Ellie became a different baby this month, when we figured out that she couldn’t tolerate dairy or soy in her Mama’s diet. We knew something was wrong because even though Ellie loved to eat, she would get more and more uncomfortable as a feeding went on… by the time she was done, we’d have to use every trick we knew to calm her down so that she could rest. We’d rock, sing, swaddle, bounce, shush, smile, cuddle – otherwise Ellie would cry. It was stressful for us, and no picnic for Ellie.
Once Melissa made the right dietary changes, Ellie was a new and happier baby. She smiled more and cried less. She would fall asleep after a feeding, and would even let us put her down occasionally to play by herself. Of course we love holding our little girl, but we needed a break!
Ellie did give us a break at night – she started sleeping through the night at just three weeks old, and was consistently sleeping an 8-10 hour stretch by the middle of July. She slept so soundly, and would wake up so hungry! But little Ellie wasn’t starving; she was moving rapidly up the growth charts. Her face filled out, and she started looking just like the Gerber Baby (but cuter!).
In late July, we took Ellie camping… sort of. With temperatures predicted to be 95 degrees, we ended up staying in a motel room instead. And due to unfavorable kayaking conditions, our friends didn’t arrive at the campsite until it was almost Ellie’s bedtime. But we made the trip, Ellie slept just fine in her own Moses basket next to our bed, and we got more time to hang out with our friends in the morning. Most importantly, we proved to ourselves that we could travel with our little girl, something we hope to do more of soon.
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