Her first attempt with rice cereal. I think she might have eaten some of it.
Enamored with papa:
Play time with Grandpa Gary:
Snuggles with Aunt Elizabeth:
At the Little Gym:
Christmas brunch:
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
25 Weeks Old
This was a fun week for Laney! Aunt Elizabeth and cousin James flew in from Denver, and James and Laney are fascinated with each other. The first time they saw each other this week, James put on a show for Laney (squealing, jumping, bobbing his head) and Laney burst into nonstop giggles. It's one of my favorite memories of her to date. They played together at the Little Gym, crawling and dancing and doing whoop-dee-doos (back flips. it's crazy.). We went to a Christmas brunch on Saturday morning, and Laney wore her 1st Christmas dress! James also looked quite dapper in his bow tie and suspenders.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
24 Weeks Old
Quite a bit has happened in the past two weeks! I forgot to write an update last weekend because of Thanksgiving, so I have a little catching up to do. Last week, Laney figured out how to roll from her tummy to her back. Once she figured that out, she was rolling all over the crib. Every time I checked the video monitor to be sure she was sleeping safely (not against the crib bumper), I'd find her in a different position and in a different location. Sometimes she sleeps with her little booty in the air - that's my favorite.
After beginning sleep training, Laney was doing really well but would sometimes wake up randomly in the middle of the night and cry for an 45 mins - 1 hr. The first time it happened, I gave her a bottle, she chugged it, and then continued crying. I suspected her little bottom teeth might be bothering her because she would gnaw on anything and everything she could put into her mouth. I gave her one dose of tylenol and 20 minutes later, she stopped gnawing on her fingers, calmed down, and went right to sleep. The next day, I brought her to the pediatrician just to be sure nothing major was causing the crying. I needed to know she wasn't sick, didn't have an ear infection, etc before continuing the sleep training. She checked out perfectly fine (and she's 14 lbs 13 oz!), and I got the OK from the pediatrician to continue letting her cry it out. After that appointment, she's been doing really well. She falls asleep within about 5 minutes for each nap, and at night, she talks to herself and plays with her feet until she falls asleep. She only wakes up in the middle of the night when she's really hungry, and once she has a full tummy, she falls right back asleep.
The biggest event for Laney happened Thursday, Dec 5th - at 5 months 2 weeks, she got her first tooth! Her bottom left incisor made its way to the surface! I can only see the edge so far, and it's a sharp little thing. It won't be long before her other front bottom incisor comes through. I could tell her little bottom teeth were making progress because the little tooth buds in her gums looked a teeny bit swollen. The heavy drooling, fussiness, and gnawing on her fingers were another giveaway. As soon as the teeth are visible, I'll be taking plenty of pictures!
After beginning sleep training, Laney was doing really well but would sometimes wake up randomly in the middle of the night and cry for an 45 mins - 1 hr. The first time it happened, I gave her a bottle, she chugged it, and then continued crying. I suspected her little bottom teeth might be bothering her because she would gnaw on anything and everything she could put into her mouth. I gave her one dose of tylenol and 20 minutes later, she stopped gnawing on her fingers, calmed down, and went right to sleep. The next day, I brought her to the pediatrician just to be sure nothing major was causing the crying. I needed to know she wasn't sick, didn't have an ear infection, etc before continuing the sleep training. She checked out perfectly fine (and she's 14 lbs 13 oz!), and I got the OK from the pediatrician to continue letting her cry it out. After that appointment, she's been doing really well. She falls asleep within about 5 minutes for each nap, and at night, she talks to herself and plays with her feet until she falls asleep. She only wakes up in the middle of the night when she's really hungry, and once she has a full tummy, she falls right back asleep.
The biggest event for Laney happened Thursday, Dec 5th - at 5 months 2 weeks, she got her first tooth! Her bottom left incisor made its way to the surface! I can only see the edge so far, and it's a sharp little thing. It won't be long before her other front bottom incisor comes through. I could tell her little bottom teeth were making progress because the little tooth buds in her gums looked a teeny bit swollen. The heavy drooling, fussiness, and gnawing on her fingers were another giveaway. As soon as the teeth are visible, I'll be taking plenty of pictures!
Tap dancing:
Right after she woke up. She'd been sleeping on her hand and I love the little impression on her forehead. You can even see the impression from her little fingernails:
At a Christmas tree farm, picking out her first Christmas tree:
Her first tree!
She folds her hands like this every time she's about to eat. I caught her doing it in the carseat and had to get a pic:
Trying to get a picture of her new tooth, but she wasn't the most cooperative:
Saturday, November 23, 2013
22 Weeks Old - Sleep Training Success!
Recently, the pacifier situation has been difficult for both Delaney and me. While she's sleeping, it falls out of her mouth and she wakes up. She cries as I'm searching for the pacifier in the dark. I don't want to startle her by turning on the lights and I'm usually still half-asleep, so I feel around for her face (usually awkwardly tapping her nose - poor girl), find her mouth, and put the pacifier back in. Then she falls back asleep for about 20 or 30 minutes until it falls out again and we start all over. She's been waking up cranky and groggy with a hoarse voice, and I can barely function during the day. It was time to make some changes! I was still concerned about her arms and legs getting stuck between the crib rails, so I called her pediatrician for advice. She recommended temporarily using a mesh bumper for sleep training. Problem solved!
We began sleep training and got rid of the pacifier (cold turkey!) on Wednesday night. Normally, it can take up to 30 minutes for her to fall asleep for the night because of the pacifier constantly falling out of her mouth. Wednesday night, Laney was so exhausted from getting such poor sleep lately. I put her in the crib without her pacifier and left the room at 9:06pm. By 9:13, she was sound asleep! I was shocked. I expected her to cry for at least an hour. She made a few peeps during the night, but for the most part, she slept very well!
Thursday was a bit more challenging. She had caught up on some sleep, and she wanted her pacifier. She really wailed before her naps, and cried throughout the entire last nap of the day. Thursday night, it took her 10 minutes to fall asleep, but she woke up every hour throughout the night. At one point, she cried from 1:20am-1:59am (I kept a detailed log). It was a tough night for both of us, but I vowed not to give in and give her a pacifier. I reminded myself that she wasn't sleeping well with it, and it would really benefit her to learn how to fall asleep on her own. Everytime I heard anything, whether she was crying or just moving around, I watched on the video monitor to make sure she was safe and not pressed up against the mesh crib bumper. It was a long night!
Friday, things took a turn for the better. Each time I put her in her crib for a nap, she would fall asleep within 3 - 5 minutes! Up until this point, her daytime naps were always 45 minutes long - never, ever longer than that, even if she was exhausted. Friday afternoon, she took a 2 1/2 hour nap! Friday night, she fell asleep within 4 minutes! She slept through the night without crying at all, and woke up at 7:20am this morning. SUCCESS! I could hardly believe it! Today, she's been taking really long naps and waking up smiling and happy. I couldn't be more proud of her!
This has certainly been worth the work. The pacifier was great while it lasted and certainly served its purpose, but she proved she was ready to move on from it. I'm sure we'll hit a few bumps in the road as she continues to grow and as her sleeping patterns evolve, but I'm so happy with where we are right now!
We began sleep training and got rid of the pacifier (cold turkey!) on Wednesday night. Normally, it can take up to 30 minutes for her to fall asleep for the night because of the pacifier constantly falling out of her mouth. Wednesday night, Laney was so exhausted from getting such poor sleep lately. I put her in the crib without her pacifier and left the room at 9:06pm. By 9:13, she was sound asleep! I was shocked. I expected her to cry for at least an hour. She made a few peeps during the night, but for the most part, she slept very well!
Thursday was a bit more challenging. She had caught up on some sleep, and she wanted her pacifier. She really wailed before her naps, and cried throughout the entire last nap of the day. Thursday night, it took her 10 minutes to fall asleep, but she woke up every hour throughout the night. At one point, she cried from 1:20am-1:59am (I kept a detailed log). It was a tough night for both of us, but I vowed not to give in and give her a pacifier. I reminded myself that she wasn't sleeping well with it, and it would really benefit her to learn how to fall asleep on her own. Everytime I heard anything, whether she was crying or just moving around, I watched on the video monitor to make sure she was safe and not pressed up against the mesh crib bumper. It was a long night!
Friday, things took a turn for the better. Each time I put her in her crib for a nap, she would fall asleep within 3 - 5 minutes! Up until this point, her daytime naps were always 45 minutes long - never, ever longer than that, even if she was exhausted. Friday afternoon, she took a 2 1/2 hour nap! Friday night, she fell asleep within 4 minutes! She slept through the night without crying at all, and woke up at 7:20am this morning. SUCCESS! I could hardly believe it! Today, she's been taking really long naps and waking up smiling and happy. I couldn't be more proud of her!
This has certainly been worth the work. The pacifier was great while it lasted and certainly served its purpose, but she proved she was ready to move on from it. I'm sure we'll hit a few bumps in the road as she continues to grow and as her sleeping patterns evolve, but I'm so happy with where we are right now!
A few pictures from this week…
Friday, November 22, 2013
5 Months Old!
I always take way too many pictures of Delaney for her monthly photos, and then I want to post every single picture. I have such a hard time narrowing them down! Here are a few…
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Sunday, November 10, 2013
20 Weeks Old
Laney has been rolling like crazy! She hasn't quite figured out how to roll onto her back from her tummy yet, and she gets frustrated after she's been on her tummy for awhile. Sometimes she also spits up when she's on her tummy, so I can't just leave her there. This poses a slight problem. At night, sometimes she wakes up and decides to roll over. After about a minute on her tummy, she cries for mama to come turn her onto her back. Then mama leaves the room and she rolls over again. This continues for too long and the game quickly grows old. I'm starting to realize this adorable little girl has me wrapped around her finger. I've decided to wait until she can roll onto her back by herself before I begin sleep training (mostly because I'm worried about her spitting up and getting stuck there), but it won't be long before that happens. A night of uninterrupted sleep will be a major accomplishment for both her and for me.
Lately we've noticed Laney likes to be held by mommy or daddy, but she tends to have a hard time being held by others. She cries almost immediately. We think it's a phase and hopefully she'll warm up to other people soon.
Right now, I consider her schedule to be pretty spectacular. She eats her last meal around 9 or 10pm, sleeps until 6 or 7 (although she frequently wakes up wanting her pacifier or cries to be turned over, but that's okay) and quickly finishes a bottle. Then she goes right back to sleep for about 4 hours! Around 10 or 11am, she'll wake up for the day and eat-play-sleep in 2 hour cycles. She eats as soon as she's up, plays for about 1 hr 15 mins, then naps for 45 mins. She's been doing this for about 4 or 5 weeks now, and I love it! I don't think this routine will last much longer, so I'm enjoying it while I can.
Last but certainly not least, we drove to Chicago this morning to attend a Bump Club Brunch about healthy sleep habits (perfect timing for that!). Kate Brooks and adorable baby George joined us! We were so excited to meet cute little George. Laney looked huge next to him! What a fun morning with great friends!
Lately we've noticed Laney likes to be held by mommy or daddy, but she tends to have a hard time being held by others. She cries almost immediately. We think it's a phase and hopefully she'll warm up to other people soon.
Right now, I consider her schedule to be pretty spectacular. She eats her last meal around 9 or 10pm, sleeps until 6 or 7 (although she frequently wakes up wanting her pacifier or cries to be turned over, but that's okay) and quickly finishes a bottle. Then she goes right back to sleep for about 4 hours! Around 10 or 11am, she'll wake up for the day and eat-play-sleep in 2 hour cycles. She eats as soon as she's up, plays for about 1 hr 15 mins, then naps for 45 mins. She's been doing this for about 4 or 5 weeks now, and I love it! I don't think this routine will last much longer, so I'm enjoying it while I can.
Last but certainly not least, we drove to Chicago this morning to attend a Bump Club Brunch about healthy sleep habits (perfect timing for that!). Kate Brooks and adorable baby George joined us! We were so excited to meet cute little George. Laney looked huge next to him! What a fun morning with great friends!
We're taking a lot of tummy pictures these days:
This is the sleep position she gets into every. single. time. she falls asleep. As soon as she assumes this position, I know she's thisclose to falling asleep.
Watching her papa's team warm up. She loved it!
She made eye contact with her papa, but I don't think she recognized him with all of the gear on.
Sleeping on her tummy
Hi Kate and George!
New friends :)
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Fun Flashback
It's incredible to see how much Delaney has changed over the past 4 1/2 months!
2-week-old Delaney meeting 5-month-old James, and 4-month-old Delaney with 9-month-old James:
Fresh out of the oven, and again at 4 months:
Almost too small for the carseat at the hospital, and now her legs almost hang over the edge:
At first, she fit in the palm of her papa's hands, and now she's an armful:
We can't wait to see what the next 4 months brings!
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