3 months

I'm a bit delayed in getting the 3 month blog out, but we've been kind of busy. In getting back from Oregon, we enjoyed our last week together before I had to go to work. We kept it busy by going to Farmer's Market, play dates and an attempt at the beach. We also met Jason for a mid-day lunch and a couple last shopping trips. I also enjoyed having Avery in bed with me in the mornings because I knew that would also be coming to an end. Labor Day we had dinner at my sister's, which we had realized we had only been there one time over the summer. Quite sad when we used to go over there weekly. Aly and Jake got a kick out of seeing "baby Avery".

On Labor Day night I put Avery to bed. I was rocking her and feeding her and started bawling. Why? I was going to work the next day. I mean, it was like streaming down my face bawling. I really didn't want to go back to work but it wasn't really an option for us. It was so sweet because while Avery was eating and I was crying, she grabbed onto my finger and held tight like saying, "It's ok Mommy". It made me feel a bit better. I know she would be in good hands.

I started work. Waking up at 5:30 is not ideal. I don't get to really see her in the morning unless she wakes up. I like to go peek on her and see her smile in her sleep. It's so cute. The first week I was blessed in that I only had to work 4 hours. With the change of schedule, I was gone before lunchtime! It was so weird! Now this week I'm on my normal 7-3:30 schedule.

Entrusting others to watch your child full-time has been interesting to deal with. The first couple of days they would report that she did great and tell me about their daily activities. Then on Thursday/Friday they'd make comments like, "She's doing SO much better!" I'd think to myself...was she doing bad?! They never really said so. They also made a comment about her being big for her age which kind of bugged me. Oh well. I'm also hoping that by her being in daycare that she might get on a more consistent nap schedule. So far she's only sleeping between 30-50 minutes at a time. Hopefully they'll get a bit longer once she settles into being comfortable there. I still don't like that I can't be with her most of the time. I really missed her today :(.

As far as stats, I won't have them until 4-months. I'm thinking she's about 13lbs now. She's grown out of her 0-3 month clothes and fits in 3M clothes...some she is still swimming in though. She's happily cooing away, talking to us all of the time, she's taking close to 6oz bottles, she's becoming more interactive. She just rolled over from tummy to back on 9/10. I was very excited to get it on video :). She's very strong! She can hold her head up without any problems. She often stands on my lap and can support her weight pretty well. I also think she's teething a bit. She often gets fussy w/ her pacifier, spits it out, but wants it back to be soothed. It's a sad cycle to go through. Hopefully she can find some comfort.

Things to look forward to:
- rolling over back to tummy
- visit from Papa Richard
- riding in the new jogger stroller
- 4 month appointment!

Oregon

This past weekend we went up to Yachats, Oregon for a family reunion on Jason's side of the family. None of the family had met Avery yet so we were all looking forward to it. We purposely chose a flight that left at 6am because it was one of very few that had a direct flight into Portland. Avery looked as us weird when we woke her up at 4am to leave. She was happily compliant and took her bottle as we took off. She slept for most of the trip, which was convenient since it was her naptime anyway. We then braved the 3 hour drive to Yachats. I felt bad that we had her in the car for so long. Again, she slept most of the way and was a trooper. We tried to take breaks for food, stretching her legs and cooling her down before getting back on the road.

When we got to Yachats, it seemed like she was the star of the weekend. There was no shortage in arms that wanted to hold her. She got to meet her grandma and great grandparents for the first time.



She also got to experience her first rain and visit to the aquarium.



On Sunday Jason wanted me to go kayaking with him. I suited up in a wetsuit and braved the chilly water. We set out in the river and paddled towards the ocean. Once out there, Jason was like, "Did you see we caught that wave?". Seriously? I missed it? I saw waves that were a bit further out and suggested that we go out and around and try to get one of those waves so I could actually tell that we caught a wave. He goes along w/ my idea and I find the wave I'd like to catch. Problem is...a kayak doesn't turn around as fast as a boogeyboard. Needless to say, the wave hit us sideways and pitched me out into the chilly water. Brr. I managed to climb back in but then we noticed that Jason's Uncle Mark had also overturned his boat, losing his glasses and his hat. In order to look for them, he didn't pay attention to the fact that his boat washed away. We paddled to go get the boat. By then my hands were so numb that they hurt and I couldn't bend them. I was hoping that I hadn't banged and hurt them because they hurt so bad. Jason's other uncle waded out to us, let me switch boats into the one person boat, he took the 2-person and Jason helped drag me to shore. My hands hurt so bad that I couldn't even paddle. Once we got to shore, I walked the rest of the way back (which I couldn't feel my feet either...probably a good thing) and Jason paddled the rest of the way back to our cabin. We went straight into the hot shower to thaw myself off. It actually took several days for my fingers to feel normal again.

The return trip wasn't as lovely as the trip there. Avery was up way past her bedtime and was way overstimulated by the lights and noise of the airplane. It took her a while to settle down. Once she was asleep we layed her on the seat between us (Alaska let us have the whole row!). She stayed asleep for about 45 minutes then was up and crying again. I felt so bad for the people around us because I didn't want to be one of "those" parents. Luckily we were surrounded by a bunch of older adoring ladies who just looked at us and smiled. When I mouthed "so sorry!" to them, they were like..."she's so cute! no worries!". Luckily she fell back asleep and I didn't dare let go of her after that.

All in all it was a great trip. The family loved her and she loved being around them too!

Brain fart

Every so often, I'll be driving or in the shower etc, and something brilliant pops into my head. Doesn't happen very often...but something I think "That would be cool to write in my blog". I get down to write and it's like I flatline. I think of witty, thought provoking things to say...then I get a chance to write it..."what was I thinking of again"? I have no idea. I think this is the symptom of being a new mom that will stay much longer than the pounds I gained. If so, I'm not a fan. I used to be an intelligent person with things to say!! Now I'm like, "huh"? It's embarassing trying to struggle in finding words that used to be everyday words. I'm not a fan. I'm a bit worried about it since I'm returning to work on Tuesday and it requires me to put thought and action when making decisions. Hopefully it's something that will come back over time.

That's another subject...going back to work. I'm NOT looking forward to it for many reasons. I've been home for 4 months, and let me say...I could get used to this. While I don't want to be a full-time SAHM, I was hoping to find something part-time. I like the fact that Avery will be able to socialize around other babies and people...but I love being around her everyday. I love seeing her cute face in the morning as it is the smileiest part of her day. Jason will be taking her to daycare in the morning so I will miss that. I will also miss pulling her into bed with me in the morning and sleeping a few more hours. I'll miss our afternoon walks, going to the park, meeting up with friends and taking naps in the afternoon together. Granted, I know I can do some of these things on the weekend, but it's just not the same. For those that work with me...be nice to me next week as I'll probably be a wreck!

12 weeks.

try·ing
-verb
to attempt to do or accomplish: Try it before you say it's simple.

try·ing
   /ˈtraɪɪŋ/ Show Spelled[trahy-ing]
–adjective
extremely annoying, difficult, or the like; straining one's patience and goodwill to the limit: a trying day; a trying experience.

I can see why people say that English is the hardest language to learn. You have one word that means two completely different thing. Both definitions are totally applicable in our circumstance. The first...trying to get through everything. I put Avery on a routine and she's been doing well with that. We transitioned her to her crib and she did well for about two days. Then the spurt started. She used to just get up at 2 and then sleep until 6. For some reason she woke up around midnight and didn't go back to bed until 4am. Then woke up again at 5 and 6. This threw us for a loop because she had been getting up just once a night since she was 2 weeks old! It's been about a week since this started. She's still getting up twice a night but it's for shorter periods of time. We've been told it's her 3 month growth spurt probably coupled with the crib transition. Now that things are getting better in the sleep department, we're going to throw it for another loop by going to Oregon for the weekend! Hope she does better with the travels than she did with Oakhurst.

Things coming up:
- Weekend in Oregon, meeting Jason's family.
- Day at the races.
- Going back to work :(, Avery is going to daycare.

Roadtrip

Over the weekend we venture to Oakhurst for my stepsister Christina's wedding. We were nervous at first about traveling with Avery and weren't sure how to go about it. She does well in the car, but during the day she sleeps in it or she'll get cranky because she's so hot in her carseat. It wasn't until a coworker of Jasons suggested going at night that we had even thought about it. We figured it'd be the best option. We could feed her, start on our merry way and by the time we got up there it would be time for her to get up and take a bottle anyway.
So Thursday night we left. I managed to drive straight pretty much to Fresno before Jason took over. We arrived around 1am and unpacked all of our crap. So much crap traveling with a baby!! I quickly changed into my jammies, fed her and laid her in a borrowed cosleeper on the floor. She was out so quickly and slept till 6:30!! I let Jason sleep until 9, then we were off getting ready and went to visit my dad at his property. It was nice staying there, relaxing, having Avery spend time in the outdoors and nap some more. She was pretty mellow with all the family and friends, being passed around and oo'd over. Then Friday night hit.
I was able to get her down pretty easily once we got back to the house. I wasn't able to do my routine of giving her a bath before bed, but she still went down fine. We stayed up helping out with last minute wedding stuff, chatting and reminiscing until about 10:30 and decided to go to bed. Then she wakes up at 11:30. It took me about 5 minutes to get her to go back to sleep, not too bad. But if you know me, you know that once I wake up I have a hard time falling back asleep. I finally do, then she wakes up at 12:20. What the heck?? Again, this time it takes me about 10-15 minutes for her to fall back asleep. I don't feed her b/c I know she's not hungry when she'll usually last until 2 before a feeding. This time I can't get back to sleep. Then she wakes up at 2 like clockwork. I ask Jason to do the feeding since I really hadn't slept at all at this point. He does but unfortunately it's so dark in the room that he had to turn the light on that was right next to me. It was kind of counterproductive. For some reason she would NOT stay asleep!! So from 2-4:30 we proceeded to take turns trying to calm her down and get her back to sleep. It was not fun. I was so incredibly tired that I was laying on the floor, shhing her to sleep while also crying because I was so utterly tired and frustrated. We finally got her to sleep and then she woke up again at 5:30 which is fairly typical. I didn't even try and get her to go back to sleep. I just put her in bed with me. She fell back asleep and I kinda drifted, barely, until it was 6:30 and I had to get up to get ready for the wedding. I was so incredibly frustrated.
The wedding went great. Once I was up and doing things I forgot about how tired I really was. I got a lot of compliments on my makeup, which was great because 1) I did it myself and 2) it covered up the dark circles :). I'll try and post pictures but blogspot hasn't been letting me post images. Not sure why.
All in all it was a great trip. The way back was very trying as both Jason and I had limited sleep. I was only able to drive for about an hour. I was nodding off so didn't find it too safe to drive my family home.
Ok, let me try pictures..

Naptime and Stats

The beginning of last week I started "Operation Naptime" because we have been having problems with solid naps since Day 1. I'd get her to take a 2 hr nap here and there, but that would be like once every week and a half. Other than that, I'd get these 30 minute cat naps here and there. I realized that most of it might have been due to being busy and out and about...which I know is my fault. Also it was due to me not recognizing her cues. So my neighbor let me borrow "The Baby Whisperer" book and I have been trying to employ most of the methods the past two weeks. Initially it was hard because I'd get her to nap almost an hour, but then she wouldn't go back down. Nighttime made me nervous at first because we used to feed her and put her straight to bed. The book suggests feeding her, then doing some type of activity, like a bath, and then putting to bed. Since we have been doing this we have had NO problems putting her to bed. Whoo hoo! Small victory!! Also since using the techniques we've been able to get on some sort of nap routine (not schedule, routine). Mama has also been doing a better job at recognizing when she is tired and putting her down. Go me! All in all, with doing this, she has been so a pleasant baby! Her witching hour has seemed to decrease and all is happy in the land :).

Avery had her two month appointment today. I have to say I was a bit nervous for her because I knew she'd be getting shots. It was so hard spending time with her in the office w/ her all cute in her diaper, smiling at me, knowing that she was about to get poked by some ginormous needles....and I'm not kidding, these needles were huge!! I was amazed at how great she did. She had 3 pokes and cried for about 2 minutes. She let me dress her, put her pacifier in, and within 5 minutes she was asleep. We're trying the first nap now so hopefully she gets the rest she needs. As far as stats here goes:
Weight- 11lbs 10oz
Height- 22.75 inches
Head- 40.5

Doctor said she looks great and she has no reasons to be concerned. There's a little greyish blue spot on her elbow that she's had since birth that she might like me to get checked out after the next appointment if there's any change.

2 months!

Man time is flying! Seems like just yesterday we brought little Avery home. Now it feels like she's a tank! How can such a little thing grow up so quickly? As far as stats, I won't have those until next week at her 2 month appointment, but the scale at home says she's almost 12 lbs! Crazy to think she's packed on 5lbs in 2 months!
So yes, she's a good eater. No worries there. For all accounts she's a good sleeper too. We had a few days of a sleep schedule of 9-4:30 and then going down after, not waking up until 7 or 8. We thought we were in heaven! Of course, it didn't last long.
My main mission for this week is to establish some hearty napping. I tend to be a go-go person. I like to do errands, I like to be out and busy. Being housebound is not my forte. However, for the sake of my child and her need for sleep, I have to sacrifice some things. I'm trying to be housebound for most of this week in order to institute some healthy sleep patterns. Thanks to my neighbor Shera, she let me borrow "The Baby Whisperer", which yesterday I quickly leafed through the main points in order to start full fledged this morning.
Having been up since 3:30, I was looking forward to Avery sleeping in bed with me until 10, but I knew I'd regret it later. I got her up at 7 and have been going diligently with a schedule. So far so good. We'll see how she does through the night too.
Some other accomplishments she has done: smiling and cooing. It makes the screaming fits and 2am diaper changes worth while. She's got the cutest smile and saying her "oooo's", and it often shows when you're most frustrated. The other night I was desperate to get her down for bedtime. Usually in our desperation, we just put her bouncer in her pack n play and shake the heck out of it. She's weird, she loves to have her head bobbing in her bouncer...she falls asleep so quickly! So...there I am, an hour and a half into her bedtime routine, hovering over her, shaking the heck out of her bouncer, and she's just sitting there smiling at me. She's too cute to be mad at. I had to bite my lip to keep from smiling back because I didn't want to stimulate her to stay awake.

Family-hood is great. It's fun going out with her and getting smiles from people about "oohh, how cute the baby is", etc. I am now starting the 3rd of my 4 months of maternity leave. I was granted an earlier schedule of 7-3:30 at work, which should help a ton w/ commute and overall happiness at work, but at the same time I'm not looking forward to going back. I will miss seeing her smiling face all day, getting the hugs and coo's from her. There is a small part of me that looks forward to adult interaction :). I'm not counting down the days though.

Things we're looking forward to this month:
- Traveling to Oakhurst for Christina's wedding.
- Her 2 month appointment.
- Day at the Del Mar races.
- Doing a supervisor training in Riverside.
- Flying to Oregon to meet Jason's family.