Cute? Who Me?

These are the photos I could not get when Jack was at work and I was by myself. So sweet. Love the hoodie baby towels.

* If you click on the photo, it will enlarge

3 Months

Her 3 month photos are not my finest photography work....it  was morning so I was rushing and she was not super smiley. Regardless, you can't mess up a subject this cute.  I LOVE the outfit she is wearing, it's one my brother and his girlfriend purchased for her. She has grown quite a bit this month; in size and personality. She is not a chubby baby but very long. Her feet are at the very bottom of 9 month sleepers!

Please excuse the bed head. She has a wild cowlick in the back!

This one really depicts the stage she is in. She loves to pick up her feet and bring them toward her tummy.  I think she is trying to figure out how to roll over.  She also shoots her hands out to reach for stuff. I love it when she discovers new things.

Three months has flown by - I love her more and more each day! xo

Joy Ride

Shelby has been doing MUCH better in her car seat. One day a switch just flipped in her head and she realized that it is not such a bad place after all.  She’ll still fuss if she is wet or hungry, but I would expect that.  Other than that though, she now either “talks” to me or falls asleep.

Jack sent me this photo this morning as he was on his way to work…..much better than the scene he would have captured two weeks ago.

We're Alive

She made it.
I made it.
Jack made it.

We made it through the first couple days of day care and being back in the office. Phew!

All and all, I have been very pleased with the day care and I think Shelby has been doing ok - not great, but not terrible. She looks SO TIRED when I pick her up though. Yesterday she slept 30 minutes and today about 1.5 hours in a combination of cat naps. Typically she would sleep about 4 hours in that same period, so it's no wonder she is sleepy.

She is slowly taking to the bottle. She only took 1 oz a couple of times this morning, but then slugged down 4oz all at once this afternoon. The ladies there agreed that she still just doesn't fully understand how to suck from the bottle, but she's getting there. She sure loves to suck on her hands though....

They tell me that she really enjoys voices  and "circle time," when they do music and nursery rhymes. She has really amped up the cooing in the last ten days or so, so it does not surprise me that she enjoys the audible experiences.

As for me returning to work - I am tired. I pretty much sprint from 5:30 am to 7:30 am to get out the door, but we make it and are two-for-two for on-time departures. Work itself is not bad. I am very fortunate to work with the team and clients that I do. PR in this town is traditionally a little nutty, but my position is definitely manageable.

I certainly have more to share, but for now, I better get going. I only have so much energy.

Shelby's "teacher" sent this photo today with the caption "nap time," and it made me smile.

Thanks to all for the support and warm wishes....as Bob Wiley said on What About Bob "Baby Steps."

State of the Union

With my pumpkin starting Day Care tomorrow, I compiled a list of cliff notes about all things Shelby. I am sure the staff there will figure things out pretty quickly, but I thought putting together some notes might help alleviate at least one meltdown.

Below is what I put together. It's a State of the Union, if you will.....

Thank you so much for looking after my sweet Shelby while my husband and I are at work; we really appreciate the partnership. With your years of experience, I am sure the below will quickly become evident, however I have compiled some notes about Shelby in an effort to make the "getting to know you" period go a little more smoothly.

As of her first day, she'll be 12 weeks and 3 days. To this point she has been exclusively breastfed - no formula, water, cereal, etc. She has not been keen on the bottle. We have tried giving it to her off and on for weeks and only sporadically will she take it. On a optimistic note though, she has successfully taken several ounces on several occasions. She seems to like Avent bottles best, but if you have suggestions for another bottle after observing her habits, we're open to suggestions. Chances are, I have whatever brand you have in mind, at home.

I have been home with her to this point, so yes, she is a mama's girl. Just recently she has become a little more social though, so I believe she will enjoy the active environment. I would not be surprised though if she fusses for the first several days - we're normally together 24/7.

She just started taking a pacifier a couple of weeks ago and loves it. She really needed it for quite a while. I typically only give it to her when she is tired. You'll notice her gnawing on her hands when she gets really tired.  She plays with her hands often, but when she needs to suck, it's more aggressive and she often fusses.  She doesn't fully know how to keep it in her mouth, so if it falls out she may explode like a volcano.....the whole day care will know she lost her pacifier.

Shelby is a great sleeper and really has been since birth. I know her schedule will soon change to accommodate her new school routine, but to date, she is pretty accustom to the below. She does not stick to this every day, but surprisingly, she does not deviate much. She has been swaddled for her noon nap and at night time since birth. If she is relaxed and very tired, you may notice her crossing her arms across her chest - this means she is ready to conk out.

6:30 am                Wake up, eat a ton

7:30 am                Back to sleep for 60 -90 minutes

9:00 am                Wake up, eat, bath, play

10:30 am              Quick Nap

11:00 am              Eat, play, tummy time - starts wanting pacifier

12:30 pm              Take long (swaddled) nap for anywhere for 2 to 4 hours (recently they have been 2)

3:00 pm                Wake up, eat, play

5:00 pm                Quick nap

5:30 pm                Wake up, eat, play

7:00 pm                Change into PJ's

7:30 pm                Quick nap

8:00 pm                Wake up, eat, start winding down, wants pacifier

9 - 10 pm              Falls asleep for the night              

Some other items of note...

She recently started to babble. It's awesome. If you talk to her directly and/or if there is music playing she'll start to try and "talk."

She loves toys with music and lights.

She is getting close to rolling over, but not quite there yet.

She cannot yet sit on her elbows/stomach. She def needs tummy time, as the doctors have concern about her head becoming flat (yikes!).

Sadly, she has a little bit of diaper rash. I am trying diligently to make it go away, but will need your help in keeping those fat rolls clean.

She only poops every few days or so. Sometimes she'll go daily and on other occasions it will be several days between bowel movements. She has MANY wet diapers in a day though.

I think those are the major "talking points" that I can think of to share. I really look forward to working with you to make this the best possible experience for Shelby. I know all of the above will soon change and she'll have new goals, routines, etc.

If you ever have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Schenk

Baby Power Tools
Meet the Booger Sucker 2000:

Ok, the proper name is the Graco Nasalclear 0+ Months Battery Operated Aspirator  but I prefer to call it the Booger Sucker 2000. This thing cracks me up.  It is a battery operated snot sucker! When Shelby was sick the doctor suggested it, noting that the old school "bulbs" are not often too helpful. At first, I was terrified of it - how much suction? Will it hurt? Suck out her brains? Of course, Jack thought it was awesome and got right to work.  Immediately we noticed a couple of things that made us laugh. First, you can press a button and it plays a lullaby. Nothing more soothing than having your snot sucked and being rocked to sleep. Second, there is a "do not fill last this line," line in that clear area. Eww, gross! WHO HAS THAT MUCH SNOT?! 

Anyway, it actually is far more usful than the bulb and surprisingly, Shelby likes it. It must be the hum of the motor or something that gets her attention.

Never in a million years would I have thought such a tool would exist, but even babies need their power tools.

Storage Wars

Admittedly, the situation in our freezer is a little out of hand. Shelby's future meals have pretty much taken over the entire top portion of our freezer. If you strain your vision you can see Kashi waffles and some frozen pint glasses, but that's about it. Nothing like reaching past 100 oz of milk to get your beer glass.

Jack jokingly questions the saneness of the whole situation, but to me it's like a trophy case! To me, all I see is freedom and hopefully, one less runny nose from day care! Once I am back to work though I have no doubt that this will clear out rapidly.  Until then, all frozen items will just have to stay downstairs.