12 weeks old

12 weeks!!! We say this all the time, but Taylor is SUCH AN EASY BABY! When her tummy isn’t crampy and her diaper is dry, she’s good to go! There are days that pass by without so much as a cry from Taylor! Don’t get me wrong, she’s certainly vocal, both when happy and when tired or frustrated, she just doesn’t usually cry. She’s got the cutest little whine though and it works to tell us she’s tired. She is laughing much more this week and she’s started to giggle when tickled too. She’s super ticklish on her collar bones. She smiles readily at those she knows, yet intently studies strangers before offering up a smile. She LOVES to be talked to and she will talk back each time there is a “pause in the conversation”. She can mimic a few sounds and mouth shapes and will stick out her tongue when we do.

The battle with yeast continues for both Taylor and me. We continue to pass it back and forth and it’s not been nice to either of us. Here’s the warning... I’m gonna talk about boobs for a minute. I have yeast in my nipples and in my milk ducts. Oh my goodness, I thought it was just me and that I was just a wuss at breast feeding. I couldn’t imagine that breastfeeding could hurt so bad, when so many people do it. I felt like (and feel like) I have glass shards in my nipples! They ache and burn non stop. Forget wearing clothes at home, it’s just too painful. While Taylor’s yeast diaper rash comes and goes, she’s not had it in her mouth (thrush) at all. Where she does have it is in her gut. Poor baby girl! When her gut starts churning you can tell its so painful for her! We met with a lactation consultant this week and she has me starting a hard core regimin... taking yeast fighting supplements like “yeast defense”, pau de arco tea, garlic, 2 probiotics, grapefruit seed extract, 200mg of diflucan daily (I’ve been on 100mg daily for 5 weeks), gentian violet (great guesses girls!) and fenugreek just to make sure my milk supply isn’t affected too much by all this... oh and the toughest part? The yeast diet. Seriously people, this is a crazy diet, but I’m told it’s much like the Atkins diet. No carbs, dairy, or sugar. Candy is hard enough for me to give up, but cheese? milk? yogurt? fruit? bread? chips? cereal? juice? chocolate? for real? Yep. For real. I can eat vegetables, meat, and nuts. I might starve but if this works, my nipples sure will feel better and Taylor won’t be in so much pain! It’s so worth it!

This girl is getting more and more mobile! She rolls quite well from her tummy to her back in either direction. She can hold her head and upper body up for long periods of time and has no trouble hanging out on her belly for tummy time (unless she’s tired). She can almost roll from her back to her belly and has done it 2x, though they were probably flukes. Her main mode of “transportation” is when laying on her back, she scoots her feet and somehow can turn herself all the way around scooting those feet. Gone are the days of laying her on the couch, bed, or ottoman thinking she’ll stay put!

This kiddo is a sleeper! She’s starting to keep herself awake when there are things to see unless you “turn off” the world around her. When she gets tired, we give her a paci, swaddle her, put a soft lovey beside her face (or over part of it) and she turns her head into the blankie as far as she can and goes to sleep. If we’re holding her (as you would if you were nursing) she’ll turn her face into your body to block out the world around her. She can be laid down awake or asleep, and when she wakes up in the morning, she’s super happy. One night, I gave her a bath and then took her downstairs for some naked time in front of the fire. I was folding diaper laundry and she actually went to sleep in the middle of the floor! TV on, Nathan playing in the same room, all kinds of chaos! I snapped these pictures because I couldn’t believe it! She’s such a little snoozer! At night, by about 830, she’s ready to be in her bed (but will fall asleep wherever) and 5 out of 7 nights we do a “dream feed” where she stays asleep but eats and has a diaper change between 11-12. She’s usually still in bed at 8am and often sleeps till 830 or later. When she wakes up, she wants a dry diaper, but is super content to wait for breakfast. Amazing. I tell you what, she’s teaching all of us about patience! We love you sweet girl!