Audrey doesn't like the bows so much, but she does LOVE her pacifier. This isn't her favorite, but it does the trick most days. Audrey prefers the NUK pacifiers. The clear one is her favorite.
And here's the tutu for the 3rd month in a row. Do you think it will still fit next month? I hope so...it's so cute!
Audrey is so much fun. A highlight for me each day is going in to wake up Audrey in the morning. Once she opens her eyes, she just gives me the biggest smile and kinda laughs. Is there anything greater in the world? Look at those bright blue eyes!
Audrey weights 12.2 pounds and is approximately 24.5 inches long. We took our own measurements here at home since we don't go in for a checkup this month, but I think they're pretty accurate. She sure is getting big! I think that puts her in the 50th percentile for weight and close to the 90th percentile for length. The lines on this growth chart make me cross-eyed... CDC.gov WHO growth standards.
Audrey is right in between clothes sizes. It seems she can wear both 0-3 months (depending on what it is) and 3-6 months. She's wearing all 3-6 months sleep 'n plays and onesies. Although, some 0-3 month onesies still fit her and most of her 0-3 months pants still fit. We'll try and get the most that we can out of the clothes that still fit before we fully transition over to 3-6 months clothes. I have a feeling that will happen really soon, though.
Audrey is still in size 1 diapers. I think we only have about 2 weeks (max) of size 1 diapers left, and after they're gone we'll start using the size 1-2 and 2.
Audrey rolled over for the first time at 12 weeks old. See the video and blog post here. She is so happy on her activity mat. She holds her head up for several minutes at a time. She's getting so strong! And we put her in her Bumbo seat this month. She's not completely self-supporting in that seat, but she's close. The Asst. Director at the daycare suggested putting a blanket behind her in the seat, and that worked! We put her in the seat and she just smiles.
Audrey found her hands this month. I'll catch her just studying her hands. Then she brings them together and then apart. It's cute. She's so focused and just amazed by them. She looks like she's trying to figure them out... "what can these things do for me?" And we've noticed a big difference just in the past week/week-and-a-half in how she plays with her toys and the objects on her activity mat. She can now grasp onto them. She's been pulling my hair and grabbing at objects for several weeks now, but now it seems like she's very purposeful with her movements. With every movement. And sometimes she gets those hands in her mouth and starts sucking. There are times when she prefers to suck on her thumb and her hand over her pacifier. Here is a pic of her from today munching on those hands...
She loves her activity mat!
Right before Christmas, I noticed that Audrey's arms were rough and a little bumpy. I thought it might be dry skin, but then I saw it spread to her chest and from her knees to the rest of her legs. I called our doctor, Dr. Tess, and he referred us to a Dermatology practice. We went to see Dr. Fox who is in one of the doctor's office buildings at the new Silver Cross Hospital (opening February 26th). He said Audrey has a mild case of Dermatitis, which he explained is a very general term. She also has a case of cradle cap that causes her to have a really dry scalp and lose her hair. Basically, Audrey just has sensitive skin. It doesn't necessarily mean that she'll always have sensitive skin or develop eczema, just that she has sensitive skin now. He gave me a prescription for a medicated ointment that he said will clear up her bumps and dry skin in just a few days. He made me feel comfortable about using the medicine if we want to do that. He also gave me an option to treat the cradle cap with mineral oil and Q-tips. But he suggested just not doing anything and letting it get better on its own. That's what we're going to do. And we decided to try the non-medicated route first for the Dermatitis, which Dr. Fox supported: Audrey gets a bath every night. He stressed that the bath should be no longer than 5-7 minutes and in lukewarm water. We only wash the body parts that are sweaty or dirty (i.e. armpits, hands, neck, etc.) with Dove Unscented bar soap. And for the cradle cap, we shampoo with Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo. Then, twice a day, we apply Cetaphil cream... immediately after her bath and while I'm dressing her in the morning. It's been about a week and a half and her skin is so much better! Just over the last couple days, we turned a corner and her skin is so soft again. She's still a little dry and bumpy in some areas, but nowhere near what it was. It's winter and so dry. If it gets worse, we will use the medicine. But for now things are looking good!
Audrey still loves her bathtime. And now she gets a bath every night. It's a good routine for us... I feed her for the last time, Audrey gets a bath, and then Carl puts her in her sleep sack and puts on her mittens, reads her a story, then she goes to bed. This past month, she has really started kicking and splashing around. She's so funny. We took a video tonight of Audrey in the bathtub and it is hilarious. I hesitate to put a video of my naked child on youtube, so we're going to try and figure out how to edit it so we can post it. You know, black bars across her chest and private parts. Haha. I do want everyone to see how funny she is. Stay tuned.
Audrey is sleeping through the night! We're not consistent with every night yet, but I'd imagine we'll have consistency pretty soon. I feed her for the last time around 9pm most nights, and then she has proven this last week that she can sleep until 6am. This morning, she slept until 7am! And when she sleeps, she sleeps on her back with her arms straight out to her sides. She starts off with her pacifier, but loses it at some point after she falls asleep. Some nights, if she wakes up, she just needs her pacifier then goes right back to sleep. I feel so spoiled with Audrey and how good and easy-going she is.
Audrey loves listening to her Daddy playing the guitar. Even if it's a night where she's been a little fussy, Carl can soothe her by playing for her. He puts her on the couch in the Boppy and plays and sings for her. She looks at him... his face and his hand strumming. She is so content and so happy watching her Daddy. Some of her favorite songs include those by Barenaked Ladies (If I Had a Million Dollars, Brian Wilson), Sister Hazel (All for You), Pearl Jam (Elderly Woman, Better Man), Foo Fighters (Everlong), Led Zepplin (Over the Hills and Far Away), and much more.
Audrey's making a lot more noise... both talking and crying. It's like she's really found her voice over this past month. When she's excited (like when she's playing on her activity mat), she'll shout out. And sometimes she talks to us. She does a lot of "goo's" and "aah's" and sometimes full-out shouts. She also has found her really loud cry this month. If something's wrong or not feeling right, she sure wants us to know about it! She's been crying a lot more at night before we put her to bed or if she needs a nap. There are some nights when it takes awhile to console her, but Daddy has the touch and can always make her feel better.
It's been another fun and exciting month with our Audrey-girl. She's our little angel, and we love her so much!
