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

Isabelle: 2 Months!

Dear Belle Belle Lady,

Whew, we made it through month 2!  Things have gotten slightly easier, but you certainly like to keep us on our toes!  This month you were diagnosed with hip dysplagia and you need to wear a Pavlik harness 23 hours a day.  It's not something that any parent wants for their child, but Daddy and I remind ourselves that it could be much, much worse.  The harness Velcros in place and we can take it off at night for baths (which you love!).  It's a pain changing your diaper with the harness on, but we've gotten used to it, and you don't seem to mind wearing it, so it is what it is.  We're not sure at this point how long you will need it.

The day you got your harness

Now, all of that being said, your one hour of "bracie-free" time a day is your favorite time.  You almost never cry, and you seem so relaxed.  We do that hour at night, before and during bath time, and even if you were a cranky mess prior to this time, you are so content during that hour.  I will be interested to see if your general demeanor changes at all once the brace is off.  

Your general demeanor, I hate to say, is cranky.  You are just not content with much.  You love to be held, but only if your holder is walking around.  You hate to be stationary, and you let that be known with your wails.  Aunt Tina termed your crazy cry "the machine gun".  I wish I had that on video (or at least audio) because it is intense... and kind of comical ;)  You never fail to let us know when life isn't suiting you.  When we drive in the car, you are OK unless we stop, or even slow down.  Then the machine gun begins.  "KEEP MOVING!",  you are shouting.  In general, you hate the car seat.  We can't figure that out, because it seems so comfy, but you scream every time we put you in it.

I am happy to report, however, that in your second month of life we have found some things that you like, which is lifesaving for our sanity.  You love, love, love the Moby wrap.  If you are snuggled in close to me, life is good (as long as I am moving).

We try hard with pacifiers, and you will occasionally take them if you are being held and you're tired, but that's about it.

You also have really taken a liking to our pal the activity mat.  That has been one of our favorite pieces of baby gear for all three of you girls.  By month two all three of you have loved lying under there.  You try to grab the toys, but we're not quite there yet.  You will sometimes occasionally bat one, and it always startles you :)

You also now like your mobile in the crib, and that will buy me 5 minutes or so to get something done if needed.  I remember Addy always loved her "morning mobile time" and you are following suit.  Sit you up in the boppy to let your food settle (we'll talk about that too) and watch the mobile for a few minutes and you're usually pretty content.

You still really enjoy lying on your changing mat too.  And it's pretty nice since you can't roll over yet, so we can just let you hang out there for awhile.

You have found your hands and you try hard to suck on them, but your haven't quite figured your thumb out yet.  You randomly found your thumb a time or two and LOVED it, but for the most part  you just ferociously suck on your fists.  And this usually occurs after you eat, as opposed to before, which left me thinking your were still hungry.  But I have since discovered it is just a soothing mechanism for you and it doesn't mean you are still hungry.  Because if I try to feed you any more while you are attacking your fists you scream and turn away.  

And speaking of feeding...sigh.  Feeding you is nothing short of exhausting.  I imagined that I would nurse you as I did your sisters with minimal, if any problems.  I should be a pro by now, right?  Well, you have shown me that "pro" or not, breastfeeding is NOT always easy.  And it is downright difficult with you.  You cannot seem to latch on right and therefore you swallow TONS of air while you eat.  You make that clicking noise with every suck which means you are swallowing air.  So I have been going to a breastfeeding support group, which is helpful, but certainly hasn't fixed anything.  You only transfer about 2 oz of milk at a time when you nurse.  ( I know this because at the groups we weigh the babies before and after eating.)  And you aren't much better with the bottle.  We can usually get you to eat 2.5-3oz, but you're still clicking away and swallowing tons of air.  So...

I did my research and discovered that you had a lip and tongue tie.  So we went to a plastic surgeon that came well recommended for infant lip and tongue tie revisions and he cauterized them.  I admit that I was hoping for a miracle with this.  I was hoping for more efficient eating and less gas and a happier baby.  That's not asking too much is it?  Ha ha.  Well, the revision was only a week before you turned two months, so it's still early post-revision, but unfortunately I haven't noticed a whole lot of improvement yet.  At this point I am almost exclusively pumping and giving you milk via the bottle.  And if I'm being honest, that is a HUGE pain in the butt.  Because I have to find the time to pump (usually with you screaming and your sisters getting into mischief) and then wash all of the pump parts, and then feed you the bottle, and then wash that.  It's a lot of extra steps and extra time (that I DON'T have)  that could be avoided if you would just be able to nurse effectively.  So we will keep working on it.  Some people wonder why I don't just give up on nursing.  Well, here is the thing: you are just as uncomfortable with the bottle.  If you ate from the bottle without swallowing tons of air and you were content after eating that way, then maybe I would give up on nursing.  But you don't and you aren't.  So I figure I might as well keep trying to fix the nursing issues in hopes that someday you will do what is easiest and best for both of us.  

Something that has not helped with your eating situation is the fact that you got your first cold at 7 weeks of life.  The same thing happened to Emma as a baby.  She was sick more often than she wasn't in her first 6 months.  Such is life with older siblings I suppose.  But with your cold you pretty much flat out refused to nurse, screaming every time I tried.  And then you were fussy with bottles too, but at least we could get you to drink them.

At your two month doctor visit you got a series of vaccines (3 shots, one oral), and you took them like a champ.  You screamed of course, but didn't seem any worse for the wear afterwards.  No additional crankiness that I noticed.  Now that being said, I did keep your brace off for most of the day so that you could move your legs around (since you get your shots in your legs), so I'm sure you loved that :)

Here are your two month stats:

Weight: 10lbs 13oz (37th percentile)

Length: 23 inches (74th percentile)

Head Circumference: 40.5cm (97th percentile)

Your weight is still not exactly where they want it, but you are gaining better now than you did in your first month of life.  Probably because you are crying slightly less, but you still hardly sleep during the day!  You are sleeping better at night, but napping is at times almost nonexistent.  So you are still expending lots of calories, making it harder to gain weight.  The doctor prescribed Zantac, just in case you have reflux that is bothering you.  You are always so fussy after eating so we're going to give it a try.  I have a hunch though that it's gas and not reflux that's bothering you.  We will see if this Zantac seems to help anything.

So sleeping.... it's getting better!  I wouldn't say that we have a "schedule" at this point, but we're getting there.  We usually put you to bed between 9-10PM and that becomes your longest stretch of sleep.  You will often sleep until about 2-3AM and then eat, and then... who knows.  Sometimes you go back to sleep within 30 minutes, other times you decide to stay awake for hours.  We never quite know what we're going to get.  It's tiring for sure, and Daddy and I now know what sleep deprivation is really like, but you are improving, so we are thankful for that.  I think you are starting to figure out that night time is for sleeping, so whenever you eat and go right back to sleep I do a little silent cheer that we are moving in the right direction.

And when you sleep well at night you are so much happier!  Imagine that.  Daddy and I always tell you that if you would just sleep, life would be a whole lot more pleasant.  By the end of the day, you have often only taken 2 20 minute naps and you are a MESS!  But we dusted off the old "Babywise" book that we used to sleep train your sisters and we're going to start implementing some of the tactics with you in hopes that more sleep = happier Izzy.

Now that I've made you sound like you are totally miserable, let me clarify that you really are happier than you were last month.  You make a few happy little noises now and then and you have started smiling responsively to us.  It is THE BEST!  And you are so. darn. cute!

I adore this picture...check out that hair!

Izzy Leigh, your hair is unreal!  It is ALWAYS the first thing people comment on when they see you.  "She has sooooo much hair!"  "Wow look at the volume on her hair".  It's so true.  Your hair truly cracks me up.  There is no taming that mane, and it's only gotten higher and crazier as time goes on!

Here you are at the beginning of your second month.  Kinda wild in the back but not too bad....

And then by the end of your second month we have this...

"Yikes!  Is that what my hair looks like?"  Yes, it is wild, and we LOVE it!  Your hair totally suits you Izzers :)

Now, the big debate.  Who do you look like?  To be honest, I think you look like...you.  I dont' see me or Daddy or Addy or Emma.  But we hear from different people that you look like all four of us.  The thing we hear most often is that you look like Daddy and Addy.  I suppose I kind of see that, but Grandma with Kayla sent me this picture of me as a baby and I put it next to one of you....

Now maybe I'm seeing things, but I feel like we look alike!  Yes?  No?  Only time will tell.  For now your eyes are still "baby gray".  Maybe a hint of blue, but if I had to guess, I'd say you're going to end up with hazel eyes like Mommy and Emma.

And speaking of eyes... I cannot resist putting some pics of the "stink eye" that you give us from time to time.  You have the furrowed brow look down pat:

And then you crack the half smile.  It's like you're thinking, "Fine, I'll throw you a bone and give you a smile, but only a partial one."

This pic is one of my favorites... classic Izzy :)

Your sisters both still absolutely adore you!  I must admit I'm shocked that the novelty of having a "new baby sister" hasn't worn off yet.  But it hasn't.  They want to hold you and feed you and play with you all of the time.

And your sisters were so very "helpful" with getting your two month photos.  They tried to make you laugh, not realizing that you don't laugh yet.  But they tried and it was cute :)  

Well, there is your 2 month update Isabelle!  It has been a roller coaster, that's for sure, but we all love you to pieces!  We are even able to get out of the house as a family every now and again.  Here we are at the CV football game and this was our first family of five photo (other than your newborn pics):

Your face says it all!  You get showered with love every day.  Lots and lots of love.  Sometimes (most of the time) it's a little "in your face", and we are always reminding your sisters about personal space, but it's all in the name of love :)

Happy 2 months to our littlest lady.  We all love you so very much!

Love,

Mommy