Wordless Wednesday

{I don't think Riley likes the big hairbows!}

A Few of my Favorite Things!

Just a few of our favorite things since Riley was born...

• Our sound machine {specifically set to 'rain'}
• Headbands! {we have so many cute headbands, but many of them are too wide for her little head right now, so we're sticking to the thin ones}
• Huggies Pure and Natural diapers
• The moby wrap
• Fisher Price Rock and Play Sleeper
• Mocha Chip Frappe :)
• My iPhone and DVR, the two things that get me through the middle of the night feedings 

One Month!

Seriously, how did a month already pass???  It seems like it went so quickly, yet it feels like Riley has been here forever.  It's so strange...  I'm hoping to keep track of how we're doing each month, so here we go!

Riley is perfect.  We laugh at all the grunting she does...she's so noisy!  At night, she's sleeping between 3-5 hour stretches.  She's never woken up crying in the middle of the night; I hear her grunting and stirring and I get up to feed her.  When she is in her own room, I wonder if that will change.  Right now, she's sleeping right next to our bed in her Fisher Price Rock and Play Sleeper, which I highly recommend to any moms out there.  It's fantastic!  {Though we may transition her soon to her crib or the pack and play for naps...}  The sound machine (set to rain) plays all night and she sleeps great.  A typical night includes a last nursing around 8 or 9, then she's asleep until somewhere around 1 and wakes again around 4 or 5.  Gavin's up around 6 and then I usually wake her again to spend a little time with us, she nurses, and goes back to sleep for 2-3 hours (sleeping usually around 8-10ish).  That's about the extent of our 'schedule' right now.  We're getting there!

She's a chunky little thing, weighing in at 9lbs 14oz.  {Just a side note...Gavin was 9lbs 9oz at 5 weeks, so she's ahead of him.}  Her hair {sadly} is thinning out and her face is currently suffering from baby acne.  A great majority of her newborn clothes no longer fit, and she's going through 10-12 size 1 diapers a day right now.  {Seriously...she knows how to go through the diapers!}  We're making some progress with the bottle. At her 3 week check up, Dr. Harvey recommended giving her a bottle at around the same time each day just to try to get her to take it easier, and so we've started including a bottle to her evening routine and we're able to get her to take about an ounce at a time.  Slow progress, but progress!  

She's starting to make more eye contact now.  I can't wait for the intentional smiles and coos that will start soon, I'm sure!  Unfortunately, she's not a huge fan of the car seat right now (boo!) and she definitely has her fussy times through the day.  Most days I get dinner started only by wearing her in the moby wrap {thanks, Tori, for originally telling me about it!} or the ergo carrier.

 As for me, I'm not one of those girls that will drop all the weight super fast just because I'm breastfeeding.  I'm down 22 lbs {from the 35 I gained}, but I lost all of that in the first two weeks!  Guess it's time to really get better about what I'm eating...  I'm sure I'll get the ok to exercise more in a couple of weeks, too, when I go back for my check up.  I can fit into my wedding rings again!  That didn't happen for a looong time with Gavin.  I'm feeling really good, though.  Some days I'm exhausted, but for the most part, I can get through the day with just a little help from my friend, the coffee maker.  We're doing better about getting out of the house and I'm hoping to have a better routine into place by the time Gavin starts preschool.

Speaking of Gavin, he's doing well, too.  His sleep is still hit or miss...some days we have no problem at all, and other days it's a drawn out process, but I still can't fully blame the addition of a new baby to the house for this.  He is three, afterall...which everyone warned me was harder that the terrible twos.  I have noticed that the extra tv and video games {aka - my iPhone and pbskids.org} is starting to become a problem, so it's my personal goal to do more hands-on things with him and start using our tot school supplies, sensory bins, etc. to stimulate him more.

Looking forward to cooler weather and more adventures this month!

 
 

Wordless Wednesday

This boy...

Drives me up a wall some days....

...but can make me laugh 30 seconds later...

...and has a way of making my heart melt just by looking into his big brown eyes.

I love you, Gavin.  

Newborn Photo Shoot

I feel so lucky to have met Rachel through my playgroup, and even luckier that Riley was born before she moves back to Michigan with her family!  Rachel is starting a new photography business, and took our maternity photos back in June.  Then, when Riley was 5 days old, she came to our home with all her props and did a newborn photo shoot.  They are incredible!  I can't pick just one favorite...they're all amazing!

First Family Photo

I already wrote about how Gavin's visit to the hospital didn't go as I'd pictured it, and we didn't get the traditional "new family in the hospital" photo with all four of us.  Well, can you imagine how upset I was when I realized last weekend that we still hadn't gotten a picture of the four of us together, and Riley was almost 3 weeks old?  It almost made me cry!  I was so disappointed that with all the visitors we had, I hadn't thought to have someone take a picture for us.

So, what did I do?  I set up the self timer, of course!  It's not the greatest picture...Riley had just fallen to sleep, but we were headed out and I didn't want to put it off any longer.  Here it is - our first family photo, with all FOUR of us!

Day of Firsts

Last Sunday was a day full of firsts for Riley...

First, the weather was finally cool enough that we ventured out on our first neighborhood walk with her.  When we took Gavin on his first walk (when he was just about a week old I think), he cried so hard we turned around and went home.  We didn't know what Riley would think of it...

Things started out looking good...

Still looking good... 

 But, we weren't moving quickly enough and she got annoyed when we weren't moving.  We did, however, make it around the whole neighborhood without her crying anymore!  Gavin, on the other hand, was a different story.  He just kept asking if we were finished yet...

Then, we got home and gave Riley her first bath in the baby bathtub since her umbilical cord is officially off.  She loved it!  Yay!

And Big Brother loved watching!

And she continued with the theme of the day by pooping in her bath for the first time, too!

Then later that night, my favorite boys tried giving Riley her first bottle. 

Sadly, she didn't take it.  Nor did she take the next 3 attempts.  We're still trying...  At this rate, I'll be dong my Tastefully Simple parties with a baby strapped to my chest!

Just have to accept it...

As a mom of two kids now, there are some things I realize I just have to accept.

1. Gavin might be watching more tv than normal...but until we are into a better routine, sometimes the tv is what we both need!
2. Riley might just have to cry.  Sometimes Gavin needs me just as much as she does, and I can't always put her first.  It's hard to hear her cry, but I'm Gav's mommy, too.
3. Some days, I might just have to cry, too! :)
4. I'm drinking more caffeine while nursing Riley than I did when nursing Gavin.  I gotta do what I gotta do!
5. I'm going to wipe even more butts...
6. Just when I think they're both asleep and I can take a shower, one of them will wake up.

I'm sure I'll come up with more things to add to this list, but no matter how long the list gets, it's all worth it.  I wouldn't trade places with anyone!  Even on the roughest days, when I haven't showered, eaten or sat down...even when Gavin is driving me up a wall...even when Riley won't let me put her down...I am so thankful I'm a mommy of two and that I get to stay home with them every day.  

A Riley Update

We took Riley for her 3 week check up yesterday.  She's 9lbs 5oz and 20 1/2 inches, which means she's gained nearly 2 pounds since we left the hospital and grew an inch and a half.  She's in the 50th percentile right now for both weight and height.  And of course, she's just perfect!