3 months

 I've tried to get a picture of each of us with Adele for each month.  Month 1 it was me, Month 2 it was Luke, and then Month 3...well, you see I was trying to get Pippet our other family member to take a picture with her and that didn't work out too well ;)  We had guests over and we gave up.

I cannot believe my baby girl is 3 months old!!  We are officially off lock down (except still needing to be careful in large crowds due to RSV)!!!!  I just love our little family - all 4 of us.  This mom thing hasn't been easy for me even though I've always dreamed and aspired to be a mom.  It has been my calling over any career, but I still love to work.  That situation I will update you on later...nothing was ever committed by my boss, but I had wanted to work part-time from home.  I have proposed some ideas to him and I'm still waiting to hear back from him, but we'll see when that starts back up.  I'm  just enjoying/surviving the time right now before adding something else into our daily somewhat schedule.  I have a feeling things are starting to get more routine around here around week 12.  It's feeling better.  And I feel A LOT better since I started Zoloft.  Yes, I hate medicine and didn't take a single ounce (not even Tylenol) while pregnant with Adele.  I didn't even take anti-anxiety/depression medecine when I went through an eating disorder, but I've really been thrown for a loop lately with hormones and sleep deprivation.  I don't feel guilty one bit for taking the pills and will get off of them once things settle down.  I am now responsible for another being and I want to be the best mommy I can be, which looks different for everyone.  I'm excited to enjoy her (and Luke ;) to my fullest capability now!  Luke has been an AMAZING support, best friend, and husband.  He is my care taker and knows me better than myself during this period with me being a little out of my mind.  Here are some pictures of her via my phone of this month.  Caught some of her first smiles and her sucking her thumb!!

 Moby Wrap

 Filling out the newborn sleeper!

 Still loving her Play Gym

 Sad that I took away her paci

 During a very fussy day I had to lay down with her in bed.  I didn't think about the strategy of it all and had to slip out of my robe in order to make her think I was still holding her ;)

 Thank goodness for the sleep positioner our friend is letting us borrow and for this awesome video monitor.

 I started going to a church's mom's group onWednesday  mornings and here is one of the mother's sons, Evan.  He is 3 days younger than Adele.  His mom, Andrea, was actually in my birthing class!

 Holding her bottle

 Sweet smile for mom :)

 Bath time!

Pippet and Adele are still best friends!!

Adele met her Uncle Dal and Aunt Courtney for the first time!  Luke's parents came when Adele was 8 weeks old to visit.  I was rather stressed because this is when I was trying to pump every 2 hours and Adele started her fussiness, but it was SO good to see them and visit!

This month we traveled to Nashville for my cousin's baby shower - our first out of town trip as a family!  She traveled very well, which was surprising because she has not so much loved her carseat before now!  I think now that she's bigger she fits in the carseat better.  She slept pretty much the whole time and we stopped for one feed in Jackson on the way there.

Papa Jim and Mama Sue

Papa Ken and Nana

On our way back to Memphis we stopped in Jackson for Adele to meet her Great Grandparents!  It was a fun time and it was so neat to witness.  Such sweet family :)

Pa and Meme

Great Mammaw and Pappaw

Second Cousins Dillon and Dakota

Great Grandaddy Bowman

First church visit to Second Presbyterian Church and Sunday school

We sat in the cry room for the service (it's a room blocked off in the back of the sanctuary that you can listen to the sermon over the speakers and see through the window)

 Adele met her boy Worthington Majors Warren born November 11th, 2010
(Matt and Lenox's baby, who was baptized that day)

 I'm so freakin cute!

 Handsome Hubby

 Adele LOVES her daddy

Apparently she wasn't loving me...haha

Another thing about out church is that they announced in their Sunday bulletin that Adele was born, prayed for her and put a rose on the pulpit to recognize her birth.  The church sent someone to my house to give me that rose, bulletins with her name in it and a little gift package with a Lulluby worship CD, ceramic cross, and information about their nursery ministry.  I LOVE our church!

Adele met many friends this month!!  The Pitkanens came to visit for the weekend all the way from Knoxville!!  She met her girlfriend, Merri Ryan, who is just over a year older :)  We miss the Benton, Cecile Gray, Merri Ryan, and Bella Pitkanen sooo much!

flattering pictures

 hmmm, I remember this!

 They are so cute together :)

 Kisses from MR to A

 I love you Mrs. CG

 Not sure what she was thinking here

 She wanted to get in that cage so bad and didn't want out!!  I wish I could learn how to upload videos onto here...

 First out to dinner with Adele!! ...with the Pitkanens of course

 She slept the whole time - nice!!

Here is another girlfriend that Adele met this month!  Hadley Jewel Black born March 4th, 2011.  They are going to grow up best friends and have matching bows with all this hair!  Me and her mom, Courtney, have been in the same mentor group under Sissy Hickman since November of 2009.  I have loved getting to know her :)

All of the friends hung out for a cookout - it was SOOOO much fun!!  Matt, Lenox and Worth Warren hosted and Travis, Courtney, and Hadley joined as well!

Worthington Majors Warren

 She's really starting to chunk up in these pictures...

 Courtship ;)

 Hadley Jewel Black :)

More about ADELE!

Nicknames (I forgot to mention last time):

Adele my bell and My pretty pretty

likes:

• to fall asleep at the burp
• heavy patting
• Soothies - refuses any other paci
• Hold bottle, fingers or her hands together during feed
• the morning
• LOOK LOOK book
• Sassy rattle
• changing table time to interact
• this crib projector/mirror soother 

Dislikes:

• tummy time
• massage/tickle
• cold lotion
• to lose her paci (noticing tons of paci comments and plenty of pictures with them?)
• burping
• gas
• being uncomfortable after a feed
• the evening

firsts:

• first road trip to Nashville & Jackson @ 9 weeks
• smiling is my favorite! @ 9 weeks
• Saw her Great Grandparents @ 9 weeks
• first out to eat trip @ 10 weeks
• Started talking @ 11 weeks
• holding her bottle @ 8 weeks (or maybe even before)
• I bathed her by myself for the first time, but it was on the sponge in the tub rather than her big girl tub :)  She still loves bath time (unlike the first month)
• Splashing water in the tub - loving baths!
• last month she started growing fuller eyelashes and eyebrows, which makes her even prettier ;)
• First church visit @ 12 weeks

Size:

• finishing the newborn diapers (went to Huggies, which are a little bigger), but really need to be in size 1. Using size ones at night starting at week 11 and all the time at week 12.
• Still in newborn clothes, but very tight.  Just moved to 0-3 months in onsies and started using 3 month sleepers at week 12.
• Weight stats:

3/11  7lb 15.5 oz

3/15  8lb 6.5 oz

3/18  8 lb 12 oz

3/21  9 lb 2 oz

3/25  9 lb 7 oz

3/26  9 lb 8.5 oz

3/30 10 lb 3 oz

4/1   10 lb 3.5 oz

4/3   10 lb 5 oz

...my weight loss...

I'm not sure if I had spoken about it yet but I gained 36 pounds pregnant (yes, it was a lot for still having 6 weeks left to go!).  When I was discharged I had only lost 8 lbs.  I was like, what?!  She was 5 lbs and only 3 more lbs of fluid or what not left me?  Not cool.  However, by the end of 2 weeks I had lost 23-25 lb.  I have slowly lost since then but these last 7-10 lbs have been so hard to lose!  However, I am trying to get back down to the weight I was when I was training for the half marathon before pregnancy and I was in pretty dern good shape.  I'm running about 2 miles max right now but could watch more what I eat...when I have time to actually eat or time to actually prepare something healthy ;)

Eating:

oh the beginning of fussiness, more spit up and gas, and ACID REFLUX.  Sadly, Adele has acid reflux, so we are working on finding the right formula and started Zantac.  She was spitting up and crying some while breastfeeding and I would burp her every 3-5 minutes on that and she was spitting up and crying/arching back at my boob, but now she is arching her back crying when burping and waking up in the middle of her (maybe 15-20) nap crying with gas (she was doing this some before switching to bottle, but not as much).  Part of me wonders if she was actually fussy because of acid reflux or milk allergies rather than my milk supply, but there is not turning back now and I am pretty sure my body was telling me from the get go that I was having supply issues.  I cannot look back nor will I.  I really am a lot more peaceful having my body back, not being anxious about how much food she is getting - eliminating that cry need, and I'm actually able to relax...some.  Except for the fussy hours which are early morning and mainly after 4PM until ???  It is really sad to see her hurt though and I actually dread feedings.  It is so hard to watch her hurt and hard to not get stressed with the crying :(  I dread the anxiety and frustration.  I dread having to get her back to sleep during those times.

Sleeping:

She won't sleep.  She will do 30 minutes into a nap and wake up and me have to constantly paci manage for the rest of the nap or hold her.  Getting better towards the end of this month, but she is highly unpredictable.  We both do better when we are out and about.  I think we both go stir crazy at home!

Crying:

I am surprised at how much and loud she cries now.  It's totally normal, well, maybe a little bit more high need than some babies.  However, she didn't cry much at all her first month and a half or so of life...probably because she is a preemie and hadn't really "woken up" yet to really know how to communicate.  Well, she's found her cry.  I am figuring out her cries and signals more and more every day.  I know her one little shout cry means she is getting sleepy and I need to lay her down.  I know her gas cry which is a shrill, sudden scream.  I know her hungry cry which includes whimpers inbetween.  And then there is the fussy cry/I don't know what to do with myself and need to let off steam cry which she almost loses her breath with sometimes they are so drawn out and almost go silent.  I just have to laugh because there is not much consoling these cries unless I do a lot of holding and beebopping around ;)

Needless to say I've been doing some research on how to calm and soothe my poor baby.  Here are some good articles for mothers out there struggling.  Thank you to all the mom's that have been so supportive to me!!!  Adele is turning the fussy corner and is doing much better and MOMMY is doing much better now that I've stopped breastfeeding and gotten my anxiety under control with prayer and the medical wonders of pills that are balancing my physical state with serotonin and hormones.

Good website about colic vs. high need babies:

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/5/t051300.asp

Also, last but not least, Adele's cousin was born!!  My sister, Charity, that lives in Alabama had her daughter on March 29th.  Marley Grace Dempsey was 6lb 7oz and 19inches long :)  Adele cannot wait to grow up with her!  We are going to visit her soon.