Violet’s Three Month Update

Time is flying by so quickly, so of course I’m way behind on Violet’s updates (she’s actually 14 weeks now!) but I don’t want to miss her updates as these are the ones I’ll look back on, no doubt. So, here is Violet’s 3 month update – weeks 8-12. Thank goodness for taking so many photos, as time is passing by so quickly it’s hard to remember what happened when – however looking back at my phone, it literally tells our story day-by-day!

So, after Violet’s 8 week injections I remember we had a bit of a rough two weeks. She was super grotty afterwards with a temperature for a couple of days, plus it really messed up her sleep pattern. During this time, I stayed in with her a lot, I sat on the sofa, blogged, fed and cuddled her when she needed it and we just rode out the storm together – those pesky first injections, they really affected her!

Once she was on the mend, she started to really come on with her developmental skills, she learned to hold a toy for a short period of time and we keep trying over and over with tummy time, although she hasn’t quite got it yet. She has started to babble and loves to have ‘conversations’ where we talk back and forth.

During this time, we decided to change the way we were feeding. You may have read my breastfeeding story so far, by weeks 5 onwards I was exclusively pumping breastmilk and giving the odd formula top-up. Honestly, I felt like a human cow – it was so hard and my life revolved around my trusty Medela Swing Maxi Double Electric Breast Pump (which was fantastic by the way) it would be a cycle of pump, feed, wash bottles, sterilise bottles, repeat. I couldn’t have a life as I always had to be somewhere within 2-3 hours or I’d start to soak through my clothes (even with the best breast pads!) As Violet became more interactive and demanded my attention – she would get frustrated that I wouldn’t pick her up and play with her as much as she’d like in between feeds, mainly as I was pumping or getting the bottles ready for the next feed, so after battling through this way of life for around 4 weeks (hats off to anyone that exclusively pumps!), I decided something had to give and we made the switch gradually over to formula. I was so upset, honestly I was gutted at this point it hadn’t worked out for us, I loved breastfeeding but I always felt like it was an uphill struggle for us, we were always swimming against the tide, so when I was at my weakest I just let the tide take me and we stopped. I cried as my milk dried up, but when I realised how easy life would be just making bottles (especially with my shiny perfect prep machine) and I felt better. I gave Violet 10 weeks of breastmilk, I would have liked to do more but I’m happy we did what we did against the odds.

Since switching Violet over to formula and finding one that suits her (Aptamil Comfort) she has been absolutely thriving -she loves it, her colic issues are gone plus she has grown and put on weight perfectly. Maybe I am too hard on myself, she is just fine.

Anyway, on a happier note – at 12 weeks Violet had her first Waterbabies lesson and she LOVED IT! She loved the songs and splashing about in the water, she has even done a couple of underwater swims too! I am so glad we booked her into classes as it’s the highlight of our week at the moment then we spend the rest of the week singing the songs and practising our splashing in the bath ready for next week!

We also took Violet on her first ever big day out. We went to London to the Tower of London and for some Mexican food. She won’t remember it but at the Tower of London, we held her up to see the Crown Jewels, she was definitely interested in all the colours and sparkles! I made this vlog of our day out if you fancy a peek:

MONTH THREE: 

Feeding: Combination fed until 10 weeks – then moved to exclusively formula

Weight: Weighed at 10 weeks, she was 10lbs!

Sleeping:  She is SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT. Yes, I said it, probably jinxed myself but from weeks 8,9 and 10 she was waking around once a night for a feed, then around week 11 she just started sleeping through and still does every night.

Skills: Grabbing and holding toys for short periods, feeling textures, lots of smiles, holding her head a little better, pulling my hair and sleeves, more eye contact, babbling sounds, blowing bubbles and raspberries

Favourite things: Grabbing at everything, hair, glasses, jumpers, toys, nappy cream, nappies – if she can reach it, it’s gone! She also loves looking at herself in the mirror and having a good conversation, her new swing chair (it can settle even the worst mood!)

Hated things: injections, having a sore tummy, not getting enough attention