OUT with the Miracle Blanket & IN with the sleep sack!

When Alexa rolled over on New Year's Day, the way we put her down to sleep in her crib changed immediately. We could no longer swaddle her in the Miracle Blanket (photo below) because if she rolled over and had no use of her arms, she could get stuck!

While we could have gradually weaned her from the Miracle Blanket by swaddling her with one arm out, then both arms out, we decided instead to drop the Miracle Blanket cold turkey. We switched instead to Halo sleep sacks, like this one and this one!

I got two sleep sacks from Buy Buy Baby using 20% off coupons and two from Greater Goods, where they were marked at 50% off! We'll need to have a couple extras in case her diaper leaks and one to send to day care for naps.

So far, so good! It took about a week for Alexa to get used to sleeping without the swaddle. At first, she startled herself with her arms. Now, she simply rolls over onto her tummy and gets comfortable. She's out in two seconds!

Alexa visits baby Nathaniel!

We started off this morning with a good work out at the mall with Stroller Striders! Then we headed out to Virginia to visit my friend Jen and her new baby Nathaniel Zane. Nathan is 6 weeks old and barely 8 pounds! He was so tiny and absolutely adorable! Alexa loved playing on Nathan's activity mat and can't wait to go visit again.

Of course we had to take pictures of the babies! We set them down and Nathan started to cry! Alexa didn't know what to do, she looked at him, then at me, then back at him crying - and then she burst into tears!

Once we got the babies calmed down, they cuddled up!

I think Alexa likes baby Nathan!

Alexa had a very VOCAL day!

On Tuesday, we met up with my friend Kristin and her daughter Emma for lunch. Afterward, went to Barnes & Noble so Emma, who is nearly 11 months, could walk around. Alexa slept through lunch, then woke up to hang out with Emma in the bookstore!

Since it was such a nice day, after the bookstore, Alexa and I went for a walk on the Capitol Crescent trail. Alexa napped in her stroller and I walked for an hour! She was so rested and happy that upon returning home, she started talking up a storm in her car seat!

Click HERE to hear her talking!

The fun continued at home in the exersaucer, where Alexa played with her rings and kept on talking! Click HERE to hear more of Alexa!

Alexa eats PIZZA and MEATBALLS at Mia's!

We had lunch at one of our favorite pizza places today, and got a good deal too! I purchased $30 worth of food at Mia's for $15 on LivingSocial.com. Our bill was $32, so it cost us only $2 and tip. Way cool! Alexa, meanwhile, enjoyed eating pizza and meatballs! She made a MESS but had a good time. So did we!

Our little sitter (sort of)!

So I'm not sure if this counts as sitting? She can't get into this position on her own and she can't lift her arms up. But if I sit Alexa up, I can get her to balance on her arms and sit on her own! She's been doing this for a week or so? I call it her tripod sit. Check it out!

Of course, Alexa can also sit on her Nod chair!

And here is a picture of her in her laying in her stroller! Today was a holiday, so I met up with some other women in my mom's group, then joined Daddy for a walk along the Capitol Crescent trail. What a great day!

We used the JJ Cole Toddler Urban BundleMe that I got NEW at the Wiggle Room consignment shop for $15 (usually $59)! It matches the JJ Cole Infant Urban BundleMe that we use in the car seat. The liner zips up like a jacket around Alexa to keep her toasty warm!

The grey padding that you see cushioning her head is the JJ Cole Body Support, which I got on sale for $14 (usually $25)! Our pediatrician recommended it to protect her neck and keep her head from bumping around too much. Sure looks cozy to me!

More adorable bath pictures

Fact: Alexa loves her plastic rings.

Fact: Alexa loves her plastic Oball.

Fact: Plastic toys can be played with in the water.

Result: Alexa had a blast playing with her favorite toys in the tub!

Click HERE to watch a video of her in the tub. Or scroll down for some ridiculously adorable pictures of our little bath princess!

Alexa's first ride in her stroller - sans car seat!

It was a BEAUTIFUL day out on Saturday, so we decided to take a walk on the Capitol Crescent trail! Since Alexa is now a big girl who can hold her head up and roll over, we decided to try out her stroller without the car seat.

We lowered the stroller to the lowest setting so she could lie down. We then used a blanket to keep her head from flopping around.

She loved it! She looked around and then took a nap! Here is the view we have of Alexa throughthe clear windows on top of the stroller. (The photo is upside down because that is our view of her, get it?)

Here is Daddy pushing Alexa in her stroller. What a smooth ride!

Stroller Striders... What a workout!

Eh, I am sooooooo sore! I don't think I realized how out of shape I was until today. Alexa and I got up early and headed to White Flint mall to check out Stroller Striders, a mommy-friendly group that does one-hour workouts with babies in tow. First class is free, so we met up with three other women from my mom's group, all of us eager to see what this class had to offer.

The whole class took place on the 3rd floor of White Flint mall, near the movie theaters. It started off with some low-impact, in-place cardio moves to get our heart rates up. Then we marched our strollers to Bloomingdales (pictured below) and lined the strollers up against the store while we used resistance cords around the railings to do an arm workout.

We then pushed our strollers while doing lunges down this hallway (pictured below). The last person had to run to the front while everyone else did lunges, and so on.

The class ended with all the strollers lined up and the mom's standing on the cords to do more arm exercises and standing crunches. To keep the babies' attention, we sang them songs! Alexa was awake the whole time. She loved it! And I got a great workout!

After the class, Alexa and I went to get coffee with our mom friends and their babies. That is when Alexa finally fell asleep and took her morning nap, which gave me some time to check out the baby section of Bloomingdale's and take these pictures!

Then, since it was SUCH a great day, we all met up later that afternoon for a walk down the Capitol Crescent trail. What a great day! And what a great way to kick off getting back into shape!

MORE exersaucer fun!

Today was a nice, relaxing day. It was also 50 degrees out! So Alexa and I went for a walk to Starbucks. We used my Moby wrap and she snuggled under Daddy's fleece jacket, which I wore. Once we got home, though, she had more fun in her exersaucer! Here is Alexa in one of her few non-pink outfits! Thanks Aunt Elizabeth for this adorable red onesie!

Mommy Movie & More exersaucer fun!

The Majestic Theater in Silver Spring boasts two Mom's Club movies every Wednesday. With the cold weather, Alexa and I finally got the chance to check it out. We met up with a woman from my mom's group to see "Leap Year."

The movies were supposed to be catered toward mothers and babies with low volume and places for diaper changes. However, we found the movie to be no different than a regular matinee show! There were only a few other people in the theater. But since there was stadium seating with stairs, so we found that we had to sit up close because of our strollers. So the movie was very close and LOUD... We had to ask the manager to turn it down!

Due to the volume and closeness, the babies were very distracted during nursing. The small seats and arm non-moveable armrests also made it hard to nurse. Alexa was quiet for most of the movie and only fussed a couple of times. I had to leave once to change her and stand on the side to rock her to sleep.

It was great to see a movie, but I wasn't really impressed with the theater. I thought calling this show a "Mom's Club" movie was a ploy to get my business and not worth me driving out of my way to Silver Spring. In the future, I might just go to a regular matinee!

After the movie, Alexa enjoyed more exersaucer fun!

Alexa visits daycare and Daddy's office

As of this week, Alexa has a spot in the day care center located in Daddy's office building. So today, we took another tour and met with her teacher to go over logistics.

Alexa already has her own crib and cubby, with her names on them! Her color is red. We still need to bring in extra changes of clothes band a medical form from her doctor. But we hope to take her for a day at daycare soon.

After our tour, Alexa got to meet some of Daddy's co-workers and visit Daddy's office! She then took a nap while we ate lunch. What a full day!

Alexa has gained 6 pounds since birth!

Today was a big day! We headed downtown for our weekly music class at the JCC. Alexa is really enjoying this class. We learn songs like "I have three people in my family" and "I have two eyes." Then we practice at home, much to Alexa's delight!

After music class, we picked up Daddy and took Alexa to see the doctor for her 4-month check-up. Guess what? She gained 1 1/2 pounds in the last month! Altogether, Alexa has gained more than six pounds since birth! She also grew an inch in the last two months -- two inches since birth!

I was worried that Alexa was too small because she is still wearing some 0-3 month clothes and not fitting all of her 3-6 month outfits. But since she is gaining steadily and consistently ranking in the 50th percentile, the doctor said she is fine. Here are the stats:

WEIGHT

Birth: 7 lbs, 12 oz

1-month: 9 lbs, 7 oz

2-month: 11 lbs, 5 oz

3-month: 12 lbs, 3 oz

4-month: 13 lbs, 10 oz

LENGTH

Birth: 19 3/4 inches

1-month: 21 3/4 inches

2-month: 23 inches

3-month: n/a

4-month: 24 inches

When we got home, we celebrated (and cheered Alexa up after her shots) by setting up her new exersaucer! At first, she wasn't sure what to make of it. Then, she decided she likes it! Click HERE for a video of her in her new exersaucer! Thanks Mike & Chris for the exersaucer!

Alexa tries out her new bath pod!

One of the women in my mom's group raves about her Tummy Tub. This round bucket-shaped bath tub is supposed to calm babies because it mimics a mom's womb. Combined with the warm water and cramped quarters, babies supposedly feel right at home.

I told Alexa's daddy about the Tummy Tub, but he balked at paying $42 for what he called a "glorified bucket." So I found this washPOD by Prince Lionheart at Buy Buy Baby for $21.99. After using a 20% off coupon, the cost came to just $17!

I figured that since Alexa loves her bath, this might be a new way for her to enjoy the water. It's sort of like a baby hot tub, if you will. We finally got a chance to try it out...

After initially balking at the idea of sitting in the small bucket, she made herself quite at home and seemed to enjoy relaxing in her tub.

The only downside to this kind of a tub is that washing her hair is a little difficult and once the water becomes soapy, it's hard to rinse her off. Plus it is, well, a little cramped in there!

I think this tub would have been nicer to have when Alexa was younger, but then you run into the problem of her not being able to hold her head up. It's definitely a tub with a limited life since she'll outgrow it soon. But for now, we're getting a lot of enjoyment out of it. I'm sure glad we opted to get the less expensive version!

Alexa is FOUR MONTHS old!

Happy Birthday, Alexa! Here are some photos from her birthday photo shoot. What a happy baby! She was all smiles and giggles!

More adorable photos of Alexa!