Figuring Out Leah

Now that I think about it, maybe the title of this post should be "3 Months of Training Mommy."

Leah is now 3 1/2 months old and I am still learning things about Leah. When I was pregnant with Leah lots of people told me that all babies are different. I believed them but I also thought in the back of my mind "babies are different but don't they all just sleep, eat, and have dirty diapers?" I knew that the two girls would have different personalities but for a few months I thought they would be just about the same. I learned on the first day that I was wrong!! I now know what everyone was trying to tell me.

Leah likes to have things done her way 5 minutes before she knows she wants it. Sometimes Mommy just doesn't get it right and Leah has this special cry that says "this isn't right!" However, there are times that we have to do things Mommy's way.

Eating:

Leah pretty much eats every 3-4 hours during the day. She does take a bottle sometimes. I really want her to take it a room temperature because we use bottles when we go out and there really isn't a way to heat it. When we are out she will take it at room temperature most of the time. However, when we are at home she wants the bottle heated. I think she realizes that there are other options when we are at home (heating the bottle or nursing). Of course, what happens at home when we want to use a bottle? I try room temperature but end up heating it. Haha.

Then there is the spit up! It is everywhere and on everything! Leah doesn't just spit up right after she eats but it could be at anytime. So, I always warn people before they hold her. Basically, if you aren't wearing something washable...stay away! :)

Sleeping:

As most of you know, Leah hasn't been the best sleeper. From day one she has not liked sleeping in her own bed/bassinet but now she only likes to sleep in her crib. Leah also cried and fought sleep when we would try and hold/bounce/rock her to sleep. Recently, Kevin figured out that she cried less when he would just lay her on the couch next to him. One evening, she was laying there obviously sleepy but fighting it so we decided to lay her in the crib. She went right to sleep. From then on when she needs to go to sleep we just lay her in the crib. Of course, she needs something just a little extra. :) A double swaddle of a receiving blanket and then a bigger blanket.

On Thanksgiving night when we got home, Kevin and I were putting the girls to bed. Kevin had Leah and I was waiting for Allie to get dressed for bed. All of a sudden Leah started screaming! Kevin asked me what I thought was wrong. I said, "when did she start screaming?" Kevin said, "when I left her room." We both laughed and thought maybe she was tired and upset because she wasn't in her crib. So he took her back upstairs and she quieted down as he put her in the crib. Haha.

Later that week, we had some friends visiting. Sybil was holding Leah and all of a sudden Leah started screaming again for no apparent reason. So I headed for her room thinking we would change the diaper, put on pajamas, and see what I can figure out. About 1/2 way up the stairs, Leah stopped screaming completely. There wasn't even a calming down she just went from screaming to quiet in 1 second. Once again, Leah was tired and wanted to go to sleep and she knew we were headed to her room.

So funny!

Playing:

Our sweet Leah is an active little one. She loves the bouncy seat, gym, and laying on the floor. She doesn't like the swing very much at all. She doesn't really cry in the swing but she doesn't seem to have fun. I think her favorite thing to do is play with Mommy, Daddy, and/or Allie. However, she does have her favorite toys...anything she can chew on (burp cloths and soft toys), her mirror, and toys that hang off of her bouncy seat.

Bathing:

From the beginning Leah has never liked her bath. After a while I figured out that she was probably getting chilly because very little of her body was in the water in the baby bathtub. So I started giving her a bath in the big bathtub (very little water but still more of her body was in the water). Then I realized that she didn't like lukewarm water but warm water. So now I know to use warm water in the big tub. Now, Leah likes her bath.

These are the main things that Leah does right now. Some of these things are very different from the way Allie wanted but Mommy is learning. Leah has been pretty busy these past 3 months training Mommy to do things just right. :)

Leah is a sweet sweet girl and smiles a lot, gives kisses, and loves to coo. Just this morning, I picked her up and she leaned over and gave me a big kiss and then started smiling. Now that will melt your heart! Leah adds so much to our family!