3 Months Old!

Lucy, today you are THREE MONTHS OLD!!!

... and lucky you gets to spend this birthday at the beach!   

At three months, Lucy:

You weigh 12 lbs. 6 oz. and are 23 inches long!

You wear size 1 diapers and are in 0-3 month clothes (and are starting to wear 3-6 months, too!)

You had the week off from daycare this week because my Pre-K had Fall Break all week!  Yay!  So, we all went to the beach with your CiCi & Papa and Kacie, Wesley, Macie & Mollie.  You did so great on the way down there -- you slept most of the way until about 2 hours before we were supposed to get there, you asked for a diaper change and went back to sleep shortly after for the rest of the trip.  You really are an awesome baby -- especially in the car!  Your Daddy & I thank our lucky stars every day for such a complacent baby. 

You only spent time down on the beach two different times.  Each time, you napped on me for about 2 hours and then we went up to eat and hang out in the condo for the rest of the day.  You and I did a lot of just hanging out together in the condo -- that's okay, hanging out with you is one of my favorite things to do these days.  Afterall, you're one of my two very best friends! :)

We saw a big school of dolphins the second time we were down at the beach, so your Daddy & I picked up a little stuffed animal dolphin to commemorate your first beach trip just like we got your stuffed animal moose for your first trip to the mountains.

This month you have learned to love spending time on your playgym.  You will lay there for about 30 minutes a lot of times.  At the beginning of the month, you would just look at all of the toys, and then slowly started batting at the heart-shaped rattle, then you started noticing yourself in the little mirror that is attached and then finally were able to purposely pull the little bird to make him sing.  He will sing a different song each time you pull him and sometimes your Daddy & I hear you pull him over and over again, almost like you're trying to find the song you like most.  There are a couple of other toys on there, but you don't pay much attention to them and I don't blame you -- they're boring.

You are on a little schedule.  Not so much time-wise, but procedure-wise.  We practice the E.A.S.Y. method -- you EAT (4 oz.), ACTIVITY (usually your play gym for 30 minutes, playing with your Daddy & I, listening to us read, or just sitting with us as we watch our shows), SLEEP (about 1 1/2 hours at a time), YOU TIME (we try to lay you down so you're not sleeping on us and we can get some "us time").

You are exclusively formula-fed now.  You use the Nuk bottles and eat Similac formula.  You like it pretty warm and we just use warm water out of the faucet (Dr. Ivey said this was fine).  You're taking a good 4 oz. about every 2-3 hours.

You are a regular jet-setter!  You went on your first big vacation (somewhere other than to Newnan) to the mountains with Memaw, Big Daddy, Sara, Jason, Nathan, Sallie, & Kiki to Ellijay, GA.  The very next weekend, we went to the beach with your Daddy's family and the weekend after that, we went back to Newnan to try for your 3 month pictures (they didn't go very well).

You have definitely become more smiley -- and your little smile lights up my world!  You smile mostly when we make a "clicking" noise with our tongues or speak in really high voices.

You can fall asleep in seconds flat to your Daddy singing his own version of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."  I haven't yet figured out how you can find his singing so soothing. What I have figured out though is that he loves you with a huge chunk of his heart and you love him just as much.  It's so sweet to watch the two of you together.  You have your very own special games and songs and my heart just swells as I listen from the other room or watch from across the room to the two of you falling in love with each other.

We can't believe you're getting so big -- a whole quarter of your first year has flown by!  But with each new day, you learn something new and do something all the more sweeter than the day before and I can't wait to see what you do tomorrow.

We love you, Lucy!

Mommy Moments

Lucy, this weekend was your first "big trip" -- meaning somewhere other than the two-hour drive to Newnan.  We went to Ellijay, Georgia to spend time with my family and go to the Apple Festival.  The drive took us right around 5 hours (because of traffic and a bad sense of direction).  Your sweet self stayed awake probably 90% of that time and didn't cry once!  You were so great!  We got there and Memaw, Sara, Kiki, Nathan, & Sallie were already there.  Big Daddy & Jason came later that evening.  You and your Daddy were so tired though, you both fell asleep watching Toy Story with Nathan and then continued your sleeping spell back in bed.  You drooled on him so much it soaked through his sweatshirt, tshirt and onto his skin! :) 

The Apple Festival was an arts and crafts fair that Ellijay hosts every year.  It was the first time we've ever felt like we needed a stroller to carry you in, so we got the one that matches your carseat from Kacie & Wesley.  We couldn't quite figure out how it buckled, but you were more comfortable unbuckled anyways.  We just flapped up the feet part and you were safe and sound!  You stayed awake the entire morning and only cried once you got hot (the weather was warmer than we expected and dressed you for.  You look precious in your sweater dress, though!).  It was hard weaving in and out of the heavy crowds and so we didn't stay longer than about an hour.  We got back to the cabin, fed you and left you with everybody else while your Daddy & I went downtown for some "us" time. 

We went first to a store called Main Street Antiques (your Daddy's into antiquing these days).  We found lots of things we thought were neat, but finally settled on an old theater chair and a parking meter.  We went in a couple of other stores but didn't find anything that struck us.  Except for a little stuffed animal moose that I just had to have for you to commemorate your first trip to Ellijay (hopefully we'll be going back again!).  He has on a little shirt with a picture of a cabin and the words "Ellijay, GA" We call him your "Moosey" and you love to naw on him - poor guy!  We ate lunch at a place downtown called Canterberry and both had sandwiches and I also had a cup of Chicken & Wild Rice soup which was really delicious!

That evening, we played Dice with the family while your Daddy, Jason, & Big Daddy all listened to the ball game on the porch (there's no cable at the cabin).  Your Daddy and I dominated the game rolling over 1,000 points on almost every turn each! :)  You also tried your best that night (and for the first time to my knowledge) to turn over!  You were laying on your back on your playgym and lifted your legs up to your chest and turned them to your right side.  Since then, pulling your legs up to your chest is one of your favorite things to do -- as soon as I unzip your Sleep Sack in the morning, your legs go right up to your chest!  It's so cute!  You'll be turning over before too much longer... as soon as you can figure out how to get over your shoulder.

We left the next morning and it didn't take us quite as long this time with a better sense of direction, and less traffic!  You got hungry about halfway home and we couldn't get the car-adapter to the bottle warmer to work correctly, you didn't fuss to badly, but you definitely weren't happy. 

We've had to start giving you a bottle more lately.  I'm just not able to make enough to keep you full.  The doctor says I can take a pill 3x a day and it might jumpstart my milk supply, but there are side effects such as anxiety and drowsiness -- both of which I can't afford right now with teaching Pre-K.  It was a hard decision to decide to move you to primarily bottle and just nurse you when I'm able (& one your Daddy isn't totally on board with), but you are perfectly content with the bottle.  You don't refuse it, don't spit up your formula, and you're just becoming more of a big girl. 

I was totally at peace with this decision until the other night.  I woke up in tears thinking about how I had decided not to nurse you anymore.  And how neither of us knew the last time was the last time.  So, I woke you up at 1:30 in the morning and took you into the living room and nursed you.  You loved it, and so did I.  I cried silently as I sweetly talked to you about what you were doing and why we were doing it.   I thought to myself that this was one of those "Mommy Moments."  After I put you back to sleep, I laid in bed and thought of all the other Mommy Moments I've had with you.  You smiling at me your first morning of daycare and my first morning back to work; the way you'll just lay and stare at me on the bed; reading books to you; when you coo and I'll respond as if we're having a conversation as I change your diaper after we get home from daycare; the way you snuggle your face against my neck in the mornings when I wake you up; the first time you grabbed your playgym bird and made him sing; watching you try to turn over; and there will be many more to come!

...and while I thought that was the last time, I've still tried to nurse you at some feedings and then give you a bottle if you're still hungry.  I just hate giving it up.  It's something sweet and special between just you and I.  I know that you're becoming bigger though and the most important thing is that you get enough to eat so you can grow even bigger!

I can't wait to watch you grow, Lucy Pearl and experience many more "Mommy Moments" with you!