These last few days have been quite memorable.
Arabella's been extra sweet and playful, and mom and dad have enjoyed every last second with her.
We can never get enough of those precious smiles...
Earlier this week the weather was phenomenal. It was almost too hot at times, so we walked mostly in the mornings and later in the afternoons (when the sun wasn't beaming down so much).
Oh, how I love our walks. It's become one of my favourite things to do as a family.
On the hot days, we would take breaks in the shade. Belle would continue sleeping, and we would drop the top on the stroller. It generally felt like summer all over again, and it was glorious.
I'm really going to miss this beautiful weather once it's gone...
And sure enough, towards the end of the week the weather got cooler, and we started to spend more time indoors.
See you next year summer weather...please don't be gone for too long? 😕
We're keeping in mind what the developmental follow-up clinic had told us - more side playing, encouraging rolling, and as much tummy time as possible.
The only thing that stands in our way are Arabella's feeds (that we continue to give every 3 hours). The feeds put a pause on playtime and activities, since Belle tends to throw up if she's too rambunctious. Feed time must be much calmer, with a good book or a toy to keep her occupied.
Kiera and I used to work shifts during the night (like we did while we were in the hospital). I used to stay up until 6am (in order to let mom sleep uninterrupted) but over the last few weeks we've totally changed our schedule. Now we're both going to bed with Arabella starting at 8pm. We're forcing ourselves to sleep when she sleeps, and we're waking up for the 9pm, 12am, 3am and 6am feeds. It's been the biggest change for us so far, and it's something we're still getting used to.
We tried eliminating the 3am feed last week, but the lost volume would need to be distributed among the other bottles, and that's something that Arabella can't handle at the moment. The more volume that she takes in, the more she throws up.
Arabella rubbing her eyes in the early morning...
"Oh, hello there!"
At our pediatrician appointment this week, we carefully looked at Arabella's weight, and we found that she's growing at a decent pace. She's still very small for her corrected age, but she's growing proportionately, and that's great news if you consider everything.
She's still throwing up more than usual, though, so the outfits and blankets are constantly being thrown in the wash. "It's typical baby stuff", we tell ourselves. Throwing up is just part of the game.
If she kept her hands out of her mouth, maybe she wouldn't throw up so much (she gags herself a lot) - but what can you do? You can't keep her gloves on at all times, because that would mean restricting her hands throughout the entire day! She needs her hands to explore and feel the world around her, right?
Overall, we're trying to get into a good routine now, so that when I go back to work in January we're ready for it. The night time feeds are definitely a challenge, since a feed can take an hour (or more) from start to finish, but we're getting used to it.
Kiera and I take turns waking up for the feeds (which are all done by gravity bag) - but in reality, we're both waking up because we're both in the room. It's not the end of the world, though. We've learned to operate on 4-5-6 hours of broken sleep 😄
At around 7:30pm every night we give Arabella a bath, and right after we place her into bed and attempt to lay down with her.
Every night it goes - bed, bath, and beyond 😉
Sleep tight you little Tinkerbell. You've got mom and dad both under your spell 😊
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