3 Months ~ Baby and I

It's been 3 months already!? It's amazing how quickly time flies~ 

Aoife is 12 weeks old today so I'm going to write about how myself and Aoife are doing. She's coming out of her newborn stage and now into the infant stage and it's really exciting. I'm looking forward to her crawling and also weaning when she is able to.

It's been wonderful watching her grow, watching her change and seeing how her personality has started to come out. Sometimes I can't believe that she used to be smaller or that she used to sleep all day.

Eating

Aoife was weighed last week (we usually go once a month to have her weighed at the baby clinic at the local health centre) and she's now 13lbs and 9ozs. She's been putting weight on wonderfully. My Nan commented on her lovely chunky thighs the other day as well as her double chin haha. We had a bit of a rocky start with feeding due to the tongue tie but Aoife has settled into a feeding routine now. I'm really looking forward to being able to wean her after the next few months.  We've started to dress her in some 3 - 6 month clothing as a lot of her 0 - 3 month clothing has become too tight. I feel like we're back at the time when her clothes didn't fit properly when she was born, and now her 3 - 6 month clothes look big and baggy on her once again.

Sleeping

Aoife has also started sleeping through the night now. She began to take less and less milk at her 2am-3am feed and then she started sleeping through them. Aoife generally sleeps from 9.30pm-10pm til around 7am-7.30am. It's been wonderful to get solid blocks of sleep at night now. Usually I'll get into bed after Aoife has gone to sleep but I'll leave the lights down low and do a little reading or driving theory studying.

Play time

Aoife has become a right little chatterbox now! She loves to talk to us, to her family, to her toys and to the TV. She'll talk to everything! She's also a very smiley little madam. I love seeing her little smile. She's also discovered her hands and I'll often find one of them in her mouth. Temperament-wise, Aoife is very relaxed. She only cries for her feed really. She doesn't mind who gives her a cuddle and she doesn't mind if you have to pop her down for a second to go and do something. She's also incredibly good at holding her head up and pushing herself up.She's also wonderful at grasping onto things and never letting go.

Health

The health issues that Aoife was born with have now resolved. Her tongue tie separation went wonderfully and I catch her sticking her tongue out every now and again. Her feeding has also improved. Her jaundice didn't last long either. We also had a heart scan a couple of weeks ago and her heart murmur has also now gone so she has a clean bill of health now. She did so well when she had her first immunisations and she's due her second immunisations tomorrow.

Likes and dislikes

 Aoife flutters between liking her play mat and liking her little bouncy chair. It's different each day. I prefer to pop her on her play mat so I can encourage her to start rolling, but her dad likes to put her in her bouncy chair. Aoife loves being talked to though. Her dad says he doesn't know what to say to her, but I'll talk to her about anything and everything. She also loves her cot spiral and she loves playing with it and holding onto the rings. Aoife hasn't really shown any clear dislikes; she's fine if you have to pop her down and she doesn't demand to be constantly held. 

Mummy

Post-cesarean recovery

 My cesarean scar is now just a purple line. It's still very numb in that general area, but I don't get that much pain there anymore. Every now and again I may get some pain if I overexert myself. It often gets itchy though so I've been using E45 Itch Relief Cream which has been working amazingly to control the itching. The only residual problem from the birth I've had is pain in my back. My GP assured me that it's a side effect from having a spinal block which should resolve itself, and I've started taking Naproxen and Codrydamol for the pain, so hopefully it'll resolve itself soon.

Post-pregnancy stomach

I still have quite a big podge, but having a cesarean makes it harder to get rid of your baby belly. I've made some lifestyle changes and I'm eating a very healthy diet at the minute and doing some gentle exercise. I've lost 7lbs so far. I was thinking about joining a local Slimming World group. Not just to loose weight, but to also meet others and starting to get away for a little bit. I've been struggling with leaving Aoife and I feel guilty and worried when I leave her so I need to start working on it before I start going back to work because I'll be away for a 12 hour shift. 

Mentally

I've been a lot more happier with being able to get more sleep. I used to be a huge ball of agitated and sadness when I was hardly getting any sleep. I used to get 2 hours a night and then Aoife went through a patch where she would only sleep on me, but that has soon resolved. The only thing I struggle with lately is loneliness. I keep saying to myself I need to start taking Aoife to the local children's centre so I can meet other mums and also get Aoife interacting with other children. I get so worried when I think about going though. I need to take the plunge one day and just go! It's weird to think that you have this wonderful little bundle of joy and yet you can feel really lonely at the same time. I've also started going for little walks daily to at least get me out and in the fresh air. It's just difficult with the weather lately. At one moment it's cold and windy and then the next it's warm and sunny.