Our family with Jason's grandma and grandpa.
The four generations! Ellen, Mike, Jason, and Caroline!
Caroline learning how to play marbles for her great grandma!
Being silly with Aunt Patty!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Florida 2011
For the past few years, Jason's family and I have made a trip to Florida to see Jason's grandma. This year was no exception - we just threw a 4 month old into the mix! Jason, his dad, Caroline, and I hopped in the car last week and made the 9 hour treck down to Edgewater. We had a great few days of going to the pool and playing marbles with his grandparents. We also got to spend some time with Jason's Aunt Patty. None of the Florida family had ever met Caroline, so there was never any lack of people ready to hold and spoil her! We made it there and back and Caroline was the best thing! She really is such a good baby and a fantastic traveler!
UNCW Weekend
Every year my best friends from college and I look forward to spending some good time together at the beach. Since Mom and Deddy have Gramps' house out back that is essentially empty, we all pile in with blow up matresses and camp out for a long weekend. We hit up out favorite spots to eat, go out to our favorite bars at night, and go to the beach to relax and catch up. This year I had Caroline with me. I was unsure about how that would go while I was playing the role of Mommy and friend. It worked out perfectly. With Mom and Deddy watching her so I could go out and my girls and Brian being so great with her, it was such a great weekend. We got some good quality time together and as Katie and I talked about, we are all in a really good place in our lives. We are all really happy and we were able to share in each others happiness. Last year was right after the miscarriage for me and was in the middle of some not great things for the others and we spent a lot of time having really deep conversations and shedding lots of tears for each other. It is great that after only one year we have all gotten through what we were going through and we're all better friends for it! We are already talking about where we want to go next year!
Rice Cereal!
When we went to the doctor for Caroline's 4 month appointment, our pediatrician started talking to us about rice cereal and baby food. Since Jack was already on baby food I knew that stage was almost upon us. She gave us the green light and said anytime between then and 6 months would be the time to start. Since Caroline had just started putting things in her mouth and chewing on stuff, we figured it was time to start.
When we were down in Florida visiting his grandparents, the rice cereal began! We plopped ol' Sassy Pants in her bumbo and she ate it up. There wasn't much of a learning period with it. She ate it like she'd be doing it her whole life! So we'll do this for a few more days and then those veggies are up to bat next!
When we were down in Florida visiting his grandparents, the rice cereal began! We plopped ol' Sassy Pants in her bumbo and she ate it up. There wasn't much of a learning period with it. She ate it like she'd be doing it her whole life! So we'll do this for a few more days and then those veggies are up to bat next!
FREEDOM!
Since the day that Caroline was born, she has been swaddled. Anytime that she wasn't her arms would flail around and since she didn't know what those things were or how to use them, it made it hard for her to sleep. So swaddling her kept everything tucked in so that she could sleep peacefully. We would swaddle her so tightly that it would make her grunt a little bit. We weren't being mean, but the tighter the swaddler, the better the sleep! She was a little Houdini and sometimes we would go in there and her legs would be out or her little hands would be up around her face. This usually would wake her up from her nap, but once she was swaddled tightly again, she'd doze right off.
One morning I heard her screaming bloody murder. This is very much not normal in her case and as I went into the nursery, I saw why. She had turned herself over onto her stomach and with her hands swaddled, she couldn't do anything about it. So I decided that it was time to break out of the swaddler. She was starting to spend a lot of time fighting out of the swaddler, too, so I knew we'd be better off getting her out of it. I was worried about how it would go, but like she has always done, it was no big deal! She is such a champ. One day for a nap I swaddled her right below her arms and gave her the paci and her bobo and this is what she looked like when I went in to check on her.
Those arms were as wide as they could be. I'm sure she was thinking how great it felt to finally be free! So we took naps that first day with her arms out and there wasn't a problem. That night I put her down and she fussed for a while and once I swaddled those arms in, she was out. She wasn't quite ready for the all night adventure! After a couple of days of naps with her arms out we put her to bed at night like that and she fussed around 4, but after sticking that paci back in she was back asleep until 7. Since then she has been sleeping with her arms out and she is getting better and better at it. My sweet girl is growing up!
Monday, July 4, 2011
4 Month Update
* She weighs 13 1/2 pounds and is 24 inches long. She is finally getting up to the 40-50th percentiles on all of her measurements, so she is about average now!
* She is wearing size 1 diapers.
* She is wearing 0/3 month and 3 month clothes. The 0/3 month stuff is starting to get a little snug on her, but some of the 3 month stuff is still big.
* She is still smiling and talking all the time! It is fantastically wonderful. There is nothing like going to get her out of her crib and her giving a huge smile when she sees you.
* She is a really laid back baby. She is smiley and happy most of the time, but when she gets tired or hungry she will let you know it! She gets quite dramatic quite quickly. I wonder who that sounds like!
* She recently learned how to blow raspberries. We would raspberry at her and she was get the biggest smile and now she has started to do them on her own. It is absolutely precious when she is mad and starts fussing and then throws a raspberry in.
* We recently spent a week in Wilmington with Leslie, Anna, and Jack and Jack had found his voice and was talking and squealing with delight all day. Caroline has somewhat copied that and now when she is fussing she just squeals and talks. It is hilarious.
* We are up to a 3 1/2 hour schedule. Once school ended I began to stretch her out and she has done wonderfully. She now eats (depending on when she wakes up) around 7, 10:30, 2, 5:30, and 9:15. On average she is up for 1 1/2 hours (including eating) and then naps for 2 hours. Of course it doesn’t always work out that way, but it usually does. We are also now getting about 10 hours at night.
* Since school is out, we now get to spend all day together. Jason has football in the morning and then he gets home to see her and play with her and it works out perfectly. Whenever I complain about my job as a teacher, please remind me of these fabulous two months we get during the summer!
* I am still breastfeeding. I got really sick with pneumonia and almost lost my milk supply, but after a few tears and some pep talking from my fabulous mom and husband, I drank my fluids and was able to hang on to it and build it back up after I was doing better. Things are back to normal now!
* She is really learning how to grab onto things. We broke out the toys that she can chew on and even went to Target and got her a new ball that she can grab a hold of pretty easily and put it in her mouth.
* She still loves her exersaucer and Bumbo (even though she still has room to grow) and laying under her butterflies.
* Since she has been talking she has loved talking to the picture of her in the pink frame right by the changing table. She will just stare and tell the greatest story to that picture!
* She rolled over for the first time the day she turned 4 months old. We’ve gotten her to do it a couple more times, but it certainly is not the norm yet. She hates tummy time and only tolerates it for about five minutes, but I still make sure she gets her time in. She may just skip straight to walking!
* We have started giving her baths in the big tub. We still have the whale tub out and we may use it, but she is starting to love kicking in the bathtub and it is just easier to lay her down on the foam and fill the tub up just a bit.
* She is still taking Zantac twice a day and has been since her two month appointment. It has really helped with her wheezing and coughing and just general discomfort.
* She is still a spitter-upper and has been since day one. Every time Jason gets her she unloads a pretty nice amount on him. She is never unhappy when she does it. We have just learned the sounds and when we hear them, we are right there with one of the five burp cloths we have laying around the house!
* She looks like she is developing some eczema. We’ll get that checked out at the doctor. She may have weird skin like I do.
Getting some Daddy love. (13 Weeks)
Holding that head up! (13 Weeks)
Rocking her first bow! (14 Weeks)
She is such a happy baby. (15 Weeks)
Go Tarheels! (15 Weeks)
Every time she wakes up from a nap and that swaddler is undone, those hands instantly go up and those legs get pulled in.
Her first time really playing with a toy that she was able to hold on her own. (15 Weeks)
If that is not the sweetest thing looking at you after a nap! She also looks at you like this when she is trying to get up from a nap too early. And sometimes, she wins.
Uncle Jeffro made Caroline laugh for the very first time. She had been on the verge for a while where her smile would get so big and you knew there was something else back there, but he got it out of her tonight. It was PRECIOUS! (15 Weeks)
A week after school got out, Leslie was loading her two and heading to Wilmington. After a bit of reluctance from Jason, Caroline and I hopped in the van with them and we all headed to Wilmington. She is such a good traveling baby. You don’t even know she is back there most of the time!
Jackipoo and Caroline - the best of friends! (20 Weeks and 16 Weeks)
This is Caroline’s first ‘swim’. It was a lot like the prom – it was a lot of fun to get her in her bathing suit and lotioned up, but the actual event was sort of eh. She was indifferent to it all. At least she didn’t scream! If she is anything like me she will be a fish in no time!
One of the shots that we have of all the babies is of them playing at the hearth. She has been able to hold herself up since she was about 3 weeks old. She is getting so big!
Happy Four Months, sweet girl!
Had to include this one to show those thighs! She is becoming a chunk and I love every single little ounce of it. If she is going to be my daughter, those thunder thighs are a must!
* She is wearing size 1 diapers.
* She is wearing 0/3 month and 3 month clothes. The 0/3 month stuff is starting to get a little snug on her, but some of the 3 month stuff is still big.
* She is still smiling and talking all the time! It is fantastically wonderful. There is nothing like going to get her out of her crib and her giving a huge smile when she sees you.
* She is a really laid back baby. She is smiley and happy most of the time, but when she gets tired or hungry she will let you know it! She gets quite dramatic quite quickly. I wonder who that sounds like!
* She recently learned how to blow raspberries. We would raspberry at her and she was get the biggest smile and now she has started to do them on her own. It is absolutely precious when she is mad and starts fussing and then throws a raspberry in.
* We recently spent a week in Wilmington with Leslie, Anna, and Jack and Jack had found his voice and was talking and squealing with delight all day. Caroline has somewhat copied that and now when she is fussing she just squeals and talks. It is hilarious.
* We are up to a 3 1/2 hour schedule. Once school ended I began to stretch her out and she has done wonderfully. She now eats (depending on when she wakes up) around 7, 10:30, 2, 5:30, and 9:15. On average she is up for 1 1/2 hours (including eating) and then naps for 2 hours. Of course it doesn’t always work out that way, but it usually does. We are also now getting about 10 hours at night.
* Since school is out, we now get to spend all day together. Jason has football in the morning and then he gets home to see her and play with her and it works out perfectly. Whenever I complain about my job as a teacher, please remind me of these fabulous two months we get during the summer!
* I am still breastfeeding. I got really sick with pneumonia and almost lost my milk supply, but after a few tears and some pep talking from my fabulous mom and husband, I drank my fluids and was able to hang on to it and build it back up after I was doing better. Things are back to normal now!
* She is really learning how to grab onto things. We broke out the toys that she can chew on and even went to Target and got her a new ball that she can grab a hold of pretty easily and put it in her mouth.
* She still loves her exersaucer and Bumbo (even though she still has room to grow) and laying under her butterflies.
* Since she has been talking she has loved talking to the picture of her in the pink frame right by the changing table. She will just stare and tell the greatest story to that picture!
* She rolled over for the first time the day she turned 4 months old. We’ve gotten her to do it a couple more times, but it certainly is not the norm yet. She hates tummy time and only tolerates it for about five minutes, but I still make sure she gets her time in. She may just skip straight to walking!
* We have started giving her baths in the big tub. We still have the whale tub out and we may use it, but she is starting to love kicking in the bathtub and it is just easier to lay her down on the foam and fill the tub up just a bit.
* She is still taking Zantac twice a day and has been since her two month appointment. It has really helped with her wheezing and coughing and just general discomfort.
* She is still a spitter-upper and has been since day one. Every time Jason gets her she unloads a pretty nice amount on him. She is never unhappy when she does it. We have just learned the sounds and when we hear them, we are right there with one of the five burp cloths we have laying around the house!
* She looks like she is developing some eczema. We’ll get that checked out at the doctor. She may have weird skin like I do.
Getting some Daddy love. (13 Weeks)
Holding that head up! (13 Weeks)
Rocking her first bow! (14 Weeks)
She is such a happy baby. (15 Weeks)
Go Tarheels! (15 Weeks)
Every time she wakes up from a nap and that swaddler is undone, those hands instantly go up and those legs get pulled in.
Her first time really playing with a toy that she was able to hold on her own. (15 Weeks)
If that is not the sweetest thing looking at you after a nap! She also looks at you like this when she is trying to get up from a nap too early. And sometimes, she wins.
Uncle Jeffro made Caroline laugh for the very first time. She had been on the verge for a while where her smile would get so big and you knew there was something else back there, but he got it out of her tonight. It was PRECIOUS! (15 Weeks)
A week after school got out, Leslie was loading her two and heading to Wilmington. After a bit of reluctance from Jason, Caroline and I hopped in the van with them and we all headed to Wilmington. She is such a good traveling baby. You don’t even know she is back there most of the time!
Jackipoo and Caroline - the best of friends! (20 Weeks and 16 Weeks)
This is Caroline’s first ‘swim’. It was a lot like the prom – it was a lot of fun to get her in her bathing suit and lotioned up, but the actual event was sort of eh. She was indifferent to it all. At least she didn’t scream! If she is anything like me she will be a fish in no time!
One of the shots that we have of all the babies is of them playing at the hearth. She has been able to hold herself up since she was about 3 weeks old. She is getting so big!
Happy Four Months, sweet girl!
Had to include this one to show those thighs! She is becoming a chunk and I love every single little ounce of it. If she is going to be my daughter, those thunder thighs are a must!
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