Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Isabelle: 3 Months!

Dear Izzers,
 
We made it to 3 months!  And that was the magic number we were looking forward to because that is when colic usually ends.  And you really have been a lot happier lately.  Still not the most content baby ever, but you are consolable now and that is key!  If you are crying you will usually stop as soon as someone comes over and talks to you.  And you love when people hold you and walk around.  Addy was the same way as a baby.  As long as we're walking you're fine.  But if we try to sit down with you... out come the water works.  Sometimes I even nurse you while pacing around the house, because you scream if I sit down.  I certainly stay active with you as my baby ;)  You still love to be worn too, so I'll do that when I really need to get things done.  We use the Moby and the LilleBaby carrier.  You are fine with both.

We have started you on Zantac because you're crankiness at times seems as though it might be reflux related.  It's really hard to distinguish between reflux and gas pain, but we're taking measures to fix both.  It's hard to pinpoint if the Zantac is working or if you are just more pleasant because you're getting older.  But more pleasant you are and it is making life so much better for all of us.  Hearing you cry all of the time was heartbreaking and stressful.  I am so thankful that you seem more comfortable these days!

Big news for this past month was that you slept through the night for the first time!!
Here you are when you woke up in the morning... hair as wild as ever!

  Yup, on October  16th at Grandma D's house you slept from about 9:45PM-6:45AM!  And mommy actually slept too!  I woke up and was completely shocked when I looked at the clock!  I thought it was probably a fluke, but you have continued to sleep though the night occasionally and it is always fabulous!



On the nights that you don't sleep all the way until morning you are typically up once to eat and then you go back to bed.  There are still the occasional "party" nights where you are wide awake, but thank goodness they are few and far between.  You finally really know that night time = bedtime.  You have been going to bed at 8PM on the dot and waking up for the day anywhere between 6-8AM.  You have your 4oz bottle around 7:30PM and then you don't fight us when we lay you down for bed after that.  You go to sleep at night beautifully.  Naps are another story.  We are trying to get into the eat, activity, sleep schedule.  We are making progress, but you still nap much less than a typical infant and you often fight it and cry yourself to sleep.  I have found in the past few weeks that you like the swing in the basement and you take good naps in that.  For your morning nap I put you in your crib, but in the afternoon I put you in the swing so that you don't wake your sisters up from their naps when you cry.  It's all still a work in progress, but we're finally falling into some semblance of a routine.

Eating...yeah, still not a lot of improvement there.  You are just not latching on right, to breast or bottle.  Therefore you swallow lots of air and get so uncomfortable.  You cry after almost every time you eat and that is pitiful.  Luckily you are a good burper and that usually helps.  We contacted Early Intervention and are actually going to be getting an Occupational Therapist to work with you on your suck/swallow.  We called them to see if you qualified for PT services based on your hip dysplagia, which you didn't.  But then they watched you drink a bottle and you qualified for OT based on how inefficiently you eat.   We are going to see a craniosacral therapist too (based on the recommendation of lactation consultants).  I had never even heard of Early Intervention or craniosacral therapy before you came along ;).  You have been to more appointments in your 3 months of life than Addy and Emma have combined since they were born!  I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, you are keeping us on our toes and securing your spot as the youngest in this family ;)

Something that hasn't helped matters much this month in regards to feeding is that you have had 3 colds in 4 weeks!  It seems like you will be well for a few days and then get sick again.  Such is life with older siblings I suppose.  But you have a terrible cough right now and that has affected your sleeping this past week too.  You've been up twice a night instead of once.  At least, I'm hoping that's only happening because you're sick ;)  At least you now will consistently nurse at night.  No more pumping and then giving you a bottle in the wee hours of the morning.  And for that I am VERY thankful.  Nursing is so much easier, faster, and more efficient.  All of which are key in the middle of the night.  During the day it's hit or miss on whether or not you'll nurse.  Some days you do great and we nurse all day, giving you just that one 4 oz bottle before bed.  Other days it's pumping and bottles all day because you flat out refuse to nurse.  But I am thankful for consistent night time nursing (and I'm sure Daddy is too!).

We also are trying to work on getting you to take more at a time.  You are such a little peanut and we need to beef you up!  We make your bottles 3-4 oz during the day every 3-4 hours and sometimes I feel like I'm force feeding you.  You really act like you could be done after 2 oz!  But your weight has never been quite where it should be, so we make you take at least 3 oz.  And you often only nurse for 5 minutes at a time, which I'm convinced can't be enough.  Feeding you in any fashion is exhausting little lady, it truly is.

Anyway, enough about the feeding woes.  Good news is that your most recent hip ultrasound was MUCH improved from your initial one, so you'll be getting rid of our pal "bracie" in a few short weeks!  And I think that will help your general demeanor as well.  The older you get, the more convinced Daddy and I are that you HATE your brace.  You are so happy during that measly little hour per day that it's off and you cry when we put it back on :(  But I'm thankful that you are so little so you won't remember any of this craziness.  Daddy and I will, ha ha, but you will not.

Even if you are super cranky, when we take your brace off you calm down.  I managed to get some videos one day:





We're trying to figure out what color your eyes will be and Daddy thinks they might be blue.  I'm going with hazel.  As for right now they are still that baby grey.  You continue to love lying under your activity mat and I can often get a good 15 minute of peace with you under there, smiling away.  And smile you do!  You have the sweetest little smile and have been smiling at us a lot lately.  Especially at Addy and Emma.  You adore your big sisters and they adore you.  I love, love, love watching the interactions between you three :)



Smiley lady:


And a video for good measure:

I love that you intersperse your signature furrowed brow in between smiles ;)


A couple of other random notes:

-You have started watching TV.  No joke, if a cartoon is on, you will watch it.  I try not to let that happen a whole lot, because it can't be good to have an infant watching TV, but occasionally I'll catch you vegging out in front of the TV ;)

-You have started drooling.  You're not much of a spitter upper, so you haven't had to live in bibs like Addy did, but since the drooling has begun we've been using bibs more and more.

-This past month you've also found your hands and you like to examine them every once in awhile.  Not with the same intensity that Addy used to (I don't think anyone could match her intensity), but you have found them just the same.

-We do tummy time every once in awhile while you are brace free.  You don't love it, but you'll last a minute or two.  This video that I got is the longest that you've ever done tummy time.  You loved having your sisters down there with you...despite the fact that they were in your face as always.  You've gotten used to it I suppose.



-And last but not least, that hair of yours is as wild as ever!  It's gotten a lot lighter; it's definitely light brown, but it sticks STRAIGHT up in the air and the back swoops up and back like an ocean wave.  I just love it and I love the comments that you get from people about your hair :)

A hair video:



So there is your third month Izzy Leigh.  No pediatrician appointments this month (don't worry you made up for it with a plethora of other appointments), so there are no height and weight stats to report.  But you are still pretty small, and I'm worried that at your 4 month appointment they'll tell me that you still haven't gained enough.  We're doing the best we can to beef you up, so we'll see.

Here are some pics from this past month:
I have a picture of all three of you girls in this shirt as a baby.  Let me dig them out...


Here's Addy:

And Emma:


So who do you look like???  I really can't tell.


 Here we are post-bath.  Yup, we do in fact comb your hair down.  It just doesn't stay that way ;)


You randomly found your thumb one day, but haven't done it again since.  It hasn't been for lack of trying though.  The fist yes, thumb no.  You will be so much more content when you get get that thumb in your mouth.


You and your pal Elliot



Happy Halloween!  (And there is your brace poking out of your jack-o-lantern outfit)

Speaking of Halloween...

You were a lobster in a pot!  The lobster outfit I found at a consignment sale and then Daddy suggested we stick you in a pot.  I did not think you would fit, but without your brace you are tiny!  And you even liked it!  (Or maybe you just liked being brace-free!)


Lobster is ready to serve!


You're cooked!  Yes, you fell asleep in the pot!  It was unreal.  People kept asking if you were a real baby in there!


How darn adorable are you?  Your bib tells it right, you are one cute chick!

  Whew, that was a lot of pics and videos!  Just a few more photos from your three month birthday:


Love this face!




Happy 3 Months Isabelle!  Every day is getting better and better, and despite all of the hurdles that you are facing in your young life, you're handling everything like a champ.  You will be our toughest girl yet, just watch!  We love you so much Izzers!

Love,

Mommy