Elsie Marie - 4 Months Old

Elsie turned four months old back on April 14th!  Each month that goes by I am amazed at the changes that take place with her.  Every day there is something new!  We have had a very busy month!  

Elsie's weight at the doctor this month was 13 lbs 5 oz and she was 25 inches long.  She is really growing!  She is eating about 5-6 times a day and about 5-6 oz each time for an average of 30 oz a day.  She is about 1/2 and 1/2 for breatmilk to formula ratio.  We made the switch to using #2 nipples in her bottles now.  I am not sure how much of a difference it has made.  I am still getting about 16-18 oz of breastmilk a day pumping between 5-6 times.  Our goal is to make it until 6 months before I quit pumping.  We are thinking about starting solids (rice cereal) sometime around 5 months.

Since Easter she has gotten herself into a pretty good sleep routine.  For a few weeks around 3 months she was gettingn up for a night feeding (I think she was going through a growth spurt).  Well that has now been taken out of the equation and she sleeps from around 8:00 pm to 6:00 am give or take a half an hour.  The longest she has sleep straight through was on 3/22.  She slept from 6:45 to 5:15 so 10.5 hours.  We don't really have a real bedtime routine yet.  That will be our goal for the next month.  We pretty much change her diaper, get her into her pajamas and give her the last bottle of the night.  Then there might be a little snuggle time if she is still a bit awake or we lay her down in her pack and play if she is sleepy.  She is still in our room for the next two months before we transition her into her crib.  I love when she wakes up in the morning.  When we go to the pack and play to get her she looks up at us and just smiles so big!  I LOVE it.  She is still one happy little girl.  As for naps those are a bit hit and miss.  Sometimes she will nap for 2-3 hours at a time and others are just short cat naps.  At daycare she isn't taking too long of naps yet since it is so easy for her to get distracted.  At home she takes at least one long nap a day.  

 Elsie is still wearing 3-6 months clothes.  Even some of those are still a little big on her.  Mainly just the two piece outfits.  I hope she is in 6-9 months for summer because that is what I have bought for her so far.  It is mostly Carters stuff so I have kept the tags on them until the time comes.  They take returns anytime as long as you have a receipt.  We are still loving cloth diapers.  It has been a positive experience so far.  I still love buying them too.  Especially the ones that are hard to get like RagaBabes and Chelory.  She had her first case of bad diaper rash back at the end of March.  Her poor bum was so red.  I felt terrible.  It cleared up in a couple of days and she got another minor one just last week.  

Elsie loves to be active.  It is rare for her to sit still in our laps unless she is ready to fall asleep.  She kicks and kicks and kicks.  As I mentioned in previous posts, she has finally learned to roll over both ways.  She did that for the first time on 4/2 so just about 3.5 months old.  She is constantly sucking on anything she can get her hands on.  She is a MAJOR drooler and we have to change out her bib multiple times a day.  We finally made the move to purchase an exersaucer and it came just in time for her to be able to use it.  As you can see above we still need to put a blanket in with her but she loves to be in it.  She also enjoys her play mat and is pulling, tugging, and kicking the objects hanging down.  

Elsie had a very busy month!  It was her first full month in day care and I think she loves it! She is always so happy when I pick her up.  There is one little boy there who absolutely adores her.  He always gives her a hug goodbye and wants to hold her in his lap (he is 1 year old haha).  It is really cute!  Elsie also celebrated two holidays this past month.  St. Patricks Day and Easter.  A new friend of hers was born on March 29th, Orson Dutton Nady the Third.  We also took a trip up to MN for Easter.  Busy, busy, month.  

Once again, another great month!!  I just love this girl!

Earth Day

Yesterday was Earth Day...What are you doing to be green these days?  Earth Day is a great time to reflect back to see what you can change to be a bit more environmentally friendly.  I must admit, a few years ago I was a lot more "green".  I had the time to think about it more and it was only John and I in our home to worry about.  Having Elsie has thrown things off just a bit and I don't have as much time to think about it.  I will be the first to admit that John follows me around the house shutting off lights as I leave the room because I don't shut them off.  Most of the time my hands are full with baby and baby things and I don't have the extra hand to shut the light off.  Or I am distracted and don't think about it.  I am also terrible when I hand wash pump parts and bottles.  I leave the water running full blast since it takes less time to rinse them.  And time these days is a precious commodity.  ha Those are for sure the two things that are easier enough for me to change.

Here are some ways our family tries to be be "green"

1.  This year we signed up again with a local CSA (Community Supported Agricultre). The veggies we will eat starting in June will come from a farm just a couple miles away from our house.  We go pick up our share at the farm once every 2 weeks (we only get a 1/2 share).  I know where these veggies come from, that they are fresh and that they are grown in a sustainable way.  In our neck of the woods I find the cost to be pretty reasonable.  For us since we have a 1/2 share we pick up every other week over the course of 20 weeks.  It is amazing how long the vegetables last if stored correctly.  We paid $280.00 which ends up being $14.00/week over 20 weeks. The same farm offers a full share which is a pick up every week for $490 which ends up being $24.50/week.  I have found you get sooo much vegetables and for our family it would get wasted so the half share is just perfect for us.  Check out this website to find CSA's in your area.: http://www.localharvest.org/

2.  Cloth diapers and wipes.  This is a HUGE way to keep trash out of the landfill.  Did you know it takes 500 years for a disposable diaper to decompose?  (Not sure how we know this since they haven't been around that long but I am sure they have their ways to test it).  This was one of the main reasons why we chose to cloth diaper to begin with.  There are also many other advantages such as saving money, health advantages and of course the adorable prints.  I think John chose because of the whole money thing.  Some people think that washing diapers wastes a lot of water because you have to wash them but from the past few months our water bill has only increased minimally (and I am convinced it is because of all the water I use when washing pump parts and bottles  multiple times a day).  And I understand that cloth diapers is not everyone's thing but it is one way we try to be green.

3.  We recycle a lot of our stuff.  We have one of those "toss everything in, you don't have to sort it bins" and I love it!  It makes it way easier to recycle.  Our trash can is barely half full when we put it out on the curb once a week.  I think we could even do a better job of recycling,.  There are thing that end up in the trash contained that I know should go in the recycling.

4.  We only use CFL lightbulbs in our house.  This is an easy one.

5.  I try my best to line dry our clothes...especially in nice weather.  A couple of years ago I had John install a clothesline in our backyard and I LOVE it!  Especially now with the cloth diapers.

I have a few goals for this year...
1.  Use more natural cleaning products like baking soda and vinegar...rumor has it you do most anything with that.

2.  Keep an eye on my water consumption.

3.  Buy more locally.  Not just produce but household goods as well.

Those are just a few things we do.   What do you do?

Happy Earth Day!

Trip to the Hospital

Well our Sunday did not go as planned.  All last week John felt a little off.  Sunday he felt a lot of pain in his abdomen so we made the decision to head to the hospital to get things checked out.  During the drive over I had lots of thoughts going through my head, none of which was that this would be a short trip.  We dropped Elsie off at Dale and Bev's around 3:00 PM with the whole container of formula, 6 diapers, and pajamas.  

John wasn't there for more than 30 minutes before he was diagnosed with apendicitis.  Surgery happened in less than 2 hours and within 4 hours he was already out of recovery and in his room.  Big huge bummer.  Oh and during surgery they discovered it had ruptured so he has to deal with a drain tube for the next week.  Elsie went with me on Monday night for a visit. She really missed her daddy while he was gone I could tell ;).  He came home yesterday morning and seems to be doing better today. 

So things in our household are not normal.  John can't do much and won't be back to work for a couple of weeks.  And if you know John you know this is really hard for him.  This surgery also shows how much I rely on his help and how much he does around the house.  I am lost without his help!  I just love this man and so happy that everything turned out okay he is on the road to recovery.  

Elsie's 4 Month Dr. Visit

Last Friday April 13th,  Elsie had her 4 month well baby check up.  Here are her stats:

Weight:  13 lbs 5 oz (46%)
Length:  25 inches (80%)
Head:  41.4 cm

For weight she is continuing to be right around that 50% mark and wasn't concerned at all and of course she grew in length quite a bit from the last time (she was in the 44 percentile at her 2 month).

Elsie checked out great on everything else and he says she is a health little girl.  We should be starting on solids between 5 and 6 months he said so another month of bottles only which I am good with that.

Of course I had some questions for him.
Q.  Elsie kind of has a nasaly sound when she sleep sometimes.  Almost like she is snoring.  Is that normal?
A.  We should make sure to suck out her nose every night even if it doesn't look like there is anything in there.  We can elevate her head of her bed and keep the air humid.  He lungs were clear so he wasn't too concerned.

Q.  Does Elsie have cradle cap?
A.  Yes, but very mild.  Just put baby oil on her head for 30 minutes and wash off.

Q.  She has started to spit up about once a day and I think it is quite a bit.  Is something wrong?
A.  No, her weight is right on track.  If her weight wasn't good we would need to be concerned but she is fine.

Q.  With summer coming what is safe to use for sunscreen and bug spray?  I found some bug spray (CJ's Bug Banisher) online with all natural ingredients such as citronella, witchazel and tea tree oil, is that safe to use.
A.  Yes, citronella is very good.  Nothing with DEET in it.  And for sunscreen it has to be 30 SPF or less.

She also got her vaccinations which so far have not given her any problems.  She also can now get up to 101 degrees for a temperature before we need to call and bring her in.  Yay!

I think those are most of the questions I remember anyways.  She is doing so good! And she is so happy!  She is sleeping between 8-10 hours stretches at night which is awesome!  I will share more for her four month update.

Easter 2012

This year we spent our Easter weekend in Minnesota.  It was a great weekend spending time with family.  We had dinner at my parent's house on Sunday with both my Grandmas, my parents and my sister's family.  It was a nice time visiting and for them to be able to spend time with Elsie.  Elsie got an Easter basket from the Easter Bunny, Grandma and Grandpa, Great Grandma June, and my sistser's family!!!  What a lucky girl!! It felt like Christmas.  It was a wonderful, beautiful day!

Elsie's First Easter Basket.  And of course it has to
have two new spring colored diapers :)  How did
the Easter Bunny know that is just what she wanted ;)

Checking out what's in the basket

Time for a little snooze before dinner

Allie on an Easter Egg Hunt.
Next year she will have some competition!!

Allie putting on her shades.  It was really bright outside.  I love this photo
because she looks so much like Tami!

Tami, Derick, Allie and the baby on the way

Something to Make You Smile

On a Roll

That has been Elsie these past couple of days.  Not only can she roll from belly to back but she can go from her back to her belly! She did it first on Monday at day care and then for John in the evening.  Then she rolled for me on Tuesday and then yesterday she did it over and over and over.  No longer can I expect to lay her down on her back and for her to stay that way.   Check it Out!