What a difference a month makes! Around the time Eleanor hit her 3rd month, we saw a world of difference in her. She started coming out of her chronic fussiness and became a happy, smiling baby. I couldn't believe it. I kept thinking, who is this baby? Around this time, she also started sleeping 9+ hours straight at night. This was a huge blessing, since prior to this, she would sleep only 3-4 hours at a time. It was a little scary at first, and we checked on her a lot. We also worried about her weight gain, since she was skipping 2 feedings now. But we take her every week for a weight check, and she's still gaining 1+ oz per day. At her last weight check on August 25, she weighed 11 lbs, 7 oz! Her last measurement around August 11 was 23 inches. The week before I returned to work, we started trying to get her into a good routine. She did so great! And to think I was so worried about all of this. Eleanor did it all in her own time. Our spirits have certainly been better since we have been getting more rest and she has started interacting with us more often. When you are in the tunnel of newborn-land, it's hard to imagine ever finding your way out. But we have, and it is wonderful!
A typical day for Eleanor begins around 5:30. Her Papi wakes her up (or she wakes him up) and gives her her medicine. Then I nurse her from 6-7, when I leave for work. We both love this time. She is usually very alert and nurses well. She plays for a little while, then goes down for a nap around 8. She doesn't nap for too long. We are lucky to get 30-40 minutes out of her. Then she's up again and ready to eat around 9. She repeats this cycle every 3 hours. Then Brad and I get home from work around 5, and she nurses off and on until time for bed. We try to have her down for the night by 8:30 at the latest, but earlier if we can. This gives us a little more time to rest. When she takes her bottle during the day, she eats about 4 oz at a time. I am fortunate to be able to pump 3 times at work, so I am usually able to get enough between this and pumping before bed and once in the middle of the night. Weekends are great, because I get to nurse her all weekend and still pump before bed and in the night, so we are able to stockpile milk for the week. Some weekends, we just stay on the couch, nursing and napping off and on. This is the sweetest time! She has been drooling a lot lately, so we wonder if a tooth is imminent. Not looking forward to teething! She has also been blowing bubbles, though I don't think she can control this yet. She has gotten really good at grabbing things with her hands. She especially likes to grab on to my hair when she is nursing or I am holding her. I don't mind. ;)
It is so fun to watch how much she is changing every day. She smiles a lot and sometimes even laughs a little. I love to see her smile and show her cute dimple on the right side. She loves for us to lay her down and just talk to her. We have little conversations, and she smiles really big during these times. She still loves having naked baby time! She enjoys moving her arms and legs around without the diaper on. She likes having her belly rubbed and doing the bicycle with her legs. Eleanor enjoys sitting in her swing and playing with her Owl book and toy. She likes to touch it and try to turn the pages (it's a cloth book.) She also enjoys sitting on her boppy and talking to and smiling at us. She's not a fan of tummy time, so she cries and tries to roll over. She has even done it a couple of times. She's trying to roll over from her back to her stomach, but hasn't done it yet. Her neck has gotten really strong, and she has good control of her head. She will even stand up on her legs if we are holding her. Today, we went to the store to buy a bigger sleep sack, and Eleanor picked out her first toy. I was showing her the different toys, and she wasn't too interested until I picked up Lulu in a Tutu. She immediately grabbed for it and held on. Of course, she would pick the ugliest toy in the store. A big purple hippo, with a big orange mouth in a tiny yellow tutu. Ha!
I have hated going back to work and leaving her. Luckily, I've been very busy at work, so I haven't had time to think about how much I miss her. But we are so fortunate to have my mom, grandparents and friend, Ashley pitch in to help take care of her. She will start staying with a friend of ours everyday beginning in September. It is so exciting to see the way she is changing everyday! I can hardly wait to get home and cuddle her! The weekends just aren't long enough. Soon she will be 4 months old! I can't wait to see what the next month brings...
