11 weeks old!

Last week at school, Addisyn had her Father's Field and Fun day, where Doug came to school with her for the morning. They had breakfast together and then had activities to go to and complete with each other. The whole day was superhero themed and you can probably imagine our house lacks anything remotely superhero. Well, actually that is a lie. Addisyn and Alyse both have a "batgirl" superhero cape that they recieved at Jackson's birthday party this past year. However, Addisyn says that it is silly and she won't wear it. The kids and dads were encouraged to wear superhero attire. I tried all my convincing to get Addi to wear the batman cape but she outright refused. Also, when her teacher asked her what she was going to wear she told her (and apparently with her hand on her hip) that she couldn't be a superhero because she was a princess and that superheroes are silly anyways. What a stinking DIVA!! Needless to say, she wore a Cinderella dress to superhero day.

A rare picture with Alyse smiling!

Alyse has been using the potty here and there. Mainly when she decides that she wants some candy. She's figured out the system for sure. She also has a sticker chart, but she only gets the sticker if she goes in the potty AND kept her diaper/pull-up/panties dry. There was one day last week where I had her in cotton training pants and she peed in them, and thus the floor, 5 times. I tired of cleaning that up and she went back to the diapers. A couple nights ago after getting out of the bathtub and brushing her teeth and while on the way to her room to get dressed she shat the floor (and yes, I just used the word shat lol). I took an obligatory poo on the ground picture (Addisyn did it once too). I will spare you that image though ;)

Ella is growing so fast still, like it will ever stop. I think her hair is starting to lighten up. In some lights it looks brown instead of black. This trends after both her big sisters so I'm going to make my official guess that she will have their hair color. *knock on wood* I think that she's figured out a nighttime routine. She's generally down for the count sometime between 9 and 11, normally it's around 10. That's my snuggle time with her while she's not wriggling around. Then, I normally head to bed around midnight and that's when I put her in the cradle. She stays there until 4 or 5 when she gets up for a quick feed and then back down for the rest of the night. It's a good little schedule. I'll be happy when she drops that early morning snack. I'm really just thankful that she doesn't get up during the George Lopez timeslot of Nick at Nite anymore. I can't stand that show! Now, I get to watch either My Wife and Kids or Yes, Dear, depending on when she gets up. And, by the way, why are these shows even on Nick at Nite, I remember when Nick at Nite were "classics," maybe just a sign I'm getting old?

Ella also spent her first time on her play gym yesterday. I forgot that we even had it so I got it all set up. She loved sitting under it and especially loved the little elephant pillow and mirror that hook onto it. She was also quite mesmerized by the lights. She probably laid there for a good hour playing and with her sisters coming and going to chat and rattle some of the toys on it. She eventually ended up passing out and took a little catnap.

Nothing too exciting coming up in these next few days. Just enjoying my babies!

2 months old

This week has been quite busy. First, Valentine's Day. Megan and Elizabeth came over the night before Valentine's and brought a cookie decorating kit for the girls. They had so much fun putting icing and sprinkles on the cookies. Then, on the real Valentine's Day Ella had her appointment at the doctor. Finally, the day after Valentine's Day Addisyn had her party at school. That, my friends, is a lot of Valentine's Day!

On the 11th little Ella hit the two month mark. Wowza! She is such a sweet baby and I just can't get enough of her. Her smiles and coos are beyond precious. She had her checkup at the pediatrician and checked out perfectly. After seeing her weight the doctor said that she was definitely thriving. Little chunky butt! Although, not as near as chunky as Alyse was, haha!

Ella now weighs 12 pounds and 2 ounces, just 4 ounces short of being exactly 4 pounds heavier from her birthweight (which was also her weight at her two week check-up). Essentially, she's gained 4 pounds in the last month and half. She was in the 75th percentile for her weight, meaning if there were a 100 babies her age she would weigh more than 75 of them and weigh less than the remaining 25. For her height, she is now 22.5 inches which is the 50th percentile, and a growth of 2.5 inches since birth. She is the shortest of all three of the girls when comparing at the same ages. Finally, she's got a noggin on her (just like her older sisters)! 15.75 inch head circumference and in the 95th percentile! I guess I just make little Einsteins, huh?

Other than those stats, there wasn't much to the appointment. I asked the doctor about her reflux but he didn't seem too concerned. She generally does ok, but it's just sometimes I know it really upsets her. But, since she has more good days than bad, I won't press the issue. The doctor suggested maybe working on getting her on a schedule, but honestly, I work better without a schedule. I prefer to just follow her cues. If she's hungry, I'm going to feed her. If she's sleeping, I'm going to let her sleep. It's how I did the other two girls and that's what works for me/us. Schedules stress me out when they're this little..

She got 3 shots in one leg and two in the other

Along with all the general checks and questions, she had to get her shots. 5 shots!! That's a lot of shots for just a "tiny" baby. But, I know how important they are. As the doctor was explaining each of the shots and their effectiveness, blah blah, he threw out some pretty interesting numbers on showing how they've basically knocked out a handful of what used to be common severe illnesses. We split Addisyn's and Alyse's first set of shots into two sessions because of their "rough starts" but since Ella didn't have any major setbacks, I just decided it would be easier to get them all done and over with. She did so good too. She did a few cries but as soon as I picked her up, she was just fine. Alyse actually was more upset than Ella. Poor babe didn't like seeing her sister get poked. The rest of that day Ella just snoozed away. Only waking up to eat. She did the same thing the next day. Literally slept it all away in my arms. Although I hate she has to get poked I'm not going to lie that the extra cuddly cuddles that follow are so awesome.

Speaking of sisterly love, when the nurse was trying to listen for Ella's respiratory rate anytime Addisyn or Alyse would come into sight or talk, the nurse said that Ella's rate would increase. She was obviously reacting to her sister's voices and getting excited over it. How sweet it that? She's only a few weeks old and has already connected with them! I love my girls!

Here's a little comparison of all three of my girl's 2 month stats. So funny how each baby is so different.

Addisyn: 10lbs 8oz,    23 3/8 inches long,    15 3/8 inch head circumference
Alyse:     13lbs 2oz,    23 inches long,          15.5 inch head circumference
Ella:        12lbs 2oz,    22.5 inches long,       15 3/4 inch head circumference    

All three of my girls as newborns. Who's who?

Power of the Sun

Ella's still going strong in her cloth diapers. I'm actually loving these kind of diapers we have from the rental service. They're used just like a disposable, just cotton. Literally, she pees and/or poops in them, wipe her up, throw the diaper in the pail and that's it until laundry day. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

I was very skeptical over whether or not there would be stains. Mainly because we have lost a few onesies between the three girls because of some massive explosions. So I was ready to put it to the test. I put the first load through the washer with some of her poopy diapers and I was pulling them out of the washer to transfer to the dryer. Sure enough, the poopy diapers were stained yellow. They were clean, just stained. I seriously thought there would be no hope but was going to try laying them out in the sun (as several cloth diaper blogs suggested) to maybe make it not so bad. Little did I know though, because after an hour or so in the sun the yellow was completely gone. The diapers looked brand new. All from the sun. I was totally shocked and laughed just thinking about how much I thought it was all just a crock. I am now so much a believer in the sun that during today's load I took before and afters. Yes, I am now one of those wonky moms taking pictures (and talking about) of their kid's dirty diapers. I am fully aware this will put me into a whole new category, but you've got to at least agree its pretty freaking cool how the sun can do this all on its own. And, to my credit, it's not actual pictures of her poo, just a picture of the stain that was left after being washed ;)

Getting crunchy here at the Dupp house, haha!

Now, tell me that isn't cool! ;)

7 weeks and one rough night!

I can hardly believe how quickly Ella is growing. Literally each day I can see a change. I'd venture to say she's completely out of the "newborn" phase and would be considered an infant. She has more periods of alertness throughout the day and has really got a hold if holding her head up. One of the best things she does are her little coos and especially her smiles. You can look her in the eye and then all of a sudden her little face will light up and eventually bring on a smile. She loves to smile at clicking noises. So, yes, I sit with her like an idiot just clicking away. Sometimes her smiles can get so big that one eye closes. This I call, the Popeye grin. Her big cousin Megan used to do the exact same smile when she was a baby. Her coos are adorable as well. The best ones are the ones that come from seemingly no where. Just a soft little noise generally accompanied with a smile.

This little monster can't get enough of her hand!

The other night was a low point in my typical mothering philosophy, especially with the baby. Not proud of it, but let's face it: it is pretty funny looking back. Let me set the scene for you. A long day of grading almost 200 essays, dealing with two fighting toddlers all day, 6 loads of laundry, as well as some other minor chores around the house. Needless to say, I was tired. Ella decided to stay awake. Pretty much all night. Allllllll damn night. We are talking 9pm until after 4am. I put her in the cradle around midnight and for a few hours dealt with her grunts and moans. I'd try to feed her, she didn't want to eat. I'd sssshhh her and rock her. Nothing. Then, she's randomly fall asleep. As soon as I swaddled her up and set her in the cradle, her eyes instantly opened, and it was back to square one. Probably around 2:30 my exhaustion got the better of me. The words flying out of my mouth were not very nice [disclaimer: not to her, just mumbles to myself really]. Not yelling or anyhing, but just imagine a mom who's fried from exhaustion in a very early hours of the new day talking crazy talk to herself. It seemed as if anything I did wasn't what she wanted. I also ended up making a dramatic scene (apparently to myself because the rest of the house was asleep) walking to the kitchen. Slamming the light on in the hallways, going to the fridge to get some gripe water for Ella, and then coming back to the room to give it to her. As I'm stringing her the gripe water I'm praying it does the trick and that maybe it's reflux bothering her. Well, it didn't help. It sure was a long long night for the two of us. Luckily, she wasn't really crying, just up and uncomfortable. Probably the worst night she's ever had. Hopefully the last of those types of nights. How a 7 week old stays up for 7 hours straight in the middle of the night leaves me confused. Anyways, it wasn't until sometime after 4 when she FINALLY settled down and zonked out. Anyways, my night reminded me of the controversial book Go the F*ck to Sleep. Thus, why I consider this a low for me. I know wrong to think that with such a precious innocent little baby, but that dern tiredness took over me lol. And, for anyone who is unfamiliar to the book, take a listen. It's read by Samuel L. Jackson and is very relatable which makes it quite funny. However, if you are at work, have kids around, or are sensitive to bad language, I'd advise against. If you're a parent, you'll most likely die listening to it. Although you may not admit it, you KNOW you've muttered this phrase a few times...or at least thought it ;)

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Saturday Ella fully and completely slept through the night. She fell asleep around 10:30pm. I put her in the cradle around midnight. She didn't wake up until a couple minutes before 8am. Amazing. 9.5 hours. Woah! That was my first full uninterrupted sleep since like a month before she was born. It was needed. Big time. Of course, I'm not getting my hopes up for it to be her new schedule, but I can still rejoice in getting that one night. Ill take those over the up all night business she pulled a few nights before.

Tummy time with Addi