The Bell Family Blog: March 2015

Stats: No pediatrician appointment this month, but I would guess that Miss Adalee is close to 12.5 lbs and 23 inches. She is still in size 1 diapers (thank goodness because we currently have a surplus of around 400!). Currently wearing and 3/6 month shirts, 3 month pants, and 6 month sleepers. Miss Adalee has got herself a long torso (like her mama), which poses a challenge for the footed sleepers - she doesn't like her feet to be restricted!

Eating: Now that Miss Adalee is in childcare, we have seen some changes in her eating habits. She typically nurses once in the morning, usually around 6:00am, before we leave for work/childcare. She then takes three 4oz bottles during the day - approximately every three hours (9:00am, 12:00pm, and 3:00pm). Then when we get home from work/childcare, she nurses on demand throughout the evening, usually every hour and a half, until bed time at 8:00pm.

Sleeping: During her first two weeks of childcare, Miss Adalee was sleeping an eight hour stretch at night, followed by a two-three hour stretch in the early morning. Boy was it nice for mom and dad! We attributed this excessive sleep to her getting used to a new environment. Now she is back to a six hour stretch at night (usually 8:00pm-2:00am), followed by a three hour stretch (2:30am-5:30am) - still pretty good! She takes naps during the day - anywhere from 30 minutes to three hours. She seems to be a big fan of the "cat nap". We still are not trying to "schedule" her naps - just allowing her to sleep when she wants for however long she wants. There are definitely times when this doesn't work out though, and Miss Adalee becomes over tired and thus extremely fussy!

Playing: Adalee's favorite spot is still on her blanket in front of the fireplace - I'm not sure what is going to happen when it actually warms up outside and we don't turn on the fireplace anymore... We have started to incorporate playing with toys (Sophie, rattles, etc.), but she is really more interested in looking at faces and listening to people talk to her. We love to read to her and tell her stories. She really enjoys staring at the ceiling fans - I don't know what that it is about, but the fans have seemingly captured her full attention! Between 2 and 3 months, Adalee started to focus on our faces more. This was something we were worried about at her two-month pediatrician appointment, because she wasn't really fixing on our faces. She still doesn't look right at us all the time, but it has been happening more frequently! Miss Adalee also has started to smile - sometimes it is just a little lip curl, but other times it is an all out smile! She still loves to "coo" and "bark", and has started trying to figure out how to laugh. She enjoys splashing her feet in the bath, but sometimes scares herself, then smiles when she realizes it is still okay.

Here are some milestone moments this past month:

First legit smile in response to Mom/Dad. I don't remember the exact day, but Michael was leaving to work and I was staying home for the day with Miss Adalee. I was sitting with Adalee on the couch and Michael came up behind us to say goodbye. All of the sudden her eyes latched on to him as he walked around the couch and she gave us the biggest smile! Our little lady was pulling out all the stops get Dad to stay home! :)

Rolled over from tummy to back for the first time on February 18th

Of course I didn't capture the first "roll-over" on video.
And when I finally pulled out the camera, she got all shy on me!
Michael was able to catch her on video a few days later though...

First legit laugh on February 23rd - Again no photo, but she was lying on Mom and Dad's bed in the morning. Michael was talking to her while he was getting ready for work. All of the sudden she just started laughing at what he was saying! It was a really deep "har har har" laugh - we couldn't help but laugh along with her - which made her laugh more!

Here are some of our favorite photos from the last month...