Four Months!

Four months old (a month late)...I can't believe it.  Month four has brought SO many fun things and a few not so fun.  

First things first...sleeping!  I think I could have qualified for zombie status all of month four.  I thought you were supposed to start sleeping better as you get older?  Well, not my little girl.  I still don't know if this is due to all of the changes you have been going through lately, a growth spurt or just being plain stubborn like your daddy mommy.  Anyways, your record for most times waking up in one night as been bumped up to seven.  You only nursed one of those times and all the other ones you woke up crying, wanting your pacifier or wanting to be held.  I still try to not let you cry too much in the middle of the night during the week because you are sleeping in mommy and daddy's room and I don't want to wake up daddy.  In a few short weeks we will be  moving in to the "barn apartment" and you might just have to start learning to get yourself back to sleep in the middle of the night since you will have your own room again.  After that long, long night, you woke up and about an hour later we both went back to sleep for three hours.  I have never been that tired before, but little girl, you are worth it.  

I often fall asleep burping.

Just in the past week, your sleeping has gotten a little bit better. We have transitioned you out of your swaddle and into a sleep sack.  I also put you on your tummy to sleep now, which I think is helping you stay asleep because you can't hit yourself in the face as easily.  You still wake up once to nurse and about two other times because you lost your paci.  I dream of the day you sleep all night.....

I occasionally drink a pumped bottle.

I love to eat my socks and feet.

You have gotten a lot better nursing schedule this past month, eating about every 3 hours.  If we ever get off the three hour schedule, I just try and make sure you eat between 4:30 and 5:00, that way you'll eat really good pumped bottle right before bed, around 8:00.  Sometimes this means scrunching two feedings together, but you never mind.  You still only nurse 5 min on each side, but I guess that's enough because you are chunking up pretty nicely!

You are in 3 month, 3-6 month and all 6 month onsies and sleepers.  All of the clothes we got from the shower stop at about 6 to 6-9 months so mommy is actually going to have an excuse to start buying you an outfit here and there. :)  You are still in size 2 diapers but who knows for how long!  

Bath time is getting to be more and more fun.  If we can get it in early enough in the night, I splash your feet and hands in the water, let you play with your rubber duck and pour water on your hands.  If it's after 7:30, we usually wash you up, put your sleeper on, and get you fed and in bed!  I can't wait 'til you can sit up on your own and we can play even more.  

You are still full of energy!  You constantly have those arms and legs moving all the time.  You still take about four hour long naps a day because you expend so much energy when you are awake!  You have been rolling over from your tummy to your back for a while now, but you rolled from your back to your tummy for the first time the day you turned four months old!  We get so excited at every little or big thing you do.  It is like the world has stopped and you are all that matter.  Your giggles are becoming more frequent and you still smile at whoever will talk to you.  You are, however, becoming a little more attached to mommy and usually will know where I am when someone else has you.  

You are an absolute delight to be around.  We love you to the moon and back!!

What have we been up to?

A lot has been going on the past couple of months but I think the major thing was our big move.  Addison and I had been thinking about putting our house up for sale for a while now.  Ever since we got back to Abilene a little over two years ago, we have been looking for the perfect piece of land for us to build our lives on.  We believe that the Lord brought us to a specific of land right outside the city that would be perfect for our growing family.  We put our house up for sale and it sold within a matter of days.  Thirty days later, we moved the majority of our belongings in a storage unit and moved in with Addison's parents.  Currently we are living inside their house but soon we will move into their "barn apartment" at the back of their house when my brother-in-law and sister-in-law move out and into their newly built house!  

It has definitely been nice to have others love on our sweet girl while either Addison or I gets a few things done.  We are so blessed to have parents that allow us to move back in...with a three month old.  We plan to start building a house in the next few months.  This is a very exciting time in our lives!

Of course, in the middle of all this, Addison still has work and we still have a three month old to take care of.  I of course stay home with Tatum so I have been trying to adjust to all of her adjustments that she has made since we have moved.  One of them being the lack of sleep.  When we left our house about a week and a half ago, she was sleeping from about 9:00-5:00 in the morning.  It was pure bliss.  I felt so rested and even a few times she would make it to about 6:30.  When we made the big move, we put her crib in our room so we could use the other guest bedroom for storage.  Well, now I remember why we moved her into her bedroom at our old house in the first place!  She has been waking anywhere from 3-5 times/night.  I requested we make room for her bed in the other guest bedroom to see if we both sleep better.  We'll see!

We also celebrated Addison's 25th (WHAT?!) birthday, Father's Day and made a trip to Katy, Texas to visit Addison's sister, brother-in-law and their kids.  

We also got to celebrate baby Sawyer who will be arriving in August!  We can't wait to meet Tatum's newest cousin!

Lately, we have been working on house plans, spending time with family and trying to enjoy this busy season in our lives.  Does it ever really slow down though?  I don't think so. This is what life is all about!

Three Months!

Three whole months!  This whole "my baby growing up" thing is happening way too fast!  Next thing I know you will be married and have your own little family.  Ok, I guess that's going a little overboard, but it really is going by so quickly.  

Every month so far has been so different.  It just keeps getting better and better in every aspect of your little life...well maybe besides the sleeping part.  Where to even start...

You still nurse every 2-3 hours during the day for about 5-7 minutes on each side.  Sometimes you fall asleep like the above pictures.  If I don't feel like you nurse for long enough, I will try to finish it up with pumping so I can make sure my milk supply is kept up with and it puts a little milk in the freezer.  TMI?  Sorry 'bout it.  This is something that we will work even harder on during month 4.  

About a week after you turned 2 months old, I moved you in to your crib to sleep at night.  You surprisingly started sleeping better and we have kept you there ever since.  You "usually" will wake up once during the night to nurse and then wake up between 6:30 and 7:30.  You have slept through the night (10:30-6:30) twice.  I am so ready for this to be a constant in your routine.  In the past 3 weeks I have had you on the "Baby Wise" schedule and you have adjusted to it pretty well.  You wake up, eat, we play for about 45-55 minutes and then you go back to sleep.  You nap only in your crib now anywhere from 45 minutes to about an hour and a half so it still makes for a somewhat unpredictable schedule throughout the day.  I am ok staying home most of the day right now so that you can get the rest you need to grow those little bones.  

You like your baths a whole lot better now and don't even cry when I get you out to dry you off and put lotion on.  You still get mad when there is not milk in your belly as soon as you wake up, but daddy and I just think it's pretty funny.  You like to "move it, move it"!!  People always comment on how active and alert you are.  We are "afraid" you will be an early crawler/walker and that mommy will be chasing you all over the place in a just a few months.  We most definitely have our hands full with you!  You have so much personality it is just hilarious.  You laughed out loud for the first time this month and it melts. our. hearts.  No matter how much Daddy and I try, we just can't get you to laugh like Sugar and GayGay can. I guess they are just pretty funny!  You still get tickled for Daddy and me though and it is the best thing ever.  

You took your second road trip this month and we went to Katy to visit Aunt Amy and Uncle Matt!  It was a little bit of a wake-up call for Mommy knowing that my days of doing anything I want at anytime when on vacation are over.  You did great in the car and only cried a little bit when we had to wait to pull over in a safe place to feed you.  '

You also celebrated Daddy on Father's Day.  You are so lucky to have him as your daddy.  You went to the annual Father's Day Swim at Mike and Kelly's house and was happy the whole time!

You are still in 0-3 month, 3 month and a few 3-6 month clothes fit you now.  You are in size 2 diapers.  Growing, growing girl.  It is so hard for mommy not to buy you so many cute outfits but I do resist...most of the time.  

You still like to be swaddled whenever you go to sleep.  I have tried putting you to sleep without your "Swaddle Me" and you wake up as soon as I put you down.  One thing I have continued to do during month three is rock or sway you to sleep.  Sometimes I just have to hold you and sway back and forth a few times and you are out.  I have tried the 'laying you down and letting you cry' effect a few times and it just breaks my heart so I always end up picking you up, swaying or rocking you and you fall right to sleep.  You don't like to snuggle anymore, so really this is the only time that I get to hold and snuggle you like my little baby anymore.  I am hoping one day though, that I can just put you in your crib, without your swaddle and you will take a good nap.  

As always, I would not trade my "job" for anything.  Staying at home with you is the most challenging but rewarding job I will ever have.  Being able to be here almost every second for anything that you do is something that I will cherish forever.  I will always be grateful for your Daddy in making this sacrifice for our family.  You will learn one day that he truly is the best.  We love you so much, baby girl.

Two Months!

I'm back!  It has been one crazy month to say the least.  We haven't had internet for over a month but we finally have it back and I am ready to start blogging again!  I will do a major update some time but for now, just to keep things in a timely order, I will start with Tatum's two month post.  I wrote this when Tatum was two months exactly so I wouldn't forget anything for our sweet girl.  

Tatum, how it is even possible that you are two months old is beside me.  Everyday is so much fun with you; even the hard days I am so thankful for.  You learned so many new things in the past month, I can't imagine what wonderful and exciting things another month will bring.  

You still only cry when you don't get your "food" fast enough.   You would think we were starving you!  You completely got off your schedule of eating this month and it has given mommy a run for her money.  I was pretty concerned that you weren't getting enough milk because you were only eating 5 minutes or so on eat side, usually totaling less than 12-15 minutes each feeding on a good day.  However, you were (and still are) chunking up pretty nicely.  I think my worries were more about if I was doing something wrong and not about you.  

At your two month (and one week) check-up, you were 11 pounds, 8 ounces and 20 1/4 inches long...50 percentile for both.  He said you were a healthy, perfect little girl!

Nursing definitely has its ups and downs, but I would never go back on my decision of choosing to exclusively breastfeed you (with a pumped bottle every now and then).  Your pedi said you were gaining weight just fine, like I said earlier, so I figure that you only about a 10 minute eater altogether and that gives you enough nutrients.  However, you still eat every 2-3 hours.  I am hoping that month 3 will bring a little bit more of a routine as far as nursing goes.  

You lost a lot of your hair on top of your head this month.  We called you "baldy" for a little while but thought that maybe it might hurt your feelings so we stopped. :)  It's growing back in and is still pretty dark and beautiful.

You have gotten so much better about liking your baths, but as soon as I take you out you are not a happy camper.  It is very rare that you don't cry when I dry you off, put lotion on you and put your PJ's on but like I said, you are getting better about this.  After bath time, we have started reading a chapter out of your Beginner's Bible which you love.  We sit in your rocker and you just talk and get excited looking at the different colors and shapes.  I love this new addition to our bedtime routine!

You still sleep in mommy and daddy's room because mommy is too lazy to get up during the night to go get you...much easier to reach down and pick you up beside my bed!  However, if you keep sleeping like you have been the past week, I will move you into your crib.  Your routine as of the past week as been going down around 9:00, sleeping until about 3:00 and then waking up again around 6:30.  

When I am not playing with you during the day, you are either in your Mamaroo, your swing or on your play mat.  You take naps in your swing and Mamaroo but we are working on getting in two solid naps in your crib and the rest in either your swing or Mamaroo (or in my arms occasionally).  We also try to work in tummy time, which you have gotten pretty good at and surprisingly don't really mind it.  You are so good at holding your head up, I think pretty soon we will have to get you a little jumper so you will have another activity to do during the day.  You are one. busy. girl!!

You are in 0-3 month clothes with a few 3 month mixed in.  Some of your 0-3 month onsies are even getting too short for you as I think you have a long torso.  You are in size 1 diapers but who knows for how long!  You are growing like a little weed.  I started putting you in your onsies at night instead of your sleepers because you were getting so hot.  You love to be swaddled so I knew the sleepers weren't going to work during the summertime.  Speaking of swaddling, you still like to be swaddled every time you go to sleep.  As soon as 

I swaddle you up, you usually go right to sleep. 

You went on your first road trip to Fredericksburg for the night with Granddaddy and Sugar and did great!  This makes me rest a little easier knowing we have a Katy road trip in the coming weeks.  

Being your mommy is still the most rewarding thing I have ever known.  Your daddy and I are head-over-heels in love with you and your sweet spirit.  We love you more than you will ever know!