4 months old! Time sure does fly!

Our little pretty girl in her big girl 6 month PJs! 

Height/Weight

25.5 inches (Gained 1.25 in ONE month) = 90^th percentile

Birth- 20 inches

17 inches (head circumference Gained 0.5 in ONE month) = 98^th percentile

Birth- 14 inches

13.5 pounds (Gained 2.5 pounds in ONE month) = ~50^th percentile

Birth- 7 pounds 12 oz

Size:

I am so sad to announce that she is officially in 6 month clothes and even fits some 6-9 month clothing!

haha this is before I went to buy her new pajamsas. The shirt here is 3-6 months and pants are 6-9 months...too small and too big haha!

Favorites:

Food- BREASTMILK! J

Book- “Animals!”

1/21/13- Bedtime Routine with her daddy

Song- She loves when I sing to her! It makes my heart smile. When I sing opera (for fun), she just “giggles”.

Toy- It’s amazing she loves toys now! Her favorite is her Elephant Toy. I named him “L.E”!

Non-toy toy- She grabs for anything and everything now!

Time of day- she is happiest when her daddy gets home at 7p! She’s alert and ready to hang out with him.

TV show- Oh my..she’s obsessed. We have to shield her mat with pillows since we hang out in our living room.

Thing to giggle at- Her daddy can make her “giggle” like no other person!

Our beautiful baby 1/12/13

Firsts/Milestones:

- She went from swatting at things to now reaching and grabbing with intention! We love it. It’s so cute.

- She is still rolling from side to side and tummy to back more consistently.

- Her giggles are forming and we love it. She just squeals, screams, babbles...

- Her “giggles” are beginning to become more apparent...they are little squeals now!

Here is a good video of her on New Years Day with her dad- I caught it too late but it can give you an idea!

- The separation anxiety has officially set in! She knows who she knows and definitely knows whom she doesn’t! As long as she sees our face, she usually is ok but sometimes that’s not enough!

- And unfortunately or fortunately...she has started TEETHING. Drooling, rosy cheeks, grinding on her gums which makes her normal babbling sound pretty interesting and cute, irritating stools, diaper rash (ehh!), and screaming! Oh and let’s not forget to mention- she is super clingy and a very very very bad sleeper now (at night). Mama is EXHAUSTED.

my review of 2012

I’m so bad at my blogs now. Any free moment I have, I’m either taking a long hot shower or laying on the couch and closing my eyes! Haha Definitely the life of a stay at home mom. The past month I put in over 80 hours with my part time job (at home that I am SO grateful for) but that plus being a SAHM was very difficult. I am slowing down a bit this month...thank God! Anyhow this blog will be my review of 2012...which has been the BEST year of my life thus far and I know will only get better now that Estella is a part of our lives.

This blog started off as an attempt to not let 2012 look like 2011 which was such a tough year for many reasons we could not control but also a year that took control of our emotions in a negative way.

We both had difficult things that we were dealing with (not each other don’t worry!). So I promised to myself, to Ryan, and to this blog that I was not going to get swallowed in the negativity but bring myself back to the reality that my life is DEFINITELY beautiful despite the ugly parts.

It turned out that this blog transformed into an experience I didn’t expect and I am forever thankful for the support...love....and acknowledgement that I’ve received. Thank you!

Well here goes-

3 month update, Christmas, & my last blog of the year!

My beautiful baby!! 

Height/Weight

24.25 inches (Birth- 20 inches) = 80^th percentile

16.5 inches (head circumference; Birth- 14 inches) = 75^th percentile

11 pounds (Birth- 7 pounds 12 oz) = 25^th percentile

Size:

Since she’s a bit taller, the 3-month clothes are being put away slowly and she is going into 3-6 months exclusively!

   

Love those lips!   

Favorites:

Food- BREASTMILK! No dairy or gluten!

Book- “Animals!”

12 weeks old :) We like to keep her fashionable!

Song- The POTATO song by Disney Junior! Potato Rock is actually her favorite! Watch this at your own risk! It’ll be stuck in your head FOREVER.

Toy- My boobs.

Non-toy toy- My boobs.

Time of day- she is happiest when her daddy gets home at 7p! She’s alert and ready to hang out with him.

TV show- Oh my..she’s obsessed. We have to shield her mat with pillows since we hang out in our living room.

Thing to giggle at- Ryan recently discovered that she loves when he blows air through his lips...I can’t really put it in words so here is the video:

Firsts/Milestones:

- She started noticing her hands a little over 8 weeks and every day since then, she becomes more and more comfortable with them...now she’s starting to suck on her hands! Eh!
-She can even hold her rattle and shake it a little!

She's pretty indifferent about tummy time actually. Now that she grabs and reaches for things, she really rather be playing with her toys!

- She started rolling from side to side at 10 weeks then rolled from her tummy to her back at 10.5 weeks!! What a little over achiever!

- Her “giggles” are beginning to become more apparent...they are little squeals now!

- She’s already starting at a young age but she is yelling at me! She is more than comfortable with being very vocal! We love it.

- I started speaking Lao to her in the morning in a very ambitious attempt to make her bilingual and she smiles every time. Maybe she knows my Lao is THAT bad haha

- We experienced the beautiful city of Chicago for the first time as a family....and we realized VERY quickly (with traffic especially) why we won’t be going there again any time soon! Haha But it was fun nonetheless!

- The separation anxiety has officially set in! She knows who she knows and definitely knows whom she doesn’t! As long as she sees our face, she usually is ok but sometimes that’s not enough!

- She is getting over her 2^nd time being sick. It makes us sad seeing her unhappy but she’s still nursing very often and clingy so we are taking advantage of it.

our life...

I realize that I have been MIA on this blog for quite some time now. Between working 15-25 hours a week from home, breastfeeding every 2-3 hours, mid-day naps (hehe), and witnessing all the little new things Estella discovers about herself and the world around her...my blog has unfortunately been kicked to the side a bit (all for good reason of course).

Ryan and I still look at each other in awe that we created this beautiful being that has now flipped our life upside down in a million ways. Yes things that we once thought were easy are now a task. For example, something as simple as eating dinner at the same time. Now it’s...”Who wants to eat first?”

We would both agree that our life together as a family of three is at its PEAK!

Do I miss some things of my previous life?.....hm maybe. Ok fine I’ll admit it...Yes I do miss some things. I miss being able to meet my friends in Chicago on a whim to hang out at all the random get togethers, I miss seeing my family as easily as I wanted to before, I miss being included in invites even though I prefer to spend time at home with Ryan and Estella, and I miss being able to be on time even though everyone in the world knows I won’t. (haha)

Are all those things worth it for me? No..not at all.

baby E is a whole TWO months!

Our little diva already knows how to pose haha

Height/Weight

These are week 7 stats so she’s gained a lot from this in one week (we can visually tell)

23 inches

15.25 inches (head circumference)

            Birth- 14 inches

8 pounds 8.5 ounces

Size:

Gradually transitioning into 3-6 month clothes already! She is almost EXCLUSIVELY in 3-month clothes!

Seven weeks here! :) She is so beautiful. I know,...I'm bias!        

Favorites:

Food- BREASTMILK! No dairy or gluten!

Book- “On the night you were born”

Song- “Beautiful, beautiful” by Francesca Battistelli

Toy- My boobs.

Non-toy toy- My boobs.

Time of day- any time as long as she’s fed, clean, and napping! She is a lot more alert so she’s in the best mood right in the morning and then again when her dad gets home in the evening!

TV show- She watches a little bit of TV now on her activity mat!

Thing to giggle at- She thinks its funny to stick her tongue out or when she sneezes.

Firsts/Milestones:

-We are starting to hear a little giggle!! So exciting!

-She “talks” to us more and more each day!

-She’s able to follow objects with her eyes and even hold up her head for a couple minutes during our tummy time!

-She is starting to try to blow little raspberries!

-She officially got over her 1^st cold at the end of the 7^th week and gained weight! Yay! We feel that we are finally hitting baseline with her weight and it’s only UP from here!

-Breastfeeding has gotten easier and I actually LOVE it now. It is such an intimate time that I will always cherish with her...plus the little smiles she gives me just melts my heart. She knows that I am taking care of her.

-Managing things around the house has gotten better since she is more tolerable laying down by herself...in her swing...and overall, just in a better mood. Although she still gets stressed if we push it by taking her out for too long or she’s overwhelmed with too many new faces.

-At her very young age...she already shows signs of separation anxiety from Ryan and I...it’s cute NOW but makes us a bit worried for the future. Oh well! We are taking it day by day and enjoying it while it lasts!

5-6 week update: the "weight-ing" game :)

In Rockford at her Baby Dedication :) 

Height/Weight:

22.5 inches

15.25 inches (head circumference)

            Birth- 14 inches

8 pounds 5 ounces

Size:

Gradually transitioning into 3-6 month clothes already! She is almost EXCLUSIVELY in 3-month clothes!

           

Favorites:

Food- BREASTMILK! J No dairy or gluten!

Book- “On the night you were born”

Song- “Beautiful, beautiful” by Francesca Battistelli

Toy- My boobs.

Non-toy toy- My boobs.

Time of day- any time as long as she’s fed, clean, and napping!

TV show- She watches a little bit of TV now!

Thing to giggle at- She thinks its funny to stick her tongue out or when she sneezes.

her 1st little halloween outfit

Firsts/Milestones:

- Not only does she make eye contact with us, but also she is starting to talk to us! Along with smiling and laughing!! We LOVE it. She is talking more and more! Watch this amazingly cute video of her! Don’t mind my weird conversation I’m having with her about her poop! Haha

-She is starting to try to blow little raspberries!

-We love hearing her big (and little) poops!

-We went to Rockford for the first time and we had her Baby Dedication! We still have yet to receive the pictures (which I will post later). The short ceremony we did at my home church basically was to signify that we are dedicating her to God...that we agree to raise her according to His will...to raise her in a Godly home! It meant so much to us and she had the cutest little outfit on courtesy of her Grandma “Mithu” (my mom) and her auntie Maria!

-Sadly, she experienced her first cold. The whole Dorough household got sick. She’s a pretty good sleeper at night (3-4 hour stretches before nursing then she goes right back to sleep) but for 3 nights, she was so restless and throughout the day she was too. I am still sick but imagine taking care of a restless and clingy baby while I also had NO sleep. Very difficult. She’s doing better now but I’m still checking her temperature like every 5 mins!

Due to the stupid virus (great for her immune system horrible for her weight!), she lost weight (visually) and we got a little concerned. However the following day she started to sleep better and started nursing literally EVERY hour actively...not as much for comfort. Our 6-week doctor’s appointment, she only gained 1 oz since her last appointment around 5 weeks. Although I would have been concerned about a week ago, this time I’m not because she doesn’t have a metabolic problem but she was sick! Her poops are very mustardy yellow (awesome!), she’s peeing a lot, eating well...so we have confidence once she kicks this virus in the butt, her weight will gradually increase! We were also encouraged that she grew in length and head, which in itself takes metabolic processes and energy so she is getting nutrition! Her fat stores may not be filling up but I know in time, she will plump up and become our little chunker!

my baby is 1 month (in this blog) :D

Height/Weight:

 22 inches

8 pounds 4 ounces

Size:

She is officially out of NEWBORN clothes and can fit into her 0-3 months! Some 3-6 month size clothes fit (mainly pajamas) because she’s long!

           

Favorites:

Food- BREASTMILK! J She hates dairy though...goodbye frozen yogurt! L

Book- “On the night you were born”

Song- “Beautiful, beautiful” by Francesca Battistelli (when she cries in the car, I play this from my phone and it usually helps calm her down) I started singing this to her recently and she loves it too :D

Toy- My boobs.

Non-toy toy- My boobs.

Time of day- any time as long as she’s fed, clean, and napping!

TV show- She watches a little bit of TV now!

Thing to giggle at- She loves giggling and talking when we change her diaper. Strange kid.

Firsts/Milestones:

- Not only does she make eye contact with us, but she is starting to talk to us! Along with smiling and laughing!! We LOVE it.

-We love hearing her big (and little) poops!

-Traveling with her in the car (alone) isn’t as scary as it use to be (for short trips)...I am so use to it now! Granted I hold my breath the ENTIRE time hoping she is comfortable and safe...as soon as I hear a cry...my blood pressure goes from normal to dangerously high! Thank goodness so far, those moments are not that common!

“Don’t worry! She’ll be fine!”

I really hate people saying that to me.

Okay. I know that is just a way to help reassure me...make me feel better...but in very specific circumstances thus far- my mommy intuition is RIGHT. Hearing that phrase just makes me feel as if I am wrong. Yeah yeah...sensitive little ol’ me.

Estella has been having issues gaining weight to the point of our pediatrician giving us an actual time limit to get her to boost her weight before he “called in the troops”. Although everything else appeared normal and healthy, the only two things that were out of the norm was her weight AND her yucky green poops.

I knew there was something wrong. Not the typical “Oh she’ll just catch up and have a big growth spurt!” but the “HOW CAN I FIX THIS?!”

We spent the weekend tweaking things here and there with the breastfeeding...discovered quickly that my overproduction of milk is actually a SUCKY problem to have...worked on that and BOOM! Our baby girl gained 9 ounces in THREE days. Amazing.

That is when I felt like a good mom for the first time. Not only was I able to provide nutrition for my growing little girl but I was able to use my “motherly instinct” to fix the problem!

She is still growing slowly but she is so healthy...and that is what makes us happy and reassured.

So all you moms out there...even you first time mamas like me...LISTEN to YOUR intuition. Don’t ignore it.

That inner voice that is embedded in you the moment you delivered life into the world is vital to your growth as a person...a mother...and the health of your beautiful baby.

I get to "decorate" her now but only in time, she won't want my fashion advice anymore:(