Sleeping Ely

Ely slept for 7 hours and 45 minutes last night! He went to bed at 8pm and didn't wake up until 3:45! I think he got some tips from Jadie. Maybe that's what they were babbling about yesterday over dinner. :) He didn't sleep until 10:20 tonight so we'll see how long he sleeps tonight (I may have drank too much caffeinated beverages).

We have balloons still floating around from Ely's 100th day celebration. During diaper change, I found Ely starring at it. I brought it down for him and he loved it! 

I grabbed everything that Ely likes (there is a mirror in the back too) to have him enjoy his tummy time.

Nice weather

We're loving this nice weather. I was even able to bath Ely today without turning on the heater. 

Lisa suggested that we meet up at Kelsey Creek Farm in Bellevue. It's a nice little farm with trails, a little play area for little kids (the play area is mini-size for the little ones) and farm animals. Ely looked at little roosters, horses, sheep, and goats. It was the perfect weather to be outside. I couldn't believe how warm it got so early in the morning. 

Here is a very dirty piggy. She must have rolled and rolled in the mud to keep cool.

Here is Ely posing next to the sheep. 

Ely was really good today and slept while I shopped at Costco. I was even able to sit down to enjoy a hotdog and latte freeze. Yum! 

I was even able to run to Mclendon to get plants for a hanging basket AND Ely watched me put it together. Thanks Ely!! 

Ely likes his fingers better than pacifier now because he can gnaw at them (I think) but he can't make up his mind on which finger to suck on (so why not the whole hand?).

For the last three nights, Ely has taken a 2 hour nap from 5pm so I left him with daddy while I got my hair fixed (long story). When I got home, Ely was crying his head off and daddy had tried everything to sooth him (even whooped out the chilled teething toy!). 

Who wants to play basketball?

I am so thankful that the weather was nice this last week before I returned to work. 

Next week, we will start our morning early. I tested it this week and Ely had turned into a morning baby. Today at 5:45 am, he looked at me with his big eyes and talked about what he was going to do today. He finally went back to sleep at 7am. I'm anxious about starting day so early, going to work and having the energy once I get home. We'll probably all go to bed very early. :o) I have a feeling I will be drinking  a lot of coffee at work. Good thing drip coffee is $0.80 and free refills. WooHoo!

I'm going to miss playing with you Ely! I hope you sleep lots at daycare so that I can play with you after work! I am so glad that you like Mayboobae and your sweet friends at daycare. 

Cute story: Baby Madison started to cry because she was hungry and Mayboobae was busy changing Ely's diaper. Baby Olivia waddled over to her friend Madison and started to cry too. I asked Mayboobae why Olivia was crying and she said that it was because Olivia was sad that her friend was crying. How sweet!! 

Yeay!

For the first time...

Ely laughed for the first time today! We were chasing Toby and Charlie around in the rocking Donkey and Ely started to laugh. We tried to tape him doing it again but he didn't do it again. He laughed again as I lifted him up in the air and once again, he got camera shy.

Sleep deprived...

For the last couple of days, Ely has been sleeping only 5 hours and waking up at either 1:30am or 2:30am. He has this sleeping thing all backwards. He is sleeping again at 7pm so I will have to wake him up in a couple of hours so that this doesn't interrupt his sleeping pattern (10:30 - 4:30). It would not be good if Ely starts sleeping at 7pm and not 10:30. It's too early! I barely get enough time to play with him after work and after dinner. 

Work...

Where did 15 weeks go? First first month went by so fast. I don't even know what happened to March. Mayboobae said that Ely cried for a little bit after I left him at daycare. So sad!! He started to pout a little bit when I went to pick him up. I was saying "hi" to him and didn't pick him up right away and it made him sad. Poor guy! After this week, I'm back to work!

Boohoohoo

I have been periodically poking Ely to wake him up so I can play with him. He has been sleeping from 6pm (now 9pm). I will change his diaper to wake him up. 

Wake up Ely!

Why is Charlie sleepy? We think it was Charlie who ate the Kisses and not Toby. There was an unopened package of crackers that had teeth marks on it. If it was Toby, it would have been open. Hmmmm...maybe it was both of them?

"BAM"

Early Morning

I finally made it to daycare for our early trial run today. The traffic wasn't bad and I got to the daycare 15 minutes early. While we waited, Ely babbled on about why he was sitting his carseat at 6:30 in the morning and decided to do a very stinky doo-doo (we saved it for Mayboobae). Once we saw the lights turn on, we went to see Mayboobae. Baby Madison was there already and quite awake. She seemed that she was a morning baby too. Ely was wide awake and was telling Mayboobae about his early morning. 

Ely woke up at 2:30am last night and slept for only 5 hours. -_- Hopefully he will return to his 6.5 hour stretches tonight.

Now I am sitting in the Acura dealership waiting for our car to get serviced. The free mocha coffee isn't too bad. Free wi-fi is nice too. I am going to get a haircut (thinking about chopping it off) and will organize my closet. I need to get my work clothes ready for next week.

Toby was very angry about going to his kennel this morning. Poor guy is going to miss hanging around the house and sleeping (all day). Charlie doesn't really care as long as he gets treats. :_)

Funny Toby

It took Toby awhile to learn it but he can eat from a chopstick now (fork too!). In the beginning he was confused by the chopstick but now he can gently pull the food off of the chopstick. Funny boy!

100th Day

We spent many hours of cleaning and prepping food for the big day. I was only able to prep for two dishes as Ely demanded that I hold him and play with him. For the house warming party, I was able to prep about 7 or so dishes (with Sung's help too) but now, I am lucky if I can peel a clove of garlic before Ely starts to fuss. Luckily Sung was able to help on Friday and Saturday. We took turns keeping Ely happy. ;)

Ely took a couple of quick naps in grandpa's arms. He was very good as people took turns holding him. Carson, Ely's 4-yr old cousin really liked Ely. He even tried to carry Ely to his dad as his mommy trailed behind him holding Ely. Ely's cousins tested the toys in the loft and I was able to see if the toys would pass the kid test. They were so cute! I can't wait until Ely can play with his cousins. 

Luckily my sister in law and mother in law brought more food. We had lots of food, rice cake, and more cake. 

I was worried that Ely would be overwhelmed by all of the excitement and not sleep well. To our surprise, he slept from 8:00-10:00 pm and woke up to eat for a little bit. He slept from 10:30 to 5:30. Good boy! 

YeAy!

Ely slept for entire 6 1/2 hours! He was trying to sleep at 9pm but he couldn't. He fell asleep at 10 and woke up at 4:30 am. 4:30 is perfect because that will be when I need to get him ready for daycare once I start work.

Gone are the  nearly 2 hours of feeding, 2 hours of sleep, and many many sleepless nights. Just three weeks ago Ely added one whole hour and was sleeping four hours. I still can't believe he slept 6 1/2 hours! He is actually still sleeping so once we start daycare fulltime, I hope he keeps this up so he can sleep at daycare too. 

Here is a funny picture of Ely. He pulled his pacifier from his mouth. Too bad he hasn't figured out how to put it back in his mouth.

Teether

Ely likes his new teether. He actually sucks on it instead of making funny faces (I have been trying to show him things that can sooth his gums). Toby likes it too because it rattles.

Today Ely pooped out of his diaper. It ran down his legs and went all over the carrier. Ely thought that it was pretty funny and kept smiling. 

Long day....

Ely was in daycare for 7 hours today. He looked so sad when I went to daycare to pick him up. He had just started to cry because he wanted to be held. He also had a dirty diaper. Mayboobae had left at 3:30 and they were shorthanded. I fed Ely for 15 minutes and changed his diaper. He was much better afterwards and fell asleep on the way home. Once we got home, Sung was already home from work and had dinner ready. Before dinner, Ely told daddy all about his day at daycare. 

I am getting a bit anxious about leaving him at daycare for 8+ hours once I start working. I wish I could stay home and play with him alllll day.......but we would need to live off of Top Ramen and Ely won't have cool toys to play with. It's not fair! Of course in la-la-land, I would be home with Ely and everything would be perfect. 

I brought the journal home and Mayboobae had written something everyday. How sweet! I am going to surprise her with a picture of Ely on his first day at daycare. 

One funny thing she wrote about in the journal---Ely loves to look at the mobile spin as it plays music. The mobile started to make funny noises so Mayboobae had to turn it off (so it stopped spinning around). Ely wasn't happy about it so Mayboobae had to spin the mobile with her hands. :_) Funny Ely! He loves mobiles. I got him a wind-up mobile that goes on his car seat when we go shopping and he loves to stare at it.

He was also fussy when Mayboobae laid him down on the playmat but he stopped being fussy when she sat down and held him. What a demanding boy!

Ely's 100th day celebration is coming up on Saturday. There is going to be a smaller group than we anticipated because a lot of relatives have to work on Saturday. I hope Ely will take long naps so I can cook and get the house ready on Friday. :) We'll see.

Ely is growing

Three Months:

• Length:  25.25 inches 90 percentile
  
• Weight:  13 pounds 13.25 ounces 50-75 percentile
  
• Head Circumference: 16 7/8 inches 90 percentile
  

-Still keeping track of Ely's age by weeks but I've found myself saying Ely's age in months more.

-He loves to talk.

-He loves to stare at faces.

-He loves mobiles. He tries to grab the mobile as it spins by. It's so cute!

-He loves to listen to harmonica. It's a special treat for him when he is at daycare.

-He is finally sleeping more than 3 hours! Ely sleeps close to 5 hours now. He starts at 9am and wakes up around 2am. 

-This month he started to go to daycare. He doesn't sleep very much while he is there but once he starts staying there more than 4 hours, he may sleep more. I am so relieved that he is under the care of Myboobae. Such sweet lady!

-Toby and/or Charlie got to Ely's dirty diaper and shredded it. We think it was Charlie (he loved to shred stuff).

-He can suck his pacifier back if it's close to his mouth. I can't wait until he learns how to put the pacifier in his mouth all by himself. 

-He loves to stare at Toby and Charlie. 

-He is drooling a lot and loves to drool on my shoulder.

-He is little teeth caps! 

-He found his arm and loves to stare at it.

Ely loves music!

 A lady from daycare played the harmonica for Ely and he loves it. The other babies giggle their little bodies to dance to the music. It's so cute! 

Ely loves watching the bubbles on the vibrator but he only lasts 10 minutes before he starts to fuss. I got a small mobile that I attached to his play gym and he loves to stare at it. He tries to catch the little animals as they spin around above his head. The great part is that it's a wind-up toy so no batteries are required to play the music. Woo-hoo! This little toy is also $25 but I found it for $10 at Marshalls. :) Marshalls also had Life is Good shirts on clearance for $7 for men. I didn't get it b/c it was too big for Sung but I've seen it big up to$30 on Ebay. I've noticed that there are more brand name merchandise and even stuff you would find at baby boutiques at these discount stores. I am guessing that with the bad economy, some of the little stores closed down and these discount stores bought them. I even saw a Marclaren stroller that is $100+ for $75. Too bad it was pink!

Today, I am going to pickup a set of 12 Baby Einstein DVDs for $10 in Issaquah. It's usually $15 for one DVD. WOoHOo!

..video to come soon...

Ely

Ely went to daycare today and did well. I put him in his crib and he starred at the mobile and didn't even notice me leave. He was playing with Madison when I went to pick him up. 

I took Ely to work and he was smiling at people as various people held him. He even babbled when a lady held him. I can't wait he starts laughing out loud. It should be anytime now. Can't wait!

I went to a pet store while Ely was in daycare. There was a beagle playing with a cavalier king charles mix. They looked like Toby and Charlie.

Enjoying the nice weather

We went to Pt. Defiance Park over the weekend to enjoy the great weather. Ely did some tummy time and posed in a field of daisies.

Sung is going back to work on Monday. How sad. I will be going back to work soon too. Even sadder.

On a lighter note, Ely slept from 10:00 - 3:45! Woohoo!

Happy Mother's Day to all of our new mommies!

Lots to update!

White caps!

This explains the endless feeding and extra fussiness. Ely has maybe 4 or 5 white caps. One might even be erupting. I noticed it while we were in the car and he was crying. Poor Ely had to be patient has I took pictures. It is usually very hard to take pictures of his gums but it was really the only chance I got. It's sort of early for a barely 3 month old to have tooth buds already. I wonder when it'll erupt. I will need to get some things to sooth Ely. I tried putting stuff in this mouth to help sooth him but he probably thinks I am crazy because he pushed everything out.

After 3 hours, Ely finally fell asleep. It may have been over 3 hours but the poor guy finally conked out. He slept from 9pm to 2am. I don't think he slept through it entirely but I think he may have. I was too tired to remember if he woke up or not.

Doesn't he look peaceful? He is going to sleep as long as he wants to. He is very tired from exhausting all of his energy on the little teeth of his. It's not fussiness actually. It's only natural. With soooo many little teeth trying to erupt, he is probably in a lot of pain! Poor guy!

Tummy Time

Ely doesn't like tummy time. At least he looked cute even though he didn't like it. He needs to build up his neck muscle so he can have solids soon. His mouth may be more ready than his neck. His neck will need to be strong so he can start eating solids.

Karate Baby
Here is Ely practicing some karate baby moves. Actually, not really but it sure does look like it! Ely usually hates being in the car seat so it was a rare treat for him to be smiling while he was in the car seat and I was take pictures of him.

Vibrator
Oh how Ely loves the bubbles on the vibrator! He doesn't like to sit in it more than 15 minutes but it may be getting headaches from not blinking and starring at the bubbles.

Doggy play time

Toby and Charlie had a blast while Bucky stayed with us for a little bit. Most of all, they loved eating Bucky's food and treats. It was funny to see Bucky and Charlie gang up on Toby. Bucky tried to blind Toby by licking Toby's face while Charlie tried to make Toby trip by gnawing at Toby's leg.

South Center Mall

I would have never known this existed unless a friend showed us this. There is a family area with individual feeding area w/tv in two parts of the mall. There is even a huge play area for older kids as well as a potty area with one toilet for mommy and another for junior. Did I mention concave counters for diaper change and pull out diaper trash cans? The only thing I didn't like was a lady who opened up the curtain the stall while I was feeding Ely. I wasn't even in the first stall!

First day at daycare

Today was Ely's first day at daycare. We wanted to wean Ely into it so that he can adjust to the new people, smell, sound, and other things he needs to become accustomed to.

I dropped of Ely with his blanket and binkie. The blanket had our scent so that it would keep him cozy. We're going to jazz up his crib a bit with a cool mobile from home. He will also get a crib soother from daycare. I may also bring him a toy he can keep in this crib too.

When I was dropping off Ely, I heard a baby girl crying her head off. A 6 month old girl that started today and she was crying because she didn't recognize the strangers. How sad! Her daycare provider was sitting by her crib to reassure but there was nothing else she could do. She couldn't hold her since that would make matters worse. I was a bit nervous after seeing this and hoped that Ely would be okay. I handed Ely off to Myboobae for a diaper change. He looked at her (more like starring). Once she changed his diaper, I said goodbye and told him I will be back in 4 hours.

As Sung and I were on our way to daycare, I had a brain fart moment. When I looked over at the empty car seat, I thought that we left Ely at home. It was only for a split second. It was just so strange to see the car seat and not see Ely there.

Once we got to daycare, we found Ely sleeping in his crib. He woke up as soon as Sung picked him up. He had eaten two times during his 4 hour stay and was ready for another meal.

Myboobae told us that Ely did very well for his first day. He slept 45 min and then 1 hour later but it's very good for the first day. Myboobae wrote in a journal about the day's event. I get to take the journal home and write in it too. According to the journal, he also did some tummy time but he wasn't too sure about it (Ely usually doesn't like tummy time).

Once we got home, Ely was fussier earlier than usual and it lasted longer. I had to lay him down to sleep after 45 minutes and he cried for another 30 minutes. Poor guy! I think he was stimulated a bit too much today even though he was at daycare for 4 hours and he slept through nearly half of it.

I am so relieved that we can start this daycare process sooner so that all of us can get used to this. It seems like it's hardest on Ely but I have a feeling that he is going to adjust to it very soon.

Good thing he likes Myboobae. :) She said that when she talked to him, he smiled at her. How cute!! He also made friends with Cade. Cade laid by Ely on the play mat and also sleeps in the crib next to Ely.

Here is Ely when he got in the car. He was ready for a meal and afterwards, he did a huge #2. He didn't do his usual #2 at 10:30 am while he was in daycare so we were relieved that he did it. Funny how we wait for him to do his thing to make sure he is okay. :)

Side note: It's great to be friends who have "contacts". Thanks to Lisa, we've been hooked up with a cool baby monitor that has lots of bell 'n whistles. It has temperature and humidity sensor. It also plays music. The coolest feature is being the ability to talk from the handset.....when Ely is crying, I can reassure him that I'm on my way. :) The sound is super clear too. Too bad it doesn't have a video too. I only say this because it was free. I bet it would be close to $300 if it had the video feature too and I wouldn't spend that much on a monitor. :)

Woo hoo!

Sleeping Ely Update:
Ely slept from 11-2 , 2-5, and 5-8! Woo hoo! Hurray for 3 hour stretches! Sung saw Ely moving around at 12 but he went back to sleep. :) I love the night vision video monitor. It is sort of weird at times b/c Ely's face is white while his eyes look black on the monitor (sort of like a ghost) but it's great to be able to see him.

Craiglist-o-holic
Oh how I love Craigslist! I love selling stuff on it b/c of the bigger audiance. I usually prefer Ebay but I can avoid paying the 10% fee (Ebay and Paypal) if I sell on Craiglist. It's just not as convenient since I have to meet the other person to sell the item.

Today, I had the strangest buying experience. It's totally "what not to do" when you sell something on Craigslist. I needed a mobile for Ely (one for home and one for day care). I found a $40 mobile on Craiglist for $15 so I drove to Sammamish to buy it. I called them and a guy answered. He said that his wife was home. I told him that I wanted to see it working before I bought it.

Well......so.....

I get to the place and this very nice Indian lady invited me inside. She was very friendly. I thought she had the mobile nearby but she had me follow her upstairs. Meanwhile, her 2 yr old was trailing behind us and was talking to me. So....we end up in a room and I notice a big bed. OMG....I was in their master bedroom!!! She showed me the mobile and it was working. I told her that I will meet her back downstairs as she was taking the mobile off of the crib. Again, the 2 yr old followed me and chatted with me while we waited. Downstairs, her 10 month old was sitting in a car seat while grandma was watching him.

They were all very nice people but I kept thinking --what if I was so psycho and ran off with their little ones or something? I rarely have people come to my house to buy something. If they do, they will meet me at the doorway.

Also, Sung wouldn't be sending a stranger to our home while I was alone. He gets freaked out about me going to some stranger's house to buy some random stuff. haha.

Craigslist:
We also bought a $100+ Kettler tricycle for $15. It doesn't have the "rubber" tires but I don't care. It's only $15! Radio Flyer tricycles evidently have a tendency to tip over so Ely can try this bike out and if he really likes it, we'll get him a nice bike (maybe off of Craigslist again.. haha).

I also got a Batta activity center cube for $10. It's originally $50 and it's it in EUC. Ely will be able to start using this as soon as he can hold his neck up to see the cool stuff on the cube.

Consignment sale:
JBF is a big consignment sale that happens twice a year. While the selection of clothes are not that appealing (mostly Old Navy, Carters..etc.) because you can find better deals on brand new clothes, the selection of toys is awesome. I like it because I can get random toys for fraction of the price. Sometimes it's 10% of the original price. Of course I will get Ely new toys too but at the same time, I can easily get random toys that he get test out. This way, I can get him toys that he can try out and if he doesn't care for it, it's okay. I did wipe them down like crazy and disinfect them like mad. :)

Nordstroms Rack:
OMG, I would never buy a $44 t-shirt for Ely but I will buy it for $8. Kids grow up so fast, it's not worthwhile to spend so much money on clothes. I love buying shoes (for the family) but I have kept myself from buying one in every size for Ely. I did give in and buy a new Robeez for $11 because it had a puppy on it that looked like Charlie. :)

Boo hoo hoo

Sleep update:
Ely didn't sleep very much. He slept for two hours and kept waking up 1-2 hours. Maybe he will sleep longer tonight. He stayed up for 3 hours at one point so maybe he is more tired today. We'll see!

Sleep Ely!

Everybody is sleeping through the night. Everybody except for Ely that is.

Last night he went to bed at 10:15 pm
1:40 am - woke up hungry, ate again & fell asleep
2:50 - ate again & fell asleep
5:00 - ate again & fell asleep
7:00 - ate again & fell asleep
9:30 -12:00 -- shower time, play time, ate & fell asleep (let mommy & daddy enjoy din sum uninterrupted.)
2:00 - eat again, played a little bit & fell asleep
3:20 - 4:30 - play time, ate & fell asleep
6:20 - ate again (tried to sleep in his crib but didn't like it and cried a lot)
6:45 - ate again & fell asleep
8:05 - ate again & fell asleep
10:00 - woke Ely up for bath time.
11:00 - Ely is trying to fall asleep on his own. He was fussing after I put him down in his crib.

It seems like Ely is sleeping a lot during the day but he is awake when he is eating and is active for a little bit before he falls asleep again. I don't want to keep him from napping but it does seem like he likes to sleep a lot.

Ely is going to sleep in his crib for the first time tonight! I set up the Angel Motion Monitor. This monitor beeps if it doesn't sense any motion for a certain amount of time. I may also set up the video monitor too so I stop peeping inside the nursery to see if he is sleeping or not. :)

Maybe Ely will sleep for 5 hours tonight!

Toby is going to sleep in a cave tonight.

The black hole

Pacifiers:
Lately, we've noticed that there is a black hole that sucks in Ely's pacifiers. I got some cheaper kind but Ely didn't like it. Of course he preferred the kind that is 2/$5.99. Although it doesn't seem like much but after awhile, it adds up pretty quick. I have to get a set of 0-3 pacifiers and another set once he gets older. He prefers the symmetrical kind as well as the Soothies. We've tried quite a few different designs and he likes Pooh or Avent pacifiers. Problem with the Pooh brand is that it was leaving marks on Ely's chubby cheeks. I found that a lot of cuter pacifiers had a similar design. Avent pacifiers have a flat mouth piece and it doesn't leave marks on his face. It also has a vent so that Ely's saliva doesn't irritate his skin.

Avent pacifiers:
Shaped like a Soothie so that the tongue goes under the nipple naturally. It's also BPA free.
They also have glow in the dark pacifiers.

Vitamin:
Ely has to take Vitamin D drops everyday (more so b/c he is breast fed). It's $10 for a 50 ml bottle. This adds up too since Ely will be breast fed for awhile.
Enfamil Tri-Vi-Sol - 50 ml, 3 Pack $23.45
http://www.americarx.com/SearchProducts.aspx?SearchText=tri%20vi%20sol
Americarx also has the best deal on breast milk storage bags (this adds up too) - 50 for $8.02 vs. $10.