It really cooled down here this week so we got out the footy pajamas! She is already too big for size 3 month footies because she is so long. She is starting to fill out a little and not look quite so skinny and her baby thigh rolls are coming in! This week also brought a little shake up with my beautiful night time sleeper waking up at all hours again. She hasn't been nursing as well during the day, but I hope it is just a quick phase. Maybe she just wants the bottle instead? Of course I spend every night trying to figure out why she's waking up. Is she too cold? Is her belly not full enough? Is she just having a wild dream? Too much stimulation? And now I am that crazy mom who emails the daycare at 1:30 in the morning asking them if they could try harder to stay on her schedule...

We went to Bay City this weekend to visit Pat's family. It was too cold and rainy to go for a swim, so we played pass the baby around inside instead.

My days of working from home one day a week are over so I'm back at it five days in a row this week. I still don't know how working moms do it. Is it Labor Day weekend yet?

Rough Week

Three head colds, two bouts of food poisoning and one blocked tear duct. It's been a rough week. Thank you grandma for saving us this weekend! In good news, Fi has been spending a lot more time on her tummy and can now put things in her mouth. We were afraid we may have had a case of pink eye on our hands so we rain checked having friends over and ended up spending Pat's birthday going to Outback Steakhouse and then cuddling on the couch. Kids really do change everything!

Three Months and Baptism

Fiona was baptized today in the same church my sister and I were baptized in. It was really hot, but it was nice to see so many people that knew me when I was younger. Baby had a head cold, but she pulled through like a champ and was pretty content all day. She wore a gown that great grandma Audrey brought back from Ireland over thirty years ago. I stitched in the initials of everyone who has worn it: her dad, uncle, and four of her cousins. I'm not a pro at back stitching by any means, but I think it turned out kinda neat!

We came back to a little brunch and passed the baby around. We are very lucky to have a sweet family who love this girl so much. Of course I forgot to take pictures of any of their smiling faces...

This is all that was leftover from my budget brunch with all groceries from Aldi (our new obsession). No photos of any of the other food... the ham and cheese sandwich on a stick were gone in a flash!

Go figure the only photo I take of her the entire day was this; a second in the series I like to call Bloomers on the Head

 She is already turning over on her side, touching her toes and holding on to some toys. She pulled one of her hanging toys loud enough to play a song and I yelled to Pat in the other room, "You've gotta come see this!! She did it all by herself!!" Obviously I'm very proud of her genius motor skills. And since I never posted three month pictures, here are some new romper favorites.

And of course, some smoochin' with mama.

First Week Back

I survived the first week back to work and only had tears on Monday, hard to believe. The daycare uses an app to send updates and pictures of Fiona's activities throughout the day so I know she is happy :) By the end of the second day she was taking bottles like a pro. I feel like I have so much more freedom now! Pat has her to himself two days a week and I think he realized how hard it is and how little else you can get done... :)

I can tell pumping at work is going to get old pretty quickly, but my goal is nothing but breastmilk until she starts on solids at 6 months. There are three other women at work who pump, and three more that will be coming back in the next few months, so getting into the mother's rooms may be a challenge, but at least we kind of have a built in support network, right? At least someone else to commiserate about cleaning all those parts and bottles.

Last Week of Leave

Today is my last day of leave. I return to work tomorrow and Fiona has her first day at daycare. I want to tear up just writing that sentence. I've grown so much and learned a lot about myself in the last few months taking care of a baby, a dog and a house while Pat was away teaching at the recruit school. Some days seemed like survival mode, but for the most part I felt like I had a pretty good handle on things at home in our little bubble. I know many moms work full time and balance things, but I don't know how they do it! I suppose I will figure it out just like I figured out how to keep a baby alive for the past twelve weeks. I know there will be tears, but soon it will just be routine. Fingers crossed anyway!

I knew I loved this girl before she was born, but I had no idea how attached and completely over the moon I could feel for her. I secretly love when she still tries to look at me when someone else is holding her. She has changed so much in 12 weeks and I can't wait to watch her grow and interact with us more and more. Her hands are open a lot of the time now and it just cracks me up when she has them resting on her knees. I finally clipped her nails for the first time while she was sleeping. Sometimes I try to bite them while she is nursing! And her little "conversations" are too cute, just cooing away and smiling. I am going to treasure as many of these moments as I can. 

She has been such a good night sleeper so far and has no problem putting herself to sleep in her crib but my favorite time to hold her is when she is all wrapped up and drowsy and we can just sway around her room in the dark. I love this girl so much! She is so sweet in the mornings and often has a little smirk on her face when she's doing her morning stretches. She is following us with her eyes and now moves her head to look when she hears a sound. She can hold her head up pretty well when she is being held, but needs more work on her tummy time. She has fashioned quite a nice baby mullet as some of her hair gets longer, but is getting balder in spots where she lays her head. She almost has a full bald ring around the back!