Picture time

We had the opportunity to get a fall photo session with the photographer who did E.'s newborn session, and I just have to share them with you because she does such an amazing job!

Love love love.

Jill Velicer Photography

5 Months

My sweet, silly girl - growing by leaps and bounds every day, it seems. E. is doing really well sitting up by herself, with only the occasional topple-over. We have graduated from the baby bathtub to sitting in about an inch or two of water in the "big people tub" for bath time. E. is still nursing with me, but also gets formula when she is at the sitters (Gma & Gpa N, usually) while I'm at work. I still wish I could have breastfed exclusively, but I try not to beat myself up about it. I am glad to be able to still nurse what I can.

We have not introduced solids yet (not counting the cake frosting Aunty L. snuck her a few months back, and the ice cream Daddy introduced her to, and the yogurt Gma N let her sample.... ok, so I have not officially introduced her to solids yet?!). Our plan is to wait until after her 6 month doctor appointment, and get the OK from Dr. K, then we will probably start. Her 6 month appointment is not until the beginning of November, and she will turn 7 months a few days later, so we will most likely wait until then. It should be interesting!

E. still goes to bed around 8-8:30pm, and usually sleeps until anywhere between 5-7am. Her wake up time varies greatly; it usually depends on if she slept through the night before. If she sleeps all night, she wakes up early (5-5:30am); if she woke up a few times, then she usually sleeps a little later (6-7am).

Unofficial stats for this month are:

Weight - 19 lbs (that can't be right.)

Height - 26 in (that can't be right either. That means she shrunk from last time.)

Ok, these are VERY unofficial!

She is almost exclusively in 12 month clothing, as that is the only size where the pants are long enough - she is definitely going to have my "can't find pants long enough" issue. Poor girl! Which reminds me, have you ever shopped at Once Upon A Child? It is a great baby/children's consignment shop that buys and sells gently used clothing. I just bought E. about 7-8 Baby Gap outfits there for about 1/3 the price! They also have baby furniture, strollers, car seats, etc. It's a great store!

I am looking forward to the next few months, and the beginning of the holiday season with E. First up will be her first Halloween - gotta start thinking about an outfit for her! And of course her first pumpkin picking experience. Can't wait!

Enjoying her first (chilly!) parade -Labor Day '11

Real food

Sometime within the next few months, E. will be ready to sample her first solid foods. In anticipation of this event, I have been reading and researching what foods should be introduced first. When you think of baby's first food, you (myself included) probably think of rice cereal. However, I have come across a lot of information that suggests that rice cereal actually isn't the best choice for their first food.

(On a side note, I have also heard it suggested to start a baby on rice cereal as early as 3-4 months, in order to "add substance" to breast milk or formula. During my food research, I have also found out it is better to delay starting baby on solids until 6-7 months old. This article gives a good explanation of why it's better for baby to wait.)

My goal is to start E. with homemade fruit and vegetable purees. I figure purchasing the food and making it at home will be a good way to encourage myself to eat more fruits and vegetables, too. I have realized that if I want my child to grow up to be a healthy eater, then I have to lead by example, and start eating healthier myself - as I munch on a double chocolate chip Subway cookie. Oh boy.

Which brings me to... 100 Days of Real Food. My best friend (we'll call her "O") introduced me to this website, about a family who made a pledge to cut out processed foods from their diet for 100 days. How cool, huh? The website also gives tips on how to do "mini pledges" - week-by-week pledges of cutting out different things, such as artificial sweeteners, ingredients you can't pronounce, refined oils, etc. My friend O. is going to try a 30 day pledge with her family, and I've decided to give it a try too! Starting September 1st, my goal is to follow the Real Food Defined "rules" as to what I should and shouldn't eat. It is going to be quite a challenge, because I loooove me some junk food! But I am determined to change my eating habits and be a better role model, for myself and my family.

4 Months

My little girl is not-so-little anymore! This month, E. weighed in at 16 lb, 10 oz (92%) and 26.5 in (95%). She barely fits into 6 month clothes; I have been buying mostly 9-12 month clothes for her!

E. had a few big accomplishments this month. The first being that she started rolling over! She can (and usually does) roll from her back to her belly whenever she is laid on the floor. Once she is on her belly, she tries so hard to inch herself forward -or backwards- usually without much luck. Then she begins to wail. I think she is so happy that she is finally beginning to be mobile, but frustrated that she still can't do what she wants to do - MOVE! She is one determined little peanut, though, and I wouldn't be surprised if she was crawling (or something resembling it) in a month or two.

Her next big accomplishment has been... going to bed without a swaddle! This feels like more of an accomplishment for C. and I, actually - I had begun to think that we would be driving to her dorm room at college to swaddle her every night! I did some searching on the internet and read some forums about other mommas who swaddled their babies, and how long they did it. The majority said their babies "let them know" they were done being swaddled around 5-6 months, so I figured I had a few months to go. However, a few weeks ago E. started fussing when we swaddled her at night (she usually seemed to really like it; she would calm down if she was fussy or agitated), and a few nights in a row she woke up several times with her arms and/or legs out of the swaddle. I decided that E. was telling us that she didn't need to be swaddled anymore, so we tried putting her to bed without it. The first night was a little rough; she woke up almost every two hours, and I had to go into her room, give her a pacifier, and stroke her while saying "Shhhh" for a few minutes before she would calm down. At times I would barely make it out of her room when she would begin to cry again. But as the week went by, she settled into her brand new sleeping freedom, and these days she wakes up once or twice wanting her pacifier and she will go right back to sleep. It's funny how she went from sleeping through the night very early on, to waking up a few times at night. Well, it's not funny, actually. (Though I bet those of you whose babies didn't sleep through the night early on are not feeling sorry for me at all!) Everyone kept saying, "Enjoy that while it lasts, because it's not going to!" Looks like they were right. *Sad face*

E. is cooing, gurgling, shrieking and smiling like crazy these days! I love it! She is also DROOLING like crazy, which I don't love so much. Bibs are now a permanent wardrobe staple. I totally get those people who say their lives now consist of just sitting around, looking at their baby all day. That's me. She is so entertaining, and she makes me laugh every day. I love her so much!

Summer adventures, Part 2

Our next summer adventure was a trip to the State Fair. This has also been a tradition with my family. Every year that I can remember, we spent a whole day walking around the fairgrounds, looking at all the exhibits and animals, eating tons of "fair food", and begging our parents to buy us a toy from one of the many vendors. We would get to pick out a State Fair t-shirt, and I would always look forward to the pony rides. I hope E. enjoys the fair in the years to come as much as I did growing up!

Rockin' the shades (they lasted about two minutes)

Relaxing in the shade with Gpa N

I could never quite get her to look at the camera

And I think I have it bad nursing one baby!

Enjoying the live band

On a side note, I have never seen so many "Insert Food Here"- On A Stick. There was: Pie on a Stick, Snickers Bar on a Stick, Chocolate Covered Bacon on a Stick (ew!), Deep Fried Cream Cheese on a Stick, Spaghetti and Meatballs on a Stick (don't even ask me how), to name a few...what will they come up with next?!

Summer adventures

Our first big adventure of the summer with E. was the county fair. This holds a special place in my heart because, growing up, I was involved in 4-H and spent all year preparing projects and animals to take to the fair. It was the highlight of my summer (nerd alert!), so I was excited to introduce E. to the sights and sounds of the fair.

She loved the baby goats!

Gpa N. introducing her to the animals.

After a long, HOT day at the fair, E. had all she could handle.

Our next adventure was to Devil's Lake State Park. This also holds a place in my heart, as my sisters and I would look forward to a trip to the park every year when we were younger. This state park makes for a great day trip, and is also great for camping. It has two beaches, large picnic areas, a nice swimming area, canoe, kayak and paddle boat rentals, bluffs surrounding the lake with hiking trails, and three campgrounds. I intend to carry on the tradition and take E. every year to Devil's Lake.

Hanging out with Gpa N.

(Almost) naked baby enjoying the beautiful weather.

Momma & E.

I was sure E. would love the water, seeing as she loves her bath time, and splashing in the tub. However, she was not too impressed with the lake, so we spent most of the time on the shore. The lake is a bit more overwhelming than the bathtub, I guess! Hopefully next year she will enjoy it more.

Our next summer adventure will be a day at the State Fair - stay tuned!

3 Months

Today marks the official transition from newborn to infant, yet it seems like a lifetime ago that E. was a newborn. She has grown and changed so much from those first few days of life, that it's sometimes hard to believe she's only 3 months old. Sometimes it seems she even changes from the time we put her to bed until she wakes up in the morning! I can remember that first week with her, and as much as I hate to admit this (blame it on the raging hormones, the anxiety, and being extremely overwhelmed at such a life change), I wished that she would hurry up and grow up into someone a bit more manageable and predictable. As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. Because now she is growing and changing every day, and my wish now is for time to slow down a little, so I can have more time with my sweet little baby girl.
We have no official doctor appointment this month, so her unofficial stats (as measured by me, so the accuracy is questionable at best) are as follows:

Weight - 15.2 pounds

Height - 25.5 inches

E. is thisclose to laughing, and I cannot wait for it! I try for hours on end to get a giggle out of her, but sometimes I think I'm just not funny enough. (She does give me plenty of what the heck are you doing, crazy lady?! looks, though!) She is sitting up with support, though I have a feeling she might be doing it on her own by month's end. She loves to stand up, whether it be on your lap, on the floor, or pretty much any hard surface that's available. She is still wearing 3 month clothing, but not for much longer, I'm thinking. E. loves her bath time, and she gets a huge kick out of splashing in her tub.

She spent her first night away from home this past weekend, too! C. and I attended a wedding in Green Bay, and E. stayed with Gma & Gpa N. on Saturday night. Gpa took her for a walk to the park down the block from their house to watch kids swimming in the pool. E. was fascinated with all of the kids playing and swimming, and I have a feeling she will be visiting that pool plenty of times when she gets older. She slept well for Gma, only waking up once at 2am when she managed to wiggle her way out of her swaddle. Gma re-swaddled her and gave her a bottle, and she went back to sleep until 6:30am.

This month also marked my return to work. The first night was so hard; I wanted to cry on my drive to work Sunday night. I also felt terrible that I wasn't going to be able to be home to wake up with her in the mornings, as I work 3rd shift and don't get home until about 8am. I think I averaged about 3-4 hours of sleep each day for my first week back to work... ugh! Needless to say, I have begun looking for a new position that doesn't involve working 3rd shift!

I am looking forward to more milestones in the next few months, and watching my baby grow into the amazing little person she will become!