Hannah Grace: 3 months old today

Happy 3rd month Angel Bug!

When I told David that it was Hannah's official 3rd month birthday today Blaine overheard me and ran over and we had this conversation:

B: "Mama, is it my birthday too?"

J: "Well, it's not actually Hannah's birth-day, but we're celebrating her being 3 months old today, just like we did with you when you were 3 months old."

B: "Mama, is it my birthday today too?"

J: "Why yes, it is! It's your 2 year, 6 month and 2 days birthday!"

B: Smiling ear to ear he runs to David: "Daddy, it's my birthday!" "Mama, when is my birthday?"

J: "February 22. 2/22."
B: Smiles and runs away.

It was a great conversation. You had to be there I guess.

Then on the way to school Blaine had this conversation with Daddy:

B: "Why is it Hannah's birthday today?"

D: "When you're younger you have more birthdays and when your older you have one birthday each year."

(60 seconds of silence)

B: "Daddy, am I older?"

This was also a good conversation.

And (you guessed it) on the way home he asked me when his birthday was, why we were celebrating Hannah's birthday and discussed what kind of crackers we should get daddy for his birthday next week (!)

Ok, now on to Hannah Grace...

Angel Bug is doing really well. She weighs 13.2 pounds and has pretty much stopped throwing up despite her acid reflux. I have had to eliminate all dairy, spicy foods, citrus, tomatoes, and chocolate. Changing my diet and keeping her on Prevacid have made a huge difference.

She was on a pretty good schedule for almost three weeks and then BAM on Monday she changed. This was her schedule for several weeks:

4:00 am: 1st feeding (or last feeding - I can't tell!)
5:30 am: wakes and wants to be un-swaddled, but then snoozes with her arms free for about an hour.
6:30 am: fully awake, happy, smiling enjoying the fan above our bed and the sunlight coming in between the blinds. She takes her medicine.
7:00 am: dressed and changed
7:30 am: nurses
cat naps
10:30 am: nurses
11:00 - 1:30/2:00pm: LONG NAP (Hallelujah!)
2:00 pm: nurses
cat naps
5:00 pm: nurses
cat naps
8:30 pm: nurses
9:30 pm: in bed for evening (not to mention she puts herself to sleep)

But then, all of a sudden this week she won't put herself to sleep, she stopped sleeping 2+ hours during the day and the worst part: she won't nurse. (ARGH!) It's been so frustrating. She literally screams until she is red in the face and choking on her own saliva when I try to get her to latch on. She has been going 5+ hours without nursing simply because she refuses. I have been giving in, pumping, and giving her a bottle the last few days because I want her to eat. It's possible that she wants the ease and consistent flow of a bottle, or maybe she has an ear infection or maybe she just doesn't like nursing anymore. Whatever the case, it is wearing me out. When I am at work I can't pump her a bottle, so she just goes without. I am praying that she gets back to normal soon.

Some notable and cute things I want to remember about Angel Bug at this stage:

- She loves looking at her brother when he talks to her. She smiles and stares at him with her big blue eyes. (She obviously has the whole forgiveness thing down pat...)
- She lays in her crib in the mornings (after I un-swaddle her) and is so content and happy. It's as if she is saying her morning prayers and spending time getting centered for the day. It's so sweet. When you walk by and peek in at her, she closes her eyes and smiles and then continues with her devotional time. :)
- She has found her hands and is starting to grab for objects in front of her. She is even chewing on her hands more each day.
- She likes tummy time if you prop her up in her Boppy.
- She is a very good baby at work. She likes to swing in her chair, sit in her Bumbo chair and stare at the fan from the floor.
- She sleeps best if she's had a bath. We have been giving her a bath every other night but it seems that she sleeps longer and harder if she has a bath before bed.
- She is the most beautiful little girl I've ever laid eyes on.