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.

It’s so true when parents say that each week gets better and better.  I loved this week! This week Annabelle has started recognizing us and give us the biggest grins when we talk to her or pick her up (way more than last week).  She has the best facial expressions as you can see from some of our pictures this week.  I can spend hours watching her purse her lips, raise her eye brows, and move that little tongue of hers.  She’s also discovering her hands and fingers, and is grabbing onto things.  She’s trying to put her hands in her mouth and suck on them.

Annabelle is officially growing out of her newborn clothes and we’ve started transitioning her into 0-3 month clothes!  I’ve started to fill a box full of things that no longer fit and have pulled out all her new outfits.  Now that it’s started feeling like fall she’s finally wearing all of her long sleeved onesies and pants outfits, trying to get as much use out of all her clothes.  The 3-month clothes are still a little big but she’ll grow into them before we know it.  Dusty and I couldn’t stop laughing at the absolutely adorable picture of Annabelle sitting up (look below) because her pants are so far up past her belly that she looks like an old man who wears high-waist pants with a belt.

Annabelle’s getting better and better at sleeping.  Depending on the night she wakes up just one or two times.  She’s still sleeping in our room in her bassinet.  On a good night, she goes to bed by 9pm and wakes up between 2-4am to be nursed. Then she goes back to sleep until about 7am to nurse again. One of my favorite moments this week was that on a couple of those days in the morning, after nursing her we would snuggle in bed for an hour or two.  She’d fall back asleep and I’d just watch her sleep.

Now I’m working on getting her to take longer naps during the day.  She tends to wake herself up after a while and ends up taking a bunch of catnaps throughout the day, napping for 20 minutes or less and then playing for a bit and then falling back asleep for another short nap.

I’ve noticed this week that Annabelle can tell who I am and the moment I pick her up as compared with someone else, she seems calmer (I secretly love it).  When these kinds of things happen it makes me just a little sad to go back to work because I know she’ll start getting used to someone else and I might not be her one and only lady.

I go back to work in a little over a week.  I’m excited to get back into a schedule and see students but I know it’ll be hard to leave our little bean.  Because I’m not teaching for the rest of the semester and my work schedule is pretty flexible, we’re not sending Annabelle to daycare until January.  We have a friend of ours nanny for us and will be coming to the apartment a few days a week.

Here are a few updates on what we did this week.  Last weekend Annabelle walked in her first Race for the Cure 5K.  This week Annabelle and I bonded a lot.  Dusty was in California for five days so Annabelle and I got a lot of one-on-one time. Monday and Tuesday my sister, Annabelle and I went to visit our family in northeastern Iowa.  Most of my dad’s family lives there.  We wanted Annabelle to meet her great-grandpa as well as the rest of our family.  Grandpa and Annabelle got along just great and they were two peas in a pod.

I love taking pictures of Annabelle yawning.  She’s just so cute when she’s at that point where she’s wanting to fall asleep but just hasn’t gotten there yet, or she’s just waking up and isn’t quite awake yet.  And speaking of sleeping, sleeping babies are so perfect!!! Dusty and I find ourselves watching Annabelle sleep and talking about how sweet she is.  And then one of us will go and give her a kiss on her head before going back to whatever we were doing.  I love the noises she makes and the smiles she gives when she’s sleeping.  In fact, she’s sleeping on my chest as I write this.  I’m taking a break every few moments to smooch her and smell her hair and admire her.

Life with Annabelle is so different each day.  One minute I think I have everything figured out and the next something changes and I start all over again.  Parenthood is getting easier but there are still ups and downs (although many more ups than downs).  I’m trying to write a few things down every couple of days for the blog, but what’s difficult is that every couple of days she’s changed.  For example, she didn’t care to be swaddled the first week or so and it might have been because the straightjacket swaddler was so big and wasn’t as snug but now she seems to like it when we’re trying to get her to bed at night.  One day she’ll like her swing and the next she hates it.  One day she’ll take great naps and then the next she doesn’t want to miss out on anything.  I’ve found myself saying something like “as of today” or “in the last 24 hours” or “the last time I tried” when people ask how she’s sleeping or if she likes something or not.  Because she’s still figuring out what she likes and doesn’t like that I have to remember to try everything more than once.

My weekly baby emails tell me that she can’t focus on things further than about 12 inches from her face until she’s three or four months old  and that she is drawn to contrasting patterns and light sources so we’ve started getting the mobiles out and some of her toys.  I play little games with her and show her toys or books and talk to her about them.  These past two weeks Annabelle’s much more content just sitting in her swing (at least for a few extra minutes).  She’s started looking around a lot more and even paying attention to our faces.  I find myself making funny expressions to make her smile.

My favorite part of these past two weeks is that she’s really starting to make a lot more sounds.  She’s cooing  more as well as making a lot more grunts and gurgles. We talk to her a lot and can’t wait for the day she talks back to us!

These past two weeks have been busy ones for the three of us.  We took Annabelle to another one of our favorite restaurants, Dante Pizzeria, last week and there were no major catastrophes.  I did hold my breathe the entire time, not wanting to disturb our neighbors but we survived and so did our neighbors (they had kids too)!  We also went to a fundraising event that was just a few blocks away from our place.  We strolled Annabelle with us and showed our support.

A few of my co-workers threw me a baby shower/open house this week.  Being back at school got me a little excited to go back to work but it also reminds me how difficult it’s also going to be.  I’m going to miss my little bean!

We did a few other things with Annabelle these past couple weeks, helping her and us both adjust to going out.  Annabelle really likes the baby bjorn carrier, making it really easy to take her places because she loves to “hang” out.  Dusty and I have always been active people and did a lot before Annabelle was born.  Now that she’s here we want her to be a part of that.  We’re hoping that we can create an environment where we spend quality time at home but also do those fun things we did before.  We love introducing Annabelle to our exciting adventures!

One final update, I went for my six-week check up and got the okay to start exercising, now I just have to start!