Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Elli's month three update

Ahh! I thought I was going to be doing more updates and maybe daily (ok, every other day?) blog posts, but then we found an apartment!! That pushed us into a rush of packing, moving, and shopping and then before I knew it I was into round 2 of midterms.
At least I know after finals in December I'll have a break for a little while. Here's Elli's 3 month update!! Month 3 favorites coming soon (I hope)!!

Weight/Height: Mama weighed and measured Elli on her 3 month day and she was 11lbs 5.5oz and 23 ½ inches long. She’s growing so well!

Hair & Eyes: Elliot’s hair is still growing and she hasn’t lost any. It’s a very pretty light brown and it’s very fluffy after we wash it. Sometimes when it’s wet it looks curly. Her eyes are a lovely grey/blue and sometimes they still look purple.

Diapers: In this department not much has changed, we’re still using size 1/2 from Costco (Kirkland brand) and prefolds with covers. Mama has decided to retire the newborn AIOs and get to work replacing their Velcro and stripping them so they’re ready for another baby in a few years. The Kushies AIOs that we have are still too loose ar0und the legs to hold newborn poo. We have added a 6 used flip covers to our stash (snaps), two brand new hook/loop (Albert and Zinnia), and one brand new with snaps (Lovelace). They’re great!! The used ones could use new leg elastics, but they’re working for now so we’ll probably do that one cover at a time.

Clothes: Still in 0-3 clothes mostly. Some of the sleepers are starting to fit just right so I think we’ll need to move up a size in the next few weeks. We’ve pulled out a couple 3-6m sweaters, dresses, and a pair of overalls that are oh-so cute!! The overalls still cover Els’ feet, but they’re so darn adorable. We’re moving this month and I think that’s when I will start swapping out her wardrobe.


Eating: E is a champ in this department! Still eats all the time, but it good about going 3-4 hours in between feedings now when Mama is at school or work. She takes a few bottles a week, usually just when I’m at work with a long shift.


Sleeping: Sleeping is pretty much the same, we still wake up around 2am and again around 3:30-4. Since Daylight Savings time ended though we’ve only been having one wake-up, and it’s usually the later one! It’s spectacular! We’ve also found that Elli is very capable of falling asleep without nursing and while she prefers to be held while sleeping, she will fall asleep and stay asleep on her own.
 


Milestones: Elliot still smiles and “talks” ALL the time! It’s so sweet. She’s started trying to giggle and has acquired quite the little squeal when she wants attention. This month is the first that she’s really paid attention to toys. She loves the yellow duck we hung on her activity gym and she has an elephant (Phantom) that play Brahm’s Lullaby. We haven’t seen any signs of rolling over, but she loves to use her legs to push herself up if she’s sitting against a pillow or person. She will push herself up and over her Boppy to stare out the window. I have a feeling that Elli will be an early crawler, but who knows!

~Sheridan, Mama Mainly

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Elli & Mama's Monthly Favorite {2 months}

Here are Elliot and my favorites from her 2nd month. I'll be working on our faves from month 3 and will hopefully get those up this week!!
This month everything ended up being white & blue!

1. Fisher Price Rock 'n' Play // here
This has been a lifesaver. They now come with a vibration feature which mine doesn't have, but I bet it's awesome! We use this for Elliot when she's napping, when we need to eat, sometimes we even take it in the bathroom so she has a safe place to sit while we shower. I love that it rocks with an easy rhythm from my foot and that I don't have to worry about adding new batteries. It was a cinch to put together and it folds up nicely and easily. I LOVE the cute pattern and colors (we have the one pictured) and this was the first place Elli would take a nap that wasn't in my arms.
2. Gerber Pre-fold cloth diapers // here
We've been more consistent with the cloth diapering in month 2. I've been loving the pre-fold/cover system. Pre-folds are super easy to wash, I don't have to worry about damaging PUL if I want to use bleach or something to get stains out. I also love that they're cotton instead of synthetic material.
3. Thirsties Duo Snap Wrap // here
Gotta have something to go over the pre-folds, These are nice because they have an adjustable rise. We have size 1 which should fit until Elli is about a year old (18#s).
4. Ameda Purely Yours breastpump // here
This has been awesome to have! I was able to get it through my insurance without a copay!! (Under the affordable care act everyone should be able to get some type of pump through their insurance at no cost to themselves). I knew when I was shopping for a pump that I wanted one with a closed tubing system so that I didn't have to wash all the tubing between every use. With this milk only goes in the bottle! There are a max. of 4 parts that need to be washed!! It's amazing. I always pump one side while Elli is nursing on the other, this way I don't have to try to get a 'let down' with the pump. It has worked really well for us! Elliot probably takes 4-5 bottles (4-5 oz) a week.
5. Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature bottles // here
I chose this bottle because it's supposed to be similar to nursing. So far we have had no problem switching back and forth between the two. This bottle is also anti-colic (which was not a problem we had) and has a temperature sensing rod in the bottle which is nice!
4. Mam Pacifiers // here
Getting Elliot to take a pacifier was tough, but she finally liked these! The nipples don't have an angled/flat portion and they're textured which I think helps the replicate the feeling of sucking on a breast. She really likes these and they have even put her to sleep which is tough to do!

Hopefully looking at our monthly favorites is helpful. For you veteran Mamas what was your favorite item(s) for the infant stage?

~Sheridan, Mama Mainly