These Days Won't Last Forever.

Life with our babies is so precious and I can personally attest to how incredibly fast it flies by. I am by no means a perfect mom. I get frustrated and tired but I try to constantly remind myself that we waited four years for this little girl. FOUR years with empty arms. Four years with plenty of time to get out the door in a moment's notice and go have drinks at a bar and four years of wearing clothes without baby puke all over them. There is nothing in this world more important than my baby and if it means going to bed with her at 8:00 so I can nurse her into the land of Blinkin, Winkin and Nod then so be it. These days won't last forever. They're only little for so long.

Three Months Old

 I know I probably sound like a broken record but I can't believe my baby is already three months old! Time is going too quickly. She is pretty much in all 3-6 months clothes now and has been for a few weeks. She has become so vocal and gives us the most beautiful smiles constantly. She and I have entire conversations in grunt, squeals and screeches. She is so happy first thing in the morning and pretty much only cries if she's wet or tired. I stay on top of  nursing her so she rarely cries because she's hungry but she'll cry when she wants to comfort nurse.

 

I feed her on demand so she doesn't really have a set schedule of any sort but she has kind of put herself on one. She'll go down anytime between 7:30 and 8:30 and will be up between 6 and 7. She still sleeps with me and nurses about every three hours at night. I really can't complain! Although, Daylight Savings Time really messed her up and for a few days we were up way before 6. That wasn't fun.

She has mastered the backwards scoot and will kick herself to the edge of her play mat. She is almost rolling over! She's about 3/4 way there and gets stuck because of her arm and shoulder. I have no idea how much she weighs or how long she is because we haven't been to the doctor yet  We tried going yesterday but Tricare never switched us over to the new region so we couldn't be seen.

 

Her likes:
Her playmat
Reading books
Sucking her fingers. She hasn't quite figured out her thumb yet. 
Her swing for short periods
Baths--she loves to splash!
looking at her bows and room decorations when getting her diaper changed
The bumblebee game and being tickled
Nursing--the kid is always on the boob
Her Ergo--thank GOD for babywearing or I wouldn't get anything done
Mommy but she's warming up to Daddy a little more
Bouncing
Watching ND football. Seriously--she just stares at the screen when it's on!

Her dislikes:
The carseat. Still not a fan but she is slowly getting better. We got a mirror that plays music and that keeps her entertained and happy for short spans.
Wet diapers. After a month in sposies i really think she notices when she's wet now and will let us know. Fine with me--maybe she'll potty train more quickly. :)


That's all I can think of! She really is an easy gooing baby. We are so lucky. We just stare and stare at her and still can't believe she's here.We are soaking up every minute because it's going by way too fast.

I love the BEARS and I love my Daddy

One Month Old!

I can't believe it's already been a month since you this beautiful baby girl came into our lives. It's amazing how quickly they change--Hazel doesn't look like a newborn anymore! I think Mike and I are finally figuring out her quirks, likes and dislikes. She still has does her monkey cry (it makes everyone who hears it laugh!) and she's starting to make a lot more noise, particularly in her sleep. She does this adorable thing when she sneezes--she'll sneeze twice and then give a huge sigh like, "That felt good!" It's the cutest thing ever. She is growing so fast and doesn't fit in any newborn clothes anymore but most 0-3 month clothing is still huge on her. She's starting to make eye contact more often and I can *almost* get smiles on demand when I give her raspberries or kiss her neck. She's happiest in Mommy's arms or in the Ring Sling but Dad's arms are a close second. It's hit or miss if she likes her swing and bouncy.

Breastfeeding is still amazing. I have sustained another life for an entire month already! It's a powerful feeling. She's not nursing quite as often anymore but I know she's getting more than enough based on the rolls that she's starting to form. Well, that and her diapers. Who knew little girls could be so explosive?!

Speaking of diapers, cloth diapering is going great too! We are using mostly prefolds and covers at home. I like the Osocozy prefolds over the Green Mountain Diaper prefolds and I love the Thirsties covers. Those double gussets have saved us from blowouts more times than once! I have one Bummis cover that is still a bit too big for her but I don't think I'll like it as much since it doesn't have those double gussets. We have some Alva newborns and Thirsties Duos and have alrwady had to go to the next biggest snap setting! No, shs can't be growing that much already! At night time we are using pocket diapers just because they're easier to put one when we're half awake and I also think that the micro suede helps to keep her feel dryer longer since she's not getting changed as often at night. So far we've only had leaks when she's gone too long without being changed. Since we bedshare, I often wake up long enough just to get her latched and I often fall back asleep before I change her diaper and sometimes we get leaks. I have enough diapers to wash every other day but I normally end up washing every day just because. We do need more wipes though so I'll be sending the remaining of my flannel stash to my friend Allie who is going to make me more.  We're going to do disposable diapers and wipes on our upcoming move though. I hope we don't have any issues with diaper rash or blow outs!

 

Mike went back to work last week so I've had a few days where it's been just the two of us--I've even gone out with her by myself a few times. One time last week to say farewell to some of the members of my natural moms group and once today to say bye to some ladies from the infertility support group I started who are now pregnant or mommies. 

Look at all the babywearing mamas! 

 Since we moved to Washington, we have spent the last two Labor Day weekends at my sister-in-law's mom's lake house up north. The first year we went Mike had just blown out his MCL and PCL so he wasn't able to do much except sit there and enjoy his vicodin. Last year I was recovering from my laparoscopy and this year we had our new baby girl with us! Shannon's family has become a second family to use over the past two and a half years so the weekend was bittersweet as we said our goodbyes to them.  Hazel and the twins got lots of snuggles from everyone!

Baby Heaven!

Hazel and Shannon's grandma Booma

Arthur, Grandma and Hazel

Uncle Shawny and Hazel

I am going to miss the beautiful Pacific Northwest!

Soaking up the sunshine!