Claire at 16 Weeks

Claire is really starting to play with us. We got a fantastic video of her on Sunday (which we will post later) of her playing in my lap. She was so punchy! She loves to stand in our laps. She's been doing that since she was a month old so she has really strong legs now. She also loves to chew on her hands. What she hasn't figured out is how to bring her arms all the way up to her mouth when she is standing. She can do this when sitting down. Sunday night, she would stand up and then sit down or bend over to chew on her hands and then stand up and then sit down. I was also making her laugh and she was rubbing her face on my chest so that she could get a mouthful of my shirt. She was a mess! I can't wait to share the video!

She has become quite the mama's girl, also. Unfortunately, like most babies, she is rather fussy in the evening and of course, that is when Dad comes home. When she's fussy, sleepy, and/or doesn't feel well, only Mama will do. Now, Tim can't relieve me when he gets home so it makes for quite the long day and Tim really misses spending time with her. One thing I am going to try and start doing is pumping a bottle for Tim to give Claire in the evenings. I wanted to do this from the very beginning but after exclusively pumping for a week and a half after Claire came home from the hospital, I grew weary of the pump. I loathe it, actually. We realized yesterday, though, that a bottle is something we need to expose Claire to more. I brought a bottle with me to Costco where we met Tim for lunch. Tim attempted to give Claire the bottle but she wouldn't take it from him. She was quite confused. I had to get her started on it and then I was able to hand her off to Tim to finish it.

I have been introducing Claire to new consonant sounds. Currently, she only really says "goo" and its variations. I've been trying to get her to say La, Ba, Da, or Ma without any success. For the past week, I' ve been asking her to say "Boo" since Halloween is coming up. Tim and I were sitting on the sofa Friday night and I looked at her and asked her to say "Boo" for Halloween. She looked up at me and said "Ahhh-Boo!" Too cute!

Claire has been getting up between 3:00am and 5:00am for the past several days. Fortunately, I read an article recently saying that this happens to some babies and starts around 4 months and lasts until around 6 months. The article stated that it is due to their increased curiosity and activity levels. The babies are too distracted to eat all that they should during the day. I have noticed this in Claire for the past week. There is at least one feeding during the day that we don't finish because she is playing too much....Speaking of...I had to take a break from blogging because she woke up from a nap hungry. She didn't finish her last meal at 8:15 so she needed to eat again at 10:00.

Claire turns 4 months old this weekend. I have been debating waiting until 6 months to give her solids because that is the current recommendation from the AAP. They have compelling reasons behind this recommendation but I think Claire may be a good candidate for an early start. She currently weighs 15lbs, has great head control, and is very active. We go see the doctor next week so we'll see what he thinks.

Here are this week's pictures:

I have been putting her in her highchair while I clean up the kitchen. It lasts for about 15 minutes.

Look at that hair!

News from the Teething Front

Claire had a bad day yesterday. She wasn't feeling well all day and slept a lot. I took her to the Samford library on Thursday to visit with my former co-workers and Cheryl told me that teething tablets worked for her son. Since Claire was having such a hard day, I asked Tim to pick some up on his way home. When she started to get real fussy and uncomfortable, we gave them to her and it seemed to work. Thank you Cheryl! I had to give her some gel some time after that but, for the most part, she did very well for the rest of the evening so I think the combination worked very well. She woke up last night at 2:00 and 4:00 which she never does. I wish I had given her some tablets at 2:00 but I did not expect her to wake up again since she normally sleeps so well. I have felt a bump on her gums so I think a tooth is definitely trying to come out. I talked with a nurse yesterday at the pediatrician's office to make sure we are on the right track and doing everything we are supposed to do and we are. She also confirmed that Claire is a little early. She said that they don't normally see teething until around 6 months.

Teething??!!

It would appear that Claire has started teething! I was not expecting this just yet. Tuesday night she started howling for no apparent reason. I had to nurse her to get her to snap out of it. Tim and I tried to get a look at her gums with a flashlight but she was too squirmy and thought we were playing a fun game. She got really upset again last night so we got out the teething gel. She loved it! She sucked on my finger like it was a lollipop! I think I managed to get some on her gums and she immediately calmed down. Her gums do look a bit white and I did notice some increased drooling before the howling. I read that teething may start weeks or even months before the teeth appear. My poor little girl! It is hard to see her experiencing so much discomfort. It didn't take much to calm her down last night, though, once we decided that it had to be teething and treated it as such. I'll let y'all know if I see any teeth!

Claire at 15 Weeks

If I could only use one word to describe our sweet, beautiful baby girl, it would be spunky. As an adult, I haven't spent a whole lot of time around babies but I imagine she is typical of most. She does everything with such energy and zeal. She falls asleep kicking and wakes up kicking. She eats with gusto and plays until she wears herself out. Tim's Aunt Corinne described her as content and I think that is also a good one word summary. She never fusses on the changing table. She's been very good in her car seat (unless, of course, she's hungry). She loves her stroller. She's pretty good at putting herself to sleep at night. She can still be a bit cranky in the evenings but that is getting better. She has been a very good baby and we are two very lucky parents.

As for any new developments this week, mostly she has just been working on strengthening skills she has picked up in previous weeks. The biggest thing for her has happened in the past couple of days. She has started coordinating the use of both hands by pulling objects to her mouth. She is also getting better at reaching for toys and batting at toys hanging in her play tunnel. She also kicks at the toys in her play tunnel. It is so much fun to watch her play and to see her learning these new skills.

Here are the pictures from this week:

She fell asleep during our walk. She slept in the stroller for about half an hour after I got her home.

Getting her ready for a walk on Sunday. It was a bit cold so I thought it was a good opportunity to try on the set that her Mimi made for her. Too cute!

I put this blanket on Claire for our walk and she loved the texture of it. A friend of Grandma Thomas made it for her. Thank you, again, Miss Bettye! Claire grabbed both sides and rolled herself up.

Ready for another walk on Monday.

Claire at 14 Weeks

This weekend we had Grandma Thomas, Katherine and Aunt Corinne over for a visit. Claire thoroughly enjoyed all the doting and I thoroughly enjoyed the relief that three extra ladies brought. As good as my baby is, I needed a little break. It was nice to hear them tell me how great Claire is and it was good to be reminded how lucky I am to have such a content baby.

Here are highlights from Claire's week:

• Last night, she rolled over from her back to her front. It helped that she was laying in bed with us and that the mattress was pushed down with our weight but she did it and then immediately rolled back over onto her back.
• Yesterday she started trying to pull herself up from leaning or reclining on us to a sitting up position. She doesn't have the ability yet to hold herself up, though, so she just topples over but it is a start.
• She is starting to anticipate our actions. She recognizes when I'm going to take her on a walk and when I'm going to put a new outfit on her. She really loves her walks. It has been hard to get out lately, though, because we've gotten so much rain but I get her out as much as I can.
• She still talks a lot. It seems like we hear a new sound every day. She loves it when we repeat back to her what she said.
• She has giggled a little bit almost every day.
• She is still sleeping from between 9:00 and 10:00 until nearly 7:00.
• She is starting to grasp more at objects. She mostly grabs our shirts, blankets and my hair. I did see her grab at a toy that was sitting up off the floor this morning while she was on the blanket.
• She is learning cause and effect and now likes to splash in the water at bath time. She loves bath time!
• She is now in Size 2 diapers and can wear some of her 6 month clothes. We weighed her yesterday on our home scale and she is nearly 14 lbs.
  

Her Grandma Thomas brought with her a whole bunch of toys from Aunt Carrie that her cousins, Atticus and Isaiah, are no longer using and some from Grandma's house that no one was using. I was thrilled! I feel like Claire gets bored sometimes and needed some toys that provided a better distraction than what I had for her. She has already played with some of them and has really enjoyed them. Thank you Grandma and Carrie!

Now, here is what everyone visits this blog for:

She enjoys her jumperoo now but only tolerates it for about 10 minutes.

Playing with Grandma.

She really likes to look at herself in the mirror at bath time.

Katherine was so good with Claire and such a big help!

I don't think she was ready to get out of the tub.

Claire and Aunt Corinne. Claire is wearing some pj's that Corinne got for her. Thank you, again, Corinne.

Just a reminder that it isn't always sugar and spice!
(Take a closer look at Claire!)

Awwww...cousin love!

She really likes her Bumbo chair now.

Mama, you're silly!

Sweeter and sweeter

Yesterday, I picked Claire up after a nap and she laid her head down on my shoulder. She's never done this before so it was a sweet moment. Although, Tim was there to tell me that she was just wiping her nose on me. Thanks hon!

I jumped the gun on the 8:00 bedtime. This does not suit our Ms. Claire. A couple of nights it has taken an hour or more to get her to sleep and then she would wake up between 5:30 and 6:30. Last night, I fed her at nine and she went right to sleep and slept until 7:00. I guess that's that!

Claire at 13 Weeks

Claire officially turned three months old last week which means she is now officially an infant and no longer a newborn! Unbelievable! Here's a recap of her week:

• She is getting more steady on her feet. When we have her standing in our laps, she can stand so tall and straight now.
• We watched her grab her pacifier out of her mouth and try to re-insert it.
• Claire and I started taking walks in our neighborhood now that the weather is nice. She has really enjoyed it.
• She attended her first Mountain Day at Berry College and got to stay in her first hotel. She did very well with all the new people and places.
• I posted last week that she was eating every two hours but thanks to my Mom and nurse Charlene, she is now eating every three to four hours and is sleeping from 8:30 to 7:00. Woo hoo!
• She is also napping very well in her crib.

Here are some pictures:

Here we are at Mountain Day.

Our friends Daniel and Dr. Rita. We were so excited to see them there. We didn't think they would be there since they live all the way in North Carolina. We miss you guys!

I remembered to get a picture of Vivienne and her husband, Bryce. Their little one will be here in December. His name is Samuel Bryce. I can't wait to meet the little guy.
I'll be up there as soon as I can after his arrival!

We took a walk around the campus after the picnic to look at all the new buildings. Here is Claire in one of the kitchens in Morgan Hall. Maybe she'll live here one day!

This is where I lived my senior year. My room is on your left.

Enjoying her stay in her first hotel!

We took one more stroll before we left on Sunday. Does she look excited?

A short break before we get back on the road again.

Ready to be home.

Hanging out with Dad on a Monday night.

Claire likes to burrow under my arm sometimes when she's trying to go to sleep.
I had to fight her last night so she wouldn't suffocate.