Dress: Gap | Bow: Etsy | Playmat: Lovevery

 

Good morning! 

I can’t believe I am even writing this and that my little girl is already 3 months. I went through her drawers last week to clean out all the things she no longer fits into and was devastated. The days with her seem to go by so much quicker and I’m a little sad about it. 

Since she is a second child I think I realize the hard stuff is momentary and the stress isn’t there as much. She is also a very easy baby so that helps a ton. I wanted to answer some of the questions I’ve been receiving the most and share a few updates!

 

Are you still pumping? What is your schedule? Do you like the Elvie? 

 

Yes and yes! I am still pumping and virtually on the same schedule as before. I try to pump every 3-4 hours and do not pump overnight. My last pump is usually between 8-9pm and then I don’t pump again till around 6am when I wake up. My morning pump is the longest (30 minutes) and throughout the day I aim for 20-25 minutes. We have supplemented with formula before and will continue to do so if we need to. I truly believe fed is best and whatever schedule works for you as a mom, works for your family. 

I’ve discussed this before but the last time around I had a very different relationship with breastfeeding. It was a real struggle for me. I felt a lot of pressure being the only one able to feed Zain and since he didn’t sleep as well in the beginning I was also exhausted. This time around, it’s been nice that Trevor can help with the feedings and I know exactly how much she is getting and when. 

At first when she stopped latching when we got home from the hospital and the idea of pumping arose I was dreading it. However, I now think it is a much better fit for us and I think I prefer it. I also have a freezer stash of milk so will start to slowly thaw a bag at a time so I can mix frozen and fresh milk. Last time around I waited till the end and Zain refused to drink straight frozen breast milk so I had to use it all for milk bath’s instead. 

I do like the Elvie! If you are exclusively pumping and/or need a pump for work it’s life changing. It works well suction wise and collects as much milk as my Spectra but I don’t use it for my first or last pump of the day. It does have a lot of parts that will need to be washed but being able to pump while doing other things is wonderful. This is the bra I use with it!

 

Is Zahra still in your room? 

 

She isn’t and again I’m kind of sad about it 🙁 We decided to move her to her own room once we came back from vacation since we figured she was already in a new environment there and the transition would be easier. I don’t even think she noticed! She isn’t in her crib just yet but we will probably do that move around 4 months. We just moved her bassinet (our pack and play) into her room so everything was virtually the same. She is just across the hall and we still use the Owlet so I can hear her easily. 

 

What is her sleep schedule and Zain’s? 

 

First off, Zahra’s sleep patterns are amazing and I’m not sure we had anything to do with it. I’ve said it before but she is just naturally an easy baby. I know her being second contributes to some of that but Zain was nothing like this. We sleep trained him eventually because neither of us could function and it was still a struggle. He would go through phases so often and I’m sure her time will come but so far it’s been smooth sailing. I shared more of what we did the first few months to get her on a schedule here and I do think our day to night changes helped a lot!

 

Zahra’s Schedule:

7-7:30: Wake time

9am: Nap – this is her longest and best nap of the day, usually 2 hours.

11ish: Wake, Play, Eat

1pm: Nap 

2:30pm: Wake, Play, Eat

4:30: Nap

5:30: Wake, Play, Eat

7:30: Bath, Books, Bottle

8-8:30: Bedtime

 

There is obviously variation in this during the day but her bedtime and wake time are almost always the same. I really try to take her cues during the day and not stress over a schedule since she is still so small. 

She started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks and would off and on for a few days after that and has since been consistent with it for a little while. She was gaining weight well at her 3 month check up so the pediatrician was fine with it and I was beyond thankful. 

 

Zain’s Schedule: 

7:30 – His Hatch light goes off signaling he can come out of his room. You can read more about how we implemented that here! He usually wakes up between 7 and 7:15am and will just talk to himself and lay in bed. 

Noon: Lunch

1-3pm: Nap – He doesn’t always actually fall asleep for a nap but stays in his bed with books for quiet time If not.

6pm: Dinnertime 

7pm: Bathtime, Books

8pm: Bedtime

 

I try to time their wake/nap/sleep times together and it’s worked fairly well so far. She sometimes doesn’t make it to 1pm but again I just follow her cues. It makes it much easier that we aren’t really going anywhere and can adjust daily. 

 

Favorite products?

 

• Dr.Brown’s bottles: we are solely using these now and haven’t had any issues at all!

 

• Drying Rack: since we use so many bottles and have my pumping gear I ordered this drying rack and have been liking it much more than the grass one we had previously. 

 

• Ollie Swaddle: This is new to us this time around but we love it and use it every night!

 

• Burp cloths: these snap in the back and are thick enough to actually soak up spit up!

 

• Boppy: I use it every time I feed her to help support her head so my wrist isn’t hurting. 

 

• Aquaphor Baby: We use this almost every time we change her and did the same with Zain. He never had a diaper rash and I think that’s why. 

 

• Snuggle Me: We use this for her naps during the day so we can move around the house. I shared this on Instagram stories but we used the DockATot with Zain and I think that is probably the better investment. The Snuggle Me is smaller and she’s already outgrowing it, the cover doesn’t fit as snug as I would like so I almost never use it and it’s harder to wash in my opinion.

 

• Baby Bjorn bouncer: She loves this thing and spends a lot of time in it! It is a little pricey but it folds flat and the cover is easy to pull off and throw in the wash. 

 

• Owlet and Owlet Camera: We have the combo and love that it’s all connected so we can see her readings on our phones from anywhere. We used the Owlet with Zain and it was a total must for us. 

 

• Bibs Pacifiers: I bought a 4 pack of these before she was born and it’s all she has used. 

 

• Lovevery Playmat: We just got this a few weeks ago and are obsessed with it! She enjoys it so much and I love how it’s designed for their development. Can’t recommend it enough! 

 

• Portable Fan: We use this everyday! If it’s not on her stroller we stand it up on the front porch to keep her cool. 

 

I also try to save most of our frequently used items to my Amazon storefront. There is a tab labeled ‘Zahra’s Things’ that has everything!

 

Favorite places to shop for her? 

 

Baby Gap, H&M and Janie and Jack. I shared this on stories a few weeks ago but although Janie and Jack is far more preppy than I would normally consider I find the best basics there for Zain and Zahra. Although Target is one of my favorite places to shop for Zain I don’t find a ton of girl’s clothes there. Rounded up a few of my favorites for fall below:

 

 

 

 

Hope this covers it and if you have any other questions just send me a message!