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

6 weeks old and growing

A few new things this week. Ella started with her cloth diapers. She's not in the completely full time only because we still had a few disposables left and I couldn't waste then lol. I'm keeping her in the disposables during the overnight. So Friday, at 6 weeks and 3 days little Ella moved into her first cloth diaper. And they are so adorable. These are the newborn size that we have rented until she's big enough to fit into the one size diapers that we have.


With the move into the cloth I had to put away the newborn clothes. It was a sad moment. One, because it means she's growing. And, two, because after going through my three girls, it was most likely their last run. Can't bring myself to totally get rid of them just yet though. The newborns still fit her, but with the cloth diapers which are a bit bigger than disposables, they were a little bit too snug. So, now in 0-3 months and they are quite loose on her. Still though, she got almost 7 weeks in newborns. More than what other babies last :)

Ella in her very first cloth diaper. So stinking cute.

While switching Ella's clothes I got Addisyn's old 3t jeans out for Alyse. All of Alyse's jeans were basically high waters on her. Even though they "fit" they were just entirely way too short. My poor kids are destined to have the same awful time finding the perfect for in jeans as I do. So frustrating! Addisyn is in the same boat, but moving her up a size isn't possible because they would completely fall off her. Even with adjustable straps. So unfortunately for her, she stuck with high waters. Luckily though, we shouldn't have too many more cold days before it will be long time shorts weather.

Ella is also spending more and more time awake each day. This morning, she was up from around 9 until 1 in the afternoon. She normally takes a good 3-4 hour nap mid afternoon. Night times are hit or miss. Sometimes she will sleep from 10/11 all the way until 4/5. Other times, she will essentially be up all night. Those nights are rough, and it's not that she up crying it just that she's uncomfortable from what I'm assuming is reflux. I've been giving her gripe water on those nights. Sometimes it helps, other times not so much. She will have her 8 weeks checkup next week, and I'm going to ask the doctor's opinion on what he thinks is going on and whether or not she needs medication.

Other than that, as Pete The Cat would say (the current favorite book in the house): [we'll] keep walking along and singing our song...because it's all good :)

so, its not Pete the Cat, but it is the infamous Pinkalicious! I love that my kids love to read!

5 weeks

Love these girls and love that they love each other (most of the time)

Little Ella hit five weeks old on Tuesday. It's amazing how she becomes more and more alert each day. She's getting quite strong in lifting her head and is definitely interested in the things happening around her. One of my favorites are her smiles and little random coo's that seem to come from nowhere. I weighed her on Tuesday and she was 9lbs and 3oz, up 12 oz from her birth weight. So, she's not packing the pound in any hurry (yet) but her little thighs have a few rolls on them. So cute. Probably the only time rolls are ever cute in a person's life. Surprisingly, she's still rocking the newborn clothes!

 Some may know that while pregnant with Ella I made the choice to cloth diaper her. Which is quite a shocker considering the amount of jokes I've made about my mom cloth diapering us. BUT, cloth diapers are no where near the same as they were back then with a prefold and cover. It's a world of its own. Anyways, the plan was to start off in disposables for the newborn size and then move her into the cloth diapers that we have. Well, I tried them on her an they are still too big. So, Alyse is wearing them. She's been in them for about a week now, and they are working out perfectly. She like them too because she gets cool colors. Plus, no more buying diapers so that's pretty awesome. She won't be in them long though because she's essentially ready to be potty trained. Ella has a bit longer before she will be big enough to truly fit in them. Currently, she has a few more packs of disposables and I have some newborn sized cloth diapers that should be coming in next week. It's a rental of brand new diapers for $30 a month (it would be a bit more than double to use disposable). I'm excited to get her in them!

One day this past week I over heard Addisyn and Alyse playing. Their new game is taking turns being "mommy" and "baby" and addisyn decided to take it to the extreme. What I overheard was her telling alyse to drink from her boobies. Reluctantly, I went to go see what exactly it was they were doing. Well, Addisyn had Alyse "nursing" from her. I couldn't help but bust out laughing. After that initial reaction, I struggled with how to handle it. I mean, you don't want your kids telling people to drink milk from their boobies but I also don't want to give off the impression that nursing is bad. Oh, the joys and difficulties of motherhood.

Annnnnnd....she's out!

4-weeker :)

Today marks having a four week old baby. I cannot believe that my sweet baby girl is already 4 weeks! What a sweet baby she has been, too. It's amazing how in just 28 days (actually sooner than that, but so to speak) you can't even imagine your life without this tiny person in it!


Ella is growing well (actually, just guessing on that since its been two weeks since her last appointment) and has mastered all that a baby her age should: eating, sleeping, and pooping! She's doing pretty well during the overnight too. She's had a couple of good stretches, normally though its about 3 hours. The best stretch though was the other night from about 10pm until 5 am. 7 hours!! I woke up and saw the clock and was shocked. Then a had a bit of mommy guilt for letting her sleep that long. However, I know it was pretty much a fluke and that she is well fed and one long stretch like that won't hurt a thing!

I just noticed today that her newborn clothes are fitting a bit more snug. Not quite ready to move up to the next size, but she's getting close. It's mostly because they're getting too short not necessarily too tight.

Yesterday, it was back to the grind. Addisyn went back to school since winter break and then both Addi and Alyse went back to ballet. It was nice to get out and about and amazingly nice to have a couple of hours of no fighting while addisyn was at school. These poor girls had been couped up in the house for the last 4 weeks since we haven't been going out with the baby. This also marked Ella's first day of adventures outside of the house and a couple of trips to the pediatrician.

lounging while mommy folds laundr

Essays have been insane. I've literally been working from waking-up until going to bed at night. I had nowhere near as much work last year as I do this year, it's busy but will pay out in the end.

Nothing exciting or special happening anytime soon to announce. Basically, just loving in my girls and getting as many snuggles and cuddles in as I can get :)

Happy 2013

I think this New Year was the very first that we spent at our actual home. We are either out at mom and dad's for a bonfire, Hudson, or the river. Nope, not this year! And, it was quite the uneventful night too. Addi and Alyse were in bed by ten. Ella snuggled inmy arms. Me, grading essays. Doug watching a movie. Didn't even get to see the ball drop!

New Years's Day was Ella's third week birthday. I was looking at her tonight and was taken aback at how much I think she's grown. I know she's still tiny, but she's fitting into her little lamb seat and bouncer chair better. Before, she just seemed so small in it. Maybe, it's not so much she's growing per se, maybe just stretching out. I just want her to stay itty bitty longer. Sure, it's fun once they are more interactive, but really I just want to savor the dependency and the cuddles. It's one of my most favorite things in the whole world.

Ever since her first poop explosion last week, she's had a few more. Thts always fun to clean. Addisyn is particularly grossed out by it. Talking about going to the bathroom, Alyse is working on potty training. I thinks she's pretty much ready, but I feel kinda bad because right now I don't have the time to give her the attention she needs to work with her. Today, she kept her diaper dry from when she woke up all the way until some point during her nap. She asked to use the potty a few times and I also asked her if she needed to go a couple of other times. Her biggest motivation is of course the two m&ms she gets for a successful trip. I should be finished with a huge essay
workload in Monday, and at that point,
I hope to really get on the ball with her.
How nice it will be to not have to do
her diaper anymore.


Next week, we return to our normal routines. Back to school and back to ballet for Addisyn and Alyse. I know they are ready, but I'm going to miss the sleeping in. I know once they get back on the schedule of getting up early MWF, they'll be back to getting up at that time everyday again. It been nice having them sleep until 9:30/10:00 each morning. Especially, when I'm up a few times a night with a baby.

With that, here's to a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2013. Cant wait to see all the good things in store for our family :)