baby girl: 12 weeks
While I was pregnant, there were always “milestone weeks” I wanted to make it to. 12 weeks – so we could begin telling people. 20 weeks – are big ultrasound to find out we were in fact having a girl as I had suspected. 28 weeks – 3rd trimester. 36 weeks – weekly doctors appointments and then full term after that.
I also have had those “milestone weeks” in my head for MacKenna. Well, I have reached my last milestone week.
You don’t keep telling people how many weeks your baby is after 12. How many people do you hear say, “Oh, she’s 20 weeks old.” Yeah, it doesn’t work the same as it does with pregnancy. But, I’m going to continue to keep track anyway, because I want to remember certain things from each week.
Accomplishments + Milestones
Well, I accomplished leaving my baby with a babysitter 5 days now. I’m proud of that! It’s still hard, but I know it’s what I have to do to be able to provide for her.
I also stopped swaddling MacKenna this weekend. I was really nervous to do it because I was afraid she wasn’t going to sleep as well, but she actually slept just as good and probably went to sleep BETTER without swaddling. She’s a very active girl. She likes to have her freedom. She hates being constricted, whether it’s in the swing, carseat, or swaddled. Every time we put her to bed, she would grunt and fight to get her arms out. She would arch her back and roll to her side, and I got to the point where I was afraid she’d accidentally roll over on to her tummy and have no way to push up. So, we quit cold turkey.
My only issue with the “sleep sack” is that her little hands get cold. :( But, I don’t want to put socks on her hands because of her other “accomplishment” this week.
Homegirl has found her thumb! Finally! Well, she can only find it on her right hand (pretty sure she’s going to be a righty), but she can get it in there pretty consistently now. Again, I’m not stopping her from doing it because I want her to be able to self sooth. Yes, I know, it will be hard to take away as she gets older, but for now, I think it’s just fine.
What We’re Working On
Not much really. She’s doing great not being swaddled and has been sleeping fairly well. She still wakes up once each night and I’m not sure how to get her to sleep longer. Even if I feed her around 10:30 or 11, she’ll still wake up at 5 AM. I think once we start her on cereal in a few months, she’ll be better, so I still have awhile of waking up each night.
Pumping is going OK. I’m trying to pump 2 to 3 times each day and am getting about 3 or 4 ounces each time. I think that’s pretty good, but I’m still nervous that I’m either going to dry up or run out of my stash faster than I can replenish it. I miss breastfeeding her during the day so much and cherish that time with her at night + first thing in the morning. I never thought I’d want to breastfeed longer than 6 months, but I definitely think I could go for a year or more just for the bonding experience.
Mama’s Miles
I’ve hit 4 miles for my long run this past week and starting to feel like a runner again!
Monday: NROLFW Stage 1A + 10 min step mill
Tuesday: 3 mile easy run (8:47/mile pace)
Wednesday: 6x400 repeats (4 miles total, 8:51/mile pace)
Thursday: 3 mile easy run (9:00/mile pace) + NROLFW Stage 1B
Friday: rest
Saturday: 4 mile long run (9:02/mile pace)
Sunday: 3 mile easy run (8:11/mile pace)Total: 17.1 miles
Random Tidbits
I successfully switched out M’s newborn clothes for her 0-3 month clothes. Never thought that would be as hard as it was! But, I’m excited for a new wardrobe to dress her up in! She has so much more 0-3 month clothes than she did newborn! She’ll be wearing something new every day before she outgrows them – and I’m definitely taking a picture of each outfit since they’re so stinkin’ cute!
Don’t forget to vote for Kolby + Melissa (couple #3) to win the Y98 Mega Wedding! Voting ends this Sunday! (Text your vote to 59898 with the message “COUPLE3”)