Ruby {4 Months}

Ruby embraced tummy time this month and would last more than a minute before crying. She holds her head up well and rolled over front to back on February 21st. That day she rolled 3 times in a row.

This month she she has been waking up usually two times a night. She goes to bed at 9 and then wakes up around midnight and 3 to eat. Some nights she only woke up once but most nights it was 2 times and a few nights she had 3 feedings. Ruby does a great job of putting herself to sleep. I feed her, and then lay her down while she is awake and within 5-10 minutes she is asleep.

She is definitely a binky baby. She takes it at nap time and bedtime along with being swaddled. Sometimes she will wake up at night when she breaks out of her swaddle. She still loves sucking on her hands and fingers. She has found her fingers and can grab things. She is always grabbing her binky and pulling it out of her mouth.

When laying on her play mat she grabs onto the toys and holds on tight. There are 2 stars that she always grabs onto. Olivia loves to lay down next to her and play along.

We are still nursing every 2-3 hours during the first half of the day. In the afternoon it's closer to 3-4 hours depending on the day. She didn't have any bottles this month, which was my bad. I need to keep giving her one every once in a while.

Almost everyday she will take a long nap in the afternoon, she sleeps around 2 hours and usually during Olivia's nap. It has been awesome for me! She will take 20-30 minute naps every couple hours during the day.

She is wearing size 1 diapers, 0-3 pants, and 3-6 shirts/dresses. I have a pair of skinny jeans in size 3-6 months that were my favorite with Olivia. But right now they just fall off Ruby.

Her hair is all sorts of crazy. It is thick and has a sweet mullet/bald spot on the back. And then it is very fine on the top and grows in like a mohawk. She has some random super long hairs that I will probably trim soon.

Ruby is a very happy and calm baby. She will give you smiles all day and has been laughing a lot this month.

Her 4 month appointment was held at 4 months 13 days and these are her stats:

Weight - 10 pounds 12 ounces - .75%
Height -  24.5 inches                -  39%
Head - 15.5 inches                    - 11%

The doctor is concerned once again. And asked that I top her off twice a day with a bottle after nursing. I tried it the first day and she refused the bottle. I'll try again when Bob is home and can give it to her, but I am pretty sure that she is getting enough food while nursing and is just a skinny baby.

(Olivia was 13 pounds but only 23 inches at 4 months.)

Valentines Day 2015

Bob had to work on Valentines Day, but we tried to have a little fun celebrating before he left for work. We had pancakes and oranges for breakfast, shaped into hearts.

And we exchanged gifts. Bob got me a new shirt and a pair of workout shorts from BYU. 

I got Bob some treats and a new game that we can play together. 

Olivia got some princess chocolates, window clings, and ring stamps. 

Classic Skating

The girls and I met up with friends today at Classic Skating in Orem. I am so lucky to have such great friends who have kids the same ages as mine. When I got the text invite, I said no at first because Olivia doesn't have a scooter, and she is still too short for her bike. But they let me know that there was lots more to do than just skate/scoot. I hadn't been to Classic Skating in a long time. I am so glad we went.

Brooke, Jacqueline, Lisel and I spent the first hour catching up and talking in the parking lot while the kids ran around. We arrived at 10 and it didn't open until 11. The weather was beautiful and the kids had just as much fun inside as they did outside. Right before we went inside Olivia tripped and fell.

We made our way to the bounce houses and I got a little nervous. The last time we went to Kangaroo Zoo, Olivia freaked out and hated every second of it. I am happy to report that Olivia has conquered her fear and she had a ball.

After a half hour or so we went to the rink and the kids played there. Olivia mostly ran around with her friend Jack. We brought her bike, but since I would have to push her, she let James take it for a ride. We spent the rest of the time in between the rink and sitting on the non-moving rides. I'm glad Olivia doesn't know that if you put money in them, they actually move. She liked them just the way they were.

Jack and Olivia driving the car together.

It was also so fun for Ruby and Bethany to meet. They are a little over a month apart and their older siblings Jack and Olivia are a little over a month apart. 

Poor Ruby and her socks on top of her pants. This is the only way I can keep them on. haha!

And to go back down memory lane, here is Olivia and Jack when they first met.

3 Months

Ruby has been a great baby this last month. The first two months were definitely hard just because of the lack of sleep. But this month Ruby got the hang of going to bed early and sleeping for most of the night. Most nights she went to bed around 10 and sometimes as early as 9. She would sleep for a 5 - 6 hour chunk and then every 2 - 3 hours after that. And on January 17th she went to bed at 9 and I woke her up for church at 7. That was the best night ever.

During the day we have started to transition into an eat, play, sleep routine which I did with Olivia. She cat naps most of the day, but I have been able to usually get one long nap out of her while Olivia is napping. When they both nap for 2+ hours at the same time, it is a miracle. That has only happened a couple times but I am hoping to make it a little more permanent.

For the first two weeks after her 2 month appointment I pumped after almost every feeding. It was hard, but I wanted to do everything possible for Ruby. (Even if I felt she was already getting enough milk.) She gained 9 ounces during those two weeks so they said I could stop pumping and just watch her to make sure she is eating enough. (Wasn't I doing that before??) With our schedule she basically eats almost every 2 hours. Sometimes I try to stretch it to 3, but she isn't quite ready for that. She has taken a few bottles, but mainly nurses.

She absolutely loves her sister, and wants to watch whatever she is doing. She also enjoys laying on there play mat and will swat at the toys hanging above her. She spends time in the swing, usually while I shower and also likes her bouncer chair. If she doesn't have her binky in her mouth, she will be sucking on her hands.

At her two month appointment the doctor also addressed the fact that she prefers turning her head to the left, so we have been trying to get her to look to the right more often. Sometimes that means laying her down on the couch with her facing the TV, or wherever Olivia is playing. And whenever I wake up in the night I always turn her head to the right if it isn't already. Hopefully we have made progress at our next appointment. She definitely has a nice bald spot on the back of her head. It is so much more noticeable on Ruby since she has so much more hair than Olivia did.

She is still wearing size 1 diapers and will probably be in them for a while. I am guessing she is close to 10 pounds. She is tall and skinny. She wears 0-3 month clothes but some shirts are too short in the arms. But she isn't ready for 3-6, they drown her. And her newborn headbands finally fit her.

She coos and is on the verge of laughing. She gets the biggest smile on her face when you talk to her and bounce her up and down. I know everyone says this, but I can't imagine life without her. She is so sweet and we love having her in our family.

2 week weight check

For two weeks I pumped after most of Ruby's feedings and also took fenugreek. Although I didn't feel like my milk supply was suffering, I decided to do whatever I could to make sure Ruby was getting enough. During those two weeks I probably stressed more than I should've about her eating. For example the night before she wouldn't eat and had me worried. So I pumped a bottle and we went to my parents house. Later she drank all 3 ounces for my Mom.

They told me I didn't need to make an appointment so I went over to the Doctor's office early Monday morning, exactly 2 weeks from our last appointment. I had to wait in the waiting room for about a half hour before a nurse could squeeze me in. When I laid Ruby down in her diaper, the nurse looked at me and told me she looked great. I agreed and hoped that the scale would show progress.

In two weeks she went from 8 lb. 14 oz. to 9 lb. 7 oz. She gained 9 ounces and I was thrilled. The nurse went to print off a report and I got Ruby dressed. When she came back she showed me that although she had gained, she went from the 2.4% to 2.0% and that I would need to come back in another 2 weeks. I wasn't thrilled with that, since she had gained and was doing great. But luckily when I got home the nurse called to let me know the doctor saw the report and that I didn't need to come back in.

High School Basketball Game

 Tonight we went to see my cousin's basketball game. Jaxon and Nathaniel are both on the Sophomore team for Maple Mountain. The game was at Salem Hills High School. Since Bob's boss Mike coaches the Sophomore team, he was working. So I went over with my parents to have a little extra help. Olivia loves riding in Papa's truck. The game was a lot of fun and very intense. Olivia took a few spills as she climbed up and down the bleachers. She enjoyed sitting next to Jensen and eating snacks when she wasn't climbing. My Mom and Aunt Brenda took turns holding and loving on little Ruby. The game went into overtime and it was a battle back and forth. It was tied in the last couple seconds of overtime. A kid on Salem Hills took a shot and it went in right as the buzzer went off. It was a bummer to lose, but a great game.

2 month appointment

Somehow the day of Ruby's 2 month appointment was one of the worst days on the roads. Our appointment was at 11, and I was bound and determined to get all 3 of us ready and to the doctor on time. I was basically ready to go, I just needed to put the stroller in the car. I ran downstairs and while getting the stroller my grandparents stopped me to talk about their upcoming trip. This put me a few minutes behind schedule.

The roads were awful and as I got on the freeway in Springville there were 6 cars off the side of the road with the police and ambulances. I tried my best to keep calm and drove to Provo. I realized when I got there that the stroller would take too much time and it was snowing like crazy. I grabbed both girls and we were surprisingly only 5 minutes late.

My game plan with Olivia was to put her in the stroller and let her watch a movie on the iPad, but the stroller was out so I plopped her on the chair and went to have Ruby weighed. She weighed in at 8.14 (2%) and I think they take an ounce or two off for the diaper. When the nurse practitioner came in she immediately addressed the fact that Ruby wasn't where she wanted for her weight. She told me she was extremely worried. I started to tear up a bit, as you all know I am normally a sensitive and emotional person, plus I just had a baby 2 months ago. I tried to stop the tears, but the NP addressed them and then asked if I was doing okay at home, and if I needed anything. She in a roundabout way asked me if I have postpartum depression which made me start crying even more. It was the worst appointment ever.

(At the same time that all of this is going on, Olivia is crying and I can't figure out what she wants.)

To make a long story short, I now have to pump after each feeding. Which is a huge pain, especially with Olivia. She knows once I am hooked up, I can't move. Every other feeding I am supposed to try and feed her an extra ounce of milk from a bottle. So far she hasn't drank any, so I am sure she is getting enough milk. We go back in another week for a weight check. I hope she has gained weight, but at the same time I am not worried about her. She hasn't been fussy like she is still hungry or not getting enough. She sleeps great at night and is an all around pleasant baby.

Being a mom is hard. It is so crazy to me how babies can be so different from one another. I feel like I just figured out Olivia and now I am starting all over with Ruby. Even if it is hard, it is so rewarding and the best thing I could ever do. I sure do love my girls. And I'll keep pumping every 2-3 hours for little Ruby so she can put on the pounds.