Chew toys (What?? That's what they are.)

Today's post features my child with various things in her mouth. Teething is definitely not very enjoyable and it can be hard to find the right chew toy for her little gums. Not to mention, the amount of drool all over my house is crazy!

(The last one is my favorite. Haha!)

Fantastic Four (Months)!

Miss Eleanor Anetta Smith is officially 4 months old! It blows my mind some days how much she has grown and developed in such a short amount of time. I catch myself getting teary-eyed sometimes when I realize my little baby is getting bigger. Weird too, since I have never been a baby person -though we all know I do get pretty sentimental. 

Work is work is work. I miss my little love bug like crazy while Im gone and the second that clock hits 4 pm you'll find me racing to the door. She does really well at daycare though. Everyone loves her -of course- and I like that she can experience new people and interact with other kids. Plus, it's still just 3 days each week. 

Gavin and Eleanor have their Daddy/Daughter days Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Im sure those are their favorite days of the week. It's cute to watch Gavin play and sing and act silly just for a smile from Eleanor. He's such an amazing Dad. 

Length: 24 3/4 inches (55%?)
Weight: 12lbs 7oz. (25%)
New skills: she can rolls from both tummy to back, and back to tummy! She scoots across the floor like a champ too.
Old skills improved: she can grab things first try and is a lot better at sitting up (supported by us or her bumbo).
Working on: sitting up on her own and "crawling" (she scoots).
Best part: when she giggles and laughs. Melts my heart to hear and see her so happy.
Worst part: she is teething so she drools like a St. Bernard and gets fussy when her gums hurt a lot. 

End note: Eleanor was baptized on July 20th in a beautiful ceremony at St. Philomena's Catholic Church in Des Moines. I've been meaning to post pictures, but Im having issues with my laptop and that is where the pictures are at this current time. Ill get them up soon though! 

Picture Post!

Since SOMEONE (*cough* Christina *cough*) is impatient for more pictures (even though I text them to her), here is a post full of pictures that haven't made it to Facebook. Enjoy!

Sweet Sixteen Weeks

 Our little love bug is 16-weeks-old today! It's hard to believe that we brought her home only 16 weeks ago. Long gone is the newborn who seemed too small for her car seat, who slept on her daddy's chest almost every night, and could easily be swaddled asleep. Our baby girl has grown in leaps and bounds the last few weeks.

Now Eleanor sleeps through the night, has favorite toys, is growing out of her clothes, and has discovered she has a voice (one she uses is a million different ways). We try to read to her every night and on weekend mornings, which she enjoys for the most part. She loves watching Veggie Tales Silly Songs or Food Network with her mama. Haha! She has discovered that her hands can grab and grasp things as well. Her favorite thing to play with is her Hunger Caterpillar which gives her a bunch of different fabrics, beads, and a rattle to explore.

My favorite developmental leap Eleanor has made is that she can rollover from her tummy to her back. This new skill was an elusive one for a few days. Eleanor would be in her cradle or on the bed on her tummy for some tummy time and Gavin and I would walk into another room for a second. When we'd come back and she'd be on her back! For days this happened -she'd roll over the exact moment we weren't looking. One night Gavin spent 15 minutes watching her attempt to roll over on the bed and she wasn't able to. We eventually witnesses the feat and now she rolls over when she is done with her tummy time.

12 weeks but not 3 months ...

My baby girl is already 12-weeks-old! So crazy to think about -it feels like we've had her forever, but then 12 weeks doesn't seem like a lot of time at all. Grandma Diana and Grandpa Brad came over Thursday and we debated if Grandma Diana was allowed to say she was 3-months-old or only 12-weeks-old. Technically Eleanor will be 3-months-old (13 weeks) NEXT Friday ... We've decided to celebrate this monumental event in her life with fireworks. :D 

Eleanor had been taking leaps and bounds in her development too. She talks a lot, cooing at anyone who will listen. Ill post a video of her talking soon. She had also gained almost full control of her head and neck, which has saved my chin a lot of bumps and bruises. 

And while she can't quite sit up on her own yet, she's getting really close to being able to. We are thinking of getting her a bouncy chair soon because one of her favorite things is to use our hands to "stand up" and bounce. She can also scoot across her play mats which is pretty exciting. She'll be crawling in just a few more months! 

One of my favorite things about her (that I may have mentioned before) is that she sleeps through the night! Our little bug created her own sleep schedule and has decided to be very generous and sleep about 7-8 hours a night starting between 10-12, which is basically the same schedule Gavin has. And while I still have to get up in the middle of my sleep to pump, it is wonderful to have some uninterrupted sleep otherwise. 

Little girl growing up already!

It's crazy to think that Eleanor is 11 weeks old; on the one hand it feels like we've had her forever, but then we realize it hasn't even been 3 months! And she is growing up so fast. Gone is my tiny newborn who used to sleep all day and felt so little in my arms. Now Eleanor spends her days awake and exploring her new world as much as she can. She has such a long body that it's actually easier to sit in the rocking chair to nurse her because she stretches herself across.

Here is a breakdown of our baby girl's stats (as of her 2 month check up):

Length: 23 3/4 inches (92%)
Weight: 10lbs 12oz. (55%)
Head Circumference: 15 1/2 inches (70%)
New skills: she reaches and grasps toys, blankets, shirts, etc.
Old skills improved: she can hold her head up like a champ and is working on the neck control.
Working on: sitting up on her own
Best part: her smile is the best smile and she almost giggles
Worst part: she hates the car suddenly; cries and screams almost an entire car ride sometimes

Being a working mom is rough

First: holy crap, being a working mom is hard. Physically, emotionally, and mentally.

Physically, being a mother is draining. Especially a breast feeding mother, because let's face it, you can try to sleep through the night but if your baby doesn't wake you up your boobs will. So being a breast feeding, working mother is even harder because long gone are the mid-day naps and sleeping past 5:30am. Instead of being able to take time to get ready in the mornings it's now a rush to make myself presentable, nurse Eleanor or pump, and try to fit in a little breakfast (Starbucks if Im lucky enough). I swear I get less sleep now than before. 

Emotionally, I was a wreck the first day Eleanor was in daycare. I felt so guilty (which you'll know if you read the previous post) an still do. I love coming home and cuddling with her or rocking her to sleep or playing on the tummy time mat. I used to take these things for granted. 

Mentally, Im on overload. It's almost like having pregnancy brain all over again. People talk to me and I zone out, or I forget what I was going to say or do, or it takes me forever to complete a simple task. It's a lot to keep in order: the mom mind, the work mind, the girlfriend mind, etc.

Returning to work was something everyone tried to prepared me for, but ultimately was something I had to experience for myself to fully understand how it would feel. It's all so overwhelming. Thankfully I've survived the first 3 weeks so far and so has Eleanor.