Eliza is growing like a weed! At 9 pounds 6 ounces she's already gained two pounds! 51% for weight and 39% for height at 21 inches. I know I will continue to say this over and over again but I CAN'T STAND how quickly she is growing. She's a funny little nurser and will only eat one side at a time. We've had to deal with choking on breast milk at times and a lot of projectile vomit but I'm ok with that as long as she's still gaining weight. Can't tell you how many time I get thrown up on in a week. Safe to say it's at least once a day. I'm still baffled with the amount of breast milk I have at the beginning of nursing. It's always been WAY too much for my little newborns to handle. I usually feed her on one side and them pump out the other side. I've already pumped out quite a bit of milk. If she's anything like George, she'll need the extra milk when she weans herself at 6 months. I'm hoping she will nurse to a year, but you never know and that's why I'm hoarding all the leftover milk in my deep freezer.
Eliza wakes up about every three hours to eat during the night and sleeps a ton during the day too. I'm always astonished with the amount of sleep these little people need when they're born. At the rate she's growing, it's no wonder she's tired.
I love the little smiles she gives me when she's done eating and dreaming of heaven.
She likes to be held ALL the time. I tried the swing and a bouncer, but she just wants to be snuggled. If she weren't my fourth kid I would be TOTALLY on board for 12 hours a day of snuggling and staring at her perfect little face, but alas, I have three other chiddlers to take care of. It seems Sadie always has some project due, Jack is wanting to read me his books and George wants to cuddle just as much! Sadly George has been watching a great deal of Lightning McQueen!
She loves to sleep in this fuzzy pink blanket. This winter turned out to be MUCH cooler than we anticipated. For a while she really fought us on being swaddled but we finally trained her into loving the "baby burrito." I'm so glad we bought this "Rock and Play" crib. It's slightly elevated so she's not flat on her back and rocks when she kicks her feet. I also love that she's a little bit wedged in there. Looks so cozy!
Sometimes after an entire morning and afternoon of holding Eliza non-stop, I am always so happy when Sadie and Jack come home from school because all Sadie wants to do it hold Eliza. Ok, but only if you insist!
Best big sister ever!!
We discovered that Eliza will almost automatically fall asleep if we strap her in the Bjorn front pack. This is welcomed news for poor George who really needs to get out of the house every once in a while. A little fresh air is always good for all involved. Even if the fresh air is pretty cold too.
We take short walks around our neighborhood. George likes to find berries and throw them in the streets and also LOVES to destroy fire ant piles with his stroller. Watching the little buggers scramble about after the wheels of his stroller wipe away half their hill gives me great pleasure as well.
Being my fourth, I really haven't minded too much getting up in the night to feed her. I'm usually a zombie through the whole feeding but I'm relishing every moment of this little newborn phase. One night she decided to sleep from 11-5 a.m. This was after she vomited all over me because she either ate too much or choked on a hiccup. Nonetheless, I was a wreck the whole night. I kept waking up and looking at her to make sure she was breathing. Finally I was so full I had to pump around 3 a.m. I thought for sure the second after I pumped, she would want to nurse, but she ended up sleeping another two hours.
We celebrated by dressing up and going to Miles' birthday party!
The bad news is, this was a one time gig and she hasn't really slept that long again since. I'm happy with a four hour stretch at night but honestly miss her when she's sleeps too long. Around the same time she slept 6 hours, she also rolled over at 3 weeks old. Again it was only a one time thing because every time we put her on her tummy now, she just cries instead of rolling over. It was pretty awesome though. Even if it was only for a few days!
She's looking a lot like Jack these days. They have the same coloring and sweet little expressions. I won't complain at all if she ends up looking like her handsome older brother!!
She and Jack had the sweetest little exchange here.
The weather finally warmed up and we were itching to get out of the house. Barton creek was calling our names. Eliza's first little outing!
I'm still feeling a bit foggy these days. The RS meals have ended, Chase is back at work and I'm back into the full swing of things. I can't say everything is running as smoothly as I would like but I'm feeling so blessed to have good health, a loving husband and such great little kids. I'm having a "too good to be true" moment and although sleep deprived and disheveled at times, I'm incredibly happy!
