Happy Easter!

Here are some pictures from today.

C'mon Mom, enough already!:

Of course, the photoshoot wouldn't be complete without these 2 in a photo or two:

Happy Easter!

A Story in Pictures

This is Jakkals:

She is super stubborn and smart.  She will do whatever it takes to get what she wants.

We decided to turn the living room into Abigail's play area since she's more mobile now (she rolls/scoots across the floor.. tries to crawl but not quite there yet!). We also decided to block the dogs out because they leave clumps of fur everywhere and even with lots of vacuuming I'd still like Jelly to have her own space. We barricaded the entry way with the Pack N Play:

First she got her head stuck trying to squeeze through:

I had to rescue her. She was really stuck!  I took Abigail to the supermarket, and when I came back, this is what I found:



She jumped over the back of the couch and got stuck on the other side.  Now that she's figured it out she keeps letting herself in.  I can be sitting right there on the couch, and I'll see this large animal come leaping out from behind me.  What a bad dog!  It's a good thing she is so sweet.

5 Months!

Abigail is 5 months old! Ain't she a cutie?

Here she is playing with her crinkly block, while sitting up in the boppy:

Some other pictures showing off that tummy time isn't so bad, really:

Showing off that she can flip over, even in her RNP sleeper:

Her new thing is standing.  No, she can't stand on her own yet, but she pushes off with her legs and if I hold her up she can stand on my lap.  When she does that I usually make a huge deal about it ("WOW! Look at this big girl standing up!!!") and she loves it!  She grins from ear to ear, totally proud of her accomplishment.  I'll try to get a picture of her standing and add it in later.

Here she is standing in her bouncy seat.  Yes, she's strapped in, but it doesn't seem to hold her down very well:

And here are a couple pictures of her with Jakkals, because it's so cute to watch them hang out together:

She's also extremely interested in big-people food.  Apparently that's a sign that she's ready for solids, but I'm in no rush! I still plan on waiting another month.  It's funny to watch her though, she tries so hard to grab whatever we're eating/drinking.  Soon enough little girl!

Petite But Otherwise Healthy

We went in for our weight check, and Abigail is still trending along the 1% curve, which is good I guess in the sense that at least she hasn't fallen completely off the chart.  She is now 11lb 1oz.  The pediatrician wasn't too concerned and said she's just "petite" but otherwise healthy.  It's really funny to think that a child of mine could be petite, but I guess stranger things have happened!

It seems like milestones come in waves.  Just in the past few days Abigail has amazing head control and loves being on her tummy (a big change for her!). She's a rolling machine, constantly flipping over and trying her best to crawl.  She turns onto her tummy, lifts up her head and moves her legs like crazy.  Her chest is still firmly planted so she's not going anywhere just yet, but it won't be long now! 

She also started making this awesome noise. It sounds like a cross between Godzilla and a pterodactyl.  Of course I caught it on video.  The quality isn't great. I really need to start using the proper camera instead of just my phone.

Coughing is another new trick.  I'm totally convinced she does this for attention.  She'll cough a couple times and if I look at her she'll smile this enormous smile.  She doesn't cough in her sleep or have any other symptoms, so I'm sure it's on purpose.  Just another one of those "I just figured it out so I'm going to keep doing it" sort of things.

Here's an example of Jelly showing off her excellent head control in the bumbo:

And one showing off her shampoo-do:

The other thing that's going on is I think she's teething.  She was super fussy the other day and would cry every time she started eating. I think her poor gums are sore.  She was cranky all day until I finally gave her some tylenol, then she went right to sleep!  Something was obviously bothering her.  I even called the triage nurse at the pedi office because I was worried it was an ear infection or something else that required treatment. She said if there's no other symptoms (fever, discharge) then it's most likely teeth.  She has 2 white spots on her lower gums, and has been drooling like crazy and chomping on everything in sight, but those have all been going on for awhile.  I guess we'll find out sooner or later if it's tooth-related! 

Trip to the Park

I just wanted to post some pictures of our trip to the park this weekend.  The weather's been beautiful and it's lovely to be outside.  Grandpa Ian came down and we had a nice morning walk around the lake. 

That's all!  Just wanted to show off more pictures of my gorgeous little girl  :)

Roly Poly, Sleep, and Stats

I love baby emotions. There's no hiding how they feel, no pretending to be one thing or another. If they're happy, they smile. If they're sad, they cry. Abigail has a toy we call Prince Ribbit (it's a frog that crinkles and squeaks). I'd say it's her favorite. Every time I hold it in front of her she smiles the biggest smile from ear to ear. It's so cute. The only thing I respond to like that is her!  I can't help but smile when I see my darling girl.

That being said...
We're working on sleep training.  It's so hard!  She doesn't go to bed until late (usually 10ish), and even though she'll sleep 10-12 hours (with a couple of times up to eat), it's still too late and it affects her whole schedule. Naps can be a challenge too, although today she's sleeping like a champ. We also need to move her to her crib. She can't be in the RNP next to me forever!

So we researched different methods and decided the only real way to do it is to do both at the same time, and use a modified Ferber method. We do our routine (pjs, nurse, burp) then put her down drowsy, but awake, in her crib and leave the room. We come back to calm her in intervals, without picking her up. So the first night was rough. She cried like she was being tortured! We came in after 3, 5, 10, and 15 minutes before giving up. Then, last night, after the 10-minute mark I yelled into the monitor "she's on her belly!"  She had decided now's a good time to roll over for the first time, and was stuck on her belly and NOT happy about it!  So we gave up again.  It's so hard to hear her cry, and seeing her gasp for air between cries with her face planted into the mattress was just not happening. I guess we'll make another attempt when she gets stronger.

Here's a pic from today, practicing her rolling and de-socking at the same time:

She's such a little thing. At our 4-month appointment on Monday she weighed in at a whopping 10lbs 13oz, that's in the 1st percentile for other babies her age. The pediatrician didn't seem overly concerned, since she's happy and otherwise healthy, and is soiling diapers regularly and reaching her milestones.  The concern is the drop in percentile, meaning she's not even growing at the same rate as most other babies.  So we have to go in for a weight check on the 22nd and evaluate from there.  I was very upset at this and even though in my gut I know she's healthy, the thought went swimming around in my head that I'm not giving her what she needs and I'm starving my baby. I didn't sleep for 2 days. I feel better today. Here are her stats from her appointments to date:


Weight (in pounds.ounces):
NB: 7.10
2 months: 9.3  (12%)
4 months: 10.13  (1%)

Length:
NB: 20 1/4"
2 months: 22 1/2"  (56%)
4 months:  24 1/4"  (40%)


Some more pics for good measure:

4 Months, and Lots of Pictures!

Abigail is 4 months old! I can't believe how fast time is going. She's really starting to be her own little person. She has her favorite way of being held, her favorite toy, and unfortunately wants to be awake more and more.  Naps are a challenge. 

Here she is at 4 months:

And a couple more...
 Sweet little butterfly:

 Reading through osmosis:

More from today:
  She figured out how to chew on her toes this morning, and pretty much hasn't stopped since!:

 So cute:

 Fun on the playmat:

Last couple:
 Rock n Roll!