Monthly Photos: Month 3

Happy 3 Months Baby!

Cambry is such a good baby, we are completely in love. Oh the joy. Children are truly a blessing from the Lord.

Here are her 3 month pics.

Size: We don't go back to the doctor until 4 months so we don't know her weight or stats. However, she still seems to be on the big/healthy side since she wears mostly 3-6 or 6 month clothes. And even some of those are barely long enough. We get many comments from people when we tell them how old she is like "wow, she's a big baby!". We love our big baby and think she's just right :)

Likes: Going places, bath time, walks, the Baby Bjorn, being swaddled with one arm out, her paci (soothie kind only), her Lamaze doll, other toys that she can chew on,

Dislikes: Going to bed at night, doing the same thing for too long. She really is a happy baby and there isn't much she doesn't like.

Working on: Tummy time, laughing - we recently have heard her do what sounded like the beginning of a laugh so we think it is coming soon.

Sleeping: She goes for some longer stretches, but not consistently. She goes to bed around 7:30 or 8pm. Sometimes she will sleep until 1AM, sometimes until 11:00PM before waking up for a feeding. Then after that her feedings are usually 3 hours apart. Some nights are not so bad. Others are rough. Last night she was awake from 3:45 to 5:00AM. She was just not tired. She kept smiling. Little rascal.

Eating: Most of her feedings during the day seem to be about every 2 hours. When she takes a long nap then her feedings will be about 4 hours apart. But every day is a little different. I still haven't figured out how to put her on a schedule yet.

We just started putting her in the nursery at church. She has gone the past 2 weeks and has been so good! The preschool area at First Baptist is really wonderful and all the nursery volunteers are so sweet. We have seen many of our friends there helping out in different classrooms. It really makes you appreciate all the volunteers.

I still don't see Greg or I in her. Most everyone says she looks like Greg. Neither of us see it though. We don't really think she looks like either one of us - she is just her own person. It is funny because so many of our friends babies look just like the parents, but we just can't see it in Cambry yet.

We love our sweet 3 month old!

Spring Break

This week Greg's mom, sister, and niece came to visit for a couple of days. It was a lot of fun having them here. Cambry especially LOVED having them here. She was so good the whole time - just taking it all in. She seems to love commotion. Whenever there are a bunch of people / sounds / sights, she just sits there and stares. Poor thing is probably so bored now that it is just me and her again during the day.

Hey, lets take a cute cousin picture!

That one turned out OK, but let's see if we can get a better one.

On second thought, that first picture looks amazing!

I will be seeing my sister and Kyler and Hayes soon. We will attempt to get a cousin picture with them. An 18 month old, a 3 month old, and a 1 month old. I bet that one will turn out GREAT!

A Day in the Life

Well it has been a couple weeks since I have blogged, so I need to get back on it. I have just been busy enjoying our little one. I thank God for her every day. She is such a joy! I love all her little baby noises, her faces, her adorable smiles, the way she arches her back with her arms in the air to stretch, her chunky little baby legs... Oh how I absolutely adore baby legs. Just take a look.

Things change so fast but I thought I would write down what a day is like right now with Cambry being close to 3 months old.

She usually wakes up a little after 7am. I drag myself out of bed but as soon as I see her precious smile I am ok with getting up. We start out by both having breakfast in bed. I eat my cereal and play with her in bed for a bit then feed her. She is so sweet and smiley during this time.

Next up is bath time. I put her in the bouncer in the bath room while I shower. If she is getting tired and fussy when I'm done I rock her to sleep. If she is doing ok I will bathe her. She gets a bath every other day.

Her first nap is about 30 minutes. That usually gives me enough time to blow dry my hair and finish getting ready, make the bed, and start the load of diapers.

When she wakes up I feed her and get her dressed for the day. This of course includes a headband/bow.

Most days we try to get out. A grocery trip, a target trip, shopping trip, play date, walk outside, etc. She does really well running errands. She loves to look around at new scenery.

In the afternoon it is more eat, play, sleep. I'll do little things around the house and prep dinner if it's a cooking night (I always make enough for 2 nights). I try to find different ways to entertain and stimulate her, but it is hard because there is not much they can do at this age. I read to her, give her some tummy time, put her on her play mat, in her bouncer, take her on "tours" of our house, walk her around in the Bjorn, play music and sing to her, etc.

She usually takes one long nap a day (2-3 hours), and the others are about 30-45 minutes. The problem is I just never know which nap will be the long one!

I still rock her to sleep every time. She does not fall asleep on her own (unless in the car or the stroller, in other words, in constant motion). Yes, I read Baby Wise. I guess this is breaking all the rules, but I am not ready stop. I love rocking my baby. It is the sweetest time. Well maybe not at 3am, but hey, before I know it her rocking days will be over and I will be missing this so I want to enjoy it while I can.

I suppose eventually we will start to let her cry it out. We have tried a few times to lay her down semi-awake. When she fusses, we give her a few minutes, then go in and comfort her, check her diaper, re-swaddle, put back in her paci, then walk out and stare at her on the monitor to see if she falls asleep. We repeated this several times without success. Maybe soon we need to really work on this. Who knows. This parenting thing always has you second guessing!

Anyway, when Greg gets home from work he plays with her a bit and then will walk her around outside in the Bjorn. She likes her daddy time. Then we eat dinner while she sits in her bouncer next to us. He will rock her to sleep around 7pm. She will usually wake up again before midnight

for another feeding, and then usually 2 more times during the night.

Cambry in her bouncer during dinner.

Here Greg is dancing around the living room with Cambry.

Once she is down we relax, talk, watch one of our shows on Hulu, eat ice cream, and go to bed.

I'm sure in a week it may look completely different, but that's what things look like now!

Sleep When They Sleep

This is a common phrase spoken to new parents. It is good in theory, but easier said than done.

Right now Cambry is not on a schedule. Her routine is eat, play, sleep throughout the day. But how long she sleeps in each cycle is always different. There is usually one long nap - 2 or 3 hours. The rest are short - 30 or 45 minutes.

Sometimes I nap when she naps, but most of the time I don't. Don't get me wrong, I am tired, but nap time is my opportunity to get things done.

When she is awake I can do little things. I can put her in the bouncer, play some music, then go throw a load of laundry in and make the bed. Then I can move her to her play mat and play with her, then grab a bite to eat. But other things like spending quality time reading the bible, cleaning the house, cooking, getting ready for the day, etc. usually have to get done during nap time.

Last week I was exhausted and desperate for a nap. I tried to sleep during her first nap but by the time I rocked her, got her down, and fell asleep myself I only got 10 minutes before she woke up.

I attempted it again the next cycle but only got 15-20 minutes. I was even more groggy and frustrated that I wasted that time since those few minutes of sleep weren't enough to help.

I finally got an hour long nap on the third try but absolutely nothing got done that day. And that is ok. For that day. But if you implement the "sleep when they sleep" policy every day, nothing will ever get done.

For now I am just trying to go to bed early - as in, before 10. Maybe I should try to move it up to 8:30. Whoa, this brings me back to my first trimester days!

The Christian Atheist

Greg and I have been in a Wednesday night couples bible study for several years. I always look forward to Wednesday nights. It is especially fun to fellowship with the other couples since we aren't in Sunday school on Sundays with them. We are so blessed by these friendships and have grown spiritually through this bible study group.

This picture is old (and missing the Winklers!) but it is the only one I could find. This was before any babies were added to the group. Now we have 5 babies among us and a 6th on the way. It is an even split - 3 boys and 3 girls. It is so fun! It will be a challenge learning what to do with all the babies during bible study, especially as they grow. For now they either sleep in another room, or little ones stay on laps.

We meet at someones house, and go through a study together. Sometimes we break up into guys/girls, and sometimes we stay all together.

We have done different studies over the years. We have done a bunch ad Tim Keller studies. They are great because they go over a book of the bible and have group discussion questions with great commentary/insight into the verses.

We have also gone through the book Sacred Marriage. I enjoyed this book a lot. It was not just about how to have a great marriage, but how marriage is a tool for God's glory, not just our happiness.

The latest study we are going through is called The Christian Atheist, by Craig Groeshel. I love the format and how challenging and convicting it has been for me. We watch a video for about 15 minutes then go over the group discussion questions in the workbook. There is also a book that we read on our own during the week and answer questions on.

The premise of the book is that as Christians we believe in God but often live our lives as though we don't believe in Him. We delight more in watching an hour of television than reading our Bible. We say money can't buy happiness but we would be a little happier if we got a raise or a bigger house. We believe that Hell is real but still aren't sharing our faith.

I think this has been my favorite study we have done so far. I would definitely recommend this one if you are in a group bible study. We are almost done and will have to decide what to do next. If anyone has done a study that they really enjoyed and would recommend please share!

Favorite Things

These are a few of my favorite things right now, in no particular order.

1) Gap Maternity Lounge Pants

This picture isn't the exact pair I have, but close enough. My SIL took m

e to a resale shop in Waco and found these for me. I think they were $5. I

love them. They are so comfortable and fit perfectly. I refuse to put them up with the rest of my maternity clothes. They are far too wonderful. I will continue to wear them always.

2) Up All Night

I didn't like this show at first, but after giving it a second try it started to grow on me. Maybe it helped that we had been watching Arrested Development a lot on Hulu which made me really like Will Arnett. I really don't like Ava, but that's ok. There is always one hilarious scene per episode that Greg and I can relate to. It is fun to laugh at all the typical new parent moments.

3) Iphone

I have never really been one to have the latest phone. I am usually about 3 years behind. We are cheap so we always get one of the free phones that you can choose from when you renew your contract every 2 years. That is, until Greg got me an iphone for a "retirement" / birthday gift. I love it so much. Especially since having Cambry. I have a baby app where I record her feedings that is so helpful. I also have a baby sound machine app that I can use if we are at a friend's house. I also have been downloading books to the Kindle app that I read while I nurse her. Right now I am reading Shepherding a Child's Heart and also the second in the Hunger Games series. This makes middle of the night feedings more bearable. I love having the camera near by took take pictures quickly and easily and send them to the grandparents.

4) Energy Bites

See previous post for recipe. I eat WAY more now that I am nursing than I ever did when I was pregnant. I eat so many snacks and this is a favorite.

5) City Mini Stroller

I love my stroller. You can attach an infant car seat to it (if you buy the adapter), so that's what we are doing now. It is the EASIEST folding stroller ever. I remember Greg and I test driving all the strollers at BabiesRUs and looking like fools trying to collapse and set up all the different kinds. This one is amazing. It is good indoors and out. Even though the brand is called Baby Jogger I guess it is technically not a jogger since it doesn't have inflatable wheels. But it is still great for walks outdoors. And I don't really plan on jogging with it anyway. I do want to start working out again soon, but not by running with the stroller.

6) And lastly, this girl is my favorite of course!

Recipes

I wanted to share 2 great recipes. First up - Energy Bites! My sister made these for me right after I had Cambry. They are such a yummy snack and very easy to make. And they are not too bad for you either (well compared to a cookie or other baked good). They contain oats, peanut butter, unsweetened coconut, honey, unsweetened cocoa, flax seed, mini chocolate chips, and vanilla. I felt cool and healthy making something with flax seed - ha! I didn't even know where to find it in the grocery store. Turns out it is in the "healthy/organic" section of Kroger. Good to know. Ever since Lauren made these for us, we have been making them constantly. They may not look extremely appetizing, but they are delicious. The recipe is here.

Next is Chicken and White Bean Stuffed Peppers. The recipe comes from here. I can't remember whose blog I saw this website linked from, but I saw this recipe on there and thought it looked great. Next time I make it I will add more seasoning/spice, but other than that I thought it was delicious and so healthy. It was a bit time consuming though. Cooking is different now with a baby. I make things in stages throughout the day. I also try to pick easy recipes or crockpot recipes. Although this was neither, I made it on the weekend and thought it was worth the time. Yum!