5 Months

Veda Belle has been rockin' our world for FIVE whole months now! I can hardly even remember life without her, she really completes us.  We wasted so much time sleeping before she made her debut, I feel like we are so much more productive now that we have a little one depending on us.  That being said, lets get to it...

  

Routine/Schedule: I'm all about routine and nothing huge has changed since day one really.  We are still on a three hour schedule of eat-play-sleep-repeat.  One major change has been me going back to work.  I returned to work, on day shift, this last week.  It's been an adjustment for all of us, that's for sure! Veda is currently taking advantage of her daddy because she's got him wrapped around her little finger and she knows it! It's nice that Brett can stay home with her the three days I work and then I can spend time with her/her and Brett on my days off.  Brett and I can compare and exchange notes in order to make us better parents and a better team.  

I'm a happy girl!

Feeding: She is usually/supposed to eat every three hours.  However, when mommy is at work, she 'screams like she's dying' after 2.5 hours, so sometimes daddy has to feed her a little early.  This is just one of the things she's doing to take advantage of him, but he knows now and has been able to distract her to stay on schedule.  Don't worry peeps, she is not starving.  

The cool new bib my Uncle Cory got me!

Sleeping:  Well, as you may remember, I was debating on getting a larger swaddle vs. trying out the sleep sack.  We decided to try out the sleep sack, for a week... she would not sleep through the night so I put her back in her *too small* swaddle and she went back to sleeping 8-10 hours/night.  I ordered a larger swaddle and that's what we're currently using.  It's still an adjustment for her.  Every time we introduce something new, it usually takes her a couple of days to fully adjust.  This swaddle allows her to move her hands up to her chest (rather than by her side) and she seems to get confused as to why she can't get her hands to her mouth.  Then she gets mad and fusses until we *GASP* give her her pacifier.  Yes, she finally understands the pacifier!!! She does not get it all the time, just with sleeping.  I do not want her to have a paci forever, but it will come in handy in restaurants and whatnot.  

Napping is getting better!  I can now sit and rock with her (with the pacifier) and she'll drift off.  It's great! We also have set up a little 'nest' utilizing her boppy so we can put her down while she sleeps (not always for a long period of time, but enough to switch the laundry, do some dishes, etc).  If she wakes up from her nap before I think she should, she'll usually go back to sleep when I give her the paci and shush her a bit. 

Trying out the sleep sack... and taking over mommy & daddy's bed

Stats: We don't have an MD appointment until next month, but at my Breastfeeding Support group, she weighed in at 14lb 9oz.  She's growing and getting that round face and chubby thighs that just kill me! 

She's able to wear her 3 month clothes still, along with 3-6 month and I'm beginning to transition her into some 6 month clothes.  

Struggles: I shouldn't consider it a struggle, but it would be nice if she'd sleep through the night again.  She only seems to wake up the nights when I have to work the next day... silly girl! 

Speaking of work... yeah so I'm back at work, 3 days a week.  It's actually not that bad.  I was pleasantly surprised that my brain came back pretty quickly! Since I've been on maternity leave, our hospital has (finally) gotten computerized charting, so I'm real behind on that and have to take a class next week.  The hardest part, aside from the obvious - missing my family, is pumping.  It takes a long time to set everything up, pump, clean everything and put it away.  I feel guilty taking the time to do it, especially when my coworkers are busy... but I don't plan to stop breastfeeding any time soon, so I'd better just get used to it and keep pumpin' away.  

Also, I think Brett finally realizes why I'm always so sleepy and ready for bed early.  He had her three days this last week and this is the first time in eight years where I've seen him voluntarily go to bed at 9 or 10:30PM!  He's so entertaining to Veda, she must be wearing him out!

Milestones:  She has grown so much in the last month! I'm so impressed by her! She is such a smiler/flirt now.  She can hold her head up, she still bobs a little, but for the most part is pretty steady.  We've been working with her in the bumbo chair to build her core strength.  She also puts weight on her legs when held up, which is new, she was a wet noodle before! She is now a fan of tummy time and I swear this will be the month she rolls over... she looks like she wants to crawl and she somehow manages to get all over her crib at night - while swaddled! 

Sitting up in my bumbo like a big girl. 

Putting a little weight on my legs!

Adventures: We went to the Getty Villa in Malibu for my birthday at the beginning of last month.  We went with our good friends and their little boy.  It was our first time going and I had been wanting to go for a while.  It is much smaller than the Getty Center and didn't seem to take too long to get through it.  It has stunning views and I'm glad we went, but if I'm being honest, I didn't think it was the greatest thing ever.  

We had our biggest adventure to date this month, too.  I really wanted to get Veda home to meet my grandma Grace.  She has Alzhiemer's and I'm always worrying about her health.  I know she and Veda will never remember that they met, but it meant something to me to get her home ... so off to Iowa we went.  We took a redeye with a pit stop in Dallas, TX.  I was so nervous the night of the flight, I was pacing back and forth and what do you know? Veda is a natural born traveler.  Really... she did great! She met all of my brothers for the first time and my sister-in-law and nieces and nephews.  She also met some of my aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.  She was such a little ham, smiling at everyone who held her.  She was a little trooper! 

Layover in Dallas, TX

Daddy's girl, in the airplane

Heading back home after a fun trip in Iowa. 

Hanging out with one of her cousins, Hunter

Meeting my new friend, Alice.  Thanks for making the trek ladies!

Realizations:  I guess I realize that going back to work isn't so bad.  I definitely had an 'aha' moment at work the other day though.  I've recently talked to two women who got pregnant after their first child was 4 months old.  I thought to myself, that would be hard to have back to back pregnancies, but it wouldn't be that bad.  Veda is a little angel, we could totally handle another one already... That is, until I went back to work and sitting in the restroom, suddenly remembered how hard it was to work when I was hugely pregnant, and then thought about having to go home and be hugely pregnant and take care of an infant.  So I ate an entire package of birth control pills... kidding, but seriously... um baby numero dos will have to wait!

Just chillin'

How we (the parents) are doing:  I think we are doing fantastic.  We're adjusting to all the changes that we are faced with quite well.  Brett is impatiently waiting for his career to finally blow up (its happening, this stuff takes time).  We're in a good place right now.  

Really enjoying my days off!

Looking forward to: I think this week we are going to take Veda to the neighborhood pool and introduce her to the water! I'm really pumped about it! Oh, and next weekend I have a four day weekend, so that should be fun!

And in case you forgot... I was trying to think of a cute way to capture her growth over the next year, so what I've decided is this: I bought a dress that's size 12 Months and I plan to put her in it every month until it fits.

... these photos coming soon ...