Miracle Daddy

(Ella - 15 weeks / July 21st)

What a wonderful weekend! Believe it or not, this was our first weekend in almost 6 weeks without any major plans or visitors. As much as we have enjoyed all the trips, people and b-day parties, we were ready for a lazy few days at home.

Since we were hanging around the house we decided to work on two areas Ella has been struggling with – bottle feedings and naps. These two issues have been hard for us but with Daddy’s help everything went smoothly.

Miracle Daddy on Bottles

Oh the bottle – why didn’t I start you sooner. I didn’t start pumping until 5 weeks postpartum and Ella’s first bottle was around 6-7 weeks. Let’s just say it didn’t go very well. She completely rejected it and cried bloody murder. Several bottles (all different types) and attempts later left us discouraged and tired.

I was totally prepared for another round of fighting, crying, kicking and screaming but we had to do it. I am going to be returning to work soon and I couldn’t let this go any longer.  After only 3 min. of crying she started to take the first bottle and she never looked back! Adam and I could not believe it, she was totally happy! We proceeded to give her all her subsequent meals as bottles and she did great. Ella did so well that I even felt comfortable enough to leave Adam and her for the last bottle of the night and hit up a movie with my girls.

I think Ella picked up on Adam’s clam and determined energy and decided it was time to trust and just enjoy. Adam loves feeding her of course so I am also confident that she felt relaxed by him.

To ensure we don’t slip back to the dark side of the bottle, Adam will be giving her the final meal of the day each night. This will surely become a special time indeed.

Well-done Adam! I feel so relieved that this is no longer an issue.

Miracle Daddy on Naps

Ella is not a big fan of naps. She is so excited by all her new toys, sounds, and activities that naps are just not that appealing anymore. Unfortunately she needs them (so does mommy) so these last 3 weeks have been hard.

During the day I have been dealing with an overly tired baby who will just not rest.  I have tried everything – catching her before she gets too sleepy, laying her down awake, rocking her to sleep, playing white noise, etc…nothing seemed to work. If I did manage to get her down she would wake up 15 min. later crying her eyes out.

So this weekend I recruited daddy to help me figure this one out. We decided I would try to lay with her in our bed to help her fall asleep. After 15 min. of screaming we were up again frustrated. She was clearly over tired and needed a nap.  I tried again but this time daddy laid on her other side in the bed. She started to freak out again so daddy held her hand – boom – she stopped crying and looked over at me – I quickly grabbed her other hand – she passed out immediately. So there we were, all in bed together and holding Ella’s little hands as she took a nap. HAHA. It was a very cute moment.

But unfortunately we cannot always nap this way so the next few naps had to be in her crib.  Surprisingly, she has done much better since that little family snooze. She still doesn’t have a nap routine but she has been more accepting of quiet time. Sometimes she relaxes in her crib and talks for a 10-15 min. before settling down – it’s very sweet.

Thank you so much daddy for all your help! We love you :) 

Ella 14 Weeks

Our little girl is changing and growing day by day. The biggest update is Ms. Ella is now officially sleeping through the night: 7 p.m. – 7 a.m. give or take 30 min. in either direction. She goes down very easily - we lay her down awake after her bath and last feeding and she drifts off to sleep. She occasionally wakes up for some reason and wants to suck on her paci so we have to go in and pop it back in. But the other night she found her thumb and I heard her sucking away on the monitor around 10 p.m. – it was so sweet.

She is now playing with her toys and trying hard to rollover. I have a very cute video of her attempts below. She cracks me up. She is still making amazing eye contact and smiles big for everyone who gives her attention. She is talking a lot more too, especially when I read to her. I think she wants to join in on the conversation.

We are still trying to figure out her nap schedule. She used to simply fall asleep whenever she needed a rest but now the world is so much more exciting and she needs some help settling down. I really have to be careful not to let too much time go by without a rest because then she gets overtired and then it's REALLY hard to get her down. We are now on a routine of trying to get her to rest every 2 hours, with one longer morning and mid-afternoon nap. She HATES leaving the action behind for her quiet room but she is getting used to it.

That’s what is happening in Ella’s little world!