ABCs Revisited

Morgan is currently winding down in her crib by reciting the ABCs to herself...we think she got almost all the letters, too!!

Sitting Pretty

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa A for my new table and chair set! Now I have a place to color in our bonus room. Love, Morgan

Piper is 3 Months old today!

Yay! Piper is already 3 months old! She is getting more fun every day. She has all kind of smiles and makes cute baby "coos" and noises. Her Daddy got some great photos after she woke up from a nap today.

Note: Do these pictures look blurry to you? They look that way to me. If I click on them, they look good, but I'm not sure why they look blurry in the post. It might be something we have to figure out with our new camera. Please let me know in a comment if you can.

All smiles

She's found her hands. She likes to suck on the knuckles on her right hand. I'm all for the self-soothing!

Sweet baby

Look, I match my doll! She has blue eyes too!

Wordless Wednesday: Bathtime Babies

Nursing Update

In case you were wondering, I thought I'd give an update of where we are on the nursing front. We are doing fairly well! I say "fairly" because it is still not easy because I will probably never have a full supply. I find that I still daydream about what it would be like to have a plentiful supply for Piper and how much easier it would be. But...then I have to pat myself on the back and tell myself that I've done so much better than I did with Morgan and we are fortunate we are in a place where I can nurse Piper at all.

The difference is that Piper wants to nurse and for whatever reason, Morgan couldn't have cared less. The Lactation Consultants call those babies "happy to starve." Luckily there is formula and the bottle for them and they will thrive that way. I do remember that Morgan took FOREVER to finish her bottle though. I think she also must have had an "immature suck" as they call it. It happens.

So, we are still supplementing about 6 oz total a day and that is just after the nursing sessions in the early evening and right before bed. It's nice to make up just a 6 oz bottle per day (that is used across a few feedings)...the formula lasts a loooong time. Piper is almost 3 months old. Between 2 and 4 months they gradually increase their volume to about 35-40 ounces a day total, then stay pretty consistent from 4-6 months maxing out at 40 ounces. So, the next 4-5 weeks will be key to see if we can keep the nursing going. I may have to increase the supplementing a bit, but I hope not much. We've stayed at this amount for a long time, so I hope to stay there and have my own milk supply increase. It's been working so far. Her weight checks have been good, consistently gaining about 5 ounces a week. Usually the rule is about 1 oz a day, but 1/2 an ounce per day for a mostly breastfed babies is considered OK. So, she's right inthe middle.

We have her 4-month pediatrician appointment set up for right after Christmas. The LC said to come in one time in-between now and then to make sure we don' t have any "surprises." So, I think that means they are confident that we are doing well and they are not concerned. I'd say its good news all around!

Tummy Time

Have I done a tummy time post for Piper yet? I probably have, but don't have time to look back through the posts. We haven't been quite as diligent with the tummy time this time around. Piper's doing OK, but she doesn't last long before she gets upset. Check out these cute shots though. Morgan wanted to join in on the pictures too. She loves her sister! I just have to make sure she doesn't accidentally suffocate Piper with her "hugs."

It has begun

We have been able to avoid it until now, the one and only...

...the worshipped...

...the obsession...

... that is known only as...

ELMO.

Need I say more?!

Wordless Wednesday: Boo Boo in the Box

Whoa!

Morgan has taken to using this word often. Tonight she was running from the dining room into the living room. She looked over her shoulder at David who was doing the dishes in the kitchen and she tripped over her own feet. She caught herself with her hands, then slowly stood up again, turned around and said "whoa!" She'll also say this when she does her "twirls" and gets herself a little dizzy. Hilarious!

ABCs

Morgan has been very diligently learning her ABCs. When we say each letter she'll repeat it back to us. Here's how it goes:

Parent: "A" Morgan: " A"
"B" "B"
"C" "C"
"D" "D"
"E" "E"
"F" "F"
"G" "G (followed by rolling tongue)
"H" "Aesh"
"I" "I"
"J" "ppbbbttt"
"K" "Kkkkkkk" (one long k sound)
"L" "L"
"M" "M"
"N" "N"
"O" "Ohhhh"
"P" "P"
"Q" "Coo"
"R" "S" (yes, she jumps ahead to S)
"S" "S"
"T" "T"
"U" "UUUUUUUUU!"
"V" "V"
"W" "byoo"
"X" "Xssssss"
"Y" "Y"
"Z" "Z"

So, she's pretty adept except for a few letters she puts her own spin on. We think it's pretty cute.

Bedtime Bonus

Success!! We made a few key changes yesterday in our house and our routine that made a HUGE difference. Since all of our visitors have left for now (until Aunt Ali comes for Morgan's birthday)...we decided it was time for Piper to move to the guest room. We rearranged the furniture and moved in the bassinet and glider. I was a little nervous about her being "on her own," but we moved Morgan even earlier (at 6 weeks) and she did just fine. We found that we slept much better with her in a different room, so we figured the same thing would happen with Piper.

I also decided to try out a new bedtime routine. Piper has been going to bed pretty late still, around 9:30-9:45 pm. She still seemed so tired to me. I'm thinking a lot of her evening fussiness is her trying to tell us she just wants to go to sleep. Sooo...

...we started BOTH kids' "bedtime routines" at 7:15. David bathed Morgan and I bathed Piper in separate bathrooms. We read a story together and said prayers. We said our goodnights to Morgan then David fed Piper her bedtime bottle...then I nursed her to sleep. She was asleep and in her bed by 8:40 pm!! This was the earliest my far that she has fallen asleep. Then she slept until 3:30 am...7 hours!! Good Girl. Then I nursed her and she slept until 8:30 am. She seems so much happier today with long times of just hanging out between feedings.

AND, I feel like I got a little of my own time back. When Piper was asleep I was able to do a few chores and read a little in bed before turning the light out at 10:00 pm. I didn't sleep so well, since I kept wondering if Piper was going to wake up at an odd time. That was to be expected. Just give me a few more nights of consistent baby sleeping and I will be sleeping much more soundly myself. We'll be keeping this schedule for a while. Eventually she may need to go to sleep even earlier, but this is a great routine for now.

Ring Around the Rosie

A little more than a week ago, David and I took the girls with us to Safeway to get our flu shots. We had to wait a bit before getting the shots, so we took turns following Morgan around the store while the other waited with Piper.

On my turn with Morgan she headed towards the frozen foods aisle. When we got there she stopped next to a few ladies who were chatting. She turned around and said to me "ashes, ashes!!" This is what she says when she wants to play Ring Around the Rosie. Unfortunately she doesn't pronounce "ashes, ashes" quite right and it sounds like "ass, ass." Oops. I hurried her away from the ladies before they heard her...I think. It was pretty funny though. We still laugh when she says it at home.

How old are you?

We started asking Morgan this question tonight. We're preparing her for her birthday in a month so she can reply to this question that she will be TWO! We also incorporated putting two fingers up for people to see the visual as well. After a few times of asking her (without the fingers), she would say "two," but only when I would say "say two." Then David put up his two fingers and after asking how old she is a few times, Morgan replied, "Y." Hee hee. Get it...his two fingers in the air, plus the rest of his hand and his arm looked like the letter "Y." She's a genius.

More on letters later...we're pretty sure this girl is going to be a good reader like her Mama.

Wordless Wednesday: Dandelion

Halloween

We had a great Halloween! We went to our friends' house in Coeur d'Alene for dinner and trick or treating. We weren't sure how Morgan would handle it, but since our friends wanted to go we decided to give it a try. Morgan has the cutest costume Aunt Ali got for her at Old Navy...a little pink butterfly! Check it out!

Dinner with her friend Taylor before we headed out

Taylor and her pretty Mommy Amy

Almost ready!! Putting her shoes on.

Got my pumpkin bag and ready to go!
Is it time to go yet?!

Taylor the ladybug

Heading out

Trick or Treat!

Next house Daddy!

Meeting a new kitty friend, Taelyn

Morgan was always first to the door and tried to walk on in when they opened it

Is it over already?

Check out my loot!

The little Peek a Boo!

And Winnie the Pooh!

Happy Halloween!