Brandt Grows Up: Month One!

Our little guy is growing fast!  Stats at One Month:  Weight: 12 lbs, 12 oz.  Height: 22 inches Eating: Little brother can EAT! It's amazing to me how much easier breastfeeding gets with each baby! I remember still hurting and wincing every time I fed Avaree up until at least six weeks post partum, but I didn't have any pain with this little one after two weeks. This little guy has never had a problem eating, but he does have problems digesting what he eats! I originally fed him on demand but at least every three hours for his first two weeks of life, and then he started clustering with his first growth spurt. That is when his digestive problems really started to show up. He just couldn't process everything he was eating. Once reflux was diagnosed, our pediatrician had me feed him every 1.5 hours for 7 minutes on each side, as reflux babies need to eat a smaller about closer together! Also, every time I feed him, he has to remain upright for thirty minutes. We learned very quickly not to jostle him, pass him to anyone, or make much movement after he eats either! He can projectile vomit, or just drench your shirt in a few seconds time! Even though Felicity has a short stint with very mild reflux (nothing like this), I pretty much thought that burp cloths were just for decoration. Now we wash all of them every single day! (Update: We have increased his meds a bit, and we have a GI appointment tomorrow. He is also taking probiotics, and we use a natural grip water to help settle his stomach after feedings. This combo has helped!) Playing: Little man LOVES to talk to us. He LOVES it when the girls talk to him. He loves it when Avaree sings to him. He locks eyes with us, and then his little face will just light up with a big smile. It's the sweetest thing E-V-E-R! He locks eyes with us and will follow us around with his eyes. He also loves the fan and all of the lights! He focuses really well! 

He is very strong and can lift his head up and turn it side to side without dropping his head back down! He also has gotten a lot more tolerant of tummy time! :) He loves to be in the middle of the floor on a blanket with the girls are playing! I can't wait to see him chasing them! Sleeping: Little guy is not the best sleeper. I'm writing this at 5 weeks three days, but at his one month mark, he was not even able to take naps for more than 20 minutes, and he did not sleep at night. It was a good night if I could piece together 2-3 hours of sleep. Poor buddy.  Sizes: He is in 0-3 month clothes and size one diapers! Disposition: He's precious and sweet no matter what, but when his tummy is hurting, he can't relax, and he just screams in pain. That is so hard to watch! Regardless, he has already started social smiling! He really started this at week three, and it's just gotten better! He smiles the most right after he wakes for the first time in the mornings! He just looks up at me and gives the biggest smiles for about ten minutes! It melts my heart to the core! 
Looking Forward to: EVERYTHING! I am most looking forward to him feeling better and being more peaceful and happy! It's so hard to watch your baby suffer when there is nothing you can do! Of course, I'm also looking forward to more smiles, cuddles, and seeing him interact with the girls more.  (I will eventually take his one month pictures and replace this one, but it's been crazy town around here, and it's freezing cold outside.)

Little buddy, We love you so very, very much. We are so grateful for your life, and we can't wait to watch you continue to learn and grow. We are praying for healing and rest for your little body! Thanks for not remembering how often I have to put you down! ;)  LOVE YOU! Mommy

Felicity Grows Up: TEN MONTHS!

(Ten month pictures coming soon!) Let's not discuss that there is only one number between ten and twelve, and please don't remind me that my BABY will be ONE in two months. I'm such a mixed bag of emotions lately, and I'm so so so so thankful for this little lovey and all the joy that she brings to my life. 

New Developments: Felicity has TWO teeth! She got two of her middle-bottom teeth at the exact same time about two weeks ago! It was a HARD day, but those little daggers (oh my word, they are sharp!) poked through, and she finally seemed to get some relief. The only reason I knew they had come through is that she crawled over to me and bit my knee! She was in so much pain that she was biting on every single thing she could find! Poor baby! In other news, she very clearly continues to say "mama", "dada", "Aaaa" (Avaree), "Puh" (puppy), "dah" (dolly), "Bah" (ball), and she can sign "more" and "all done." She is also crawling SUPER fast, walking around all the furniture, walking behind her push walker, standing for about 30-45 seconds at a time and taking steps holding our hands! She also waves and claps! It's all happening WAY too fast for this Mama!!!! I love hearing her little hands on the floor knowing that she is crawling toward me, and I love, love, love to see her face light up when she finds me! It's like she hasn't seen me for hours when it's really only been a few seconds. I'm really trying to soak it all up. I know it will be gone before I'm ready. It's such a fine line though. I look forward to watching her grow, but I don't anticipate every milestone like I did with Avaree. I'm hanging on to Felicity's babyhood a lot harder this time. 

Eating: Felicity is still nursing four times a day (and once at night, but I'm trying to drop it) and eating big people food! Nothing has really changed in that area except that she will eat a Happy Baby Fruit/Veggie pouch. Her favorites are Purple Carrot and Pear or Kale, Pears and Strawberries! Her very favorite thing is still avocado. :) She continues to try new things every week or so! This week she got to try spaghetti, and, much like her sister, she wore it more than she ate it! :)

Playing: Felicity loves to play! We spend 90% of our time playing on the rug in our living room! She loves puzzles, her jack-in-the-box, and her little house! Her favorite game is still Peek-a-Boo! Her favorite books are Brown Bear, I Love You More Than Rainbows, and Hush Little Baby! Her favorite songs are "You Are My Sunshine", "Where You Lead", and the "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song!" :) She loves to dance, and she gives wet, open-mouth kisses on demand! She loves her bath time, and she especially loves taking a bath with her big sister! :) She loves to be outside, and she has recently discovered the stairs in the choir room at church! ;)

Sleeping: Felicity has started to sleep better during the day, which I believe is helping her sleep better at night as well! She is still taking two naps a day and they are both between an hour and two hours each! (GASP--can you believe it?) I make sure that we are home to take her morning nap, it's always her longest, and she really needs it. Her naps are usually around 10 am and 3 pm. She goes to bed between 7 and 8, depending upon when she wakes from her afternoon nap! She has also started sleeping better at night. She still wakes up several times, but I can tell when she needs me and when she's just trying to put herself back to sleep. I almost always get up at least twice a night with her, but that's nothing compared to the crazy nights we've had for her first several months of life! :) I'll take it! She's also finally decided on a comfort object, and I think that has really helped as well. She has attached herself to dolly, a sweet little baby that Mrs. Josie gave her when she was five weeks old. She carries it everywhere, and she always sleeps with it. When she wakes up, she holds her dolly, and often times can put herself back to sleep. :) Mommy was her comfort for a long time, so I am happy that she has found comfort in her dolly too. It helps us at church as well! :) Now, I need to find at least three more. :)

Size: Felicity is still wearing a size three diaper, and at the doctor last week she weighed 20 lbs, 4 oz. :) She is still wearing nine month clothes, but she will be in 12 month soon! 

Disposition: Her smile can light up a whole room, and she is still a super happy baby. She loves her Mommy though, and she will let you know if she doesn't like something. The last week or so she has started "yelling" if she wants something, and she has started "hitting" (flailing her arms and "hulking up" as B calls it) if she gets upset. I'm really pushing the signing, but she just hasn't started signing back yet. I know she will, and I remember Avaree going through this. She also loves to laugh and loves to copy me when I'm laughing! If I'm holding her while having a conversation with another adult, she copies my expressions, but especially my laugh with the exact inflections that I used. It's the cutest thing ever. She also loves her big sister soooo much and wants to do everything that she does!  ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Felicity, You make my heart so so happy! You are precious, and I love every thing about you. I love love love spending my days (and nights--though I'll be happy to spend that time with Daddy when you start sleeping all night) with you! You are our little sunshine, and I will continue to pretend that you are not almost one. :)  I love you with every ounce of me, and I cannot wait to see what God does with your little life!!! I love you! Mommy

Felicity Grows Up: NINE MONTHS!!!

Felicity is NINE months old, and we couldn't imagine loving her any more!!!!

New Developments: She is pulling up to standing on EVERYTHING, including her crib! She can stand on her own for 10-15 seconds at a time. She can lower herself down to the ground without falling. She is growing oh so very fast!!!

Eating: Felicity still doesn't eat baby food; however, she does love people food! Her favorites are avocados, tortillas, colby jack cheese (yes, she's that specific, ha), peaches, pears, toast, gluten free pancakes, blueberry waffles, chicken, beet rice cakes (i know, i wish i liked them too), puffs, mum mums, oatmeal and carrots. She is still breastfeeding also. She should start to eat 70% people food and 30% mama milk from this point on, but right now she is still probably 50/50 with food and mama milk and nurses four times a day and sometimes needs a fifth one before bed if she doesn't eat people food well. We will be transitioning off of that this month too. Felicity can sign "more," "all done," and "milk!" 

Playing: Felicity still LOVES to play! She loves to read books and point to all the things she sees on the pages. She loves her sister and wants to do anything and everything she is doing! She loves her bath and playing with all the toys in the water. She loves to have something in both hands at all times. Usually it's her dolly and a small ball that makes noise, but sometimes it varies with what she has access to! :) Felicity loves to be outside, and she wants to press buttons on everything she can find! :) The only show that she will even half pay attention to is Baby Faith: God Made Animals. She will watch it for about ten-fifteen minutes. She also loves the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song, but she only watches that part, and then she is done! :) She crawls everywhere, and she has gotten very fast. She follows me all over the house, and she gets there very quickly! ;)

Size: At her nine month checkup on Monday, Felicity weighed in at 20 lbs, 1 oz, and she was 28 and 1/4 inches long. (For comparison sake, Avaree weighed 21 lbs at 9 months, so I think it is safe to say that Felicity has caught up and all is well!) She is still wearing a size three diaper. She also still wears 6-9 and 9 month clothes! 

Disposition: Felicity is still a happy baby. She has had a hard bout with ear infections the last few months, but we will take care of that with tubes soon. She is especially happy when we are all on the floor playing. :) Other than that, her favorite place to be is with her mama. :) As long as she's with me, she's very easy going and transitions to new or different situations pretty well. 

Sleeping: I've come to terms with the fact that Felicity is just not going to be my sleeper, and that's okay. I will continue to try to help her sleep better, but I know that with time she will anyway. She is happily back on our little routine at home, and she did sleep better last night. We thought we had completed phase two of sleep training, but then we traveled for Christmas, and she learned to stand up in her crib. So, we started again last night, and I know she is happier and more content (even without mama) when she gets good rest. She's never been a long napper, but she's just begun to change her naps a little. She now takes a little later morning nap, usually around 10am, for about 30-45 minutes, and then she takes her afternoon nap around 1:45 or 2pm. This one varies from 30 minutes to an hour and a half. Inevitably, she gets awakened by someone doing something, and then the evening is hard for her because she wants to go to bed at 6pm, but we usually push her to 7pm.  We start bath time around 6:30 pm (which she usually loves), and then I put her jammies on, feed her mama milk while she's still awake, and then I read one book, pray over her, and then we sing two songs in her room with the lights off in the rock rock chair. She always sings along with me. It's absolutely precious. I will have to post a video of it soon. I can tell that she's almost out when she slows down and gets quieter, so that is when I put her down. Inevitably, she gets pretty upset, but hopefully that won't last for too much longer. I hope to have a huge praise in the sleep department for her next monthly update! I know she can do it!!!! :) Regardless, every long night is worth it, and I would do it all again in a heartbeat. 

Family Fun: We got a puppy on Felicty's nine-month birthday. He's actually Daddy's Christmas and graduation present, but we have all fallen in love with him. Yes, even Mommy loves him. :) It's hard not to. He sleeps better than his sissy! ;) I'll post more on everyone meeting him soon! 

I asked B to snap a few pictures of us, and he got this one on accident. It's by far one of my favorites of all time. This girl sure does love her Mommy, and you can only imagine how much I love her. My girls are such joy to me, and I feel so blessed to be their Mommy.  :) 

Felicity,
Happy NINE months, baby girl!  I love you higher than the sky, deeper than the ocean, wider than the horizon and back again.  May God continue to do more than we "could ever ask or imagine" with your little life. 
You'll always be our little miracle. 
Love, Mommy