This week started out a little hard.  My grandpa passed away and we traveled to Waukon, IA to help remember his tremendous 91 years of life.  About a month ago my sister, Annabelle and I went to visit him, and I’m so glad we were able to make the trip (look here for a picture of Annabelle and her Great-Grandpa).  I know that Annabelle will never remember who he was or that she got to meet him but during those couple of days that we were with him, he and Annabelle hung out and I will be able to tell her the story of them meeting and all of the wonderful things he said while they were together.

Things are starting to feel settled.  For the most part, we know what to expect, when to expect it and how to handle things when something out-of-the-ordinary happens.  We know what she likes and dislikes.  We know her sleeping and eating routine.  We know when she wants to play and when it’s time to settle down for a nap.  We know when it’s Dusty’s turn and when it’s my turn.

Not only are we in a good routine when I’m home during the week but we’re also in a really good routine on days I go into the office.  Dusty and I wake up and snuggle and talk with Annabelle in bed for a few minutes.  Dusty changes Annabelle’s diaper before running on the treadmill. Then I nurse her and let her lay on her play mat or in her bassinet watching her mobile.  While she’s smiling and watching Mr. Snail or her butterflies (these are the two things hanging from her play mat and bassinet) I take a shower, get ready, and then get all of Annabelle’s bottles ready as well as my pumping gear to take to work.  And then as we wait for the nanny I rock her asleep for her morning nap.

Annabelle went back to her regular nighttime sleeping routine this week.  She’s going to bed by 9pm and only waking up once in the middle of the night around 4am for a quick snack before going back to sleep.  She’s also starting to have a really great early evening nap that wasn’t happening a few weeks ago.  For the longest time she didn’t want to nap at all in the evenings and we struggled with putting her down between 5 and 7pm.  This meant she got so tired that she REALLY didn’t want to sleep and then we’d end up finally getting her to sleep at 8pm and she’s be down for the night (after an unhappy evening for everyone).

Life is good.  Annabelle’s personality is coming alive more and more each day.  It’s so much fun to talk with her and play.  She gives us the biggest smiles and makes the most adorable facial expressions.  Annabelle seems to have a calm, happy, and easy going disposition.

Before getting into our weekly updates, I just have to say how much fun we’re having with our beautiful little girl.  Okay, now about our week.  Annabelle is a healthy eater and eats about 3.5 ounces of milk every 2 to 3 hours during the day.  She rarely spits up but we have noticed in the last couple of weeks since she’s found her mouth and tongue, she’s started to drool quite a bit.  It’s super cute to see her blowing bubbles with that little mouth of hers.

As for sleeping, our little lady has regressed a bit this week.  She’s waking up once or twice most nights and a couple mornings woke up at 6am and didn’t want to go back to sleep. Most nights she’s sleeping at least 6 hours before waking up though.  Naps can be a struggle at times and I think that has to do a lot with me going back to work and having a nanny putting her down a couple days a week and me or Dusty the others.  Some days are good though.

Today, in fact, was an awesome day.  She ate this morning, played for 75 minutes and then took an hour nap.  Then this afternoon she ate again, played for 75 minutes and took a 2+ hour nap.  This evening she ate again, played for 75 minutes and then is now taking another nap.  She’s woken up twice but we’ve put her back to sleep easily by rocking her just a little.  It helps that we’ve been at home all day, just the three of us.  I’m so happy to see her doing so well.  It’s crazy to see how consistent the 75-minute awake/play time is.  After right around an hour of being awake and after she’s eaten, she’ll start getting a little fussy and start yawning.  At that point I know it’s time to change her diaper if it’s needed and start getting her ready for her nap, winding playtime down.  I only wish it worked like this every day.

Her favorite toys are her mobile on her bassinet, her play gym (with the wind-up mobile that plays music and moves) and us of course, she loves talking to us.  She loves talking to the little snail that hangs from her bassinet mobile.  It’s so funny to watch her talk and giggle and smile to her little snail.  She has a few other favorite small toys that we play with but she really loves the ones that move and have lights.

Annabelle continues to grab at her toys and reach for us more and more.  It’s not that she’s purposefully grabbing for something but she’s well on her way to pulling my hair one of these days.  As far as moving, although she’s a mover and a shaker, she’s not quite rolling yet but she does rock back and forth quite a bit when she’s lying on the floor.

She’s the cutest little lady and although I loved her newborn stage (when she was so tiny and snuggled right up on my chest when she took a nap), it’s so much more fun now that we’re able to interact with her and really see her come into her own personality.

I love taking pictures of our little bean and trying to capture all of her different expressions.  Here are just a few more of our adorable little girl.

This week was a big week for us.  I went back to work.  It was a nice progression back into work though.  We had fall break on Monday and Tuesday so I technically didn’t start back until Wednesday and then I only went in that first day for a couple hour-long meetings.  The next two days I was so busy that there wasn’t much time to think about anything else.  The best part is that Annabelle is staying home with the nanny and it’s so nice that she’s getting one-on-one attention for a while longer.

I only took eight weeks off and sometimes there is a small part of me that wishes I would have taken twelve but overall, I’m happy to be back at work and feeling as though I’m getting back to “real life”.  Because I knew that being at home with Annabelle was only short-term, it was almost like I needed to get back to work so that we could fully adjust to life with Annabelle.  We were living a beautiful dream for these past eight weeks (and I loved every moment) but now we’re adjusting to what things will really be like.

The big event for Annabelle this week was her two-month check up.  She’s 11 lbs, 15 oz and 24.5 inches long.  She’s in the 65th percentile for weight and 100th percentile for height.  Just as a reference she was 8 lbs, 4 oz and 21″ long when she was two weeks old.  Since she’s been born she’s gained about 4 lbs and grown 3 1/2 inches.  She’s a healthy little girl.

She also got her first round of immunization shots while she was at the doctor’s and did really well, she only had one big cry and then Dusty was there to pick her up and she calmed right down.  Her appointment was actually the day before I started back to work and the nice part was that for the rest of the day all she wanted to do was snuggle and didn’t mind cuddling with me.  I was able hold her as much as I wanted and snuggle, and she never fussed.

This week Annabelle also met her great-aunt Diane who came to visit from Indianapolis.  They had a great time chatting as you can see from the photo.

Annabelle is getting smarter and smarter as the weeks progress.  This month she’s made huge developmental leaps.  Her motor skills and sense are developing like crazy.  She’s also getting really good at holding up her head.  We’re making sure to do tummy time every day so that she keeps strengthening her neck muscles.  I’ve gotten all of her toys out for this age and we’ve been playing and talking with her as much as possible.  She loves watching the mobile above her bassinet.  It’s so adorable to see her laughing and smiling right up at the lights and dangling objects.  It’s crazy how I’m already thinking about how she’s developing and learning, and wanting to do everything I can to help her along.  It’s not all business though, we love cuddling and kissing her as much as possible!

A little over a month ago I wrote about a book I had read about getting your infant to sleep through the night.  The book is On Becoming Babywise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep.  Way back then (only 5 weeks ago) I said “It was a great reference to how things could be if you had the perfect baby or the perfect parents but sadly she is not (although we adore her all the same) and neither are we.”  

Now, I’m really glad I read it because it’s been such a good reference on the cycle of feed-wake-sleep time and you don’t have to have the perfect baby or the perfect parents to make it work.  It just takes time.  I knew that we should feed Annabelle every 2 to 3 hours but this book really helped me (as well as Dusty) understand what to do in between.  Only within the last few weeks have we truly gotten on this cycle where she eats, stays awake for an hour and then sleeps between 1 and 2 hours before starting the cycle again but it was really awesome to see that it was happening and that we could help reinforce it.

When I first read Babywise they talked about having your infant sleep through the night starting around week 8 and I thought they were crazy but now that Annabelle is sleeping over half of her nights from 9pm to 6am, I’m feeling really good (as well as feeling very lucky).  I still wake up twice to pump but when I wake up in the morning I’m feeling rested and ready to start the day. Her naps aren’t always amazing but they’re getting better every week.  So amazing how things can change over the course of a month.  I still cross my fingers and hope that Annabelle will continue to be a good sleeper and that this isn’t just a fluke.

Our little cutie is 2 months old!  She’s continuing to reach out and hold onto things.  When she’s in her bouncer or lying on the play gym she’s no longer just starring at the toys but trying to bat at them.  She’s a curious little lady.  She’s becoming a lot more interactive and I love knowing that she’s learning more and more everyday, just absorbing it all.  We want her to be super smart so we’re helping her out by talking to her, singing to her (or playing music), and describing all the wonderful stuff around her.  She’s smiles constantly (my heart melts every time it happens) and loves standing up on our laps when we hold her.

We were busy this week.  Monday we had a friend of mine over for lunch, Tuesday we had the nanny over to meet Annabelle, Wednesday we had a lunch/play date at a girlfriend’s house who has a little one and then Friday we went for breakfast at Panera with my two mommy friends who are also on maternity leave with their little boys.  For the most part Annabelle does a great job even when we’re out and running errands.  Sometimes I think she does better when we’re out because there are so many thing to keep her occupied and she loves being in the car (when it’s moving).  She does have her moments but those are usually after we’ve been out for several hours or when she’s hungry.

Annabelle continues to be a pretty darn good sleeper (knocking on wood as I type this while holding my breath that it continues). We’re putting her to bed by 9pm, even some night by 8pm if she’s super fussy and she usually wakes up just once, before waking up at 7:30am.  I’ll feed her again and she just hangs out with me in bed until 9am.  We snuggle and chat.

Getting her to bed isn’t always the smoothest process but we’re getting into a better routine.  I nurse her, then we burp her, put her into a swaddler and most of the time Dusty walks her around the house until she falls asleep.  Once she’s in her bassinet, if she wakes up I can usually just rock her in the bassinet and she falls back asleep after 10-15 minutes.  If she’s still fussing I usually try my hand at walking her around.

Even though it sounds like she’s perfect, she does have her moments.  There are plenty of afternoons that she doesn’t want to take naps or will only take short catnaps and evenings that nothing will soothe her.  Evenings are her fussiest times but aren’t we all a little crankier after a long day.  And then of course, there are plenty of nights that she wakes up more than just that one time (like last night).

This is my last full week at home with Annabelle before going back to work.  I can’t believe these last eight weeks have gone so fast.  I did accomplish the one thing I wanted this week and that was to make sure she would take a bottle.  My goal was to pump and feed her with a bottle during the day (when I’ll be at work).  I can happily say that she takes the bottle just fine but I failed at feeding her with a bottle the entire week.  I realized how much easier it is for me to nurse Annabelle and how much I actually enjoy her cuddling up to me when I’m nursing.

I’m excited to be back to work and back in a routine but I’m also sad that I’ll be missing all of those adorable things Annabelle does (isn’t that what every mommy says).  I’m going to miss our snuggle time in the mornings and our walks in the afternoon.  I’m counting down the days until winter break already and am happy that for the rest of the semester I have a flexible work schedule and don’t have to be on campus every day, some days I’ll be able to work from home.