Elle is 8 Months Old (and a week)

Elle turned 8 months old last Saturday, July 10, and I have been very busy these last two weeks and have not had a chance to do a monthly update.

Here are Elle's 8 months stats (taken at home):
Weight: 15lbs 15 oz
Height: 26.25 inches

Clothes: 3-6 and 6-9 month sizes
Diapers: size 2 during the day, size 3 for overnight

Teeth: NONE
Food: 4 bottles a day (6 oz each), all formula. We stopped breastfeeding at about 7.5 months and the transition has gone well.
1-2 meals a day of baby food (purees, either homemade or jarred), 1 serving of rice cereal a day. Elle snacks on Puffs now and eats what she can from our plates. She loves to eat!! She also eats baby yogurt some days.

Milestones: Gets up on all fours, and pushes up on her feet, in a 'downward dog' type move. Rocks back and forth, jumps legs off the ground, can move backwards but not forward yet. No words, Elle is not a very vocal baby. She does click her tongue now though, it's super cute. She loves her feet and is always putting her left big toe into her mouth. Sleeps great, 3 naps a day, 1.5-2.5 hours each and through the night.

I love Elle more and more everyday. She makes me smile all day long. She is laughing out loud more and more which excites me so much. I love knowing she is such a happy girl. She is very interested in her toys and loves to be read to. She stares at the books and seems to be following along. She can get her toy "Violet" to turn on and play music all by herself.

I cannot believe she is already 8 months old, time is going so quickly. I am so lucky to be able to spend so much time with her. I am thankful that I don't have to work everyday and she can be with me. She is such a sweet girl, I can't even imagine my life without her.

I need advice! Traveling with Elle

This is going to be quick and I am really hoping for a few responses....

We are taking the family to Disney World in August for Brother's 5th Birthday.
I am a little hesitant on taking Elle since she is still so little, but we decided we would rather have her with us, so she is coming.

My question is....what should I plan on using to transport her through this magical world? I have the baby bjorn but she is already starting to feel heavy in that after about 15 minutes, so I don't think that is the best option. Small stroller? Another type of baby carrier?

Any suggestions are VERY appreciated! Even if they don't have to do with transporting Elle through the parks. Any Disney advice or general travel advice would be great!! Thanks in advance.

Summer Fun

Auntie Alison and her boyfriend Chris came in for the weekend, as did Uncle Kevin and Kristin. We spent a lot of time at Grammy and Grandpas and had a great time! It was sunny and beautiful! We got Elle a $5 pool from Target and she loved it! Brother also loved it.

Elle and Grammy (looking like Captain Jack Sparrow, trying to protect her hair from the sun)


Elle and Uncle Kevi reading


Elle in the pool


Elle in her life jacket....we almost peed our pants trying to get her into it for a boat ride and decided she looked WAY too uncomfortable and took it off almost immediately.



Elle and Auntie Al


My water baby

Greenfield Village

We took Elle to Greenfield Village for the first time today. This is one of her brothers favorite places to go, and he has been asking to go for a few weeks so today was the day! Brothers favorite thing to do at Greenfield Village is ride the train. So of course that was the first thing we did. Elle smiled the WHOLE time and really seemed to like it! She was adorable. After the train ride we walked around a bit, went for a ride on a Model T car and then headed to dinner. It was hot today, so an hour or so outside was all any of us could handle.

Elle loves the wagon!

Brother was out riding his bike the other day and Elle and I were outside watching him when I decided to give her a whirl in the wagon. It was brother's when he was young, and I wasn't sure if Elle was ready for it yet, but she seemed to love it! I buckled her in and she did a great job of sitting up well and not toppling over! Of course once we got going Brother ditched his bike and jumped in. It is tough pulling two kids in a wagon!! I think it was sort of a workout.

Happy Father's Day 2010

We celebrated Father's Day this year by going to lunch at my Aunt and Uncles house. My parents, lots of aunts, uncles and cousins were there, as well as my Grandpa. It was a beautiful day and it was great to be with my family. Here are some pictures from a wonderful Father's Day. I am so lucky to have my dad and such a great dad for my kids as well.

Elle is 7 months old

Elle is 7 months old and is awesome!
Here is what she is up to:

*Breastfeeding 2 times a day (morning and night)
*Bottles of formula 2 times a day
*Rice cereal and solids once a day, sometimes twice
*Size 2 diapers
*Size 6-9 month clothing
*Rolling both ways
*Pushing up and trying to crawl
*Scooting backwards on the floor
*3 naps a day
*Sleeping 11-12 hours a night
*Loves bathtime! Loves rolling over onto her belly and splashing around in the tub
*STILL sleeping in the pack'n'play in our room at night (I know...this is bad, but at least she is napping and going to bed in her crib, I just grab her and bring her upstairs when I go to bed)
*Loves to play with her toys
*Loves the ABC song
*Loves playing with her feet

Video of Elle laughing

This is a video from today when I was trying to get some cute shots of her. She wasn't too interested in getting her picture taken but had a ball laughing at me! She was cracking me up, she is so so so cute when she laughs!!

Losing Motivation

Not sure what is going on with me but I am losing motivation for keeping up this blog. Ever since my trip last month I have had a hard time getting back into the swing of things. I have not gotten online very much and am trying to focus on things in the real world, rather than the online world. Although things in the real world aren't that great, they are reality and I need to focus on that. Right?

Elle is perfect and makes me smile every day. She is growing up before my eyes and that is amazing. She is trying so hard to crawl, she looks like an inch worm on the floor. She is really enjoying food and all the different tastes she experiences. She makes me feel SO guilty when I eat or drink around her. She is so engrossed in what I have, she acts like I am starving her!! She looks like a baby bird anytime she is around food, ours or hers. Her mouth is wide open, looking like she is hoping for something to fall right in!

Tomorrow Elle will be 7 months. I will give a 7 month review, touching on all her milestones and include some pictures.

Busy Busy Busy

I have been so busy the last few weeks. I went to Vegas for a long weekend and have been trying to catch up ever since!!!

Elle is doing great, I think she is in a major growth spurt. Her schedule is way off, her naps are very sporadic and she is wanting to eat all the time! We are starting so supplement more and more with formula, and it is really a nice break for me.

Her are some cute recent pictures:






Sorry I have been MIA...I am back in the game now :)

Elle's 6 month stats

Elle had her 6 month check up on May 18. Everything looked great. She is 14 lbs 13 oz and 25 inches long. 25th percentile, my little peanut :)

Elle is 6 Month's Old

Elle has been in our lives for 6 months. I couldn't be happier. Here are some 6 months stats for little baby Elle:

-Breastfed 4 times a day, every 4 hours
-Sleeps through the night, approximately 10 hours (in our room, for at least a few more nights)
-3 naps a day (after each feeding), 1.5-3 hours each (in her crib)
-Rice cereal once a day
-Just started sweet potatoes two days ago, so far so good. Once a day, mixed with rice cereal
-Wearing 3-6 month clothes
-Rolls back to belly (to the left)
-Rolls belly to back (first time yesterday)
-Sits unassisted but supervised
-Loves to stand on laps
-Just started being interested in her toys
-Loves her jumperoo and her feet finally touch the floor
-Loves her walker and can scoot an inch or two on the kitchen floor
-Enjoys being read to
-Size 1-2 diapers (Pampers Swaddlers)

Her appointment is next week, at that time we will know her weight, height and head measurements. She will also get her shots :(

I love love love this baby. She is a complete joy to be around. She smiles first thing in the morning and doesn't stop all day. The look of joy on her face when she sees me just melts my heart. I can't believe how fast she is growing and how much she is changing. Half of a year old...that is nuts. Love you SO MUCH Ellie!!

Mother's Day

Today is Mothers Day. My first Mother's Day with my own baby. We have celebrated Mother's Day in past years with Dad and Brother, but this is my first year to celebrate on Mother's Day with a biological child. It was wonderful.

Brother gave me a card on Friday while he was here and a few gifts. He also gave me a card from Elle, a very sweet First Mother's Day card, it made me cry. I am so happy to be a mother and I am so happy to have such a wonderful family.

Dad got up with Elle this morning and let me sleep in. Too bad I was too excited to sleep in! I was like a kid on Christmas, and I am not even sure why. I just couldn't sleep in, I wanted to get up and start MY day!!

We got up, had our coffee, packed up and went up to my parents house. We had some mimosas when we got there (yum) and headed out to brunch. We had a great brunch, just the 5 of us.

When we got back to Grammy and Grandpas Elle fell asleep and so did Dad and I. It was great. I love naps. We got up around 3 and Elle ate at 4, then had some cereal and sweet potatoes (we just started sweet potatoes yesterday and she LOVES them...it is hilarious). Grandpa picked up some pizza and we enjoyed a casual dinner before heading home.

We are home now and I am getting ready for a foot and back rub....oh man this is going to be great. I love Mother's Day!!

All in all it was a wonderful day and I am so glad I have Elle. I am so proud of her and so happy to be her mom. Being a mother makes me really appreciate my own mother. I am glad I was able to spend the day with her as well.






Tomorrow Elle will be 6 months old. I can't believe how fast these months have gone.

That's More Like It

OK so Elle is pretty much back to normal on her sleep schedule today.

That's my girl.

Elle....why do you hate naps??

Hmmmm.....Elle will be 6 months in 5 days, and so far things have been so good!!
She naps 3 times a day and sleeps through the night.

Until yesterday apparently.....

Dad had to work all day and night so it was just me. I didn't work yesterday so we had the whole day together. Typically her first nap is at 9:30am and this one went normally. Down by 9:30, up about 11:15am. I fed her a bit early and we went out and met Daddy for lunch. When we got home she should have slept. Well that didn't happen. As soon as I put her down in her crib she started to cry....and didn't stop until I got her out. I tried to rock her to sleep and she just cried...until I sat her up. Once she was upright and looking around she was fine. OK, I thought, maybe she just isn't tired yet. I let her play for about 15 minutes then tried again to put her down. Same thing, lots of crying (this is a baby who truly rarely cries...I am not kidding, so this is so odd to me). I sort of have a rule about naps and bedtimes, once she is in her crib I try really hard not to pick her up. Well yesterday I had to throw that out the window. She seriously had no interest in being in her crib and it was heartbreaking hearing her cry. I grabbed her again, tried again to hold her, rock her and put her to sleep. No luck. At this point we were approaching her feeding time so I decided to just feed her, and hope she wanted to sleep once her belly was full.
FAIL! She ate, and wanted to play. So I read to her, played with her, sang to her, the usual things we do while she is awake. I just decided to move forward with our day, as usual. Once it came time for her last nap, the same thing happened. She cried a lot, although she was showing signs of being tired she wouldn't lay down. Every time I put her in her crib she would roll over, lift herself up and look around. She would not put her head down and would not go to sleep. I gave her some time and nothing changed. I pulled her out, gave her a bath, rubbed her nighttime lotion on her and swaddled her up. I put her in her swing and hoped for the best. She hasn't been swaddled in forever and hasn't been in her swing for a nap for even longer. I was at my wits end. I know days like this are totally normal and I am sure she was in some sort of growth spurt, but it was just hard because it was me all alone all day with her. After about 15 minutes she fell asleep in the swing. SCORE!!! This was probably about 5:45pm. We had been trying to take a nap for about 4 hours. What an afternoon!! I was having a friend over to watch LOST and Elle slept the whole time she was here. She slept through her last feeding (usually 8pm-ish), and I just let her go. I figured she needed it. I got her up at 11pm when I went to bed, fed her and she went right back down.

She slept until about 7:30am, which is becoming the norm for her. So now here we are....today was very similar to yesterday. I had to work so I knew she would be a little off, but I expected better than what I got. She slept in the car on the way to work for probably 30 minutes (8:45am-9:15am). She didn't sleep again until after 2pm, and once again she only slept for about 30 minutes!! (Again, we were in the car, on our way home from dropping a friend at the airport). Once I got home she played with Daddy for a bit since he didn't get to see her yesterday. He tried to put her down for a nap and we had a repeat of yesterdays cry fest. I had a feeling she wasn't going to go down easy, it was almost time to eat. We decided to just let her stay up until her next nap, after her feeding. She ate at her usual time, played for a bit and when it was time to sleep just played in her crib. She managed to turn herself 180 degrees while in there. She wasn't crying this time (THANK GOD), but she also wasn't sleeping. I gave her about 30 minutes of play time in her crib before I grabbed her, stripped her and put her in the tub. I gave her a nice long bath, followed by her nighttime lotion and laid her back in her crib. Within 5 minutes she was asleep.

She went down about 6pm, let's see if tonight is a repeat of last night, where she just sleeps the rest of the day. If she does, that is fine. Maybe now that she is getting a bit older it is time to revisit her daily schedule. These past two days have definitely been different from what we are used to, but hey, this is motherhood....I have to learn to adapt.

It is hard looking back at the day and realizing so much time was spent TRYING to get her to sleep. These are times we could be playing, going for walks, reading, etc. I am going to really watch her over the next few days to see what she wants. Like I said, maybe she is growing and things will go back to normal, or maybe things are changing. Lots of babies take 2 naps a day, maybe Elle's time is here.

Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend was pretty uneventful. We had a beautiful day Friday, the temperature was in the 80's!! That is great for Michigan in April (or early May even). I headed into work and dropped Elle off at Grammy's. Dad and Brother were planning on coming up after school.

Work was normal. I got about half my work done before I had to head back to Grammy's for Elle's noon feeding. I got there and she was still napping. I helped my mom make lunch while we waited for Ellie to wake up. She started to stir and of course Grammy ran right in and got her up. Which was fine, she needed to eat anyway. We played for a minute then she ate. As soon as she was done the boys arrived.

We had lunch outside on the deck, and I actually got sweaty!! It was so nice to be out in the sun. Grandpa and I headed back to work after lunch to finish up and Grammy, Dad and Brother stayed and played.

When I got back from work Elle and Dad were napping and Brother and Grammy were playing on the beach. I met them down there and we did some exploring. We found some great pieces of sea glass for our collection. It was great. I can't wait for summer to really be here so we can swim, go on the boat and jet ski and just spend lots of time at Grammy and Grandpas!

We had to leave soon after Elle woke up because I had to pick up my friend Chrissy from the airport. Her grandmother had passed away early in the morning and she was flying in from NYC to be with her family for the viewings and funeral.

The airport pick up went well and we came home and had some wine while we visited. I talk to Chrissy almost everyday but it was still great to actually be together. She loved seeing Elle and was impressed by how much she has grown! She hasn't seen her in about 5 weeks and at this age, so much changes so fast.

Saturday was a lazy day. Laundry, cleaning up and playing. Brother had a friend over and that kept him occupied all day. I even had a chance to head out to Target. I seriously love that store.

I went through Elle's clothes and got all her 6-9 month clothes out and washed. It was so exciting to see all the cute stuff she has for summer! She has some super cute dresses, I can't wait for her to wear them all!

Today (Sunday) I got to sleep in! Well not really, but sort of. Elle woke up at 7am, which is odd for her. She usually sleeps until 8. We got up, played for a bit, then she ate. I was so tired...all I could think about was going back to sleep, so after she got done eating, I swaddled her up, put her back to bed and hoped for the best. Yeah right. She wasn't quite ready for her nap yet. So.....I got Dad up and asked him to take her so I could go back to sleep. AND HE DID!!!! What a guy!! I am seriously so lucky. He took care of Elle, and by this time Brother had gotten up as well, so he took care of him too. When Elle finally went down for her morning nap, Dad took Brother out to breakfast and left us to sleep. It was great! I finally got up at 10:45. That was amazing. AND they brought me french toast home!

I went to a bridal shower this afternoon that was really nice. It was a wine tasting and it was fun to get out of the house. I didn't know anyone except the bride-to-be but I didn't care. The food was good and I got wine!! Plus I thought it was exciting to see all the presents! It made me want all new stuff....I love Crate and Barrel!

Tonight we are going out for a BBQ and for the Wings game. I hope we win! I really, really hope we win.

All in all it was a great family weekend. I love it when the four of us are together and can just relax. I wish I had some pictures but the memory card is full and although all the pics are uploaded to my computer, they are not yet on Dad's so I can't delete any off the camera. Maybe I will ask for a new memory stick for Mother's Day.

I love Elle

I let Elle fall asleep on my chest tonight. I did it for me, not for her. I have not done that in a long time. Usually it's right into the crib at bedtime, but tonight I felt the need to hold her close. I sometimes take for granted how lucky I am to have Elle. There are people in this world who can't have babies and will never experience the joy that I feel every day being with Elle. There are parents in this world who lose their beloved children, and I could never imagine the horror of that. I hope and pray it is something I never have to experience.
I love you Elle. Thank you for making me a better person. And thanks for sleeping on me, it was great to spend that time watching you, listening to your sweet baby noises and cuddling. You are an excellent baby, I will always love you.

Here is a picture from when Elle was about 3 weeks old.

Go Red Wings!

A few of our favorite things.....the first 5 months

While I was pregnant I loved reading reviews of baby items but what I really loved was hearing what real, new moms loved for themselves and for their babies.

For the first 5 months, these are the things we have gotten the most use out of. Please note this list does not include everyday items such as onesies, diapers, wipes, clothes, changing pad, etc. that we of course love and need on a daily basis.

Infant car seat - We went with the Chicco Keyfit 30. The real selling point for us was the base. I know that sounds weird but the base for this seat doesn't use clips like other bases, it uses more of a trigger. Very easy to remove the base if needed. We found this seat was very comparable to the Graco SnugRide, which was the other seat we were considering. 5 months later and I am very happy with this seat. I have had to transfer the base to Grammy's car a few times and it was so easy to remove and reinstall. I love the bubble levels that show it is installed correctly. Elle loves this seat (as far as I can tell, she doesn't seem upset when she is in it), and although I know we will not keep her in it until she is 30 pounds like it allows, I think she will be in it for a while.
Here we are in the carseat leaving the hospital...she looks tiny!!!


Swing - Fisher Price Papasan Cradle Swing - My Little Lamb. This swing was recommended to us by our neighbor, they swore by it and said their baby loved it. I checked it out and thought not only that it was adorable, but that it looked so cozy! We got it as a shower gift and it was easy to put together. Elle LOVES this swing. She napped in it a lot her first 3 months and still enjoys laying in it. At about her 4th month she started to notice herself in the mirror overhead and the mobile. She babbles a lot while in the swing. The only negative about this is the size. It is a full size swing and takes up a lot of space.


Playard - Graco Pack'n'Play with newborn napper - We have used this everyday since Elle came home. It is in our room and Elle sleeps in it every night. She goes to bed in her crib but I bring her upstairs when I go to bed. She slept in the newborn napper until she could roll over. Now she sleeps in the bassinet part, but not for long, there is a 15 lb limit. I love the changing table that is attached, it is so convenient. It is so nice to have in our room and we use it a lot. Not going to lie, sometimes it is just a catch all for books, extra blankets and toys, but it gets a lot of use as a changing table as well. Even when Elle moves to her room permanently I think we will still use this. We even took it up north with us and used it in the hotel as her crib. It is easy to put up and take down. It came with a music box and a vibrating unit that goes under the mattress but we have not used either of these features.


Playtex Original Drop-In's bottle system - Although Elle is breastfed we registered for bottles knowing they would come in handy at some point. She doesn't get bottles often but when she does, these are the bottles we use. So far we really like them. We had some trial and error with the nipples at first, and settled on the latex nipples. She really fiddled with the silicone nipples and after a few times of this we decided to try another nipple. The nice thing about the starter set is it comes with a variety of nipples. She really took the the latex nipple a lot better. After about 2 months we actually switched her to the fast flow and she has been great at taking a bottle when needed since then. I really like the liners and how easy they are to dispose of. It makes it really easy if we are on the go. No bottles to clean, although you still need to clean the nipples. The one negative about the latex nipple is it is not as strong as the silicone and can only be hand washed. Annoying but tolerable. We picked up some extras and are all good. I don't have any pictures of Elle being bottle fed, sorry :(

Carrier - Baby Bjorn - We registered for this and I really wanted it. Dad didn't really see the purpose so we didn't run out and get it. I saw it on sale at Target one day and decided to pick it up. I am so glad I have it! I don't use it as often as some moms do, but it really comes in handy. I have used it for shopping a few times, for walks around the block, for lots of different types of outings and even just around the house. So far I haven't really had any problems with it or experienced any pain. I always put a burp cloth around where her mouth touches since she love to lick anything in sight, this cuts down on it getting soaking wet. She faced in for the first few months but now likes to face out, especially is she is going to be awake.


Bumbo - We got the Bumbo for Elle when she was almost 3 months old. From the beginning she has had a lot of head and neck support and we felt the Bumbo was something we could all benefit from. Elle enjoys a few minutes of independence and we enjoy having our hands for a few minutes. When we first got it she would last maybe a minute in there. Now that she is older she can stay in her bumbo for as long as we will let her. We got the tray to go with it and throw some toys on there and she entertains herself for a while. She also enjoys eating it. I have friends that use the bumbo as a highchair and feed their son in it. I don't know that we will do that but it gives it another use. Its lightweight and easy to transport, we take it with us a lot when we go visit family.


High Chair - Fisher Price Space Saver- I really love this highchair because it is easy to use, easy to clean and it doesn't take up a lot of space. It attaches to one of our chairs and that is the number one reason I picked out this chair. Now that we have it I know a little more about it and realize it has a lot of good qualities. It is plastic so very easy to wipe down. The tray is easy to clean and dishwasher safe. It is easy to adjust the chair (it reclines) and the tray. We got this out when Elle was a little over 4 months old. We would put her in it during dinner time so she could get accustomed to being in her chair. She wasn't eating solids yet but we would put some toys on her tray and she never fussed. When we started her on solids it was great that she had already been in the seat a few times and didn't seem freaked out or uncomfortable being in the chair. The only negative I have is that after having the same generic pattern forever, they recently came out with a more feminine version in brown and fuchsia. I wish we had that one, but it doesn't really matter.


Here we are at our first family dinner with all of us around the table!


Stroller - Combi Cosmo EX -


We didn't register for a travel system, we have a great Jeep stroller from when Brother was younger so I didn't see the need for another full size stroller. We registered for this more compact stroller and I love it!! I love having it, it is so much smaller than the Jeep stroller but it isn't rickety or hard to maneuver. It is great for the mall and places with crowds where the Jeep feels like a monster. It is easy to get Elle in and out and it reclines well and is easy to fold and unfold. I am really glad we have this stroller. We started using it right around 4 months.


Bath time - We registered for the Summer Infant Mother's Touch Large Comfort Bather and got it.

Before even giving Elle her first bath one of my other new mom friends dropped this little thing off:

I was a little confused at first by this sponge but when it came time to give Elle her first bath (in the sink) I used this and loved it! It really protected her from the hard, coldness of the stainless sink and kept her in place. She fit great on it and really seemed to like the bath experience. We have continued to use this sponge even though we are graduated to the real bathtub now. She has grown a lot and probably is too big for this but I really like the convenience of it. I use the bath chair that we got to drape her towel over and sit her in before and after the bath. I am going to recommend this sponge to all future pregnant friends that ask for an opinion. I never would have looked twice at this but am so glad it was given to us.

These are some of our favorite things. I know it is a given that you will need most of these things, I just wanted to offer some insight from a first time mom on some of the pro's and con's.

Cereal

We started Elle on rice cereal today. She is 5 months 2 weeks old. Our pediatrician gave us the go ahead on solids at her 4 month appointment, but she was doing so well we weren't in a rush to change things. Our pediatrician was OK with that but suggested that we try something before her 6 month appointment.

Elle is still doing great. Eating 4 times a day and taking 3 naps. She eats every 4 hours, around 8am, 12pm, 4pm and 8pm, then heads to bed for the night. She is such a good eater and sleeper I was not in a rush to start her on solids. Lots of people start their babies on solids in hopes of getting more sleep from them, and we are so lucky that Elle is a good sleeper it wasn't a concern for us.

We decided that today would be a good day to try rice cereal. Dad and I are both home, we have nothing going on the rest of the weekend and can really focus on this milestone together. Although the cereal is very mild, there is a risk that it won't agree with her.

We fed her after her 12pm feeding, that way if there is a reaction we have all day to take care of it. She sat in her highchair and took the cereal like a champ!! She loves herself some food!! Always been happy during feedings and this was no exception. We mixed the cereal with breastmilk and although it took a couple tries for her to understand the spoon going in her mouth, once she realized she needed to open wide it was smooth sailing!!

I am so proud of her and actually cried a little after we put her down for her nap. She is just growing up so fast. She is eating cereal!!! This is a big deal! She can roll over, sit up for short periods of time, fall asleep on her own and now cereal. She is practically in college! Just kidding. But seriously, she is not a newborn anymore. It makes me so happy that she is a healthy, happy baby, but also a little sad. Oh well, this is what happens. Babies grow up. I am just so glad I am here to be a part of it. It is amazing to see her change and accomplish these things right before my eyes. Love you Ellie Belly.