I can't believe dairy had such a horrid effect on Sam!

I think I may have figured out my formerly unhappy baby..... I am literally tearing up typing this I'm so happy....

I haven't really talked about this at all, but Sam's weight percentiles have been dropping since birth. She started at 45%, dropped to 35% at 1 month, 25% at 2 months and during my accidental visit at 3 months (didn't need to go until 4), she had dropped to the 10%. Not good - at all... And when I weighed her 1.5 weeks ago, she was still only about 11.5lbs. Off the charts - in the low direction - at almost 4 months.

As you also know, she's been a cranky, needy baby almost from the get-go. And very much a mama's girl. No one has been able to hold her for more than a few minutes without her crying - almost from the beginning - with a only few "good" episodes here and there.

Well, last week, I decided to cut all dairy. Only because I had heard that it bugs some babies (and the other April mom's already had) and I thought it might clear up her eczema. Instead, she's actually gained a POUND in the last week! And her demeanor has completely changed!

Today, a girlfriend of mine came over and she asked to hold Sam. All I could think is that last week I would have said, "She'll probably cry." And this time, Teresa held her for 20 minutes.... And I only took her because she needed a diaper change! She's happy now!

She's hardly crying unless she NEEDS something. She has baby fat rolls on her thighs now! She's smiling more and she's just looking and acting so much healthier! (She's always been fine developmentally so I wasn't freaked about that, but I was watching closely.)

Anyway, after worrying about this daily since her 3 month appt, I am JAZZED about her 4 month appt on Thursday to see how much weight she's *really* gained!

Oh... *knock on wood* that this isn't all a fluke.

Andi

PS I can tell my milk supply has changed - it's much higher - like she's needing more and I'm making more.

PPS Oh! And I forgot to mention - she takes 2 REAL naps now, too! One in the morning, one in the afternoon... each for about 2-2.5 hours (Although the afternoon one today was only about 45 minutes. That's okay! i have a HAPPY baby!)

Ellie is using verbs a LOT!

It's so funny.... She's constantly saying new things, but lately it's been 3 word sentences.... Momma like coffee. Bobo like coffee. Dada like coffee...

Pooh like honey....

You get the idea!

And when she got yelled at for hitting daddy's car with a stick:

Bobo don't hit daddy car!

I am floored watching her figure this stuff out!

Ellie took a faceplant a week ago

The poor thing fell smack on her nose and forehead and scraped her knee when she was out walking with dad and KT.... She's a trooper, though, and was more upset because dad was holding her than she was for scraping her nose!

Is Sam teething?!?

I sure hope not! OMG! Last night SUCKED. I had forgotten how bad Ellie was about teething - she would just scream and cry. And I'd dose her with Tylenol every 4 hours.Bleh....... And it looks like that's happening with Sam. I am NOT excited about this!

Sam's 3 month checkup

So... I went into the doctor's office on Monday for her three month checkup and got quizzed:

Does she clasp her hands together? Yes
Does she smile? Yes
Does she squeal? Yes
Does she laugh? No, not yet, but she squeals a lot
Does she hold her head up? Oh, yeah
Wait.... she's four months, right?!? Uh, no, she turned 3 months 2 days ago!

Turns out they don't do 3 month appts! LOL! So she's almost at a 4 month level. She's tracking me from miles away and LOVES staring at Ellie, too. She's closer to laughing even since Monday (2 days ago). AND!!!!

SHE ROLLED OVER TODAY! OMG I was SO shocked! I put her down for tummy time and she will generally push up really hard on her legs so that they are almost 90 degrees from her body - and she just rolled to her back! Wow... (Ellie was 5.5 months.)

The biggest concern, though, is her weight. Her length was 24" and her weight was 10lb 9oz, which is quite low for her age. (She's been in about the 40th percentile and she's dropped to closer to 20%. She needs to be maintaining her percentiles.)

But she's eating like HELL right now - so I'm *really* hoping it's a growth spurt. We'll find out soon.

She's also starting to look a bit like Ellie when she smiles and grins. It's kinda fun! I have the feeling that they will resemble each other more and more as time goes on. They are both so darn cute!

Ellie is talking up a STORM!

Gosh, it's just AMAZING how much Ellie is talking now! At her 2 year appt, she maybe had 30 words (spoken). Within two weeks she was saying 3-4 word sentences! We were at the condo and she was running around onthe bed while I was feeding Sam. She was babbling and I finally started listening to her - "I get cake. I get you cake." I was floored!

She's also saying "Winnie the Pooh". Or rather, Weeenie da Pooh. LOL! And Sissy (or Seeeseee) for sister or Sam. She's also being more defiant and not really responding to discipline so Chris and I need to figure out better how to handle this - especially me. Ugh. It can be frustrating when I'm feeding Sam and she's not listening. I think cracking down really hard for a few days might make a world of difference.

We've also sort of started potty training. I need to take the bull by the horns on this one and really hit it hard. Hopefully I can do this next week.

General update - weightloss

I've lost probably 4 or 5 lbs since I last updated. Which isn't enough... Hopefully now that i have the jogging stroller I can get into better shape and get into a better routine. I need to really get serious. It's so much easier in CB. I can't WAIT 'til we move!

"I get you cake"

I am FREAKING out! LOL! 2 weeks ago, Ellie was adding a word in here and there.... Now she's saying 4 word sentences!!! She's really working on two word sentences mostly ("My bank (blanket)", "Pooh fly", "read book").... and those are about a week old. It's wild how quickly she's starting to talk. YEAH!!!

I realized she was saying complete sentences when I was laying in bed at the condo. I was feeding Sam and Ellie was running back and forth on the bed saying something... When I finally listened, she was saying "I get you cake. I get cake. You get cake." It was soooo cute!

And it's so cute how proud she is when you figure out what she's saying. I love my little girl!!!

Sam can stand!

It's crazy! Sam is soooo strong! You can just lean her against your hand or even hold one hand and she'll STAND up!

It looks like Chris is holding her up, but I swear he's not. As my doctor said, I'm in trouble!

Ellie-ism & her 2 year checkup

Wow! I can't believe my little girl is now 2 years old! We had a great party over the weekend. A lot of people weren't able to make it, but we had a great time anyway....

Last night we were watching Ellie eat and she wanted more chips. We are really trying to get her to talk - she doesn't say a ton, but she's adding new words every day - so Chris prompted her to say, "Chips, please." No go. Again the prompt. Nope. Ellie, please ask for chips and then say please! Nothing.... Finally, Chris said, "Ellie, say please."

"Pleeeeease?"!!!!

We roared! She had never said it before and said it perfectly - just really drawn out like, "Leave me alone! I want a chip!" LOL!!!

She had her 2 year appt on Monday. She's doing really well and charmed the doctor. She's just so sweet and generally well behaved. She was 90% for height (35.5" although I think it was actually 36") and 45% for weight (26lbs). All in all, a good checkup!