Letters to my Baby: Month Three

Sweet Baby Girl,

It's already happening. Time is melting together, and the days are passing too quickly! You turned three months old almost two weeks ago, and I'm just now sitting down to document the last month. You're keeping us busy these days! Mom has gone back to work, and even at just two days a week, it's made life a bit busier. We want to savor every moment we have together with you, which means things like blogging take a back burner. But we're still taking lots of pictures, and making lots of memories.

This month your Grandma Haggerty came up to visit, and watched you while mom was working and dad was out of town. You gave her a run for her money, but you both survived. There were lots of snuggles, tons of singing, and enough sweet smiles to keep you both going through the day. Speaking of smiles, you really mastered smiling in your third month of life! Before they were kind of random and sporadic. Now your smiles are intentional, and they melt your parents hearts!

You grew a lot in the last month. At your three month checkup, you were measured at 26 inches long. That means you grew two inches in the last month, and you're in the 100th percentile for length. You are one tall baby girl! You're a good eater, too. You've gotten used to both bottles and breastfeeding, and you're right around the 50th percentile for weight. The official three month measurement is 13 pounds and 4 ounces. Pretty much perfect.

We're helping you practice lifting your head. It's a pretty big one (97th percentile!), so you're taking your time with that milestone. We practice tummy time every day, and can see you getting stronger with practice. You're starting to hold some toys, too, and your favorite is a cheap-o free rattle that we got at a Neighborhood Parents Network event. We've been trying out various mom and baby groups during the weekdays, to find new friends to hang out with. On the weekends we try to squeeze in time with all our long-time friends, too. There have been lots of cookouts and picnics on the weekends! We're savoring this summer weather, and all of your snuggly moments. You're growing up so fast! This third month is when we started seeing you as a real little person, instead of just a newborn baby. It is a sneak preview of what's to come... we sure to love you, and watching you grow is such a treat!

Elise is starting to love being worn by mom. The K'Tan is so cozy!

Morning snuggles are the best!

Happy first Father's Day!

Baby's first El ride!
We met Joe on Southport for dinner.

Elise was extra sweet to mom on her birthday :)

Grandma was in town for mom's birthday, too!

31 ain't so bad, right?!

We really couldn't love you more!

A beautiful wedding... and thoughts on finding balance

A couple weeks ago we dragged our tired new parent butts up to Madison, Wisconsin, for a wedding. It wasn't just any wedding, though. We were going to celebrate a couple that we've become good friends with, who have been dating since before Joe and I knew each other! (Joe and I met almost 13 years ago.) Jess and Natan are a great couple, and we were so excited to join in the celebration of their marriage!

The wedding was held outside of Madison, and it was beautiful! Such a lush setting, in the midst of so much green and lovely rolling hills. The bride was radiant, the groom dapper, and spirits were high. The food was delicious, too! So many of our good friends were in attendance, ready to toast the newly married couple. Overall, it was the type of wedding that is incredibly enjoyable.

This was the first Jewish wedding I've been to.
It was beautiful, and especially touching since the Rabbi
was also a good friend of the bride and groom!

The flowers were lovely... but the bride was more beautiful than they were.
Too bad I sucked at taking pictures this night!

Elise got her own personalized glass, and
Joe decided to use it to drink his beer :)

As you might notice in the last picture, Elise looks totally spaced out. It was hot and reeeealy humid at the reception, and pretty buggy too. She didn't do well with the heat, and was acting really lethargic. Quite stressful for the new parents! And that's where "finding balance" comes into play. Before we had Elise, I always said that I'd just take the baby along with me, and that life wouldn't need to change that much. Ah, the things naive first time parents say! It turns out things like naps, loud environments, and extreme temperatures affect little babies more than I was initially expecting. Duh! This wedding was a good reality check for us. While we wouldn't have missed it, it was not the same experience as it would have been a year ago. Or even a year from now. We spent a decent chunk of the reception in a random air conditioned cabin, nursing, changing, and cooling down the baby. I couldn't drink much, and we ended up probably being the first to leave. You better bet we stopped for some booze on the way home... mommy needed a glass of wine once baby went to sleep!

This is where Joe and I work to find that balance. We do NOT want to be the type of parents who give up on socializing. We want to get out of the house with the baby, but we have to find reasonable ways to do that. Obviously, with a situation like a wedding, we just have to make the most of it. I'm still so glad we went, but I'm a little sad we didn't get to enjoy the day more. But for more day to day outings and events, we'll just keep figuring out how it works for us. We ended up skipping a street festival a few weekends ago because it was too loud and crowded, but we went down the street and has snacks and a drink at a restaurant we really like. That was good... rather than admit defeat and go home, we went to plan B, which worked for baby and parents. We've brought her to a couple cookouts and get togethers with friends, and just have to accept that we'll be the first to leave. But we're there! And I do think the concept of balancing will get a little easier in a few months, as Elise gets into a predictable routing and also grows a little less fragile. Not to mention numerous friends are currently pregnant, so they'll be relating to this scenario soon enough! Someone once told me, "your life doesn't END when you have kids, it just changes." How true that is! We love our new life, and this precious little baby. And as we work to find this balance, who's interested in getting together for more baby friendly gatherings? :)

Letters to my Baby: Month Two

(I swore I published this last week... but here it is in my drafts folder! Second try is a charm?)

Hi Baby Girl, 

I can't believe we're already to two months! Time is flying, and your dad and I are enjoying every minute of it. You have changed a ton in the last month. You've filled out a little... not quite to 'chubby baby status', but you're not as scrawny as you started life. And you now have the cutest chubby cheeks! They're so squeezable!

In the last month you've started smiling and making noises intentionally. We love it! It feels like you've been smiling at us for ages, but really it's only been for the last few weeks. You've gotten so much more alert, too. The sleepy brand new baby has changed into one who watches what's happening around her. You know our voices, too, and get really happy when daddy comes home from work at night.

Between your long body and your bulky cloth diapers, you're already wearing size 3-6 month clothing. I can't believe we've already packed away some of your clothes from the first month! We're eager to hear your official measurements at your 2 month doctor visit later this week. You seem like a pretty big baby, especially when it comes to length. Not too surprising, since you have tall parents! You'll also have your two month vaccination shots at this visit. Mom is not looking forward to that, but knows how important these shots are.

Another first you experienced this month was your first overnight trip. We drove to Minnesota for Aunt Colleen's graduation, and you did a great job on the trip. You stayed in two different hotels, and visited two new states. It's never easy to travel with a seven week old baby, but you did great! And doing a road trip was nice, so we could just cram every item we wanted into the car. Next up, we'll try a road trip to St Louis, and before the end of the summer we hope to get you on an airplane!

And now, how about far too many cute pictures from your second month of life? And this is with me showing some restraint...

We love you sweet Elise!

Grandma and Grandpa H came to visit.
This is the only picture from the weekend :(

Early in the month, you still seemed pretty tiny.
This is a weekend jam session with your daddy,
when he plays his guitar for you.

We had to document the first bottle!
You're still exclusively breastfed, but we're doing some breast
milk bottles to prepare for when mom goes back to work. 

We love weekend snuggles in our bed!

Who can resist a sleeping baby?

Breakfast in bed on my first Mother's Day.

We didn't plan much for Mother's Day, since Elise is still small and unpredictable.
We took a nice walk to the Square, got frozen yogurt, and relaxed in the park.
It was perfect!

I'm trying to do this "baby wearing" thing,
to be more productive around the house.

Dad got home early from a work trip, so we took advantage
and had some patio beers at Rockwells!

Elise is her Dad's daughter, and hates the sun.
We rigged up some fancy shade for her, so we could enjoy a warm weekend!

Baby girl loves being read to. It kills me!!

Baby Sister Graduates!

We went to Minnesota last weekend to celebrate my little sister's college graduation. Joe and I were pretty nervous about traveling with Elise, but the trip really went well overall! It's not easy to travel with a newborn, but she was her easygoing self on the trip. I did discover that we didn't get to spend quite as much time with my family as I would have liked, when we factored in nap time and early bedtime. It was still great to see everyone, though. And it was my brother, sister, and brother in law's first time meeting Elise! It's always fun to introduce her to people, and of course it was extra special to introduce her to her aunts and uncles.

Elise's first hotel stay
Wisconsin Dells 

She's pretty popular!

Hanging with Uncle Brendan

My baby sister is not so little anymore!

The whole gang
(minus brother in law Dan, aka the photographer)

My siblings are special...

Colleen was our tour guide around campus

Elise is adorable with her grandpa. She loves him!

Graduation Dinner

Toasting to no more college tuition!

Oldest and youngest siblings

This precious angel slept almost the whole way home!

Life Lately

So I'm not sure what to blog about besides Elise. Right now she's consuming pretty much every waking moment of my life. And too many of the (should be) sleeping moments, too :) This newborn phase is special, but also challenging. Her daytime naps are pretty solid, but she's inconsistent at night. She is so sweet and snuggly, though, and has the best temperament. She rarely cries, and has started smiling and cooing a bunch. Even when I'm exhausted, I look at her and feel nothing but love. She's a pretty amazing little girl! I'm looking forward to the schedule and sleep that will come as she gets a little older, but I'm also savoring the sweet newborn moments, because I know it will go too fast!

Seriously, could she be any cuter?!?!

I'm starting to work a bit on getting back into shape. I was cleared to work out as of Monday, and went for a short, slow run that night. We've taken a couple decent walks this week, too. I was hoping to go to a mom and baby yoga class yesterday, but Elise was still napping when it started, and I hate to wake her up if I don't need to. Thankfully, I've lost just about all of the baby weight, so now the battle is just firming up and getting rid of the belly that has hung around. I'd love to have all my regular pants fit again!

Elise and I are getting into a pretty good groove during the week. We love lazy mornings, and I'm usually in pajamas until she goes down for her morning nap around 9 or 10 am. We are working on making some mom friends, and have been regularly attending a couple of mom groups. The one at the hospital is great, because there are some slightly older babies there with their more experienced moms. I love comparing notes with them, and seeing where Elise is going to be in a few months. A number of these moms are stay at home moms, too, so I will be able to continue to hang out with them in the future. I also found a nice group of moms that live in my neighborhood. We've been meeting weekly, and their babies are all within a few weeks of Elise's age. They are a great group, but most are planning to go back to work full time. Once that happens, I'm going to try to form a new neighborhood group with stay at home moms, because it's during the week that I need people so socialize with.

I'm also so excited to know that so many of my local friends are starting families. I know of five friends who are currently pregnant, with babies due this fall. When Joe and I found out I was pregnant, it felt like we were the only ones in that stage of life, but all these people have quickly caught up with us.  This time next year there are going to be babies everywhere!

Time to get ready to face the day. Elise is napping, and I have to make use of this precious time!