Lenore at 10 Months

*Editor's Note: Little Miss wanted to help celebrate her 10 month birthday by waking me up at 1:30, 4:30, and 5:30 overnight last night. Kevin got up with her at 5:30 and let me sleep, but now we are all heading for Family Nap Time.

10 Months Old 

(double digits!)

Her stats (from the pediatrician's office last week, percentiles from BabyCenter):
Height: 29.3 inches (between 75th and 90th)
Weight: 21.53 pounds (between 75th and 90th)
Head Size: 18.7 inches (above 95th)

We actually just went for her 9 month check-up last week because her doctor was on vacation and had to reschedule her original appointment. She only had to get one shot in the thigh (no tears!) and will go back at one year (in just two months). The pediatrician said her ears look good, which is good to hear--she's been tugging on one, in particular, so I was afraid her ear infection(s) had returned. I'd taken her in to have her ears rechecked a few months ago right after a round of antibiotics to treat an ear infection, and it turned out to only be teething. I wasn't sure what was going on this time, but she has just gotten 2 more teeth on the bottom, so teeth, it is. I don't remember Lewis tugging on his ears quite as intensely as Lenore does, poor baby. :(

What she's up to this month:

• She is into EVERYTHING! It feels like she's into things much sooner than Lewis was. I can't put her down and walk away for a second--she's in the cabinets (LITERALLY, INSIDE OF THEM), up the stairs, getting into the printer paper, etc. (these are just a few examples from the other morning). Oh, in the fireplace and in the dishwasher, too. I guess I need to do some child-proofing. :/

• On that note, she started Parents' Day Out last week at Lewis' school (just one day, for 3 hours). She is one of only two kiddos on the day she goes, so she gets lots of love and attention from her teacher (who is Lewis' former teacher from his 2-year-old class). She has laughed in Ms. Cheryl's face as she tries to get her to nap, but maybe she'll eventually come around (if not, no big deal). All of the teachers I've talked to have said how sweet her giggles are, so I'm sure it's not exactly a conducive environment for napping when everyone was just wants to ooh and ahh with her. I love their school so very much--all of the people I've met are just wonderful, and I know that they love our kids. But anyway, I digress...
• She is saying Mama! Or Mamamamama, but still. She also has said Bubba (we think). She's reached that oh-I-just-found-my-voice phase, so she'll yell out at random when we're at the store or at a restaurant, just to hear herself.
• She is cruising, both side-to-side along a table and some front-to-back (like if she's pushing a box or Lewis is pulling her along on a box). She also has a walker she is practicing on. Our house is usually crazy-town. :)

• She is big on standing on her own. She might pull up and then let go of whatever she was holding onto. She seems to slowly be getting more steady on her feet, but she always ends in a plop on the floor. It won't be long!
• Sleep has been all over the place. She is napping twice a day, sometimes only for 45 minutes, and sometimes for 3+ hours. I'd say her naps are 'usually' 1 1/2 hours, but I can't bet on that on any given day.
• We were in a good routine overnight (going down easily at 7:30 or 7:45pm, sleeping until 5:30 or 6am), and then teething struck. (I think of my old camp friend Alycia--the one responsible for Kevin and I ever meeting--who said, 'Why can't they be born with teeth?!') Teething caused some middle-of-the-night awakenings for a few days. Now, lately, she's not been going down well at bedtime. I nurse her and leave the room, as I have from very early on. It seems like that is not enough for her now, so we have started either having me offer both sides and/or having Kevin go in with a bottle of formula after I am finished nursing. Maybe it's just from her getting bigger and having a larger appetite? I am fine with the formula if she needs more than what I provide. We've already made it way longer than I ever thought we would with breastfeeding.
• Speaking of eating, she is a beast. She nurses every 3-4 hours, and she eats a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Lewis and I. She loves her meat and cheese, especially, and she still hasn't really rejected anything we've put in front of her.
• She's hilarious to watch, too--she's very efficient with finger foods. She gets so excited to eat--she will put a bite of food in her mouth, and sometimes she'll change her mind on which food she wants to eat. So she'll put a piece of food in, spit it out into one hand, and then put a different food in with her other hand. She's getting better about how much food is dropped into her bib/high chair, but now she's started intentionally holding food for the dogs to eat out of her hand. She'll put it in her mouth, then change her mind and hold it out for Peter. :) Hattie waits for what is dropped, Peter takes things gently out of her hand.
• She is wearing 12 month clothes.
• Current Tooth Count: 6 (2 upper, 4 lower)

Outtakes, because there were many:

There was someone hiding behind the chair, believe it or not. ;)

Surprise!

And we're done. :)

Lenore at 5 Months

5 Months Old

aka The Month When Everything Goes in Her Mouth

Her stats (percentiles from BabyCenter):
Height: 26.5 inches (75th to 90th percentile)
Weight: Unknown (because I sent the scale to the storage unit--oops!)
Head Size: 17.25 inches (90th to 95th percentile)

This month went by so quickly! It seems like we were JUST at the doctor for her 4-month check-up. We've been really busy--the house is almost on the market (pictures were taken Friday, so we're just waiting for them to be edited and for the realtor to post them--should be just a matter of days!!!). I also have been busy helping with Lewis's big school fundraiser, which was Friday night--I volunteered on the committee and helped with the silent auction, so that's taken a bit of time the past week or two.

What she's doing this month:

• She is rolling over like a fool. As soon as you put her down on her back, she automatically flips to her belly. She now will flip both directions (left and right) and from back-to-belly and belly-to-back. She sleeps on her belly, happily now (thank goodness).
• She is slowly mobilizing!!! The past few weeks, she has started getting up on her knees with the little booty in the air, and she'll make either small scoots backwards or spin around. It's not significant movement, but it's movement! When I put her in her crib in, say, the lower right corner, I'll find her in the upper left corner (that is forward movement, I guess).
• She is napping in her crib now (unless we have errands--in that case, she falls asleep in her car seat and naps through Target or Kroger). :) We have fallen into a pretty good routine--she naps 3 times a day for 45 minutes to an hour. Occasionally, she will surprise me with a 2 hour nap in the afternoon, but that's only happened a few times. I'm trying to be better with her than I was with Lewis about putting her down awake so that she can learn to fall asleep on her own (vs. nursing her to sleep). She is getting so much better each day, fussing less and sleeping better. Occasionally I'll put her down and can just tell by her cry that it's not going to happen, so I'll feed her to help calm her down. 
• Speaking of feeding, nursing continues to go well (hallelujah!). At her 4-month appointment, the doctor said I can start introducing solids. I didn't start Lewis until 6 months, so I'm in no hurry. I did try rice cereal one day a few weeks ago, but it was a logistical nightmare for me--trying to pump fresh milk to mix with the cereal, while eating lunch with Lewis, while holding Lenore, was not ideal. :) She definitely watches us as we eat, which was one of the things the doctor said to watch for (she grabs for things and watches every bite as it goes from plate-to-mouth). At this point, I kind of feel like I'll get around to it, eventually. I've got the house stuff to worry about, so I'm kind of considering it as one less thing to have to do right now. Now that the fundraiser is over, I might focus more energy towards it--we'll see!
• Since the whole rolling over thing began, sleep regressed. She goes to sleep around 7:30pm, just like Lewis (Kevin puts Lewis to bed, and I put Lenore to bed). I was waking up 2 times a night most of this month (usually like 12:30am and 3:30am and 7ish for the day). Just the last few nights now, we've gone back to 1 time a night--around 2 or 3am, and then 6:45-7am.
• Just last night, she made it 7:30pm-5:30am! (And then slept until almost 9am.) I'm sure it was a fluke, but amazing, nevertheless. 
• She has very vocal days--she will just blab on and on, right in your face, like she has something really important to say. I always agree with her, whatever it is she is saying. :) I definitely don't remember Lewis 'talking' this much.
• She's still very drooly and loves to gnaw on our fingers, but she shows no sign of teeth just yet. She's been this way for at least a month because I remember her gnawing on the doctor's thumb at her 4-month appointment. For the drool,  I finally bought some waterproof bibs to wear so that her shirts stay somewhat dry.
• She is also semi-sucking her thumb/gnawing on it and/or her fingers. She is a slobbery mess, most of the time. :)
• She seems to love being outside, which I, of course, love. With the house prep stuff, there's been some yard work that needed to be done, so I've laid out a blanket in the grass for her, and she'll stay there pretty happily for 30-45 minutes. With her being a little bit mobile, though, I did catch her trying to put grass and/or leaves in her mouth a few times. :)
• She loves her brother! They continue to have more interactive time together, and they both seem to love it. Sometimes, she'll be in the Jumperoo, and he'll figure out ways to make her cackle. Sometimes he wants to hold her, and she ends up trying to eat his face or his hands (nothing says 'I love you' more than that). :)
• She loves Kevin, too. Her face just lights up when he gets home from work. :)
• She does sometimes have some fussy times between 4pm-bedtime, depending on how her afternoon nap goes. I've seen some improvement the past few weeks, but this was definitely a thing earlier this month. There were quite a few days of me cooking dinner with her in the Ergo because she wouldn't let me put her down, otherwise. Cooking dinner, fussy Lewis, barking dogs, etc. at the end of the day makes for some stressful situations for ol' Mama. It seems to be improving, though. 
• There was a day this week when her nap attempt was interrupted by the realtor coming over (and subsequently, barking dogs), so afterwards, I put her in the Ergo, and we mowed the yard together. She totally fell asleep about 10 minutes into it, and happily slept throughout the rest of the mowing. :)
• She is wearing some 6 month clothes, if they're separates. In one-pieces/sleepers, she is mostly wearing 9 months. Her 6 month sleepers are too snug, and some of her 6 month pants (depending on the brand and style), have been retired. Some of the pants' waistbands were super tight (damn you, impractical baby clothes' designers!!).

And some more pictures from this morning, just for fun:

 My sweet babies :)

 Lenore says, 'I will eat you, doggie!'

 Both kids, watching our doggies being escorted from the room (it was an exciting morning of picture-taking, let me tell you). :)

 

 

 Why not stand for a bit?

 And not sit still for longer than 5 seconds...

:)

Lenore at 4 Months

4 Months Old

Her stats (from the doctor's office, percentiles from BabyCenter): 
Weight: 17 pounds, 1.8 ounces (between 90th and 95th percentile)
Height: 24.88 inches (between 5oth and 75th percentile)
Head Size: 17 inches (between 90th and 95th percentile)

So she's not growing in length as much, but still packing on the pounds. :) Her appointment went well--the doctor said that she thinks the heart murmur sounds softer than when she first detected it (I'm not sure how she can remember such a thing--maybe there's a scale that she uses?). We go back to the cardiologist around 6 months for another echo to see for sure, so hopefully we do see improvement then. She had one oral vaccine and two injected ones.

What she's doing this month:

• She's rolling over, both from belly to back and back to belly. She will only go one direction from back to belly (over her right side), so that's helpful for knowing where to lay her down (knowing where to give her some extra room to land). She started doing this at around 3 1/2 months. I don't have a specific date, and I don't have video (poor Lenore). :) She really gotten the hang of it this past week, I know that.
• Sleep is slowly improving. She's had a couple of nights lately where she's only woken up around 2am and 5:30am. I'll put her back down after the 5:30 feeding, and she'll sleep anywhere from 6 to 8am. I've been staying up, so it feels like she only woke up once. She's still had some 1am/4:30am wake-ups, so I won't toot my horn/her horn just yet.
• Since I wrote this a few days ago, just as we were maybe seeing improvement in sleep, she has entered the 'HELP, I've rolled over and don't know what to do!!' phase. Also, the 'OMG, my arm is stuck between the crib slats!!' phase.
• She's settled into a pretty good routine of eat-play-sleep. She's been staying awake for about 2 hours at a time, followed by a 45 minutes to an hour long nap. I think that adds up to 3-4 naps a day, depending on what time she wakes up for the day. If we're out running errands, she might fall asleep for longer in her car seat. One day last week, she slept for 3 1/2 hours (after a normal morning and shortened mid-day nap)!
• Breastfeeding is finally going well. As it should be, finally. I do still have some Raynaud's pain sometimes, but it's nothing compared to what it used to be. She's still not taking bottles 'well,' but she has taken a few. Kevin's parents watched her last weekend while we took Lewis to Chuggington Live (for his birthday gift), and Lenore didn't really drink much from the first two bottles, but she took the third one pretty well, Sharon said. She did better yesterday with a bottle for Sharon, too. She did so-so for Kevin this morning. She's very active with  her hands and pushes the bottle away a lot, so Kevin has had some luck swaddling her while feeding. Still a work in progress.
• I might be biased, but she is just such a sweet baby. She smiles and giggles and just warms my heart, most of the day. She does have her moments, especially if she's hungry, but she's generally very sweet.
• She doesn't have any teeth, but she sure likes to gnaw on things as if she is teething. Blankets, thumbs, etc. And she slobbers so much and blows raspberries. I can't imagine what it will be like when she actually is teething.
• She's wearing 6 month clothes.

Lenore at 3 Months

My pretty girl at 3 months 

And showing her personality at 3 months :)

Lenore is 3 months old now and is a very sweet baby girl. No doctor's appointment this month (at least no wellness-checks...hopefully no more sick appointments, either), so I took the measurements myself:

Her stats (percentiles from BabyCenter):

Height: 25 inches (in 90th percentile)
Weight: 16 pounds (above 95th percentile)
Head Size: 16 3/4 inches (between 90th and 95th)

What she's up to this month:

• Sleep has been rough on me. With the sickness of the past few weeks, she's started waking up 2-3 times a night (at like 12:30-2-5 or 1-3:30-6:15), and I've had trouble falling back asleep some nights in between feedings. I put her down between 7 and 7:30pm, and then I've been going to bed shortly thereafter (8 or 8:30pm) to try to get enough, but it's still been rough. I try to get her to stay in bed until at least 6:30am--sometimes she won't go back down after a 5am wake-up, though. I know I'll look back on these days 'one day,' but man. What I wouldn't give for a continuous night of sleep.
• She has the sweetest giggle. That helps. A little. :)
• She is having more 'active' time...in the Jumperoo, on the floor, standing on our laps, etc. She really seems to like to stand.
• I've started trying to do her naps in her crib this week. She was napping in her rock-n-play or her swing up until now, but her naps were only lasting 30 minutes or so. I'm trying to keep her in her crib for at least an hour--it's going well in the mornings and at mid-day, but not so much in the late afternoon. (Update: we're back to napping in the rock-n-play. Still trying to avoid/wean off the swing naps if we can.)
• We've both noticed that she seems more verbal than we ever remember Lewis being at this point. She coos and makes all sorts of noises, like she's ready to talk already.
• Breastfeeding is better than it was, but still not as it should be. I no longer have the toe-curling pain at latch-on, but I do still have a lingering, burning (raw) pain after we're done feeding. She will not take a bottle when we've tried on occasion, which feels very limiting to me. I've been reading about how to get her to take them, and it seems a lot of people say to keep offering bottles-only (no boob) for a day or two, and that she will eventually give into it (and then reintroduce the breast once bottles are established). If I can get my *(&$ together, I can pump and try that, though. I'm just having trouble finding time to do much of anything besides keeping the children out of trouble right now. I also dug out a different brand of bottle we used with Lewis, and a friend might bring a third brand over for me to try out...maybe Lenore is just unsure of the particular design? I had a friend suggest that last week, too. I'm not sure, but I really hope we can get her to take one soon so that I can maybe sleep through a couple of feedings and let someone else take over.
• She is wearing 6 month clothes.

Lenore at 2 Months

Two Months Old

Her stats (from the doctor's office):

Weight: 14 pounds 4 ounces [96th percentile]

Length: 23.5 inches [89th percentile]

Head Size: 40.6 cm [97th percentile]

Everything looks pretty good this month. I did ask about her head shape because I thought she was favoring turning her head to one side. Sure enough, she's starting to get a flat spot, so we're going to try to encourage her to look the other way more often. The pediatrician said that her range of motion seems fine--she just seems to prefer turning her head the same direction most of the time (when laying, sleeping, etc.). She got one oral and two inject-able vaccines this time, and she's pretty fussy now that we're home (after an almost 4 hour nap). Hopefully this evening/overnight isn't too bad--tomorrow, we're off to Boise!

At our 1 month check-up, they found a heart murmur that had previously been undetected. Our pediatrician referred us to a pediatric cardiologist the next week. They ran a few tests and found that she has a 'very mild pulmonary stenosis' which is a thickening of the valve that regulates the blood flow from the heart to the lungs. She also has an ASD (Atrial Septal Defect), which are some extra holes in between the two atriums of her heart. The cardiologist said that both issues will go away on their own and that we don't need to worry about limiting her activities (e.g. crying) at this point. We'll go back for another check in six months. That week of waiting for the appointment was pretty worrisome, so we were very relieved to get good news.

What she's doing this month:

• She is back to swaddling! Sometime just after turning a month old, she started waking up shortly after we put her down (after 10-15 minutes). Kevin mentioned that maybe she was startling herself awake, to which I thought, 'Well, duh.' That's what the sleep book said when I read it with Lewis, but I'd forgotten. So now she's happily swaddled at night and sleeps pretty well. 
• She typically goes down between 9:30 and 10pm and wakes up once, around 3:30 or 4am. There was a week where she slept until 6am, but then that turned to 5:45, 5:15, 5, etc. and now it's 3:30 or 4am. I was having to get up with her for the day when it was in the 5:45-6am range (because she wasn't going back to sleep), but now (thankfully) she is going back down after the 3:30 or 4am wake-up and sleeping until a more reasonable 7 or 8am.
• She did just sleep until 6:15am this morning. We are going to Boise on Wednesday for a week (2 hours time difference), so I'm sure everything will be up in the air during and after that trip. So it goes.
• Our daily routine cycles are usually to eat, play, sleep, but we don't always follow that. I'm following her lead a lot more than I did with Lewis, watching for her cues more than watching the clock. I told my lactation consultant that I was trying to not let her go past three hours without eating during the day, and she told me I didn't need to do that (unless she gets past 4 hours). She said that 2-4 hour stretches between feedings could be 'normal' for her at this point, and that she's clearly getting enough to eat. It seemed like once I stopped waking her up from daytime naps to make sure she was eating, she started sleeping better overall. That could have just been a coincidence, but still. On her own, she's falling into a fairly predictable routine, so I'm not messing with it. She usually has one 4 hour stretch during the day, and then feeds closer to every 2 hours in the evenings.
• She is smiling and laughing and cooing sometimes when we talk to her, which is just the sweetest sound. I don't really remember Lewis being quite as ooshy gooshy as she is (that's a technical term). :) She's just really sweet.
• She LOVES Kevin. She usually lights up when she's with him (which is quite a contrast from the first month, when their time together [evenings] was full of fussiness).
• I'm still sucking at doing tummy time, but her head control is pretty good, I think. I will do better this month.
• She loves to try to stand and bounce on our laps, and we'll probably bring up the jumperoo sometime soon.
• She is pretty close to outgrowing her 3 month clothes, though she is swimming in some of her 3-6 month ones. Separates seem to fit her better than one-pieces right now, I guess.

Now onto breastfeeding...

• Breastfeeding is still not going well. It's going, just not well. She is obviously fine and gaining weight, but she is hurting me in the process. I usually have pain at latch-on, sometimes pain during a feed, and always pain after a feed.
• Going way back to week 2, we thought it was thrush, but it's not thrush.
• A few weeks after that, they diagnosed me with Raynaud's (lack of blood flow to extremities due to cold or stress). At first they told me to just try to keep warm (during a record low cold snap). My LC was able to help me get a medication prescribed (nifedipine) by my OB's office, but unfortunately that didn't help, either.
• I was finally able to separate the pain and distinguish that the worst/lingering pain was due to a shallow latch rather than Raynaud's (they're two different pains, occurring at two different times). The Raynaud's happens when I'm cold (which is great timing, since winter has just begun). Once I was able to separate the two, I went back to my LC to try to work on latch again, sometime after Thanksgiving.
• Fast forward a few weeks, and we're still having issues. We went back last week, and my LC checked Lenore's mouth to make sure that there wasn't any tongue tie (and there isn't). She did notice that she has a very sensitive gag reflex. My LC thinks that she is pushing my nipple out of her mouth as I attempt to get it further back in there for a proper latch. That results in her nursing off the end of my breast rather than where she's *supposed* to, which causes the continual damage to my nipples (because they are hitting the hard palate instead of the soft palate). Because of that rubbing on the hard palate, my nipples keep getting damaged and have vasospasms (a constriction of blood flow) after feedings (throbbing, burning, stinging, etc.). It is the most horrible pain--it usually happens 5-15 minutes after a feeding and lasts 5 minutes or so. Sometimes it crosses my whole chest, deep in the tissue.
• My LC also mentioned that I just have large, full breasts (duh and duh), and that it will make it harder for her to get a good latch. What I'm supposed to do about that, I don't know.
• I have googled my eyes out and watched 'how to' videos and consulted my books, and it seems I'm doing everything to the best of my ability. We are just not grooving (yet).
• SO, having said all of that, I'm going to ask the pediatrician about the gag reflex tomorrow at our 2 month check-up. The LC said that it could possibly lead to issues when it comes to starting solids, but she isn't sure if that's what's causing the issues with feeding now. I don't know if the pediatrician would recommend doing any sort of therapy now to see if that would improve breastfeeding, but I am willing to try anything at this point.
• In other words, breastfeeding sucks. Ba-dum-ching! :) [Slightly jealous kudos to all of those mamas who have a natural and blissful relationship with it.] Talking to my friends, now, I'm learning that a lot of them have had a difficult go at it, and it's good to know I'm not alone. I remember having a few issues with Lewis early on, but they were resolved in one session with a LC. I would say I had a very easy time after that, but there's been nothing easy about it this time. I keep reading that maybe she'll outgrow it around 2 months (which would be any day now!), and I'm hoping that's the case. Otherwise, we'll see how long I can put up with the pain. I can't just quit, either, because that would be a hell unto itself with engorgement pain. I'd need to taper off over a few weeks and either pump or formula-feed, and it is 'easier' to just breastfeed. I have tried taking breaks for entire days by just pumping, but the time it takes to pump, plus feed, plus wash bottles and pump parts, is a lot, especially when I'm by myself and also taking care of Lewis. So I don't know what the right answer is for us right now. Certainly, to be continued.

And now some more pictures, to end on a happy note:

 She's got cheeks for days. :)

 Yea, my brother loves me.

 I think she's got the look-of-love for her brother, too.

My babies. :)

Books, Books, Books

I got three new books for my birthday from my extremely well-read, older, and wiser sister, with a note. Something to the effect of, "Thought you might like to read something other than baby books.' I didn't realize how much I appreciated getting my mind taken away from what can be the doldrums of breastfeeding every couple of hours all day long. Or something to do while snuggling a sleeping baby, too. Rather than check my phone again to see that (still) nothing is happening in the outside world. 

I took those books down to my bookcase after they arrived for my birthday last week, which is *all* the way downstairs, where I don't always venture. On Christmas, Kevin got me four more books, so I started reading them right away, since they were right in front of me. I will move on to Emily's selections next.

I read Amy Poehler's book (Yes Please) in less than 24 hours which is highly unlike me. I usually get gung-ho for like a chapter or maybe 30 pages. But 375 pages? In a day? [Too bad I couldn't be as interested in my English lit assignments in college.] I love Amy. And I love Tina Fey. I'm now halfway through her book (Bossypants) at about the 12 hour mark so maybe I'll wrap it up by tomorrow. 

UPDATE: I did finish Tina's book within 24 hours and moved along to Lena Dunham's, which I also finished under a day. 3 books, 3 days. If I achieve nothing else these next few days while Kevin is off, I will have read more books than the entire past year! That's both encouraging and pathetic. I have read my fair share of news articles and People magazine (and Parents and Martha Stewart Living and This Old House) over the year, of course.

I really liked Amy and Tina's books because they not only tell about their upbringing and how they've come to be, but they touch on relevant-to-me topics such as babies and breastfeeding, and I appreciate their lightness and wisdom at this particular time (minute, hour, day) in my life.

Lena's book was about how I expected it to be, just as she is. I don't love her, but I do find her interesting.

And I've finally taken the plunge into the smartphone world, as of a few weeks ago. My old phone had been superglued together twice and has had unbelievably crappy reception from day one, so it was time. I am slowly figuring out how to use Blogger on there (thanks for the inspiration, Keith), but I'm not quite there yet. I started this post on my phone but had to finish on the laptop. Maybe one of these days I'll figure out how to add pictures (wow!) and be more succinct (yea right!) for maximum phone blogging success. We shall see. I make no promises. :)

Oh, and the 4th book from Kevin is Wild.

Lenore at 1 Month

Lenore is a month old! She and I celebrated with a wide-eyed party in her room from 1:30-3am this morning...I had to wake up Kevin to take over at 3, and she went right to sleep for him (of course!).

One Month Old

Her stats (from the doctor's office):
Weight: 12 pounds 8.5 ounces (98th percentile)
Length: 22 inches (81st percentile)
Head Size: 15 inches (99th percentile)

What she is doing this month:

• She does NOT like to be swaddled. From the start, I could tell that she didn't like having her feet confined (she would kick and kick until they were free), so we would leave her feet out and just wrap her arms. About a week ago, she started getting angry when we'd even do that, so I tried to just put her down in her pajamas one night, and voila. She slept just as well (or maybe better), so no swaddling for her. [Lewis was the opposite and loved it and stayed swaddled until he started rolling over.]
• She and I have had a rough go at nursing so far. We've been to the lactation consultant at our hospital for an appointment and have talked to her on the phone numerous times (she is wonderful), and we are still working on a few issues. She is gaining weight just fine, but it is terribly painful for me, still. I could write a whole post about it, and I just might.
• She nurses only on one side at each feeding, which is different from Lewis. The LC had me feed that way when I met with her, so I've stuck with it. She was eating every 2-3 hours at first, but now she's usually closer to the 3 hour mark. If she is really hungry, she will let me know it by turning beet red and crying hysterically, so we try not to get to that point. It has only happened a handful of times, but it is scary.
• She is a pretty sleepy baby. She has a few times during the day when she's more awake/alert, but she sleeps most of the day. Nights have been pretty good, considering, too. She goes down between 9:30 and 10pm and has been waking up around 3am and 6:30 or 7am (on a typical night). She has had a couple of nights with another awakening in there and a couple of nights with a nice 6 or 7 hour stretch, too. I try to go to bed by 10 or 10:30pm because I'm still afraid of how the night will go.
• She's usually pretty fussy in the evenings, from the time Kevin gets home, usually, until bedtime (so like 6:30 or 7 until 9:30ish). She cluster feeds during that time, too, usually, because that's the only thing that will appease her.
• She gets mad, usually, after I buckle her in her car seat, so we have to swing her around a little bit which quiets her right down. She's good with riding in the car, as long as we are moving. If she is awake, she doesn't like to sit still, at times (like in the drive-thru lane).
• She is strong! We probably haven't done tummy time as much yet as we did with Lewis, but she will lift and hold up her head well when we hold her on our chests. She also kicks a lot and tries to put weight on her legs.
• We went to my old Mom group once and are going again this coming week. One of my friends I met there when Lewis was a baby now has another one, and she has been going regularly and invited me back. It was a little strange being there as a second-timer, but good to be with other moms and babies. I'm going back this week because it is my friend's last week before returning to work, and I'm looking forward to it.
• She smiles a lot as she nurses, sleeps, and/or has awake time, and it is beautiful. I look forward to when she knowingly and regularly does it.
• She loves bath time, especially having warm water poured on her head.
• We thought she had a growth spurt last week, but I think she started one yesterday into today (she is suddenly eating every two hours). She is wearing 3 month clothes now, but it seems even some of those are suddenly a bit snug. Our growing girl!

Overall, she is a very sweet baby. She doesn't ask for much so far, just to be fed. :) Lewis is a very good big brother--he sometimes needs to be reminded to not be too loud around her when she is napping, but he is very sweet and loving towards her. He says, 'I love you, girls' or 'I love you, Lenore' and gives her hugs and kisses.

One last note...
I would not have made it through the past few weeks without Kevin. He is the best husband and dad. He has helped me get Lewis ready for school, fed bottles while I pumped, listened and been supportive as I cried (again and again) about breastfeeding and other things through the hormonal tidal surge, let me nap/sleep in at times, taken Lewis for some one-on-one time, etc. I go could on, but I just want to make sure to acknowledge how great he has been and how much he is appreciated.

And some close-ups of Lenore, in parting:

 

The End of an Era

Last Thursday ended up being the last time of breastfeeding for me and Lewis! I knew that this evening (it's our 7th anniversary!) we'd be away at bedtime (date night!), so I wanted to end it before now to make bedtime easier on Lewis and on Kevin's parents (who are babysitting for us). Friday night at dinner, Kevin and I were discussing it, and I decided that was the night to not offer it up any longer.


The transition has been easier than I anticipated, I guess. We'd already gradually cut back to just the bedtime feeding, so I haven't had any physical discomfort from ending it, which is good. It was a little emotional for me that first night without it. Not emotional like crying--more emotional like I didn't know what to do with myself. Drinking a couple of beers and going outside to work in the garden helped (Kevin stayed inside while Lew fussed a little). It was a weird happy/sad feeling. On the one hand, I am 'free' and on the other, he no longer 'needs' me (as a source of nutrition, immunity, comfort, whatever). WHICH I realize isn't true at all--he needs me in other ways. It feels like we've said so long to the Baby Days and now we're moving on to Toddler Days.


I took my My Brest Friend out of his room last night and will wash the cover and put it away for the next time. I also removed my little notebook/journal from his room--I have kept a record of each feeding session (except on weekends that we went out of town) from Day 1 until now. Very simple stuff--what time he fed and what side we started on. I had used a Breastfeeding Journal that took me through the first 6 months, but I realized once it filled up that I'd really begun to rely on it to know which side to start on next, so I continued recording in a little 50 cent journal. I guess I'll pack those away in his box of keepsakes. :)


I've mentioned before that breastfeeding wasn't easy for me at first. I remember crying that first week over the pressure I felt to succeed with it, and I felt like a failure because it was hurting and I was ready to quit (he didn't have a proper latch). I'll never forget the help I received from the nurse and lactation consultants over the phone and at my new mom group at the hospital (Jessica, Debbie, and Susan), and I'm so glad that they and Kevin helped me/encouraged me/accompanied me to find a LC (Heidi) through my doctor's office that ended up solving our latch problem in the first few weeks. I will never forget those who offered encouraging words, websites, books, personal stories, etc. I'm glad I reached out and asked for help (when that is usually SO not like me...haha). :) But for real, not like me. At all. So thanks to everyone.


I felt that breastfeeding was important for me and for Lewis, and I'm really glad that we were able to make it this far (just about a week shy of 14 months)!