Month FIVE

Our baby girl grew by leaps and bounds this month... both mentally and physically! She never ceases to amaze me, and I thank God each and everyday that I get to be her Mommy! We are so blessed!

Calleigh's 5th month began with Travis and I taking an overnight trip to Shreveport, Louisiana, to celebrate our 4th anniversary and the one year mark of hearing that we were FINALLY pregnant! This was our first "date" night since Calleigh was born, and Travis and I had such a great time. We ate, shopped, gambled, and then finished the trip up at the Shreveport Farmers Market. While we enjoyed our time alone, we sure did miss our little munchkin!

Dinner at Ralph & Kacoo's

Throughout the month I was able to complete two projects for Calleigh. The first one was her BIRTHday box. In it is her hospital bracelet, hospital t-shirt, hospital cap, and her birth announcement. It was really easy to make and looks adorable on the wall by her crib! The other project was her pillow mattress. I'm aware that she will not be using this for a while, but I still wanted to get it made :) I remember loving to make a pallet of pillows and blankets on the living room floor to watch tv on when I was little, and since we have hardwood floors in our house, I thought Calleigh might enjoy a pillow mattress for when she gets to that age. The pillow mattress was a little more involved to make than the BIRTHday box, but turned out just as cute! I sure hope she enjoys all of these projects as much as I enjoy making them!

Calleigh's BIRTHday box

Pillow Mattress - All folded up for easy storage

Front

Back

The end of the month brought about a BIG change for Calleigh and I. She started daycare on August 20. There were many tears shed that day... and the following days... by ME. Handing the reigns over to someone else to watch my child during the week was one of the hardest things I have experienced to date about parenthood. Luckily, Calleigh LOVES her daycare, and I do too. It makes it so much easier to drop her off each morning when she gets a huge grin on her face at the sight of Ms. Abby and Ms. Nancy! Knowing that she is happy there makes it easier for me to get through the work day. And of course, seeing her precious face light up when I come back to get her totally melts my heart! Daycare definitely makes me more appreciative of every minute I do get to spend with her... I never want to be away from her!

With Ms. Abby the first day

Saying goodbye... tears began flowing immediately after this :(

Calleigh's other 5 Month Milestones:

• slept 7-8 hours straight most nights 
• 3 months, 3-6 months clothes - most 3-6 months are still a little big 
• size 2 diapers
• first time to wear shoes - newborns/size 0 finally fit!
• began eating rice cereal - LOVES it!
• began sitting in her highchair
• rolled from her back to her tummy
• began sleeping without her sleep sack - I would have preferred to keep this up, but once they start rolling over it's recommended to stop swaddling/sleep sacks.
• first cold/ear infection - found out quickly that she cannot take Amoxicillin... it gave her a really bad rash :( 
• plays with her hands and feet - prefers her feet over some toys!
• recognizes her name - you can call her from across a room and she will turn and look at you
• likes to frame faces with her hands - human and dog faces :)
• wants and grabs everything within reach - cell phone, keys, spoon... especially things you have while holding her
• mouths anything and everything she can
• shops in infantino baby carrier - easier for Mommy and allows her to see and wiggle around more :)
• jabbers constantly - while playing, while eating, in the bath, in the car, during doctor exams, even talks herself to sleep for naps!
• loves VocabuLARRY on BabyFirstTV - she grins big every time she sees him! We even downloaded it on the IPad  for her and she grins at him on there too!
• loves playing in the floor with Bella - Calleigh grabs her face and Bella returns that with lots of kisses

First time trying rice cereal

First time to eat in her highchair

This girl LOVES her cereal!

How you know she is done... hikes her leg on the table like a lady :)

Enjoys Bella helping Mommy clean up after eating

Rash from Amoxicillin :(

Shopping at Target with Mommy and Nana

Watching VocabuLARRY

Playing with big sis Bella

Month FOUR

Wow!!! I can't believe our little angel is already four months old! This month was full of new milestones for Calleigh... as well as her continuing to fine tune old ones. She saw Dr. Crow for her four month well visit yesterday, and got her second round of shots... this was not fun for her or Mommy :( She did pretty well considering all the poking and prodding though... poor baby! She's still a little munchkin weighing 12 pounds 14 ounces and is 23 3/4 inches long. This barely puts her in the 30th percentile for both height and weight. But since her height and weight are proportionate to each other, Dr. Crow isn't the least bit concerned about her being on the small end. She's happy, healthy, and growing and that's what really matters :) We get to start rice and/or oatmeal cereal now so stay tuned for updates on that new adventure in next month's post!

This month I was able to finish my first project for Calleigh. Before she was born I decided that for each monthly photo I would buy a different yard of fabric for the backdrop and then make her a quilt using all twelve fabrics to give to her on her first birthday. Since the quilt won't use the entire yard of each fabric, I plan on making her other things throughout her first year using the remaining materials. My first project was a cute little blanket for her to take to daycare with her... another new adventure in next month's post :)

Front

Front up close

Back

Back up close

Calleigh's Four Month Milestones:

• slept 9-10 hours straight most nights
• 0-3 months, 3 months, and some small 3-6 months clothes
• size 1 diapers
• likes to suck on her hand - tries her best to get the whole thing in her mouth :)
• thinks she HAS to stand up - therefore began playing in her exersaucer 
• giggled at 13 weeks
• rolled from tummy to back at 15 weeks - figured out how to avoid tummy time :)
• rolls from back to side
• started to sit up with boppy pillow
• transitioned from laying in sling to sitting up during bath - still likes to check herself out in the mirror
• reaches for and grabs toys... then puts them to her mouth 
• squirms off her blanket/playmat
• pulls hair and necklaces
• still loves to swim and dip her feet in the pool each night before bath and bedtime
• can multi-task :) - raise swing tray up and down with her feet while watching tv
• transitioned to swaddled sleep sack: arms in first two weeks and arms out last two weeks
• removed newborn head support in carseat and moved harness up a notch
• first lunch date with Daddy
• first playdate at the park

The lion is super interesting :)

Excited about rolling over  for the first time

Rolling from back to side

Chillin' in the boppy pillow

Grabbing her toys...

And putting them to her mouth

This girl loves her pool

Multi-tasking while Mommy sews

Lunching with Daddy

Month THREE

3 Months!

Our baby girl is growing SO fast! It's truly amazing watching her each day and seeing her little personality come to life. I love spending time with her and couldn't imagine life without her!


Calleigh's Three Month Milestones:

• slept around 7 hours straight most nights
• 0-3 months clothes - 3 months are still a little big
• size 1 diapers
• holds her head up really well
• discovered her feet 
• coos and squeals a lot
• loves going walking with Mommy
• still loves bath time - checks herself out in the mirror
• watches tv 
• first Father's Day
• first time to stay at a hotel
• first time to church
• first time to swim
• first 4th of July

Checkin' out those feet

LOVES walking with Mommy

Checkin' herself out in the mirror

Watchin' tv - Swamp People :)

First hotel stay

First time swimming

She's going to be a little fish :)

Happy 4th of July!

Month TWO

2 Months!

During Calleigh's second month she only had to see Dr. Crow once... and it wasn't a fun appointment. She got her first round of shots and took them like a champ. She only cried for a few seconds. She weighed in at 10 pounds 6 ounces and was 22 1/4 inches long... around the 40th percentile for both height and weight. Dr. Crow said that she was a very easy and great baby and that if more babies were like her then there would be more pediatricians :) What a compliment! We are so blessed to have such a happy healthy daughter!


Calleigh's Two Month Milestones:

• transitioned to her crib full time
• slept around 7 hours straight most nights
• newborn clothes
• newborn diapers
• tolerates tummy time 
• enjoys her kick and play mat
• sat in her bumbo
• smiles a lot
• discovered her hands 
• loves bath time
• first Mother's Day
• first time to go walking in her stroller
• first time to a restaurant
• first time to Mommy's school
• first trip to Canton

Tummy time

Chillin' in the bumbo

Lovin' bath time

First morning walk with Mommy

First trip to Canton

Month ONE

1 Month

Calleigh's first month was quite eventful... for her and Mommy! After leaving the hospital on Saturday, April 7, we had to go see Dr. Crow first thing Monday morning. At this appointment he looked her over again... just to say that she was still PERFECT :) He then checked her weight, which had dropped to 7 pounds 5 ounces, but was normal. We set up her two week check up appointment and then Dr. Crow sent us back to the hospital to do a heel prick to make sure her jaundice was improving... and it was (she was still well within the normal range for newborns)!

At Calleigh's two week check up she weighed in at 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 20 inches long... not quite back to her birth weight like Dr. Crow would have preferred to see, but he wasn't concerned since she had gained at least half of it back. Daddy however did NOT like her not being back up to where she was at birth, and since she was hitting the charts around the 25th percentile, Daddy wanted to do a weight recheck five days later. At that appointment she weighed in at 8 pounds 1 ounce... Daddy was pleased!

Then on May 8, Calleigh went for her one month check up. At this appointment she weighed 8 pounds 11 ounces and was 20 3/4 inches long... hitting the charts between the 25th-50th percentile for both height and weight. Dr. Crow said that he was pleased with her growth and thought that we were going to have a "perfectly petite" baby girl :)

Between Calleigh's two week and one month appointments, I had to be readmitted to the hospital :( What started as a clogged milk duct turned into abscessed Mastitis. My body failed to respond to the first antibiotics that Dr. Godat prescribed, so the clogged duct continued to get worse and worse. I was in so much pain and can easily say that this pain was 100 times worse than any pain associated with Calleigh's birth! I spent three days in the hospital on IV meds and morphine. Being away from my newborn baby girl broke my heart. Thankfully, my wonderful mother was able to help Travis care for her. Once it looked like things were starting to improve a little Dr. Godat gave the okay for me to be released from the hospital, but with me understanding that if anything changed that I would be right back at the hospital for surgery to drain the abscess. Well, the improvement didn't last long :( A day later I was back at the hospital visiting with a surgeon. Dr. Lewis was fantastic! She opted to try an in-office procedure first before having me admitted for major surgery. She drained the abscess with a needle... it was painful, but felt SO much better each time the infection and pressure were removed. The in-office procedure took several visits and I had to pump and nurse like crazy to get my production on that breast back up, but I am proud to say that I am still able to nurse!!! Two months later we are still going strong! YAY!!!

Calleigh's One Month Milestones:

• first bath
• first Easter 
• first photo shoot
• first night away from Mommy
• started to smile
• LOVES to cuddle
• all newborn clothes
• newborn diapers

First bath

Happy Easter!

First of many smiles :)

 Newborn Photos: