Ella | Five Months

Ugh, there is just no way I have a 5 month old! I literally had a baby a week ago, I swear. Ahh, I think I say this every month but Ella really gets funner and funner as she's getting older. Each month is my new favorite age, yet I wish I could snap my fingers and have my teeny tiny 5lb newborn in my arms again. 

At five months you...

- are still not rolling from your stomach to your back very much, just every once in awhile

- have started to do this weird back scootch. Sorta like crawling but on your back and you do this frog leg kick and move yourself up. Ok, so not like crawling at all.

- have 2 teeth! Almost. The first one sprouted through on Halloween and the second one 2 days later. Just the tips are peeping through your gums and it's making you quite cranky.

- smile all the time and laugh when something is reeeeeally funny

- wearing size 2 diapers during the day and size 3 at night

- weigh 13lbs 12oz as of your 4 month dr. app a couple weeks ago

- love playing with rattles, soft toys, your toes, and bouncing in your jumper

- like to talk to yourself

- sleeping 5-8 hour stretches at night. Every night is different

- always mesmerized by the TV

- dressed up as a strawberry for your very first Halloween!

- have started to sit by yourself in the tri-pod position

- wear 3-6 month clothes

- have hazel eyes and the longest eyelashes I've ever seen

I really can't put into words how much we love you little peanut. Each month is so exciting and new. We're looking forward to starting solids, seeing you sit up by yourself, and crawling! Oh, and wearing ridiculously festive outfits for the holidays! ;) 

XO

Ella | Five Months

Ella | Four Months

When did my newborn become 4 months old!? I love it and hate it at the same time. You literally grow overnight! 

At 4 months you...

- are beginning to babble and it's just the cutest sound in the world. I could listen to you "talk" all day

- have your ears pierced! You only cried for a minute or so 

- wearing some 0-3 month clothes and some 3-6 month clothes

- wear size 2 diapers

- weigh around 13 or 14 lbs

- have just started to sleep through the night. You wake up maybe once, cry for a bit, then put yourself back to sleep

- recognize us and your face lights up when you see us

- smile all the time

- giggle only sometimes

- still exclusively breastfeeding. I don't think I'm ready to have you try anything else just yet

- snuggle your lovey all the time. We put you to bed with it every night

- have found your toes

- have the best pouty lip I've ever seen

- put everything in your mouth

- are drooling constantly

- not rolling over quite yet. You've done it maybe twice but both times it was more of a falling over

- still love bathtime 

You're so fun to be around and play with, we're just obsessed with you peanut!

XO

Ella | Four Months

Bumbo Floor Seat I ended up buying our Bumbo from Target (mainly because it was the only place I found it in the color I wanted). I thought the mint color was the cutest and it would be good for a girl or future boy. We started putting Ella in her bumbo around 2 months old. She wasn't quite big enough for it then but I definately think it's helped her build some neck strength and teach her how to keep her head up. Now at 3 months old, she loves it and we put her in it all the time! I'm afraid her chunky legs won't fit in it much longer!

Baby Jogger City Mini GT Stroller My mom got us this stroller for our baby shower (it was on our registry) and we are so so happy with it. I love baby items that don't scream "baby" which usually leads me to buying baby items in black. This stroller rides super smooth and is easy peasy to fold up and put in the car. Ella loves riding in it, mama loves pushing it. It's a win/win.

Vulli Sophie Giraffe Teether Ah who doesn't love the Sophie teether!? I think this is probably the #1 "first baby item" that parents buy..probably because it's so damn cute.  I'll admit, it was the first baby item we bought. Ken actually surprised me with it shortly after we found out I was pregnant. We have both this one and the original, larger one. I think this one is perfect for 3 months though since E can now start to grasp objects. The loops on it are the perfect size for her tiny hands to hold.

Tommee Tippee Milk Feeding Bibs I went back to work when E was 11 weeks old which means that she was going to end up getting alot more bottles than she did in the first 11 weeks. My husband has her for the most part the 3 days a week that I work so he was in charge of feeding her when I was away. He used a few different bibs/burp cloths to help catch that extra milk dribbling down her face and into those hard to clean crevices of her neck. I started to notice her neck creases were turning red and looked irritated. I found these bibs at Target and decided to try them out (well, my husband did) and he said they worked great! They catch all that excess milk and keep her neck and chin nice and dry. 

Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Bottles I decided to breastfeed from the get-go but knew that I wanted Ella to be able to take a bottle for a couple different reasons. 1. because I knew I'd have to go back to work when she was a few months old and she would have to be able to suck from a bottle, and 2. because well, mama needs a few cocktails every now and then which means E gets a bottle of pumped milk :) When I was pregnant, I read tons of reviews on which bottles to get and these were always highly liked by others. We introduced a bottle when Ella was only about 2-3 weeks old (this is also when we introduced a paci) and I'm so glad we did. I was suuuuper nervous trying it since she had such a difficult time latching to my breast in the beginning. Surprisingly she took to it well and will suck from a boob, a bottle, or a paci without any confusion happening. She takes these bottles with no problem (plus there isn't 1000 pieces to clean) so they're a win in my book.

Summer Infant Swaddleme We got these for our shower as well and I was a little skeptical about them in the beginning. Why not just use a regular swaddle? Hmm, well if you're my kid you bust out of a regular swaddle blanket within 2 seconds, that's why. Plus, dads can never seem to get a swaddle as tight as mom so these are super easy for dad's to use :) We didn't really start using them too much until Ella started sleeping in her crib. I thought it would be hard for her to go from the comfort of being in a rocker that hugged her body, to an open crib. So from the start of putting her in the crib at night, we swaddled her with these and I think it does help her feel more "secure" and comfortable. She's always haaated her arms being swaddled so these are nice because you can just swaddle the bottom half of her body nice and tight. Plus I love that they come in a small/medium size and a medium/large size that she can grow into. 

That's all for these past couple months. It's so fun and exciting to try new products and see what works best for her. Each month gets more and more fun and playful so I'm excited to see what the next month brings!

Two & Three Month Favorites

Ella | Three Months

This has been one of my favorite months so far. You're alert all the time and taking in all of your surroundings. I think you're even starting to recognize us because your little face lights up when you see us! 

At three months you are...

- smiling like crazy

- have laughed like 1 or 2 times. It's the sweetest, softest little laugh :) I can't wait for more giggles

- wearing 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers

- starting to really like playing on your activity mats

- have a predictable nap schedule now

- officially sleeping in your crib at night

- still sleep a 6 hour stretch at night, eat, then sleep another 3-4 hours. We're so grateful you're an awesome night time sleeper!

- have started drooling

- starting to grasp objects (if we put them in your hand for you) 

Overall, you're such a happy baby and we love spending every day with you and watching you grow!

XOXO!

Ella | Three Months

Newborn Favorites

Fisher-Price Newborn Rock 'n Play Sleeper Finding a good, and safe, place for Ella to sleep when she was a newborn was difficult. We originally bought a pack 'n play with the intention that she'd sleep in it in our room for the first several weeks. However, she was soo tiny when she was a newborn and our pack 'n play didn't allow me to have eyes on her when I was laying in bed. I had anxiety about not being able to actually see her when I was in bed. In fact, I wanted her in the bed with me at all times but I know this isn't safe and I didn't want her to form a sleeping habit where she needed to be in our bed all the time. I always read where other families had their newborn sleep and soo many people mentioned the rock 'n play. We bought ours at Target and for only $60 it was well worth the money. She slept great in it from the first night. We put it right by my side of the bed which was perfect because I could open my eyes while lying down and see her. It also vibrates which E loves and allows me to rock her to sleep while I'm still lying down. Can't rave enough about this thing!

Puj Flyte Mini Tub Another obstacle we faced with Ella being so stinkin tiny was giving her a bath, safely. The first few nights we did sponge baths but once her umbilical cord fell off we were pretty excited about giving her a real bath. We also have the 4moms Infant Tub but she was just too small to put in it yet. We found the Puj tub at Buy Buy Baby and decided to try it out. It's so nice because it's the perfect size to fit in the sink in our bathroom. It's easy to fill, easy to clean, and easy to store since it folds up. The other great thing about it is it would be great to travel with since it folds and can be used up until Ella is 6 months old. 

Boppy Bare Naked Pillow This was a must when it came to breastfeeding E. It's crazy how many pillows you can use and stack around you to feed your infant in those first few days. In the future she'll also be able to use it during tummy time. I'm sure the Boppy pillow is a staple baby item in most households and sure is in ours!

AVENT Soothie Pacifier I was mixed about giving Ella a paci in the first few weeks, especially since she had difficulty latching as a newborn. But, one night she was being extremely fussy before bed so we decided to try it out. She took it great and I really do believe it helps soothe her to sleep or just calms her down in general. Note: you should probably buy about 9,000 of these things because they really do just disappear around your house! 

Carter's Newborn Mittens I'm sure every parent attempts to put mittens on their newborns to keep those little fingernails from scratching their baby's precious face (helllooo, how many pictures do you take of your newborn... nobody wants to see bloody scratches on a fresh newborn face!) But of course, most mittens are too big, fall off, and end up getting lost. We got a pack of the Carter's newborn mittens from my in-laws and they're the only mittens that actually stayed on Ella. They're the perfect size and come in a ton of cute colors and patterns. 

Baby K'tan Wrap Babywearing is probably one of the greatest things when you have a new baby. Ella couldn't be in this wrap until she was about a month old but it was well worth the wait. She loooved to be held which I loved of course, but at the same time it didn't allow me to get anything done around the house or even eat/brush my teeth. Some wraps seem so confusing on how to put them on and I'll admit, even the K'tan was intimidating, but it really is simple and comfortable for both me and Ella to use. Plus you can wrap her up in like 4 different positions which is a bonus. 

Having a newborn has been the happiest, hardest, emotional, yet most rewarding few weeks of my life but I wouldn't change it one bit. I wish she could stay a newborn forever!

Newborn Favorites

Ella | Two Months

This post is suuuper late...a whole month late!

My sweet little Ella Eve.  Everyone's right when they say time flies when you have a kid. We can't believe you're two months old already! I can see us saying that each month you get bigger and bigger. 

At two months you...

- survived a growth spurt from hell! From 6-8 weeks to be exact. Fussy and non-stop eating for two.straight.weeks. I guess it payed off though cause you gained 4 pounds this month!

- got your 2 month shots and only cried for a few seconds

- weigh 10lbs 7oz

- smile daily and it's just the sweetest little smile we've ever seen

- are very good at sitting in your bumbo

- can hold your head up

- are pretty good at tummy time and can lift your head up, not quite your chest yet

- love your swing

- stare at all of your surroundings and especially love looking up at the fan

- love bath time

- can follow objects in front of you

We love you to the moon little peanut!

Ella | Two Months

Ella | One Month

My sweet snuggly peanut, I can't believe you're one month old already! It's been a busy, sometimes sleepless, overwhelmed with love kind of month.

At one month you are...

- wearing newborn diapers and newborn clothes

- eat about every 2-3 hours during the day, and 3-4 hours during the night

- sleeping at our bedside in your Rock N' Play

- have gone from 5lbs 15oz to 6lbs 11oz

- love your swing when you're sleepy, otherwise you hate it

- put your hands in your mouth or touch your ears at all times

- only like to be swaddled with your hands free

- love to be skin to skin or snuggled in our k'tan wrap

- most alert after you eat and will keep your eyes open for about an hour, then it's back to sleep you go

- love your paci, it helps soothe you and puts you to sleep

We have easy days and hard days but it's all worth it. We love you to the moon!

XO peanut

Mom & Dad

Ella | One Month