Happy Weekend!
Playtime at the park
Friday, March 30, 2012
Daddy Daughter Friday
Going to start a new mini series here on the blog called Daddy Daughter Friday to share those precious moments caught on camera between a Dad and his little girl.
Happy Weekend!
Playtime at the park
Happy Weekend!
Playtime at the park
Monday, March 26, 2012
The Dreaded Sleep Regression
Our sleeping situation has had a lot of twists and turns along the way...and we have hit a new twist the last month.
Before baby M arrived we decided we were going to put her in the crib from day one. Well for some reason as soon as we laid eyes on her we changed our minds. Having her across the hall, in her room, all alone just wasn't going to do. But we didn't want to purchase a big bassinet and we couldn't fit a pack in play in our room so we opted to co-sleep with an in-bed bassinet. Well let me tell you, a mini bassinet in a queen size bed does not leave much room to get comfortable. We stuck with it though for about 5 or 6 weeks before deciding we had to do something different.
Turn #1. We moved the swing into our bedroom and she slept in the swing, all swaddled up. She was sleeping really well and we now had room to actually, I don't know - roll over. But she was still in our room which meant that we had to tip toe around to do things like brush our teeth.
Here came another twist. Let's move her to her room. We didn't want to put her through too many changes at once so we just moved the swing into her room and she continued to sleep in it. Ahh, we can walk from the bed to the bathroom in peace and brush our teeth with the bathroom light on. Freedom!
At around 3 months we made the decision to try to transition her to her crib. And we just went for it, cold turkey. No naps first or playtime in the crib...we went through our normal bedtime routine and then put her down in the crib. She slept...with no problems!
And through all of this, from around 3 weeks old, she was "sleeping through the night" -- which at first meant 5 straight hours and then slowly worked its way up to 11 hours! Yep, you heard me right. Wow, how lucky are we?
Then came the latest turn, one we had read about and hoped wouldn't happen to us. Please, no. We had been spoiled and were enjoying it. But regardless of our pleading it happened. The 4 month sleep regression. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, with no warning a 2 am wake up! Its okay, its only a one time thing, right? She will get back to normal tomorrow. Then another wake up the next night, this time at 3am. And so it began. And now here we are, our amazing little sleeper has hit a wall. A 2am wall.
Here is to hoping its a short lived phase. In the meantime, watch for my tweets in the middle of the night.
Before baby M arrived we decided we were going to put her in the crib from day one. Well for some reason as soon as we laid eyes on her we changed our minds. Having her across the hall, in her room, all alone just wasn't going to do. But we didn't want to purchase a big bassinet and we couldn't fit a pack in play in our room so we opted to co-sleep with an in-bed bassinet. Well let me tell you, a mini bassinet in a queen size bed does not leave much room to get comfortable. We stuck with it though for about 5 or 6 weeks before deciding we had to do something different.
Turn #1. We moved the swing into our bedroom and she slept in the swing, all swaddled up. She was sleeping really well and we now had room to actually, I don't know - roll over. But she was still in our room which meant that we had to tip toe around to do things like brush our teeth.
Here came another twist. Let's move her to her room. We didn't want to put her through too many changes at once so we just moved the swing into her room and she continued to sleep in it. Ahh, we can walk from the bed to the bathroom in peace and brush our teeth with the bathroom light on. Freedom!
At around 3 months we made the decision to try to transition her to her crib. And we just went for it, cold turkey. No naps first or playtime in the crib...we went through our normal bedtime routine and then put her down in the crib. She slept...with no problems!
And through all of this, from around 3 weeks old, she was "sleeping through the night" -- which at first meant 5 straight hours and then slowly worked its way up to 11 hours! Yep, you heard me right. Wow, how lucky are we?
Then came the latest turn, one we had read about and hoped wouldn't happen to us. Please, no. We had been spoiled and were enjoying it. But regardless of our pleading it happened. The 4 month sleep regression. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, with no warning a 2 am wake up! Its okay, its only a one time thing, right? She will get back to normal tomorrow. Then another wake up the next night, this time at 3am. And so it began. And now here we are, our amazing little sleeper has hit a wall. A 2am wall.
Here is to hoping its a short lived phase. In the meantime, watch for my tweets in the middle of the night.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Off the Couch
Okay so I am not literally sitting around on the couch all day -- I am working and taking care of a 4 month old and trying to keep the house in decent shape. That is a full day so when do I find time to run?
Well I am still figuring that out but I better do it fast because I have a 5k in 3 weeks. Yep, 3 WEEKS! The Redbud Classic is on the calendar for April 15th. Uh oh. I haven't ran more than 5 feet since I was 6 months pregnant and I only have a mere 3 weeks to get myself in shape enough to run 3.2 miles.
Redbud run 2008
I am leaning on my natural athletic ability to allow me to bounce back into decent shape fast. Although it should be noted I don't really consider myself a runner.
So what's the plan? Now that spring weather is here and its warmer outside I have to got to hit the pavement. I still don't have a jogger so Chase will have to be on baby duty while I get in a run here and there. My goal is to run 3 times a week and to go the entire distance of 3.1 miles. For awhile there will be a lot of walking involved (and who am I kidding, I will probably have to walk part of the 5k) but I will get there eventually.
So its time to lace up those shoes and get this lady back in shape!
Well I am still figuring that out but I better do it fast because I have a 5k in 3 weeks. Yep, 3 WEEKS! The Redbud Classic is on the calendar for April 15th. Uh oh. I haven't ran more than 5 feet since I was 6 months pregnant and I only have a mere 3 weeks to get myself in shape enough to run 3.2 miles.
Redbud run 2008
I am leaning on my natural athletic ability to allow me to bounce back into decent shape fast. Although it should be noted I don't really consider myself a runner.
So what's the plan? Now that spring weather is here and its warmer outside I have to got to hit the pavement. I still don't have a jogger so Chase will have to be on baby duty while I get in a run here and there. My goal is to run 3 times a week and to go the entire distance of 3.1 miles. For awhile there will be a lot of walking involved (and who am I kidding, I will probably have to walk part of the 5k) but I will get there eventually.
So its time to lace up those shoes and get this lady back in shape!
Monday, March 19, 2012
Simple Saturday
On Saturday we took advantage of the beautiful Spring weather and took Molly on her first trip to the Dallas Arboretum. And we got some other unexpected firsts as well.
It was so insanely crowded (two spring breaks colliding plus a beautiful Sat = chaos!) that we had to park a mile away and take a bus shuttle back to the Arboretum. Just as we were pulling into the parking lot Molly started to melt down. Screaming at some insane levels. Yikes! This was going to be fun. For a moment we contemplated throwing in the towel and heading back home because a screaming baby in a sea of crowded people isn't too fun -- but we thought what the hell. We hopped on the big shuttle bus and Molly instantly calmed down while she took in her new surroundings. Wide eyed and mystified at the people, noises and motion of the bus. By the time we got to the Arboretum and strapped her in her stroller she was a pure gem.
We can't wait to take advantage of our membership all spring and summer long. I see lots of picnics in the lush green grass in our future.
And oh yea, it was St. Patrick's Day too.
Molly's name is inspired by our rich Irish heritage so this was a special day for her -- our little Irish lass.
It was so insanely crowded (two spring breaks colliding plus a beautiful Sat = chaos!) that we had to park a mile away and take a bus shuttle back to the Arboretum. Just as we were pulling into the parking lot Molly started to melt down. Screaming at some insane levels. Yikes! This was going to be fun. For a moment we contemplated throwing in the towel and heading back home because a screaming baby in a sea of crowded people isn't too fun -- but we thought what the hell. We hopped on the big shuttle bus and Molly instantly calmed down while she took in her new surroundings. Wide eyed and mystified at the people, noises and motion of the bus. By the time we got to the Arboretum and strapped her in her stroller she was a pure gem.
We can't wait to take advantage of our membership all spring and summer long. I see lots of picnics in the lush green grass in our future.
And oh yea, it was St. Patrick's Day too.
Molly's name is inspired by our rich Irish heritage so this was a special day for her -- our little Irish lass.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Happy Friday
Looking forward to a nice weekend with my Mom and Molly. Chase is off taking his first round of board exams (wish him luck!) so its just the girls.
And since our little one is full on Irish we will be enjoying St. Patrick's Day. And some nice Spring weather.
Have a wonderful weekend.
And since our little one is full on Irish we will be enjoying St. Patrick's Day. And some nice Spring weather.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
A Day in the Life
Now that I have been a Mom for a little over 4 months I thought I would share what my day looks like. We don't have a set schedule, I just go with what Molly is feeling that day, so this is not the exact same everyday but you'll get the idea. I also work from home so this is a non-working day.
7:45/8am- I hear Molly starting to wake up in her crib and get out of bed to rush around doing a few things before she is fully up. Things include letting the dog out and feeding her, getting Molly's bottle going, making coffe, brushing my teeth and throwing on some pants. (on ocassion I get up early before Molly to grab a shower-otherwise I will shower after she is up)
8:15am- "Good morning Sunshine!" Molly is up. I unwrap her from her swaddle and let her stretch and look around. She smiles at me, love it. We then change her diaper, take her Zantac, and put on her outfit for the day. After she is all set I feed her.
8:45-10am- Playtime. In the morning she is the happiest and can play on her own for the longest amount of time. She lays on her blanket in the living room and rolls around, plays with toys, coos etc. I usually sit on the floor with her and sip my coffee while Good morning America and Live with Kelly is on in the background. (If I didn't get up early and shower I do it now while Molly sits in her bouncy in the bathroom)
10:15am- Naptime! She usually takes a morning nap of around 45 min. While she sleeps I buzz about the house doing laundry, emptying the dishwasher, giving the dog some attention, taking a deep breath and maybe stuffing some food down.
11am- She is up! I hear her fussing and know that the nap is over. And she is hungry and not happy about it. I get her bottle going, go get her and change her diaper. Then I feed her again while sitting at my computer.
11:30-1:30pm- Errands. If I have errands to run or just want to get out of the house this is generally the time I do that. Molly usually stays up for the first half of the errand running and then crashes in the car seat (unless the car comes to a complete stop -- then she cries).
2pm- Time to eat again. Man this kid is always hungry! Again, I fix her bottle, change her diaper and then feed her.
2:15-3:30- Afternoon playtime. We walk around the house and look at things, play on her activity mat, walk around the backyard, etc. etc. Molly likes to be entertained most of the time and gets bored quickly so we are always switching up activities.
3:30-5ishpm- Afternoon nap! This one lasts 2 hours if I am lucky but most of the time 1 1/2 hours. I check email, Facebook, Twitter for a bit. Then I again tend to any laundry, vacuum, watch a little something on the DVR, read a magazine. Just try to relax a bit.
5pm- I hear the rumblings of Molly awakening once again. I go and get her up, change her diaper and then yes, feed her again. Chase usually arrives home around this time and she is excited to see her Daddy.
5:30pm- Walk. We strap Molly into her stroller, grab the dog and head out. Molly takes in the sights for the first half of the walk and then usually nods off for the remainder. I tell Chase all about our day and we talk while we walk.
6:15pm- Back home. And time to eat again.
6:30-7:30pm- Evening playtime. She is starting to get her evening fussies at this point so it generally involves us walking around with her and just overall being extremely engaged.
7:30- Bath time! At this point we only give Molly a bath every other day or so. Our doctor recommends not bathing her everyday because it will irritate and dry out her skin and she really isn't dirty. Molly enjoys her baths and starts to calm down for the night.
7:45- Bed time ritual begins. We put on her PJs, give her a little baby massage, take her Zantac and read a bedtime book. Then we feed, swaddle, rock/bounce, and put her down to bed. Generally this is a pretty easy task getting her to sleep but occasionally its a battle.
8:15-10pm- Non-baby time! Chase and I eat dinner, watch some of our shows, have adult conversation and so on. From time to time we have friends over for a drink on the back porch.
10:30ish- Bedtime for us. We try to get to bed at a reasonable hour but its hard when there is so much you can be doing when the baby is asleep. But eventually we give in, turn off the lights and fall asleep.
Between 3am-4am- Molly is up and hungry! This just started happening about a week ago and its not fun. We had a great all night sleeper and then BAM -- no more. Chase gets up and makes her bottle while I go in and console her until its ready. I feed her, in darkness and silence and then put her back down as fast as possible. Generally 35 min or so. Then its back to bed for us.
7:45/8am- Another day is here and we do it all over again!
(*note: As I type this we are having an off day and it looks nothing like what I just wrote. ha!)
7:45/8am- I hear Molly starting to wake up in her crib and get out of bed to rush around doing a few things before she is fully up. Things include letting the dog out and feeding her, getting Molly's bottle going, making coffe, brushing my teeth and throwing on some pants. (on ocassion I get up early before Molly to grab a shower-otherwise I will shower after she is up)
8:15am- "Good morning Sunshine!" Molly is up. I unwrap her from her swaddle and let her stretch and look around. She smiles at me, love it. We then change her diaper, take her Zantac, and put on her outfit for the day. After she is all set I feed her.
8:45-10am- Playtime. In the morning she is the happiest and can play on her own for the longest amount of time. She lays on her blanket in the living room and rolls around, plays with toys, coos etc. I usually sit on the floor with her and sip my coffee while Good morning America and Live with Kelly is on in the background. (If I didn't get up early and shower I do it now while Molly sits in her bouncy in the bathroom)
10:15am- Naptime! She usually takes a morning nap of around 45 min. While she sleeps I buzz about the house doing laundry, emptying the dishwasher, giving the dog some attention, taking a deep breath and maybe stuffing some food down.
11am- She is up! I hear her fussing and know that the nap is over. And she is hungry and not happy about it. I get her bottle going, go get her and change her diaper. Then I feed her again while sitting at my computer.
11:30-1:30pm- Errands. If I have errands to run or just want to get out of the house this is generally the time I do that. Molly usually stays up for the first half of the errand running and then crashes in the car seat (unless the car comes to a complete stop -- then she cries).
2pm- Time to eat again. Man this kid is always hungry! Again, I fix her bottle, change her diaper and then feed her.
2:15-3:30- Afternoon playtime. We walk around the house and look at things, play on her activity mat, walk around the backyard, etc. etc. Molly likes to be entertained most of the time and gets bored quickly so we are always switching up activities.
3:30-5ishpm- Afternoon nap! This one lasts 2 hours if I am lucky but most of the time 1 1/2 hours. I check email, Facebook, Twitter for a bit. Then I again tend to any laundry, vacuum, watch a little something on the DVR, read a magazine. Just try to relax a bit.
5pm- I hear the rumblings of Molly awakening once again. I go and get her up, change her diaper and then yes, feed her again. Chase usually arrives home around this time and she is excited to see her Daddy.
5:30pm- Walk. We strap Molly into her stroller, grab the dog and head out. Molly takes in the sights for the first half of the walk and then usually nods off for the remainder. I tell Chase all about our day and we talk while we walk.
6:15pm- Back home. And time to eat again.
6:30-7:30pm- Evening playtime. She is starting to get her evening fussies at this point so it generally involves us walking around with her and just overall being extremely engaged.
7:30- Bath time! At this point we only give Molly a bath every other day or so. Our doctor recommends not bathing her everyday because it will irritate and dry out her skin and she really isn't dirty. Molly enjoys her baths and starts to calm down for the night.
7:45- Bed time ritual begins. We put on her PJs, give her a little baby massage, take her Zantac and read a bedtime book. Then we feed, swaddle, rock/bounce, and put her down to bed. Generally this is a pretty easy task getting her to sleep but occasionally its a battle.
8:15-10pm- Non-baby time! Chase and I eat dinner, watch some of our shows, have adult conversation and so on. From time to time we have friends over for a drink on the back porch.
10:30ish- Bedtime for us. We try to get to bed at a reasonable hour but its hard when there is so much you can be doing when the baby is asleep. But eventually we give in, turn off the lights and fall asleep.
Between 3am-4am- Molly is up and hungry! This just started happening about a week ago and its not fun. We had a great all night sleeper and then BAM -- no more. Chase gets up and makes her bottle while I go in and console her until its ready. I feed her, in darkness and silence and then put her back down as fast as possible. Generally 35 min or so. Then its back to bed for us.
7:45/8am- Another day is here and we do it all over again!
(*note: As I type this we are having an off day and it looks nothing like what I just wrote. ha!)
Monday, March 12, 2012
Molly: 4 Months
Growing up so fast. Molly is now officially 4 months old. And boy has she turned up the personality this past month (in good ways and not so good ways).
One of the biggest things that happened this past month is a change in her formula. We discovered that Molly has a milk allergy so we switched to a specialized formula and we saw a huge improvement. She became an all around much happier baby.
A new adventure that we "think" has begun is teething. She is representing some of the tried and true signs (tons of drool, gnawing on anything she can get in her mouth, crankiness, trouble sleeping). This is not a super exciting "first" since she is in pain and not a happy camper. A tooth could sprout next week or we go at this for months before it actually breaks through. Time will tell.
She had several other "firsts" this past month. She continues to roll over tummy to back but now she has mastered back to tummy. She pretty much barrel rolls all over the house! She has also figured out how to scoot. She will get on her stomach, push up with her arms and then push with her legs to scoot her body forward. I think she might be an early crawler! We are also getting tons and tons of smiles and some pretty adorable laughs, some hitting some pretty high notes.
She continues to grow and learn everyday and its so much fun to watch her take in the world around her. She is an unpredictable little thing and is always throwing us for a loop. Its exhausting keeping up with her but so rewarding at the same time.
Happy 4 Months Molly!
Stats:
10 lbs 9oz (5th percentile)
23 1/2 inches (25th percentile)
15 1/2 head (10th percentile)
She is petite! Still wearing some newborn clothes (yikes!) and 0-3 months.
Likes:
Rolling over
Scooting across the room
Walks in her stoller
Playing "boom-boom"
Dislikes:
Getting "stuck" trying to roll
Not being able to get a toy in her mouth
Napping! (ugh)
The hiccups
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Date Night Wedding
This past weekend Chase and I had the pleasure of attending some of our good friends' wedding. It was such a fun night and felt good to get out together for the evening.
Things got a little out of control. Too much fun.
And always, a big shout out to my lil brother and Mom for taking babysitting duties. You guys rock!
First off, a big congrats to Wes and Laura! Yay!
We enjoyed a beautiful ceremony (even though we were late, yikes!), yummy food, good drinks (a few too many) and great company.
Plus a photobooth. Watch out!
Things got a little out of control. Too much fun.
And always, a big shout out to my lil brother and Mom for taking babysitting duties. You guys rock!
Monday, March 5, 2012
Sunny Days
It has been an unseasonably warm winter in Dallas with many days in the mid 70s and a few here and there topping out in the 80s! I love it.
So when the weather is as beautiful as this its a must to get outside and enjoy it. Walks are an almost daily occurrence and trips the park will be part of our new outdoor routine.
I have high hopes that Molly will love the outdoors as much as her Dad and I do.
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