Bethany at 1, 2 & 3 Months

Our little sweet chunkalunk Bethany is such a doll. Here are a few updates of her first months.



One month. She was a noisy one from the start with all kinds of grunts, moans, burps, hiccups, and coos. She held her head up fairly well right from the beginning! Bethany had pretty eyelashes that looked curled, blue eyes, and the longest finger nails and beds you ever did see. She nursed well and often and quickly gained weight and was already at 8.4 pounds at her 2 week appointment (she was born weighing 7.8 pounds). Poor little one had pink eye for a few days at 3 weeks old but it went away quickly (the nurse said to put a little breastmilk in it and it did the trick). She started to have cradle cap and baby acne around 3 weeks. Bethany had a little jaundice when she was born and we had to take her to be tested twice at the hospital a few days after we got home from the hospital but she started having more regular bowel movements after that so we were in the safe zone.



Two months. Bethany started to smile at 7 weeks and is especially smiley in the mornings for mommy. She laughed in her sleep a few times and started to suck on her hand. For a few weeks she would sleep for one 4 hour period at night but nursed every 2-3 hours the rest of the day. She started to favor her right side and would often sleep looking to the right. Bethany started to look at and watch her big brother Jack and everything he does. She tries to stand and "jumps" as you help her on her feet. Doesn't mind baths and makes a funny face when she first gets in the water. Jack lays by her on the blanket for a minute during her tummy time. Bethany started to get pretty fussy in the evenings until we could get her to fall asleep (sometimes her swing would help but laying her against my legs while I sit with my hand on her tummy helps the best). She started wearing size 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers! At her 2 month appointment was 13 pounds! Got her first cold and cough (luckily, we did not have to go to the doctor's as she was breathing just fine).



Three months. Bethany eats every 2-3 hours around the clock. She sleeps well at night (waking up to eat, of course) and takes a few naps a day. She is smiling a lot! When I talk to her face to face, kiss her cheeks or blow on her belly, she will give me some big smiles and occasionally a laugh. She is not so sure if she likes her new 3+ month soothie binky (she was great with her 0-3 soothie binky!). She's got some good leg rolls and double chins from her chubbiness. Her hair is getting longer and she has a nice bald spot at the back where she lays. Still gets fussy in the evenings most nights but we're getting better at helping her fall asleep quickly. Bethany fits nicely into 3-6 month clothes and size 3 diapers. She hates when bows or hats fall into her eyes and will cry and cry until someone moves it. She is interested in looking at bright toys but isn't grabbing or swatting at anything yet. Still loves to stand, to be held, and to be with people and where the action is. She spits up a lot and blows raspberries. I think she says "goo" all of the time.

We love our little Bethany.

January flowers.

I love when a friend calls me up to ask if I can do some flowers for their wedding! My favorite. Since I'm a stay-at-home mom with the little kiddos, I haven't been doing as much floral design as I used to so it's so fun to do once in a while. This is something I love and helps me keep my creative juices flowing. There is nothing better then some fresh flowers to brighten up your day (or home)!

Both of these friends I knew from my many days in LDS singles wards (ha!). I did a bouquet and bout for Sara's wedding day. She just wanted white flowers with some roses and left the rest up to me. I chose ranunculus, spray roses, football mums, silver brunia, dusty miller, and eucalyptus leaves.



I also did some centerpieces for my friend Clint's wedding luncheon (they went tubing at Soldier Hollow for their luncheon!). I used a variety of jars in different sizes to mix and match three per table. Their colors were variations of purples and greys. I chose hydrangea, stock, lisianthus, spray roses, dusty miller, silver brunia, and some winter greens.



I am so thankful that I started working at the old Provo Floral back in my college days (yes, it's been 12 years or more since I've been playing with flowers!). It's lead to many years working and learning from different shops, companies, a summer internship in Hawaii, and from some wonderful and talented ladies! I just may have to do a whole post about my floral past. That could be fun. Until then, I hope a few pictures will do to help put a smile on your face. I mean, who doesn't love flowers?

Bethany's first few weeks.

Yep. Those first few weeks of having a newborn is a blur. At least I took a bunch of photos to document it! When she was about 2.5 weeks old, I took some photos for her birth announcement. The one below is the photo I used because I just loved her sweet little facial expression while she was looking at her big brother at that moment.



Bethany started gaining weight right away and was soon chunking up! She was 7.8 pounds when she was born and weighed 8.4 pounds at her two week appointment (my doctor says that most babies are still at their birth weight at that point). It was a glimpse at what was to come. When she was only 7 weeks old we had an at home nurse visit and she weighed Bethany at 11.8 pounds! I attribute this to what a good nurser she is. She latches great and gets it done. Also, she eats frequently so that helped her get her chubs. I feel very lucky she eats so well. Jack wasn't such a great nurser, which is probably why he was a skinny little one for his first few months (he would usually fall asleep and didn't seem to care much about eating a lot).



Nights are blurry. She wanted to eat every 2-3 hours around the clock, but I expected that. Since she slept so much day and night those first few weeks, I always tried to keep her awake for a short time during the day and keep the lights low at night to help her know her days and nights. We have loved having a woombie sleeper (think of a sleeping bag, complete with the zipper, with only the baby's head out). It's such a nice and easy way to have her swaddled at night with a little wiggle room for her arms to move around inside the sleeper. She had some cradle cap and baby acne for a few weeks but most of that is gone now. She liked baths right away, to hold her head up, her snugabunny swing, and thankfully took a pacifier well. Bethany really favored turning her head to the right when she would sleep or lay on her back so I would always try to gently move her head to the left once she fell asleep. She didn't have much hair but it's slowly growing longer. Bows and headbands have been fun with her!

Jack has been really sweet to Bethany since he's met her. That first week he asked a few times to hold "baby sissa" and he did, sort of (see photos below). He gives her an occasional kiss and lots of hugs with his head only. He does steal her binky occasionally and has kicked her in the head by accident, but other than that, he is pretty dang cute with her. She always looks at him when he's nearby. Jack calls her "Beffy" and it's kind of stuck. Now Tyson calls her that, too!



She's been such a sweet little baby and we love her so much. Here are a few family pictures we took when she was only 3 weeks old! We sure love this little lady and her darling big brother.