Comparisons: Ella and Me

Here's a comparison of Ella and me. Ella is older than I was but even though I take a million pictures of her on her tummy they are always from angles.

Here is one more similar in age but not quite the right angle and she's not looking up enough.

Sleep Training

6/30

Ella has been sleeping through the night and sleeping for 2 hours at naps but she doesn't fall asleep on her own. She would fall asleep eating all the time. So we decided to do some sleep training. Also, going to sleep only works if she's nursing. So if I was gone for any reason then Ella refuses to sleep and cries a lot.

We did Ferber's Sleep Training or sort of did it. You check in on the baby at intervals. There's a book and a million blogs to help with this. My favorite were random blogs I found of real people. I was addicted to reading them. (There were more but I'm lazy at linking them up again since it was weeks ago.)  Most were completely awful before the training. I didn't actually read the book though. I probably should have. Also most people only did this method when their kids wouldn't sleep through the night and were having difficulty falling asleep.

Above is a summary of when we put her down and when she fell asleep. Below are specific details.  (Dave said I should add a column when we started the bedtime routine because sometimes she eats for longer than others but I did not do that yet. I also don't have specific times for bedtime routine. I do know when she started eating but that's it.)

I always want to change just one thing at a time but it never seemed to work out. Also I hear if a baby does a new milestone then sleep is worse and she learned to crawl and go from lying to sitting during this time.

I almost didn't post this because of all the negative associations with sleep training. Even since we started doing it multiple people have shared links on facebook saying how awful it is. Then I decided to do it because I enjoyed reading other blogs so much. I'm afraid the anti-sleep trainers will think this is awful. Then I'm also afraid the people who read a lot of books will think it's awful for not doing enough background research.  I also don't know how much it helped.  Some days she falls asleep. I feel like I have so much more time in the evening.  She's way more pleasant in the morning or when she wakes up from naps. This could be a coincidence since she's getting older. Sometimes she just plays in her crib and squeals in delight for a half hour without yelling loud enough to trigger the baby monitor. Since Ella has been sleeping through the night for months now, if she wakes up in the night, I do go to her because there is a reason for it.

I noticed a lot of other bloggers would post after less than a week and mention all the improvement. I think she bounces around.  I didn't see some magic improvement like so many bloggers showed.

Did you do any form of sleep training? What worked best for you/your baby? I know every baby is different and I am curious what worked for you. I'm even curious if something specifically didn't work.

7.12

We didn't do much. We were going to go to the grocery store in the morning but Ella's nap messed that up. The landlord was here for about 4 hours fixing the toilet. That wasn't enough time to fix it.

We were trying to help Ella practice crawling but she didn't want to do that and just wanted to stand.

I fed Ella new baby food. She ate the entire pouch. She loved it. That must be because it's from her kitchen. This was her first pouch since she could suck from a straw. She was able to suck it out. Much less mess.

Ella 7 Month Update

Stats:

• Weight: 16 lb 14.5 oz  - 52nd percentile 
• Height: 28.75" - 99.3rd percentile  (This is only .25 taller than last month but sometimes I measure her and get an inch shorter. She's difficult to measure)
• Head Circumference: 16.7 inches - 38rd percentile
• Diapers: Size 2 and Size 3 (We use size 3 during the day since I like the stripe and the rest of our size 2s don't have a stripe indicator so we use those at night)
• Clothing: Disney 6-9 month (3-6 mo still fit over size 2 diapers but aren't long enough over the size 3 diapers), Spasilk 9 months, Steelers 6-9 month, (Leveret 6-12 month onesie is too short but I never tried the 12-18 mo ones yet).  Carter's 9 month dresses. I've put her in a few 12 mo things just because I have them. They are a bit wide though. Sometimes the neckline is far too large on the tank top type dresses. 

She's barely gained this month. Actually most stats are pretty much the same. Maybe she'll level off and not seem like a giant anymore. Moms at mom group continuously tell me how she's the tallest baby they have seen.

Sleep
Ella has been sleeping through the night again. She only had a couple nights where she woke up in the middle. She napped better until Dave went back to work after 2 weeks off and then started refusing to nap and only taking short naps again. When she naps well, she's taking 2-3 naps a day. Glance at but don't analyze the picture above. All the gray is when she slept. Notice how inconsistent during the day.

Eating
She is now nursing between 1 and 3 hours a day. She continues to have pumped milk a few times a week.  Mostly when we leave the house but sometimes at home when she's just refusing to nurse.  This reduced time is not reduced time for feedings though since I'm giving her baby food 1-2 times a day. She eats half of the 3.5 oz or half of the 4 oz foods at a time except once when she ate all 3.5 oz. Sometimes she has puffs or those lil' crunchies after she had her puree. At restaurants we give her a lot of the puffs and lil' crunchies to keep her occupied. When Ella's arm is not swaddled and she's nursing, she's flailing it around the entire time. It's quite annoying. She sticks her hand in my mouth a lot. I try to 1 arm swaddle her just so the upper arm is swaddled. It's really hard to nurse with an arm moving the way it does. 

Sample Schedule:
She still doesn't have a specific nap time or food time yet. It is so hard to plan anything. She might stay up consistently for 2-3 hours between naps but her wake-up  time varies by 2 hours so then every shifts by that much.  Also naps can range from 1-3 hours long.  
Basically she sleeps for a long period of time starting at close to 9:00 PM. She sleeps until about 6:30 (but it also ranges from 5:30-7:30.  Then she says awake for 1-2 hours playing and chilling with Dave. Then she goes to sleep for maybe an hour.
She then will be awake and play for about two hours. This time has been getting longer throughout the month. She eats after she wakes up most of the time and before she goes to sleep again. Throughout the day her naps range from 40 minutes to 3 hours but are probably closer to an hour and a half.  She is up for more than 2 hours at a time pretty much every time she is awake. But a lot of the time she's awake for 3 hours. Sometimes for 4 or 5. Sometimes she plays and is pleasant when awake. Other times she's so fussy and won't let me put her down to play. She might also seem tired but she sure won't go to sleep.  At 8:00 at the latest, I start feeding her to get her to eat then go to sleep. (This shifted from 8:30 partway through the month.)  Her bedtime routine involves Dave swaddling her and then taking her around the room/house to try to find me to nurse. She sees me and gets all excited when she sees me. If I swaddle her and walk her to the chair it's just not the same. I used to always be in the chair and she'd look over at the first spot Dave would stop to ask her if I was (in the closet).  So now I go to the bedroom or bathroom or office just to let their game keep going. 

Special Moments:

On June 23, I tried to teach Ella to drink from a straw. I think she learned but I didn't have a specific straw cup for her to keep using.
On June 28, we started to try to get her to fall asleep on her own.
On June 29, Ella sat in her first high chair at a restaurant and did so well.
On July 2, she drank from an adult plastic cup with a straw. She loved it even though she'd choke on the water here or there.
On July 3, she had her first real banana. On July 4, she had her first mango and avocado.
On July 5, she started to learn to go from lying to sitting on me (on the boppy) so she kept doing it over and over and continued this throughout the month.
On July 6, she had her first restaurant booster seat (with a strap).
On July 10, she started crawling (or maybe it was earlier but I first noted it on the 10th).
On July 12, Dave and I sat on the floor to get her to practice crawling and help her. Ever since then she sure moves around a lot. She just needed some guidance.  Dave also started to teach her to pull her arms out when undressing her and she does it and continued to do it for the most part.
On July 15, she said "dada" to Dave 3 times while I was in the other room. I heard her say it a few times since. We ran out of size 2 diapers with the stripe indicator so we started using the size 3 diapers.  She was seated and I had my leg blocking her off so she couldn't get to Poly and she stood up using my leg.  About a half hour later she was lying down and  I was trying to fix her cup and next thing I know, she's sitting up and untying my shoe. I still have not seen her do this.
On July 18, she thought Dave was home (and so did I) and she rotated on the floor to face her bedroom door and said "dada" but Dave was still at work!

I really thought Ella would have a tooth poking through because it is so close. The gums looked a little white but I don't think it's a tooth.

Development:
When Dave holds Ella, he will just hold her so she sits on his arm and then she holds on. He can lean forward and she holds on. I find it pretty impressive.
Ella has started pinching with her fingers to pick things up instead of just using her palm to pick things up but she doesn't always pinch. It's a work in progress.
Ella does an army crawl this month and gets around pretty good.  Sometimes she gets her butt up and moves but her chest is still on the ground.
She discovered Poly and likes to "chase" her. I will hold her by the armpits or hands and she will run after Poly. She has had many kinds of baby food now. She has also had banana, cucumber, avocado, mango, and toast.
She sits and plays for over a half hour at a time this month. She can even reach for toys and not fall over (unless they are really far away)/
She still rolls multiple times in a row and changes her angle to get to something.
She puts everything in her mouth. 
She grabs everything instead of just touching it. 
She waved bye a few times but really it was rare. She has started lifting her arm up a lot more so she's close
She kisses and hugs me all the time.
She started helping us dress or undress her. We tell her to help get her arm out and she does. She has some trouble helping get her arm in her long sleeve night gown though. Her thumb catches sometimes.  We also ask her to help get her arms in the car seat and strollers and she does. 
Ella finally turns when you say her name consistently. Before she might do it here or there but mainly ignored us. Now she's much better.
She enjoys peek-a-boo a lot more. She sort of did some last month but this month she's loving it. She also throws blankets over her own head then gets excited when she gets out. (I say peek-a-boo when she gets out too.)

Other Tidbits:
Likes
She still likes to play a lot! 
She loves to army crawl around. She likes being more mobile. (I sort of got a video.)
She especially likes if she crosses a barrier like getting into the hallway. Then she giggles like she knows something is up.
She loves it when she's swaddled (even if it is the 1 arm swaddle or 0 arm swaddle).
She gets so excited when she's on her changing table about to be swaddled. She knows food is next and she's super excited. 
She likes to stand with support.
She likes to sit by herself.
She likes to be held when she wants to.
She likes to talk and smile at us. 
She likes to watch TV.
She likes to play AND watch TV.
She likes to look at her mobile. She just loves those planets. She likes to reach and touch them if we are holding her.
She likes when Dave makes her fly. (She doesn't love it as much when I do it.)
She loves to roll over to get from point a to point b. She rolls 10 ft across a room.
She loves to squeal with delight. These squeals have been getting louder too.
She likes to kick those feet when she's lying on the ground.
She loves to grab everything including my face. 
She likes to put everything in her mouth.
She loves to pull my hair. 
She likes the page in The Very Hungry Caterpillar that shows all the different food he ate.
She likes to scoot around to get close to Poly to pull at her feet or pull her fur.
She loves when you get out tylenol. She tries to help get that syringe in her mouth. 
She likes to laugh.
She likes to eat actual food.
She likes to swing. She likes to be thrown around. I think she likes all things that are like a dare devil.

Dislikes
She doesn't like to nurse if I'm talking or if anything is going on. 
She doesn't want to nurse during the day without being swaddled if she wants to fall asleep next.
She doesn't want to fall asleep in the car and she protests and cries for a bit. 
She doesn't like to be anywhere she doesn't want to be. She could be happy on the floor playing then change her mind and you better pick her up or she's crying.
She now hates staying still on the changing table. She rolls over. She squirms about.
She hates to be left alone without a warning that I'm just going to the other room quickly for something. (With a warning she is fine.)
She hates to wake-up to a person that is not me.
She won't go to sleep without nursing first if we are home. (Ask Dave how pleasant this was when I had surgery.)

Fun Facts
Longest time sleeping: 11 hours 30 minutes  
Days with a sleep greater than 5 hours: 28 
Diapers used (from July 1-19): 8.6 per day (decrease from last month by 3!)
Time spent nursing (from July 1-19): 96 minutes (1:36) per day (decrease from last month)
Feeding average per day (from July 1-19): 1.5 oz (decrease from last month)
Time spent sleeping (from July 1-19): 13.8 hours per day  (increase from last month)

Favorite Toys
Blocks
Walker
Dragonfly
Sophia the Giraffe (teether)
Books (I count them as toys)
Exersaucer

Favorite Songs
All of Me
Happy

Dave was getting Ella to smile and apparently that made me make weird faces!

My Update
I made it to my pre-pregnancy weight this month. A few more pairs of old pants and old shorts fit again, but many still do not. I had neck surgery so exercise was restricted again for half the month and even though I wasn't restricted, it still held me back the rest of the month. My weight also pops a little above pre-pregnancy weight.

I feel like there is so much more. She's always changing but I just can't think of it now sitting here. I need to learn to write these as the month goes on.

7.11

 Ella woke up at 7. I fed her and we played with Dave and she went down for her first nap at 8:45. I went back to sleep at this time too. I didn't fall asleep right away. Hearing her on the monitor woke me up  at 10:25. I looked at the app and she had been up since around 10 just chilling in her crib.  I enjoyed my nap.

I fed her then put her to play on the floor where Dave would play with her/play his video games. I loaded up the car with recycling and broke down the boxes. At 11:25, I was done with that. I can't believe it took so long.  I tried to feed Ella quickly then we left. We went to recycling and with a car full of bottles we got $25 for it. I hate the CRV.  It's so much effort for so little. It's been over 6 months since we took bottles to recycling.

 Then we went to Chick-Fil-A. Something was going on there. I didn't quite figure it out. There was a person in a huge cow costume. The cow never came near our row so I don't know how Ella would have reacted. Ella enjoyed her little veggie sticks and puffs. She had fun while we were eating. She made a mess though.

 We went to Target next. It was in the same plaza so Dave walked over with her and I drove. Dave beat me!  We had Ella sitting in the stroller but after a few minutes she was fussy. She was overdue for a nap so I went and got her stroller.  She made it in the stroller until we were almost done and we were browsing and looking at all kinds of stuff. I took her to the car to nurse while Dave shopped in the last couple rows then paid. She was done nursing about 30 seconds before Dave got to the car.  She fell asleep on the way home.

After we were home, I emptied every garbage in the house and swiffered the floors. Cleaning sure took longer than I thought and it always done. Then it was 3:20 and I decided to play on my computer a little.  Shortly after Dave and I decided to watch TV. We get a minute into the show and I realize she's awake.  She watched it with us. She played on the floor the entire time.

I fed her baby food puree. She was messy so I figured we might as well give her a bath right after. She's such a big girl now. She has been using the bigger size of the tub for a few weeks now but she really sat well herself this time. She also splashed and played more than she had been.  Right after the bath, Dave was trimming her nails. On her last nail, he got some of her skin again. She didn't even cry but it bled a little. I kept pressure on it and Dave sang to her (while he played Minecraft).  Then it was close to 7 so I thought she might want to eat and take her normal 10 min 7 PM nap. She did! She actually napped about 20 minutes.  Then we ate dinner and watched a TV show. We just hung out.  She sat on my lap for most of dinner since she was unhappy alone on the floor.  I gave her some finger foods, veggie munchies, for her to pick up and eat. She did eat a bunch but also dropped a lot on the floor.

I thought she was tired but she didn't really want to eat. She didn't eat nearly enough so I couldn't put her to sleep.  After some hanging out time and playing her song for her she ate here or there enough to go to sleep near 10 PM.  Then Dave and I watched TV in the Living Room before going into bed where I blogged and he watched some Bacon Donut on Twitch TV.

5.27

Ella wanted my shoe. I was about to put it on.

I put Ella in the bouncer while I did some laundry.

 Ella likes to touch the baby in the mirror.

Ella was signing my mom's Mother's Day card. She then wrinkled it up and tried to eat it. I glued it in the card anyway.

I'm getting a kiss.

5.31: Jen & Neil

I went to spend the day at Jen's house. I didn't have a set time to leave to go since we were spending the day together. I just was waiting for Ella to wake up from a nap. I ended up leaving much later than I expected. I got there just as Jen was going to feed Neil lunch. I hadn't even thought about food for me at all. I'm glad Jen had some food for me.

Neil liked Ella's duck. (Well it's a borrowed duck.)  Neil went and got his duck to try to trade. The second picture shows him with Ella's duck. That was taken later but figured I'd just show them together.

We gave Ella her first puff. Jen had me try it first. She was going to give me blueberry to try but I wouldn't like that so then she got out the apple cinnamon or maybe apple strawberry. I forget now. But it was nice. I fed Ella her first one.

She was a little confused but went with it.

Neil was eating too.  I think he ate more than I did. I eat slow. I was too busy talking since I hadn't seen Jen in forever and I was too busy holding Ella.

Look at that face! I guess she was confused.

Ella enjoyed lunch even if she only got a puff.

After lunch, Neil went down for his nap. He napped for a few hours. We played a bit with Ella inside. Then we went outside and had her in a pool. Ella was trying out all of Neil's toys. She liked to stand at the piano and chew on it, not actually play the piano.

Ella didn't have a swim suit so we put her in with just a swim diaper. After she was done, I realized I could have just put her in a onesie and we could have had it hang to dry. Oh well. Also she got a swim suit the very next day.

It was an odd time of the day so we had to hide Ella behind the rainbow to keep her out of the sun. She splashed a little and had some fun. Her eyes were always down at the water. The above picture has her eyes a little higher but then she doesn't look happy. We did a good job keeping her out of the sun.

We tried out even more toys in Jen's basement. Ella has to try to eat all the toys just to make sure they are OK.

Shortly after this, I nursed Ella then she napped on me. I had a boppy and we just talked while Ella slept. Jen was going to get the pack and play but we just let her sleep on me. We had fun talking. After about an hour Ella woke up, nursed, then went back to sleep.   I think Neil slept about 3 hours.  But since their naps did not align, Jen took Neil into the pool after he woke up while Ella still napped on me. Or maybe that's when she tried but he didn't want to go in.

After Ella woke up, Neil did go into the pool for a little bit. The sun was at a better angle by this hour.  Neil didn't want to go in the pool at first but then he sure seemed to like it.

Then we headed to Oakmont to walk on the trail and take some pictures.  Just so you know I tried to be selective and still added about a million pictures.

We put my camera on a bench and set a timer to get all 4 of us in a picture.

Just look at these two. They are so cute.

The pictures came out a little dark with Ella flying because of the bright sun so I changed a setting and changed it a bit much but I still like it.

After we got back to our car we went to a restaurant for dinner. Jen's husband, Dave, met us there.   After we ordered, I nursed Ella. She barely ate but it was a help.

Ella didn't cooperate in the bumbo so Jen held her. I was the slowest eater and dealing with Ella moving around made me eat even slower.

It's odd seeing 2 kids in the back.

Ella fell asleep on the way home.

We were able to take her out of the car in the carrier and then I took some pictures of Jen, Dave, and Neil while she slept.

After this it was Neil's bedtime. Once we got him to bed, we took some more pictures outside and we played. Ella ended up waking up going into the house which is why we got to do that stuff.

I left pretty late to go home. Then I made a wrong turn because my phone stopped having the GPS talk through the speakers and so I missed a turn. I went quite a round about way.  Ella slept on the drive home but woke up once we got inside.

Mike fed her. I think since she had such a busy day, she wasn't as hungry as normal. She didn't gobble down all the food like normal.

Since I wrote this almost 2 full months after the fact, I probably missed some stuff and still this is a really long post. I was so glad to be able to spend all day with Jen. I remember when I was at Jen's my mom texted me asking when I'd be home. I had my dad's keys and he needed them to go to the church for something. I don't think he got to go until after 10 PM. Ella had a busy day and was still pleasant. I was surprised.