Ella's 5 Month Update

This is old and I never had a chance to post it (she turned 5 months on November 11th) but here it is..

Ella turned 5 months old this past 11th and all I can think is holy shit she's almost 6 months old. Which means it was almost half a year ago, I had her. Wwhhhaat?! This makes me want to cry. For me, the first 3 months went super slow, which was fine by me. But then these past few months flew by. It was like oh "hey it's Fall, we get to celebrate Halloween" and then I blinked and Christmas is almost here. 

Weight: I don't actually know but if I had to guess I would say 14 lbs. It's hard though because I'm usually totally off when it comes to guessing her weight. 

Breastfeeding: No changes here, she still nurses like a champ with no issues. I'm very grateful and blessed that I've been able to successfully nurse both my girls. Both started off rough with their own obstacles in regards to nursing but now it's smooth sailing. 

Sleep: Ahhh, now this is the interesting part. Right from birth, Ella was an amazing sleeper, sleeping 6+ hour stretches even at one week old. This was a blessing considering Harper was a night owl until she was about 8 months old. That being said, everything will seem fine with Ella and her sleeping and then WHAM she regresses and she's up every couple of hours at night and refusing to nap. 

Something that we've been working on just the past 4 nights is weaning her off of her beloved halo swaddle. And by weaning I mean we went cold turkey. My goal is to have her sleeping in her crib at night by 6 months. In order to do that she cannot be swaddled due to her age and the fact that she can roll over. The first night was brutal! She was up every two hours in her bassinet not knowing what to do with her arms. Her naps were total crap as well, lasting a whole 20 minutes * insert the biggest huff ever*.

However, after a meer two days, she has done so well. She's back to her 6+ hour stretches and decent naps in her crib - unswaddled! High five to me. I think what has worked for us is just being consistent. I wasn't going back to swaddling, so she just had to adapt. 

Personality: Ella is a much more serious baby than Harper ever was. By that I mean, when you talk to her, she will sometimes just scowl at you and stair. Where as Harper was always smiling and cooing away. That being said though, when Ella smiles, her entire face lights up. It's the best thing ever. 

Also, Ella isn't a super cuddly baby. Again, this took some adjustment on my end as it was initially hard for me because I was so used to Harper being s total boob when she was tiny. Harper used to sleep in our bed and wedge her head under my chin and pass out. Ella could not be less interested. She is a total suck and loves for me to hold her, at all times, but she doesn't care much for full on cuddling. 

An update on Ella's sleeping without her swaddle (since I started writing this post over a week ago), she has been doing awesome! She's been starting the night off with a 6 hour stretch which is amazing! She's also been napping over an hour in her crib without being swaddled - woot! 

Now that we have her used to sleeping without her swaddle, we are going to transition her from her bassinet to her crib at night. We've decided this weekend is going to be the big moment. I'm hoping because she does well in her crib, she will do great at night in her crib! Bahh fingers crossed. 

I need a stiff drink

As I write this, it's Tuesday night 8pm and both girls have been sleeping for an hour..like hardcore out of it sleeping. That's because neither one of them napped at all today. Ella had maybe a total of 30 minutes of sleeping today, so that doesn't even count in my books. 

The day started off a little out of sorts for us as the girls and I slept in until 9am which isn't the norm. Usually we're all up at around 8am maybe 8:30. Ella started the day at about 5am wide awake, starring up at me while she nursed. This never usually happens. So I wrestled with her until 7am. Nursed her, rocked her..just hoping to get a few more hours of sleep. She eventually went back to bed at 7am, me right along with her. 

Ella's sleep has been so random lately. All last week she would nap twice, 30 minutes each nap (yippee..insert sarcasm) and then crash at 7pm and sleep for a good 10 hour stretch, nurse and then sleep another 3 hours. So obviously I couldn't complain too much as I was getting a good nights rest. However, the seriously crappy part of her taking quick cat naps during the day is her being miserable and TIRED but refusing to go to sleep. Probably the most infuriating thing ever. A sleepy baby who doesn't want to go to sleep. 

Then this whole past weekend, she started napping again for about 2 hours in the morning but not sleeping as soundly and only doing about a 6-7 hour stretch. Huff.

Oh the joys of parenthood when you have two small kids. I wouldn't change it for the world. These two little ladies make any challenge or struggle, totally worth it. 

Halloween weekend was super busy but also really fun. We painted our upstairs bathroom and are excited to finish it off with some new decorations and accessories like a new faucet, mirror,  etc., We are still picking these things out but hope to have it all finished in the next month or so. 

For Halloween, Harper and I were witches and Ella was a super adorable berry. 

Fraser picked out an inflatable costume that made it look like he was riding a dinosaur; this is what happens when you let a man pick out a costume. I didn't get too many pictures of him since he took it off pretty quickly as he couldn't even sit down while wearing it!

We had a bunch of yummy finger foods with family and the girls had a blast!

Now we're just trying to get everything ready for our sweet Harpers' 2nd birthday party. I'm feeling totally unlike myself as I still have things to do and normally would have everything perfected and ready to go weeks ago! The theme is Bubble Guppies - she is beyond obsessed! I can't wait for her to see all of the decorations.

Now for a bunch of pictures: 

Although days like today make me seriously want a stiff drink or 5 (it's been 3 years since I've had a drop of alcohol, that's what being pregnant twice and breastfeeding in between gets you..), I am seriously blessed to have two beautiful healthy girls who get to grow up together and experience things together. I am also so blessed to have an amazing partner who brought home pizza today because he felt I shouldn't cook after the day I had today. He is seriously the most thoughtful person ever! 

And now I have to go because Ella is waking up looking for a boob, seriously how does she just keep going..haha. 

Ella's 4 Month Update + Loving Fall

Earlier this month, Ella turned 4 months old. I know I say this a lot, but where does the time go? I feel like I was just pregnant last month and now I have this baby who is constantly smiling and giggling at me. 

Breastfeeding: No changes, still a great eater. I have noticed TMI that I'm getting a little sore lately after she nurses, and I remember I did with Harper around the time she started to teeth. Ella's been drooling up a storm and shoving everything in her mouth so I think that's what is going on. 

Sleeping: She has been going to bed at around 7:30pm and sleeping 8-10 hours straight, then will nurse and sleep another few hours. This is obviously amazing, however for whatever reason she wants nothing to do with napping. She will have two 30 minute naps throughout the day which is brutal because she's miserable and exhausted come bedtime. It's crazy to me how she went from having a 2-3 hour nap during the day and sleeping a 5-6 hour stretch at night to her schedule now. 

Weight and Height: She now weighs 12 lbs 12 oz and is 24 and a half inches long. She's healthy as a horse just tiny like her momma was as a baby. It's still an adjustment having such a tiny baby when your first was a tank. Haha.

Milestones: She just finally rolled from her back to her belly. So now she's doing both belly to back and back to belly. She's also laughing and smiling constantly and even some babble. She holds toys really well and is getting better at bringing toys to her mouth. 

Random: Ella has severe eczema. It's awful. I'm pretty sure she has a full blown allergy to dairy, so when I eat anything with dairy in it, she reacts. I've tested this a few times now and I'm almost 100 % positive that this is the case. I will go from cutting all dairy out of my diet and for the most part her skin will clear with the exception of some spots. Once I start consuming any dairy (I only consume lactose free as Harper had a lactose sensitivity), she becomes covered head to toe in eczema. I'm going to get her referred to an allergist and a dermatologist. Right now we have a routine of two short baths a day, one in the morning and one at night. Followed by her immediately being smothered in Cetaphyl cream, head to toe. I use scent free and dye free laundry detergent, cetaphyl cleanser for in the bath and I avoid any perfumes or scented products. As long as I stay clear of dairy, her skin is pretty clear.

For the most part she is a happy baby but with this no napping and possible teething, she has her pretty fussy moments. 

Harper just adores Ella. She's constantly giving her kisses and patting her head. Her new thing has been "aww baby". And she says it in this high pitch baby talk which is hilarious. 

 Ella refuses to sleep at night without being swaddled. I told Fraser we're going to have a toddler who sleeps swaddled at this rate. My only concern is going to be when I want to move her to her own room in the next month or so. It's not recommended swaddling a baby in their crib once they can roll over onto their belly. So, that's going to be interesting. For the time being, I'm enjoying getting sleep at night. 

Now for a ton of photos of my babes: 

Two weekends ago was also Thanksgiving here in Canada. Which meant it was Ella's first holiday. We had a bunch of my family over for dinner which was really nice. We had lots of good food and just relaxed. Thank goodness for my amazing mom who helped tackle dinner with me! Here are some photos from that weekend:

I am thankful every day for my two beautiful, healthy little girls and an amazing partner who is literally my rock. 

Oh and mini pumpkins, I'm thankful for them as well because their too stinking cute. Xoxo