Happy 12 weeks to my wild lady!

12 weeks old

One week old

My wild lady is 12 weeks old today.  Holy crap!  I returned to work yesterday and I think that going to work each day is going to be a struggle as I didn't want to leave her this morning either.  The scales are seriously tipped -- stay at home with my lovely and get wonderful hugs and smiles OR go to work and deal with crazy people on both ends of the spectrum.  It really makes me like my job less.

At twelve weeks old:

---Doing our very unscientific weighing, Finn is weighing in at 12-12.5 pounds today (depending on who is holding her on the scale)!  She has gained over a 1 pound in the last month, which doesn't seem like that much.  We also unscientifically measured her and she was 24 inches long.

---At her last appointment at the doctor two weeks ago, she weighed in at 11.3 pounds (right at the 50th percentile and was 23.5 inches long (80th percentile).

---She had been eating like a mo'fo the past week or so and we were figuring that she was having her three month growth spurt.  Looks like we were right if our measurements are accurate.

---She is still sleeping with us, which I personally feel is wonderful!  Last night, she slept from 9:30pm -- roughly 2:45am.  And then I think that she slept again until about 4-5am.  The only way that I remember that she woke up is if I wake up on the opposite side that I fell asleep.  This weekend we are going to begin putting her in her crib to start the evening.  The plan is to get her to sleep, place her in her crib, and when she wakes up to eat, move her to our bed.  The hope is that she will eventually sleep through the night, weaning herself from sleeping with us -- not me, telling her that she needs to sleep in her own bed.

---She now recognizes me and greets me with a smile and a coo when I've left the room or come home from work.

---She is mesmerized with the TV.  We don't put her in front of the television but in putting her down on the sofa or the floor, she will turn to the television and watch.

---She still won't nap longer than 5-10 minutes during the day unless she is either in my arms or sleeping on my chest.  Every once in a while, she will fall asleep in her Mamaroo or her swing and then we get 30-60 minutes.

---We officially moved her into 0-3 month clothes at ten weeks.  Some of them are too big around the tummy, but she is definitely long enough for most of them.

---She is in size 1 diapers.  She is definitely filling them out more now than at 8 weeks.  Her legs still aren't chubby enough to stop leaking, but if I can catch her in the act and we move to the changing pad, we can usually avert a disaster.

---The lady is now holding objects with both hands when placed in her hands.  She can even remove one hand and grab the object with the same hand again.  And let me tell you -- she is all about her hands!  She grabs everything that is near her hands -- her bibs, Mama's hair, blankets -- and they promptly go directly into her mouth.
---She is a mad talker as well.  The doctor was surprised at how much she was talking already and said that she would be a big talker as little lady started talking to the doctor while in for her appointment.  My favorite time is when I can really get her going by mimicking her exact sounds.  She'll make a sound and I'll make the sound right back and then she corresponds with another sound.  We aren't even speaking the same language yet, but talking to her melts my heart.

---Sister is getting some mad rolling skills.  We aren't there yet.  But during tummy time, her back right leg is really flying.  She lifts that leg up high enough for her lower tummy to be off the ground.  I wouldn't be surprised if in the next couple of weeks, she rolls over -- at least on accident.
--We've also been practicing tummy time and getting her neck strengthened by laying her with her knees on the couch and elbows on my tummy.  She loves this view of the world and I love the way her little head looks like a bobble head as she tries with all her might to exert control over her melon.

---She also has great neck strength.  She can be picked up from a laying position with minimal head support.  She doesn't need head support at all being passed between people.  And she is getting really good at maintaining neck control when we grab her hands and lift her into a sitting position from a laying position.

---She has decided that she doesn't really like E.  According to her, only Mama will do.  But he has figured out that walking her outside when she starts screaming calms her.  Being that summer is right around the corner, it'll be a great father-daughter thing to do as long as we get her a mosquito netting before the bugs set in!  :)
--Sister still doesn't like the car.  We are getting better, but she still loathes the car.  Like last night when I went to pick up a pizza, I got her all happy & talking before I shut her door.  We were good, blabbering away to each other until I stopped.  Then it was over and there was no going back.

Can't believe that another month has passed so quickly.  In fact, the vivid memories of being pregnant and delivering her are fading.  It kind of makes me lonely for those excited times full of anticipation.  They were such a good time in my life, so full of promise and love.  Now my life is so full of love and promise of a different kind.  The best kind there is...