bath.

little miss finally likes her bath! at first we used the hammock thing when she was itty bitty and now she sits in there like a big girl. it's part of our nightly routine even if we don't use soap every night. we've started to let her "soak" and it's definitely her favorite part of the day....mine too. she sits in there with a warm washcloth on her top half and one on each leg. then we just keep putting warm water on them so she doesn't get chilly. we may or may not give her a little foot massage too. (spoiled. rotten.) last night we were letting her soak and she was looking to the side making the sweetest noises. so stinkin' cute. she sounded so content and peaceful. she'll try to suck on the washcloth but i don't really let her. sometimes she sneaks it in her mouth though. who would have thought that giving her a bath would actually calm her down?? so glad she likes them now. after her bath she hangs out nakey for a bit and gets her last little burst of energy out. then snuggled in her footie jammies, bottle and she's knocked out--at least for a few hours. :)

bathtime finley style

*update on formula and sleeping. she teased us with 2 nights in a row of sleeping 8.5 hrs then another 3. hasn't done it since (that was mon/tues it's now sat). for about 3 days we had a pretty good "schedule" going and then of course she abandoned it. :) just when you think you have it figured out. so she's eating 4 oz of formula before bed (8ish) then up at 1, 5/6, 8. i don't know what's going on with her. we'll keep on trying!

formula.

well after almost a month of terrible sleeping, we might be back on track-- at least for now. :) it's kind of bittersweet for me b/c it took giving her formula. we had tried lots of different things for the last few weeks and nothing was really making a difference. we had a few nights of being up for HOURS in the middle of the night. not good for finley and not good for us either. i thought maybe she was hungry b/c she was getting up so much in the middle of the night so i tried to feed her more during the day, but that wasn't really doing it. then i talked to a couple people who suggested formula. not really what i wanted to do. i love that for a year (or just about) i've been the one giving her all the nutrition she needs. now that sounds kind of selfish, but it's true. after a really bad night and talking to erin & mom we decided to give it a try. the first night was a little better, but we didn't really give her that much. first i didn't know how she would do with it and second i was hoping to not have to give her that much. i don't think there's anything wrong with formula, it just wasn't what i had in mind. on the other hand i certainly didn't want fin to be hungry and poor baby was super tired. she wasn't sleeping at night OR taking naps so we had one overtired (and apparently hungry) baby. so now she gets some formula and breastmilk and doing much better. we keep playing with how much and how often, but it's all going much smoother. i'm good with it and we're all much better rested now. here's hoping it stays on the right track!

3months.

time is still flying by. she's already 3 months and things are changing quickly! she

still likes to be swaddled at night
is actually not sleeping so well :/ the last 2 weeks she's been getting up around 2/3, back to sleep (sometimes not so willingly), up an hour and a half later, brandon pops her paci in, back up another hour and a half later... it's a mess. so now we put her to bed a bit earlier
hates naps. LOATHES them. 45 minutes and she's up
likes the paci again
eats like a champ- still about every 2.5-3 hrs.
gets one bottle a day
isn't too keen on new people holding her
LOVES to talk. she's found her voice and loves exercising it
smiles like crazy
still loves to be bounced & rocked
is obsessed with the sound machine
calms down with a stroll around the block
tries to grab things-- takes all her concentration, but she's successful sometimes
doesn't hate tummy time as much ( i wont say she necessarily likes it)
isn't that interested in rolling over yet
likes to hang by herself, gets a little overwhelmed with too many people
loves to read
stares at her mobile (this makes me very happy since we made it)
sucks her hands like it's going out of style (sometimes sucks her top lip)
has the best pout face

Happy 3 Months!!

success.

yesterday we had a turning point with tummy time. i think we actually ENJOYED it for more than 37 seconds. this is huge in the hawkins' household. she normally screams from the second i put her on her tummy or plays dead. no really, i swear she thinks if she doesn't move i'll flip her back over. playing dead isn't really that productive either. but yesterday i put her on her tummy, she kinda cooed (maybe even a little smile) and she lifted her head like it was nobody's business. didn't even cry. took a look around, turned her head to the other side and did this a few more times...without making me afraid the neighbors were gonna call cps on me due the cries. we did this a couple more times throughout the day and it was the same thing! even this morning she did a great job. so i think we're turning the corner with this one. thank goodness. here's a little excerpt:

yes, this is my life. :)

habit.

Dr. Eddings reports that she is indeed perfect. :) and that she doesn't need that middle of the night feeding. she's just in a habit of getting up, but doesn't really NEED to eat then. so we're going to start to try to drop that one. that means instead of ME going in to get her when she wakes up, brandon will have to. now normally i let brandon sleep. i mean what's the point of waking him up? i only wake him up if i absolutely can't get her back to sleep which has only been a handful of times. anyways, she said that if i go in she'll think she's getting fed and we don't want to tease her. there may be some crying involved, but usually after about 4 nights of it we're good to go. we of course don't HAVE to do this, but i think we'll give it a try either this week or next. she's slept 9 hrs a couple times, 8 hrs a few times and usually at least 6 hrs so i know she has it in her and she's not starving. dr. eddings said to expect the best out of her which was those 9 hrs. we're planning on trying this in the next week or two. wish us luck!

2months.

in just one month our little sweet pea has changed so much. here's what we know. she...

still loves to be swaddled. we've moved to the miracle blanket.
takes catnaps. she's like an alarm clock. 45 minutes and she's up. and that's a GOOD nap.
likes to suck her right hand. she hasn't quite found the thumb specifically (probably b/c it's always tucked under)
is still a rockstar sleeper at night sleeping a 6-8 hr stretch, eats, and back down for about 3 more hrs
goes to sleep at night between 8 & 9* (*footnote: i started this list about a week ago as i would think of things. since then she has had a few pretty rough nights...like waking up every 3 hrs, crossing our fingers it's a growth spurt or something!** another footnote: last night she slept 9 straight hrs.!! crossing our fingers that this one is NOT a fluke)
is getting used to baths
doesn't seem to like the paci as much any more
gets tired of being held. she likes to stretch and wiggle during the day
likes to talk--and by "talk" i of course mean coo
gets terribly excited to have a conversation
sleeps in her crib alllllll night (i think that's more of an accomplishment for me, not her)
takes most naps in her crib
still loves to be read to. she loves rhyming books and really looks at the pics now.
has a good grip...on my hair. :)
still loves the sound machine
eats like crazy now-- at least for her
is still perfect

stats from the doc 6/20

height: 22 3/4 (62%)

weight: 10lb 12 oz  (44%)

head circumference: 15 1/4 (47%)

Happy 2 months!!

 

events.

Here is what we've been up to the last couple weeks.

celebrated my 28th birthday:

Hanging out at home, playing on the playmat, smiling a bunch at the birdies and talking to them.

Trying another way to do tummy time because she still HATES it.

I like tummy time sometimes b/c all sorts of bodily functions occur. Boogers come flying out, she'll toot, burp, spit up and get lots of energy out.

Fin had her first trip to Austin to celebrate Erin's 30th b-day.

snuggling with coco and ruby. ruby's not allowed on the couched at our house so she was in heaven.

studying her uncle. she decided he's up to par and even gave him a little smile.

grace can't wait to teach fin all kinds of things. like how you have to sit on your bottom in a chair. she's gonna be a great role model. :)

gia and grandpa with andrew and finley. i bet andrew can't wait to teach fin all kinds of things like how to get a good laugh.

We also went wedding dress shopping with morgan, but the only pics i have are of her in a wedding dress. i don't think morgan wants to make that public yet. but lets just say she looks stunning. and fin was a trooper up until the very last spot when she let it all out. i really thought we were going to get kicked out. luckily the bjorn saved the day....again.


we've had lunch with friends, family has visited and we're trying to get in a bit more of a routine during the day. i still can't believe how fast the time goes during the day!