Wit by Amanda: Francine (3 months) - Jack (almost 2.5yrs) post

Knowing that I did not write out a month-by-month update of Francine makes me a little sad because now I am all gung-ho and wish I would have had those posts. But I am going to try my best to start doing maybe a quarterly update on the kids!

So here it goes...the first 3 months of Francine!

If there is one thing I have learned since being a parent its that part of your heart is on the outside of you. I feel like I have 2 external hearts beating at the same time. Parenthood is a gift and its wonderful and its also a burden and a struggle and trying to find balance in between those extremes is the puzzle!

With Francine, I have definitely not been near as structured as I was with Jack. I also know that perfection in any area (especially parenting) is not possible...striving for excellence and good enough are sometimes the best you can do! I also have learned that going from 1 child to 2 children is way harder than going from 0 children to 1 child. You don't add work, stress, and frustration, you multiply those things. However, on the positive side it is true too...you multiply joy, laughter, smiles, and just letting go!

Sibling highlights!
Jack is a great big brother.

It took him about 6 weeks to totally warm up to the idea of a little sister I think but since then its been great. For the first 3 months Francine was born, it was hard for him to interact with her because she was just so little. However, we tried to find ways for him to engage with her.

He loves to help give his little sis a bath!
He enjoys getting her diaper and wipe and then tossing the old one in the garbage.
He is the expert in finding a burp cloth and bringing it to mommy.
He shared his trains with her!

Funny story - When Francine was 6 days old, Jack asked us if her umbilical cord was poopy! :) It was awesome. It was just what we needed at that moment.

Jack Highlights
Jack is almost 2.5 and just amazing.

He is an amazing eater and sleeper. He loves everything except salad and raw bell peppers and fruit with peels on them (however we are working through these). He started a new Mothers Day Out program over the summer at a different church and he never cried once. He loved Ms. Tammi and Ms Cindy! I wanted him to still have that play time built into his summer since I knew it would be hard this first summer with Francine. His passion for Thomas And His Friends definitely has grown exponentially since his birthday. He knows most of the trains by name. At night when he prays for people, he also prays for his trains too! His heart is big and he always wants people to be included. Its crazy to already see character traits that I know he will take with him through life. We have definitely hit the stage of saying "whats that mama?"

Francine Highlights
After getting through all the scary stuff with Francine, we have been able to see her just grow and mature and be able to treat her like a normal baby. Its hard to not compare her to Jack. She is her own individual. She has been a fighter since day 1 and I know that is a good quality to have.

Sleep - Definitely its not been the easiest thing with Francine. Jack was sleeping through the night at 10 weeks old and never looked back. Not so much with Francine. She moved to her own bed at 6 weeks old and still wakes up about 1-2 times a night to eat.
She has been in swaddles since day 1. We love the swaddle.
She is in 0-3 month clothes and size 1 shoes.
Diapers - size 1 till about 2 months and then she moved to size 2 diapers. My kids do love a good blow out. I am always impressed by how something so little has something so big come out of them!
She started to learn to smile around 7 weeks old.

I should be a brand ambassador because when I love something, I LOVE IT! The Uppa baby stroller has been amazing the 2.5 years I have had it. The bassinet part of the stroller is awesome and she loves it. Jack's toddler seat attaches to the back and he doesn't have much space with the bassinet on it but when the infant car seat is connected he has a good amount of room. I have enjoyed not having to have a "double stroller" per say and just have the toddler seat just in case he wants to sit.

She has definitely been our lean child. Towards 3 months we could see some pudge happening. Nothing like a good baby roll! :)
We never really tried a paci with Jack. However it has been a life changer for us. The wubbanub is our friend. Its a little animal attached to the paci and its weighted down so that it doesn't fall out as much.
Baths - since getting the PUJ tub it has changed infant bathing. We absolutely love it. She is comfortable and its much, much easier to bathe an infant.
She has always been a good head holder. I feel like Jack's head rolled a whole lot more the first 3 months. She has been a tough cookie since the moment she arrived into this world so with that you need a strong head on your shoulders I guess.
Tummy Time - In all honesty, I don't think I "implemented" this as part of our day for the first 2 months. I just blanked and then all of a sudden was like "Oh my gosh...she needs TUMMY TIME!" Again, she is rocking it.
Crying - she has definitely been more of crier than Jack. I think she is working through it though. Its been a lot harder to keep her on a schedule because of having a toddler too. When they get off there schedule, it always explains the fussiness.
Skills - she rolled over right at 13 weeks old.
Schedule right now

7:00 wake up and eat and play for 1.5 hours
8:30 nap
10:00 wake up and eat and play for 1.5 hours
11:30 nap
1:00 wake up and eat and play for 1.5 hours
2:30 nap
4:00 wake up and eat and play for 1.5 hours
5:30 nap
7:00 wake up and eat and play for 1.5 hours
8:30 down for the night
10:00 - "dream feed" so she sleeps till like 3 or 4am.