Claire - 4 months!

Happy 4 months to Miss Claire!  You are definitely favoring your brother as you get older.  She reminds me a lot of 4 month old Jack in this picture.  Do you think there's a resemblance to 4 month old Elise?

Stats:  Claire's 4 month appointment is next week.  She is about 13 lbs (25-50th percentile) and 25.5 inches (90th percentile).  This is actually the same height that E and J were at 4 months, but they were both heavier.  She is definitely working on the big belly and thigh rolls and her hair is finally growing in.  She wears size 3-6 month clothes and a size 1-2 diaper.  No cloth diapers this time around... too much laundry.

Sleeping:  We dropped the swaddle about 3 weeks ago at the recommendation of her physical therapist (for torticollis), and she wasn't fazed at all.  I was so nervous that this would mess up her night time sleeping, but she didn't even miss a beat.  Girlfriend likes to suck her left thumb as a result :)  At 4 months, she now sleeps 11 - 11.5 hours at night and takes about 4 naps a day.  She had a growth spurt for several days this week and woke up one night to eat around 4:30.  I'm hoping that was the extent of the typical 4 month sleep regression.  The last several nights she's come very close to sleeping for 12 hours.  For naps, she's still sleeping well in her car seat for the 5-6 days a week that we go somewhere in the morning.  This has been such a blessing!  I have this Jolly Jumper cover on (it's freezing here!) as well as a dark blanket (a Rosk Woobee Plush that I got for a great deal on babysteals... love it) tied to it so that we can extend the life of the car seat nap as long as possible.  She must be a third child :)

So, our rough schedule is:
Sometime between 7 and 8 - wake, eat
8:45ish - nap #1 (usually in car seat)
10:15ish - wake, eat
11:45ish - nap #2
1:15ish - wake, eat
2:45ish - nap #3 (always in crib)
4:15ish - wake, eat
5:45ish - nap #4 (always in crib and always 45 minutes)
6:30ish - wake, eat
Eat once more around 7:30 or 8 and in crib between 8 and 9.

She usually puts herself to sleep with very little (or no) fussing.  Sometimes she wakes up at the 45 minute mark during a nap.  If that happens, she sometimes sucks her thumb and goes back to sleep on her own.  If not, since Mama doesn't have time (or a quiet house) to try to get her back to sleep, I feed her and she has wake time and we move on with our day.  She's still happy :)  So, on average, she sleeps for 2 full naps and 2 short (45 minute) naps each day.  After reading about Elise and Jack at 4 months, I'm thinking it may be time to experiment with three naps a day and an earlier bedtime.

Eating:  She's still nursing well (especially in a dark, relatively quiet room) and takes about 20 minutes to eat and get a new diaper.  The last feeding of the day can take longer.

Playing:  Claire is such a happy little baby.  It's so easy to make her laugh and smile.  She loves the activity mat, bouncer, a blanket on the floor, sitting or standing with assistance, etc.  Her face lights up when someone comes over to talk to her.  She's discovered her voice a lot more this month and often "squawks" happily at us or her toys.  Though she loves to chew on her fingers and will pass a toy from one hand to the other,  she has not started mouthing toys.  As mentioned in my previous post, she used to roll over but has apparently forgotten all about it.  She will stay on her tummy for quite a while before she fusses for us to turn her back over.

Events:  Claire recently "graduated" from physical therapy for her torticollis.  It only took about a month of "exercises" to help stretch her neck muscles and she now has full, 180 degree range of motion while on her back and no longer tilts her head.

Claire, you are such a joyful little baby and we all adore you!  Happy 4 months!

Jack "sharing" his fire truck

Why I am behind on blogging...

Photo by the lovely Michelle Boyd :)  More pics from this Christmas session to come! 

I want to document a typical day in our house.  I LOVE this season of life, even though the days are always busy.  Looking at today in detail really takes away some guilt about not getting "everything" done.  I've figured out how to take care of three kids (minus the 9 hours a week that Elise is at pre-k), get food shopped for, prepared, and on the table, clean dishes and laundry and keep things relatively clean, but that's about it.  In addition to those things, my goal for the day is to spend some quality time with Mike, with each child, with myself (usually in the form of a workout DVD), and with God (sometimes just happens while feeding Claire).  I'm so thankful for a husband who works hard all day and helps at home as soon as he walks in the door.

So, since September, our schedule of activities has been about the same (aside from spending a lot more time outside in the fall!).  Mondays we are free (did swim lessons for a while but not currently) and we sometimes get together with a friend.  Elise is in school on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9-12.  We go to bible study from 9:15 - 11:15 on Wednesdays, small group on Wednesday evenings, and church at 9:30 on Sundays.  I prefer to stay home in the afternoons, but usually at least once a week we invite a friend to come to our house.  On Saturdays we like to do a family outing, or at least a "divide and conquer" outing.  For the last two months it's been near or below freezing almost all the time, so we can't always take the whole family.  Maybe next year Claire will be up for some snow plow pile climbing.

Without further ado, I present a typical day in the Powell house...  

Thursday, February 27, 2014
7:15 am - Wake up, shower, and talk to Mike since all kids are still asleep (normally Claire and Jack are up around this time).
7:40 - 8:00 am - Feed Claire and put her on activity mat for play time.
8:00 am - Get Jack out of bed (dry pull up!), to potty, and get him dressed while Elise (always last to wake up) wakes up and dresses herself.
8:10 am - Get breakfast on table (cereal and pumpkin bread).  Say bye to Daddy.
8:20 am - Claire poops.  Change diaper.
8:35 am - Brush everyone's teeth and get shoes, coats, hats, and gloves on.
8:45 am - Load everyone in the car to take Elise to preschool.  Claire falls asleep for nap #1 in car seat.
9:00 am - Drop Elise off at school.  Head to Barnes and Noble.
9:10 am - 9:30 am - Play with trains/read books.
9:35 am - 10:05 am - Get groceries at Trader Joe's (next door to Barnes and Noble).
10:10 - Get home and unload groceries.
10:20 - Claire wakes up.
10:30 - 10:50 - Feed Claire while Jack plays fire trucks in play room.
10:50 - 11:20 - Play jigsaw puzzles with Jack, help him with potty, change Claire's diaper and do tummy time.
11:25 - Bundle up again and load car.
11:30 - Go to Staples and drop off workbooks to be spiral bound.  Walk around the store so that Jack can find all the red things.
11:50 - Drive to preschool.
12:00 - Pick up Elise.  Claire falls asleep for nap #2 in car seat.
12:15 - Arrive home.  Kids play while Mommy makes lunch (PB&J, strawberries, and cucumbers).
12:45 - Claire wakes up (early!).  Feed her while kids eat lunch and play.
1:00 - Elise hits Jack while Mommy is feeding Claire.  Jack cries.  Elise to time out and chore in her room (sorting laundry).  Jack needs help wiping and washing hands.  Claire is taking too long to eat.
1:25 - Read books to Jack, go potty again, and put in bed.
1:40 - Jack asleep.  Elise plays with Claire while Mommy eats a quick lunch.  Elise wants more food (pecans and cheese).
1:50 - Workbook time with Elise while Claire gets to sit or stand and watch.
2:10 - Put Claire down in crib for nap #3.  Elise still doing workbook.  Mommy typing this blog post.
2:45 - Read to Elise.
3:00 - Elise down for 45 minutes of rest time in her room.  Mommy starts a quick workout.
3:10 - Claire up and sucking thumb in her crib (2nd short nap?!).
3:20 - It becomes apparent that Claire is not interested in going back to sleep.
3:20 - 3:40 - Feed Claire and put her in Elise's room to play.
3:40 - Wake up Jack.
3:45 - Snack (applesauce and pretzels).
4:15 - Assist Jack with potty.
4:15 - 4:45 - Everyone in playroom.  Elise asks 1000 questions about volcanoes.  Resort to google and YouTube.  Play trucks with Jack and play with Claire on the floor.
4:45 - Put Claire in crib for short nap.
4:45 - 5:15 - Make dinner.  E & J play puzzles while Mommy goes back and forth from kitchen to playroom.
5:25 - Daddy home!  Everyone plays hide and seek.
5:30 - 6:00 - Daddy plays with big kids in the basement.
5:40 - 6:00 - Claire wakes up and eats again.  Read Mark 11 on iPhone for bible study.
6:05 - Eat dinner (spaghetti, asparagus, sweet potatoes).
6:30 - Mommy gives Claire a bath.
6:45 - Daddy gives Elise a bath while Jack, Mommy, and Claire clean the playroom.
7:00 - Daddy gives Jack a bath while Mommy feeds Claire and Elise cleans her room.
7:15 - Daddy reads the new kid encyclopedia (no joke, it's their favorite book right now) to E & J while Mommy is still feeding Claire.
7:30 - All kids in bed.  Daddy does dishes while Mommy cleans.
8:00 - Claire awake and in need of new diaper and pajamas.
8:10 - 8:30 - Feed Claire again (tail end of growth spurt) and put her in bed.
8:30 - 9:00 - Clean/sort through a few more things.  Consider starting a load of laundry but decide to wait until tomorrow.
9:00 - 10:00 - Reply to a few emails, eat a scoop of mint chocolate chip, and finish typing this so I can go to bed.  I'm hoping to be awake enough to join Mike for a P90X date at 6 am.  We'll see :)

It's almost the weekend!  Maybe I'll make some time to get the seven draft posts finished... or just have fun with the family :)

Claire - 3 months!

Well, again this post is late (3 kiddos = busy mama), but this is about Claire's third month of life, which ended on January 30.  You never know, the next one may be on time!

Stats:  Claire weighed 11 lbs 5 oz at the doctor at 12 weeks old.  She is wearing all 3-6 month clothes and still size 1 diapers.  She's about 25 inches long.

Sleeping:  As soon as we returned from Texas, we transitioned her to the crib and she wasn't fazed at all.  She is still swaddled and if she's fussy, it immediately calms her down.  She's now consistently sleeping 10.5-11 hours at night.  Bedtime still varies and is usually between 8 and 9 pm.  If she wakes up before 7 am, I feed her and put her back to sleep.  If she wakes up after 7, she eats and stays awake for about an hour or until we get in the car for preschool drop off, church, bible study, etc.  We had a week or two where the 45 minute intruder visited our home regularly during crib naps but she seems to have grown out of it and normally takes the full nap without an intervention in the middle.  Bedtime is a little tricky around here because we are outnumbered but we're figuring it out.  Right now it works out pretty well for Claire to take a short 4th nap from about 5:45-6:30 while we are eating dinner and then she can play while we get Elise and Jack in bed.  So, even though the wake up time varies a little, she has a pretty predictable schedule which makes it easy to plan her "meals" along with the rest of the crew.

Wake/Eat: Between 7 and 8 (woken by 8 if still sleeping)
Nap #1:  9-10:30 (this is currently in the car seat on preschool days)
Wake/Eat: 10:30
Nap #2:  12-1:30 (this is currently in the car seat on preschool days, though if she has just fallen asleep I sometimes transfer her to the crib)
Wake/Eat:  1:30
Nap #3:  2:30-4:30 (always in crib and in conjunction with Jack's nap/Elise's rest time)
Wake/Eat:  4:30
Nap #4:  5:45ish-6:30ish (always in crib during dinner)
Wake/Eat: 6:30
Play time until big kids are in bed, then play with Mommy and Daddy, then eat again and go to sleep sometime between 8 and 9.

Eating:  Claire is still nursing well.  She is not a huge fan of the bottle but she'll take a few ounces from it whenever she gets the chance to practice (which is not too often because it is more work for me to do that than to just feed her myself).  She takes anywhere from 10-30 minutes to eat depending on her level of drowsiness (whether I woke her or she woke herself up).

Playing:  Claire started rolling from tummy to back around 11 weeks old and ended almost every tummy time by rolling for about a week and a half.  Then, she apparently decided that she's not interested in rolling after all and only does it occasionally.  She is much stronger now and likes tummy time a whole lot more this month.  She also started laughing around 11 weeks.  Elise and Jack love to try to make her giggle.  She "talks" a lot more to us and to the toys on her activity mat, and we think she tries to mimic certain noises that we make.  She also loves to spin the bears on the bouncer and reach for the toys on the mat.  Diaper change time is also a big hit because she can admire her mobile.  She doesn't like the pacifier as much as she used to, though she will sometimes take it in the car seat.  She enjoys "standing" and "sitting", especially when it means she can watch Elise and Jack provide free entertainment.

Events:  About halfway through her third month, I noticed that she tends to tilt her head to her left if she is holding her head up.  After confirming with the doctor, we started physical therapy for mild torticollis.  It has improved in the last few weeks.

Claire has been such a joy to our family.  Here's to surviving (and enjoying!) the first 3 months of 3 kiddos!

 First time to sleep in the crib

She loves it!

Babysitter Elise

There is a picture of Elise in a similar pose with the same outfit here.... and a 

Holding her toys

Chewing hands

Cuddling with Daddy

Smiling at Elise

Napping with Elise

3 month birthday picture (you can see the head tilt)

3 month picture helpers

Tummy time... about to roll over

And finally, here are a few pictures of Elise and Jack at 3 months old.  I think Claire resembles Jack a little more than Elise at this age, but that's probably because Elise was a lot bigger.  It'll be interesting to see who she looks like as she grows up.  I love my babies!

Claire - 2 months

This is several weeks late but I'm going to write about her second month and hopefully the third month post will be close to on time.  They change so fast at this age!

Stats:  Claire is much smaller than her siblings were at this age.  She weighed 10 lb 7 oz with clothes at the ER (more on that later) on December 30, her 2 month birthday.  She's pretty long and wears 3 month or 3-6 month clothes.  Her newborn and 0-3 month clothes have been handed down to Elise's dolls.

Sleeping:  The night before she got sick (Christmas Day), she slept from 9:30 pm - 8 am, which is her longest stretch to date.  She has loved the pack 'n play from day one.  For most of this month, she had typically been sleeping from 10 pm - 5/6 am, waking up to eat, and then going right back to sleep until being woken up at 8/8:30.  She doesn't mind sleeping in the car seat and while she's been sick, she's done a lot of sleeping on people and in elevated positions like a bouncer or rock 'n play.  When we return to Baltimore, we plan to transition her to the crib and to an earlier bedtime.  I don't think it will be an issue at all since she has been sleeping very well swaddled in the pack n play.  She naps well in the car seat and pack 'n play.
      
Eating:  She does very well with the eat-play-sleep routine and has been quite predictable.  She eats every 2.5-3 hours, stays awake for 60-75 minutes, then naps until the next feeding time.  If I'm not watching the clock carefully, I can still tell when it is nap time because she starts fussing.  She immediately calms down in the swaddle and falls asleep very quickly.  Sometimes she wakes up on her own to eat after naps and other times I wake her up.  The first feeding of the day is around 8, the second around 10:30/11, then 1/1:30, 4/4:30, 6:30/7, and then once more before bed, usually around 9.  She went through a growth spurt around 7 weeks where she was eating much more frequently.  Toward the end of this month, she started becoming much more efficient and the whole eating/changing diaper session is usually finished in 20-30 minutes.

Playing:  Claire started smiling around 5 1/2 weeks old.  She loves looking at her big brother and big sister and anyone who will sit and talk to her.  She adores the play mat and spends quite a bit of her awake time there.  She also loves the musical mobile on the pack n play at Gram and Grandpa's house and smiles at it the instant it gets turned on.  She's started "talking" more at people and toys and she tries to laugh.    

Events:  Claire took her first plane ride on December 18 and was a champ.  Mimi flew with me and the kids since Mike had to stay for finals.  She had the tough job of holding Claire most of the flight :)  On December 27, Claire got sick for the first time, thanks to Elise and Jack passing along an upper respiratory virus that lasted 10-12 days per kid.  After 3 days of coughing and therefore sleeping upright in someone's arms for all naps and night time, she got a fever and the coughing worsened and I took her to the Georgetown ER.  The virus gave her a double ear infection and congestion (along with the coughing), and it took about 2 weeks before she was back to her normal, happy self.  We were very thankful to be with family during our first experience with 3 sick kids.  They took excellent care of us and even though we had to cancel a lot of plans, we got in a lot of quality play time :)

Claire, you are a joy and we love you so much!

I wonder who enjoyed this nap more?

Admiring the mobile at Gram's house... she smiled every time it was turned on :)

Long day on the play mat

First snow and 6 weeks old

Elise and Jack have had a great time in the snow this week.  We did a lot of playing in our yard and spent one afternoon sledding at the neighborhood elementary school.  The kids loved it!

Jack looks so old in this picture!

Claire is now 6 weeks old and doing great.  She's been smiling a lot and loving her awake time on the play mat.  At her 6 week checkup a few days ago, she weighed 9 lbs, 14 oz (48%) and measured 22 1/4 inches (72%).  She's been sleeping a lot of 7-8 hour stretches during the last week, which has been very nice for Mommy.  She is very excited to meet her aunts and uncles!  

She gets the award for "Most Tolerant Baby"... can you guess why?

Family Christmas 2013

We celebrated our immediate family Christmas this past Saturday and look forward to celebrating with our families later this month in TX.  We've had snow on the ground for the last week and it snowed on Saturday as well, so I guess this counts as our first White Christmas :)

Good job, Mommy and Daddy, for smiling at the camera

Elise and Jack enjoyed helping Claire open her presents... they went shopping in the box of baby toys in the basement.  I wonder how many years we will be able to get away with that?

Claire got some new puzzles for Elise and Jack

Mommy and Daddy gave Elise the Duplo Cinderella Castle and it was a big hit!

Playing with the castle the next day

Mommy and Daddy gave Jack a set of Duplo train tracks... another big hit with both kids!

Mommy, are you ready for me to open it now?

Busy playing trains 

Claire was thrilled about her new weather resistant blanket from Mommy and Daddy

Merry Christmas, Claire!

Elise gave Jack some new Duplo train parts and Jack gave Elise a new scarf and necklace.  They know each other so well :)

Mimi is here visiting with us this week :)

And she brought some more Duplos for the big kids.  Elise loves the princess carriage and Jack loves the Duplo cars... they can even drive on the train tracks.

We ended the weekend with some Duplo princess castle playing and group tummy time...