It's time for our 4 month update, woo! I really wanted to update before we left for the Caymans; but it was just not gonna happen since we left on the 10th at midnight (the day she turned 4 months old)
*Stats* As of Tuesday, Feb 19th
Weight: 14 lbs 8 oz
Length: Just under 25 in
She has leveled out and is in the 60-70's percentile-wise. Her pediatrician didn't seem too concerned, just advised me to make sure she nurses every 3 hours (except at night). I'm already doing that, so I'm thinking a combination of increasing my exercise routine and travel in the last 3 weeks has kinda thrown things off. Look at her, she is a little chunky monkey!
Here is a comparison of 1, 2, 3, & 4 months:
As you can see on my whiteboard, we have started Sofie on rice cereal. She absolutely loves it. Initially I just put 1 TB with a 4 oz bottle, but as of this week I have mixed 1 TB with about 1 1/2-2 oz of breastmilk. I've gotten the go-ahead from her doc to start her on solids too, so stoked! Can't wait to use our new Vitamix to make all her baby food. We finally caved in and bought it and it is seriously worth the money! Especially since Rob and I seem to get a new blender every year or so; it was time to invest. I'll hafta try my Dad's margarita recipe on it next weekend for Book Club. Woo!
Our first family vacation was an overall success. It definitely had it challenges and lessons learned, but Sofie did amazing! She slept on both flights there (thank you Red Eye!), and did really well on our 6 hour layover, sheesh. Got to Sky Harbor at 10pm and made it to Grand Cayman by 2pm (noon in AZ) the following day. Holy mama was I exhausted! Reminded me of the first few days home after her birth. Running on a few hours of sleep is not easy. but somehow you make it through. Unfortunately, this lady on our first flight was coughing up a lung and Rob caught whatever she was sick with. He chugged Robitussin alongside the Rum Runners we drank on the beach. He was a trooper! Luckily, us ladies made it home unscathed. It was the night we got home that I finally got sick. It's been a hot mess!
Back to the trip, the resort offered a crib which was a lifesaver. The pack'n'play isn't as small when you hafta pay for baggage and carry so much other stuff! She slept through the night the whole trip (I'm talking 8 hours average) We took Sofie in the ocean our 2nd day there and she wasn't having any of it. I made the classic mistake of keeping her awake mid-nap. So I let her go back to sleep and we gave it a shot the next day. She did pretty awesome, considering the water was a bit cold for her liking. I'll hafta upload the video another day, I'm running out of time and having technical difficulties.
Photobomb time!!
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| 3rd day, Ocean time take 2! |
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| Top picture is the sun setting, view from our room. Bottom is the view as we walked to breakfast |
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| Isn't she fabulous? Hehe |
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| Company dinner, it was the most perfect evening! No filter needed for these pics ;) |
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| Lily & Sofie are the cutest little friends! |
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| Morning we left, it was super windy and hard to get Sof to look at me. |
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| Until next time Cayman Islands! |
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| Valentine's Day! |
Thankfully Christine took this pic, we both left our phones in our room on Valentine's night. Went to dinner with the Roger's, Garrison's, & Chesley's and had some amazing food. Oh man, so delish! Good memories with awesome people. too!
I think what I took from this trip with travelling with a 4 month old is this:
*Red Eye flights are the best, because baby can sleep through the entire flight (unless you are a Party girl like Lily, hehe)
*If you exclusively nurse, bring at least 1 bottle just in case nursing isn't ideal. I was glad I brought my pump for the way home.
*Don't forget to nurse/feed/give binky to baby during take off & landing
*Roll with the punches (though, this is true on a normal day!) and don't be so hard on yourself!
*It's better to overpack, than be unprepared. (extra outfits & bibs for sure!)
*Do your research beforehand! ex/ Does the hotel offer a crib, airline's procedures for car seat/stroller/security checkpoint.
That's all I can really think of, and some seem pretty obvious. But as a FTM, you really don't know and fly by the seat of your pants.
Rob and I made some amazing memories that we would actually say, "Don't worry, we will look back and laugh at this someday" Like when Sofie had a blowout mid-flight and got it all over both of us! We handled it, because that's what you do!
We also got to experience the "crying baby on a plane" death stares. Holy cow, was I sweating bullets! (mostly because it was as hot as an AZ summer morning) Waiting to take off (which took forever and was delayed a bit) and holding off feeding a very tired baby when the AC is off was a distaster! Poor Sofie's hair was matted to her head becuase she was sweating while I tried to finally nurse her. Our body heat combined was making us both extremely hot. We stripped her to her diaper and fanned her with one of the plane's plastic pamphlets. I finally knew what it was like on the other side! I was a little anxious at first, but honestly, I only cared about calming her down because she was so uncomfortable. It was a 6pm flight and no one was sleeping, so those rude stares can kiss my booty! Hehe
So yes, we survived our first family trip. Go big or go home right?
That brings us to this week. Both Rob and I have been pretty sick since we got back and trying to avoid getting Sofie sick. I think we managed to do as much. Went to the doctor and got antibiotics and Rob is finally feeling better today. I'm a day or 2 behind him as far as symptoms go. Baby girl also had her shots this week and did really great. She is super baby, I tell ya! She didn't notice the first shot, and the 2nd shot made her cry out angrily for 2 seconds and she got over it. As you can see below, she didn't make out 100% unscathed, she has an eye infection (conjuctivitis?) and I have been giving her an eye drop 3x a day. Let me tell you how fun it is trying to aim for the corner of the eye, sheesh! Haha. After 1 day, her eyes have significantly improved!
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| Super baby after her 4 month shots. |
Here she is after her evening nap eating some yummy rice cereal:
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| Feed me! |
She is also doing getting close to sitting up by herself, we've been practicing on the couch and our bed for now. It's so cute when she falls over, we yell "Timberrrr!" and she just laughs and rolls over like it was fun for her! I just love her so dang much!
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| 02.20.2013 |
Man oh man, I think I covered it all. I think I need to update every 2 weeks so I can remember everything, haha. Pregnancy brain definitely turns into Mommy brain. Which I think is unfair because there is a baby you hafta care for! Haha
Quick update on Postpartum Lex:
I successfully completed the 5 day Inferno plan and wow, did my body hurt (hurt so good, hey-yooooo!) I lost maybe 3-4 lbs, but most importantly 4 1/2 inches. That is huge! Inches before pounds, gotta remember that. I ended up doing another round (minus the last day) before we left, but didn't track my progress since I was busy trying to pack for our trip. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get quick results before something important ie. Vacation, wedding, reunion, or whatever it is that you want to look extra fit for. Unfortunately, I did notice a change in my milk supply and won't be doing that again until I'm done nursing. Not worth it to me, Sofie is my #1 priority and I know I will get back in shape soon enough. Everything is eventual ;)
I've noticed how important to have "mommy time" is and my SIL Michelle and I have been talking about doing a book club for awhile now. Decided to take the reigns on the first one and our meeting is next weekend, super excited! We are reading "The Silver Linings Playbook" by Matthew Quick and yes, I read it in like 3 days. I'm a nerd like that, granted I was stuck on a few plane rides with a sleeping baby in my arms. I love the kindle app on the iPhone, it rocks!
Quick shout-out to my wonderful hubby Rob. We celebrated our 3rd year wedding anniversary as lil sickies at home. Luckily my parents have offered to babysit this Saturday night so we can have our monthly date night and have a true celebration, so stoked! Back to my shout-out, I feel extremely lucky to have this wonderful man in my life. We have so many great memories, have traveled to some amazing places, and been through some life changing experiences. I can truly call him my best friend! Sure, I have my girl best friends (whom I love dearly!) But to have my husband as my love, confidant, and rock is a blessing. He has shown me what unconditional love is and now that we have our miracle baby, I am in awe when I watch them together. There is so much love in my heart for my amazing little family. Thank you God for all your blessings!
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| 02.19.2010 |
Until next time,
Lex
