum period, and I'm cool with that.  Yeah, I know I needed to share that.


Actually though having no idea when to expect it makes me nervous.  I know nursing isn't a guarantee that it will delay it, but I hope it stays a way longer.

I've been back to my pre-pregnancy weight for a while, but my shape is a little different and most of my pants just don't fit me anymore.

My stretch marks are fading as well. Yes! I still will never wear a bikini again.

I'm pretty sure I wanted to add something else, but can't remember.  If I think of it I'll edit later.