Sarah { three months }

Ok, I realize Sarah is well past three months now, but I needed to get this post done before she turns 4 months (which is actually today...)! So this one will only reflect what happened in month three (mainly so I can look back later and remember her just as she was this past month). It has just been hard to find the time or energy to write everything down.

Sarah’s little personality has developed so much and she continues to bless us every day with her sweet smiles and noises. She really is so talkative. It’s so adorable when we catch her cooing to herself. Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that little brain of hers. Does she have “conversations” or does she just like testing out different sounds? Either way, it’s so cute! She also talks to her Daddy and me on occasion. We talk back and forth, telling her things we are doing around the house, narrating diaper changes, and making up stories about things she does.

During this month, Sarah has started rolling from her tummy to her back. At first, she hated being on her tummy. She would start fussing almost as soon as we put her down for tummy time and wouldn’t stop until we picked her up. She is now rolling over, though I think it’s more because she doesn’t like to be face-down in her blanket than she just likes to roll over. One night she even rolled over three times in a row! (Eli says I’m horrible, making her do it so many times. But hey, you have to get a video of it somehow!)

Another new accomplishment is grabbing her feet. She has been intently staring at her hands and feet and finally got them to coordinate together! Now she won’t let go! It's funny, she isn’t as interested when she is wearing socks. There’s just something about those little toes that are irresistible. (I completely understand, Sarah. I can’t get enough of them either!)

She is sticking everything in her mouth now. Sometimes we think she is hungry, but if we judged her hunger that way, we'd be feeding her 24/7! I have no worry about her eating though. Just look at her little chunky legs! She is still eating 4 ounces at a time in her bottle. I nurse her before school and a couple time at night, and she eats three bottles each day at her sitter, Ms. Linda's. Speaking of Ms. Linda, Sarah absolutely loves being with her. She definitely recognizes her now and lights up every morning when I take her there. Starting in January, she'll be going to school with me and staying at the daycare there. We'll miss Ms. Linda for sure, but I'm excited about Sarah getting to meet new friends and have kids she can grow up with. Not to mention, she will be just a short walk away. Hello getting to see my girl during school every day! I'm pumped about that part!!

Sarah is right on track with her clothes - she is wearing mostly 3 month size clothes, with a few 0-3 month pieces here and there. She even has a couple 3-6 month pjs that fit. I'm missing her tiny little ones, but I'm excited for all her new bigger clothes. She is still wearing size 1 diapers, but as soon as she gets through this last pack, we'll move her to size 2. I think they'll still be a little big, but it won't be long til they fit well. 

She is sleeping great now, but our schedule has changed once again. Around Thanksgiving, I started noticing that I had to wake her up in the mornings to get her ready to go. I hated waking her and cutting her sleep short. She would get fussy quicker and not have as great a morning. So we decided to put her to bed a little earlier and let her have more sleep that she was needing. Now she goes to bed around 8 or 8:30 every night. She usually wakes around 3 to eat and then goes back to sleep until 6:30 in the morning, when I can feed her and get ready to go. This works much better for all of us - Sarah gets the sleep she needs, and Eli and I get a little time together every night after she goes to sleep. Plus, a happy baby makes our mornings much easier!

When Sarah sleeps at night, we always wrap her up tight in a little burrito. We've used the SwaddleMe wrap since she was born and we really like it. Sometimes she fusses and grunts while we’re wrapping her up, but as soon as she is fully swaddled, she knows it’s time to go to sleep. Up until now, her wrap has "contained" her at night, but she is starting to figure out how to break free. Maybe she'll get a new swaddle wrap for Christmas!

I will always say it, but we are amazed at how she has changed and grown so much in just three short months. I love snuggling with her just as she is right now, but I also can't wait to continue as she grows right before our eyes.  

  

Lovebug, 

I am starting to feel like time is flying by so fast. You just seem like such a natural part of our lives now that it seems crazy it’s only been three months while at the same time I can’t believe you’re that old already! I love all your new changes and developments every day.  You have little rolls on your legs and a big chunk belly that I just love. I have no doubt that you're getting enough food, that's for sure!

I haven’t had as many moments just with you as I was hoping to, with work and busyness. Yet somehow I get a moment here and there and I just sit and stare at you. I’m always humbled as I hold you and remember how God blessed us with you and how perfect you are for our family.

I love you so much little girl. You are just so beautiful.

Love always, Momma

 

Sarah { two months }

Can you believe our little Sarah is two months old?? We can't! She grows bigger (and squirmier!) every day. We grow more in love every day. It's a win-win!

It's hard to believe that she can change so much in just a month, but I absolutely love watching her grow and become her own little person. She has developed quite a personality, laughing and smiling often. It just melts my heart when she smiles at me, not just smiling for no reason. And I think she has started to recognize Eli and I! Talk about cute!

Three weeks ago, I went back to work (tear!) and Sarah started going to a sitter three days a week. Ms. Linda goes to our church and is just wonderful with Sarah. She keeps her at her house, which is very close to our house and only about 10 minutes from my school. On Mondays and Fridays Eli keeps Sarah while he's home from school. He really enjoys this time to bond with Sarah. He's such a great Daddy!

My favorite time of the day is coming home from school and seeing Sarah. In the past week or so, she has smiled when she first sees me. You don't know how happy this makes me! My daughter knows me and loves me!

We had Sarah’s two month check up this week. She now weighs 11 pounds 6 oz and is 23 inches long. This puts her in the 75^th percentile for both weight and length. Still growing like a weed!

 

Along with her check up, she got a nice round of shots. I was really worried about these shots because of the stories I had heard from friends and family. I was anticipating a very upset, feverish baby for days after the shots, but Sarah really handled them well. Yes, she screamed (VERY loudly) when the nurse stuck her, but she calmed down quickly when I could hold her. She only had a fever that night, but after a little baby Tylenol she slept through the night and was fine the next day. I am so thankful for a content, peaceful baby. I’ve been told to enjoy it now, because our next kid will most likely be opposite!

Sarah is still eating great. Since she is at the sitter or with Eli during the days, I am pumping at work and she gets 3 bottles while I am gone. We started out giving her 3 ounces at a time, but she is now taking 4 ounces. I can tell she enjoys the bottle because it's easy and she doesn't have to work quite as hard. This makes me a little sad. I would love to nurse her exclusively, but I am thankful that I can make it work with pumping and we don't have to supplement with formula just yet.

Most of Sarah's clothes are now in the 0-3 month range. She has a few newborn things that still fit, but they won't for much longer. It's sad to think that such cute clothes have such a short lifespan, but she has bigger clothes that I can't wait to see her in! She's also moved up to size one diapers. She wore newborn diapers until she was about seven weeks. Then when she exploded out of three diapers in one day, we decided it was definitely time to move up!

Our routine has settled into a pretty consistent pattern. Eat, change diaper, play, change diaper, cry, change diaper, sleep, repeat. I'm serious on the diaper changes. This girl is not dehydrated and she hates to be in a wet or dirty diaper. As soon as the line turns blue on her diaper (aren't those diapers awesome??), she starts crying.

She has started staying awake for much longer periods, sometimes two or three hours, with little 15 minute cat naps a couple times throughout. She really doesn't sleep much during the day, which I'm not too upset about because she is a great sleeper at night. Our nighttime routine looks something like this: around 9 pm, we usually bathe her (a couple nights a week), feed her, and swaddle her. Between 10 and 11 pm, we put her in her cradle and let her fall asleep on her own. Although, about half of the nights, she has already fallen asleep in one of our arms. Then she sleeps til 5 am. I'm pretty sure she has an alarm clock hiding in her cradle because she gets up within a 10 minute window every morning without fail. This works for me though, because I can feed her, then get a shower and get ready for school while she takes another hour (or more) long nap.

She is so alert after she eats during the day. She loves to smile and has started really laughing and "talking" to us. She also talks to the animals on her swing mobile. It's so adorable to watch her. We've decided that her favorite place to be is on her changing table. It's so funny - she smiles bigger than ever when she is there. I guess she just knows that good things happen on the changing pad!

We try to do tummy time several times a day. She's fine for the first few minutes, but then quickly gets upset. I'm hoping she'll learn to enjoy being on her tummy soon so she can strengthen her neck more and start rolling over.

I've been keeping track of when her "firsts" and big milestones happen and trying to take pictures when I can. In the past month she has:

• started at the sitter
• gone to her first football game. Go CRU!
• outgrew her first outfit
• switched to size 1 diapers
• started laughing
• started "talking"
• pushed up while laying on her tummy
• stayed with both sets of grandparents while Eli and I went on dates
• celebrated her first holiday (Halloween)

We are so in love with our sweet girl. She continually reminds us how big God's love is that He would bless us with this gift.  Looking back at month one, I am amazed at how much she has changed. I look forward to month three and beyond!

Sweet Sarah, 

Oh what a joy it is to watch you grow and change. It seems like just yesterday we brought you home from the hospital, all tiny and wrinkly, and sleeping all the time. You continue to amaze me as you become who God made you to be. I love our sweet time together in the mornings when it's just you and me, with Daddy still sleeping next to us. I can't get enough of those lovely smiles! I love that you trust us to take care of you.
You have such a sweet spirit and we love you dearly. We still pray for you every night, asking God to mold you into a beautiful, godly young woman. Always know that you are loved. Always.

I love you, sweetheart. 

Love Momma