Madison Monthly: Three

The Basics
We didn't go to the doctor this month, so I can't tell you how much the little nutter weighs or how much taller she's gotten. All I can tell you is that she is definitely bigger.

Eating and Sleeping
-She's off Zantac since it wasn't working and she's now on Prevacid. I really hate giving her pills but I hate the straining and the crying more. I honestly have no clue if it's really working; I mean, for the most part, she is just fine when eating, but every now and then, she reverts back. Poor duck.
-Every now and again, my beautiful little nutter goes to bed about 9:30 and makes it all the way to 4 or 4:30 in the morning before needing her bottle. Six-seven blessed hours of uninterrupted sleep - for her. I, on the other hand, don't go bed when she does because there's so much to be done. :) I hear that eventually she will sleep from like 8pm to 7am. I can't wait.

Behavior and Development
-She discovered her hand, and then she decided the natural place for her hand to be was in her mouth. Now she licks, sucks, and otherwise makes out with her hand. I find it amusing and actually have video of it.
-She's learning all sorts of new tricks with her neck, for instance, she recently discovered that it can both hold her head up and turn it from side to side. We are proud.
-Her newfound control has morphed into a lack of cuddle time from mommy. The nutter wants to sit up all the time, meaning I rarely get to hold her like she's a baby (unless she's sleeping). I do sort of miss this cuddly time. On the other hand, it's too cute when I try to hold her and she pushes that little chin forward and tries to sit up. She doesn't get far since her tummy muscles aren't too developed. She even sat up on her own for the first time this month:

-While she doesn't get much out of tummy time besides sleeping, she does seem to really enjoy laying on her stomach on my chest and pulling her head up to look at my face (aka up my nose). I find this ridiculously sweet, and when she finally gets her head in position to look at me and she smiles, I am in heaven. She had one good tummy time this month:

Other than that, putting her on her stomach means sleeping:

-She now, from time to time, has actual tears when she cries which is both sad and adorable.
-She still doesn't laugh out loud, but she does do this weird panting laugh sometimes when she's sleeping. I'd really like to know what she dreams about.
-She coos all the time and it's just so freaking cute. She also blows bubbles and raspberries. Again, cute.
-Along with sucking on her hand, she's figuring out more and more that they are useful tools. It's not often, but sometimes she grabs her toys and uses her hands to move them around:

Social Stuff
-She still spends every Wednesday night at her grandma's, and she spends quite a bit of time with her great-grandma as well. Lucky mommy.
-She hasn't had much opportunity to meet new people, but when she has, she's been just fine being passed around from one set of arms to the next. She did enjoy playing with her cousins at Easter.

-Speaking of Easter, she's super cute in bunny ears:

-Personally, I think she's going to be extremely social because she certainly prefers attention to alone time. She's practically ADD with her incessant need to be moved from one place to the next. Easily bored in one place, she wants to move play gym to bouncy seat to swing to your lap with you talking to her the whole time! My grandmother though did find a little trick which seems to keep her entertained for a small chunk of time....the tv. No shit people, my three month old daughter likes TV, and she seems particularly fond of The Vampire Diaries as she sat with me and watched two freaking episodes. She NEVER sits still that long. Damon's hot even to a three month old.

Mommy Notes
-Trying to work and take care of her simultaneously is killing me. I love that my job means I only go on to campus three days a week, but my job is more than just teaching a class. I have to prepare for the class, grade the assignments, deal with student problems, work on the retention committee, lead the gay-straight alliance, prepare and grade course assessments, and do all the other hullabaloo that comes with being a college professor. I may only put in about 15-20 hours per week on campus, but I put in a full 40-50 hour work week. Unfortunately, like with any other job, it's practically impossible to watch a baby and work simultaneously. People think that "working from home" means you have all this free time, but it's really no different from working in an office (and most people don't bring their children into the office). I'm going a wee bit crazy and I am definitely behind in my work. Luckily the semester is almost over, and then I will have a bit of time to figure out how I'm going to deal with this before the fall semester starts.
-I love my daughter but she really frustrates me sometime.

Her Nicknames (in order of use, 1 being most often):

1. Nutter
2. Baby Nut
3. My Beautiful Little Baby

Songs I Sing to Her

1. You are My Sunshine (the O Brother version)
2. Baby Beluga (I love Raffi)
3. Go to Sleep Little Baby (again, the O Brother version)
4. Amazing Grace (do you really need a link?)
5. Chili's Baby Back Ribs song as follows:
1. I love my baby nut, baby nut, baby nut; Mommy's baby nut Madison.

The Pictures