
GROWTH
Baby girl is growing so much!! This month she left the newborn look behind and is starting to look like a little girly! It’s so wild how much she changes day to day, I don’t always notice right away and then I will scroll through her pictures and I can’t believe how much she changes, and so quickly!! She made it through the baby acne phase and is in size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothing, it won’t be much longer before she is already wearing the next size up, she is so long and weighing in at 11.25 lbs!

EATING
We are lucky that breastfeeding is still going very well. I almost exclusively breastfeed, but have incorporated pumping into our routine as well. This has been very convenient when I have left Dillon & E at home together, when I just need a break from sitting/feeding and it’s helping her practice taking a bottle! We are super thankful that she has had 0 nipple confusion so far and can adjust between bottle and breast smoothly. I havenβt pumped a ton, usually once a day but an average pumping session is around 6 ounces, then we package it up for later. Elyse has only taken a pumped bottle from the fridge, she does really well so we figured why not save us the step of heating it up? So far so good! Her current bottles are Dr. Brownβs 4oz anti colic and they have worked very well for us, even though I did have to google the assembly when we 1st used them! π

SLEEPING
Elyse is still a pro napper and can sleep anywhere and through anything. The first half of the month was a period of extreme fussiness, it felt like I could never put her down!! In her dream world we would cuddle-nap-eat together all day and never leave the bed, she loves snoozing on Mommyβs chest! We went through a phase where she would go to bed at either 1:30am or 3am and then wake up around 7am or 8am, not too badβ¦ but recently she has been going to bed at 11:30 or midnight and sleeping until 9am!! ~I donβt know how long this will last but I sure hope it keeps up!! If I have 4 CONSECUTIVE hours of sleep I feel fine, but getting 6+ is awesome!! Havenβt been super strict about sleep training, just following her lead right now & we donβt mind it! Fingers crossed.

LIKES/DISLIKES
This month Elyse has absolutely LOVED hanging out in her swing and bouncer. She loves bouncing, being rocked & having people walk around with her facing forwards. She absolutely loves eating and grabbing at the dangling objects on her play mat, riding in the car & most recently riding on the pontoon boat! When Dad gives her baths she is in heaven! Elyse does not like being cold, spitting up or waiting more than 2 seconds to eat when she is hungry π

MILESTONES & HIGHLIGHTS
It seems like Elyse has grown at rapid speed this month! I was sad to pack up her NB clothes, they look SOO tiny now!! The best thing has been her new intentional SMILES & I absolutely loved how much she enjoyed the boat ride on the lake! She got to weekend with her entire Collins & Reddick families & she gets gets cuter every day!

So many memories & special moments this past month!!
- 1st trip to Joyner Park & Duke Gardens
- 1st restaurant dining: The Original Q Shack
- Celebrated Mom & Aunt Kelli’s birthdays! Mom & Dad’s anniversary
- Quality time at home with Katie, Grammy, Elizabeth, Devon
- Attended the Perez nuptials
- Holidays- Mother’s Day
- 1st visit to Pleasant Garden
- Inaugural trip to Badin Lake!
- Met: Olivia, Leigh, the Gillelands

WOW! Time is flying?! I’m thankful I’m able to take more time away from work to be with you baby girl. You are making us work for it but its all worth it to enjoy your sweet smiles and cuddles. I never imagined one little baby could keep us both so busy or need so much stuff! In between all of the diaper changes, nap cuddles, spit up fits & feeding sessions I dream of the days when I get to have conversation with you! I love you so much and am so proud of how great you are doing- eating, sleeping and growing! We are so lucky to get a front row seat, keep up the good work!