3 Months

Dear Caroline,

You turned 3 months old on November 29th. Each day with you is such a gift, because I realize how quickly time passes. There is nothing more important to me than making you feel loved and secure, protecting you, and giving you everything you need to thrive and grow. Speaking of growth...

• You weighed 12 lbs 15oz at your 2 month appointment! You were 5lbs 13 oz at birth.We aren't sure what you weigh now but I'm guessing around 14 lbs.
• You are 23.5 inches long (you were 19" long at birth)
• You seem to have gone straight from newborn clothes to 3-6 or 6-9 month clothes!
• You're are now in size 2 diapers.

Here are some things you've been up to lately:

•  You love to talk to us! You found your voice around 6 weeks old and you've gotten louder and more vocal every day. Daddy and I could sit and talk to you forever. It's the sweetest thing!
• You love the bath. I think it's your favorite place right now. If you're ever having a tough day, we just put you in the bath and you instantly splash and smile. We bathe you every night before bedtime in the kitchen sink. 
• You still aren't loving the car. While I'm driving, you're either sleeping or screaming...no in-between! I think this is getting better because you seem to sleep more than you scream nowadays. 
• Another thing you're not loving is nap time. You nap well in the car/stroller or in my lap, but you don't like napping alone in your room. I keep trying to tell you that when you're a grown up you'll WANT to nap and you'll MISS napping, but you're still not a nap-lover. At your age you should be getting 4-5 long naps in each day, and we're lucky to get 2 or 3! 
• You're sprouting all new super blonde hair! We have no doubts that you'll be a white-headed blue-eyed little thing just like Mama and Daddy were when we were little.
• You absolutely light up when your Daddy comes home. You are always so happy to see him! As your Mama I love seeing you two love each other. Today we did FaceTime with Daddy and you were smiling and talking to him - you knew who you were talking to, even if it was on a computer screen. This also tells me your eyesight is getting sharper. 
• You are starting to swat at things like my phone and grab your toys and pacifier. You don't really have your grip down yet, but you are so close! I gave you a wet wash cloth last night and you were wiping your head with it and putting it in your mouth - you loved it. You have also started clasping your hands together.
• You're still a great eater! You haven't had anything but breast milk, but I know when you get a hold of solid foods you're going to be in heaven. Right now you're eating every 2.5-3 hours during the day. You usually go to bed around 8:00pm and you're waking up at 1:00am and 4:00am to eat at night. 
• You are such a chubby little thing! We love your sweet rolls and Mama will be so sad when they're gone. We never thought our little bird baby would be such a big girl so fast but we are so happy you're thriving and growing!

We can't get enough of you, sweet baby!

Love,
Mama

2 month Check Up (a little late)

Dear Caroline,

We had your 2-month well visit on October 30th and you weighed 12 lbs and 15 oz!! The doctor was very impressed with your growth and called you "perfect". We knew that already. You had 4 shots but did beautifully and only cried for a few minutes. Here are some pictures from the doctor!

Look at those rolls! We are so lucky to be your parents and get to watch you thrive and grow!

Love,
Mama

(Almost) 2 Months

Dear Caroline,

You've changed so much in the last month! At your 1 month doctor appointment you weighed a whopping 9 lbs 6 oz! You gained almost 4 lbs in your first month! Here is a comparison of you at two weeks (left) and you at four weeks (right). I can't wait to see how much you weigh at your two month appointment. Grow baby grow!

 Here are some of the things you're up to lately:

• Around 6 weeks old, you started "talking" to us and it is the sweetest thing! We love seeing you smile and hearing that sweet baby voice of yours.
• You have gotten much better about having your diaper changed. You even smile and talk to us most of the time when we lay you down to change you. We just moved you up to size 1 diapers.
• You don't really like the car so we're not getting too far away from home. Twice this week I've had to pull over on the highway and crawl in the backseat with you to console you. I really hope you grow out of this because we have so many fun places to go!
• You're not quite sleeping through the night, but we'll get you there soon. Every morning you wake up between 5:30 - 6:00 and begin "grunting". Daddy takes you to the nursery, unwraps your swaddle, and you grunt and toot and "talk". It is your special time with him and I think you both love it.
• We've been taking long naps together in the morning after Daddy leaves for work, and snuggling with you is my favorite thing in the world. I hope you always want to snuggle with your Mama like this.

• Grandma Sammie and Danielle have been coming to see you every week. They just can't get enough of holding you and loving on you.
• You played your very first game this week with Grandpa Rick. He would pretend to take away your beloved paci and you would laugh and open your mouth wide for him to give it back. We had so much fun watching you two!

• You also love your Papa Jim. This is what I've started calling him, but we'll see what you decide to call him when you're really talking. When he holds you, you just snooze and snooze. I've also started calling him "The Baby Whisperer".

 

• You met both sets of great grandparents on Daddy's side this week and they just ate you up!

Here you are with Pappaw and Granny:

Here you are with Grandma and Dede: 

I hope you read this one day and realize how much you are loved. We have all loved you from the day you were born, sweet girl.

Love,
Mama

(Almost) One Month

Dear Caroline,

You are four weeks old today (technically one month on Monday). I cannot believe time is flying by so quickly. We went to Uncle Jason and Aunt Julie's today - our first real outing since you were born. I'm not ready to take you in public just yet, but I figured going to family's house was a good first step. You pooped on their living room rug while I was changing your diaper - oops! Good thing Aunt Julie loves you.
 

Chloe was at school, but we put you on her bed and took your picture (you weren't very happy).

Here are some of the things that you're up to lately:

• We introduced the soothie pacifier recently and you seem to like it. Sometimes you love it and other times you could care less, but we always have them on hand just in case.
• You're definitely beginning to notice us more, and I can see your little blue eyes focusing on my face from a distance. Sometimes you'll see me and start to cry, and I think it's because you realize Mama isn't the one holding you!
• You're still gaining weight like a little champ. We go to the doctor next week, and my guess is that you weigh about 7lbs 10oz.
• We are planning to give you a bottle for the first time at some point this weekend. I hope you like it so your Daddy can feed you every now and then too. 
• You slept for a 4.5 hour stretch and a 4 hour stretch last night!
• I LOVE the smell of your little baby breath. Even when you're a little stinky, I just can't stop breathing in your sweet baby smell and kissing those pouty lips. I probably kiss you 200 times a day. 

 

Love,
Mama

Two Weeks Old

Dear Caroline,

You are two weeks (and 3 days) old today. I can tell you're waking up a bit and taking note of your surroundings more every day. Here are some details on what you're up to nowadays...

• You HATE to have your diaper changed. You cry almost every time I change it (which is a lot) and sometimes you full-on scream. Sometimes you poop and pee while we're changing you and we have to start all over, which you don't like! I have a feeling you'll grow out of this soon.
• You are a great eater and sleeper. You eat every 2.5-3 hours and mostly nap in between your feedings.  
• You LOVE to stretch. You stretch all the time and make these sweet grunting sounds and we think it's just precious.

• You are starting to get a little double chin and some chub on your arms and legs. We are so happy to see these little rolls because it lets us know you're getting all the food you need!
• You are still mostly in preemie clothes and you have a few newborn size clothes that fit, but you're still just a petite little peanut for now. 
• You met your great grandmother on my side (Grammy) this weekend and she is so in love with you. She has been here cooking and cleaning for us for days and I'm so sad for her to leave! 

• We're still deciding who you look like, but you definitely have Mama's lips. They are so full and pouty, and I just can't stop kissing them. I know one day you may not want me to kiss you on the lips all the time, so I'm getting as many kisses in now as I can. 

Love,
Mama

Waiting on Baby

Dear Caroline,

I'll never forget the morning I found out that you were in my tummy - January 15th. I had a dream that I was pregnant so I woke up at 4:30am to take a test. Sure enough, I was! I ran into the bedroom and woke your Daddy up to tell him the news. We were both so surprised and excited.

Two weeks later we went to the doctor and saw you for the first time. This is what we saw:

You were 8 weeks old on this day. We just KNEW you were a girl, but we had to wait a few more weeks for the doctor to tell us.

Three long weeks later, we went back to the doctor for some more pictures. They told us what we already knew in our hearts: you were a GIRL! From that day on, we called you by your name: Caroline Campbell.

We wanted to tell all of our family that we were having a girl, so we invited all of our most important people over for a "Gender Reveal Party". Daddy, Hayden, and I all decorated a big box and filled it with pink balloons so when we opened the box the pink balloons would fly out letting everyone know you were a girl. Your Daddy had some other tricks up his sleeve. He wanted to make everyone think you were a boy, then tell them the real truth. So - he put a baseball glove and bat in the top of the box and pulled it out to make everyone think BOY, then let the pink balloons fly out, letting everyone know the real deal - that you were a sweet little baby GIRL! Everyone was so happy and most people said they knew you would be a girl. Your big sister was especially excited. She had been praying for a baby sister and had finally gotten her wish.

Here are some of your ultrasound photos:

 8 weeks 

 12 weeks 

 20 weeks 

 24 weeks 

31 weeks 

Your Aunt Julie and Cousin Chloe decided to give us all of Chloe's baby clothes for you. Most of them had a "C" on them, so they were just perfect! It took Daddy and I days to sort through all of the clothes, and we got so excited seeing all of the cute things to wear and picturing you in them.

I tried to stay active with you, so every night I would walk around the block a few times. Carter and Hayden and Daddy would walk with me, and they all said I was slow, but I was walking for two!

Speaking of active, you were VERY active in my tummy! Every night at 11:00pm on the dot you would start partying and kick kick kick for about an hour. Daddy and I had the best time watching you from the outside and feeling you roll around. It was a feeling I'll never forget and I loved knowing you were healthy and happy in there.

The foods I ate the most were rotisserie chicken, broiled tomatoes, and apples with peanut butter. Pimento cheese always sounded good to me, and I ate my fair share of it when you were in my tummy. The hardest thing to give up was coffee. Mama loves her coffee! But - I knew it was probably best for you to give it up, so I did. Anything for my sweet girl.

We moved to a new house when I was 7 months pregnant with you. After we moved, I spent a lot of time working on making your nursery perfect. I hope you loved it! Here are a few pictures for you: 

By August we were READY. I had all of your clothes and baby gear in order. I had washed your tiny little clothes in Dreft and lined your dresser drawers in pink shelf paper. One thing I just had to have done was cleaning my car. I couldn't stand the idea of taking you home in a dirty car! Mama is funny like that sometimes. It's a good thing we were ready early, because as it turns out, you were ready to come out into the world on August 29th.

Here are Mama's belly photos:

 18 weeks 

 20 weeks

 24 weeks

 26 weeks

 28 weeks 

 32 weeks 

 34 weeks

 34.5 weeks

 36 weeks

 36 weeks 

38 weeks - in the hospital ready to meet you!

 I will tell you your birth story in another letter - that's a story all it's own!

Love,
Mama