I'm a Star!

Morning Naps

What a difference a week makes.  Last week, Ella was taking back her six-hour stretch of sleep during the night and being overall very needy.  This week, she's sleeping through the night (last night she clocked eight hours!) and being a more independent baby.  She's smiling, laughing, and talking A TON.  She's so animated and expressive.  I feel like we chat all day long, but then I have to remind myself that she's just cooing and not actually saying real words.  She's definitely at a really playful stage and her personality is starting to show through her interactions with us.

All this week she's been falling into a nice little routine where she wakes up around six or seven o'clock, nurses, and hangs out in her Rock 'n Play while we make coffee and feed the pugs.  Soon after Adam leaves for work, Ella will fall asleep on her own in her rocker.

It probably doesn't sound like a big deal (and chances are she'll take it all back next week and need to be held all morning), but Ella has always been a cuddle bug and usually needs to be held and walked around to fall asleep during the day.  She was especially resistant to sleep on her own when I put her down (versus Adam, who has the magic touch of getting her to nod off in her bassinet or rocker).  Her morning naps give me the use of my two hands and some time to start the day.  At the same time, I look at her sleeping and I think, "Wow, she's growing so fast!"   And it's only been eleven weeks tomorrow.  I already miss her little spastic, newborn ways, but am definitely embracing this "easier" phase.

Earlier this week, Ashley and I took Ella to scout some gear for our upcoming trip to the lake.  Ella slept through the entire shopping excursion, even when we had to drive back with a car full of wake boards and water skis.  (We barely fit her car seat in!)

We are definitely looking forward to Ella's first trip to our cabin!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Many years ago, on a trip to Southeast Asia, I picked up these fabric stars from an outdoor market in Cambodia.  They have special sentimental value to me and remind me of my adventures during my early twenties.  They use to hang in my apartment in San Francisco and now, thanks to Grandma Donna, they hang above Ella's bassinet.  She loves to look at and talk to them.  She laughs when we jiggle them a little so they dance above her head.  

Weekend Festivities

As Ella gets bigger we've been feeling more and more motivated to take her places.  On Friday we went to dinner and the street fair with her grandparents.  It was a perfect summer night and we really enjoyed looking at the different stands and checking out the farmer's market.

Navigating the crowd was definitely a little more challenging with a stroller to push!

Our intention was for Ella to experience new sights and sounds.  She especially loves being outdoors, so we thought she'd have a blast.  But being ten weeks old, she slept through the entire outing.

But her Po-Po and Gong-Gong enjoyed the time with her!

I love that my dad wears his "Grandpa" shirt every time he goes out with her.

On Saturday, Adam's work hosted a company open house for all the employees.  Ella attended her third party and did great!  The music was pretty loud, though, so we stayed outside most of the time.  (She's wearing her first party dress, a baby shower gift from her Aunt KC.)

I realized we needed to take more family pictures.

Louie & Ashley

She thinks her Grandma is the bees' knees.

With her Nino (or as we call him, Meemo).

She started hamming up for the camera with her Auntie Ashley behind the lens.  Usually when I whip out the camera she looks away and starts frowning.  But apparently Ashley has the magic touch.  

Book Worm

Look who's learning to read!  She's gearing up to join my book club.

Hearing her name makes her smile.

Fake Out

I was about to post how happy I was that Ella was sleeping through the night.  We would put her down after her last feeding around 11 pm and she would sleep for six or seven glorious hours.  I was so excited and kept saying how she would soon be moving into her own room, into her own crib.  What a milestone it would be for all of us!  So of course, OF COURSE, she decides to change it all up and make me a liar.  She now wakes up after about four hours of sleep (FOUR!), which is just plain mean because I started to relish a full night's sleep.  Now I'm up at 3 am again, changing, feeding and rocking her back to sleep.  Sigh.  I'm really crossing my fingers that it's a growth spurt (though at 2 months, I didn't expect it), and she's just temporarily requiring all the additional feedings.

On top of that, she's been exceptionally needy these past couple of days.  She wants to be held constantly, and any extensive naps requires us holding her.  And ON TOP OF THAT, she's starting to reject the bottle.  The bottle that signified a few hours of freedom for me and the special nights out for just me and Adam.  I'm hoping I can slowly get her back onto the bottle, especially since she's been wanting to nurse every two hours.

Oh, Motherhood, how lovely and unpredictable you are!  This is definitely life teaching me to be more flexible.  Schedule?  What schedule?  I'm lucky if I can get out the door without being spit up or pooped on.  But at the end of the day, she breaks into that sweet, sweet smile and my heart is butter, and every middle-of-the-night-feeding, change-of-clothes-for-the-third-time-today, and milk-stain-on-our-sheets is so totally worth it.

Football Season Already?

And so it begins... 

Two Months Old

Happy Two Months, Baby Ella! 

In this short time you have started to explore the world more, seeing patterns everywhere. You love looking at shadows and black and white contrasts. You met and fell in love with a panda bear, who you have daily conversations with while getting your diaper changed. You've added cooing to your vocabulary, and love to make all sorts of noises. Bath time has now become shower time and you love it! You've attended two parties now (one housewarming for Mommy's friends and one to meet your new friend, Riyo). You love being outside, especially when the weather is nice. By eight weeks you started to sleep about six hours at night, though you still hatch like a baby dinosaur when you wake up. We are working on nap time in your big crib, but you have no trouble sleeping in your room as long as you have arms around you. Singing to you while walking around the room is the best way to lull you to sleep. (Your favorite song on the playlist? Music from the musical, Aida, and "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid.) Your hands have found your face and you love when you can suck on your cute little fingers. The most joyous milestone of all? You are now smiling at us and on two very sweet occasions, you laughed out loud (Daddy was the lucky recipient of those delicious giggles). Your face lights up in the morning when you see us smiling down at you. So now we have evidence that you like us just as much as we like you!

Let Sleeping Babies Lie

About the time Ella turned 7 weeks, she started becoming really fussy when she got tired.  It was challenging to get her to fall asleep even though she was obviously exhausted.  We would have to hold her all the time and it was starting to wear on me.  I figured it was because she was going through so many physical and developmental changes.  Last weekend was particularly demanding and it seemed like she was super sensitive and easily overstimulated.  The only time she could get a good nap in was while we rocked her in her room.  (And of course I choose this time to start putting her down for naps in her big crib, which she never sleeps in since she still sleeps in her co-sleeper next to us at night).  Let's just say that ten seconds in, she woke up screaming, and after a failed nursing attempt and vomiting all over herself, me and the glider, we were all exhausted and frustrated.  Saturday evening was spent taking turns holding her so she could get some much-needed rest, while I reevaluated the whole napping routine attempt.

So is my baby just a totally needy cuddle bug?  I mean, I know she's still pretty young.  But at the same time I would love to have the freedom to do things around the house while she naps for a couple hours.  I was really going back and forth until the past couple days.  While Ella still doesn't nap well in her crib, I still expose her to the routine of going down for a formal nap.  After a good meal in the afternoon, I take her to her room, put on soothing music, and read to her in her rocker.  Then I let her fall asleep and ever-so-gently lay her down in her crib.  Of course she wakes up (her longest stint was ten minutes yesterday) and I have to rock her back to sleep again, but at least there are no crying jags and puking all over Mommy, so I'd say these attempts are a 100% more successful.  

I've been experimenting with different sleep positions and the side works the best for now.  I use a swaddle to prop her up and I keep the baby monitor close to make sure she doesn't roll over.

She woke up right after I snapped this shot.  Sigh.

The greatest progress that has been made lately is that she's learning to fall asleep on her own.  She successfully did it twice last night when I put her down in her co-sleeper and all this morning as she naps on and off in her bassinet downstairs.  And she stays asleep!  I'm so proud of her and really happy to embrace this new sleeping pattern (though who knows, it will probably change in a week!).  She is eight weeks today and I see so much growth in her, it's amazing.

Napping this morning in her bassinet.  I'm going to try the Boppy in her big crib so she doesn't feel so lonely.

Apparently she doesn't like the smell of our kitchen.

Vitamin D

Ella loves spending time outside.  With the hot and humid weather we've been having there have been fewer opportunities.  But yesterday morning we got to spend a little time on our patio along with the pugs (Mia loves to sunbathe).

She'll have to forgive me one day for posting such an unflattering shot.  But the double chin is totally acceptable when you're 7 weeks old.

Mia loves getting her vitamin D.