Happy Birthday Emma!

Emma are you really 5 years old today? Wow I guess time does fly when you are having fun. You are mommy’s baby even though I am sure at times you feel like you have been replaced. You are a sweet baby and we would do anything for you. You are good to your “sister” and I can only imagine the fun you are going to have together when she gets bigger. You give her kisses now and you run away when she tries to grab you. You get fussed at for barking when Campbell is sleeping but I know you are only trying to protect her. I was very worried about how you would do with Campbell, but you have been great. You love Campbell’s lamb mat. You still love to snuggle with your mommy, but you snuggle with daddy these days too. You love to get belly kisses, play with snuggles, and eat pupcorn. You let us know when your food and water are not full enough for your liking. Thunder & lightning scare you and you want mommy to hold you or you hide behind the toilet. You were 2.4 pounds of fur the day we brought you home, mommy and daddy slept with you on the air mattress so you wouldn’t  be scared and cry. We had to get a king sized bed so you would have room to sleep with us. You have lived in Atlanta, Simpsonville, & now West Columbia. I love you sweet girl and hope you have 20 more birthdays!

Moms on Call

We started Campbell on Moms on Call last week and I must say the change in her has been phenomenal. Campbell has always been a great sleeper but she had recently been waking up crying in the middle of the night for no reason. I was completely confused as to why this was happening and blamed it on teething and her first cold but now I know the real reason. She had started breaking out of her swaddle, so I made the decision to take her swaddle away cold turkey. I had read that babies typically outgrow the swaddle between 3 and 4 months, but of course I was in denial. I knew the first night would be rough, but we did what we had to do. She cried for about an hour before she finally fell asleep Friday night. And she cried of and on all night long. I knew nothing was wrong because I could see her on my video monitor. She was just adjusting to her “new” way of sleeping and couldn’t figure out what to do with her crazy arms and legs.

 

The moms on call schedule was developed by two pediatric nurses who have kids of their own, which made me confident in using their plan. I think both of them actually have twins. It’s all about sleep training which is exactly what Campbell needed. If she cried in the middle of the night I ran to her room and gave her a pacifier or if she continued to fuss I would think she was hungry and feed her. I was also waking her up for a dream feed, which later found out this disrupts her sleeping patterns. Babies have different sleeping patterns than adults. The just of it is that babies go through REM sleep (2 ½ to 3 hours) and then have twilight sleep. Which babies can be “awake” during twilight sleep. I think this was why Campbell was crying during the middle of the night. By going in and giving her the pacifier or feeding her I was actually waking her and setting her up for failure. So now we put her to sleep at 8:00 and we do not enter her room until 6:30 or 7:00. Campbell will be awake sometimes but she will just be contently playing in her crib. Also her napping has greatly improved. We put her down for naps at the same time every single day. She doesn’t have to sleep but she does have to be in her crib. During this time we can go in and give her a pacifier if she starts to cry, but she usually just falls right to sleep. I swear it’s like a different baby. Both my mama and Carrie have mentioned how different Campbell is and she is so very happy. She really does not even cry now, it’s amazing. I know that sleep training is not for everyone, but it has worked wonders in our house. Happier baby makes for a happier mommy.

Yummy in the tummy

Campbell has been chowing down. So far she has had rice cereal, apple sauce, and sweet potatoes. Our little lady is being such a good eater. She opens her little mouth now whenever the spoon gets close. She tried sweet potatoes tonight and I just knew she would spit them out but no she loved them. She didn't even make a yucky face whenever I gave her a taste after she finished her rice cereal. We I decided that it would probably be best to introduce vegetables before all the yummy fruits so hopefully we will end up with a good eater.

In other news, we have taken her swaddle away. I had read that babies usually outgrow the swaddle around 3 or 4 months so I knew that it was coming. She had broken out of her swaddle quite a few times in the middle of the night so we knew it was time to move on. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, last night was awful. I decided to take the swaddle away cold turkey. She is now happily sleeping in her sleep sack. It's just now 9:00 but tonight has already been better. She cried for 30 minutes last night before she even fell asleep, so far tonight not even a peep. I knew the first night would be the worse. And it's the cutest thing ever to see her on the video monitor with her arms over her head.

Campbell has also located her feet. I assured her those do belong to her! She found her left one on Thursday and sure enough found her right one today. Is there anything cuter than a baby playing with their toes??? She has also decided she is a big girl now and wants to pull up. She was playing with her crocodile today and grabbed the strings to pull herself up. I leave you with a super cute video I took a few weeks ago, I am finally getting around to uploading it!

Brain Dump

I have 3 more pounds of baby weight to lose. I think it will take about 5 to 10 more pounds for ALL of my clothes to fit. Let’s face it after having a baby your body doesn’t go back to the way it was. I’ve accepted that and it’s cool. A big thumbs up to weight watchers online for helping me get this far.

I have got to join a gym, if for nothing other than my sanity. I quit the YMCA back in February because I was no longer able to work out or just didn’t feel like it honestly. It was a waste of money. I am thinking of joining the Leisure Center near our house. The only time convenient for me to go would be first thing in the morning. I am usually up around 5:00 anyways may as well sneak in a workout. The Leisure Center is substantially less expensive than the Y even if Austin & I both joined. As I always tell Austin exercise causes endorphins and endorphins make you happy. 

I’ll be glad when Campbell is 6 months old and can ride in the jogging stroller. I think it will be a fun activity for us to do together after work and by then the heat will have subsided hopefully.

Campbell is hard core teething. Wednesday and Thursday she proceeded to stick my chin in her mouth and chew on it. I thought she was being sweet and giving me sugar until she started grinding down with those gums. She is drooling like crazy and always has her hands in her mouth looking for relief.

It’s 23 more days until the start of football season and I couldn’t be more excited. I am only planning to go to a handful of games, but that’s cool. I look forward to snuggling on the couch with Campbell. I only hope one day she will love football as much as her mommy. I have no plans to go to any Clemson games this year. I think Austin is only planning on going to a few.

Campbell was awake for count it 5 ½ hours yesterday without a nap. She was surprisingly pleasant. She was awake from 2:00 until we put her to bed at 7:30.

Austin figured out how much money we would’ve spent on formula if I wasn’t breastfeeding. I think in a year we would’ve spent about $2600. I plan to pump for as long as my body allows. I know it’s the best thing for Campbell. The first goal was 6 months, now I am hoping for a year. We will see!

We have no plans this weekend other than church and I am beyond excited to do nothing.

Emma’s birthday is next week; I cannot believe our sweet girl will be 5 years old!

4 Months Old

Dear Campbell,

 

You are 4 months old today. We are having so much fun with you. You are an absolute delight and you are such a happy baby. You brighten Mommy and Daddy’s day so much. Here is the latest that is happening in your little world!

 

1.       4 month stats – 12 pounds doubled that birth weight by 4 months yay! Puts her at 25^th percentile. Length is 23 inches – 25^th percentile. She is still wearing some newborn attire, but we are quickly moving into 3 month outfits.

 

2.       She is now eating around 5 ounces a sitting. We have moved up the level 2 nipples. I have noticed Campbell chewing on the nipples recently. I think it helps with her teething pain. We are putting rice cereal in her morning bottle and sometimes her night bottle depending on how the rice cereal goes down in the evenings.

 

3.       She has been eating her rice cereal like a champ. She makes a huge mess and sometimes you can’t put the spoon in her mouth fast enough. She usually ends up wearing more that she actually eats I am getting ready to start her on baby food seems how she is doing so well with the rice cereal.

 

4.       We have our first case of the sniffles. We are using a humidifier and hoping it clears up on its own. We aren’t sure if it’s a cold or if she is an allergy sufferer like her mommy. One of our friends who is a nurse at our pediatrician’s office gave us some tips on how to get Campbell feeling better so we are trying those now.

 

5.       Campbell took her first dip in the pool and she loved it. We got the okay from Dr. D. to put sunscreen on her as long as it was Neutrogena or Banana Boat SPF50 and to not be out between 10 – 2. She had a blast swimming with the all of her cousins at Grammy’s & Granddaddy’s house.

 

6.       Wearing a size 1 diaper during the day and a size 2 at night. I read somewhere that if your baby is currently at a weight that is covered by two diaper sizes to put them in a larger one at night. We are on our last box of size 1 diapers and I think we are just going to go ahead and move up to 2s. We have a closet FULL of size 2 diapers so I figure we may as well go ahead and use what we have.

 

7.       She has started getting rolls on her legs and she loves to try and stand up like the big girl J

 

8.       No teeth yet. They have to be coming soon. She loves chewing on mommy’s fingers trying to soothe her gums.

 

9.       Campbell has rolled over a handful of times. I don’t think she is going to be a big roller just a thought. She is more interested in trying to sit and stand up.

 

 

10.   Campbell is started to outgrow her lamb chair. I had her in it while I was getting ready and her poor little feet were hanging off the edge. She tolerates the mamaroo and the swing. She loves to be up to see what is going on.

 

11.   Our house is filled with Campbell talking, squealing, and laughing and I absolutely love it. She has also started grabbing our faces when we kiss her and opening her mouth like she is trying to kiss back.  She also loves to pull mommy’s long hair when I get close enough.

 

12.   We’ve had a few issues with sleeping recently. I blame it on multiple things. Her 4 month shots where she ran a fever and overall didn’t feel well, teething, and her cold. She usually just wants her paci when she cries in the middle of the night but being woken up once or twice during the night isn’t fun. Campbell however is a great napper, she gives all the cues when she is ready to be put down. She rubs her eyes and starts getting fussy. She doesn’t need to be rocked to be put down but of course mommy enjoys it so we do.

 

13.   Campbell watches Emma A LOT. I feel like they watch each other a lot. I like to think they talk to each other in their secret language. Emma also kissed Campbell in the face repeatedly last week. She has only kissed her once before but it was on her toes. I think she knows Campbell has a cold and is trying to help her feel better. It scared my mama to death. She was worried that Emma would hurt Campbell, but I know she just wants to love on her.

 

14.   Campbell loves to be read to. Her favorite books these days are The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and The 3 Bears, & Guess How Much I Love You.

 

15.   Campbell loves bath time. We used to give her a bath every other day, but she loves it so much that we stared giving her a bath daily. Also with her eating rice cereal she needs a bath daily. I need to get her splashing around on video because it may be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

 

16.   While my Mama was holding Campbell this weekend, she reached for me. I think my heart grew a size.

 

That’s all I can think of right now. She is growing up so fast but thankfully loves to be snuggled. I think I did a good job of teaching her to be a snuggle bug. Let’s see how long I can make that last!

 

One Year Ago...

It was one year ago today that we got this:

 It was just a normal Friday and I thought to myself I was supposed to get my monthly “friend” yesterday. I am very regular and it just seemed weird to me. I had just gone off of birth control on July 4^th so I highly doubted I was pregnant but figured I would take a test just to rule it out. We had our high school reunion the next day and I certainly didn’t want to be drinking alcohol if I was pregnant. I called Austin on the way home for lunch and told him I was going to run by CVS to pick up a couple of pregnancy tests. My mama was at the house, but I never let on what was going on. I went to the bathroom and proceeded to take the test and waited patiently for the results. The first one read positive, I was in disbelief. I showed Austin and I started crying I couldn’t believe this was really happening. Of course I proceeded to take about 20 tests before I went in to see the doctor. All positive! The funny thing is the week before we had our housewarming party and the following day I went to Zaxby’s and got fried pickles and a milkshake. I said this looks like something a pregnant woman would eat; little did I know that I definitely was. I always hoped and prayed that whenever we made the decision to try to have a baby that it would be easy and I think that’s an understatement for us. We are so very blessed to have such a little bundle of joy. I love being a mommy, no take that back I love being Campbell’s mommy. It’s amazing how much life has changed. This smiling face melts my heart to pieces.