I have had every intension of writing more often than I have. But who know that having an infant at the house would make time disappear! :) With that being said, I would like to at least take the few minutes that I have while Reese is napping to write what I can about the past 3 months with our new addition.
We have had a very busy past 3 months. Not only have we been adjusting to having a baby, but we've also had quite a bit of company and holidays have come and gone too!
Month 1: October 2, 2010 - November 1, 2010
The first month almost seems like a blur because it came and went so quickly! We had a LOT of family visit -- our moms, our dads, our siblings, my grandmothers, some cousins, an aunt, an uncle, and many, many friends! The first month also included a doctor's visit (at 2 weeks) -- Reese measured 21.75 inches and weighed 8 lbs 15 oz. The doctor said she was perfect! She measured in the 90 percentile for height, 50 percentile for weight (and head circumference). Reese's first month also included her first Halloween! We dressed up as the Black Eyed P's (pictured below).
By the end of her first month, Reese was thankfully sleeping with only one nightly feeding, and she was eating on pretty regular schedule! We have been very blessed with a baby who sleeps well at night and who was pretty easy to get on a 3-hour feeding schedule! I typically stayed up until nearly midnight to feed her the last time each night, and she usually slept until 4:00-4:30 before waking up to eat. After that, she would start waking up 3 hours later to eat. She was pretty easy to get on a schedule too -- another blessing! Reese slept in a bassinet in our room which made late night feedings as easy as possible. But again, we are very thankful for the way that she started falling into a routine and sleep that she did get!
Month 2: November 2, 2010 - December 1, 2010
The second month was a another eventful month! Reese had some pretty big devlopement milestones too (at least to us). On her 1 month birthday, I weighed her at 10.3 lbs and measured her at 23 inches. It was also a time of "firsts" -- 1st outing alone with Mommy, 1st baby sitter (by a non-family member), 1st roadtrip and Thanksgiving, and the 1st time sleeping through the night! That's right, at just around 6 weeks, Reese started going to bed around 11:30 or so, and slept until 6ish! The nights gradually extended to about 7 hours, and by the end of the month, 8 hours were becoming the norm -- WOOHOO!
The second month also brought on my first day back to work and Reese's first day of "school" at The Growing Place. It was hard leaving Reese while I went to work, but once we got in the routine, it was kind of nice. The Growing Place is the daycare (child developement center) at our church, and Reese attends 2 days/week (Tuesday and Thursday). It's nice to have her at a positive place where we know the teachers and they know and love Reese. And it's nice that Reese gets the opportunity to interact with other babies a couple of days a week, but still gets to be home with me for the majority of the time.
Month 3: December 2, 2010 - January 1, 2011
Month 3 started off somewhat difficult -- for me more than for Reese! Her first set of vaccines were horrible! She measure at 24 inches (95% -- definitely from her Daddy), and she weighed in at 10 lbs 15.1 oz (50%)... so she's essentially a string bean! She did great for the appointment until the shots! I survived it with only a few tears! And with a little tylenol, Reese made it through the rest of the day just fine.
More pleasant firsts in her third month included her first Christmas, first 9-hour night (that’s not the norm yet), her first snow, and her first New Year's! Christmas was long, but good. We spent time in Winston with Dusty’s family, then headed to Roanoke Rapids to spend time with my family, then back to Winston to before finally making it home a week later. But while we were in Roanoke Rapids, we got “snowed in” with nearly a foot of snow and all the excitement must have worn Reese out because she slept for 9 solid hours! Both the snow and the sleep were beautiful! :)
The last 3 months have been fun to say the least! Reese is very alert (and has been from birth really). She has great head control and loves to "stand" (she only needs help keeping her balance since she still wobbles a little). She is a talker too! She has been cooing for a couple of months, but she has started "singing" in the last week or so. She takes a big breath and holds out a note until she runs out of air! She's certainly training her lungs! She is such a happy baby most of the time, and she seems really inquizative when meeting new people and seeing new toys. She loves listening to music and watching lights (she LOVES watching TV, but I try my very best not to let her watch it)! We are still nursing, and I have somehow managed to make it work so far with 2 days at work.
Like I said, it's been a busy past 3 months. But I couldn't imagine it any other way! I have had several people say that we will forget what it was like before Reese came along. I don't know about that... I mean, I certainly remember what life was like before her... but I am certainly enjoying life with her now. :)
