Ready to Travel

Samara got her passport photo taken on Monday.  It was quite an experience.  How do you tell a baby not to smile, close her mouth and look straight into the camera.  We managed to get one that worked though.

Samara's new friend

I have so many toys that are my own I sometimes forget that I can now share them with my daughter.  Today we had fun with Elmo.  If you are on Facebook you may have already seen this video, so this is for those of you who aren't on Facebook.

Social Sleeper

This week I was out and about quite a bit with Samara.  I sometimes worry that it will deter her from her naps but in actual fact it encourages her naps and nice long ones.  At Movies for Mommies she slept through the movie (almost 2 hours), Friday Raju and I went for a walk and lunch at the Distillery, she slept for 3 hours, yesterday Di and I went to L'il Bean n' Green and she slept for 2.5-3 hours as well.  That seems to be the trick.  At home she likes to sleep in 30 minute sessions.  Maybe it's not loud enough for her and I need to make more noise :)
Regardless, I'm just happy that she has been so good and I've been able to enjoy my outings without her fussing too much.  I hope that I'm not jinxing myself by saying that.
Here are some recent pictures of her.

3 months

Yesterday was Samara's 3 month birthday.  I can't believe how quickly time goes and also how fast we've gotten used to having her around.  We celebrated this milestone by getting her ears pierced.  I was a bit nervous so I took my Mom with me too.  Samara weathered through it.  She did cry, similar to how she did with her first needles but nothing a little comforting couldn't fix.  She was still fussy but that was because she was tired and fell asleep quite fast afterwards.  I was worried that her ears would be sore, but it doesn't seem like that is the case as I keep accidentally hitting them and when I clean them she doesn't get irritated.  She is just very squirmy so it's hard to get her to hold her head still.
We now have a loose sort of routine, where she has a nap at 10:00a.m.ish and 3:00p.m.ish and another somewhere in between.  Bedtime seems to be between 7:00/7:30p.m. with her waking a for a couple of feeds and then she fully wakes at 7:00/7:30a.m.  Last night though, she slept straight from 7:00p.m. - 3:00a.m.  If I had known she was going to sleep that long, I would have gone to bed at 7:00p.m myself.  I was worried after the 3:00a.m. feeding because her eyes were wide open when I put her in her crib but within 10 minutes she had fallen back to sleep.
Today she has been a lot of fun too.  I had put her on her play mat and was on the computer so not paying too much attention.  When I looked over she had turned 180 degrees and it looked like she was headed around the other side to complete the circle.  I think I need to set up a video camera to watch her when I'm not so I don't miss anything.  While I am happy she is starting to move I'm also not looking forward to her fully moving, as I know I'll spend even more time chasing after her.  I better get the baby octagon (aka baby jail) from Camilla soon.

Parenting...

is hard work!!!!  Don't get me wrong, I am loving every second of being off with Samara but I really did not know how much work it was going to be.  I am amazed at the end of every day when I feel like I have hardly done anything but , feed, change, play and get Samara to sleep.  It did not occur to me that such a little being would take up so much time.  My schedule (and I use that term loosely) revolves around her.  Just when I think I see a pattern it changes.  Right now my only constant is my Fit Mom class on Thursday mornings.
A few weeks ago we moved her to her crib in her room.  The first night I hardly got any sleep while she slept for 5 hours straight.  I was constantly getting up to look at the monitor.  Fortunately I have settled down with that but she is up every 3 - 4 hours for a feed.  I have also managed to start putting her in her crib for naps as well so she is not constantly in my arms.  I have to admit that I went through some withdrawal symptoms.  After being constantly attached for so long it was hard to 'let go'.  I feel like my little baby is growing up and she's only 3 months!!!!!
I don't know how you other Mom's out there did it.  I feel very unproductive and as if I have no routine.  Sometimes I even find it hard to leave the house.  Although I am getting restless and trying to get out every couple of days, even if it's for a short walk.
I'm not quite sure what to do.  I guess I still take it day by day and enjoy my time with Samara.  Any tips or things you found work well for you as a Mom?
And sorry I don't have any recent pictures of Samara to post.  Our laptop is not working and I'm not quite sure how to download pictures on our PC.  Once I figure it out, I'll post some more pics of her.

A move to the Bassinet

I always said I would not allow my kids to sleep in bed with us.  I was determined that it would not happen.  However, as I had the c-section I had Samara in bed with me as it was easier to get up and breastfeed her.  After my 6 week check-up I thought I should try to move her.  I spent 2 hours one night trying to get her to fall asleep.  I finally gave up as I was too tired and brought her into bed with me.  However in the morning after a 7:00a.m. feed, I decided to try putting her in the bassinet.  She slept there for almost 3 hours!!!!  It was me who felt strange without her in the bed.
My new 'routine' is get her asleep at night and let her start in bed.  (I think this is more for my benefit so that I can cuddle her)  After her next feed (around midnight or 1:00a.m.) put her in the bassinet.  This seems to be working for now.  Unfortunately I'm not having much luck with her sleeping there during the day or with her falling asleep on her own.  Baby steps though and one thing at a time right?

The miracle of the pacifier

For some reason I hadn't thought of giving Samara the pacifier.  I didn't think she needed it, but it seemed to me that I was feeding her all the time with no break.  Camilla suggested that maybe she wasn't hungry but just needed the sucking action to sooth her.  So I tried to give it to her one day but she wouldn't take it.  On Christmas Eve while we were at Fariena's Camilla took Samara and worked with her for 45 minutes to take the pacifier and fall asleep.  It worked!!!  On the way home it worked again in the car and since then I have used it to space feedings to 3 hours apart and she is actually sleeping more and taking naps throughout the day.
Today has been particularly good.  Although I'm still in my PJ's I have been able to sort through and put away Christmas gifts and do some tidying around the house.  I even managed to put Samara in the bassinet for a bit and use the monitor while around the house.  She was only in it for 30 min. at the most but that's a start.
Thank you Camilla for helping with the pacifier it has been a miracle worker!!!!!