JORDAN IS THREE MONTHS OLD!!! Someecard Edition

It only took a minute to get her pictures this time with the help of monster doll (as oppose to last month which was a multi-day ordeal).  Also, no way are her feet that big. Her shoes are, though!

THREE MONTHS
Weight: About 11 and a half pounds.  She's gaining weight like a normal baby now instead of trying to play catch up!

Length: Short. According to my many measurements, she's 21 inches. Wtf? Did she not grow? Her jammies  are getting short on her so nothing makes sense right now. 

She's short.   Very short. 

Head: Um... bigger. I'd measure but honestly I'm not even sure if I care that much.
Clothing size: OH MY BLOG.  Seriously. This girl who used to have IUGR, who left the hospital under 5 pounds, is in SIX MONTH PANTS AND SHORTS. Everything else is three months - she has wiggle room in her clothes, but pretty soon the length just won't cut it and she will be in six month everything.
Eye color: Still a dark blue-sh grey.  I love them. I can stare at them all day (I often do).  Here's hoping her eye color doesn't change!

Not the best picture, but you can see her eye color!

Hair: Lightening up, although it is hard to tell. Still dark, dark, dark brown.

Jordan and her monster doll.  She's obviously very confused by the camera flash. 

Pediatrician update: NO MORE TORTICOLLIS!  Thank God.  We still have to do stretches with her for a couple more weeks, but her neck muscles are no longer tight and I only notice her favoring her left side when she is very sleepy.  Repositioning her helps a lot.

EAT

Breastfeeding about every 4 hours.  I don't have her on a set schedule, but rather she is in a good routine everyday.  At night, she can go 6-9 hours without eating (and still wake up happy!).  We are now halfway to 6 month breastfeeding goal. Pretty sure I might go past that goal - I love the bonding time with her.

SLEEP

Passed out while doing tummy time. Defense mechanism, maybe. 

Bedtime is 10:30 pm!!! A GREAT improvement from 1:30 a.m.  She generally gets fussy around 2 am, but is still asleep.  Sometimes she wakes to nurse around 3:30, sometimes she doesn't.  When she does, she's awake just long enough to get a diaper change and nurse and then she is passed out like a college kid on spring break. She wakes up between 6:00 am and 8:00 am, depending on whether or not she got up in the middle of the night to eat.  Quite the accomplishment for someone still so little! However, she is still a LOUD sleeper between 2 am and 4 am so it keeps me awake- not to mention that I have to get up before her to pump. I still very much am a zombie during the day.

LIKES
Weirdly, diaper changes. Maybe because its one of the rare occasions I let her lay on her back instead of her stomach. Maybe its because she has my undivided attention.  Maybe because she thinks it is hilarious that I have to clean her stinky butt.  Probably the latter.

Play mat She goes nuts kicking her piano and swinging at her toys. Plus she really, really likes staring at her ceiling fan. I should probably dust it so we can actually use it.  You know, when it actually starts to stay warm around here.

Boppy Thank you, makers of the Boppy pillow, for making tummy time a little more bearable. I have way too many picture of her on this thing.
Mirror Who's that baby?! ITS JORDAN!!! (cue baby smiles)
Kisses Especially from her turtle and this little monster doll her grandma made for her.  Not so much from people (unless its when she's getting her diaper changed. Again, weirdo).
Baths

Baby. Sunglasses. Enough said. 

"You coming, Jordan?" - Miranda

Walks The perfect naptime inducer.
Her crib She naps in her crib now and I plan on transitioning her there for night time sleep this week. Sometimes she will wake up and just lay there and talk to herself or look around. It makes it a little hard to realize that she woke up!

Her. Stupid. Pacifier.Or wubby, as I call it.  She really, really hated this thing at first (much to my relief).  But then we started noticing her eating her hands... and I realized it would be easier for me later to take her pacifier away than to take away her thumb when she's sucking it. So she gets a pacifier now, but only if she is chewing on her hands during the day or she just won't calm down at night. Of course, she loses the damn thing all the time so its a constant game of putting it in her mouth, her dropping it, crying, me putting it back in, her dropping it, me sighing, etc. etc. etc.

DISLIKES
UGH. Car rides. She likes them when she is sleepy (loves them, actually).  But when she is wide awake?  BIGGEST BABY TANTRUM EVER.  You'd think she was prisoner in her carseat. Oh wait...
Stretches Necessary for her torticollis, but I feel like the most awful mother when I ruin her good mood by doing these stretches with her 5 times a day. She screams the whole time. The thing is, I know they don't hurt her. If she has her wubby, she's totally fine.  If she's half asleep, I swear she smiles at me when I do it. She just hates it when someone makes her do something she doesn't want to do. Like mother, like daughter.
Sitting still It's all good. I have to walk to lose the last few pounds, anyway.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Rolling to her side - she could technically do this when she was born (to the amazement of her nurses), but she is really getting on a roll with it now. Pun intended.
Lifting her head easily - tummy time torture is paying off. She can now go five whole minutes lifting her head without screaming it off.
Talking! Her baby nonsense is the best part of my day, whether its 2 in the afternoon or 3 in the morning.  On Mother's Day, at 4 a.m., I got up to change her diaper then nurse her. Before she started to eat, she rolled on her back and talked to me for awhile.  Then she smiled and rolled back to her side and nursed.  I think she was telling me Happy Mother's Day.

Did she just say mama? For cereal. She says "ma" when she cries (total coincidenc), but the other day she said mama twice while crying. I told her daddy that I swear it's like she's calling for me. He didn't believe me until he picked her up to change her diaper, she cried, said "mama" clear as day ... and then I walked over and her crying stopped.  He's convinced she's calling me now (although no one else believes us). New parenthood goal: get baby to call me mama so everyone else can hear it..

P.S. - this is in her sleep. 

Bringing her hands together Like she's praying, ya'll. All the time. She uses her two hands pushed together to try to get her wubby back in her mouth (and is successful about 30% of the time)
Bearing weight on her legs She loves this. She obviously cannot wait to walk.

Crawling out of her boppy Truth. I even have a video of it. Put her in her boppy, and pretty soon she will be out of it and face planted on the floor.
Reaching for toys  Started a couple of weeks ago. Granted, her movements are uneven and sloppy but even she is amazed that she can do this.

DEAR JORDAN

Dear baby blue eyes,

I am so, so, so in love. We get up in the morning together and my favorite part of the day is changing your diaper at 6 a.m. while you talk to me.  You'll make the cutest baby noises and smile at me the whole time, and often times after I change your diaper you'll continue your baby ramblings while I laugh my butt off. Thank you, God, for this perfect little girl.

You personality is starting to show.  You now LOVE changing your clothes, making you the perfect little model for mommy (who loves to shop for you). Just like when I change your diaper, you look up at me and gurgle at me the whole time.  I recently found out that you are really, really interested in looking at pictures of yourself on my phone.  I don't blame you, you little stinker. You're so adorable. You're starting to let people put you down, which means that you are aware that we aren't actually abandoning you when we aren't holding you. This means I can brush my teeth like a normal human being instead of also trying to balance a wiggly baby in my arms. You still laugh and smile in your sleep, and although you are still fussy, I am convinced that deep down inside you are the happiest baby on the planet.

Me and you, we're a team.  We do everything together - I hold you while I eat, we play together, you watch me frantically fold laundry from the comfort of your swing, and two days ago you even watched The Office with me.  And while this was extremely convenient, I freaked out. You're three months old, babykins.  I can already see myself yelling at you to stop watching tv and do your homework.

You spend time at both of your grandma's houses once every week while mommy works. Whenever I drop you off at their houses, people flood to you. It's like they have been looking forward to seeing you all week.  I get demands for more pictures and videos all the time. My phone recently told me that it was out of storage space. Good thing I've got two other (real) cameras, huh? You should see how people react when they see you - they always say you are so tiny, and your aunt and I laugh because you are more than twice as big as when you were born. You're huge. I can barely keep up with your size changes and neither can my wallet.

You are a champion burper and pooper.  I'm sure someday, you will thank me for posting this on the internet (haha).  But for real, your burps can shake the room.  Where did that came from, little miss? I laugh while I tell you what a good job you did burping.  And your poops - good. Lord.  Let's put it this way: when your grandmas or aunt babysit, they still tell me what big poops you have. They're amazed. And they've all had kids of their own. I've gotten smart and will only buy pants and short that are on clearance because, let's face it, some of these are getting thrown out. Just a couple of days ago, your daddy picked you up and you let out a HUGE EXPLOSIVE POOPY.  You looked at him, eyes wide open, then started looking around wondering where that sound came from.  It was you, sweetheart, it was you. Then you laughed (of course), and we changed your diaper. Thank you for being you, poop and all. Here's to hundreds of diapers more.

I'm looking forward to spending my life full of the love, life, and laughter that is you.

Love you tons, honey buns.
Mommy

BONUS: GO GO BLACKHAWKS!!!

I'll post a Mother's Day post this weekend - as well as her baptism post!!  I've been waiting for what seems like forever to write about this next post :)

International Bereaved Mother's Day

Today I remember that my house is missing two.

Every morning, the first thing I would do when I woke up was say good morning to my sons. After Jordan was born, I started to forget. She would wake me up in the morning by fussing, and my day would begin... now it begins with her. But this morning, for some reason, I remembered. I said good morning to my boys, looked at their picture, and told them I loved them. 

And today is International Bereaved Mother's Day.

To all the mothers who have lost their babies, you are the strongest mothers imaginable. You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, and you are still standing. You are still a mother. Do not let anyone tell you any differently. Sending my love to all of you today.

To my boys in heaven... you are loved, you are loved, you are loved.

Weekend Review: March for Babies

This weekend marked the second time Team Conner and Ben walked in the March for Babies. It was a beautiful day out in downtown Chicago, and we loved the time we spent with our family and friends. This year was particularly special to us, since it was Jordan's first year participating for her brothers.  Jordan even got $200 in sponsorships for the walk :) We passed our team goal of $2,000 and raised $3,338 for premature babies. The joy in my heart is indescribable.  You all know that I want my boys' legacies to be love and light, and I felt that we made a difference in the world on behalf of them this weekend.

Aw, my baby marching for her brothers. 

Are you excited, Jordan?

You bet your ass that's a minion bow in her hair for her brothers!

Sweet home Chicago

Beautiful day along Lake Michigan

I said it was a beautiful day.. and it was. But it was like, 40 degrees outside so she was bundled up!  Complete with ducky bib. 

Thank you to everyone who donated to our team - it means the world to me that you joined us in continuing Conner and Benjamin's story and honoring their lives in such a positive way.

In other minor news, I cut my hair. Yep. I mean, you probably figured that out from the pictures above. I had so much hair, I was able to donate two ponytails to cancer out of it (it would have been more, but I had so many layers framing my face that it was unusable).

Tim and I also had our second "date day."  Why days instead of nights? Because this way, we get to NAP ALL DAY after we get lunch. For real. Try it some time, new parents. Totally beats date nights, unless you find an amazing babysitter who will take your baby overnight.  Jordan is too young for me to feel comfortable doing overnights just yet, so date days it is!  This mama had an amazing margarita at lunch, and I got to snuggle up with my husband for a nap before we went to get our baby from my moms.  Much needed.  Time to ourselves makes us better parents when we get her back.  Not to mention, we desperately need time to ourselves for the sake of our marriage.  Everyone who has kids knows what I am talking about - you still need to prioritize your marriage, but it is so hard when your baby monopolizes your time (no complaints, though - I love every minute with Jordan, even the poopy ones).

Someone had a good time at Grandma's!

I wish I had time to write more - I hope I can soon.  But I can hear Jordan fussing in her nursery, and it's time to pick my baby up :)

Much love to everyone still reading.

Two Month Update

Last month's sticker didn't work out so well (she wanted to eat it), so we have switched to this cute frame!

TWO MONTHS

Weight: 10 pounds, 2 ounces. Good gracious, double digits!  She is now in the 23.5th percentile. 

Length: She gained an inch, and is now 21.5 inches long. 

Head: 37. yeesh. Growing brain, I hope! 

Clothing size: I don't even want to talk about it... but here I am, talking about it. Mark my words, I will never bring this up again. Way too painful for this mama. She grew out of newborn clothes on March 23rd (yes, I wrote that down. I'm that mom). It was the same day we took out the rolled up hospital blankets out of her car seat. I did not cry, but I definitely wanted to. I didn't realize she outgrew her newborn clothes until I experimented with the next size up, out of curiosity. She now wears size three month sizes, except on her legs - she's beginning to wear 6 months (what a chunker!). She was in size 0-3 for like, 4 days. 

Eye color: Grey. The blue has disappeared so I'm waiting for them to turn brown :( Sorry kiddo, looks like you won't get your daddy's eyes after all, although no surprise there. 

Hair: Still dark, but definitely lightening up!  My guess is her hair will be a medium-dark brown. It's also long (for a baby).  But, poor baby inherited daddy's hairline. Don't worry, I've figured out how to hide it with headbands. Plus, you know, she's a baby so she doesn't even know what a hairline is. She loves getting her hair brushed.  Apple, tree.
Pediatrician update: Poor baby.... she has colic. I knew it. Between 9 pm and 1 am, she screams no matter what we do. And, even worse - she has torticollis, favoring her left side. Hopefully her neck exercises do her some good! 

EAT

Milk bubbles!

Jordan is starting to go longer without eating (which really helps overnight). But, she is still really hating her bottle.  If she's really hungry, she'll slam the bottle down, no problem.  But otherwise, it's a struggle to give it to her.  All this girl wants to do is breastfeed!  I love it, but it makes it hard to leave her anywhere because she is so dependent on me and I am scared she won't eat while I am away. So, for now, I limit my time away from her.  We are pretty much together 24/7. This is a challenge when I want to do something simple, like get my haircut. But can I really complain that my baby needs me? No way. Someday she won't need me anymore, and that's when I'll have the real emotional breakdown.

SLEEP

We both have bedhead

Jordan goes to bed late - around midnight (although the other night, it was more like 2 am)- but once she is down, she's out like a light. She gets up once a night around 3 am to nurse, but we are able to put her back to sleep in about 30 minutes. Then she wakes up around 6 am. OShe wakes up well rested and all smiles! However, I'm still not getting much sleep. She really just wants to be held and will scream the minute I put her down. Guess I'll just have to hold this beautiful baby longer....

"Who are you, and what do you want with me?"

"Is that you, mommy?"

Sometimes, when she's "sleeping," she will open up her right eye just a bit - enough to look to see who is holding her. I can't even tell you how many pictures I have of her, half asleep, with family members or friends, and the look on her face is all "who the hell is this?!"

LIKES

Turtle, you are yummy in my tummy!

Not much has changed since last month. Bath time and car rides are her favorite. I recently found that going for walks puts her to sleep even if she's crabby. There's also this turtle toy that she seems to like. She can't do much with it except watch me play with it (mommy is a puppet-master) but the point is, she will watch. I was starting to get nervous because her attention seems to be all over the place.  Does my baby have ADD?  Is that even possible?

She also LOVES her activity mat - she can spend 20 minutes on that thing, which is a major accomplishment in baby time. But this also means that about 60% of the pictures I have of her are on this mat!

And I need an AW moment right now. She loves her mommy.  Sometimes she'll get fussy and cranky and turns out, all she wants is me. There is nothing like picking up your baby, or having someone else hand you your baby, and hearing her crying stop. I can't get enough of this girl. 

DISLIKES

No, mom, I don't want to do tummy time and you can't make me!

She's hating tummy time. Like, seriously hating it. She hates it probably as much as I hate dieting right now. The minute she is on her stomach, she wails. I once left the nursery windows open during tummy time and I'm pretty sure the neighborhood thought I was torturing my baby.  It's difficult to listen to her cry, but I know she has to get her tummy time in so develop her gross motor skills. It's a change from last month, when she was a tummy time pro. I wonder what happened, but my guess is that she just kinda found her voice this month and is more apt to use it. What's funny though is that she will kick so much she'll end up rotating around her head like a break dancer and end up with her legs off her mat (see above). 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
She has started:

reaching for things - especially on her activity mat. The toys over her head are just too fun to pass up!
trying to roll over - almost!  Especially when she is on her mat, and I move to the opposite side she is facing.  Where's mommy?? Gotta find her!

holding her head steady - Oh, she's been doing this since the week she was born, I swear. But now I can legitimately hold her and she will use those neck muscles of hers to support her head and look around - for a loooooooong time. Minutes. Ten minutes. Maybe more. I never need to support her head anymore. And she will use her strength to move where she wants to move. I gave her a kiss last week, and I thought Tim moved her closer to me. No, he said, she did that herself. She leaned in for another kiss!

raising chest and lifting her head around 5 weeks- as much as she hates tummy time, it's paying off. Munchkin is well on her way to being able to crawl (crazy kicking on her tummy) and really support herself by propping herself up on her arms. Really, she did this the day she was born but she is doing it more often now.

vocalizing around 4 weeks - the cutest baby noises you ever did hear. Often.

"Hi, Mommy!"

smiling around 4 weeks- All the time. Awake. In her sleep. When I say hi. When we play with turtle. When she is on her activity mat. When she's getting a diaper change. In the middle of nursing (seriously, it's hilarious). With the exception of the hours between 9 pm and 1 am, she is the happiest baby in the world.

laughing - around 7 weeks, I knew her laughs were purposeful instead of from just gas. She's been laughing in her sleep since birth though, but now she laughs when she's awake at people (and also at invisible things).

DEAR JORDAN
Dear babykins,

My arm hurts. My back hurts. Why?  Because you are getting so big! You want to be carried everywhere, all the time. You love being slung over someone's shoulder like a sack of potatoes so that you can look around and take in your environment. Sometimes it's the only way to get you to sleep. You love it more than play time and bath time (but definitely not more than car rides).  As adorable as this is baby girl, it means some serious back problems for mama. I tried putting you in a sling, but you screamed your head off. I need to figure out a way to get you to be a koala baby for a little bit so that I can have my hands free and more back support. The thing is, I haven't actually bought a baby carrier yet. Not because I can't afford it and not because I haven't had the opportunity, but because I just can't seem to put you down anyway. I love this time with you. I constantly have to remind myself that although you are growing so fast, you are still considered petite for your age.  Good gracious, there are babies way bigger than you. Way bigger, easy.  Unbelievable.

I had my first official time away from you when you were exactly 7 weeks old.  Up until then, your daddy would watch you for an hour while I ran errands.  There was also one time your aunt watched you for oh, I don't know, an hour and a half while daddy and I checked out a house to buy. But I've never had a whole day away from you.  I dropped you off with your grandma so that I could work, and it was so weird coming home to an empty house.  I worked in my office with an empty sleeper next to me. I kept glancing over at it, thinking of you.  It took everything in me not to go pick you up right away. Turns out, I'm not really made to be away from you.

Your daddy and I have officially become "those parents" who constantly and only talk about their baby.  We are annoying. And although you are only two months old, I cannot remember what life was like before you.  No big deal. Life is so much better now that you are here.

You get prettier everyday.  I'm bias, I know, but seriously.  People tell me all the time that you are pretty.  Not cute, not adorable  - pretty. Not the average compliment for a baby. Prettiest baby in the world, no doubt.

You're smiling and laughing a lot now. You wake up in the morning in a good mood, and when I say, "hi, baby!," you laugh. You get the biggest smile when I give you kisses (or when CocoCay, your turtle toy, does). You even smile and laugh in your sleep.  What could you possibly be dreaming about???

I'm finishing up this letter with one hand, with you flung over my shoulder, napping. I wish you could stay this snuggly forever, but I know someday you won't be. So with that...time to wrap this up so I can eat up every single second of you.

I love you, baby girl. More than anything in this whole world. Never forget that. You are always loved.

XOXOXOXO,
Mom


Conner and Ben bonus: 

Weekend Review: Jordan's First Easter

Slightly off center, but I had to include the boys. Also, it is impossible to get a great picture with both dog and baby, so Jordan is here mid-yawn and Miranda is facing the wrong way in true family picture fashion.

Holy whoa, when was the last time I did a weekend review?!?!? I think the reason it's taking me so long to do one is because lately, my weekends have consisted of being pooped on, breastfeeding, and trying to master the art of eating and holding a baby at the same time. Ain't no one got time to read about that boredom.

Jordan's first Easter basket - and you bet those pajamas say "little sister" on them!

The great debate - is this a bunny or a fish with a bow on its butt?  (It's a bunny)

It was a beautiful day out. Jordan finally got to wear her first dress today, which unfortunately was ridiculous since baby dresses tend to ride up and never actually stay on the way they are supposed  to. She was flashing her diaper everywhere she went. Cookie monster, anyone? He's on size 1 Pampers. Nonetheless, she looked freaking adorable.

After church, which she thankfully slept through, we headed over to my in-laws'  house. This was also the first time a lot of our family got to see her, so there was lots of attention on her. Jordan does get overwhelmed with a lot of people around, but after she got a full tummy she was happy to oblige in the attention. Just like mommy - overwhelmed easily. Just like daddy - happy when fed. Apple, meet tree. Tree, meet apple.

All this excitement is exhausting, mommy!

Jordan's first Easter egg hunt, complete with ducky bib

Spoiled girl! With some Conner and Ben extras :)

It was like second Christmas for her. She made out with a ton of stuff (along with some stuff that was for her brothers). But, she's 7 weeks old so she cared about her ton o'loot exactly zero percent. Mommy was excited, though!

Christ has risen!  Last year, I spent Easter alone while Tim was at the fire department. My sister in law came to keep me company for awhile, but nothing could keep my mind off Conner and Ben. But because Christ lives, my boys are in heaven. I know they were watching over their baby sister on her first Easter, and always.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!!!