Learning something new every day!

At the moment Jill seems to learn something new every day. It is very interesting to see that she goes through "ups and downs" in learning. Some weeks she seems the same every day and some weeks she seems like a different baby every day.
This week she seems to discover many new things. She found out she can make very high pitched noises and thus like to scream and this makes her sometimes even scared herself. She is much more sensitive to sounds also, because during our daily walk with Clover she started crying yesterday when a loud scooter past us and today she did the same when a dog in the park started barking right next to the stroller.
The other thing she is discovering this week is rolling from back to front. She can't do it all the way yet, but makes it unto her side and then gets frustrated, which results in her new screaming noise.
Today in her bouncy seat she tried to sit up more strait and then realized.. he those moving things (her feet) are attached to me as well.
So it is really fun to watch her at the moment and see her try it all.

What are those things?
Trying to sit up strait

Finally

after close to 4 months I fit my wedding ring again! I didn't think my fingers or feet were every going to be the size again they were before pregnancy.

Can I eat this and this and this.....

At the moment Jill will put anything she gets a hold of into her mouth. My fingers, her fingers, her toys, her stuffed animals you name it. My mom was wondering if Jill was starting to teeth, because she also drools all the time. But I think that is a little early being only (almost) 4 months... but I also had teeth really young. So who knows?

Sleepover

Jill and I went down to grandma's house for a sleepover this past week. It was a lot of fun and Jill did great.
My dad had been in Australia for work for close to a month so Jill and I decided to go test out her new camping bed and of course spent some quality time with grandma. It was amazing how much stuff I had to bring! Food, clothes, bedding, stroller, bouncy seat and not to forget Clover and all her stuff too. Sean even stayed home the morning I left to help me put all the stuff in the car. But it worked (thank god we bought a bigger car last year). The drive down was a challenge since it was really rainy and the total length of traffic jams (like 570 km) made it even in the top 10 of busiest mornings ever. Great do I have that on my first drive down there alone with Jill. Of course I checked the news and none of the traffic jams were really where I had to go but it still took me 2 hours. But it went great and Jill slept pretty much the whole drive down. Except for a small part about 1/2 hour away from my parents when we got stock in a small traffic jam. I was singing kids songs over and over and that eventually calmed her down. Good thing it isn't summer and people drive with their windows shut!
So after this adventure the fun started and my mom and I just mainly spent time talking, entertaining Jill and we also went shopping for about 2 hours in the afternoon of the 2nd day. Jill loved all the attention and kept talking back to grandma ALL the time, even when we put her to bed she kept talking. It was too cute and nice for my mom.
Jill slept great during the night in her new bed and I was really proud of her doing so well on her sleep over. Now we are confident and could do this more often.
The bonus was for my dad because he came home from Australia on Thursday morning and Jill was at their house waiting for him. He hadn't seen her in 5 weeks! So after some quality time with grandpa we left and made it home to Sean who worked from home to make sure he was home when we came back. He missed Jill and we even video chatted from my parents house so he could see her in the time (2,5 days) we were gone!

Here are some nice pictures of Jill's sleepover.

Testing my new bed!













Lots of quality time and attention from grandma!










Being creative taking a bath (wouldn't also fit in the car).. in the kitchen sink!

Pretty soon!

Today during our walk with Clover I observed that Jill is getting pretty big for her stroller/pram. So I decided to try out the other insert we have for the stroller. You are not supposed to use this until your baby is around 6 months and can sit up pretty independently, but soon Jill just won't fit in the pram anymore. Luckily you can decline the buggy insert so Jill can lay pretty flat still. I think it will work, we'll try to stretch it till she is about 4 months, that should be doable and by then it is colder and she can comfortably "sit" in the buggy.

Can't get enough of these smiles on camera

Sometimes I already have a hard time remembering how small Jill was when she was just born. Of course you see that she needs bigger clothes, gets heavier etc. but to really know what she looked and felt like back then can be hard since I see her every day. Well here is some pictures of her today and when she was 3 weeks in her bouncy seat. What a difference it makes! The 3 week picture is not the best shot we ever made of her, but it is still nice to see it.

My girls

Now that I am still home (for just a couple more days :( ) and don't have to hurry in the mornings, I usually take a shower when Jill takes her morning nap. I give her the first bottle in pj's than we play a little and after 1,5 - 2 hours she goes back to bed. So this morning I was in the shower and heard Clover come up the stairs. When I got out of the shower I noticed that Jill's door was open further than how I had left it. When I took a peep inside I saw Jill sleeping and Clover on the floor next to her bed sleeping as well. Just too adorable and I just stood there for a couple of minutes watching them..... my girls!

Proud of us

Today Sean has a professional recording session with his band. This however means that Jill and I have to spent 8 hours on a Saturday together. Not like that differs from the rest of the week, but I always like to get out and do something with the family on the weekends. But today we hung out with Eva and her 1 year old son Finn. Her husband is also a member of the band, so we decided to go spent the day together.
We met at Haarlem trainstation to walk downtown to the shopping area. To get there me and Jill had to go on the bus, since walking would take long. I was a little nervous, hoping that Jill would behave and not scream the whole bus together and I was wondering if I could even get the stroller on the bus myself. But all went great. Jill even did better than me, I just hate shopping on Saturday downtown, it is always crazy busy, and this time with a stroller didn't make it easier. But Jill slept or just looked around happy when awake. We even set down on a terrass, the weather was great, for a cup of coffee.
When we got home after 3 hours I have to say I was really proud of us. It is just that these things, like shopping, always were the easiest thing in the world that you didn't think twice about before going. Now you plan it all out and run into issues you never would have considered before. I mean, how do you prepare food without a microwave? I had to bring a thermos with hot water in case Jill got hungry. Eva gave me a good tip. Also bring some cold water in case the thermos stays to hot, that way you can mix and match to the right temperature without having to wait till the water cools of. Also all the aisle seems to be a lot smaller all of a sudden too. You see what I mean... But we did it and that is what matters!

More shots....

Yesterday Jill had her second round of shots. It was just to sad.....
Last time she cried as well, but she was a lot less aware of things yet and since she cried a lot in that period anyway it seemed like she didn't notice that much. Well yesterday she did! She was all happy and smiley in the pediatrician's office and was looking around. I think she really starts to know now when we are in a strange environment. Also people she doesn't see regularly can be scary now. When the doctor got into her face to fast preparing the shots Jill already showed the lip again (see car picture from 1,5 weeks ago). But then the worst part came, the shots. Jill got quiet at first and then started crying like I haven't heard before. Like adults almost, really in pain. She had tears streaming down her face even.
Luckily the rest of the day she didn't seem to be effected by it too much. She was a little more cranky, but she slept good and today she seems to be herself again.

Next month the last of the 3 shots will be given to her, and then she doesn't need any until she is 11 months. This is good so I have enough time to get this all set up in VT, because I am not sure how it all works there.

Jill 3 months!

Jill is 3 months old today. If you say 1/4 of a year it even sounds longer... whow has she been around for that long already?
Looking back at the past 3 months I have to say we got a rough start, but it is getting more fun by the day now. The first 2 months, and especially between 6-9 weeks, were really though. It was not easy to figure out this little person, since they cry when they are hungry, sleepy, have a wet diaper etc.... And everybody who always told me that you will start to recognize the different cries, I never really did when she was so little. She just seemed to cry the whole time. That was of course hard for me, but I also felt really bad for Jill. She just didn't seem to be happy. I think the breastfeeding had to do a lot with it now that she starting crying 90% less since we switched to bottle feeding. I had a hard time with feeling confident, because I just never knew if she was still hungry, and that made me and probably her as a result of it nervous. Now I feel even worse wondering if she has been hungry for quite a bit during that time. But we figured it out and that is most important. Now she smiles and is happy almost all the time!
Also I realized the other day that I really had to get used to a new routine and that it was sometimes hard for me to give into Jill's schedule. When you are used to doing your own thing for 30 years (well more like 10+ years) it can be a bit difficult at times that everything takes 2x as long and you can only do half the things you used to do in a day (if you are lucky). Of course I never minded this, but I just had to grow into it. But I still think that is better than hoping for a pink cloud from the start during pregnancy and than being confronted with reality. I was realistic from the start and got to enjoy Jill more and more each day instead of the opposite.
On top of this all I was really sick and had to recover which sometimes maybe made me irritated quicker than I would normally be. I should also mention that I appreciate my sleep and man those broken nights........

After 3 months of getting to know each other I really enjoy being a mother and am totally in love with our little pumpkin. I look at her all the time when she is awake, and when she sleeps I look at her pictures. I have to get back to work soon, so that will be hard. Luckily Sean will be home b/c of our moving situation and I don't have to get used to a work-day care schedule just yet. But for now I still have 2 weeks off and am enjoying them with Jill to the fullest.

Here is "ons kruimeltje" at 3 months old!

Is that a big teddy bear?

I knew it

Didn't I mention yesterday that the sleeping at night is probably not a coincidence anymore and:

"Wait... this comment will probably get back at me soon!"

Guess who woke up at 3 am?

Changing sleeping and eating habits

Now that we are completely switched to bottle feeding since a little over a week (Jill was 11 weeks) Jill has developed new sleeping and eating habits. The great sleeping adjustment is that for 8 nights now (since September 22nd, Jill was 11 weeks and 4 days) she sleeps a complete night. Also during the day she is more rested and sleeps about 1,5 - 2 hours between feedings. This is all very nice, because now I am more rested too and I get more time during the day to get things done. A) because I can wake up earlier, because I don't need to take a morning nap anymore, and b) when she sleeps during the day I get stuff done.
But the thing that probably gives me most extra time is her new feeding schedule. After we switched to bottle feeding she only ate every 3 hours, which made for 6 feedings during the day (8, 11 am, 2, 5, 8 and 11 pm) but since her growth spurt last week she now for 2 days only wants to eat every 4 hours, which makes for 5 feedings a day (7.30, 11.30 am, 3.30, 7.30 and 11 pm). At first I was a little worried that I dropped a feeding to fast, but she seems to do great on it. Of course she gets more food per feeding so in total she gets the same amount over a complete day.

I am in general just amazed I guess about how much easier it all of a sudden feels. Wait... this comment will probably get back at me soon! But seriously, just one less feeding and some extra sleep makes it really very enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, I don't only enjoy Jill when she sleeps more, it is just so much more fun in between feedings, because we interact better, she is happier and that is of course nicer than crying!

P.S. Don't mind the details about age, times etc, but I won't remember all these things in a couple of months from now, so I like to write them down somewhere.