One Year!!!

Well, we have a ONE-year-old!! I absolutely cannot believe it! I'm almost a full week behind posting this, but it still has not sunk in that we have a toddler! Word could not possibly describe how amazing this year has been and how much joy Caroline brings to our lives on a daily basis. She is the sweetest, silliest, smartest, and most beautiful one-year-old I know...perhaps I'm a bit biased =) Caroline is growing and showing off new tricks every day! Of course, every parent thinks their child is brilliant, however, I was just slightly proud when the doctor went on and on about all of her skills =) We are over the moon in love with our girl!

Sleeping:
This month has been SOO much better! She is only getting up once, around 4-5am and then going back down until around 6:30/7a. I'll take it!! Her naps are her typical 30ish minutes...oh well, just more time to play =)

Eating:
Still loves to eat! She has also become a little bird that likes to come steal your food if you are eating something without her...even if she JUST ate. Her favorites are any kind of fruit, peas, broccoli, and yogurt. She is still nursing and I'm not sure yet when we will stop.

Stats:
Long and lean!
Weight- 18.8lbs (30%- and actually down from last month, but she was undressed this time so who knows)
Height- 30" (80%)
Head circumference- I don't remember but I do know that it's 94th percentile!!! BIG HEAD lol (She gets it honest from both parents haha)

Milestones/New tricks: aka time to totally brag, so you can skip if you want, but I want to remember this!
Caroline has really picked up in her communication skills this month! I feel like she says a new word every day. Her current words are:
   Mama, dada, uh-oh, diaper (di-purrrr lol), that (dat), all done (ah-duh), Jack, and ball
She has really started signing a lot more, recently. Her signing words are:
  All done, eat, more, please, and milk.

 She has picked up on more body parts this month, which is what the pediatrician was most impressed with and couldn't believe how many she knew. She knows and will point to:
   Head, hair, ears, eyes, mouth, teeth, tummy, foot and sometimes her knee and nose (those two are hit or miss lol)

 She has become super loving and will come and randomly give us hugs and kisses or will hug on her baby doll and stuffed animals. It is ADORABLE!

Caroline's favorite thing to do by far is read. The child will sit and read with you f.o.r.e.v.e.r! Which I am not complaining at all, I LOVE it and hope that she always has a love for reading. This month she has gotten really good at going to find specific books you ask for. She can do this for about 3-4 different books but I only got one on video because we stopped to read it, but seriously, for a one-year-old I thought this was pretty smart!

11 Months...

 What?! I feel like I JUST sat down to write up her 10-month post! I just refuse to believe we will have a one-year-old in a month. SLOW DOWN TIME! However, this month has be so awesome. We've had a few rough patches while cutting 4 (!) new teeth, two of which were molars(!!!), but other than that this has been a huge month in growth and development. Caroline is so much fun and just a complete joy to be around. This morning dropping her off at the church nursery they said "Oh, good it's Caroline! She's our easy baby!" and then picking her up another woman said "She is just so much fun and such a chill baby!" They couldn't be more right. We are so in love =)




Sleeping:
Eh. It's getting better. We had a ROUGH few weeks of getting back up 3-5 times minimum a night and that was no fun. It also made me so thankful that that isn't our norm anymore! We were planning on cutting a nap this month because she has really been fighting her morning nap, but I still think she needs that 20-30mins to get her to her afternoon nap. SO perhaps one nap only is in store for us soon. For most this is a big deal, but when your kids hardly naps in the first place, it's really no biggie lol.

Eating:
Still a great eater! She is still nursing 4 times a day and eat 3 solid meals and a snack or two thrown in the mix. She will eat most anything but really does not like green beans unless they are pureed and hates oatmeal. Her favorites are basically any fruit, peas, and avocado.

Stats:
Weight- 18lb 14oz WOOHOO!
Height- Not sure

Milestones/New Tricks:
 This has been a huge month in development for Caroline. She is walking everywhere (kinda sad), talking/babbling up a storm, and really showing a lot of cognitive skills that makes this teacher/mommy so happy =) It is so incredible to watch her learn something new and show off her new skills every day! I L.O.V.E it!!

• Walking all the time
• Can point to 4 body parts- Head, ear, tummy, and foot (The 'norm' at the 15 month check up is 1-3...so I'm pretty pumped that she does this so well-when she wants too lol- at 11 months)
• Follows directions pretty well (Can you bring that to mommy? Put it in the box, Sit down please, Can you find the..." etc. Random story with this one- last night I asked her to go find the giraffe, she walked across the room to her Noah's Ark, picked out the giraffe from all the animals and brought it to me. We cheered and went crazy. Then I asked her to go find the zebra. She walked back to the ark, picked out the zebra and brought it back...you would have thought she just solved a trig problem! We flipped out! Needless to say...we'll totally be those parents.
• She has picked up two more signs so  she now signs: All done, more, and milk. The other day she walked over to me and started signing milk. How cool that she is starting to really communicate with! 
  

 Randoms:

• Has started chasing the dogs. She loves it, they don't particularly like it, but they tolerate it haha.
• She has started telling us big stories in her own little language and apparently she's a comedian because she always laughs after she's done talking.
• She points.to.everything! "Dat?" is her favorite thing to say.
• LOVES to dance and will shake her booty to any tune!
• She's starting to show a more outgoing side, and music time she is typically right out in the center with all the big kids and just is so proud of herself that she just stands there and dances and smiles the whole time. She will also walk up to others and give a cute grin then come and find me.
• No one makes her laugh and smile like her daddy!

10 Months...

Time, slow the heck down!!! We just cannot believe that our girl is only TWO months from turning one. She is more and more like a little toddler and less than a baby every day and it makes for one sad momma! She is simply the sweetest baby on this planet! She is a goofball and a ham and we love it =) I really love that she seems to be a bit outgoing, at storytime and music class it is not unusual for her to be crawling around to everyone or in the center of the room just taking it all in. This has been a big month for fun new tricks including .:drumroll:. WALKING!...well, not really walking, but legitimate first steps were taken yesterday! I say legitimate because she has taken one step here and there, but I refused to count them as 'first steps' but yesterday she took 2-3 consecutive steps from the end table to the coffee table! Makes me nervous that in a few weeks we'll probably have a runner haha. We are head over heels in love with sweet Caroline and I'm just so blessed to be her mommy =)

Sleeping:
Pretty good. Here lately we've had a few nights of getting up several times, but I think it's yet ANOTHER tooth. Her naps are decent at best (30-45 min hahah). However, bad news...I think she is getting ready to drop her morning nap. Yes. She's 10 months old and may be down to ONE FREAKING NAP. I've done a lot of reading (surprise) on it and supposedly this isn't a super uncommon age to drop to one nap. She has really been fighting her morning naps lately and ends up taking a better afternoon nap when she does skip. Sooo...we'll see what happens with that. I'm certainly going to keep it as long as I can.

Eating:
Well, we are pretty much on all finger foods now! While it does make it easier for me to eat, it is a total mess sometimes lol. She's also much more picky with textures than I was expecting. One day she'll love something, the next day she'll spit it out and look at you like you just poisoned her. However, she really does like just about everything. The only thing she consistently spits out is green beans. She is still nursing 4-5 times a day on top of her 3 solid meals...yet, still as tiny as they come haha!

Stats:
Not sure





Milestones-

• FIRST STEPS!! Taken on the day she turned 10 months, 9/20
• She knows where her head is and tummy when asked
• Starting to blow kisses
• Points at everything and says "dat?" in a very high pitched, sweet voice ..aaadorable

 Randoms:

• Loves to mimic us and any time she hears someone cough, she must cough at least 10 times as much lol
• Makes the cutest scrunched up face when you tell her to show you her 'silly face'
• Will roll her arms during Wheels on the Bus
• LOVES book, especially lift-the-flap and touch and feel
• When she wakes up, she is UP. As in, she can be sound asleep then just pops up ready to go =)
• Absolutely loves to go outside and swing and will often stand at the door looking out the window until you take her out.
• Her hair has gotten much darker this month...will we end up with a brunette?! (it's still blonde, just a sandier blonde now)

9 months...

I can hardly believe it! Our girl turned 9-months-old on Monday! For some reason, this has been the hardest age to turn because I'm so sad to think she's so close to being one! This has been such an awesome month!! We are just so in love with her fun little personality! She is super smiley all the time and talks, talks, talks ...we love it! This has been a big month with first words and  lots of pulling up and cruising on furniture. She is such a sweet girl and are so very happy with our 9-month-old cutie!

Sleeping:
Sleeping has been the best it's been in a looong time! At the beginning of the month, we FINALLY broke down and let her cry-it-out some while she got used to being put down drowsy and not totally asleep. It was hard, but oh so worth it! She now goes down drowsy, without a single fuss and sleeps 7-6:30 with one feeding around 4am. SOOOO much better than being up 5-7 times (sometimes more) a night! Her napping...well, we're working on it. The pediatrician says we might just have to except the fact she's not a napper-booo. But, that just means extra playtime and cuddles with her sweet self!

Eating:
Caroline is still a great eater, but is starting to get a bit picky about pureed foods. She will eat just about any kind of finger food you put in front of her, which I am glad about, but I'd still like for her to take her pureed food for a little longer if possible. If not, I'm not worried, she does a great job with fruits and veggies and grains on her own! Little Miss Independent just things she is to big for baby food now =) She is nursing 4 times a day and eating 3 solid meals.  This month in finger foods she has tried: avocado, grapes (cut up really small), blueberries, cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, beets, zucchini, peaches, mango, pear, peas, green beans, meatball, cheese/cinnamon toast, and I'm sure more, I just can't think. Her favorites are diced peaches, grapes, avocado, and cheese toast.

Stats:
Weight- 16 lb 9 oz (22%)
Height- 27in (25%)
Head-17 in

Milestones-

• FIRST WORDS!!!- Dada was first, then Mama, and she has said "Ah-Da" (all done) while signing once. Exciting!
• Standing alone for a few seconds
• Got her 5th tooth

Randoms:

•  One of her favorite things to do is play peek-a-boo and she will try to hide behind everything and wait for you to say "Wheeere's Caroline?" ADORABLE
• Really loves splashing during bath time.
• Got her first cold this month
• Working on her 6th tooth
• Pulls her hair/pats her head while falling asleep
• Loves books, especially touch and feel or lift the flap books
• Thinks it's hilarious to get into the dog's bowls and even more hilarious when we tell her 'no'

8 months...

 

 Today miss Caroline is 8-months-old! This has been a big, big month for C! She had her first beach vacation, 4th of July celebration, started finger foods, and the biggest accomplishment CRAWLING! Caroline is simply the sweetest baby on this planet (not biased at all hehe). We are so very blessed to have this cute girl  =)

 Sleeping:
 We've had our ups and downs with sleeping this month. We've had a few nights of being up every hour, which are no fun. However, we are now on a new routine where I no longer nurse her to sleep. Now the routine is nurse, then bath, stories, rock/singing, bed. I thought that it would be really hard to break nursing to sleep at night, but nope. She's actually had three of her best nights the past three nights. We also switched to two naps this month which are hit or miss and typically a miss, but oh well.


Eating:
Caroline is a great eater! The big news on the eating front is that she is now eating some finger foods! She was constantly grabbing her spoon and trying to eat the food off of my plate so we started giving her some of her own finger food and she's done great with it! She's had waffles (wheat/egg/dairy/gluten free-they melt quickly), soft pieces of pear, peaches, plums, banana, and sweet potato, puffs, mum-mums, cinnamon toast, and cheerios. I was nervous that this would cause her to start refusing her pureed foods, but she is still eating those like a champ! More big news on eating is that we dropped a feeding and are now on a 4 hour schedule rather than a 3 hour...it is a.w.e.s.o.m.e!



Milestones:

• Clapping her hands (started while we were at the beach)
• Getting into a sitting position from laying down
• Pulls up on her own
• And the biggest..CRAWLING! (July 14)

Randoms/ Things to remember:

• She will "dance" and bounce when you tell her to bounce or play music
• She thinks sneezing and animal sounds are hilarious
• If you ask where someone (daddy/Jackson/Chance) is she starts to look for them
• She is obsessed with the door stoppers and must play with every single one she sees.
• She talks constantly and has a very high pitched babble =)
• Thinks it's hilarious to be told 'no'
• Loves to brush her teeth and gets angry when you take the toothbrush away
• She loves bathtime and kicking and splashing around

Videos from this month:

Caroline is crawling!

Our girl is officially mobile! She started crawling July 14th, just 6 days before turning 8-months-old. This video was taken about 2 hours after her very first crawl- she definitely caught on fast! She has been so so close for a few weeks and I was worried Greg would be at work, but fortunately she waited until we were both sitting there with here to show of her new skills =) Our world is totally forever changed!

7 Months...

 

 Sweet Caroline is 7-months-old! She is AWESOME! We've definitely had our moments with sleeping, but other than that, she seriously is one of the most laid back babies I've ever seen. It is a rarity for her to cry, so if she does cry I'm pretty bad about jumping to fix it because I think it means something must really be wrong. She is still pretty serious at times, but can also be the smiliest (new word lol), squealiest, happiest, baby. This month seems like she has hit a big growth spurt and seems like such a little person now instead of a teeny, tiny baby. We are definitely in love with our girl =)

Sleeping:
We are FINALLY over swaddling! I stressed and stressed over this because the past few times we've tried to stop have been torture, but we just went cold turkey this week after her rolling on her tummy too many times and she did great! She now rolls over to sleep on her tummy or sleeps completely spread out. She is doing pretty well at night (still wakes 1-3 times). This past week she's gotten into a nasty habit of waking up between 4-5 am and expecting to be up for the rest of the day. Umm. No. Her naps are also lacking, with a typical nap now lasting 30 minutes max. So so lame. I've tried switching her to only taking 2 naps a day and she still only slept about 30 minutes each and was just NOT having it by about 5pm. So that didn't work either. Oh well, Greg and I were both terrible sleepers growing up so at least she gets it honest.

Eating:
She is still loving her food =) She's tried several new combos this month and she is pretty much a fan of everything. She still prefers veggies over fruits right now and her favorite is either sweet potatoes and carrots, or zucchini and peas. She's still nursing every 3-4 hours. I would LOVE to have her on a 4 hour schedule, so we'll be working on that soon.




Milestones:

• She waves 'bye-bye'

• She is 'drinking' from a sippy cup- She's been really "stopped up" so we've been giving her diluted apple/prune juice in the mornings. She does great!
• Starting to sign "all-done" (although it looks a lot like her wave haha)
• (not really a milestone) but she switched over to her big girl carseat this month and loves it

Randoms/ Things to remember:

• She has started "growling" it.is. hilarious! She gets a very serious look on her face when she does it too, so you know she means business.
• She loves to touch your face when you hold her or when she's nursing.
• Loves playing "Peek-a-boo"
• L.o.v.e.s music and will "dance" (bounce) to it
• She loves going on walks in the morning
• Every time we are out we get complimented on what a good baby she is, and they couldn't be more right =)
• She is rarely called by her name. Her nicknames are: Tiny, C, little love, sweet girl, love bug, and tater (haha).
• Loves to talk really serious to us lol 
• She got in the pool for the first time this month and was not in love with it haha
• Went on the boat for the first time this month and did not enjoy the life jacket.

Baby Must-haves 3-6 Months...

Clearly the blog has taken a backseat lately...oh well, perhaps now that C is actually taking naps I will have more time to post all the fun things I'd like to! Anyway, for those interested and for me to refer back to on Baby Glawson #2 (several years from now) here are the products that have helped us out the most during these past three months.

1) Miracle Blanket. Yes. Caroline is 6 months old and STILL swaddled. I've given up the battle after trying to go through the unswaddling process several times and it's torture for us all. It's either have her sleep almost all night vs. no sleep at all for any of us and after the month or two of TERRIBLE sleep...I'll take all the sleep I can get =) This blanket is awesome because she does not like for her legs to be swaddled, just her arms (which she is too long for the leg part anyway) and we can still get a good, snug wrap on her. She loves it!

2) Vitamix .

Of course, any other blending or food processing device would work perfectly well for babyfood making purposes, but seriously...this thing is AWESOME for making C's food!! I've made baby food for almost all of the kids I nannied and nothing has ever pureed as well as our Vitamix has. It's saweeet!

3)Video Monitor.

We started out with the Angelcare Motion and Sound monitor which I "just HAD to have"...well, because of C's reflux we were never able to use the motion sensor pad because we have a wedge in her crib and the mattress has to be flat. Plus, since she is still swaddled and can rollover I was constantly going in just to make sure she was still on her back (since her arms aren't free to push herself back over). SO, this has been super!

4) Hidden In my Heart Scripture Lullabies

Seriously. Sweetest CD ever! It's bible verses set to beautiful music and we LOVE it! We keep it in the car and it calms C down within minutes and almost always puts her right to sleep. It is so soothing and so so pretty!

5) Exersaucer

Caroline LOVES to be in this thing! We keep it in the kitchen so she can play while I do the dishes or cook and she is perfectly content just hanging out in there.

6) Grocery Cart/ High chair cover

This is one of those things that I always thought was so unnecessary. Until I had my own kid and realized I'd rather her not chew on the grocery cart handle. I also about passed out when Greg took her to the grocery store alone and put her in the cart without it...oh the germs! LOL! So, we borrowed this one from Katie and we use it ALL the time! Love it!

7) Pack-n-play

This has definitely come in handy these past few months with trips to NC and Florida. I was worried she would not sleep well in it, but she does pretty good!  This is a must when family lives out of town!

8) Activity Mat

Caroline LOVES her activity mat. Especially when she wasn't able to sit up on her own. This is where she does most of her independent play and she is so content just hanging out, talking to her toys. Now that she is sitting up most of the time, she isn't on there as often, but we keep it around for tummy time.


I can't really think of anything else that we use ALL the time besides the obvious- carseat, stroller, high chair, etc...we're starting to use the Ergo carrier more, but I believe that will be more of a 6-12month+ item. Anyway, these are the things that have made life easier the past 3 months!

6 Months!!!

Our sweet Caroline is half a year old! It is hard to believe! This month has been so much fun! Caroline's cute personality is showing more and more everyday and we LOVE it! The girl is a talker! She is constantly babbling and squealing and giggling...so fun! She is super happy and it doesn't take much to get a sweet smile =) We are so very in love with our girl!

Sleeping:
This month has been SO much better with her nighttime sleep (PRAISE THE LORD)! She still wakes up once or twice, but I'll certainly take that over the 7-10 times she was doing last month! She is still taking 3 naps, although nap is such a strong word lol. Her naps are generally 20-45 minutes max. Fun. This month we've started trying to let her put herself to sleep a bit more, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. She is still swaddled. We tried stopping and that was torture for us all, so I figure we will drop that eventually, but I'm choosing my battles on that one haha.

Eating:
Caroline is a GREAT eater! She gets so excited when it is time to eat and loves just about anything we send her way. She is still nursing (woohoo...we made it 6 months) every 3-4 hours and is eating solids twice a day. So far she has tried: avocado, sweet potato, peas, green beans, carrots, pears, apples, peaches, banana, and mango. She will eat everything, but it not a huge fan of bananas or mango by themselves but enjoys them mixed together. Her favorites are definitely sweet potatoes and peas. We are loving the new adventures in eating =)


Milestones:
She has gotten so good had sitting up on her own this month! Really it's been in the past week or two where she sits really well. She has ridden in a grocery cart without the carseat and sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time this month as well...what a big girl =)

She has also started SCOOTING! Granted, it's going backwards...but it's one step closer to have a mobile baby! Craziness!

Her 4th tooth popped through, so now she has two bottom and two top and I hope and pray we are done with teething for a little while! She is definitely ahead of the game there!

6 Month Stats:
 Weight- 15lb 12 oz (44%)
 Height- 26 in (56%)
 Head- I don't remember, but it was 91%...takes after her daddy haha

Randoms/ Things to remember:

• Caroline makes the funniest facial expressions and finds herself to be hilarious =)
• She is very serious when she first meets someone, but once she very seriously studies the person, she gives big smiles
• She is a very LOUD talker and gets very serious when telling us a big story =)
• She loves the tags on things
• Loves to yell at the dogs. She will stand in the exersaucer and yell at them. I think she enjoys being eye level with them haha
• Is great in a stroller or the Ergo carrier and loves to go on walks and be outside
• We go to music and story time every week and she loves watching all the bigger kids dance around her
• She does well with independent play, but would be perfectly happy if I held or carried her around all day long...and most of the time I would too =)

Just playing...

Because I am too lazy to write a full post...here is a video of sweet Caroline =)

5 Months...

 Sweet Caroline turned 5 months old this past Friday (I am BEYOND behind on the blogging, but I need these posts to help me keep her baby book updated). This month has been a fun one but by far the most challenging! Caroline has decided that sleeping at night is for wimps, and that all the cool babies stay up all night. It has been incredibly frustrating to say the least. A typical night for us this past month has been as follows:


Start bedtime routine around 6:30
Bed by 7:00pm
Awake by 8:30pm back to sleep by 9ish
Awake at 10 back to sleep in 30 min-1 hr
Awake at Midnight- Nurse- asleep in 10-15 min
Awake at 1:15, asleep in about 15 min
Awake at 2am..generally spend 1.5-2 hours getting back to sleep
Around 4 am I usually just give up and let her sleep on me in the recliner until she wakes up around 6:30-7am.


Day time naps take generally 20mins to an hour to get to to sleep (even though she is sleepy) and they typically last 30-45 min.


Fun times. 


Because of this craziness, I have cut out dairy (she also has eczema and other signs of a dairy allergy or sensitivity) and she has switched from Zantac to Prevacid. On top of this, she is also cutting her top two teeth...just to add to the fun =) So far, Tylenol every night, teething tablets, nighttime orajel, and standing on our left legs while patting our heads has not helped!


Anyway, we have yet another doctor's appointment tomorrow, so if I'm given the green light that she is 100% healthy, then we are starting some sleep training this weekend.


Other than that, she is the happiest, sweetest baby ever!! She is super fun during the day and we LOVE all her squeals, giggles, and sweet babbles! She loves to lay on the floor and grab her feet, which have just recently made their way to her mouth. She can be very serious, and you really have to work to get a good giggle out, but the smiles come easily =) We ended up going to Jacksonville, FL with Greg on a business trip last week. I was terrified because of the sleep issues, but she actually did the best she has in a while and only woke up 2-3 times each night...however, she was in bed with us or held to sleep, but since we were in a hotel I didn't want to wake the whole floor up. She is an EXCELLENT traveler and we are so very thankful for that! She was super easy going the entire trip and she got to visit the ocean for the first time...it was super sunny and windy, so she was slightly unimpressed haha. We joke about her having "first child syndrome" because we literally just sit around (dogs included) staring and laughing at her. She lights up our lives and we are so very blessed to be her parents! I simply can't believe she'll be halfway to one whole year next month!! Time is flying!




5 Month Stats-
Not 100% sure, but we went to the doctor at 4.5 months and she was weighedWeight- 14 lb 6 oz

Milestones-

• Started solids (rice cereal) at the beginning of this month (this was an attempt at sleeping better at night...HAH)
• Rolled over from back to belly (only twice)

Randoms for this month:

• Still loves being swaddled, although we are trying to break this- we're also choosing our battles lol
• Has started to suck her thumb
• Everything goes straight to her mouth!
• She still loves yelling at us, especially in the grocery store where she can get a good loud squeal in =)
• She is SO close to sitting up! She will sit for a few seconds then plop over, but she is a strong girl
• Has really started paying attention to the dogs this month and loves to watch them
• She celebrated her first Easter this month which was fun!

Favorite memories from this month:

• The Florida trip! While Greg was in classes, I would put her in the Moby Wrap and we'd go for a walk by the river. She was nap and I would get to read- so nice! 
• Being up all night isn't ALL bad! We get a few extra snuggles, and one of my favorite things she does is what we call the "Caroline glow-worm"...since she is all swaddled up, when we are rocking her she likes to lean back and look at us and when she catches eye contact she gives the biggest smiles then buries her head in out neck...SO cute and SO hard not to play back =)

First Real Food...

Yesterday Caroline tried her first real food (I don't count rice cereal as real food lol), so here is a video of her first taste of avocado. I don't think she was very hungry when we tried it because she was really just playing and spitting it out (which does not happen with the rice, she would lick the bowl if I let her), but it went well for the first try =)

Rolling over...

Caroline is rolling over for real this time =) What a big girl!

4 months...

Caroline turned 4-months-old on Tuesday! What a fun month this has been =) This has been a big month, first time turning over, first teeth, first real giggles, first music and story times, and more! Her personality is starting to show more and more and I just love it! She is such a happy, content baby, but definitely let's you know when she wants some attention. She loves to talk and has gotten very loud lately. She has found her feet and loves to lay on the floor and roll side to side holding her feet. Her hands are c.o.n.s.t.a.n.t.l.y. in her mouth because of her teeth (poor baby), so her fingers are always slobbery and red haha. She is definitely becoming quite the daddy's girl! She just stares so sweetly at Greg and he's the only one that can get really giggles from her! We made a trip to NC just the two of us this month, and she did wonderfully! We are having so much fun with our sweet girl and are loving watching her grow and change each day!

4 Month Stats-
Weight- 13 lb 6 oz (32%)
Height- 24 3/4in (67%)

Milestones-

• First two teeth (bottom two)- March 8!
• Rolled over tummy to back...but only has done this once, but I'll count it anyway =)
• Laughing
• Found her feet (not really a milestone, but it's cute lol)
  

Randoms for this month:

• She love to "yell" at us, especially if we have our backs turned to her. Then when we turn around she gives us the biggest smiles!
• We've had a lot of trouble with sleeping, but we think it's just the teething
• Her eyes are still very blue and her hair is strawberry blonde
• She love to suck on her index fingers
• She is such an easy baby and does great on errands and at story time and music time
• She still loves to be swaddled to sleep
• Has started to prop her foot up on my shoulder/chest and holding my thumb while she nurses- so sweet!
• Loves to be held up in the air then have kisses blown on her belly
• Has really started noticing the dogs this month and turns to look at them

Favorite memories from this month:

• Hearing her really laugh for the first time
• Greg has spent a lot of time with her this month while I've run errands, photoshoots, appointments, etc. But last weekend he took her out for a daddy/daughter breakfast...I thought it was so cute =)

(I'll add favorite pics from the month in the morning)

Teething...

Got teeth?

Needless to say, I am beyond behind in blogging- oops. To say things have been a bit crazy around here is a bit of an understatement. Teething has hit this household with a vengeance and it has been no fun for anyone, especially our girl! We knew she would be an early teether because the doctor even told us when I took her in at 3 months for not sleeping that she was starting to teeth, however I didn't expect any to pop up for a while. Well I was wrong. Caroline's first two teeth made their appearance on March 8 (3.5 months old)! I thought that once they broke through the gums it would be smooth sailing, but again I was wrong lol.We have been dealing with some crazy sleep! It has been so hard to see her hurting! A few things that have been a lifesaver have been Hyland's Teething Tablets , this teether, frozen washcloths, her self-feeder with cubes of frozen breastmilk, and of course, infant Tylenol. Tomorrow I will write up her 4-month-old post, but for now I will leave you with a few pictures of her enjoying her "momsicle" haha!

3 Months...

Yesterday Caroline turned 3 months old! Where oh where is the time going?! She is changing every day and we are loving seeing her sweet personality shine more and more. She is still such a content, laid back baby. She is very smiley and talkative and we just LOVE to hear her sweet little voice. However, lately she's really gotten into squealing, so that sweet voice can get quite loud =) This has been a really fun month, however we went through a rough patch with sleeping for about two weeks that was about to drive me nuts. She has always been a pretty great sleeper, at about 11 weeks, she started waking more at night, then at 12 weeks she went three nights waking every.single.hour and sometimes TWICE! It was lame for sure lol! I ended up taking her to the doctor, because that just wasn't like her and it turns out 1) she's teething- which I had a clue from all the drool and the hand chewing and 2) Her acid reflux has gotten worse, so when we were laying her down at night, it was just sitting in her chest and burning her esophagus..poor baby! So, she was prescribed Zantac, and we have her back sleeping in her Rock n' Play Sleeper because it is elevated (the doctor said put her to sleep in her carseat, but she hates it when it is not moving, so I knew that wouldn't work), but for the past few nights she is back to sleeping wonderfully. She is getting much better at tummy time and not crying immediately after you put her down, so that's a plus! She is just a sweet, sweet girl and we are loving every second with her!

(Just for memory sake...)
Her schedule:
7:30- Awake and First Feeding
Play time
9ish-10:30/11- Nap
10:30/11- Feeding
Play time/Errands
12:30/1-2ish- Nap
2ish- Feeding
Play time
3:30/4-5ish- Nap
5/5:30- Feeding
Play time
7:15ish- Bath and story
7:30- Last feeding
Asleep by 8
Wakes generally once before 7:30, somewhere between 3-5am.

3 Month Stats:
At her doctor's appointment last week, they just checked weight but not height-
11lb 13 oz- still a tiny girl =)

Milestones-

• We've gotten a few giggles starting around 12 weeks
• She has started reaching for toys on her play mat
• Blowing raspberries constantly!

Randoms for this month:

• She is in love with her daddy! I work so hard all day to get smiles and coos, but the second he walks in the room, she lights up and is all smiles and has tons to say to him!
  
• She takes her longest naps in her swing, and I'm fine with that for now.
• She still loves being swaddled
  
• We've completely given up on the pacifier
• She is still wearing some 0-3 month clothes, but most are 3 months. 6 month clothes fit for length but are way to big in the waist.
• Probably cries a total of 30 minutes a day, and that right before naps.
• Is great at holding on to her toys
• Katie babysat for the first time this month and Caroline was put to bed by someone other than me for the first time. It went great!
  
• Goes through about 5-6 bibs a day between drool and spit-up
• Does not like to be held like a baby (cradled carry), and prefers to be forward facing
• Still likes to have her back patted when being put to sleep
• She likes being sung to, and generally falls asleep to "Jesus Loves Me" or "Amazing Grace"
• Loves to "dance" with her daddy =)
• One of my favorite things is getting her up in the morning. She usually wakes around 7:15, but I let her talk to herself for a few minutes before going in. When I go in to say good morning, she is ALL smiles and kicks her feet like crazy! I L.O.V.E. it!! What a wonderful way to start a day!
  

Favorite memories from this month (wish I would have done this with month 1 and 2):

• The Valentine's Day blow-out (See other post)
• Her eczema has gotten pretty bad, so Greg was helping out by adding baby oil to her bath one night. Well, he added quite a bit and she was SO slippery that she couldn't stay seated in the tub because she kept sliding everywhere, so Greg had to hold her up under her arms while I bathed her. We couldn't stop laughing at how funny we must have looked trying to bath this slippery baby!

Pictures from this month (all are on Facebook too)

Photo slideshow customized with Smilebox

Two of my favorite videos from this month:

Baby "Must-Haves": 0-3 Months

I've seen a few friends post their favorite baby items for each age bracket and I've loved seeing what items are consistently on everyone's lists or which differ. After being a nanny for several years, I had a pretty good idea of what items I knew were a "necessity", which were a hit or miss, and which we could totally do without. Also, babies have their preferences, so I think it will be neat to look back to see all of Caroline's favorites and "must-haves" versus her sibling's. So, for the 0-3 month range, here are the items that we love...

1) Fisher Price Rock n' Play Sleeper : We LOVE this thing! We chose to use this instead of a bassinet because it took up less space, it's super portable which is so nice when we take it in and out of rooms or to the grandparents' houses, and it's elevated which is better for her acid reflux. She has slept great in this from day one. However, she had a harder time transitioning to the crib because she wasn't used to laying flat.

2) Moby Wrap: This was literally our lifesaver the first couple of weeks when Caroline wanted to be held 24/7. She's too big for the cradle carry now, so I occasionally put her in the "kangaroo" hold where she is facing me, but for the most part I have her forward facing in it now, which she loves. Once she is a little bit bigger, we'll be switching over to our Ergo carrier, but we are loving this one for now!
3) Boppy Pillow: This is probably my most used item. I use it at every feeding and to prop Caroline up on the couch, bed, or floor when we're playing with her. Love it!
4) Fisher Price Papasan Swing: At first, Caroline was not a fan. In fact, we were even looking into swapping it out for a Mamaroo, until one day she decided she would take a 2 hour nap in it and from then on she has loved it. Seriously, this swing has been a godsend and we are so thankful that Katie was sweet enough to let us borrow it! It eats through batteries though, but considering she takes two of her longer naps in it a day, I'll buy however many batteries I need to to keep this thing swinging!
5) Thirsties All-in-One Cloth Diaper: If you cloth diaper, these are a MUST! I LOVE them! They are new and Greg ordered one for Caroline a few weeks ago and it quickly became my favorite diaper, so we have since bought four more. They are super trim, super absorbent, and super easy (just like a disposable...no inserts, no stuffing, no liners, etc...just a diaper). Seriously, if I could have my entire stash be these, I would. LOVE them!
6) Halo Sleepsack Swaddle: Our girl loves to be swaddled! I love these because she likes to bend her elbows and keep her hands close to her face when she sleeps, and with other swaddlers (like the miracle blanket) she can't do that. I also like that the ones we have are either minky or fleece, which I feel like keep her nice and warm at night.
7) Snap-n-Go Stroller: I love this stroller! It is super lightweight and so convenient to just pop out of the trunk and snap her carseat in and just run into a store. It's not super bulky like some of the travel system strollers can be, but it still has a decent amount cargo space that can hold the diaper bag or whatever.
8) Recliner or Glider: We chose a comfy recliner and I LOVE IT! A nice comfortable chair is definitely a must, especially if you plan on breastfeeding, because you will be spending a LOT of time in that chair! It was also really nice to have while I was pregnant and couldn't get comfortable in bed, I would sleep in it instead. I love our recliner and appreciate Greg's parents getting it for us!
9) Sound machine: This is definitely a top 'must have' for us! Caroline loves her some white noise and between her sound machine and her humidifier, it sounds like an airport in her room! However, heaven forbid we set it on 'timer mode' and it turn off while she is sleeping, because she will definitely wake up and let you know that there is a problem. We chose the one we did specifically because it can me left on all night.
10) Bibs: Lots and lots and lots of bibs. I suppose this is one of those baby specific items, but Caroline spits up big time and has also started drooling a ton, so we generally go through about 5-6 bibs a day. I prefer ones that snap instead of velcro, but really anything is fine right now because she obviously can't pull them off yet.
Well, there ya have it. Ten things that we've found to be most useful over these past three months. Can't wait for the next three when we can start adding in some fun toys and food stuff to the mix =)

Valentine's Day...

Valentine's Day is generally kept pretty simple in our house because 1) It comes right after our birthdays which are 2 weeks apart and only a month after Christmas and 2) We celebrate our love for each other on a regular basis =) However, this Valentine's Day was made special by celebrating with a true symbol of our love, our sweet girl! We woke up and gave each other a small gift, I got a card and candy and I gave Greg the ABC's of US, which was an idea I found on Pinterest. It was fun thinking of all of my favorite memories to write down! It definitely made me realize how truly blessed we are. After Greg went to work, I went into rush mode to finish the other gift I had planned for him, which involved getting Caroline's pictures taken and sent to Walgreen's before we left to meet him in Duluth for lunch. Let' just say, the morning should have been a warning of how the rest of our day would go. She was NOT in the mood for a photo shoot and cried through half of it, so out of 60+ pics, I have ZERO of her smiling! Oh well, I took what i had and had them printed. Next up, was a morning nap. Well, apparently Caroline had other plans for her morning, so she did not sleep as I had planned and desperately hoped for since we were meeting Greg for lunch. After spending close to an hour trying to get her to sleep, I gave up and realized I had 15 minutes to get ready before we had to leave. I got ready and dressed her in her Valentine's outfit that I made for her, and we were out the door in 20 minutes...shower and everything (though my hair was put up wet). Luckily, she slept in the car on the way to Greg's work. Soooo, we get there and as I pull into the parking lot, I hear an explosion in the back seat. I didn't think too much of it, just hoped she was finished by the time I changed her. I parked and gave her a minute. I then took her out of her carseat and to my horror, found a HUGE mess!! She had blown through her diaper, which went all the way up her back, soaking through the pink turtleneck I went to 5 stores to find AND the outfit I made. All I could do was laugh and call Greg and say "we're here, just bring me some scissors." Yes. I had to CUT her outfit off of her. I chose to do this because it was EVERYWHERE and if I would have taken the outfit off over her head or dragged it down to her feet, we would have been in even more trouble. So, that was the end of the outfit. I was just SO glad I got in the pictures I wanted. Luckily, she had a spare sleeper in her diaper bag, so she had something to wear to lunch. What a morning! We had a great lunch together and she was super at the restaurant! The rest of the day was spent loving on Caroline and napping and waiting for Greg to get home from work. Once he got home we gave each other our other gifts, I gave him the picture frame with her in it, and he gave me Junior's cheesecake ordered from NYC (where we got engaged). SO yummy! We also gave Caroline her Valentine's Sing-a-ma-Jig and the book "On the Night You Were Born". We had a delicious dinner of steak and twice baked potatoes and then just a quiet evening of the three of us =) I do enjoy spending an entire day devoted to the ones I loves most!!

This is blurry because they were dancing, but this girl LOVES her daddy =)
The outfit that is no more...