3 Months Old

Our Little Miss is growing like a weed.  Sadly there is no 3 month checkup with the pediatrician, so we won't know her new stats for another month.  But I can just tell she is getting so much longer! 

She is so alert these days and aware of her surroundings.  She babbles and coos like crazy.  We have some really cute conversations :)  And I love when she looks at me after waking up from a nap and gives me a big grin.  Makes me feel so special!  She is a pro at sitting in the Bumbo chair.  She loves sitting in it and playing with toys.  It's so interesting to see her brain working when she holds the toy with one hand, then slowly brings her other hand up to hold it with 2 hands then stares at it like "what is this!?"... then puts it in her mouth to give it a taste!  Also over the past few days I've seen her staring at her feet.  I bet she's thinking "how can I get these in my mouth?..." 

She still eats 6 times a day and sleeps all night long (in her big girl crib!).  We are still cloth diapering, too, which is going better than I anticipated.  We are using both the Flip system and BumGenius.  Those BumGenius diapers are just amazing!  They are pricey, but man do they work.  I got lucky in that I am borrowing about 20 BumGenius that my sister used with Collin, so those added to the 10 I bought plus the Flip System and we are more than covered!  I am leary to use them when we go out of the house... sometimes I do, sometimes I don't... it just depends on where we are going and how long we are going to be gone.  But when we are home, it is all cloth, all the time!  Gotta do my part to save the planet, but even more than that it has saved us SO much $$$.  And they're really cute :)

Her baptism went great.  She looked beautiful and behaved so well during the ceremony!  Here are some pics:

Last weekend we had some professional pictures taken of her - that was quite an experience! You never know what you're going to get with a baby... and we definitley got puke, screaming, and sleeping during our photo session! Still managed to get some keepers though :)

In other news (kind of), I quit my job last Friday.  I went back to work on August 29, but only lasted 2 weeks.  I just missed Hailey so much and wasn't feeling right about being away from her.  Especially with the job I had, I was often at the hotel for 12 or more hours per day and 1 or both weekend days, and I'm just not willing to be away from Hailey that much.  I am going to stay home for a while and focus on being a mommy.  I'll look for some part-time work at some point, but no more full-time Corporate America for this girl!  (Did I mention how good it felt to gather up all my stuffy suits and give them to Goodwill!? Amazing!)  Hailey is my number one priority, and she deserves all my time and love.  She is growing up right before my eyes!   LOVE THAT GIRL!

2 Months Old

Last week Miss Hailey turned 2 months old.  The time has flown by!  And sadly I only have 2 more weeks left of my maternity leave :( 

I have gotten to know Hailey really well and we have developed a routine each day.  She eats 6 times a day (every 3 hours beginning around 6 AM), takes a short nap after she eats (about 20 minutes) and then she is wide awake for about an hour and a half which is when we practice making sounds, playing with toys or doing tummy time.  All the playing tires her out and she falls asleep until her next feeding (and this is when mommy gets to do a load of laundry or make a phone call!).  After her 9 PM feeding, she gets her Woombie on, and she falls right asleep for 8-9 glorious hours!!  We really are lucky :)  It's crazy how fast the days go by.  A few days a week we go on a walk around their neighborhood, or I'll take her out with me to run errands.  Her favorites are Target, Babies R Us, Old Navy, and of course the lovely malls of St. Louis!  It's been really fun to shop for her fall wardrobe!  It's like dressing up a little doll :)

As for milestones, she's is still a pro at tummy time, holding her head up like a champ.  She even rolled over from tummy to back last week!  The first time she did it she was on the couch, so I wasn't sure if that counted since the soft surface probably helped her roll.  But the next day I put her on the ground and she did it again!  I am so proud of her!!

She is not quite ready for the Bumbo chair yet - we tried it last week and her head still bobbles a little too much for my liking to let her sit in it for too long.  But she is grabbing onto things (namely hair, necklaces, and her binky rope).  It is so funny - when she is in her carseat and has her binky in her mouth, she pulls on the rope its attached to so her binky falls out and then cries because its gone.  So I put it back in her mouth and she does it again!  It's a fun game we play at stoplights: 'lets see how many times mommy can reach around to the back seat and put the binky back in before the light turns green!'  Silly little girl.

She has also been blowing bubbles with her mouth like crazy lately.  It's really cute... until her shirt is soaked with drool!  But thats okay, because then mommy can change her into a new outfit!  Gotta make sure we try on everything in the closet!

And this one is just exciting for me and Rian, but she is finally starting to like her swing.  In the beginning, she screamed every time we put her in it.  But we found out that the key is to put her in it when she is calm/content/drowsy, but not asleep.  She is mesmerized by the giant bees that spin around and it keeps her occupied for at least 30-45 minutes (time for mommy to do the dishes or take a shower!). 

She will be baptised Sunday the 28th of August, so a recent task of mine was to find a christening gown for her.  I found a great one online and thankfully it looks just as great in person.  It fits well and is just so sweet.  I can't wait to see her in it on her big day!  Now I just gotta find the right bow for her hair.........  :)

As for her stats, at her 2 month checkup she was still in the 87th percentile for weight, dropped to the 75th percentile for length, and went up to the 68th percentile for head size.  She got 3 shots in her poor little legs and got an oral immunization as well.  Her next checkup is at 4 months old (October) and then we'll start rice cereal!  She is growing up too fast already! 

Here are some of my recent favorite pics:

Motherhood

Our lives were forever changed when our little miss Hailey was born on June 9.  She turns 7 weeks old today!  She has been nothing short of a blessing to me, Rian, and both of our families.  She is such a sweet baby.  As I write this, she just slept for 8 glorious hours through the night!!  And this is the 7th day in a row she has done this, so I think it MIGHT be safe to say she is sleeping through the night!  Which makes mommy very happy :)

I just can't get over how good she is.  From the moment we got her home she has been a great eater and great sleeper.  In the beginning, we had some rough nights trying to get her to go to sleep (and stay asleep!) but eventually we developed a routine that has worked for all 3 of us.  She has a special little swaddling outfit she wears at night over her jammies (its called the Woombie) and once she has that on, she knows its bedtime!  Plus, she is very awake and alert during the day and never sleeps for more than an hour at a time during the daytime, which I also think makes her more tired and ready for nighttime.

As for her development, she makes great eye contact with Rian and I and is able to follow toys that we shake in front of her and from side to side.  She hasn't quite grasped the concept of holding toys and playing with them herself, but that will come with time.  Every day we put her on her playmat where she is just mesmerized by the colors and sounds around her.  She is wide eyed a lot of the time and just taking in her surroundings.  She is great at holding her head up, too.  The next thing we are working on is sounds.  She is starting to coo a little bit and make some sounds other than crying! :)  Stayed tuned on that one...

Physically, she is on the upper end of the spectrum, measuring in the 92nd percentile for length and 87th percentile for weight.  These stats are from her 1 month checkup, so I'm interested to see how they've changed at her 2 month checkup on August 10.  I think the length measurement is incorrect just judging by the way they measured her at the appointment - it just looked off to me - plus it meant that she grew 2 whole inches in her first month of life (from 20.5 inches at birth to 22.5 inches at her 1 month checkup) and I just find that hard to believe!  Neither Rian or I are tall people (nor is anyone in our families!).

Motherhood has gotten better and better each day, and I really feel like I'm bonding with her and getting to know her really well.  She is just so sweet and innocent and it gives me the best feeling in the world to be able to take care of her.  Rian is an amazing father - I definitely could not do this without him.  He is so good with her with his silly voices and loving snuggles!  Hailey has certainly changed our lives for the better and we just can't wait to watch her grow up.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the past 7 weeks: