walker whereabouts

First of all, the only reason I'm able to write this blog post right now is because our little girl, now 3 months old is 1 1/4 hours into her evening nap.  That is unheard of in our house.

So, what have we been up to lately?  Below is a quick run down.

1.  Ellery Kate will be 3 months old on June 30th.  She is cooing and starting to giggle a little.  She is really thinking about  reaching and grabbing for things but we aren't completely there yet.  She does love her hands though and tries to fit both into her mouth at the same time.  She has amazing neck/head control and is wanting to sit up more and more.  I walked at 8 months old.  I wouldn't be surprised if she does as well.  We are 100% formula fed, and she weighs ~11.5 lbs.  Naps are typically 30 minutes long and frequent through the day.  Which is why the now almost 2 hour nap is a blessing.  I hope its progression and not a fluke.  But I've learned everything with babies is usually a fluke and not a trend.  She was sleeping through the night with only 1 feeding around 2am.  We thought we were AWESOME parents.  But we have just transitioned her to her crib which has been a shock to the system for Ellie and us.  The freedom to roll around that massive surface is throwing her into restlessness and needless to say we are tired.

2.  I have returned to work part time.  This was the second week back, and to be honest its been great.  I haven't really gotten emotional at all about leaving Ellie with my mom.  And I, a worrier, have wondered if this makes me an abnormal mom.  But I have to tell myself, that I'm just a do-er, a creative person, and enjoy being a professional.  I enjoy my job and the people I work with.  But its also my mom taking care of her.  It just makes it 100 % easier all around.  However, we have always said this is the current plan, and things may change.  In a month I may stop in my tracks and ask my self what the hell am I doing.  I now personally understand the immense difficulties associated with being a working mother but can also foresee those associated with being a stay at home mom.  It will always be a struggle I am sure.

3.  I had my tonsils taken out.  June 2nd.  Ellery was 9 weeks old.  I won't go into the gross details of why I had this done, but it seemed like a good idea to get it out of the way while I was on maternity leave.  Let me just tell you that this surgery is the most painful, depressing event that has come into my life.  Might be more painful and torturing than labor contractions.  I couldn't eat, I couldn't talk.  I had to take liquid vicodin, of which I stopped taking after about 6 days because the side effects weren't worth it.  The intense pain finally stopped around day 10 post op, and now 3.5 weeks later, my throat is 97% back to normal.  I'm glad I did it, but if I had to decide again, I wouldn't have done it.

4.  I just celebrated my 30th birthday!  We had a fun family and friend pool party last weekend, and David and I had date night this week which is always a treat with a new baby.  I can now check the next box on forms.  Thats cool.  David and I are now both in the 30's.  The best gifts ever were the Roomba from my mom and a gift certificate to Austin Art Garage from David.  I'm growing up.

5.  Projects around the house have somewhat subsided.  For the most part, David and I are so happy with our home and don't really have anything else we want to do.  Obviously we have another large project on our hands, a baby who is trying to figure out the world with us there to guide her.  It is the most awesome responsibility we could ever have.  And we are so in love.  

6.  I've found that the market for baby gear/items is one of the most profitable out there.  If youre swear by a certain swaddle, bottle, formula etc. moms will flock to that product like white on rice.  I know I have.  We have about 6 different swaddles.   We tried 3 different types of bottles.  3 different sink/tub/bath contraptions.  And 3 different glider/swings/loungers.  I'm sure the next step is teething products and baby food.  

7.  So many of my friends are either pregnant or just had babies at the same time as me, and its a great time in our lives!  We don't get out much, but our sleepless nights with little Ellie Kate are better than a world class hangover any day.

xo to all and thanks for stopping by!

Ellery Kate

{10 weeks old}