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!

A Day in Life: 3.5 Months Old

This post is mainly for my own sake to look back on as to what life is like for us now with Elsie.

On days I have to go to work, this is what our day looks like.  5:30 AM the alarm goes off.  If I am to get in the hours I want to get in on the three days I work this is the sacrifice I have to make :).  It is so early for me. Before Elsie was born I had a hard time getting up at 7:00 so now with her waking up in the middle of the night again 5:30 is difficult.  So in the first 1/2 hour I try to pump, eat breakfast, and shower.  Meanwhile, John-the wonderful husband that he is feeds Elsie whenever she wakes up, will wash the bottles and pump parts if I haven't gotten to it yet, and will get Elsie changed and ready for the day.  I really miss spending time with her in the morning but to get out the door this is what we have to do.  I have to remind myself that I get all day with her 4 other days of the week.

If we are out the door by 7:00 we are doing great!  So far it has happened once :).  I drive the few minutes it takes to get her to daycare, drop her off and then head to work.  Throughout the day I get in three pumping sessions.  While at work I read while pumping.  45 minutes of reading a day is the most I have gotten in for the past few months.  At 4:20 I head out of work to pick her up by 4:30 and then we head home.  She has not been sleeping much at daycare so she is pretty tired.  We get home, I wash all the dirty pump parts from the day, get her a bottle and then we snuggle in on the couch together.  If she is tired I will lay her down for a nap.  If not we will play on the floor with her toys.  I LOVE this time.  John gets home around 6:00.  Either he or I will get dinner going.  The other is playing with Elsie.  I will pump at least one time during the evening.

We are trying to do get into more of a nighttime routine.  I think we need to ignore what time we do it but just get all the steps in order.  Prior to this new routine we would just feed her, change her into her PJ's and rock her to sleep and then lay her down on the couch with us or fall asleep in the swing and she would stay with us in the family room.  Now we go upstairs, do lotion, change her clothes and diaper, read some books, give her a bottle, and sing some songs.  Then we lay her down in her pack and play.  The first night it only took her about 5 minutes to fall asleep once we laid her down.  No crying at all, she just was laying looking around until she fell asleep.  She does go to sleep pretty well and I am so thankful for that/

Before, when she was sleeping in the family room we would carry her up to the bedroom when we would go up to bed around 10:00.  Of course this almost always woke her up so we would feed her and she would go right back to sleep.  We are trying to eliminate that feeding and see how long she will sleep from 7:30ish on. This seems to change every night.  Last week she slept from 7:00pm-5:00am.  It was awesome.  She has had a couple other nights with long stretches of at least 7 hours and every night she goes at least 5-6 hours.  Last night it was feeding at 10:00, then again at 4:45.  so about 6 hours and 45 minutes.

After she goes to sleep I try to get stuff done.  John helps out quite a bit with this too.  I try to make sure everything in the kitchen is picked up and all the dishes are washed or in the dishwasher.  And that the family room is picked up.  I wash any bottles or pump parts used in the evening and then gather feeding bottles, mixing bottles, and pump parts that we will need throughout the night and bring up to our room.  I refill her diaper caddy:  I have at least 2 diaper covers, 3 fitted diapers, and 5 pocket/AIO in there at all times.  Then we crawl into bed, watch the 10:00 news and I get in one more pumping session in for the night.

We sleep and it all starts again the next day :)  This is my life!

Elsie Marie-3 Months

Today our little girl is 3 months old already!  She is getting SO big (and long).  It has been a very eventful month for us all.  When taking her 3 month pics at home she made quite a few silly faces so I chose to use those this month :)

Her at home weight is 12 lbs 6 oz.  She is still eating between 6-8 times a day but pretty much eats anywhere from 24-30 ounces now.  There was a few days last week where she ate over 32 ounces (I think she was going through her 3 month growth spurt).  She is still getting about 2/3 breastmilk and 1/3 formula except when she eats over 30 ounces :).  While at daycare she is getting all formula and keep the breastmilk for when she is at home.  So no, I still haven't caught up to her needs.  I am getting about 16-18 ounces a day but I am planning to continue to do it as long as I can.

Last month I talked about how she worked her way into a sleep schedule and for the first 3 weeks of Month 2 she slept from 10:30-5 or 6:00.  However, this past week she is getting up again for a feeding in between those times.  The past few nights we have woken up to her pretty upset.  It appears as though she is trying to roll over and gets stuck.  Poor girl but she is getting frustrated.  Her little head gets so cranked to the side but her body just won't follow :).  At home she take a couple of long naps during the day.  The past two days at day care she just takes cat naps but there is a lot of new stuff going on around her.  She is still sleeping in our room at night.  We did transition her out of her smaller pack and play into her standard size one that we got from some friends at one of her baby showers.  At night she would rotate 90 degrees and would get mad when she couldn't keep on going without running into the sides.  So last weekend we decided to switch it out.  I swear two nights ago I put her in one way and when I went to get her when she woke up she had rotated 180 degrees.  If you are wondering why she is still in our room AAP recommends sleeping in the same room as the parents until 6 months of age to reduced the risk of SIDS.  If you know me I am a strict SIDS risk reduction follower ;).  If they recommend it, I do it.  But hey, it helps me sleep at night . . .

Yesterday morning was a sad day for me.  John was getting Elsie ready for the day and he tried to put on 2 different newborn diapers (the last two that we were using) and she did not fit in either of them.  She is just too long for them.  The rise doesn't fit anymore...it isn't the waist or the legs.  I told him that makes me sad.  John's response was "Why are you sad?  This just means you get to buy another diaper right?"  Of course that makes me happy since I love shopping for diapers :).  I found a new brand to try Chelory Diapers.  They are made by a WAHM (work at home mom) in Little Falls, MN.  I got it but haven't used it yet.  Probably tomorrow.  They too are hard to get like the RagaBabes-which are still by far my fave diaper.

She has found her thumb!  It is hard to keep her hands out of
her mouth these days.  Many times I will find one hand holding
her pacifier and the other hand in her mouth.  

Not only is she growing out of her diapers, she is growing out of her clothes.  She is officially in 3-6 month clothes now.  Even some of the sleepers without feet are a little short or the pant legs rise up on her.  There are a few 2-piece outfits I can get her in but she got really angry at me the other day when I tried to put her in a sleeper and she couldn't straighten her legs. So she hung out in just her onesie for a while :)

 She is getting stronger and stronger everyday.  She is still okay with her swing but I don't think she enjoys it as much as she did before.  She does fall asleep in it during the day though.  We have started sitting her up in her bumbo chair this past weekend and I think she really likes it.  She tries to sit up when we she is in a reclined position.  She doesn't get there of course but that doesn't stop her from trying.  Like I mentioned in a previous post, she rolled over 2.5 weeks ago  and up until today she hadn't.  Today she surprised me by rolling over multiple times throughout the day.  She is grabbing and batting at things a lot more too.  No longer does she just look at those dangling things above her, she hits and kicks at them too.  Oh I also have to mention that she is drooling like crazy.  I think it is time to make bibs part of her daily wardrobe.

We didn't have too many exciting outings this month but Elsie did get to meet two new friends who were born.  On February 26th, Briggs was born and on March 12th Aubrey was born.  And there are more new friends to come in the next couple of months.  She also spent an evening with Grandma and Grandpa Sorem while we went out with some friends and Grandma and Grandpa Fenstra came for a weekend visit.

Briggs 

Aubrey 

I think the biggest change in the last month took place this week and that is me going back to work-although it is part time it still means she goes to daycare.  She had a wonderful first two days.  Monday JoLene even got her to giggle.  She told me about it during the day and then when I went to go pick her up she was able to demonstrate that adorable little giggle for me.  It was a little hard for me but I know that she is being taken care of by a wonderful person, it is only 3 days a week, and she will have so much fun playing with her friends. 

Elsie Marie-Two Months

Today our little girl is 2 months!  We are having so much fun at home and I can say I LOVE this phase that she is in.  We are starting to naturally fall into a routine  of eating, sleeping, and playing.

Her at home weight is about 10.5 lbs  (We have her 2 month appointment tomorrow so I will give the official measurements then).  She eats between 6-8 times a day and between 22.5 to 28 ounces a day.  She is getting more breastmilk these days about 2/3 breastmilk and 1/3 formula.  Which I am really happy with.  I wonder if I will ever catch up to her needs...who knows.  She is still pretty impatient when it comes to when she wants to eat but she isn't as demanding when she wakes up from her naps.  That may be because she  isn't sleeping as long or as often

She has worked her way into a sleep schedule.  She takes a couple of naps a day and then has been sleeping really well at night.  We have her last feeding around 10:30 and sleeps anywhere until 3:30am-5:30 am.  Lately more on the 5:30 range.  Let me say it has been nice.  When she gets up that late she doesn't really go back to sleep but that will work out okay for when I go back to work.  She does on most days take a morning nap and afternoon nap and will sleep for most of the evening (7:00-10:30 ish when we move upstairs and get ready for bed).

Sleeping in her Daddy's arms is where she spends most of her evenings.

Still loving the cloth diapers.  Yesterday I put on one of her newborn diapers and pretty sure it may be the last time she wheres it.  I can hardly get the velcro to latch.  As for clothes some of her 0-3 sizes are getting a little small.  I better get some photos of her in more of her adorable outfits before she completely outgrowns them.

She is interacting so much more these days.  I LOVE it!  I can't get enough of her smile.  She loves to be in her swing, in her bouncy seat or on her playmat.  In the past week or so she has really found an interest in the things hanging above her head.  Mornings are fun for us because she is always smiling and cooing-another thing she has been doing a lot more of.  

We have done a lot over the past month.  Elsie attended her first "Book Club" night, went to lunch with Steph, a friend from camp and her two kiddos, went to her first Superbowl party, has enjoyed dinner a few times with some friends, and made another trip up to Minnesota where she attended a wonderful baby shower in her honor (separate post to come soon), had a sleepover with her cousin Allie, and Grandma and Grandpa Fenstra (we left for a few hours), and finally got to meet her Uncle Tony.

Below are the comparison of her one month and two month photo.  Not too much of a difference but I imagine that will change as the months go on.  

Can't wait to see what she has in store for us next month!!

Elsie Marie-1 Month

One month ago our little girl was born and what an adventure this past month has been. It has been a learning process for us all, and I have enjoyed every minute of it!  I look back at some of the pictures taken of her right after she was born and she has already changed so much.

Her current weight taken at home is somewhere between 8 lbs 14 oz and 9 lbs.  She is my little chunker :)  She is eating anywhere between 2 oz. to 6 oz a feeding.  She also likes to mix up how long she goes between feedings.  Sometimes is is 3 hours and sometimes it is 5 hours.  She is still eating a mix between breatmilk and formula.   We are currently at a 50/50 ratio which I am pleased with.  Of course I would be happier if she was getting more breastmilk but we are doing better that I had expected.  She definitely lets us know when she wants to eat and has very little patience as we get it ready.  

We have made the switch to exclusively cloth diaper.  Yay!!  It took us a few weeks we are finally there and  she has not be red at all since the switch.  So far what we are doing is working great.  She is still in newborn size but we have also been able to use some of the next size up and some one size diapers.  They are so cute and I love snapping pictures of her in them.  

Not only is she getting so big she is getting so strong!  She is really getting a lot of strength in her neck and can hold her head up for a decent amount of time.  She loves tummy time and we try to do it often.  She has discovered her hands and are mesmerized by them.  At times she looks like she is checking out her biceps but in reality she is checking out her hands.  When she sleeps, she prefers to have her hands out.  We don't really swaddle her anymore, especially with her arms in.  She gets really upset. She loves her daddy's made up songs and listening to my stories.  She hates getting dressed but has finally stopped crying when we change her diaper.  She is officially out of newborn clothes and has moved up to the 0-3 size.  

We like to take outings to get out of the house every now and then.  We have lunch one or twice a week in town with John, Grandma Bev, and Grandpa Dale.  We have also had a girls lunch with Lisa and Kara.  On the days we don't go out for lunch we have lunch at home and if we are lucky John gets to join us.  She had her first dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings and also out at the country club.  She does so good and mostly just sleeps her way through dinner. With all the beautiful weather we have been blessed with this winter we have had the chance to get out for a walk or two as well. She has made one trip up to Minnesota and will be going up soon for another trip where she will finally get to meet her Uncle Tony.  

The bunny is to show scale and I plan to use it to compare month to month photos.  

I love looking at her little nose, mouth, fingers, and toes.  I can't get enough snuggle time and I love watching her as she starts to wake up.  Her stretches are adorable and the sounds she makes are so cute (until she starts crying because she wants to eat now).  I can't imagine anymore what our life without Elsie would be like.  She is truly a blessing and I can't wait for all the adventures that are up ahead.  

Two Week Highlights-Elsie Marie

I can't believe already how big Elsie is getting.  Yesterday she was two weeks old and on Tuesday we had her two week appointment.  It is amazing how fast they change already.  Already I don't want her to grow up :)  I am loving her at this stage right now, she is just so precious and small and snuggly.  Here is a few updates of our life together so far:

Feeding/Breastfeeding
Our biggest challenge thus far has been the breastfeeding.  It started in the hospital and has continued still to this day.  I just don't make enough milk.  I don't feel like my milk really came in.  Since being discharged from the hospital we have had two visits to the lactation consultant and two phone calls from them to check in.  The day after we left the hospital we went back in for a weight check and she maintained which was awesome.  She hadn't lost anymore which was a concern.  Then the next Monday we went back again and she had gained 2 oz.  More good news.  We then changed our routine for feeding at that point.  This is what we have been doing:

• No more feeding tube!  yay!! Let me tell you that was a big pain and definitely needed John to help with it.  
• Pump every three hours with the hospital grade pump that they loaned out to me for two weeks, then feed Elsie that first.  I started getting 1/2 ounce each pumping, then moved up to 1 ounce and now the past few days I have been getting and ounce and a half (this morning I got 2.5 ounces-not typical). 
• Then we supplement with formula until she doesn't want to eat anymore. 
• Take herbal supplements to help produce more milk:  Blessed Thistle and Fenugreek
• Hope she gains more weight and I make more milk.  

Also, we were told that until she gets back to her birthweight we need to wake her every three hours to feed.  We decided to go straight to just pumping for now instead of continuing to nurse so that I could see how much milk I was producing and if it was increasing with hopes that she will be able to go back to nursing.

Two Week Check Up
Elsie had her two week check up on Dec. 27th.  It is hard to believe two weeks had gone by since she was born!!! I have a feeling I will be saying that a lot!!  The first thing they did was weigh her.  It was the moment we had been waiting for.  She really needed to gain weight and boy did she do that.  At her last weight check she was 6 lbs 11 oz and at her appointment she weighed in at 7 lbs 14 oz.  So she gained 1 lb 3 oz in one week.  I was excited!  The rest of her check up went well.  Her length was 20-5/8" long.  We also found out she has a mild case of thrush so she will have to go one medication to get that cleared up.  The doctor also told us we no longer have to wake her up every three hours to eat.  We can go as long as five hours now.  He also recommended that I start to nurse her again first, then give her any breastmilk I have pumped previously and then formula.  He said that nursing will do a better job of helping with my production than just pumping alone.  He also recomended that she be given a Vitamin D supplement since we are doing 1/2 breastmilk and 1/2 formula.  Apparently breastmilk doesn't supply them with the amount of Vitamin D that they need.  So all in all the appointment went great.  Elsie's