3 months

Baby (#3) Summary: 11 weeks

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(written a few weeks ago, Ila is now 14 weeks)

Baby Summary- 11 weeks {QuietInTheChaos.com}

(she has watermarks so crazies online don’t steal her sweet baby face)

Yep- it has been ELEVEN weeks since Baby Ila (or Ila-Dila, as the kids call her) was born.  I can’t believe it!  And unlike my first two, she has yet to have a baby summary post!  I do these for two main reasons: as as journal for myself to remember what my babies were doing when, and to help readers looking for baby sleep schedules/routines.

Schedule/Routine

I will just start with our schedule, and go into details after that.  Right now we are doing a 3 hour routine, but I think she is about ready for 3.5- 4 hours between feedings. (YAY)

  • 7:00-wake/nurse/bottle/play
  • 7:55- down for nap
  • 10:00- wake/nurse/bottle/play
  • 10:55- down for nap
  • 1:00- wake/nurse/bottle/play
  • 1:55- down for nap
  • 4:00- wake/nurse/bottle/play
  • 4:55 down for nap
  • She has been waking at this nap, and fussing because she is swaddled (which she normally loves) which makes me think she is about ready to drop this nap and move on to a 4 hour routine.  But I am just hesitant yet, because she sleeps SO GOOD at naps and night, and I don’t want to mess that up!
  • 7:00 wake/nurse/bottle BED

She is in bed every night before 8.  The process of nursing and bottling takes us about 40 minutes, and there is no play time before bed at this stage.  Lately, she has been having a hard time falling asleep at bedtime (again, a sign we need to drop the 4th nap and extend time between feedings), but is generally happy.

—

Before the last few days, we have steadily been at a 50 minute wake time since about …6 weeks?  Before that we were at 45 minutes, which was just enough time to change her diaper, feed, and re-swaddle her for bed (mainly because feeding takes us so long).  But this week she jumped up to a 55 minute waketime  YAY.  So you may wonder, how do you know when they’re ready for a longer wake time?  She was staying up and talking at naps, happily, and then would fuss a bit before falling asleep (Because by that point she was over tired).  So I knew it was time to push WT; I always jump in 5 minute increments and give it a day or two to work itself out before moving another 5 minutes, if it is needed; especially when they are this little.  When they are older (2yrs+) I may move in 15 min increments.

For feedings we nurse, then she takes a bottle.  But I have to sneak the bottle in, or she won’t take it.  She just wants to nurse, which makes it hard for anyone else to feed her.  In that way she is different from my other babies.  With Lexie, from 4-9 months I was doing my internship/graduating from college, so we only got to nurse morning and at night; Max was in so much pain he just wanted a bottle then refluxed it all back up … he refused to nurse from about 5 months on.  Ila LOVES to nurse; she goes crazy with excitement when it is time to nurse and does not want that bottle.  but since I have a low supply, she has to take a bottle…  I am pumping after 1-2 feedings a day to help with my supply.  I just don’t have time to pump after every feeding.

Personality

Overall, Ila is a very happy girl.  She rarely cries, smiles all the time, loves to snuggle and lights up the minute she sees or hears Mister and Lexie.  They *LOVE* her.  They want to hold her, talk to her, snuggle her, hold her hand, and read her books non stop.  They join me for putting her down for all her naps and happily sing “Jesus Loves Me” each time- it is pretty precious.

Personality wise, she is so easy going compared to the other two.  Well, Lexie was colicy some days, and had a very strong willed, determined personality.  Max was easy going but had so many issues with reflux, that made him difficult.  God knew I needed a break when he gave me Ila!

Development

Developmentally, she is on target I guess?  I am not really keeping up this time (funny how that happens).  She has discovered her hands, kicks her legs a lot, and talks.  Oooh, how she talks.  I love it!  =)  She isn’t in a rush to do anything, doesn’t care much about moving around; Lexie and Max were both trying to roll at this point.  She just enjoys talking and being tickled.

Hopefully I will keep up better with her development/summary posts; probably not weekly, but monthly.

 

 

Week 13 Baby Summary

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Mister was officially 3 months old on December 2nd (also JTom’s birthday)!  But because of how the weeks fell, he is 13 weeks old.

Sleeping
Max has been sleeping from about 7:15pm until 5:30-6:30am.  Today (December 4th) I let him cry it out when he woke up at 5:20am.  I went in and checked on him, calmed him down, then put him back in the crib and left the room.  He cried and fussed on and off for about 30ish minutes.  But he went back to sleep until 6:50am!  So we have been CIO today.  It’s not easy, but he is getting it.  After his first nap he only cried (on and off) for 10 minutes before falling asleep.  I am keeping one arm unswaddled, because he can use that hand to soothe himself if he needs to.  (Oh yes, he is in love with his hands this week!)  If it takes him longer to relax and fall asleep, I go in after 10 minutes, pick him up until he is calm, then place him back in the crib.  I know today is pretty much going to mean very little sleep for him, but after a few days, he should be sleeping on his own.  I think he is ready; I feel that way because when I try to get him down he struggles, wiggles, and fights me.  He just can’t settle with me holding him as well anymore.  So, I think it’s time he tries to settle himself.  I will update at the end of the week on how it has gone.

*update*. It has been 3 days now and Mister is doing great with his day time sleep!  We have rough patches through the day, but overall he is putting himself to sleep with very little crying or fussing. I watch him in the monitor, and he usually is just sucking in his hand, with his eye closed, while he rolls around some until he settles.  He has been paci free for 3 days, and I think he is nursing better as a result.

Eating
He seems to be feeling better, reflux wise, so it looks like the dairy free is helping!  One week of no dairy and he is like a different boy during the day.  Looks like we have a dairy protein allergy.  (I will make another post on that later). 

Devleopment
Max is starting to try to raise his shoulders up, and he can do it pretty well.  He rolls from his tummy to back easily and Lexie LOVES to watch him do it!  He is already rocking/rolling onto is sides, and can almost make it to his tummy from his back!  Im sure this will happen before the end of the month.  I am still not sure if he is teething…  I really want to say yes because of all the chewing and drooling (oh my!) but developmentally this is when babies’ saliva glands start producing more (it was part of evolution to help break down food/breastmilk as it changes with baby’s growth.  Also to help build the stomach flora as baby grows bigger).  And since that falls right in line with baby discovering his hands and enjoying chewing … I just don’t know!  His gums have looked like he may be teething since the middle of October, and he started chewing in the middle of November … so we should have something happen by the end of this month if he is in fact teething.  They do seem to be a bit more puffy and white there at the middle bottom, than the rest of his gums.  So we will see.

Max is laughing, smiling, and starting to find his voice a lot!  He is squealing some, especially when he is tired and ready for a nap, he starts really jabbering.  He blows bubbles non stop and spit just flies every where!  Lexie thinks this is a serious problem, “He’s dwooling, Mama.  He’s dwooling!”  She is so serious!  It’s sweet.


Love Bug
Lexie has started napping again at home!  We seem to have found her sweet spot during the day for tiredness, and now that those molars are in and she is no longer scared of going poopy in the potty, things are getting back to normal.  But who knows how long that will last before we get more molars, or something else changes and throws her off for a while.  Regardless, I will take any sleep she can get!  =)

She’s enjoying gymnastics, and can do her bridge, straddle, pike and tuck. She really enjoyed the foam pit last week, and got brave enough to kick her leg up in the balance beam.  It will be interesting to see what she does this week (tomorrow, Friday).  We are doing Advent activities each day, and taking about Baby Jesus, Christmas, love, being kind, and God’s love for us.  Sue Sue has given us some really great resources to use during the month of Advent.  She has really enjoyed the Christmas stamps I got out.


She loves her daddy getting her up in the mornings, and doing her bed time routine at night.  My favorite part about her being in a toddler bed now, is climbing in bed to snuggle with her when she wakes up!  She makes me a spot, says “here, Mama, you need lovie.” and we snuggle.  It’s wonderful!  She walks around talking on her phone like a grown up (and Im never on the phone in front of her?), and loves to cook in her kitchen.  Now she wants to play with Max all the time, which is basically just them laying on the floor together.

I cried..

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and I cried, and I cried some more.  I am crying now.  I know she will be fine.  But that doesn’t make it any easier that strangers are going to be taking care of my baby.  To me, she is everything, to them she is a job.  To me, changing her diaper is fun and our favorite time of the day.  To them, it is gross and boring.  For me, snuggling with her after her naps is what being a mama is all about.  To them it means another one to watch, now that she is awake.  Watching her develop and learn new things every day is what makes my days at home so rewarding, but for them it is just another baby doing baby things.  I want her to be just as special to them as she is to me, but I know she won’t be because she isn’t theirs. So what is a mama to do?


I know I should just relax and everyone says I will get over it, but it really isn’t that easy.  Not to mention she is only nursing in the mornings and at night now.  She practically refuses to nurse any other time, so I have stopped forcing her… but she does nurse better in the am and pm than before (I guess because she doesn’t all day? I don’t know..)  Anyways,as lyrical genius Toby Keith says, the fit is just hitting the shan all at once and it is a depressing overload.


I probably won’t get to write many blogs once school starts.  Well, I don’t know.  I say that, but really I write better when I am super excited or stressed and depressed, so I may end up writing more, they may just be shorter blogs.  I guess I have always vented through writing; I’ve kept a journal since I was barely writing at 5 years old.  My goal is to write with more adjectives and to be more descriptive, I am usually in such a rush to get it done that I do not take the time to describe things or make my writing more interesting and colorful.  So, that is a new personal goal for my writing.


(I will try my new colorful writing here:) Tomorrow, Wednesday the 29th of December, I will leave Lexie at her church daycare for a few hours.  I plan to drop her off about 1:45, cry for a bit, go to the gym for a few sweaty miles and lift a few boring pounds, them come home to take my depression and frustration out on the bathroom and J.Tom’s filthy, cluttered boy room, and lastly pick Lexie up about 4:00.  Oh, and i have to mail a few square packages.  There.  Descriptive.


Oh my word, my friend from school just reminded me I do not have to wait until May to be home with Lexie, we will have the entire week of spring break in March!  YAY!!!!


This is why I don’t want to go back to school and leave Lexie.  Can you blame me?!

Lexie-17 weeks

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Lexie will be 17 weeks old on Friday, and will be 4 months old next Monday.  This means she is growing up too fast.  =(  
And Ms. Lexie Lou has definitely been hitting developmental milestones lately!




In the past 2 weeks she has:

  • discovered her voice AKA shrieks at the top of her lungs for fun while playing or fussing
  • started stepping and bouncing while standing
  • talks/babbles while fussing (which makes me feel so guilty), instead of just crying
  • fake coughs and then smiles/laughs at you if you respond, which we always do, because what if she is choking?!
  • started really cutting TWO teeth- her front bottom gums are puffy on the side where her tongue is (does that make sense?) and they’re white.

Oh, and today we go to school to visit; tomorrow she stays for half a day!  =/  I don’t want to tell them how to do their jobs, because I know they are perfectly capable, sweet ladies.  But I think they need to know that Lexie is super special and should be given special treatment!  =)  haha  jk  I know she will be fine and I don’t need her to become more rotten than she already is.  But, it is me I am worried about.  I think about like, what if they don’t mix her cereal the way she likes it or don’t keep her upright 30 minutes after she eats to help with the reflux and gas?  Or if they let her hands get all in her oatmeal and then all over her clothes (that one is kinda dumb…) or if they don’t play with her while changing her diaper-that is her FAVORITE time to play!! … these things make me sad.  I know I will be so busy during the day at school I won’t really have a chance to think about her being there, too much anyway.  Plus, my saint of a  mother in law is going to go check on her for me that first week, since J.Tom is not allowed to drive that far yet. 


J.Tom and I watched her sleeping last night and it was hilarious!  I tried to get a video, but once I did she stopped.  She fusses and kicks her legs (which are swaddled) and rolls around like crazy!  It is hilarious.  She kicks her legs so hard she comes off the mattress a bit and bounces!!  Very cute.


For Christmas, we surprised my family by going home to Memphis!  I wasn’t going to go originally, because I didn’t want to drive by myself with Lexie.  But she slept the entire time, both ways!  She is such a good girl.  Some people were saying it would take me forever to get there because of her being so young, but I guess she showed them.  =)  Anyways, we had a wonderful time in Memphis, I was so home sick!  I had not been home since I think I was 6 or 7 months pregnant, so it had been about 6months.  I am used to going home at least once every other month or so.  We saw my Memaw (who Lexie is named after) and all of my Dad’s family and we stayed with my Granny and Grandpa.  We visited my mom’s house and helped her get ready for her wedding and even had time to go by and see some of my friends (which I rarely get to do when I go home).  It was really a wonderful time!

Updates and such

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Lexie raising up-3 months old

Things are improving around the Wright home.  Looks like Lexie is feeling better than she was Mon. and Tuesday.  She is sleeping a little better during the day (which is unusual-she rarely takes a good nap).  She loves, loves loves her Bumbo seat and is sitting up really well in it.  She has been trying to raise herself up while lying on her back.  She gets so mad when she can’t do it..  but she get like 3-4 inches laying flat or while propped in the chair!!  Before long she will be raising all the way up, which is good but makes me sad.  She is also standing up, all the time!  She constantly wants to stand instead of sit and if you hold her hands out to help her sit up, she will just stand right up; she is too strong to be only 3 months old.


As you may know, I am a little OCD about certain things, well, a lot of things and I think this contributes to the fact that I LOVE being a stay at home mom.  I love to clean and make our home nice for J.Tom and Lexie.  I enjoy cooking and have even started to enjoy laundry!  (what is wrong with this picture?!)  I got this super awesome iron for Christmas from J.Tom and I L-O-V-E it!!  I guess some people would think that is crazy, but I know many women who love being a stay at home mom and wife.  It is definitely a full time job, so long as you don’t sit around and do nothing all day…  But i am constantly on my feet cleaning, organizing, laundry-ing (my own word) or spending time with Lexie.  I don’t want to go back to school but fortunately it is only from Jan3rd-May 6th!!  Yes, I will be counting the days till I get to be home with Lexie again, even if it is just for the summer months.  =)




Since the beginning of J.Tom’s back troubles in July and becoming a mother in September, I have learned many things about myself.  Here are just a few:

  • I love taking care of people I love
  • Maybe I should have been a nurse…(uh oh)
  • I will do anything for J.Tom
  • I am okay when Lexie cries, and that is okay
  • I am more obsessive about things; it seems like if one thing gets out of control everything does and then it is hard to get them back in order
  • I firmly believe in routines, rules and procedures
  • I need order in my life or I get overwhelmed
  • Lists, lists, lists!
  • Google calendar is my best friend
  • exercising really helps me keep my sanity and feel better about myself
  • I strongly resemble the characteristics of the boy in the book House Rules (routines, sounds, textures, obsessions… minus the genius part of course).  I realize I do not have aspergers, so I guess I have no excuse which just makes me neurotic  =P
  • I want to have 3 children and maybe adopt a fourth

Enough about me…

Hello der!

J.Tom is up and about, a little bit.  We are really hoping this surgery fixed all the problems and things will go back to normal within a few months.  The surgery took about an hour and 15 minutes; the spinal cord tear had healed itself but the cyst that formed over the hole did not absorb into his body like the doctor had hoped.  So, they cauterized the cyst and put in a drain to pull the blood away from that area.  They took the drain out a day or two later.  He is being a pretty good sport, considering he is so limited.  He is the very last person to just sit or lay around, so it really kills him to not get to work in the yard or tinker around the house.


We did family pictures last Saturday so hopefully we will get those soon and I can make up our Christmas cards.  Chances are I will have to do “new year” cards instead.  I don’t think I can get them made and mailed in time for Christmas…  OH!  I did get all our shopping done!  YAY  Some gifts won’t be here in time for our get-together here (which is next Friday) but we didn’t really have a choice with J.Tom being down and things kind of being crazy, online shopping was the easiest way to go.  Had we known a week before that he would get surgery, we would have ordered them a week earlier…  But oh well.


Well, I am exhausted and trying to get a some things done for a few gifts.. so I better get off here and get busy!  But, here is a little sneak peak of one of Lexie’s pics from our photo shoot last weekend.  =)

Lots of thoughts and prayers

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Well, yesterday was J.Tom’s check-up at the neurosurgeon.  Not good.  He will be having back surgery Monday, December 6 to repair the damage caused by the tear in his spinal cord.  Apparently this tear caused a sack to form and this sack is putting pressure on nerves which is causing the pain in his back and numbness everywhere else.  So, they will cut through fat and muscle, remove some more bone, and put a drain in this fluid-filled sack.  It is also possible that the nerves have herniated through the neck of the sack (think of a balloon), in which case they will stick them back in the spinal cord canal and seal it up so they cannot come back out.


This surgery will last about 1.5 hours, possibly longer, and he will be in the hospital for 3 days while the sack drains out through the catheter.  Then once home, J.Tom will be off work for 2-3 weeks.  I guess we will know more about his recovery later, when he is recovering.  I am asking for your prayers regarding his safety during surgery, the ability of the surgeons, and an easy, full recovery.  We are still looking at a possibility of permanent damage to the nerves causing the numbness-this is not good.  So, just keep thinking about us, please.


On another note, Lexie appears to be on a nursing strike.  She has done this before, but never this much or for so long.  Today is the fourth day, so let’s hope she isn’t trying to stop completely!  (Formula is awfully expensive).  Everyone says to pump to keep my supply up, which I do, but I don’t get nearly as much as she does when she nurses.  So, I am not sure how long I can keep my supply by just pumping.  She will nurse for about 3-5 min then just doesn’t want to anymore, but cries because she’s hungry! 


Her upper GI test went good the other day.  She does have reflux, but all babies do (apparently) and the doctor said she should grow out of it by 6 months.  My only concern is that the reflux could be why she isn’t nursing and I know it hurts her because she cries when she gets it, but the doctor doesn’t want to do meds.  I dunno though, we will see how the next few weeks go and I may ask for medicine.  I really hate to put her on anything though, hopefully we can tough it out.


Tomorrow my mom comes in town!  We are looking forward to seeing her.

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