Four Months

To Blythe:

I'm a little behind, but you are officially 4 months old now. You are just so entertaining. Who needs tv when you have a child? Let's see...in the past month I have quit my job to spend more time with you and it has been amazing! We experienced your first Christmas. I video taped it, but it's not really too exciting. You didn't care too much about the opening of the gifts, but I still wanted it recorded since it was your first. You also attended your first birthday party (your cousin Henry turned 1). You slept through the majority of the party, but that's okay...it's not like you could have the cake anyways.

Weight:
You officially weigh 16 pounds. Babies are supposed to double their weight from birth to 4 months and you did exactly that! You weighed 8 pounds at birth and now you are 16 pounds. You legs are starting to fill out and get little rolls. I love it!

Height:

Your length growth has finally tapered off. You only gained 1/2 an inch. You are now 25 inches long.

Clothing Size:

Some of your 0-3 month stuff still fits. As long as they don't have the little footies in them. Those tend to pull because of your length. So you are wearing mostly 3-6 month stuff.

Diapers:

I have moved you up to size 2 diapers. They go up to 18 pounds so I'm curious to see how fast you go through those since next month you start on cereal and I hear that will pack on some pounds.
 

Feeding:

You are drinking 8 oz every 4 hours. It totals out to 32 oz a day since you only drink 4 bottles a day.

Hair/Eyes:

Your hair is still dark and starting to get long in the back and fill in a little on the top of your head. You eyes are still green (fingers crossed they remain that way)

Sleep:

You take a few short naps (30-45 mins) during the day, but that's okay because at night you sleep around 11-12 hours. And then when you do wake up in the morning you sit and talk to yourself and laugh for about another hour. Daddy and I enjoy listening to you in the mornings through the monitor. It definitely brightens our day. We have also moved you to your crib (you were getting too long for the bassinet) and you LOVE it. I think you sleep more sound in there. Unfortunately, we don't sleep more sound because I'm paranoid I won't hear you if you wake up and because we have always been those people that shut and lock our bedroom door at night and now we sleep with the door open. It's taking some adjusting.

Fun Stuff:

Well we have our first TWO teeth!!! Yup! They have cut through the gums and we can see and feel them. So exciting!!!

You LOVE the johnny jump up. You will jump for hours. And when you get turned around so your back is to us, you stop and look around like you are lost. ha!

You are starting to love the exer saucer more and more. You definitely are in concentration mode when in it.

You don't really cry, you just fuss when you want something (like food). It's cute because it's like you don't understand how to actually fuss.

Since you are teething, you suck on your bottom lip. A LOT!

Daddy swears you can say "hey" and it definitely sounds like it when we come into your room in the morning.

You cover your face with the blanket so that when we come in to get you up, we pull the blanket down and you smile.

You smile A LOT!

You've started holding your own bottle. But you only do it once the bottle is halfway full. Before that I think it's too heavy.

You chew on the nipple of the bottle to soothe your gums.

You have started squealing. It's awesome to hear. You do it when you get really excited. Especially if watching something you like and you are laughing loudly, then you squeal.

You like to watch older kids (like around the age of 6-8). It's like you are jealous they can run and jump.

You jump all the time. If we are holding you, all you want to do is jump. It's definitely a workout for your legs and my arms.

If someone is talking to you softly, you get this intense look on your face like you are taking it all in and understand exactly what they say. You even get little wrinkles above your eyebrows.

You are great at picking up and holding things. You have even learned a little cause and effect where you know if you press a certain button something will happen.

First Christmas

At Henry's birthday party

Playing in the exer saucer

Playing in the johnny jumpup

 

Three Months

To Blythe:

Sunday you turned 3 months old. This means you are no longer considered a newborn. It's bittersweet. I love watching you grow and learn new things and absolutely cannot wait for you to reach each and every milestone; but I also want you to stay small where I can squeeze you and love on you whenever I want. I can't believe another month has flown by. You don't realize just how fast it goes until you have one of your own. You are absolutely amazing!!! You are such a great baby. People comment on that daily. You are a very happy and content baby and for that I am blessed.

Weight:

Well the doctor weighed you when you were 10 weeks old and you were 11 pounds 11 ounces. You are a tiny thing, not gaining very fast but very healthy and in the 25-50 percentile! I was the same way when I was a baby so maybe you are taking after me.

Height:

At 10 weeks you were 24.5 inches long. You are definitely a long baby. I am wondering when that will taper off.

Clothing Size:

Well I have officially moved you to 0-3 month stuff. It fits you perfectly. The only concern I have is that you will end up being too long for anything with the feet in them LONG before you actually outgrow them in the weight department lol!  As far as the weight restrictions you fit right into the 0-3. I did buy you some super warm fleece pjs with the feet in them and went ahead and got the 3-6 month so they would be more comfortable and so you could continue to grow with them as the winter progresses.

Diapers:

You are still in size 1s. They are supposed to go up to 14 pounds so I think you'll be in them for probably another month or so.

Feeding:

Well it varies. Your first bottle of the day you tend to drink 8 ounces. Your last bottle of the night you fall asleep during so we are lucky if we get 6 ounces in you. Ha! Throughout the day it just depends on how long in between bottles you are. If you nap and sleep over your time to eat, then you want 8 ounces. If you are awake and it's time to eat, you do about 7oz. So just to be safe, I normally make 8 ounces anyways. But you are typically eating every 4 hours still. Occasionally during the day you'll go about 30 minutes less or more. 

Hair/Eyes:

They are still varying. I can't wait to see what color they will actually be. Sometimes they are brown, sometimes green. Your hair is just as dark as ever and growing so long in the back. Now if a little more would come in on top we would be set! lol! But I have noticed your eyebrows have a reddish tint. You definitely got some of that red from daddy :)

Sleep:

You have started napping!!!! Yay!!! You will typically sleep about an 1 1/2-3 hours in the morning and about an hour in the afternoon. You also sleep in the car on the way home after work. I pick you up and by the time I get out of the driveway you are asleep so technically we could count that because you sleep the 45 minutes to an hour it takes us to get home and then maybe about another 30 minutes which gives me time to unload the car and get dinner started. You are now going to sleep around 9 or 10 (just depends on when that last bottle is) and sleeping until 4-5 in the morning. That's not too bad during the week because I typically have to leave around 545 if I'm taking you to my moms so that gives me time to feed you and get ready before getting in the car. Where you then go back to sleep lol!  Do you see a pattern with sleeping in the car? ha!

Fun Stuff:

You are starting to teeth so your fist is almost always in your mouth and you drool more. If the pacifier is in your mouth you will actually take it out to chew on your fist.

You love the bouncy seat.

When you are in your swing or bouncy seat you constantly move your legs. I call it your aerobics. They never stop moving. Which just makes the bouncy seat bounce more and you love it.

If the TV is on, you are watching it. Doesn't matter what's on it or which way I try and turn you so you aren't watching it. Last night you turned your head until you were straining your neck just so you could see it.

You don't like laying like a baby. You want to sit up and see everything.

You want to stand when someone's holding you. Most of the time you are standing and bouncing. I have no doubt you are going to be a very fit child ha!

You make these grunting type noises when you are getting tired or trying to fall asleep. It's how daddy and I know it's time to lay you down.

If you don't want to be held anymore (because you have become little miss independent) you completely straighten your body and fuss for a second. The moment we sit you down, you are happy.

Teething

Watching TV

Two Months Old

To Blythe:

Friday was your two month old birthday!!! You have changed drastically in the past month!

Weight:

This morning I weighed myself and then came back and weighed myself while holding you. I know it's not completely accurate, but you don't go back to the doctor until the 19th. At your one month checkup (which actually turned out to be when you were 6 weeks old because I got off schedule) you weighed 9 lbs 14 oz. This morning you weighed 10 lbs. I will get a definite at your two month checkup which is actually going to be when you are 10 weeks old.

Height:

At 6 weeks old you were 22 1/4 inches long. I'm sure you've gotten longer, but once again...I will find that out on the 19th.

Clothing Size:

You are still in newborn clothing, but I've started putting some 0-3 month stuff on you as well. The majority of it swallows you, but some of the outfits fit better. It just varies on brand. They don't fit perfect yet, but you are 2 months old so you should be wearing 0-3 month stuff right? lol!

Diapers:

You could still be in newborn diapers, but after I ran out and knew you were already 9 lbs I figured we would move to size 1s instead of buying more newborns. So you are now in size 1s as of last week.
 

Feeding:

You are drinking 6 oz of formula every 4 hours. You have definitely put yourself on a schedule and I am completely fine with that. After the whole spit up thing started I switched you from Enfamil soy to Similac soy. You tend to keep more of it down, but still have your moments of excessive spit up. I have also started burping you different. As long as you aren't fighting burping or squirming around you don't tend to spit up at all.

Hair/Eyes:

Your eyes are still like a greenish brown color. Some people think they even look grey. I had you in a green outfit yesterday and I swear they were emerald green. It was beautiful!!! 

Sleep:

You don't take naps. I have come to accept this. You have never been a daytime sleeper. However, you sleep through the night, only waking once to eat. I'm hoping you will stop doing that sometime soon. You also fall asleep at the same time everyday...5pm. Once you are asleep you will actually sleep through your bottle. When you finally wake up, I bathe you, give you a bottle, and then put you in the bassinet and we are good for the night!!! The best part is we put you in the bassinet awake and you put yourself to sleep. No rocking needed!!

Fun Stuff:

You are such a happy baby. You smile from the time you wake up, until you fall asleep.

You are trying to talk...of course it's not real words but it's super cute!

You now make squealing noises when you laugh. It's awesome to hear.

You have finally started tolerating the swing. I wouldn't say you love it, but you definitely sit in it and talk to the mobile and laugh until you get annoyed or bored with it.

You make noise while sleeping. You squeak or groan or grunt. You are a very noisy baby ha!

Baths are your ambien. If I bathe you, you are out before finishing the bottle.  

You still hate tummy time, but you are amazing at holding your head up and steady.

You are actually a really good baby, but when you do fuss or cry it sounds like you are saying "why" or "gah". It's actually kind of funny.

You absolutely hate hiccups...I don't blame you!

You snort sometimes when you are mad.

One Month Old

I've seen this on a couple of other people's blogs and really liked the idea so I am copying :)

To Blythe:

Tuesday was your one month old birthday!!! The time has definitely flown by but I absolutely LOVE it!

Weight:

 

Well I'm not 100% sure but your next doctor appointment is Thursday and they will weigh you then. I can't wait to find out!! I'm think you are right under 8 pounds. A couple of weeks ago you weighed 7 pounds and 14 ounces. When you were born you were 8 pounds 4 oz and when we were released from the hospital you were down to 7 pounds 4 oz.

 

 

Height:

 

 

You were 20 inches when you were born and I'm not thinking you have gotten much longer. You seem to be the exact same size but I could be wrong.

 

 

Clothing Size:

 

 

Well, you are still in newborn clothing. You don't fit in anything 0-3 yet which was upsetting until yesterday. We only had a few newborn outfits because most of the time babies don't stay in them long, but you are way away from wearing bigger sizes. So thankfully Jessica had some of Vada's leftover newborn clothes and let me borrow them. You now have tons of outfits!!

 

Diapers:

 

 

You are still in newborn diapers. We were close to running out so I was going to try and move you up to 1s so I didn't have to buy more newborn diapers, but they swallowed you. So yesterday I made another trip to Walmart to buy you a huge box of newborn diapers.

 

Feeding:

 

 

You are up to 5 oz of formula. You were eating it every 3 1/2 to 4 hours until last week. Starting last week you began to spit up a ton. After researching it and calling the doctor we think we have figured out you have acid reflux. It makes me so sad. You are still eating 5 oz but you are getting hungry about every 3 hours because out of the 5 oz you aren't keeping it all down. You also have started fighting burping because it upsets you when you spit up. It absolutely breaks my heart. You stand up, arch your back, and just all out scream when it comes to burping. It's horrible because I'm supposed to burp you every ounce to minimize your spit up which means even more fighting. I'm sure it hurts not to mention is annoying and taste nasty to continue to spit up so much formula every time you eat. The doctor prescribed you Zantac and after it got into your system you became a different baby. The side effects caused tummy aches and constipation and after having such a bad day on the medicine yesterday I took you off. I am hoping your doctor will switch you to something else next week when we go visit.

 

 

Hair/Eyes:

 

 

Your eyes are no longer blue. Daddy and I think you will have green eyes,  but right now they are a mixture of green and brown. Your hair is still just as dark as it was at the hospital. And you haven't lost any, in fact I'm thinking more has grown in and the hair in the back has gotten longer. It hangs over your collar.

 

 

Sleep:

 

 

You were sleeping in a cradle next to the bed at night and you loved it. We could actually put you in there wide awake and you would put yourself to sleep. But you are so active that you would roll and cause the cradle to lean which also caused you to get stuck up against the side/bumpers. So as of yesterday we have moved a stationary bassinet next to the bed. Let's hope you end up loving it as well. You are sleeping about 4 hours in between each bottle. So basically I bathe you right before your last bottle of the night (between 8 and 9) and then I feed you and you fall asleep. We only feed you once in the middle of the night, the rest of the time you are asleep. You aren't a huge fan of sleeping in the daytime, but as long as you sleep at night I don't mind.

 

 

Fun Stuff:

 

 

You've started to mimic so when we smile at you, you smile back.

 

You are oohing and ahhing.

 

Starting at 3 weeks of age, you can roll from your tummy to your back.

 

When we are holding you or rocking you, you bury your head under our arms. It's really cute.

 

Every night when daddy gets ready to go to bed he lays you next to him until you both fall asleep and then I move you to your cradle. It's his favorite part of the day since he's been working so much.

 

You love baths!!! You hate getting out of the tub, but as long as you are in there you are satisfied.

 

You smile A LOT now. Especially when sleeping. I could just sit and watch you all day.

Delivery

Well, I have neglected my blog for long enough...lol! Since the last time I posted my life has completely changed AND I LOVE IT!

So in case anyone doesn't know I ended up having Blythe 5 days late. My due date was Sept 4th and on the 6th my doctor decided I would be induced on the following Tuesday (the 11th) however on Sunday night at exactly 7pm she made her appearance. I won't say it was the easiest thing ever but it was definitely worth it.

Sunday morning at 6:00 my water broke. It was not at all like in the movies. There wasn't a huge gush of fluid and then lots of running around. In fact, I wasn't even 100% sure my water broke. I actually got back in bed, without waking up Jared and was going to try to get some more sleep. At around 6:30 I finally decided that maybe I should just call and ask my doctor and see what she said. I called the hospital and they said to come in just to make sure. I woke up Jared and said we needed to go to the hospital to see if my water broke and he jumped up in a panic. I assured him that we weren't having a baby today (man was I wrong!) and I casually packed a bag of clothes in case they didn't keep me. This way I would be able to shower at a family member's house and we could just stay in B'ham for the day in case something happened. We left the house around 7:30 (a full hour and a half after my initial water breaking ha!). We drove to the hospital and on the way there I started having contractions, but nothing major...in fact, I had felt these types of contractions before (including all night). We get to the hospital, they check, and sure enough the doctor says "well, it looks like you will be having a baby today". We knew it wouldn't be a quick process so we held off on calling friends and family so they wouldn't be waiting all day.

They put me on a pitocin drip just to help things along and our excitement got the best of us, we made some phone calls assuring people that it wouldn't be anytime soon. It was at this point I wish I had showered in that hour and a half we wasted so I could feel somewhat presentable. Well, of course since I was admitted they no longer allowed me to eat or drink anything and I also regretted not stopping for breakfast because I was starving! lol!

Family members came in to visit and as the day progress my contractions got worse. I refused the epidural until I had reached 6cm and my contractions were very close together. I didn't want to get it early. I wouldn't have gotten it at 6cm if the nurse hadn't of insisted I go ahead and get it...wow, she is a smart lady! That pain was gone and I wondered why I had even waited.

It seemed that I was destined to have a rough delivery (which I had expected since my pregnancy had been a breeze). It all began with the epidural. He came in to do a procedure that should have been simple and unfortunately when he stuck me he hit a blood vessel. I had an immediate shooting pain down my right leg and it shot up in the air like it would if the doctor had tapped on it to check my reflexes. This scared the crap out of me and I freaked out. The whole right side of my body went numb and I got scared so of course I cried...man, hormones are a crazy thing! I had been chewing gum to help through my contractions and my hair went in my mouth and gum got stuck in it. That's when the anesthesiologist said "sorry, it didn't go in like it was supposed to, we will have to do it again, but first...I have something in my eye"

The epidural took, finally, and I just waited until time to deliver. Well, apparently my tailbone and Blythe's head made interaction and she wouldn't move. The doctor suggested they use the suction thing (not sure the technical terms) because at this point I had been pushing for almost 2 1/2 hours. I declined and said I would continue trying on my own, but after a little convincing from Jared I decided to go for it. Man, that was amazing. She was out in 2 seconds flat! Glad I let Jared talk me into it. It was then that the doctor noticed a problem. I wouldn't stop bleeding. Not like the normal bleeding but like I was internally bleeding. He said what normally takes about 10 minutes to stitch up took him about an hour. They went through 40 sponges (I know this because they had to count them afterwards). They finally go to hand me Blythe and I said "not yet, I don't feel right" and then I passed out. Could have been from loss of blood, low blood sugar, or low blood pressure (because it plummeted) I'm not sure. So they tilted me back and put another bag of fluid in me. Finally, I got to hold my baby girl. It was a very emotional time.

I ended up passing out again in the middle of the night when my nighttime nurse had me walk for the first time. And I was extremely sore for the first couple of days (I refuse to take pain meds). BUT IT WAS ALL WORTH IT.

These last 3 weeks have been amazing. I have seen her smile, roll over, and just overall be amazing! I catch myself staring at her. I have had tons of people tell me she is the most alert baby ever and I believe it. She barely naps during the day, but so far (fingers crossed) her nighttime sleep has been good. She sleeps about 3-4 hours in between feedings, we are up to 4 oz now, and she sleeps in the cradle.

Each day she seems to change and as sad as that makes me...it makes me even more excited to see what milestone she will reach next. So to all of you moms out there...I now understand and my life just got soooo much better!!!

9 days left!!!

Well I had my doctor's appointment on Friday morning. Nothing had changed, including my weight!!! yay! Doctor just told me to walk A LOT and make sure it's hard and fast and that will not only make my labor and delivery easier but cause me to dilate even more so tomorrow begins my walking...Now to decide how long to walk each day. Wish me luck!!!

How far along? 38 Weeks and 5 days

Size of Baby: According to What to Expect.com, a watermelon- 19 - 22 inches long and 7 pounds

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 28 lbs

Maternity clothes? of course

Stretch marks? none

Gender: girl

Belly Button In/Out: still in...sorta lol!

Wedding rings on or off? on, in the morning they are a little tight but after about an hour it's fine

Sleep:mainly just a lot of bathroom breaks

Movement: hasn't slowed down

Food cravings: I'm back on my chocolate milk kick

Best Moment This Week: bought a video camera, got my hospital bag put in the car, installed the carseat, and enjoyed a wonderful Saturday in bham

Miss Anything? just feeling normal

What I am looking forward to: I start my walking tomorrow to prepare for labor/delivery and of course meeting Blythe soon!

Have you started to show yet? of course!!!!

37 weeks and 3 days

So my doctor's appointment was yesterday. My blood pressure was perfect (116/64), I HADN'T GAINED A SINGLE POUND, and I'm dilated almost 2 cm. Lots of exciting stuff at that appointment. My choices for my next appointment were Monday or Friday. I chose Friday just to give me a full week before seeing the doc again. I felt Monday would be too soon, not much would have changed. 

Blythe keeps pushing out like she needs more room but unfortunately my stomach won't stretch any further so it kind of hurts. Not enough for me to be in pain but still...lol!  I think she's ready haha!

How far along? 37 Weeks and 3 days
 

Size of Baby: According to What to Expect.com, a watermelon- 19 - 22 inches long and 6 1/2 pounds

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 28 lbs
 

Maternity clothes? of course

Stretch marks? none

Gender: girl

Belly Button In/Out: still in...which is amazing to me

Wedding rings on or off? on, in the morning they are a little tight but after about an hour it's fine

Sleep:varies each night...some nights I do a lot of worrying/thinking and other nights I guess I'm so exhausted I just pass out. I'm still taking bathroom breaks pretty regularly in the middle of the night

Movement: hasn't slowed down

Food cravings: nothing lately

Best Moment This Week: girl time with a friend, got my hospital bag packed, surprise baby shower at work, and getting a working kitchen again

Miss Anything? my body feeling like my own body

What I am looking forward to: hanging out with some friends on Sunday and getting my house back together after all this remodeling

Have you started to show yet? of course!!!!