21 Weeks!

21 Weeks - 1.28.14

Sleep: She seemed to follow her routine from the week before of waking between 5-6am. I do find it funny though that on the weekend she goes right back to waking up a bit earlier (between 4-5am) but then going right back to sleep until 8am! Makes me happy as I get a little bit more sleep on the weekend then :)

Clothing Size: No change here! Still 6-9 months :)

Favorite Toys/Activity: She is starting to actually play with the electronic toys she got for Christmas. I appears she is purposefully hitting buttons now rather than accidentally hitting a button!

Milestones: She had quite the active weekend! She decided that she was going to be a big girl and sit up all by herself! She did so good and holding herself up and not toppling over! She sat that way for quite a bit playing with her blocks until she finally started to topple and I caught her.

She also is now officially rolling over both ways! She had been doing back to tummy for a while now but hadn't quite gotten down tummy to back. Well, this weekend she was a rolling machine and had no issues going back and forth!

She also is becoming a master scoocher! She sees a toy out of reach and she finds a way to get it! I see crawling in the very near future as this weekend she got her legs under her and her hands up in a crawl ready stance but then wasn't sure what to do so went back to her tummy and rolled instead :)


Highlights from the Week: 

• Sitting up by herself
• Rolling tummy to back
• Hike on Sunday to top a hill to see 360 view of Thousand Oaks/Westlake/Oak Park

Favorite Mommy Moment: 
Watching her sit up for the first time. I just got filled which such pride watching her grow and learn. She amazes me each day and I am continually surprised by all that she is able to do! I have never felt so proud of someone either and I found it funny how proud I was over sitting up! It seems like such an easy thing to do but suddenly with a baby you realize how big of an accomplishment that truly is. I just love to watch her play and interact with the world around her and feel like one very lucky momma to have such a wonderful baby!  

20 Weeks!

I really do intent to blog more than just these weekly updates, but at the moment this seems to be all I have time for!

20 Weeks - 1.21.14

Sleep: This past week was a sleepy week! She realized the routine of daycare and so would wake up around 6:30/6:45am each day. Only had a couple of night wakeups that she would either put herself down or we had to briefly go in and pat her. Not bad! I feel like one lucky momma!

Clothing Size: No change here! Still 6-9 months :)

Favorite Toys/Activity: Paper! Haha anytime there is paper around her she wants to grab and play with it. Whether it be her daily sheet from daycare, the friendship slip at church, or a post it lying around, she wants to grab it!

Milestones: Not officially crawling yet but we have a scooter! We put toys just out of her reach and she wriggled and scooched herself to them! She also is sitting up much better unassisted! Still toppling over after a bit but lasting much longer than she has before :)

Last week she started solids but was pushing out more than taking in. This past week she stopped thrusting her tongue out as much and seems to have grasped the concept of eating the oatmeal of the spoon!

Highlights from the Week: 

• Fun day with Grandma and Grandpa on Saturday (My parents)
• A full week at daycare
• Three day weekend! 

Favorite Mommy Moment: 
We had yesterday off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and it was SO awesome to be able to spend an extra day with her! J had to work so it was just A and I and I loved every minute of it! We went and met J for lunch and sat outside enjoying the sun. We took a nice walk. And my favorite part was taking a nap together! Not only did I enjoy getting more sleep but I just loved every second of cuddling with my little one! It made me miss doing that everyday but I am just going to enjoy these extra days the best I can when we get them!  

19 Weeks

Looks like I will be running late on getting these out!!

19 Weeks - 1.14.14

Sleep: She has been sleeping pretty good. Most nights she would fuss around 4am but would usually put her self back to sleep. And then would wake up to feed between 5-5:30am. This was fine before daycare because she could get more sleep in but since we have to wake up at 6:45 for daycare she hasn't been getting as much sleep as normal. Also, she doesn't nap very well at the daycare so she is a tired baby!

Clothing Size: No change here! Still 6-9 months :)

Favorite Toys/Activity: This past week she enjoyed the other side of her whale toy! She always enjoyed the toys that hung from the tale but it also had this water feature with fish in it when she was on her tummy. This past week was the first week where when she rolled over she really noticed them and played with them!

Milestones: Starting Daycare! She did much better than I did. I cried the first day when I had to leave her. Luckily she is in a great daycare that I trust and is right by my work as well so I can still see her at lunch time for her lunch feeding!

Another big milestone is she started solids! Well, it is not really solid but it is oatmeal and is 1 tablespoon oatmeal and 4 tablespoons breast milk so still basically a liquid! I was actually very against starting food at 4 months but J wanted to start her at 4 months and her pediatrician did say to start her on cereal now. So while I disagreed, we did decide to move forward with oatmeal! She seems to love it! Well, she loves the spoon I think more than the food! It is pretty adorable though to see her sitting in her high chair like a big girl and she quickly learned that it was food she was getting and when we would hold the spoon up she will open her mouth wide!

Highlights from the Week: 

• Started Daycare - 5 days a week from 8-5
• First food - Oatmeal Cereal 

Favorite Mommy Moment: 
I walked into the daycare to pick her up and could hear her crying. I quickly made my way to her room and saw the teacher holding her and A was fussing. The teacher said I think she is hungry and wasn't sure what to do. I grabbed her and held her and she immediately stopped fussing and smiled and babbled at me and was just fine! It melted my heart and made me feel good that all she needed was cuddles from Mommy! (Though I don't want her upset at daycare but so happy I could easily fix the problem!).  

18 Weeks!

Well I started this yesterday but didn't have time to finish until today!

18 Weeks - 1.7.14

Sleep: The past week she seemed to settle into a pattern of going to bed at 9:30pm and the waking between 4-6am for a feed. She would then go back down until 9am! It was a great schedule that I wish I could have enjoyed the extra sleep until 9 but going back to work ruined that! And starting this week she goes to daycare so she doesn't get the extra sleep either! We will see how that goes...

Clothing Size: Almost all 6 months and a few 9 month have made their way in as well!

Favorite Toys/Activity: She loves her crunchy block still and also the stroller toys that vibrate! Pretty much any toy you give her though she seems fascinated by! We went on a hike this weekend, and she seemed to really enjoy looking at the trees and flowers!


Milestones: She had her 4 month doctor appointment! She has gone down percentage in weight (now 30th percentile) but is still up there for height (89th percentile!) So we for sure have a long, lean, baby on our hands! She also got her second round of vaccines. She cried when they gave them to her and was fussy for a few hours after but not as bad as the first time! She also went to the beach for the first time. She loved it! I think because we use a sound machine with the waves sound for her to sleep, she liked seeing the real thing! And it put her to sleep after about 15 minutes of walking on the beach :) The beach was also special because it was where we had taken our wedding pictures so we took a picture in the same spot with her! She also had her first New Years Eve! She didn't make it to midnight, but we went into her room and had a toast above her crib!


Highlights from the Week: 

• First hike with daddy and then hike with mommy and daddy to TO Botanical gardens 
• First trip to the beach
• Saw where Mommy and Daddy got married 
• Had two days at home with just Daddy 
• First New Year's Eve and New Years 
• Turned 4 months old! 
• 4 month doctor appointment and second round of vaccines 

Favorite Mommy Moment: 
Taking her to the beach right across from where we got married and taking a picture in our wedding spot at the beach was probably my favorite! I will cherish that picture! It was also fun to see her look at the ocean and hear the noise she was used to hearing but seeing something in nature and not a box making the noise! I also enjoyed carrying her as we walked along the beach and getting in all my cuddles and the next day was the day I had to go back to work. 

4 Months

Wow, this is my 100th post! That is pretty exciting! :)

A,

Well, these past 17 weeks have seriously been some of the best if not the best in my life. We have big changes on our horizon as I have had to start back to work. I am sad that this is your first monthly birthday that I have had to miss. Don't worry though, I gave Daddy lots of instructions on what pictures to take! :) I know I was lucky with as much time as I had home with you as I did but selfishly I wanted more. You are becoming a little person right in front of our eyes! Your personality is already shining through and I love to watch you learn and discover. You have just discovered your toes and it is so cute to watch you grab them and realize that they belong to you. Your face just lights up! And, oh, your smiles, I love your smiles. You get these big grins now that just melt my heart. Last night, after being away from you all day, I rocked you to get you to sleep, and as I was about to put you down, you looked right at me and smiled. It was the best moment of my entire day. You hear a lot of about how much you will love your children and everyone says you don't understand it until it happens, and they are so right. I knew I loved you from the moment the doctor put the embryo inside of me, and the love grew as I felt you grow inside, and then when you were born, I thought I couldn't possibly love anymore, but each and every day, you prove me wrong. Smiles and moments like that just make the love grow stronger and brighter every day.

Next week you will attend daycare for the first time. I am worried of course but I know you will do great. You are already a social butterfly and love to be around people. Just know that even though I am not around you all day any more, I am always thinking of you, and always love you. Luckily, you are nice and close by so I will try and check in on you every now and then too! Five o clock used to be a good time anyways as it was the end of the day, but now it will be my favorite time as I will be rushing to pick you up and hold you in my arms once more!

I think we found a new favorite place for you as well. We took you to the beach for your first time on the 1st and loved it! You weren't able to play in the sand and water just yet, but you were fascinated by the waves and watching them. I think because we use the sound machine and put it on the wave sound, you were excited to see what actually made that sound. Of course, the sound also put you to sleep while we walked along the waters edge. You had such a peaceful nap as we walked. It was also a special beach that we took you too as it was the one right across the street where Daddy and I got married! I even took a picture of the three of us in the same spot we took our wedding photo!

I seem to be working backwards in time here but that is ok! Your first New Year's Eve was pretty quiet. We didn't go out and you needed your sleep so you didn't see midnight. But, Daddy and I snuck into your room at midnight and had a toast for you and each gave you a kiss to ring in the new year. :)

Christmas was very busy! You had your first night away from home. We all went down to your grandma and grandpa's house (my parents) for the night before Christmas Eve to celebrate Christmas with them and be closer to Disneyland in the morning. You didn't quite get opening presents yet but did enjoy grabbing at the paper once it had been torn off! You slept pretty well away from home and did not seem bothered that you were not in your room. You stayed in a room with us though and I think you liked being back with us! The next day we went to Disneyland for our annual Christmas Eve tradition! This was our 25th year going as a family and so it was very exciting to start your first year on this special year! I look forward to the next 25 with you! I really hope you enjoy this tradition as much as I do! We only went on one ride, The Little Mermaid, but you seemed to have fun. Daddy and I held you and you just stared at all the things we passed. You were very focused on it all, it was so cute! The rest of the day we spent walking around and looking at the different lands, and of course lots of pictures!! We also took you up in Sleeping Beauty's Castle so you could see the story of Princess Aurora :) We left around 7 as it had been a long day and we knew we had to drive back home. We then did take you to the candlelight service that night as it is one of our favorites. You slept through the whole service but that is ok, lots of people came by to see you and say how cute you looked in your Christmas dress!

Christmas Day we went to your other grandma and grandpa's house (Daddy's parents). There we spent the day with his family opening gifts and eating dinner. Your cousins wanted to play with you so bad and I know when you are a little older you will love to play with them too!

Overall, you had a wonderful holiday month of December! You experienced so many new things, like Santa for your first time! And you grew up more and more each day. You now "talk" so much all day long, you grab at toys and love to stare at them, you have started to teeth which means everything goes into your mouth, you had your first cold (which you did so well with the nose spray and sucker!), and just continued to grow into your own person. I look forward to what this next month in the new year will bring us!

I love you so much, more than words can say. I will always be here for you, even when I am away.

Love,

Mommy

Flip Cloth Diaper Review

So I have been doing cloth now for almost 4 months and thought it would be helpful to review some of the items I am using! :)

Currently, we use a diaper service so they provide the prefold diapers and we have to provide our own covers and wetbags. I like variety so I have quite a few different types and want more... haha

This first one I will do on the Flip diapers. I actually bought a set before A was born which included 2 covers and 6 inserts. On our laundry day, I decided to use the inserts myself to see how they worked and if I liked them as we are considering stopping the service and delving into doing it ourselves!

Out of all the different covers I have these ones are probably one of my least favorite. The reason for that is because I do not like how they do the snaps vertically. I have some other covers like best bottoms where the snaps go horizontal and I prefer that. I also feel that the flip covers are very wide and they do not have the double gusset that some of my other covers have which contains messes very nicely! Now, I will say that I really disliked these when A was young but as she has gotten older they have started to fit a bit better but are still seem a bit too bulky for me. I do like that they easily wipe clean between uses and are very easy to wash and hang dry.

The inserts are microfiber with a stay dry suede on top. I did find these to be very absorbent and the stay dry was true to its word! It was a very different way to change from the prefolds which are always soaked. When I changed her I could tell it was full but I could barely feel the wetness touching her. I bet she appreciated it too! The inserts were much faster to change than a prefold (as we still use a snappi and fold versus pad folding) though I did find that they moved and bunched a bit which I did not like.

She just happened to not go number two when I was using these so I was not able to gauge how well they would hold up in that aspect. The reason we do not padfold is because when we tried the covers always got dirty which defeated the purpose of reusable covers!

Washing them was very easy and didn't seem to have any issues the first time. Again, no poopy diapers so can't speak to that yet but the process was pretty easy.

Overall, they worked much better than I thought and did like the stay dry part of the inserts. They were faster to change than what we currently use but still seemed bulkier even with the insert versus the prefold. Actually, with the insert it seemed more bulky in between her legs than it normally is with prefold. These are great for my diaper bag as a back up cover!

Back to Work

So today I had to return to work. I cried a lot about it the past week but oddly this morning I did not cry. I actually feel like a vampire that turned their humanity off. I just feel a bit dead inside. I realize this is my way of coping by basically denying what is happening. Hopefully, I will feel again soon and not just sadness but happiness that I have a great job and that A has a great place to go during the day and will be well cared for.

It is weird because before A arrived, I never in a million years thought I would want to be a stay at home mom. I knew it was not for me. And while I still do not (even if this past week I said I did), I can now see why you would do it. It is so filling being at home with my daughter and being her everything and seeing those smiles all day. Even her fussy days I was able to hold her and rock her and comfort her. And it is hard to think that when she gets upset, I won't be there for her, and even the selfish part of me that I will not be getting her smiles and may even miss some milestones as well. She is interacting more and more and is so fun that it just makes it more difficult to leave. Today, it was easier to leave as J is home with her so I did not have to deal with dropping her off at daycare. I think that will be when I really lose it.

I know that all working moms go through this and that they survive and I will too. This is just the next step in our journey. I just did not realize how difficult a journey it would be.