Spread Happiness for Preston: Sami's Corner

What an amazing little person Sami is turning into. Another chapter closes as she enters her 3rd month into this world. In just a few weeks, she'll be starting daycare, and I'll be returning to work. Time certainly does not cease to go by too quickly...

Weight & Length: As of 2/18/16, Sami weighed 9 lbs and 6.4 oz. This means that in a month, she's gained almost a pound and a half (a rate of .75 ounces a day). And if you ask me, we weighed her at home the other day and she weighed 10 lbs on the spot. Seems like there's a lot of fluctuation on a daily basis. The great thing is, she's growing! She's now in the 7th percentile, up from the 2nd in weight. As for her length, she measured 23 inches. Again, that's quite the growth - 1.75 inches. She's in the 78th percentile for length. Go Sami go!

Features: The color of her hair still boggles my mind. The top looks darker than the rest. The sides look totally blond, and part of the back has a tint of red. I've no clue what color her hair will be. It is getting longer which is fun. She has several locks that are a couple inches long. Before long, she'll be sporting pigtails. On the top of her forehead, on the right side, her hairline naturally separates. It's so cute. Her eyes are mostly grey, but every now and then they look blue. Loving it. She's got her Dada's eyes. Her jaundice is pretty much gone. Maybe still tints of it in her eyes but that's about it. Yay!

Feedings: Sami usually eats about 7 times a day, which means yay, she's sleeping through the night (well at least goes 5 hours most nights between feedings). She's still nursing which is great bonding time for us though I pump in the morning to get some extra winks and her dad gets to feed her for their bonding time. She's drinking 3-3.5 ounces a feeding from what we've been able to gather, and her pediatrician said that's just fine. She can probably take up to 4 ounces, but most breastfed babies, eat less than 4, but drink more often than a formula fed baby. Her tummy troubles have disappeared for the most part. Looks like the cow's milk intolerance was to blame.

Sleep: As mentioned above, she usually goes 5-6 hours between her last feeding of the day and her first morning feeding. That being said, it doesn't mean she sleeps the whole time. She's usually up 15-30 minutes after eating her last "meal" which means she probably sleeps 4.5-5.5 hours. I think she's slept 6 hours a couple times. During the day, she's usually up in 1.5 hour chunks and then sleeps 1 to 1.5 hours before wanting to eat again. Every now and then, she'll sleep a little longer.

Likes: She loves taking in the world. If you sit her up after a feeding and she will wobble her head from side to side trying to see everything. She's got a strong neck for doing so. She likes kicking around in her living room bassinet. She'll either chat with Rocky Bear, or stare at the ceiling fan and light, whether it's spinning or not. Spinning, she prefers. If you go play with her while she's in her bassinet, she will give you smiles... or at least she gives me smiles :). Daddy says that she LOVES Mama. Anytime she's upset, if I hold her on my chest, everything seems better. Coincidentally, Daddy seems better too.

Dislikes: She doesn't seem to mind being wet as much anymore. She does not like getting shots, but who does. Oh my poor baby yesterday when she received her vaccinations. :( Burping is not her favorite activity. She would prefer to keep eating.

Mama's fears: Starting daycare. For obvious reasons. She's not going where Preston went, that's a given. And she won't be in an in-home daycare. Still, it's a scary thought. We went for a visit there last week and stayed about an hour. I feel a little better about the idea. I plan for us to go back next week and see how she does with someone else feeding her, and see how she naps in a crib.

With Sami getting her vaccinations yesterday, I worried about a fever. Thankfully, her temperature never broke 100. There have been other things to worry about of course. A little rash here. Changes in her digestion. And I'm probably forgetting a bunch of other little things that I've had fears about, which I probably shouldn't worry about.

I worry about her getting closer to being 16 weeks old. I'm guessing that's normal since that's the time frame we lost Preston at. It's scary. I absolutely do not want to lose her.

Mama's proud moments: On a brighter note, she's learned to smile. Just like Preston did, she gave her first smile to Grandpa, my dad. Every day since then she's started smiling more and more. It's absolutely beautiful. It brightens up every day for me.

She's super alert. She wants to learn everything. She's strong. She has a really strong neck. Every now and then she grabs her pacifier. I've seen her put it back in her mouth a couple times.

Just because: She loves being left to herself in her bassinet. To kick around and coo. To talk to Rocky Bear. To stare at the ceiling fan. To smile at you if you smile and talk to her. It's become one of my favorite things.

We had a tough moment this month. We put on her a pajama that belonged to Preston. She looked so much like him. We had to take it off. It's incredible - she can make me so happy and make me feel so whole.. yet never will I be and I'm constantly reminded of that. Not that I want to be whole, but I do want her to have a life where she feels totally loved, and happy. I want her to feel like she makes us happy. That she is enough. And she is. And at the same time, I wish Preston was here.

Samantha still has days where she will only sleep if you are holding her. She is however, starting to be able to fall asleep on her own, if she's nicely bundled up. It's nice for her, but I will miss the times where the only way she would fall asleep is if I held her.

There isn't much she doesn't like. While she can be fussy when she's overly tired, or hungry, she's a pretty easy baby. She's pleasant to be around. She can be miss independent. And her smiles make my heart skip a beat. Every time.

She's outgrown most of the newborn stuff. There's still a few items that fit but very few. She's mostly into the 0-3 month old stuff. Let me tell you, those are the sizes I love the most. Clothes that are 0-3 months. They've been fitting her since she was born (though they were just a tad big at the time). Gerber makes some nice stuff in those transitional sizes. Just a Mama tip :)

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