Rice Cereal!!

Well yesterday, I broke down and called P's pediatrician in regards to starting her on rice cereal. Everything I had heard was that you needed to wait until baby is 4 months old before starting it, but because her sleep has been wack for about a week, and John and I were both exhausted, and we had heard that rice cereal sometimes can make baby sleep better, I decided it didn't hurt to ask her doc. I thought because she was in the 95th% for weight, they may say it was ok to start a couple weeks earlier. Turns out that it was worth asking, because we got the green light. It was so fun to watch her try something other than milk for the first time, and off a spoon at that. The nurse instructed us to start with 1 Tablespoon only at first, and we mixed that with some breast milk. She seemed to have really liked it. Here's the proof!

See the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpYcTOYqVec

Peyton turns 3 months old!!

• Yes, its official. Peyton is a quarter of a year old! She had quite the month in her 3rd month. Lots of milestones, and lots of adventures for Peyton. Here is an overview of what happened in the past month:

Eating:

Peyton is eating 4.5 ounces about every 2 hours during the day. She eats 5oz right before bedtime. She is still getting 100% breast milk pumped by mommy.

Sleeping:

Sleeping has been quite the hot topic this month. She has been all over the board as far as her night sleep goes. At the beginning of the month, she was still doing 4-5 hours her first stretch, 3 hours her second stretch, and about 2 hours her third stretch. A couple of days before we left for Hawaii she had a 7 hour first stretch sleep, which was very nice for mommy and daddy. While in Hawaii, she had 3 nights in a row where she did between 7-8 hours of sleep. It all fell apart when we got home from Hawaii. The past few nights have been pretty rough, no sort of schedule, sometimes only sleeping an hour at a time. I have been reading the book "No Cry Sleep Solution," by Elizabeth Pantley to try and help us get her on a better sleeping schedule. We are currently working on establishing 3 distinct naps during the day, and working towards cutting out a night feeding. Hopefully I will have a better report on sleep next month!

Doctor visits:

Although Peyton wasn't due for a check-up this month, we did have our first non-routine doctor's visit. Turned out that Peyton had a clogged tear duct. Her continued to get really goopy, especially after a longer sleep. The only thing to be done for that is to massage the area so that the duct un-clogs. This only lasted a couple of weeks and seems to be gone now.

We did learn while at her doctor's visit that she now weights 13lbs, 13oz!! We also had to change pediatrician's since John's insurance changed with his new job. We will be attending Richmond Beach Pediatrics for her 4 month check-up.

Clothes:

Peyton is currently wearing some 0-3 month clothing, and some 3-6 month clothing.

Milestones:

1. Learned to grab her monkey down off her play mat
2. Establishing a belly laugh (love this!)
3. Rolled over from back to tummy while sleeping several times
4. Sitting in walker
5. Rolling over onto her side

Trips/Activities:

Peyton had a couple of "trips" this month. While Mommy and Daddy went to Las Vegas for Daddy's 30th birthday, Peyton got to spend 2 nights with Auntie Jill and family and 1 night with Kim, Brandon, and Parker. This was her first overnight away from Mommy and Daddy, and although she did great, it was hard for Mommy.

Peyton also traveled to Kauai, HI with the family, which meant she took her first airplane ride. She did great on the plane there and back. While in Hawaii, she swam in the ocean for the first time, and did lots of pool swimming as well.

Peyton took a day road trip with Mommy and Nana to go and see her great grandmother, Bea DeMaris. She enjoyed the car ride for the most part, and had a great time meeting her great grandmother.

Peyton got to spend a few hours with her great Auntie Trudy and Trudy's girls while Mommy and Daddy went out to dinner for their 2nd wedding anniversary. She did great!

Peyton's hair is definitely starting to turn a lot more blond. The top of it is almost all the way blond, but the back still had dark left in it.

Its been a great last month, and I feel like as parents we are continuing to learn so much about taking care of a newborn. I only have 1 week left of maternity leave, and then Peyton will be starting daycare at Debbie's. I am looking forward to having Wednesday's off to spend with her.

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