Family Time

Have I ever mentioned how blessed Luke, Lane, and I are? We both have amazing families!! We just returned Sunday from a week long vacation with my family at Lake Keowee in South Carolina. It's a beautiful lake, and we were fortunate enough to stay at Chad Morris's home (he is the offensive coordinator for Clemson). After the lake we headed north for Charlotte to watch my first cousin Tyler marry one of my good friends Lisa. 

Before we left for the lake, Lane gave Luke his first father's day present. The Big Green Egg was something Luke has been wishing for a while now, so I am was so excited to see his face when he came home. Lane fits perfectly in the egg right now :)

In baby news: Lane is such a blessing!

 On May 31st her two bottom teeth broke through. They are all the way out and very sharp now. I think she is actually about to have her third tooth break through this week or next. Thankfully she hasn't been a pill like I've heard could happen. She didn't get the runs either, but I do realize this is only two teeth and we still have a full mouth to go :I

 Lane can easily roll over both ways now, and scoot herself backwards like a champ. No forward crawling at this point though. She can also move herself around in circles on her belly too. I use to put her in the middle of the bed with no worries, but now she can barrel roll and push herself all the way to the edge. Sitting is still Lane's favorite position though. I sit her in the middle of the room with toys all around and she can play for long periods of time just happy as ever. 

I am still pumping, but we do rice cereal one feeding a day (maybe). I am trying to start two feedings a day this week. She sleeps through the night, but every now and then she gets a little crazy on me and wakes up. Last night she woke up twice actually...and I'm not sure why. Maybe some gas hit???

Toys she loves right now: Baby Einstein Exersaucer, Johnny Jump Up, Any toy with crinkle sound, and she really loves this sterling silver teething ring. 

Picture Purge Time!!!!!!!!

Pretty nieces Mary Alice and Lily

Lane loves to scare people! She just giggles so much 

Lane and PawPaw Match!

All of the Tennyson ladies 

That's right....the Groom passed out before saying I Do!

He did recover eventually though and finally kissed the bride!!

I LOVE THIS PICTURE

5 Months

Luke's first Father's Day present!

Lane loves her exersaucer

4 Months

So I'm a bit late, but I just keep using the excuse of happy babies have messy homes and late blogs! Basically I'm just so busy playing with Lane that I can't get around to things...at least that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. But seriously, I've just been a slacker.
Here are Lane's 4 month doctor visit stats:

You are one tall chick!

I won't say that you are chunky though :)

So what's important is your growth curve, and you are rocking that really well. The doctor did say you were a freak (in a good way) since you sat up (not tripod)...like full sat up the entire doctor visit.  

We started you on one feeding of rice cereal a day. I think you maybe get one or two of the spoonfuls in your mouth and wear the rest. We now have baby spoons, but this was our first rodeo and we didn't have any for this feeding. You are sleeping through the night again, so mission accomplished!

We've had fun in the water a lot and finally got Luke in on the action

So as promised here are some funny pictures of Lane at water aerobics. It's just exhausting! Ha! The teacher said she is the first baby to ever fall asleep in class and now she does it every time.

You are seriously cute in your towel wrap on the way home from water aerobics

You are such a boat baby too! I ghetto rigged your life jacket to finally work now, but we were anchored up in this picture, so we broke the law and let you chill without the jacket for a bit. This weekend we took you to Wassaw Island via boat and you were wonderful to let us play there all day with friends. Did I mention we really appreciate you being a water/boat baby!

Official 4 month photo:

I still like to take creepy pictures of you while you sleep!

You really are beautiful Lane!
Oh...on May 23rd I caught you officially roll over, and now you do it all day. I really think you are close to crawling too. You have the leg part down and I think if you can figure out your arms we are going to have to put up the baby gates.
I did have the dreaded first weekend away from Lane too. Before this past weekend I had never been away from Lane for more than 4 hours. This past weekend I had a bachelorette party here in Savannah, and Luke took Lane to the farm to meet her great Grandparents for the first time. I was really sad to miss this occasion, but made sure that a lot of photos were taken. I'll have to post those when I get hold of them. It was weird to not have Lane waking we up in the morning! I missed her so much. I know Luke did a wonderful job taking care of her. He is a wonderful dad and so involved in the day to day that I didn't worry once while she was away.
That's it for now. I wrote this kinda of quickly, so please excuse any errors.

First

There are so many first to record and so little time!

 On Friday, April 5th we headed West for Lane's first trip to the farm. We had friends Christy and Matthew Johns join us, but failed to capture a group photo. We also stopped at Lane's Southern Orchards on the way home. Lane's Orchards is the perfect mid-way point between Savannah and the farm, and I have a feeling we'll be stopping there a lot more as this little lady grows up. They have a wonderful playground, you can pick your own strawberries, watch the whole peach sorting and packaging process, eat amazing peach and strawberry ice cream, and it has the same name as my daughter...so...it's awesome!  

This picture cracks me up!

I took Lane to the beach for the first time on April 16th. Tybee could not have been more beautiful and I captured some fun pictures of Lane's first experience in the sand and ocean water. 

Sandy Toes! (Thanks Pinterest)

We also made the sad/happy visit to Auburn for Lane's first and last rolling of the original Toomer's Corner trees, and her first Auburn football game.

Tailgating (That is a pink AU outfit)

I think Luke has most of the great rolling pictures on his phone, but this is en route to rolling

Eating the shaker seemed more fun to you than the game!

War Eagle!

Lane and I started water aerobics together on April 23rd and she loves it. I think we officially have a water baby. No pictures of water aerobics yet, but I'll work on that.

On Tuesday, April 30th Lane and I travelled to Litchfield Beach to play with friends Kathryn, Tyler, and Charlotte for a fun couple of days. Lane and Charlotte are best buds! They are exactly two weeks and 11mins. apart. Lane is two weeks and 11mins. older than Charlotte. They even hung out before they were born :)

Here we are with friends Sarah and Kathryn (Kathryn is in the middle)

Photos stollen from Kathryn (Charlotte and Kathryn are in the middle)

Lane is on the left! 

Luke just couldn't wait to get Lane out in the boat, so she has been cruising around Savannah's water ways. I can't remember the first boat ride day exactly, but let's just say April 2013. Here are some funny pictures of Lane cruising around. The boat puts her right to sleep.

Uncle Ben and Lane 

Weekend at Bernie's ring a bell!

Lane started sitting up by herself for short periods of time about two weeks ago, but as of this week she can really sit. Just yesterday she sat for over five minutes. So here are her official three month pictures and one I captured of her sitting up.

 In three days I'll take her four month pictures and do a blog post after we visit the doctor to get her latest stats. Lately she puts everything in her mouth (almost like attacking anything near the mouth). Lane drools like crazy, gives wonderful smiles to everyone that walks up, doesn't cry unless she's tired or hungry, loves baths and the water. She just started to figure out the Johnny Jump Up and her exersaucer.
Last night she slept well, but it seems like every other night she is waking up again. I'm starting to think she is waking up because she is hungry, so when I go to the doctor I plan to ask about starting rice cereal in her final feeding of the day. I've been re-swaddling her to see if that helps, but I'll keep you guys posted on how the rice cereal goes. I think if we start the cereal we will try the unswaddled girl again.
I'm strictly pumping these days and plan to do so until she is at least six months old. Just as a reference for me: we changed Lane to a medium flow nipple a week before her 3 month birthday.
She is a wonderful baby! Luke and I are beyond blessed and just trying to appreciate every second since they seem to be flying by.

Recs

So I wrote my delivery must have list, and now I feel like I must share my list of AMAZING items that make my life SO MUCH BETTER! I am not getting a dime to endorse any of these products...I just want to remember what I need to pull out when baby number two comes along and maybe help a new momma out.

1. The Miracle Blanket: We've used since birth and LOVE it! I seriously would sell these in the hospital for a living if asked. We did try a couple of other swaddle options just to see, and ended up going back to the miracle blanket as soon as possible. I have seen those new woombies and may try that with kiddo number two, but have no experience with it...so the miracle blanket ranks number 1 in my book. Downside: pricey
2. The Nap Nanny: Yep...this has been recalled and I still stand behind it. I think it's sad when stupid parents ruin good things for others. We used this right after birth, then stopped, and then tried it again where she slept through the night for the first time ever. So...she still sleeps in this! I also love just having to pack this for road trips rather than the bulky pack n play.  Downside: recalled and pricey
3. Medela Pump In Style Advance: I am now exclusively pumping, so this is a life line. I can't imagine life with a sorry pump. Just make the investment ladies! I also love the carry bag because it really does make travel easy. I'm a stay at home mom and still say this is the pump for you. Downside: pricey 
4. Baby Jogger City Mini GT: I LOVE LOVE LOVE my stroller! I haven't met a person who owns one that doesn't love it. It's lighter than a Bob, folds up in one swoop, opens in one swoop, and is tall! When stroller test driving I noticed a lot of the strollers were very low. This stroller is tall and has an adjustable handle bar that makes it even taller if needed. I wanted to push my baby without any bending over and have the same for my tall husband Luke. I bought the adapter piece for this, so my car seat drops right in and out easily. It comes in a bunch of great colors and I will own the double one day.  Downside: not a lot of storage and pricey!
5. Chicco Keyfit 30 Car Seat: Great safety ratings, super easy install for base, and easy drop click in for everyday use. I have already removed the infant insert and moved the straps up to the middle level. Lane doesn't love her car seat like some babies, but she doesn't hate it either. She does well it in for a couple of hours and then wants to stretch out...I really can't blame her though. 
6. Playtex Drop In Bottles: Yes I am not being eco friendly with this option, but not worrying with washing bottles is AWESOME! I just pump into the liner, freeze or fridge it, and then feed. All the same liner, so no pouring worries. I bought the breast milk storage kit from Playtex to allow the freezing. I have plenty of nipples too, so no worries about washing all the time. I moved Lane to a medium flow nipple the week before her three month birthday and she seems to be so much happier. Downside: you have to buy liners (like buy a major stock pile...you will use them all)
7. Activity Mat: I am not sure it matters what brand, but Lane LOVES her Fisher Price rain forest play mat. I think it's great hand eye coordination training too. I lay her down, turn on the music, and she instantly starts swinging and kicking away. It's really easy to travel with so I've taken it everywhere we've gone out of town. It's just something familiar for her to play with that she loves. 
8. Mamaroo Swing: Don't pay for the plush one...the only difference is a softer seat, we always have a blanket over it anyway. I guess if you didn't want to put down a blanket...then buy the plush one. This swing is a great space saver and Lane seems to love it. We really don't have anything to compare it to, but we love it.  
9. Mommy's Bliss Apple Gripe Water: Lane gets hiccups A LOT! This water stops them almost instantly. I know they say hiccups don't hurt them...but how do they even know that. Lane always look uncomfortable when she has them, so I just give her a quick drop of this and she is instantly happier. It says you can use it for gas, and colic too, but we have only used it for hiccups and it's awesome. It really does stop them on the spot. We have actual gas drops for gas and they seem to work well too. *Buy this brand for a couple more bucks--you don't have to refrigerate after opening like the other brands. So...you can carry it around in your purse without any worry of finding a fridge. I seriously have one bottle on every floor of my house. 
10. Pampers Swaddlers: I have friends that did the diaper test and all came back with the same conclusion. Pampers Swaddlers are the best diapers. I LOVE the wet indicator! Lane started with these in the hospital in size 1 and we are still rocking the same size ones today. Not sure how many more days we have in size 1 (tear...not many), but we have loved these diapers.
11. Huggies Natural Care Wipes: I haven't tried any other wipes. I have heard they are all pretty much the same. I just buy these in bulk at Sams and they work great. 
12. Soothie Pacifers: In the hospital and for the first couple of weeks we only used Soothies and they were wonderful. Downside: they are harder to keep in!
13. Nuk Pacifers: After I stopped nursing and started just pumping I switched to these pacifiers. They are a lot easier for Lane to keep in and once you've driven down the road with a screaming baby whose pacifier fell out... you never want that to happen again. (Thankfully that phase is over since she can self soothe with her hands), but I still use these. Downside: they leave a suck ring/mark on the face for 10 min. after you remove it. 
14. IPhone Eat Sleep App: I downloaded this when I needed to keep track of her feedings, dirty, and wet diapers. I don't use this all the time, but every now and then I like to track her ounces to see where she is. 

Using both the Miracle Blanket and Nap Nanny! It doesn't come with pillow, but I did love that for her in the beginning

Pump

Bottles

Mat doubles as dock tent

Diapers

Wipes

Soothie

Nuk

I Phone App

So this is my list for 0-3 months! I'm sure I've forgotten something and please feel free to add your favorite products in the comments section. I LOVE reading blogs about what works for different people. Plus...I plan on having another kid at some point, so I need to know other great finds!