3 Months!

***Well, seeing as I'm a mere week or so away from her 4 month update, better late than never to get the 3 month posted!***

I am definitely a broken record when it comes to weekly and monthly updates, but I will say it again!  How in the world is she already 3 months?!? 

The last 3 months have been a whirlwind with moving, making new friends, transferring a job, and just adjusting to living in a new state...all with a new baby.  But Bella has done fabulous and her 3 month update proves it!

Happy 3 Months Isabella Rae!

3rd Month Highlights:

-Half of the month was spent on vacation.  We took a 6.5 hour road trip to spend 2 awesome weeks in Fort Walton Beach, FL with Mimi and Pops.  Tia Ja and Uncle G were able to come part of the time which was fun.  You loved going out on the beach and sitting under an umbrella in her vibrating bouncy seat. You were too little to swim in the gulf or enjoy the sand, but you certainly loved basking in the warm air!

-We are still trying to decide what to call...this guy : )  What started as Papa, turned to Pops, turned to Howie (family inside joke)...and now, despite all of us loving Howie (except Howie himself!), we are back to Pops. Since you're only 3 months you don't care. Hopefully we will have it figured out by the time you are 3 years!

-At 9 weeks, you started rubbing both of your ears a lot when you are sleepy. It was super cute!

-Mornings have really become the highlight of our day.  You are so happy, with lots of smiling and cooing.  One of our favorite things to do is count backwards from 3 to 1 and unswaddle you...both arms immediately shoot high into the air as you stretch them out, and your lips purse super tight until the stretches are done. Then comes the biggest smiles ever!  Same thing every morning, and yet it's still super cute and never gets old.  

-Your hair has fallen out a lot in the last month, and what little wisps are left on the sides are affectionately known as "Grandpa hair" now.  Gotta get a picture of this one because it makes us laugh!

-At ten weeks, you started wanting to stand up more (obviously with us holding her up).  You don't love laying down as much anymore, and will try to do crunches in order to sit up.  Once you've been sitting up long enough, you grunt and fuss, and will smile only once we stand you up.  You clearly know what you want!

-You are cooing and babbling a lot more this month which just gets more and more fun!  There have also been a few (but far between) giggles.  Those are just too precious!

-You have truly started to love playing with toys, particularly your piano play mat, the mobile on your swing, and the hanging bar of toys on your bouncy seat.  It's fun watching you start to grab things (since 12 weeks), and occasionally look at your hand and momentarily realize it's yours (and then you are so easily distracted!).

-Baths are happening more and more, not out of necessity but because you totally love being in the water!  You love taking baths in the sink (although you are getting way too long for the bathroom sink!), and even getting in the shower while Mama or Daddy holds you. We love it! 

-You still love taking walks and going outside. Even though you can't get in the pool this summer, you just love sitting in your stroller people watching, or napping in the warm summer air!

I guess there's not much people watching going on when it's just Mama and Tia at the pool!

-You got your first set of immunizations. You took them like a rock star, screaming with the 3 pokes, but calming down about ten seconds later.  You were pretty irritable and miserable the rest of the afternoon, but after a couple doses of Tylenol, by evening time you were much better (although still not back to your normal happy self).

 

Looking suspicious even before she knew what was happening!

Her 3 badges of courage- pink, yellow, and sparkles!

 -You share a birthdate with Mimi, so on September 13th, we celebrated your 3 month mark and Mimi's birthday as well. We all spent the afternoon in Dahlonega, GA enjoying some good pizza, walking around downtown ,and finding cute little shops.

Sleep:  We are starting to see a bit more of a routine in the sleep department.  She sleeps about 16-18 hours a day still.  She is definitely not a lover of naps in her crib, but per her on daddy's chest, in Mama's arms, in her swing, bouncy...really anywhere but her crib, and she can sleep all day.  Nighttime is a different story though- she has been going to bed around 7:30 or 8pm, only to wake at 4 or 5 am to eat, then goes back to sleep until about  8 or 9am!  

-->One night she was screaming around midnight.  Knowing this was super irregular for her, and thinking she almost sounded angry, I ran into her room.  I looked in the crib and found Isabella with hands outside of her swaddle, up on her cheeks.  She would slap herself and then scream, slap and then scream, slap and then scream. Over and over! I couldn't help but laugh.  Once I re-swaddled and put her arms back in, she fell right back to sleep peacefully.

Breastfeeding: Every month breastfeeding gets easier and easier, and less painful (hallelujah!).  Isabella still eats every 3 hours during the day, and usually once or twice at night.  It takes about 20-30 minutes for her to eat, and she's now consistently eating on both sides. It's nice finally feeling like we're getting into a good groove with this. I am still using the shield when at home (because it is not as painful), but out in public we go without. 

Isabella LOVES:

-Being held, especially daddy's football hold

-Being rocked and sung to sleep

-She is completely fascinated with the mobile on her swing now...it always makes her giggle : )

-Playing on her piano play mat

-Bath time in the sink or showers with mama or daddy

-White noise while in the car from sleep sheep or phone app

-Taking walks and being outside when it's warm

-Moo Cow wub-a-nub

Isabella HATES:

-Tummy time

-Naps in crib

-Perhaps naps in general!

-Being in her carseat for long periods of time (although she is getting better every week)

Third Month Stats:

-Weight: 10 lb 14 oz (10th percentile)

-Height: 23.5 in long (50th percentile)

-Head circumference: 15 in

-Still wearing newborn diapers (even though the packaging says they go til 10 lbs she so long and skinny that the newborns fit the best). Still loving pampers swaddlers the best.

-Just at the 3 month mark she has outgrown any newborn jammies or onesies with footies b/c she is too long.  Otherwise she is still in newborn clothes. That being said, some 0-3 month onsies and pants are fitting better than before (albeit, still a bit baggy).

Isabella's Firsts this Month:

-First road trip (7 hours to Fort Walton Beach FL)- 8/23/14. She did great, just eating and sleeping the whole way.

-First beach vacation (2 weeks!)- 8/23/14-9/5/14

-First set of immunizations- 9/8/14

And as always, this month in pictures!

Yes, she turned 13 weeks before she turned 3 months

2 Months!

Sometimes I think that I should post weekly rather than monthly because so much changes on a week to week basis with Isabella.  But really this past month has been a whirlwind of changes in the Lerma family, so there was no time for that.

Isabella is another month older (already!?!).  She has taken her first plane ride.  We have moved to a different state.  I have started thinking about starting a different job (although am still in a bit of denial because leaving my PICU and amazing co-workers was insanely hard!). 

So packing up an entire townhouse with 9 years worth of "stuff" and memories, just after a c-section, with a newborn, was hectic to say the least.  But now that we are down in Georgia and getting settled, close to family and some best friends, I know that it was all worth it. 

HAPPY 2 MONTHS ISABELLA!

 

 


Such a happy girl, always raising that right hand, and moving all around : )



Second Month Highlights:

-Your personality is truly starting to flourish this month! At 5 weeks you started to coo and make sounds, which was the same time you started to have a few smiles in reaction to us.  Now, by 8 weeks, you can hold eye contact for a long time and you are smiling and laughing in response to things we do.  It has been so much fun seeing your personality change this month!

Such a happy baby!

-You have become pretty predictable for us over the last several weeks which has been nice. You have stumbled upon a sort of routine that makes it easy for us to follow your lead.  You typically wake up in the morning happy, like to have some activity, and then go back down for a nap.  The rest of the day seems to follow suit, with a period in the evening where you may be fussy.  But if we swaddle you tightly, hold you (particularly daddy's football hold), and give you Moo Cow, you fall right asleep.   

 

-Some of our best friends, the Testas, finally got to meet Isabella as a family!  Probably the cutest thing of the day was Logan (5 years old) whispering to his dad "Dad, does she have arms!?" upon seeing Bella tightly swaddled while napping : )

-We spent a family day downtown Chicago where Bella got to see where Mama works, and meet a bunch of her co-workers.  We absolutely LOVE the city, and you did too!

-We took tons of walks again this month because you love being outside, and Mama needed it for her sanity.


We LOVE, love, LOVE our Ergo carrier!!

-You had your first evening being babysat by someone other than Mimi or Auntie Ja, and for longer than just "in between feeds."  We were able to go to a wedding and completely enjoyed our night out.  You, of course, did fantastic! Thank you SO much Tamera and Mark Kinsley!

-We moved! And not just a little across town move, but a giant to another part of the country move. Our stuff is all in storage, but we are physically in Georgia, staying with Mimi and Pops until our townhouse sells (for real this time, given 2 contracts have now fallen through!). It was an insane time packing everything, and there were several nights eating dinner picnic style on our floor of the bedroom because that was the only room that had furniture for Bella to sit/lay on. 

-We went to your first outdoor concert in Suwanee, GA listening to a cover band, and you absolutely loved it! You sat wide eyed staring intently at the band for the first half, and then fell into a deep sleep the second half. We enjoyed the music and all the food trucks!

 
-On your 8 week "birthday" you moved to your very own room.  I have to say, it was much harder for me than I had expected.  But you of course did fabulous.  The week before you started sleeping for about 5 hour stretches, eating around 9 or 10 pm, and then next feed starting at 3 or 4 am, so it was a good transition time.  But, it was just another reminder of how quickly time is flying by with you, and you are no longer a complete newborn.
 
Breastfeeding:  So we went back to the shield...sadly.  After seeing the lactation specialist and hearing that the combination of small nipples and her having a slightly shorter tongue don't go well together, I knew that if the cracking and bleeding continued, we would be back. And we are.  But it's not as horrific as I thought it was before.  Or maybe 6 weeks of insane pain with cracked and bleeding nursers (as Jon calls them : ) was enough to make a shield seem like a better option.  When we go out, I don't take the shield b/c logistics of using it while trying to balance her and keep covered are too much.  So going out can be a nice break.  

But with the shield, Bella is a champion eater.  It's still not exactly comfortable in the beginning, and can be particularly painful on the right side for about 20 seconds at the start but it's getting better every week.  Over the last several weeks she has been taking both sides more consistently, rather than just one side, but doesn't do it every feed.  It usually takes her about 10-15 minutes each side and she is good to go. She eats every 3 hours during the day, and then usually around 9:30 pm, 3:30 am, and starts the morning feeds at 6am.  Occasionally she will wake up every 2-3 hours at night to eat, but that's only about once or twice a week at this point.

Isabella Loves:

-Being tightly swaddled when she is sleepy

-Being held

-Moo cow WubaNub

-Taking baths in the kitchen sink or in the shower with Mama or Daddy

-Bouncy seat with the vibration

-Being outside, especially when it's warm (she can seriously sleep for hours when outside!)

-Daddy's football hold
-Staring at fans

Isabella Hates:

-Being in her carseat...as in it's an all out turn purple in the face-hold her breath- punching her arms ordeal

-Getting dressed with clothes that go over the head

Second Month Stats:

Weight- 9lb 4 oz (we have finally hit the 6th% mark...yeah we are on the growth curve!)
Height- 21 in
 
*You are still wearing newborn diapers, and we are sticking with Pampers Swaddlers because they fit you so well and almost never have any leaks.

*You still wear newborn clothes and the few preemie onesies we have.  We have tried several 0-3 month outfits lately, and you are just swimming in them still.

Isabella's Firsts this Month:

-First time starting to coo and make interactive sounds 6/21/14
-First time to smile in a reaction to something (not just gas) 6/25/14
-First time being babysat for the night 6/26/14
-First airplane ride 6/28/14
-First concert in Suwanee, cover band 7/2/14, and you LOVED it!

And finally, this month in pictures...


5 weeks vs 2 weeks...what a difference time can make!





This face gets daddy every single time...I'm sure she will use it again and again in her teen years!

Our pretty ballerenia

She clearly loves tummy time and mat time...we're working on it!