3 Months 1 Day

I always seem to miss posting about her month birthdays by a day.  I took some pictures this morning of my happy three month old!  I can't believe she is three months old!!  She hasn't slept through the night the last two nights but she has still done pretty well.  Matt put her jumperoo together this morning.  She is still a little short/small for it but she had fun - in another month she will love it!!  I am so happy for the long weekend ahead of us.  Now for the fun part - PICTURES!!!

I Think We're On To Something...

Teagan slept through the night again last night. If she keeps it up all week I will think it's here to stay!!! I sure hope so. She took a pacifier for a nap when she got home. It was so weird to see my little girl with a pacifier in her mouth sleeping peacefully - she has never taken one when I am around. If it helps her sleep I am all for it. Sorry for the short postings and lack of pictures this week. Still trying to adjust and not finding myself with much free time. I am off to grab a shower now. TGIF tomorrow and a loooong weekend!!!

Bad Night - Good Night

Quick post because this whole "working Mom" thing is keeping me super busy (duh!).  Monday night was so baaaad, Teagan ate all! night! long! to make up for the measly amount she ate while she was at daycare, so I didn't get much sleep.  Yesterday she ate a little better.  I got her to sleep at 10 and she slept through the night until 6 when I got her up to feed her before I left for work.  Today she ate a few more ounces so I have fingers crossed for another good night.  I was able to stay late for a meeting today (until 4:30) because Matt got back from a work trip at 3:45.  T is getting sleepy so I am going to try to get her to bed (with my bedtime soon after)!!!  

I developed an appreciation for stay at home Moms after my leave.  I now have an even greater appreciation for full-time working Moms like myself. Hopefully with time it will get easier.

You've Got Mail

I made it past the goodbyes and left T snuggled in bed with her Dad.  I made it to work with only one misty eyed moment.  I booted up my computer.  My Outlook inbox took over 30 minutes to load (I busied myself making oatmeal for breakfast and hanging pictures of Teagan on the wall). When my inbox was fully loaded I had 530 new emails.  So the fun of weeding through them began.  At about 7:20 I got an email saying he was up and ready and waiting a few minutes to wake Teagan to get her ready.  I finally got to hear the drop-off report at 10:30ish. Everything went smoothly. I made it through my 3 pumping sessions with reasonable output - about 13-15 oz total.  I got to catch up with coworkers and talk about T.  I watched the clock all afternoon.  

Finally it was time to leave!  I was so excited and couldn't stop smiling the whole way there.  I was practically running up the driveway.  She was fussing a little when I got there.  It was SO good to hold her and hug her and kiss her.  I got the daily report then packed up so I could get her home. She didn't nap great - about 2 hours total.  She only ate 4.5 oz, which is far less than she was eating in 9ish hrs with me.  I think with time she will get more used to the bottle and eat a normal amount during the day.  

I got her home and she was so excited to nurse.  She camped out for a long time and just ate and rested/slept.  She has more or less been doing that for the last 3.5 hrs!  Right now she is sleeping in my arms.  

I took a few pictures of the preparations last night.  Matt was kind enough to take some "first day" action shots this AM:

Bottles in the fridge ready to go

Pump parts, cooler, and snacks

Getting dressed for the day

Dressed and ready to go

Snug in her carseat (with her buddy Piggly Wiggly)

Smiles for Daddy before they walk out the door.

If I was organized the next picture in the series would be "Momma and T snuggling together all evening long" but alas Teagan is crying and I am exhausted so maybe some other day!!!  Let's hope for good sleep tonight because we all need it (including Matt because his allergies are at their peak!!)

Last Day

I'm back to work tomorrow.  There should be some sad music playing in the background.  I hope Teagan does OK at daycare tomorrow.  Last night she slept 6 hours then almost 4 more so it makes me VERY happy that we are basically to only one night waking right when I go back. This past week or week and a half have been a big turn-around for T as far as sleep is concerned (phew, just in time).  I am sure we will get through tomorrow just fine, just like we do with every other challenge in our lives.

For now we are just trying to enjoy a visit from Grammy and Grampy George for the afternoon and then the scurrying to gather up daycare stuff and back to work stuff begins!!

Busy Day

T had her 3 month pictures taken at a local photographers today as part of a series (3, 6, 9, and 12 month photos in a special frame).  The sessions and photo compilation were given to us as a gift when we purchased her furniture.  She was a very good girl and I am sure they got some great shots of the always photogenic Little T.

Also in store were more travels for Teagan today as we dragged her all through the Finger Lakes looking at sheds (Amish sheds no less!).  She held in there pretty well.  We had to drive through Geneva so we decided to take a detour to the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition house that is being built.  It was fun but we didn't stay too long.  The shed hunt was successful - we found what we were looking for.  We stopped at Cayuga Creamery for some homemade ice cream (I had peach cobbler flavor, Matt had cookie dough).  It was a long day for T with very little napping so hopefully she sleeps well tonight.

Crew working on the house - it fits in well with the style of the neighborhood

Teagan has started grabbing things more but doesn't always realize what her hand movements are - this often leads to bibs, blankets, etc over her face!  So cute!

PS - for a sample of her 3 month shots check here under Aug. 23

Time's Up

Well, today was my last day home with T.  Going back to work is so bittersweet.  We kept busy today so I didn't have too much time to be sad. I have pictures to share in this post, as promised.  We have a busy weekend ahead of us which is probably a good way to keep my mind off things.  On a good note, Teagan slept 6 hrs then 3.3 hrs last night.  I would call it her second best night ever - only topped by the 8 hr one earlier this week.  We're getting there.  Now for the pictures...

Short

Not much time to post today because I am too busy soaking up every last minute home with T.  I will have new pictures tomorrow.

Back by popular demand...

Video!!!  Teagan has been very talkative today, so I captured it on video.  I am going to miss this smiling face next week!  At least I have access to the blog at work so I can sneak a peek throughout the day!!!

Today is our 3rd anniversary, so Teagan gets to join us for dinner at Stephanie's (where we had our wedding reception).  

Cute kitty outfit and flowery diaper!

Jazzercise baby!!!

Growth Spurt

I think T slept so long the other night because she is going through a growth spurt because she has been eating non-stop ever since.  In fact she's eating (again) right now!  Hopefully she's back to normal soon. Tonight she gets to see Uncle Chris, as he is in town for a short visit.  

Teagan Takes Buffalo

It may not be out of state, but Buffalo held many exciting adventures for Teagan.  We travelled to Buffalo yesterday to visit Aunt Melissa at her new apartment at law school, and to visit T's Great Aunt Pam and gang. Teagan did well on the car rides to and from Buffalo.  She went on her first trip to Ted's Hot Dogs, visited with Melissa and saw her apartment (her first trip to Daddy's alma mater - University at Buffalo), and had fun meeting her great aunt and uncle and cousins, second cousins, etc.  Teagan can't wait until she is big enough to play with older cousin Kaleigh!  Here are some action shots from the day - all this activity is what helped T sleep 8 hrs last night.

Kiddos playing

Cousins Brad & Matt and their sweet little girls

Kaleigh and Teagan

Mamas Katie & Erin with Kaleigh and Teagan

Cute stuff

T and Aunt Melissa

Teagan and Great Aunt Pam

Mommy and T on a walk to Grandma Sue's

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

I was all excited in anticipation of posting this morning because I took so many great pictures of Teagan on our trip to Buffalo yesterday.  Then something miraculous happened last night that I had to share (because the pictures still have to be uploaded onto my computer).  

TEAGAN SLEPT 8 STRAIGHT HOURS LAST NIGHT!!!!

Yep, that's right, from 11:15 until 7:15 without waking!  I am still in shock.  I hope this is something she can continue doing!!!  More posts to come later with pictures and stories from our fun weekend!

Happy Dance

Teagan slept 5 hrs last night!!!  OK, so it was 4 hrs 55 minutes, but who's counting?  Then she slept almost 3 more.  Of course, it took from 7:30-11:30 to get her to sleep, so that was not fun. She slept about 30 minutes during that time, but then woke up again.  We are going to try letting her cat nap in the evening but putting her to bed a little later to see if that works. Hopefully she can keep it up.  She should be a little over 12 lbs now, the supposed magical weight after which babies tummies are big enough to go longer between feedings and sleep longer at night.  I am not holding my breath!  But I keep my fingers crossed that she will improve her sleeping habits soon. Today she took a 20 minute nap, an hour nap, and an 1 hr 15 min nap.  Hopefully she has one more in her this afternoon.  Let's hope she has another 5 hr stretch in her for tonight.

Little T Is In My Arms Again

The daycare trial went well.  I made it back from my doctors appointment in time to go with Matt for the drop-off.  Teagan started crying when we got there, so that rattled my nerves a little, but after some brief instructions we left.  I was a little weepy, but by the time we got to the end of the driveway I was ok.  I passed the time by checking my email, talking on the phone with T's Aunt Melissa for a few, cleaning the...stain...T got on the carpet during her diaper change (eeew!) and had a brownie sundae (yes, at 10 am!).  Then I spent 15 min getting more and more excited and anxious to pick her up and then it was time!

Teagan took a nap at daycare for 45 min, took a pacifier for a while which she has only done a few times (and only for Matt), and took a walk outside. She refused a bottle both times it was offered.  I hope that doesn't become an issue, however she has taken one several times before, so perhaps if hunger set in a little more she would have gladly taken it.  By the time I picked her up it had been over 4 hrs since she had any food (besides the measly amount she took from Dad).  She was VERY excited to eat when I got her home.  And when I leaned in the car to get her car seat out, she flashed me that killer smile, and I knew she had forgiven me and still loved me. 

So after all of the hype I survived, and knowing my return to work is just around the corner means I will cherish theses last 6 week days I have left as a stay at home mom.

Nervous Nelly

Tomorrow morning is Teagan's trial run at daycare.  I am starting to get worried and stressed. OK, I guess the stress and worry have been there a while, they are just getting a lot worse.  To make things more difficult, I accidentally scheduled a doctors appointment (not at my local office of course, the one that's 30 min away) for the same morning.  So now Matt has to watch her then do drop off if I don't make it back across town in time.  It adds so many complications, like the fact that he will have to give her a bottle before he takes her.  So I have been typing up instructions for both him and the daycare, getting her bag packed, and getting myself all worried and stressed out with "worst case scenarios" all week.  I guess part of my problem is that this trial makes me going back to work all seem real. I tear up just sitting here thinking of leaving Little T 5 days a week, and being away from her for so long.  It's going to Suck with a capital S. Rather, it will SUCK with capitals S, U, C, and K!  I know it will get better and we will get into a routine where it becomes our norm, but it's still hard.  I know I have to be strong and that by going back to work I am helping to give Teagan a really good life - a roof over her head, food on the table, and an education.  And she in turn will be well-balanced, socialized, and yet still have all the love and affection in the world from two parents who love her very much.  It's still just very hard as a parent, especially as a mother, who has nursed her, rocked her, and pretty much been there with her every waking moment (and with a bad sleeper like T there have been plenty of waking moments).   I am sure you all stopped reading long ago as I droned on and on and on. And my (left) hand is tired as I typed this entire post with my non-dominant hand while Teagan was eating, so I will end this novel. Here's hoping tomorrow goes smoothly.

And for those following the sleep challenges, T took a 2.5 hr nap this afternoon!!!  :-)

Cutie Pie

Last night had its ups and downs, but one posititve thing was that Teagan went 4+ hrs between feedings.  Unfortunately it did not yield 4+ hours of sleep for either of us, but it's a start.  She finally went back to sleep at 10:30, only to wake at 11:15, however since it hadn't even been 2 hrs since she had last eaten I decided to try to get her back to sleep without feeding her.  The result was her sleeping 3 more hours.  Now I know she is capable of longer stretches, I am just not sure why she woke up in the first place. Also, starting her bedtime routine at around 7 pm and not getting her to sleep for the night until hours later is a big problem.  

She has been refusing to nap much today so I don't have high hopes for tonight.  Yesterday she had 4ish hrs of nap time throughout the day. Today, about an hour split between two naps.  We are attempting a third nap as I type.

At least she is super cute - it makes it hard to get too frustrated when you get to enjoy her cuteness and fun personality between pulling your hair out trying to get her to sleep :-)

Also, Matt found it hilarious that last night Teagan grabbed a candy wrapper from a Daim candy he was enjoying while he changed her.  He said "Teagan wants some Daim candies just like Mommy" (my stash was recently refilled thanks to our good friends at IKEA, and my addiction continues).  He found it so hilarious in fact, that he snapped some pictures (and blinded T with the flash in the mean time).

Chatter Box

Let's see if this works.  This is a more mellow conversation she is having. When she is more alert and excited she really gets gabbing, including screeching with excitement like she did during her 5 a.m. diaper change this morning.  

Third Post of the Day...

...but only because I have more pictures to share.  These were taken while Teagan was getting dressed for bed.  Tomorrow's task for me is trying to get a video loaded onto my blog (because I have a cute vid. of Teagan "talking" for the camera).  

A pile of clothes that no longer fit Teagan :-( 

She is getting so big!!!

Getting ready for bed...onesie on, smiley girl, little swaddled burrito off to beddy-bye

Cute picture frame set we got for our shower (thanks Aunts J&J) - with spaces for T's foot prints, picture, and name.