Bouncy seats aren't just for babies...

When I was pregnant with John Harrison, I bought a few baby gear items......a bouncy seat, a Bumbo, and a jumperoo. The night we brought John Harrison home from the hospital, David ran out to Target to buy a swing (we were desperate for anything to try and make our new baby stop crying!). John Harrison loved the swing, but didn't really like any of the other items. Often, the only way we could get John Harrison to sleep was in the swing. I was afraid of getting my baby too addicted to sleeping with motion, but I was so desperate and willing to do anything to get him to sleep. There were many nights when David or I laid on the floor beside the swing and popped John Harrison's pacifier in his mouth every 10-15 minutes trying desperately to get him to sleep---Elise is quite different from John Harrison in almost every way. She sleeps much better lying in bed than in the swing....for importantly, she actually sleeps for extended periods of time at night and during the day. While John Harrison couldn't stand the bouncy seat, Elise can stay happy for long periods of time (such as while I am making a meal) in the bouncy seat as long as she is not overly tired or hungry. It is so fun to watch Elise smile and kick at the toy bar's lights and songs. John Harrison also loves getting in the bouncy seat or trying to bounce Elise when she is in the bouncy seat....we are still working on being gentle with baby sister.

Elise turned 3 months old last week! She is doing well and we love her so much! She goes to bed around 10:30 at night, then will usually sleep until about 2:30 when she gets up to eat. After eating, she normally sleeps till around 5 when she wakes up and wants to be held until she wakes around 7 wanting to eat again. More nights than not are like the one I described, although there are definitely "off" nights when she wakes up more frequently. I get much more sleep with Elise at 3 months than I did with John Harrison at 9-10 months.

John Harrison is speaking in more and more 2 (and occasionally 3) word sentences. He says things like "more milk," "hi dada," etc. It is so fun to see his speech develop. He also continues to do well playing by himself and loves his baby sister so much.