Izzy at 3 Months

(This is an older post that I had left unfinished thru the month of March... decided to just publish it... better late than never)

3 month bday

Time flies, especially when watching a baby grow... Belle is now 3 months old (pic above is on her 3 month birthday)! Along the way she has hit many milestones and has grown so much!

Quick rundown of her behavioral/physical changes:

* She's a little over 12 pounds now and around 25 inches tall. She's so much easier to hold now... heavier but strong and plump. She is comfortable in just about any position... especially when her daddy holds her.
* She has been able to hold her head up steady since around 5-6 weeks...looks like a little gopher or meerkat when she does.
* She started laughing, and is very smiley... she loves her own reflection... put her in front of a mirror and you'll get the most brilliant little toothless smile you've ever seen.
* She also started to do assisted walking and assisted sitting up... she loves to move those legs and walk around. She stomps her feet when you hold her up.
* Mostly grown out of her NB clothes and some 0-3 M clothes too!
* She had her first outing on Jan 5... took her to Rudy's for lunch.
* Started formulating tears, by the end of Dec, she was able to maintain great eye contact and even started following me around the room with her eyes. Her kicks are really strong.
* She went from making no sounds except crying and whimpering, to making soft kitten like meows to louder, more pronouced cooing and babbling.
* She started to suck her hands and fingers more and more... she's a little drool machine. Hasn't found her thumb to suck on yet.
* She had her first stroll around the neighborhood in mid-January. It was a rare sunny Sunday so we took the chance to take her out... she enjoyed the first 15 minutes, and then started complaining so we brought her back :(
* Started to interact with the toys in her rainforest play gym a bit... still doesn't keep her attention for very long though.
* Hates tummy time

Jan 10 was our first day alone with Izzy after Shel's parents left. Then Jan 11 was my first day completely alone with her while Shel went to work. Overall it wasn't too bad, but what a huge change it was!

1/16/10:

1/29/10:


We've gotten more comfortable taking her out and as a result, she's had a lot of social interaction... She's met many of our friends and family members by now. The only immediate family she hasn't met are my little sis Sapna and my nephew Prakash.

1/30/10 2 month birthday:



One of the biggest milestones is that we moved her into her room the day after her 3 month birthday. We did feel sad to move her out, but it's for the better. She made the transition really well and slept through the whole night for the first 4 nights in her room! And she woke up each day in a great mood... smiley and excited to see us in the morning. Hopefully this continues :) Feels amazing to get a full night of sleep again!

2/5/10:

Life at home with Izzy is good for the most part... it feels great to be here for her. However, it does get a bit crazy at times.... on some days the only time I get anything done is when she's down for a nap. She's getting better about entertaining herself while she's up so I can get stuff done. But at the end of the day, I do long for Shel's return from work... when 5pm rolls around, I'm ready for some help with Izzy.

2/23/10:

Each day brings a new joy, new perspective and new insights into parenthood... and even at this point, everyday I'm amazed at this little girl, and feel so lucky to get to be her mommy...truly. I'm a big believer in karma and I must have done some really great things in life to deserve my precious, loving Isabelle!

Isabelle's First Month

Isabelle's first month flew by... it was busy, overwhelming, full of rewarding moments, and for me, an emotional roller coaster!

December 30, 2009 was a regular day, except it marked the end of Izzy's first month of life. We had a low key day... in the evening we sang to her and cut a small cake (Caribbean Rum cake to be exact... we had too many cakes around so didn't get her a proper cake.. oh well, she didn't mind :)).

By the end of the day, I couldn't believe we made it thru the whole month... the day we brought her home I couldn't even see past the next couple of hours. The only thing on my mind at the time was figuring out how to take care of her. Even though Shel and my Mom were around to help care for her, I felt so much pressure, mostly because I had the huge task of keeping her fed, which they couldn't help with. Believe it or not that was one of the most challenging things I've had to deal with... and it is supposed to be so natural. Yea right... not for me and Izzy!

Taking care of a newborn is hard... even with 3 adults around, we were exhausted that first week. We were totally in love with the lil one and had a ball getting to know her, but were happy to have the first week behind us! It was a milestone worth celebrating... we made it without breaking her! And to top it off, she was gaining weight steadily... which was one of my biggest concerns.

12/4/09 (Day 5):


After that, each week that came and went felt like we were getting more used to our roles as parents. I had plenty of help from my mom who kept us fed and kept the house looking great. She also helped take care of Izzy all day... and especially during the morning so we could sleep in and at night so I could get a head start on sleep for the night. I also got to take long naps... ah, the good old days!

12/6/09 (Day 7):

12/9/09 (Day 10):


Life was surely abnormal during that first month... no time for our needs, we were just consumed with Izzy and her needs. As I said, it was overwhelming, but wouldn't trade it for the world.

12/10/09 (Day 11):


She was so fragile, yet so strong... she had a whole range of entertaining expressions on her face... her arms and legs were in fully swing... usually she put her dukes up like she was about to punch us out :) Her body, arms and legs were so thin, and her skin was dry and scaly for most of the first month. Her eyelashes were short, but started growing longer week by week. Her hair was beautiful and long and just crazy... her little lips were so small and so adorable, especially her bottom lip, which I just wanted to eat up. And don't even get me started on her eyes... nothing sweeter in this world than the tender looks she gave us...

Shel and I loved how she would just lie on our chests in her fetal position... she was such a sweet little package. She frowned a lot during her first month... she would raise her brows which created deep wrinkles on her forehead... she had the look of an inquisitive little gopher. She started smiling early on... like in the first week, but usually it was when she was falling asleep, or when she had gas. By the end of the month, she was smiling much more, and didn't seem like it was just due to gas or drowsiness :)

She has such wonderful qualities, some of Shel's, some of mine and some all her own. I'm looking forward to seeing her personality develop and get a feel for who she as a person. So far, she's a little bundle of awesome.

12/10/09 (Day 11):


As Izzy gradually becomes less and less dependent on us over the years, I will surely miss her in her first month of life!


Isabelle's 1 Month Birthday (12/30/09):

Happy 2010!

2009 has been an incredible year for us... here's a quick review:

- I was laid off at IBM and Feb 26 was my last day at work. I had mixed feelings about it at the time... partly upset that I was let go, but partly relieved since I had not been too happy with my job anyway. Then I almost accepted a job offer with IBM Brazil, which I ended up turning down. Would have been an adventure, but things worked out for the best.

- In April we got the good news that we were pregnant and about to start a family! The baby was due on Thanksgiving Day, November 26.

- We planned a last minute trip to London and Italy since we weren't going to be able to take the trip to India in November since the baby was due then. We had a great time with Shel's parents, my mom and El! Cinque Terre in Italy was the highlight of our trip for sure.

- The rest of the year we spent getting ready for baby's arrival. We were blessed to have three baby showers thrown for us by friends and family, all of which were a lot of fun. We decorated baby's room as best as we could, and we were quite happy with the finished product. I made unheard of amounts of trips to Babies R Us and other stores to shop for baby related things... good thing I wasn't working so I had time for such things.

- After the much anticipated arrival of our little one was delayed by 4 days, Nikki was induced on November 30, and Isabelle was born at 3:58 pm that day. This was definitely the highlight of our year!


We spent a lot of time with our families this year... from our trip to London and Italy, to our trips to Houston to visit my family and their trips here to spend time with us and Isabelle, to Shel's parents visiting us here to celebrate the baby and the holidays.

We've also spent a lot of time with friends this year... creating stronger bonds with new friends and keeping in touch with our dear old friends.

It's been a great year, and here's to creating more wonderful memories in 2010!