Keeping Up With the Lives of Michael and Jessica: June 2011

I cannot believe 21 weeks have passed since I've become a mother. I've told you all over and over how blessed I feel to have this precious role in life. Though, at some point you'd expect the newness to fade away. It hasn't yet! Ha! Each day, I still wake up overjoyed to walk across the living room, down the hall, and into my sweet babygirl's room. I peer over her crib and whisper "Sweet Pea." She pops up, all fuzzy eyed and crinkles her nose as her eyes bring Mommy's face into focus. It warms my heart with such a joy.

She has grown so much! I mean literally. She is over double her weight from birth! She weighed in at 14 lbs at her 4 month appointment. She'll be 5 months next week on the 26th. She rolls over front to back and back to front. She hums to herself, kicks and coos when she's oober excited. She smiles the biggest smile when Mommy & Daddy make funny noises. She chews her fingers and gobbles down rice cereal. She kicks and squirms during diaper changes because she absolutely loves changing clothes! She is intrigued by the water in her bath tub during bathtime. She is learning so much every single moment of the day. Oh! and, she's also an amazing sleeper.

Babywise has served our family very well and our doctor is amazed at how well Mariah sleeps. She is so impressed with how well-rested and not cranky our child is. Let's see, her schedule hasn't evolved much since last we chatted. We are in Phase 3 of Babywise which means she eats 4 to 6 times a day and sleeps 10 to 12 hrs at night with 3 to 4 consistent naps everyday. Her schedule is;

7 a.m. (nursing only)
10:30 a.m. (nursing only)
2:00 p.m. (nursing + rice cereal)
5:00 p.m. (nursing only + rice cereal)
7:30 p.m. (nursing only)
8:00p BEDTIME

She sleeps as follows:
8:30a - 10:30a NAP
12:00p - 2:00p NAP
3:30p - 5:00p NAP
6:00p - 7:00p Optional NAP
8:00p - 7:00a NIGHTTIME SLEEP

These feed and sleep times very by 30 minutes some days because each day has its own flavor. Ha ha. But, in general, the schedule follows that structure. As Babywise always says...BE FLEXIBLE! More info on babywise: www.babywisemom.com

Parenthood has truly been a joy for both my husband and I. We can't wait to do it all over again!!! (maybe 4 more times! HA!)Here's a recap of her monthly photos.

BIRTH