Three Months

Holey Moley! Ellie is already one quarter through the first year of her life. Waaaait! Slow down! It's true what they say, the time just flies by. Is it weird that I already think back to "when she was small"? She already seems so much different to me.  They call the first three months the fourth trimester because babies are still neurologically developing and need a little more time to "simmer".  We definitely had our share of ups and downs. Once we figured out the magic of a good swaddle, Ellie slept almost all the way through the night. She averages 6-8 hours which is great for a baby her age. This is one area where I feel really lucky.  She is also really healthy.  Thank all the Gods in the sky!

Eating is still a challenge. We had a lot of problems breastfeeding which never really got completely fixed but we learned how to deal with them.  My breast milk supply never recovered so we are having to supplement with formula.  Her latch is still not great, but she is able to breastfeed so I consider that a success. But lately she has had a really hard time just eating all together and I think she may have acid reflux or GERDS. When she starts to eat, she is fine and then will suddenly cry and fuss and can hardly finish a whole bottle like she used to.  This has gotten progressively worse over the last week and I finally broke down and took her to the doctor.  The doctor confirmed that she wasn't gaining as much weight as she should.  She didn't lose weight but she dropped down into a lower percentile than normal.  We are going to try putting her back on some acid reflux medicine at a higher dose to see if it will help.  We tried these medicines before when we were having all the breastfeeding issues but they didn't seem to do anything so we stopped giving them to her.  If these don't make a difference this go-around then we'll have to see a Pediatric Gastroenterologist. And I don't like the sound of that! Finger and toes crossed that this all works itself out. 

Ellie now weighs 11lbs 2oz and is 24 inches long. She has become increasingly alert and active. The moment she is un-swaddled she starts stretching and wiggling her limbs.  She smiles constantly and while she hasn't given us a true laugh, there are moments when she smiles at us and coos which I will interpret as a wannabe laugh. She has realized that her arms and legs belong to her and spends as much time as possible grabbing her toes and hands. She prefers her own limbs over any toy that we have. She has also discovered her tongue and is constantly rolling it around in her mouth and drooling.  She loves to stand and puts all her weight on her legs when we hold her up.  She much prefers to stand up than sit up. Tom predicts that she'll walk before she crawls because of it.  She still really hates tummy time and cries whenever you put her on her tummy, but if you put her on your chest or legs in the same position, she is fine with it. She gets really scared anytime anyone sneezes or coughs loudly.  She can go from happy to screaming in a matter of two seconds when someone sneezes around her!  It's pretty cute....I mean sad. ;)

I am now officially a stay at home mom and I have to say its more fun than I could have ever imagined.  Don't get me wrong, we definitely have our challenging days but I am so grateful that I get to spend my days with Ellie.  I already feel like she is changing so much and its so fun to see her growing.  Some days I wake up and I feel like she's a completely different baby. We manage to stay really busy throughout the week hanging out with moms from my mom group, going on stroller walks, going to the library and baby yoga. I try to plan at least one fun outing everyday to get us both out of the house and socializing. We have already made a few good friends for both Ellie and myself. As soon as were able to get some resemblance of a routine, I'm looking forward to doing more things that I enjoy like cooking and hiking.  We are heading into the holiday season and I'm starting to really crave holiday baking.  Last weekend it was all I could do from keeping myself from baking a pie (well that and having a baby attached to me). I am really excited for Ellie's first holiday experience and enjoying the season with a baby.  I need to start making her a stocking because Christmas is right around the corner!

3 months!

A visit from Linda

Baby toes!

Ellie showing off her spooky face

Hanging out with Mamanina

Visiting her Great

Proud Poppy

The grandparents

Big and little

Ellie trying to change her own diaper

Relaxing in her luxurious robe

Mommy got a little zealous with the warm clothes on the first somewhat cold day

Little tomato

Reading the paper with Daddy