Happy birthday, Harper!

Two weekends ago our little family packed up and headed to Augusta for the weekend. Harper turned ONE on Saturday! I feel like this past year flew by and I can't believe she's already one. Caylee did a lemonade themed party and it was too sweet. My grandparents from Atlanta even made the trip down and met Morgan for the first time too! Morgan has now met all her great-grandparents and I am so thankful for that. Now for pictures--

 

 

 

 

4 month update

I can't believe our sweet Morgan is already FOUR months! Times flies. 

She still seems to have a pretty happy and sweet personality and smiles a ton. She's still not giggling consistently, but we'll get a few out of her here and there. At her 4 month health check last Friday she was 14 lbs and 24.5 inches long- both in the 60th percentile, so she's growing well! I was told she no longer needs to eat in the middle of the night, which is great because now Matt can get up with her too! This past month she celebrated her first Easter, went to her first birthday party, and roadtripped to the beach- but didn't actually see the ocean- it was chilly!! We'll be heading to Augusta tomorrow for cousin Harper's 1st birthday party, which will be her second overnight stay away from home.

Morgan still continues to be a great eater. She nurses about six times a day when we're together and 3 times on daycare days, plus three 4oz bottles. I have quite the stash in the deep freezer and I'm still trying to remember to thaw little bits at a time and add it to fresh milk. I pump twice at work and still once between 2-3am, which is quickly becoming annoying. I'm scared to drop it since that's when I get the most milk, but I haven't slept more than 5-6 hours at a time in the past 4 months! Maybe next month ;)

Sleep is going okay. Some nights Morgan sleeps great and other nights we play paci pong multiple times! She's still in her nursery, so it's a hike up the stairs 3-4 times a night-- thankfully Matt wakes up too and will venture up. We've moved her bedtime up to 8pm, but I think we should start trying for 7:30- just makes me sad to start her bedtime routine an hour after I get her home. But she's exhausted and usually falling asleep before I can burp her! Naps are becoming an issue, at home and at daycare. She's never been a great napper at daycare because she's so nosy, but she used to be good at home! She typically wakes up after an hour now and won't go back to sleep unless I hold her <-- bad habit I can only blame on myself! I'm working with trying to get her to nap in her crib, but so far no dice. 

 

Likes-

Still LOVES bathtime with dad

Toys

 

The dogs- can't take her eyes off them!

 

Eating

Looking at herself in the mirror 

Dislikes-

Sleepiness

Naps in her crib

Being held like a baby, unless she's really tired

I'm looking forward to belly laughs! She laughed a ton with Matt last night and thankfully I was able to catch it on video! :)

1st Easter and birthday party!

The past two weekends have held a few firsts for our sweet Morgan, and the fun continues next weekend!

Two weekends ago was Easter, one of my favorite holidays. We went to church then had lunch with Hal and Steph at our house. It rained all weekend long.

This past weekend Morgan and I were going to run our first race together, but it ended up not happening. It rained all night Friday and the radar looked sketchy Saturday morning so Karmen and I decided to skip. Stephanie told me it had stopped raining by the start time, oops. I did end up going for a solo run while Morgan napped and it rained on me the entire time, go figure! We headed to Savannah around 3 for Harper's 2nd birthday party- Minnie Mouse themed and so precious! Morgan wasn't a fan of the party hats but didn't mind her Minnie ears at all :)

Sunday consisted of church, lunch, then hanging outside for as long as possible! Monday's tend to come a little faster these days, unfortunately. Today my mom and McKenzie came to visit Morgan and I, so I'll update with pictures soon ;) Tomorrow I'll be back at work, then Friday is dedicated to finding something to wear for Thomas family pictures Saturday! Wish me luck. 

3 month update

Checking in with a 3 month update! Morgan turns 4 months in 10 days, but better late than never, right?!

This past month seems to have flown by! I started back to work on March 7th and am happy to report that I didn't die like I initially though I would ;) Day one brought a lot of tears, but it's gotten easier every day! I did get into a funk Monday of this week, but I suppose that's bound to happen. Matt and I decided that I would start back part time for now, so that is definitely making the transition so, so much easier.

I'm going to the office with Morgan this morning to finish up vaccine inventory, so I'm planning on popping her on the scale to get a weight! I tried weighing her at home- weigh myself, then weigh her- but I Matt and I got two different weights (13.6 and 15) so it's peaked my curiosity even more. She's a great eater for sure and I love, love all her chubby rolls! On work/daycare days she nurses 3 times and has three 4oz bottles at daycare; on days we're home together she nurses about 6 times. I stopped giving her bottles at home unless we're out and about so that I don't have to pump as often on my days off. Thankfully pumping at work has been going well and I haven't seen much of a dip in my supply (fear I had before starting back) so far. I get to pump twice at work and then I'm still getting up between 2-3am to pump since sweet girl is sleeping through the night.

About 3ish weeks ago we tried weaning Morgan from the swaddle- she did great for 3-4 days but then we had a few yucky nights so we started to re-swaddle her, and totally failed. She was breaking free every.single.time. I got desperate and ordered a "magic sleep suit" that I'd seen on a few blogs. It looks absolutely ridiculous but what a game changer!! She's been sleeping great in it for the past two weeks...so great that we moved her to the nursery last weekend! She's been sleeping from 8:30pm-7am! I have to wake her up on work days around 7 so I can feed her, get her changed, and play for a bit before we leave at 8. On non daycare days she sleeps until 7:30-8. I'm hoping we don't even go through the dreaded 4 month sleep regression.

She's getting more used to daycare I think. Her teachers say she is mellow for the most part, but "has her moments". She doesn't nap much at all while she's there- nosy rosy- so she's pretty exhausted and barely makes it to 8 before wanting to pass out for the night. Her naps are usually 30-45 mins at daycare all day, but will have two solid 2 hour naps for me at home. I still put her in the swing or let her sleep in my arms when we're at home-- she won't let me do it forever so I'm soaking up what I can for as long as I can! :)

Likes-
Bathtime with dad

Being outside

Eating
Toys
Her hands- in her mouth constantly

Dislikes-
Being sleepy
Hunger

I can't wait to see what she does this month!! She is so close to giggling and I love, love that sound!!

Picture update...

...because it's been quite a few days, oops.

Two weeks ago Morgan went on her first road trip! We left for Augusta right after she woke up for the day and ate, in hopes that she would nap the whole way, which she did! We stopped by Maw's first to visit and eat lunch with her and Cliff. Then we headed over to Grandmother and Grandfather's house, where I was only able to visit for an hour before I had to leave to get my hair cut (Matt and I drove separately because I was staying an extra day). Matt and Morgan visited for awhile longer before meeting back up with me at my parents house. Dad made some pizzas on his green egg, then Morgan totally surprised us all when she slept all night long! 

I've been writing this for 3 weeks now. Yikes.

Sunday morning we got up and made it to church, yay! Afterwards we met up with the whole fam, including my Grandma and Grandpa Waters for lunch. Morgan hadn't yet met my oldest brother and his family or her great grands, so she had a big weekend! We had a great big lunch, dessert, and enjoyed each other's company all afternoon. Matt headed home around 3 to get back to our dogs and I headed back to my parents with them later on. Morgan had another great night from what I can remember :)

 

 

 

Monday morning I decided to stay until Tuesday because I didn't feel like driving back in the afternoon. My very good friend Lauren drove down from Atlanta to hang out with Morgan and I! She lives in RI right now,, but was visiting her family in Atlanta for the week- she's actually what prompted me to plan the visit to Augusta, which needed to happen anyway. We enjoyed catching up at my parents, having lunch, then she headed back so she wouldn't hit awful Atlanta traffic. After Lauren left, Morgan and I went over to my sisters to let her dog out. We ended up sitting on her back porch for awhile because it was beautiful weather! My mom came home later on with McKenzie and Harper in tow, then we met up with my dad and Caylee for dinner. Morgan had a rough start to the night but finally settled around 10:45 and slept until 7 the following morning!

Morgan and I made it back home around noon on Tuesday after another uneventful car ride, thank goodness! I tried to get a few chores done when we got home, failed, then had a baby shower for one of our NPs in Bluffton, so it was a go-go-go type of day! Morgan was great at the baby shower but then melted down on the way home :( She passed out hard after her bath.

The rest of the week consisted of a TON of Morgan snuggles and letting her nap on me, in preparation for me going back to work. We also hightailed it out the door Thursday morning for a very last minute invite for a farewell lunch for my favorite friend/coworker/NP. I mean I showered, got ready, got Morgan ready, and was out the door in 45 minutes. Impressive for me!! She also had a blowout after the lunch which resulted in a naked baby because I didn't have an extra outfit with me!