3 Month "Stats"

Boy, I am getting efficient on this blog site! I just posted this morning and I'm back on to add more the same night! lol

Ok, so as I told you before, we took Mia for her 3 month Dr. visit. My mother in law came with me for the ride. She enjoys seeing Mia grow and it's always good to have another hand.

Drumroll please....Mia is 14 lbs. 4 ounces and 23.5 inches! WOW! That is 95th percentile for weight (not surprising considering that she seems to never stop chowing down and is Italian) and is 50th percentile for height. (I'm sure that may drop a bit considering the size of her mommy and daddy!)

Anyway, I was quite happy with how much Mia has grown. It's really amazing. I meant to mention this morning in my post that over this past weekend I washed all of Mia's 3-6 month duds. I put away just about all of her 0-3 month outfits. It was fun to see the new things she'll be wearing! I wish I had an entire wardrobe change every 3 months! I'd be like JLo! So far, all the 3-6 month outfits I put her in so far fit her perfectly. I'm glad I did this when I did. I received so much for my shower that I want to make sure Mia wears it all, or at least most of it. I am putting all clothes she outgrows in plastic storage containers by size. I left some of her 0-3 month outfits in her drawer, but not many. Just ones that still seem to fit her well. Most of her pajamas were too small that she could just barely stretch out her legs straight anymore. (the ones with the feet) This was my indication to break out the bigger wardrobe! The sizes seem to be very true to her actual growth as she just turned 3 months when I needed to break out the bigger clothes. My friend said start using them right away so you use everything because they grow so, so fast. She said I was bound to find something "after the fact" that she never got a chance to wear. I don't want this to happen, so I'm trying to be as efficient as I can! She's gotta look like a superstar! ha ha

Oh, about the recent wakeful nights Mia has been having, the Dr. said it could be from a few things. A growth spurt would cause the sudden change in hunger, teething is a possibility, these 2 reasons there is really nothing we can do except wait, but the third possible reason can be that we need to try to hold her out longer during the day without feeds. You see, Mia uses the bottle as a pacifier and has been doing this since birth. She does not take the pacifier when I offer it to her. She generally pushes it out with her tongue. The Dr. gave me some tips and hints as to help me to try and hold her longer so her stomach learns to stretch and keep her satisfied longer. She said babies should not associate all the time food as a form of pacification. So, when she gets fussy I will try to do other things to soothe her and hold her out longer before giving her food. I am also going to write down her feedings for a while to see her patterns and also try to increase the times between feeds. She told me to do it in small steps, try a half hour one time to hold her before feeding, then the next time maybe 45 min, and then and hour..etc, you get my point. She does not recommend starting cereal until 4 months old. I knew this was an issue with Mia even before the Dr. told me, I guess I must be disciplined to try and change her pattern of eating. She also told me to introduce all different types of pacifiers to her, at times when she is happy. I will persevere and let you know how it goes! This could be a reason Mia stays up at night, so you know for sure I'm going to work on this one!

I'm at my mother's house now and it's so nice to have her hands! She has Mia at the moment, and most of the moments for that matter, so I am taking full advantage of it. I slept before for 2 hours...ahhhhhh and am relaxing now. My mom LOVES her first grandaughter!

Oh, one more thing...Mia had her second series of Hepatitis today. One shot in her leg. She cried, but not too much. She is running a low fever and is fairly fussy this evening. I keep giving her Tylenol. Guess this is just to be expected! I am so happy to have my mother to help me. I hope to get more than an hour sleep tonight!

Giacomo arrived safely in Las Vegas. He said he was pretty beat...again...no sympathy! I know he'll cure his sleep deprivation faster than I will!

Talk to you all soon...I'll keep you posted about my sleepless nights!

Love....Amy, Mia and Giacomo :)

Not Sleeping!

Mia was 3 months old this past Saturday. YEAHH! We have heard many positive things about getting to the 3 month mark, the most important being that her crying spells will end. She hardly has them anymore, however there are still the occasional evenings when she is so overtired and gets very worked up and I have to work at getting her calm. These are few and far between, so even at this, it's not bad. Most nights she is great.

Mia's first Easter was uneventful. We spent it at Giacomo's parents. Mia spent time with her uncle, great uncle, aunt and cousins. It was a nice, quiet day. I put Mia in an outfit one of my good friends gave me that I adore.

We also took Mia this past Saturday, her 3 month birthday exactly, for her first professional pics at Sears. They did a fantastic job I must say! We did family portraits and ones of just our little peanut. She looked sooo cute! (biased mommy!) She had a wardrobe change as well and didn't cry at all! I am picking them up April 9th and will get a CD with all the pics on it. I will show you them as soon as we get them! Giacomo and I got so many we couldn't decide. It was hard getting motivated that morning to get dressed and go, but it was so worth it!!! I'm definitely doing it again. I will do it at 6 months I assume and definitely a year. Can't wait to show you!

Well, last night I absolutely got NO sleep. Mia is up at least every 2 hours if not more. This has been the case for the past couple of weeks. I don't know if she is starting to teethe, but I think it is a good possibility. It's the only reason I can think of for the sudden change in her sleeping habits that were on the road to getting so much better. We have regressed to the days when she was brand new and boy, do my eyes show it!

It is 630am and I have been physically out of bed since 5am. I took Mia with me to sleep on the couch and put on the TV. I knew I could not toss and turn in bed anymore. Giacomo left about 530am to go to VEGAS for a conference..yeah I know, work really sucks, doesn't it?? haha.. He will be gone until Thursday. So it's me and Mia against the world!

I have her 3 month pediatrician appt. today and will ask the Dr. what she thinks about her showing signs of teething. She drools a lot now and is always trying to put her hands in her mouth when she can. I didn't give her Tylenol, although I think it may be worth it. I don't just like throwing medicine down her throat if I don't have to, but if it's necessary, so be it! I will ask the Dr. today her opinion.

Poor Giacomo got no sleep as well. He did a feed around 3 am, although last night, one feed seemed to lead right to the next one she was up so often. I felt bad for him, this morning, but not too bad. Afterall, he is going to Vegas and will sleep like a baby for the week...unlike MOI I am sure!

I am going to stay at my mother's house for the week until he gets back. It's company for me but more importantly another hand! I am hoping she'll take a "night shift" for me so I can catch up on my z's.

About Mia, lol, the reason I made this blog and not to complain! ha ha She is overall doing great. She loves to sing and talk to us. It usually comes out sounding like "ahhhh ahhhh" over and over again. It's so adorable. Another thing I noticed is that she can focus on objects very close to her face. She can see her hands close up, her bottle, etc. She was not able to do this before. I also noticed how she turns so quickly to the sound and direction of our voice. It's so great. She holds her head so steady now. We even put her in her baby Bjorn carrier yesterday facing forward and she LOVED it. I am going to use this thing much more often. You go anywhere, get some things done around the house, and she comes along for the ride. I think she loves the fact that she is upright and can see the world at our level. It's a lifesaver! She will laugh at loud occasionally but this still seems to be sporadic. When she does it, we melt! It's sounds so great.

Also, she seems to like attention now. If she is in her bouncy seat and we leave the room, boy, does she notice. She starts to fuss a bit and as soon as we come, she'll smile. So she seems to crave our attention and not just a bottle or diaper change. She is really getting older!

This weekend we are taking her to our Wildwood condo! I am going to stay at my mother's until Friday, when Giacomo will come get me and we'll head south from there. I have been excited to go there with Mia. I hope so much the weather is halfway decent so we can take a walk with her. I'm looking SO forward to the summer when she'll see the beach for the first time and we'll just have relaxing, fun, family time together there. It is so peaceful there and I am excited to introduce Mia to it. It's a part of us that I cannot wait to share with her!

I am also going to ask the Dr. about starting Mia on solids. I have read many things in books I have and read online. I know most people do not start solids until they are 4 months old. She still would have 4 more weeks to go. I am sure this is what the Dr. would say. I know people who have started sooner. I am thinking she will be ready soon...she seems to have a lot of the signs of being ready that I have read. I bought everything I need for when that day comes. I guess I'll see what the Dr. says, then go with what I've read an also rely on my gut. I'm thinking it's possibly not too far off in our future.

Oh, on a funny note, Mia is a very gassy woman. If I bring her in bed with us in the morning Giacomo and I are always questioning who passed the gas! He asks, "was that you?" and I ask him the same question. The guilty party is usually Mia!

I guess that's about all for now. Mia is sound asleep on the couch next to me. Of course, when I get up, she sleeps. Go figure.

Here are some recent photos of the little pumpkin!

I'll let you guys know her "stats" after today! I really think she must be close to 14 pounds and 24 inches. Until then, I'll see if I can try to sleep! We'll see. Or should I say, Mia we'll see! She rules the roost from now until forever! ha ha

Talk to you soon!

Love, The Bellomos :)

More milestones....

Well, I figured I should write on here more often because there are always things that Mia does that I want you all to know about and if I do not write it immediately, I'll forget it.

Mia has now discovered her left hand as well and now tried to put both hands in her mouth. Her undershirts near the hands are always wet, wet, wet! When she puts her hands in her mouth, she usually starts to "talk" a mile a minute. They seem to go hand in hand for some reason!

She is drooling a lot. This has been going on for I guess a few weeks now. I do not think it is related at all to teething, but read that the salivary glands begin to function at this time. Boy, do they ever!

The newest thing I have noticed just starting yesterday and more today is when she is laying on her back on a pillow, ( I usually put her on the couch this way) about a 45 degree angle or so, she is now trying to lift herself up. It is so funny to see. It looks like she is trying to do a "crunch". Her legs go up at the same time as her head. She is working so hard to sit up! When she does this I pull her to a sitting positition with her hands and hold her there. Her head bobbles a bit, but she seems quite content! I think she cannot wait to get "on the move" soon. I think she takes after me in this department. I can never stand still. I am realizing that I cannot just leave her on the couch unattended to run and get something. When she does this, she lifts herself up enough that she will fall to the side...yikes!

So, I guess the days of her completely staying put are now over!

I'm assuming rolling over is not to far off in our future...maybe 2-3 weeks!

I'm starting back to work, by choice on April 7th. I am working at St. Peter's Hospital, where Mia was born and where I worked for a while before leaving when night shift was getting to me and the commute was too much from where we live now. I have a full week of orientation and then am only doing 8 hours a week. It is part time. I like that it is not too much for now and I'll assess if I can do more. I will miss my little peanut that entire week, but I know it's temporary and then it's just on day a week. I have to now figure out babysitters for the week. It will be between my mom and Giacomo's mom.

I took Mia for the first time to the grocery store today. I was quick because I was a bit worried on how she would be. She did fine. It was a bit difficult dealing with bags and her...so now I have a whole new respect for mothers in grocery stores!

Mia's first Easter was great. We went to Giacomo's parents house for the day. My mother had to work unfortunately. Mia spent the day with her grandparents, great uncle, aunt and uncle and first cousins.

I think that's about all for now. Sure I'll think of something right after I post this.

Talk to you again very soon! Mia is singing to me as I write this post. It's the best sound in the world!

Amy

12 Weeks tomorrow and 3 months in a week!

Hi everyone, ok, so let's see what new things I can tell you about our Mia. Just this past week, we have noticed some major changes! First of all, she coos ALL THE TIME and now definitely loves to hear her voice. She literally "talks" and tells us stories. The tongue moves all over the place and she gets very serious about what she is saying! She LOVES her right hand especially and it always finds a way to her mouth and then she usually starts talking. It's SO, SO cute. She also started to laugh out loud! She started this last week, I was able to get her to do it a couple of times, but this past week, she did it for my mom. Too cute! This is also another milestone. It's so adorable. When she does it, it makes us laugh more and she gets a kick out of watching our reaction by smiling and kicking her legs in delight. She looks all around at her surroundings and really takes everything in. We put her for the first time in her Bumbo seat! It is for 3 months and up. I couldn't wait to try it even though it was about a week early. She did so well. It is great for her neck muscles. She keeps her head pretty steady now without support when we hold her and when she is in her seat. It wobbles just a little. She has made so many changes!

She has grown so much. We have her 3 month pediatrician appt. a week from this coming Monday on March 31st. She gets NO shots this time, thank goodness. I'm so curious to see her weight and height. She was 12.2 pounds at month 2. I definitely think she is over 13 pounds. It sure does feel that way! Even when we put her on her changing table in her room, she practically takes up the entire thing, end to end. It's so amazing to watch her grow so, so fast right before our eyes.

She is mostly pleasant, just gets fussy a little whenever she is tired. We know exactly when she is and she goes to sleep so easy now, during the day and at night.

She sleeps at night pretty well now. She will go in for the night about 9-10ish and get up about 3 give or take a couple of hours. We are hoping she will start doing 8 hours on a regular basis. She is still a bit inconsistent with this, but we're totally OK with this! We remember the every 2 hour feeds and we're very grateful!

She has also started the past 2 weeks letting us know when she does not want the bottle anymore. She makes it clear to push out the nipple with her tongue or just play with it in her mouth. She did not do this so deliberately before. She would just fall asleep when she was done most of the time. It is great, she is letting us know with physical and verbal cues so much what her needs are. It's so fascinating to see these changes.

We took her last Saturday to the Morristown St. Patricks Day parade. We had such a great time and she was such a trooper! We started the day at 10am at a friends house nearby and ended about 6pm! She was out and about in her stroller all day and didn't cry much at all and enjoyed all the sounds around town and the LOUD parade. She slept right through it! I've posted some pics from this day here in this blog!

I am so excited for the nice weather and that Mia is almost 3 months old. All these things spell positive for me. Her crying spells have diminished incredibly and the fact that I can take her out of the house for walks, etc., makes me smile!

Oh, also, a week from tomorrow, on her 3 month birthday exactly, March 29th, we are going to Sears for some professional pics of her and some family portraits! I am excited about this. I am putting her in this adorable spring dress my friend bought for her. I wish I had taken professional pics of her sooner, but she was so fussy and irritable, I was afraid . I figured I took so many on my own, these should suffice!

She still doesn't have a schedule for eating, but I'm sure in time, this will come. I am not worrying about anything like this. Also, we are still putting her in her car seat in the snugrider stroller to sleep in her room. It works well, so I find no need to change it now. I figure she'll grow out of this when she starts to roll over and want to move more, so to the crib she will go. But for now, we will continue with what works! If it aint broke, don't fix it! lol

Also, my uncle Michael met her for the first time this week at my mother's house. He lives upstate New York and was waiting for the weather to get nicer before coming. This was a happy moment as well! I stayed with my mother this past week because Giacomo traveled for 3 days! She sure doesn't mind that!

I think that is about it. We are enjoying EVERY SECOND of her. She makes us laugh with everything she does and all the new sounds that come out of that little mouth.

We are really adjusting well and getting very used to being mommy and daddy.

Talk to you all very soon!

Love,

Amy, Giacomo and Mia

Here are recent pics of her over the past 2 weeks! Enjoy!

AH YES, SLEEP!!!!!

Hello All,

Well, I have to write this post because Mia made one of the most important milestones just last night! YEAHHHH! SHE SLEPT OVER 8 HOURS! WOO HOO!! It was wonderful. Her sleep started to improve at about week 7-8. It started about 4 hours in a row from about 7-9pm she would go to sleep and then wake up about 12a-2a and then wake up 3 hours from then and then 2 hours from there. It slowly increased to 5 hours in the beginnning. This was about week 9ish. She would go to sleep about 8-9ish and wake up about 1,2,3amish and then wake up about every 2 hours after that. She was 10 weeks old this past Saturday. She was going to bed about 9ish and getting up around 3am then 4am the next night...until FINALLY, she slept last night from 915pm until 530am!!!! I am so so happy! 8hours 15 minutes! It's amazing to sleep that long. I forgot what it was like! I never thought it would happen in our days of every 2 hours, but it really did! ha ha. Giacomo and I were beside ourselves! So she went to bed at 915pm and got up at 530am, had 3 ounces and went right back to sleep until about 8am! HEAVEN! The 530am feed is still in the dark. I cannot wait until she wakes up and it's daylight! No more nighttime feeds! There seriously is a light at the end of the tunnel. We are also keeping her in her own bedroom at night and it has made a big difference. I think Mia is sensitive to sounds even more than other babies, and not hearing us move during the night helps her sleep better I believe and vice versa. I think hearing her move, make noise, kept us awake as well. Babies make noise when they sleep which is totally normal, so we found it better for all of us to not hear eachother! Her room is right across from ours, so when she gets louder, we cannot miss it! I am happy we made this transition. Now that she sleeps generally through the night, it is better for her to be in her own room. Changing the clocks back made me happier and knowing that spring is around the corner puts a big smile on my face. Mia is AMAZINGLY better from her crying fits, although I will not assume it's completely over until we hit the 3 month mark. (in about 2 weeks) She doesn't cry at all at night anymore. We know when she's tired, she gets a bit cranky and fights falling asleep a bit, but is generally a complete pleasure and easy to put down for the night! I have to admit, the newborn period or at least the first 8 weeks of her life (all of January and February) were a bit difficult. The weather, Mia's episodes of crying and just the sleep deprivation in general was enough to make anyone a bit frazzled, but there is so much positive ahead now and I'm so excited. She smiles ALL the time now, coos like crazy making all these incredible, adorable sounds and it's just the best. We also got through her 2 month vaccines, so I'm so happy about this. She had her last 2 this past Friday and did amazingly well. I gave her Tylenol before she went, so it would be in full affect when they "stuck" her and she didn't cry! I couldn't believe it. I will definitlely be giving her Tylenol prior to her vaccines for the future. I can't guarantee it was the Tylenol, but I'm sure it helped. She did great.

So, all in all, things are looking in the up direction. I cannot wait for the nice weather! Yeah for baseball season! I have the cutest Mets Tshirt for Mia. Unfortunately, Giacomo is a Yankees fan, and I have a Yankees Tshirt as well. We'll be chaning Tshirts quite frequently I can imagine!

I take Mia out all the time now and feel much more comfortable driving with her, especially since she is much more pleasant and I can soothe her with my voice a lot of times when she's in the car and gets fussy. I am just feeling much better and confident about being a mom. I guess it took me about 2 months of practice. This would be my advice for any new mom, give it 2 months, it does get better for so many reasons....

I guess that's about it for now. Mia is sleeping soundly and I have many things to do! (as always)

Talk to you all soon I'm sure for more news of our little munchkin.

Love, The Bellomos

2 Months Old! WOW!

Well, Mia had a birthday this past Friday, February 29th! She was 2 months old exactly! Yesterday, March 1st, she was exactly 9 weeks old, or 63 days here on this earth! Part of us feels like it is such a short time, and part of us feels like it has been a while.

Well, let's see, we took her on Friday to her 2 month pediatrician visit. She was exactly 2 months as well! Normally, my pediatrician gives 4 injections at the same time. However, she offered us another scenerio based on Mia's history of fussiness which is to split the injections and give 2 this week and 2 next week. I took the latter and was quite happy I did. It was not pleasant at all but I did better than expected! ha ha. She cried hard, but it didn't last long and I soothed her in my arms. I was very happy Mia did not have to endure all those shots at one time. So, we go again next Friday for the next 2. This is the unpleasant part of being a parent. :(:(

Mia is overall doing better, however she still has evenings where she cries her head off. It is very trying, but we are hanging in there. Giacomo and I work well together and take turns so neither one of us feels overwhelmed and tired. It's the only way it works. Until this period is finished, I do not want to be alone in the evening with her. It is anxiety producing and having someone there, just for moral support is necessary!

Overall though, she staying awake a lot longer and can entertain herself much better. As long as she is fed, has slept, and is clean, she can sit in her bouncy seat, on the couch, etc. and just take in all her surroundings. I've caught her smiling at the lights, don't quite know why they are so funny, but in Mia's mind, they are! :):)

She is cooing all the time and seems to love to hear her own voice. It is TOO cute. She gurgles, does this "breathe in" quickly sound, and many others that we adore.

She has started to put her hands to her mouth now! Started I guess about a week or two ago! She is discovering that she has parts attached to her body. It's very sweet. I always have to be conscience of her nails, because we always find a little mark on her nose if I don't keep up with them!

Oh, I forgot the important stuff. She weighs 12.2 pounds, almost double her birth weight! She is 22.5 inches tall, 2.75 more than birth. It's amazing to see her grow so fast.

We are getting much more efficient at leaving the house to go places and I am feeling much more confortable leaving with her, etc. You definitely get used to it and it does not become such a big deal as it was in the beginning. I just CANNOT wait until the nice weather. January and February were a bit difficult being stuck mostly in the house. Now that she is 9 weeks old, I feel much better about bringing her out more in public places.

She still sleeps well at night, getting up to feed, but then going back down again quickly. She has no real schedule on feeding during the night or day for that matter. We are trying to work on this, but since she does not really take a pacifier, it is difficult. We have been sort of forced to pacify her with the bottle so there seems to be no real start or end to her feeding at times. She needs a feed-bag because she has become such a snacker! ha ha She has started taking 4 ounces quite regularly this week occasionaly taking 5-6 ounces now! It's so neat to see how they transistion with everything. I am hoping that now that she is bigger, sleeping through the night is not far off in our future. The sleep deprivation is definitely getting to me and Giacomo. I actually got a bit sick this week because of it, feeling better now.

I think that is all for now as I rack my brain to think of everything. She is sleeping at the moment, and I am going to try and catch some z's if I can!

Talk to you all soon. Once again, here are some pics of our little muffin from the past few weeks.

Love, The Bellomos