Winter is here!

About a week ago, last Monday, I decided enough was enough, Elizabeth was exhausted because she wouldn't nap and she had woken up multiple times the night before.  She didn't have interest in playing because she was so tired.  So, after texting back and forth with a friend, I decided we had to start, and stick, to a sleep training plan.  We very loosely started the Ferber sleep method.  Essentially we put her down for the night awake in bed after our bedtime routine, if she is crying, we wait 3 minutes before going back in to soothe her, we do not pick her up, and only stay in the room for a minute.  If she continues crying, we go in again in 5 minutes, then if she is still crying we wait another 10 minutes before going in...and so on and so on.  (By the way, I realize this isn't interesting stuff, but I am writing it more for our own memory when we have another baby!)  The whole point is to teach her how to get herself back to sleep when she wakes up in the middle of the night.  It is also important to put her to bed awake so that when she wakes up she isn't in a different place than where she fell asleep.  There were many nights when she would fall asleep in our arms, or while I was feeding her, and the book really put it into perspective.  As adults, think about how weird it would be for us if we fell asleep in one room of our house and woke up in a different room with no idea how we got there.  And, a little disclaimer, I would not have started this if my pediatrician had not told me at her 4 month appointment that she does not need to be waking up in the middle of the night for food and that she is old enough to "sleep train".  The first night was tough, Elizabeth cried for about 25 minutes (of course we went in at 3, 5, and 10 minute increments), but eventually she fell asleep.  But, since that first night, it has gone SO WELL!  When we put her down now, she usually falls asleep within 5-10 minutes, and each night there is little or no crying, she is definitely aware it is bedtime!  There have been a few nights that she has slept through the entire night, and others that she has only woken up one or two times.....a major improvement from before.  Most importantly, she wakes up well rested and so happy!  Nap time is going so-so, she still won't sleep longer than 30-40 minutes at a time, which is obviously not enough sleep for a 4 month only baby.  But, we feel like we have made a lot of progress with night time:)

We had our first "real" snow this season last Tuesday.  In total we got about 3 inches, then this past Saturday we got about 4 inches, and as I am typing this, it is snowing outside.  Last week Elizabeth and I went walking in the snow, she wasn't very impressed, as she slept most of the time:) 

Last Thursday marked another first!  Elizabeth had her first ride in a New York City taxi!    While car seats are not technically required in a taxi here, I still had hers.  It was probably hilarious to onlookers to see me dealing with the stroller, and hauling her in and out of the taxi by myself.  We met David for lunch, and then spent the afternoon in the city.

 

 

My parents were in town this weekend, we had such a nice time.  It also meant date night for David and me!  We rode the ferry to the city for dinner on Saturday night in the freezing cold snow!

 

 

On Sunday my parents and I spent the day in the city.  David and E had some father-daughter bonding time:)  It's hard to believe Christmas is a week from tomorrow!!  I am so excited for Elizabeth's first Christmas!!  She started wearing her Christmas pajamas last night, I know lots of people give them to their children on Christmas Eve, but I want Elizabeth to get lots of wear out of them:)





4 Months!!

Wow, yet another monthly update, and only a little late.  Last week was Elizabeth's 4 month birthday.  We celebrated with a trip to the doctor for more shots!  Once again, she did awesome at the doctor, until the end when she got the vaccines.  I held her this time, and David took pictures - I don't think she appreciated being photographed right then. 

Here are Elizabeth's measurements for month 4:

Weight - 14 pounds (50-75th percentile)
Length - 23.5 cm. (25th percentile)
Head - 41 (50-75th percentile)

To compare here are her other measurements:

Month 1
Weight - 10.5 pounds (90-97th percentile)
Length - 21.5 cm. (50-75th percentile)
Head - 39 (90-97th percentile)

Month 2
Weight - 11.2 pounds (75th percentile)
Length - 22.5 cm. (50th percentile)
Head - 39.5 (75th percentile)

My amazing, wonderful, excellent sleeper is gone!  About 4 weeks ago, my little baby decided it was fun to wake up 2-3 times per night.  Now, I realize I have been spoiled with a baby who slept through the night since birth, but this is cruel!  The good news is that we are working on getting her back on her sleep "schedule" so we can remain sane, and hopefully it will pass soon.  The pediatrician said that we just need to keep training her, and that she does not need to eat in the middle of the night (she had me fooled!!).  Really, I still shouldn't be complaining, luckily she's not up playing or crying for hours on end, she is up for about 10 minutes and then passes right back out...but still, it's a little rough;)

The doctor also gave us the go-ahead to start on solids.  Elizabeth hasn't really shown in interest in food when we are eating, so we figure we will start rice cereal around 5 months...a compromise between 4 and 6 months.  She is moving around all the time now!  Every time we put Elizabeth down in bed, on a blanket, under her floor gym, we can be guaranteed that she will end up in a different place with her head at the opposite end of where we placed her.  She definitely takes after me in that she is a side sleeper.  We have only caught her once sleeping on her stomach.  Elizabeth LOVES to be out and about.  While she can't last more than 20 minutes awake in her stroller, if we take her to a restaurant or shopping, she loves taking it all in, and is happily passed from person to person at the table. 

And for the pictures....complete with band-aids from her shots....

(perhaps her mom needs to buy her some plain white onesies that actually fit now;)!)

 

Some more random pictures...

 



Happy Thanksgiving

Only a week late!  We had a great Thanksgiving in Pennsylvania at my parents' house.  We arrived Sunday night and came home the following Saturday.  I love the holidays, and with Thanksgiving being so late this year, it's hard to believe Christmas is only 20 days away as I type this!!!  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we hung out around home.   On Tuesday we even had some snowflakes - though not enough to stick.

Thursday morning David and I did a run, I ran the 5k and he ran the 10k.  It was FREEZING!  The temperature was about 20 degrees.  I am happy to report that I beat my time in the last 5k I did in October!  David did really well with his 10k also.  My dad went with us and became our official photographer:) 

When we got home, we helped out with the cooking and got Elizabeth dressed for her first Thanksgiving!  Although she wasn't able to eat the dinner, she was able to sit up in her high chair at the table with us!

 

We missed Frank at Thanksgiving!

 

 

After a little too much turkey!



 

 

We had an adorable centerpiece for our leftover lunch on Friday:)!

 

 

 And, of course, no one paid Elizabeth any attention;)

 

 

 

I feel so thankful for all that I am blessed with, but especially for my little baby!  I found out a year ago November 27th (I still have the voicemail from my doctor!) that I was pregnant.  So, little did I know last year at Thanksgiving that this year at Thanksgiving that we would have a new member of our family - so perfect!



Babysitters, Business Trips and Beautiful Weather

David and I had a nice "date" night in the city two weekends ago, as our babysitters my parents came to visit.  We headed to a restaurant called "Alta" in Greenwich Village.  Of course we waited until 2pm on Saturday to look for somewhere to eat, and therefore could not get reservations anywhere (anywhere decent at least;)).  So, we decided to go early and hope we could get in without a reservation.  Luckily, it worked and we were told the table could be ours until 7:45, since we got there at 6:00, it was plenty of time.  We ate (and maybe I drank) too much!  Click here for the menu.  Since it is tapas, we got to try many different things - bacon wrapped dates, scallop ceviche, lamb meatballs, shrimp and chorizo skewer and roasted pork belly confit.  Of course we took food pictures, but let's be honest, they never do the food justice.  Here are a few of us at dinner and our walk after dinner.

My parents of course loved staying home with Elizabeth!

 

 

 

 

David had to travel to Orlando for work, he left on Sunday and returned on Wednesday.  My parents stayed with us until Tuesday.  We did plenty of facetime with David while he was gone.   

 

We went into the city on Saturday, the weather was gorgeous!  I love NYC this time of year with all the Christmas decorations.  We went to Bryant Park, then walked down to the Union Square Farmers Market, and then over to the West Village.  We have discovered the bjorn is great for days into the city, David can carry Elizabeth all day in it, but when it's just me, I have to take the stroller, I can only handle carrying her in it for about an hour before my back starts hurting. 

 

 

 

And, just a few more random pics!

 





Three Months!!

Monday was Elizabeth's three month birthday!!!  Every single day she looks a little older, longer, and bigger!  It is amazing how much more inquisitive Elizabeth has become, if we hold toys out in front of her, she grabs them and you can tell she's thinking about them.  My favorite thing to do is have "conversations" with her.  I repeat back sounds she makes and it's adorable to hear her do the same.  If I say "hi" repeatedly, she gets a very serious look on her face, opens her mouth and makes the cutest sound trying to imitate me.  David loves to read to her when he gets home from work, she is actually staying awake for stories now and looks at the books!  She LOVES to smile back at us all the time now, it's so much fun!

 

 



 

Elizabeth is starting to wear 3-6 month clothing!  We went shopping this week, and picked up a few new things.  This girl has more clothes than David and I combined!  She also got her first pair of new kicks that fit (she got a couple pairs as gifts, but they are still took big)!

 

 

Kisses with Daddy before work



The girl still loves her sleep!  She can still only be awake for about 2 hours at a time without becoming tired and fussy.  I have learned to catch it before she gets to that point, and I put her down in her crib for a nap, she lays there for about 5 minutes looking around and then she is out!  We did have one rough night last week when she was up about 4 times throughout the night.  David and I were exhausted, he said "we are lame, imagine if we had a real baby that never slept, we wouldn't be able to handle it" - I guess as opposed to the fake one we have?? ;)  It made us realize how lucky we have had it!