her don’t f#*! with me face

She was probably just working on a poop, but I wouldn't want to meet this face in a dark alley!

Weekends

I love weekend mornings. Sleeping in a little later (9am!), playing in bed with Ellis, enjoying the warm sunlight coming into our bedroom, and finally eating delicious french toast made by resident chef Erik. After that we usually make our way into the city for errands or to try and get together with friends.

This was my fourth week back at work and the best yet. Ellis took some nice long naps at daycare and they said she was less fussy than before. I think she’s getting more comfortable there and also getting used to my feeding/work schedule.

Last Sunday I bought groceries for the week and we even managed to cook at home every night and bring lunch everyday. I don’t think Erik and I have managed to do this since we’ve been married! We love eating out and there are so many amazing restaurants in this city, but with Ellis’s schedule and our budget we need to eat more at home. The best recipe we tried was steak with roasted butternut squash and mushrooms from Martha Stewart, of course.

Ellis had her 4 month Doctor visit on Wednesday. She handled her vaccinations well, or better than I did at least. She now weighs 18.4 lbs and is 27.75" long. While the Dr. recommends waiting to really start solids until 6 months, he said we could start experimenting anytime before then! I think we’ll wait another few weeks though. Ellis doesn’t really seem interested and if any of the research on waiting to introduce solids to avoid food allergies is true, then I certainly don’t mind waiting. We figure she’ll be eating solids the rest of her life, so there’s no harm in enjoying this “liquids only” period.

4 months and a few days

I love that the 20th of every month now feels special. We celebrated Ellis’s 4th month with a little chocolate icecream for ourselves. Ellis is still adjusting to daycare. Some days are better than others, but I know the transition can take time. On Saturday, we had a big day in the city. First, we applied for Ellis's passport, then had a delicious lunch at our favorite Patsy’s Pizzeria (where we were given a nice corner booth where we could prop Ellis up), and finally we made it uptown to visit the Bauhaus exhibit at the MoMA. The exhibit was really inspiring and the MoMA was, of course, crazy busy. We were expecting it to be crowded though and it made it a lot easier. Ellis has her four month check-up and shots on Wednesday. Can’t wait to find out how much she’s grown!

Bath time

Warning: cute baby butt photo below





Poor Ellis gave herself a major scratch on the face while she was sleeping last night. I had just cut her nails, but I now realize they also need to be filed to avoid those sharp little edges. It's amazing that nails so tiny can be so sharp. I love that she looks like a mini Pope in that first photo.

Real Birth Reunion 2.0

On Saturday, we got together with the families from our childbirth class. It was a lot of fun to see how much all of the babies have grown and changed since our last reunion in October. They were so much more curious, mobile and chubby! I imagine our next get together will involve chasing around lots of little crawlers.

Laura’s Dress

Laura gave Ellis this adorable dress a few months ago. It says it’s for 9 months, but we figured with Ellis getting so big lately we’d try it on before she outgrows it. It seems to fit her pretty well!

First week back

Well, we all survived this first week. Let's start with the good things:

* It's great to be back at work. I have wonderful colleagues, exciting projects and a nice office to spend the day in.

* The daycare is incredibly close. It takes me about 5 minutes to get from my desk to Ellis. It takes Erik about the same time to see her too.

* No pumping needed, since I can run over and feed her.

* Didn't eat out once. Didn't really have any time and we were pretty motivated to bring our lunch so we could spend more time with Ellis.

There were a few negatives to the week though:

* Ellis is still refusing to drink from a bottle. She never had a problem with bottles up until a few weeks ago, but now she's letting us know her preference loud and clear.

* Fussy baby. I am not sure if it's just the transition, the bottle refusal, or the resistance to naps, but Ellis was definitely fussier this week than we have seen before. It broke my heart to see her eyes pink from so much crying.

* Commuting. Not as fun as I thought it would be. When Ellis is old enough to talk, I am sure she'll complain about the crowded L train with the rest of us!

Friday night felt so great though. Knowing we had made it through the week and could fully enjoy our two days off. We are trying to get her to take a bottle again today and I am also trying to track/schedule her feedings to see if the times I am going to the daycare will work with her mealtimes. I am able to get there every 2.5 hours, but she's been fed on demand since she was born and sometimes she likes to eat after 1.5, 2 or even 3 hours. I am really hoping she can transition to this schedule. Then I can avoid pumping, Ellis can avoid bottles, and we can spend lots of quality time together. As long as I can take an additional lunch for myself once a week (or every other week) to see friends or run errands, I'll be a happy camper.

I keep telling myself this was just the first week and we have a lot to learn with every change. The best thing is for our family to be flexible, remain positive and take things one day at a time.

Second flight

On our way to St.Louis the plane was pretty empty and we were able to snag an extra seat for Ellis and her car seat. She slept almost the entire flight! It was a lot more comfortable with her not on our laps. We could move around, go to the bathroom and not worry about waking or squishing her. Our return flight was sold out, so it was back on my lap. She was awake and curious for this flight and joined me in a little magazine reading. Ellis contributed by grabbing and licking the pages! When Erik returned from the bathroom, I surprised him by putting Ellis in his seat. She loves sitting up like a big girl.

You might recognize that outfit from the first photo. I bought the newborn size version from Target when she first arrived and was so sad to see her outgrow it. During a trip to the Alton Target, I found it again in the 9 months size. Now she has a little room to grow!

Uncle Mike

Happy New Year! We just got back from a visit to see family in Illinois. I'm about to add those photos but just wanted to say that it was adorable to see my brother with Ellis last week. He's a great uncle and a natural. I know Ellis will have many great memories hanging out with him as she grows older. We couldn't get over his giant hands next to her still tiny ones!