Another week has come and gone.  Annabelle officially turned three months at the beginning of the week (even though she hit three months when last’s week update was posted).  I also returned from my work conference trip.  It’s so good to be home.  We had a fun-filled Thanksgiving holiday week at the Davidson household.  Oh how I love the holidays with a baby in the house.

A little more about my trip away from Annabelle now that I’m officially home.  As I mentioned last week, leading up to my leave I started getting a little emotional but once I was at the conference I stayed busy and was in work mode.  Dusty sent me plenty of pictures, videos, and updates to help make the time go fast.

Overall, it was a good trip.  When I returned home I felt as though I had missed so much in those 4 short days.  She seemed to have grown and changed so much when in all reality I’m sure nothing momentous happened.  It was hard returning and having Dusty know more than I did about what was going on.  Since Annabelle’s been born, I’ve been the one that spends the majority of time with her and I was a bit jealous of Dusty knowing more about our little lady than I did (I’m going to have to get used to someone else knowing just as much or more than me when Annabelle goes to daycare full-time in January).  It took me a day or so to feel like things were back to normal and for us all to get back into our typical family routine.  It’s good to be home and I don’t look forward to my next trip away (potentially in the spring).

Annabelle’s a fabulous little eater.  She’s growing like a weed.  I don’t know why I worried so much about her taking a bottle while I was gone.  No need to worry.  And since I’ve gotten home it seems our little lady is having a 3-month growth spurt.  She wants to eat all the time.  She loves her food though and I’m excited to go to our 4-month check-up to see what the doctor says about feeding her solid food.

Because of Annabelle’s growth spurt and with the holiday, Annabelle hasn’t been sleeping very well.  Her naps have been short and few, which has more to do with having family and friends around to keep her occupied than anything else.  And the last few nights she’s been waking up more than just for her usual one-time 3am feeding time.  She’s catching up on sleep though.  As I type this, Annabelle’s taking a nap and has been sleeping for 3 hours.  Yay!  It’s so peaceful and nice for Dusty and I to be able to get things done.

Annabelle loves sticking her hands in her mouth and more specifically eating her thumbs.  She’s not sucking on her thumb but gnawing at it.  I know some babies at this age are teething but she’s not fussy or showing any signs of pain.

Our smiley little lady.  She’s so much fun! Mornings are still our favorite time of day.  Dusty and I snuggle with her in bed and talk to her.  It’s the perfect time because neither of us is busy quite yet and Annabelle is so happy to see us.  She gives us the biggest smiles.  It’s the perfect start to the day.

Oh that pacifier, how she tricks me into believing she likes it one day and then goes back to hating it again.  When I returned from DC she loved her pacifier for about 24 hours and then that was the end of that.  I should be happy that she doesn’t care for it because I don’t have to worry about it becoming a bad habit but I also think it would be helpful in soothing her when she’s not hungry.

I read about all of these babies who are on almost perfect schedules already and it makes me hopeful that we’ll be there soon (I’m trying to be a half-glass full kind of mom).  I wish we were in a better routine but it hasn’t happened quite yet.  I’ve said it before but I think it has a lot to do with me being home during the work week two or three days and then having a nanny and family the other two or three days (and then of course, not always being at home on the weekends to set a good schedule).  I’m not overly worried about getting into a perfect routine and there’s no rush but I excited for our winter break to start so I can really work on a better routine for us both.

Our dear Annabelle is almost three months old.  I’ve started to notice that our little lady is really starting to talk.  Okay, maybe not talk but she’s really showing us that she can hear us.  When Dusty and I are talking to her, she’s smiling, looking at us and replying with little gurgles and coos.  I know she’s soaking in all of the things we say so we’re always describing what’s going on, reading, and singing to her.  Research says babies who are extensively spoken to have significantly higher IQs and bigger vocabularies when they get older so we’re starting as early as we can!!!

Nothing momentous happened this week in her development (unless it happened while I was away).  We’re still working on rolling over and she’s so very close.  You can tell she’s just soaking it all in. Her head swings left and right frantically, trying to look at everything she can.  She’s still swatting at things but is grasping onto things a little more everyday.  Hair pulling is coming soon.

Annabelle is our happy little bean (unless she’s distressed about taking a bottle or napping).  She’s just so much fun to have around the house and I’m so excited for the holidays.  Thanksgiving is next week and that means I can put up the Christmas tree and all of our decorations.  I’ve always loved decorating for the holidays but this being Annabelle’s first Christmas makes it so much more fun.  I know she’s not going to be able to open presents or write a letter to Santa but I know those things will come soon enough.

This week was a big first for me as a new mom.  I had a conference in Washington, DC and had to be away from Annabelle for three nights and four days.  After Annabelle was born I was pretty much an emotional wreak those first couple of weeks (as are most new moms) when I was getting no sleep and my hormones were ragging but since then I’ve been great.  Even when I went back to work I felt good and was happy that I went back when I did.  But the days leading up to this trip were hard; I was getting emotional at the drop of a hat.  I would watch a video or read an article or look at pictures someone posted on Facebook and start getting teary-eyed.  I would start thinking about leaving for my trip and my heart would ache.    I knew I would miss her but wow, I hadn’t even left.

I’ve never gotten this sad to be away from home.  The new emotions of having a child are most definitely happening. The question is, does it get easier?  I’m sure the answer is “yes” and “no”.  I don’t have any guilt leaving Annabelle with our parents or even my sister for the evening but it sure was hard to leave knowing I wouldn’t be home that same night.

This week milk was a big topic in the Davidson household.  First because Annabelle continues to be a tad bit finicky about taking a bottle.  It is a testament to how things change week to week.  She was so good for those first three weeks I went back to work but when we really needed her to like the bottle she all of a sudden questioned taking it.

Leading up to me leaving we tried to exclusively bottle feed her (excluding her nighttime feeding) knowing she had some issues last week.  About 75 percent of the time we had no issues but then there was at least a couple times she’d refuse it.  After trying everything we discovered the best thing to do was to just set the bottle down and come back 10, 20, or 30 minutes later and try again.  While we were waiting for time to pass we played with her, walked her around the apartment, or bounced her in her baby bouncer.  Sometimes she even fell asleep.  I asked Dusty how everything went for those days that I was gone and he said that she took the bottle just fine and was always hungry.  So, for now, no problems!

The second reason milk was a big topic is that while I was in DC I continued to pump.  Thank goodness for friends who have gone through this already and could give me the low down.  In the end I was lucky to have my own hotel room (something that only happened because my two roommates had emergencies and couldn’t come), requested a mini-fridge, brought a nifty cooler with ice pack, and came across very nice airport security.  And wow, did I bring a lot of milk home (over 100 ounces).  It’s amazing to see how much milk Annabelle drinks every day (and how much I produce to keep up).  Everything worked out just fine but I’m glad to be home so Annabelle and I can get back into our routine!

I mentioned a couple weeks back that Annabelle had discovered her hands, and well, now she’s absolutely fascinated with them.  She’s constantly trying to put them both in her mouth at once, suck on them, and examine them thoroughly.

What’s Annabelle up to this week?  Well, she likes watching Dusty’s computer when he’s working.  She and I will be playing and I’ll notice that she’ll no longer have any interest in me but is staring at Dusty’s hands moving on the keyboard and whatever’s on the screen.  She’s becoming much more interactive.  When Dusty or I talk to her you can tell she’s paying more attention to us.  If she makes a noise we’ll try to imitate it or just make sounds back.  And I love it when she continues to talk back or gives us one of those big smiles in return.  She’s not a chatterbox yet but she is starting to find her voice.  We’ve noticed that when she wakes up in the middle of the night or from a nap or just isn’t happy that her cries are noticeably louder.

We’re really working with Annabelle on tummy-time and trying to encourage her to rollover.  I’m not sure if rolling over is in her immediate future but she is getting really good at lifting her head and holding it up while lying on her stomach and back.  And she’s really good at holding her head while we’re holding her or when she sitting (with our help).

Annabelle’s becoming a little human being with likes and dislikes.  This week we discovered that Annabelle no longer likes all of her bottles.  We have three or four different kinds of bottles and after a couple days of eating issues with daddy, the nanny, and Grandma Jane, she only likes two of the bottles.  It seems that she also likes her milk really warm and not just lukewarm.  Or, she just decided to really hate taking a bottle for 48 hours.  After a couple of worrisome days and having to leave early from a dinner out with friends everything is fine.  We have been trying to feed her from a bottle more often though just to make sure she doesn’t have any more issues.  I’m leaving for a conference next week and I’d hate for her to decide she only wanted mommy while I’m several states away.

She’s growing fast and fits comfortably in her 3-month clothes.  I can’t believe that she’ll be wearing 6-month clothes in no time at all.  The dress and tights is one of my favorite outfits right now.  And the pajamas below are another one of my favorites.  They have magnetic buttons instead of snaps.  So easy to work.  I love taking pictures each week but this week especially.  I caught her after a couple of good naps when she was really smiley and was able to capture some good pictures.  She smiles all the time but I can’t always get them on camera because she moves around a lot and then the photos tend to be out of focus.  Those smiles just melt my heart though!

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.