Baby Elisabeth is ok

Thanks be to the Lord.  She is fine.  No hip problems.  We prayed that she would be all right and the next day when I called her pediatrician she said everything was fine so no hip problems. Yay!!  So relieved and thankful to God for that blessing.  We said a prayer of thanksgiving the moment we found out.

This has been a nice weekend.  Paul and I went on two dates.  The first one was on Friday night.  We got Indian food and then were going to go to the temple but we came too late so we ended up driving up to Heber from Alpine through the Alpine Loop.  It was a gorgeous drive.  It's the wettest summer we've had in forever so everything was lush and green and then we turned on the jazz music and listened to this amazing rendition of "As Time Goes By" by Houston Person and we had all the windows open and the scenery was beautiful so all in all it made for an amazing night!  One not to be forgotten.  Unfortunately, by the time we got to Heber it was pretty much dark.  We had driven there to look at some properties but it was too dark to see anything but the drive and the time spent together was totally worth it.

Then on Saturday, we met up with our realtor and checked out some homes in Bluffdale.  I saw one home I like and Paul saw one home he likes and we just don't know what to do but for now we are going to focus on him studying.  He is taking the CISCO test again on August 23 so study time is of the essence.  I am really proud of him.  He is putting his back into his studies and dedicating a lot of time to it.  After we saw some homes we were able to make it to the temple and that was really needed.  We went to the Jordan River temple and it was just lovely as always.  Paul and I enjoy talking afterward in the Celestial Room.

Then, today we went to church and our sweet baby girl was quiet and peaceful again and slept during our last hour - 5th Sunday which turned out to be quite a wonderful lesson on the Book of Mormon.  A couple in our ward - The Schanchy's - challenged all of us to take the 30-day read the Book of Mormon challenge and Paul and I have decided to do it.  I put the challenge out there on Facebook to see if any of my friends wanted to join in and my cousin Jemmy and my friend Meagan Gilmore are both going to do it with me.  I'm really excited!  It's going to take a lot of perserverance and time but I know if I have buddies to do it with me, it will be possible.  Anyway, here are some cute pics of our baby.

 Here she is with Grandma McAllister at a quilting bee on Friday.  That was fun and educational.

 Daddy loves his baby Elisabeth. 

Four month check up

So I took our sweet Elisabeth to the doc yesterday - Dr. Jenifer Sandvig, whom I love - and our baby girl weighs 15.11 pounds and is 25 1/2 inches long.  Both of these numbers place her in the 90th percentile for weight and height!  Yipee!  The nurse was surprised at how long she is.   I think it's cause her daddy is long.  Her head circumference is 40 inches which places her in the 25th percentile for head.  Paul is now calling her our small-headed baby.  Lol. 

Now for a little bit of disconcerting news.  The doctor moved her hips around and it turns out her right hip clicked a bit so she is sending her to get an x-ray today at primary children's hospital.  She said not to worry, it's probably nothing, but of course I am worried now.  : /  I hope she'll be ok.  The doc said it's good to catch it now instead of later when it can cause more trouble.  She might have to get some sort of traction or sling for a bit.  I googled it and I saw some interesting looking contraptions.  Oh I pray she'll be ok and I am glad I switched to Dr Sandvig because she is a specialist in kids while the other doc, whom I really loved as well, was a family physician.  So when I googled it, it said that hip displaysia is connected with swaddling.  Of course I swaddled for the first 3 months so now I am blaming myself for it but if I didn't swaddle her at first, she had a hard time settling down to sleep for the first 3 months.  I am going to try to shorten the swaddle time with our next babe.

Now for some fun pics.  My parents came to visit last weekend while Paul was out taking the CISCO exam and we had a good time together.  My dad took me to the Grand America for lunch and we went to hear the Von Trapp Family Singers up at the open ampitheatre at Deer Valley.  It was such a joy to hear Edelweiss and all those pretty songs up there.  We had a good time there - thanks to my work who gave us tickets because The Church supports the Utah Symphony.  Here are some sweet pics of my parents with Elisabeth. 

Baby Elisabeth is now 4 months!!

You are going to laugh.  I am starting to dig Elisabeth more than Lizzie these days.  I just love the soft sound of the "s" in Elisabeth.  I'm not as much of a fan of the "z."  So harsh sounding.  We'll see what happens.  Maybe Lissette?  That's pretty.

Anyhoo so our sweet dream girl is now 4 months old.  Well she turned 4 months on July 23.  Tomorrow she gets her shots and her weigh in!  I am guessing she is 17.2 lbs for some reason.  I'm not sure how long she is but she seems to have gotten longer.  She easily fits into 9 month clothes now.  Tender moment with her daddy here. 

 Look how tiny her little paw looks.  Awwww.

This is Paul's favorite picture of Elisabeth.  So smiley

Here is a pic of what she likes to do most these days:

She is constantly pulling off her socks.  Here is what else she's up to:

• She rotates left and right and spends time in her crib hanging out pulling on her cute toes
• She lets out the funniest Pee Wee Herman laugh sometimes.  It surprises everyone around her
• She bites on anything that goes in her mouth.  She bites hard.  Lol.
• She babbles and talks and likes to sing along/talk when we sing and talk.
• She smiles more and more.
• No one dare stop her half way through feeding or the lets out a scream
• You have to wake her up most days at 6:30 and she still sleeps from 6:30 to 6:30.  Happy momma in the house!!
• She grabs for things and smiles at her "Dottie and Friends" book
• She actuallys smiles at a lot of inaminate objects.  It's funny.
• She's still wary in the tub but occassionally smiles at me in it.
• She loves it when we play airplane with her.  Loves it!!
• She is incredibly alert and when we take her anywhere new you can tell she is just soaking it all in. 
• We love her tons!

Lessons learned - notes to self about next baby

So this post is pretty important because I feel like I am finally getting the hang of being the mom of an infant and I want to make sure to keep my pointers to myself somewhere so I will remember what to do with our next baby.  On the other hand, I hear each baby is different so who knows?  However, I think some things/rules/tips are the same no matter what type of baby.  I have read SO MANY books about babies and especially about babies and sleeping these days that I have reached my limit but each book has some great tips which I think I can consolidate here.  So here come a series of bullet points for myself to read before I forget:

• Sleep is like nutrition for babies and just as important
• If babies sleep for longer, they can then play for longer and develop more skills while they are awake and reach new milestones.  If they are always tired, they cannot
• Before 2 1/2 to 3 months you can feed baby every  2 1/2 to 3 hours.  After this time, feed every 4 hours and do not allow them to snack or it ruins the whole thing
• Babies can't do schedules but they can do routine
• Give them a good going to sleep routine - bath, bottle, bed
• Good sleep begets more good sleep.  This is the biggest lesson I've learned probably.  Don't let babies get overtired or they will cry and it'll be a mess and this is when you run into problems like rushing in to pick them up to comfort them and then getting them used to it.
• Watch for The Yawn.  The moment your baby yawns, you can usually put her to sleep with her eyes open (but give her a transitionary wind-down routine so it works).  She will be drowsy and fall asleep
• Don't stress too much about the "go to sleep with eyes open" thing before 3 months.  I stressed about it way too much and lost sleep over it and stressed us both out.  I should have just gone with the flow more before 3 months but I was so intent/focused on getting it right that I didn't.  Then suddenly after 3 months, Lizzie did start to fall asleep on her own, like a miracle.  Also, before 3 months no baby can be spoiled so go ahead and hold her and rock her to sleep sometimes. 
• I am not a fan of Cry It Out.  I am a huge fan of Complain It Out.  It has taken me a while to figure out the difference.  Complain It Out is where you know baby is tired and she's just up jabbering or even yelling a bit.  She will get over this and it's important for her to do this without you going in.  Baby Whisperer calls it the Mantra Cry.  Cry It Out is when she has real tears in her.  That's when you should help her out because you don't want her to lose her trust in you.  Cry It Out always happens when you let her stay up too long and she is overtired.
• Rule of Thumb - baby should never be up for more than 2 hours.  Two hours up and two hours down is ideal. 
• When baby starts not being hungry after 3 hours, she is probably not sick, she probably is just growing up and doesn't need to eat every 3 hours.  That's when you can stretch it to 4 hours.  It took me a while to figure this out.  I was freaking out, thinking Lizzie had thrush.  This happened at 2 1/2 months.
• Like I said, I have read way too many sleep books but the best one by far is The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems.  Tracy Hogg is incredible.  She is also much more patient than me.  I love her routine suggestions and her tips but I didn't have the patience for some of the things she recommended.  Luckily, Lizzie somehow just figured it out.  Also good books are Baby Wise (but I don't like their Cry It Out philosophy) and Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Babies. 
• The Core Night - around 5-6 weeks your baby will one night astonish you and sleep until 5.  Don't forget that night.  A book I read on sleep recommended never letting the baby wake you before 5 ever again because that is the core night.  I mostly agree but not when they are having growth spurts.  That's when they need nourishment at crazy hours such as 3 a.m. but that is ok because it'll go away.
• The Dream Feed - best thing the Baby Whisperer ever taught me.  You feed your baby in her sleep between 10:30 and 11 p.m. and they sleep for longer.  You can start this on week 5.
• You will probably hit a wall between 9-13 weeks.  Those were HARD weeks but it truly does get better.
• Let some light enter Lizzie's room during the day when she takes naps.  I have made a mistake here and I am just slowly tiptoeing out of it but I should try to be noisier and have more lights on while she is asleep so she gets used to it.  My niece Camille suggests vacuuming under her crib from the day she is born so she gets used to it.
• Sleep when the baby sleeps until about 8 weeks to get your strength up.  During these first weeks she sleeps longer, just not at night so take advantage of it.  Please! 
• Soak in every laugh and smile you possibly can.  It's the most delicious thing ever, isn't it?  I love Lizzie's smiles and the way she wiggles around when I come to pick her up. 
• I can't think of anything else right now.  There are a couple of things I still don't really know how to fix.  Maybe I won't until the next baby.  The 45 minute nap is one of them.   Lizzie's naps are too short mostly and I never really did figure out the whole breastfeeding thing.  Lizzie weaned herself at 2 1/2 months and she always drank too fast from the breast.  Oh well.  She is a healthy, happy, robust baby so I'm ok with it.  I love her. 

Well, onward and upward.  I think Lizzie's begun teething.  Time to figure that one out and post about it once I know more. 

Just because post

Have you ever seen a cuter little baby in your life?  I love her expression here.  So touching.  I really have nothing new to report.  Just a bunch of fun pics of sweet Lizzie.  Oh but wait here is one for future reference.  A fun/funny pic of my baby's daddy.  He is such a fun guy and makes me laugh every day.  Here he is wearing sunglasses with the lenses popped out.  Hahaha.

Lizzie laughed for the first time on July 13, 2011.  It was a delightful little giggle. 

We went on a date!

 You read it right!  We went on a real, actual date last Friday and it was wonderful!  We had booked our babysitter, Anne, a while back and had planned on going to get a quick bite to eat and then going to the temple.  Well we went to the Wild Grape and then rushed to the temple but it was closed.  We totally spaced that it closes for most of July!  It was too late to go to another temple so we decided to make a night of it and go to the Gateway mall.  What fun!!  It was the first time I have left Lizzie without much anxiety.  It was sooo wonderful to be with Paul and sit across from each other and enjoy fro yo and buy some fun clothes too.  I got two really pretty sun dresses and he got some really nice shirts and a pair of shorts.  We decided we want to experience dating each other again.  Here we are being happy:

 Isn't Paco so handsome?

 And last but not least, here is a cute pic of sweet baby Lizzie smiling.  We love her smiles and we love her. 

Our Gerber Baby

That's right folks!  We now officially have a gerber baby.  She is now 3 1/2 months old and growing like a beanstalk and cute as a button. She is losing her hair and getting some lovely, fine lighter hair coming in.  She still has her blue eyes but I think I see a twinge of green coming out in them.  I'd love it if she had Paul's lovely eyes, she certainly has his long eyelashes, lucky duck. 

Lizzie is propping herself up so much these days on her tummy and is just a happy, happy girl.  And the night before last she slept from 6:30 to 5 a.m.  Then put herself back to bed and woke up again at 6:30!  Amazing!!  I have thanked the Lord for these great days because they help settle me.  I think I am going through a bit of anxiety these days.  I get anxious to leave her (except with her daddy) and just am generally anxious to the point that I can't settle to sleep well.  It's been a rough couple of months of sleep deprivation for me so I think I am slowly starting to come out of it and whenever I gaze upon her I am happy once again.  Speaking of Lizzie, I can hear her yelling "come get me from my nap" so off I go!



Here she is smiling at her poppa.  She loves her daddy. 

I love being a mom!

Wow!  Being a momma is great.  Lizzie is just progressing by leaps and bounds these days.  Three months are really a charm.  Here are some new updates on Lizzie:

• She takes longer naps and if she wakes up, she mostly just gurgles delightfully in her crib and then goes back to bed. 
• She talks a LOT, Paul and I adore it
• She has a new playmat that her grandma - Mami Vicky - gave her and it's awesome!  It stimulates her a lot.  It has a lot of fun things gadgets and a mirror too.
• She is excelling at tummy time and turns her head as she props herself up on her cute lil tummy
• She stays up longer during the day
• She grabs her hands together in the cutest way
• She smiles so much

What a happy baby!  Yesterday was July 4.  Can you believe, I just lost ALL my pictures on my camera??? Boo hoo!  I accidentally erased them.  I had a cool picture of Paul and me and Jared and Dave looking at the fireworks from the top of Dave's building.  We actually got into trouble and we had to leave the roof but it was fun for a few minutes.  I had no idea July 4 was kind of a pill if you have a new baby.  We stayed at Paul's mom's home but even so it was noisy as can be.  Poor Lizzie didn't sleep well but today is a new day and she is doing great! 

Also, my mom came to visit for a few days to help me with Lizzie and to give me some time to sleep and it was so helpful.  Lizzie, I have decided, is an angel in our lives.  She has brought our extended family much closer together during the baby blessing and she has brough my mother and me closer together too.  We love to talk about her and it's always positive when it centers around her.  Makes me happy.   

I was thinking last night that I have some special wishes/hopes for Lizzie.  I will go ahead and post them here:

• I hope you always befriend the left out kid at school and make him or her feel welcome
• I hope you always know your parents love you so much and believe in you
• I hope you always give whatever you do 110%
• I hope you are always proud to call yourself a Latter-day Saint
• I hope you know and understand that if you mess up or sin you can make things right again.  As Elder Christofferson says, repentence is our gift to the Savior.  It's really the only gift we can give (see his talk Becoming Converted).
• I hope you feel like you can do and be anything you want to be
• I hope you strive for excellence
• I hope you turn to uplifting music when you are sad, it makes such a difference (There is Sunshine in My Soul today is a good one).
• I hope you shun criticism and gossip and always see the positive in people.  You will always feel better about yourself if you say good things about people.
• I hope you know what it is like to work hard and to pay for something all on your own.  Nothing can make you feel better than paying for something (school, a car, a bike) all on your own.  You will treasure it twice as much than if it were given to you.
• I hope you enjoy nature and go on good hikes and bike rides and excercise
• I hope you walk through a farmers market and don't really buy anything but just take it all in
• I hope you listen to a really good version of "Georgia on My Mind" and just take it all in.  Such a great jazz song.
• I hope you stare at the stars when you are camping and wonder at our Creator and His marvelous works
• I hope you take some time to really pray to the point where you feel and you know that someone really is listening. 
• I hope you listen to a conference talk when you are bored sometimes.  Much better than most things out there.

Wow.  This is making me emotional.  Well, I may continue this later or maybe every year I'll add some.