Updates on Lauren

Now that Lauren is 11 weeks old ( 2 & 1/2 months) I figured I'd post some of the recent things she's doing and how she's changed. For the past 5 nights she's only gotten up once at night to eat - Yay for that!!! We've found that generally she needs a 6-6:30 bedtime and throughout the day has trouble staying awake for longer than an hour. She just started napping in her crib for 2 hour periods during the day too. This little girl needs her sleep!
She's loving her music and lights play gym, is enjoying sitting in her bumbo seat watching baby einstein for a couple minutes, still loves her changing table and just laying on the floor, but really dislikes tummy time. Many things seem to be catching her attention now and she enjoys watching us do anything. Lauren greets daddy with a huge smile every evening he comes home from work which just melts his heart. She is smiling, cooing, and occasionally lets out a little laugh (or what sounds like one) when happy. We're in the process of transitioning her from her basinet to her crib at night but she's been in her own room which is great. She still LOVES her pacifier - that will be fun to wean her off of later!
The feeding issues have pretty much completely resolved. Breastfeeding is going well now and its a great bonding experience for the both of us. I've found it to be much easier than feeding her the bottle. Lauren is usually done eating within a 10 minute period making nighttime feedings nice and quick!
She still doesn't like being out in her car seat while sitting in a shopping cart, doesn't like being in the stroller, and really wants to be out and held when she can. Though colic has resolved we still feel she is a fussier baby than normal so routine is going to be crucial!
I will be returning to work in a little over a week and am actually going to miss being home with her. She's just starting to get more fun, easier, and more manageable. Sam will be taking 5 weeks paternity leave and after a little learning curve I think he's going to love it. After the 5 weeks he'll go back to work but take vacation days a few days a week. That will bring us to the week of Christmas when my mom and possibly his mom will start watching her. I really do enjoy my job and wouldn't want to stop working but I'm anxious about being away from her for long periods during the day and nervous because I've been with her all the time since she's been born. I know that other's are just as capable to watch her including her daddy but there is some anxiety there since I feel I know her best. I think the biggest challenge will be pumping and continuing breast feeding. We'll see how it goes but I'm trying to stay positive about it.
Oh yeah - nicknames seem to be evolving... okay, I know these sound funny but most nicknames are... skittles (mostly used by her cousins), bean (daddy really likes this one), and munchkin. We'll see if any of them stick!

I just thought this picture was too cute!