1 Month!

Emily Marie  1 Month Old



 I know I'll say this many more times over the course of Emily's life, but wow! It seems like just yesterday we were meeting her for the first time in the hospital.  Now here we are a month later.  It seems like the blink of an eye and forever all at the same time!  At one month old, Emily is now almost 10 lbs (weighing in at 9.8 oz on our scale at home).  She's mastered the arts of eating, sleeping, and pooping and we still consider her to be pretty easy baby.  We feel lucky to be feeling less sleep deprived than expected at this point and I am so thankful for the easy physical and emotional recovery I've had this time around.  I didn't think I'd had a particulary hard recovery with Noah but I still had to recover from major surgery with him.  This time around I was crawling around on the floor and chasing Noah within days of giving birth and there's no way I would have done that with another C-section this time.  I think just feeling good physically has also helped us make transitions easier at home and for that I'm very thankful!

Emily still nurses like a champ, eating mostly every 3 hours.  In the last week or so she's been awake a bit more in the morning and evening but basically just eats and then goes back to sleep during the mid-morning and afternoon hours.  Evening hours have been the most challenging though--it's as if someone flipped a switch around 730-8 pm where she's basically frustrated with the world.  Thankfully this fussy/crying period is pretty short, lasting only about 30 min to an hour depending on the day.  She's still pretty restless only sleeping off and on till her last feeding around 11pm then she sleeps peacefully.  Night feedings have been the biggest blessing--she usually wakes twice a night but quickly goes back to sleep after nursing most nights.  The last few days she's spaced out her first waking from about 11pm till 3am or so.  3-4 hours of uninterrupted sleep make Mommy a very happy woman! 

As I reflect back over the last month, I have some words I want to share with each of my sweet family members:

Sweet Emily: Precious girl, it amazes me how seamlessly you have fit into our lives already.  We all love you so very much.  You big brother dotes over you, trying to give you kisses almost anytime you are close to him.  I know he can't wait for you to be able to get down and play with him.  I'll have to remember that as you two are fighting over toys later!  Daddy and I love to watch you stretch especially after we unswaddle you--your great big stretches with your sweet little body are so cute!  And we love the faces you make!  You often smile in your sleep and we can't wait for a few more weeks when those smiles start coming more and more and are actually in response to us.  My favorite thing right now is to just hold and snuggle you while you are sleeping and stare at the details of your sweet face.  I never cease to be amazed at the fine detail God created in you--tiny eyelashes and eyebrows, tiny lips, ears and fingers, and all perfect!  You were most certainly "fearfully and wonderfully made"! We are so enjoying getting to know you and can't wait to see your little personality unfold.  We love you sweet girl and are so thankful to have you in our lives!

My Noah Bear: I want you to know how very much we love you.  There is nothing and no one that will ever change that.  You are so special to us!  I have loved watching you grow into your role as big brother to Emily.  You are so very sweet to her.  Though a bit rough at times, the roughness is not a fault but only you trying to love on her the only way you know how.  You make me very proud!  Just this morning it was you that were able to calm her down as I tried to get breakfast ready for us--you gave Emily her pacifier, turned on her bouncy seat, and got an armful of trucks and cars then sat and showed and talked to her about each one.  You are a great helper!  I know the last month hasn't been the easiest for you--you've had to really learn how to share our time and attention.  For a three year old, I think you've done quite well!  We're all still learning, so thank you for the times you've been patient with us.  We'll all keep working on being patient with each other.  I still love to snuggle you and have loved the naps we've taken together in the afternoons lately.  I also especially love learning things with you--doing crafts, learning all about dinosaurs, and all the other fun things we do to occupy our time during the day.  Thank you for being my sweet boy!

And finally to my sweet husband: It seems only fitting that we just celebrated our 8th Anniversary this past year.  Actually we're going on 11 years of  being in each others' lives.  It's crazy to think back to when we first started out and see all the things that have happened in our life together over that time.  I love doing life with you.  I couldn't ask for a better husband and friend or father for our children.  It's amazing to be in love with a person for so many years yet still find new reasons to love them as time goes on.  I've loved watching you be a Daddy to Noah for the last three years and now love watching you begin to be a Daddy all over again to our little girl.  You are so great with both of them and I am so thankful for the positive influence I know you will be in their lives.  Thank you for loving me and loving them and for making our family a priority in your life. 

Settling In

So I think we're starting to get settled and adjusted with our new little family member.  We've made it through weeks 2 and 3 and we're all still doing pretty well.  Emily is still being a pretty easy baby.  Noah is doing better and better.  Mike went back to work--the first day at home with me and both kids was a little rough.  Noah and I didn't get along too well that day--lots of talking back and getting upset over pretty much anything I offered him.  We had several time outs that day.  The second day was better--only one time out and big meltdown.  I'll take that kind of progress.  We're having to teach him some new boundaries with Emily.  He's still only loving toward her, however we're working on being more gentle with our loving.  He wants to "share" his toys with her--but dinosaurs in her face aren't ideal.  He likes to show her things and like to be in charge of turing on her bouncy seat and swing. 

We went in for a check up and her 2nd newborn screen when she was 10 days old.  At that point she was back above her birth weight at 7lb 9.5 oz and 20.75 in.  She's growing like a champ already!  We had to go back in just past 3 weeks old to have her belly button looked at and at that point she was already weighing in at 9 lb 3 oz!  She starting to get some little rolls on her arms and some chub to her cheeks.  As she's getting a little bigger I think she's starting to look even more like Noah as a baby. 

This time around with a baby at home, I wanted to make more of a point of getting out of the house and having some exposure to the outside world a little sooner.  I felt too excluded for too long with Noah and reflecting back that wasn't good for my mental health.  We've kept Emily in the sling or covered in her carrier so she can still avoid germy hands but we've definitely taken advantage of having a variety of activities over the last few weeks. 

Mike's Dad came into town for a few days to see family and meet Emily.  We were able to go out to lunch with him several times including a trip to Dave and Busters with Mike's brother and all the cousins.  Noah had a blast.  Emily slept the whole time!  That's the great thing about newborns--the ability to sleep just about anywhere.  We're enjoying taking her out and getting out while it's still fairly easy! She's been to church twice now too.  And we also had VBS at church in the evenings last week.  That was great as it got Noah out of the house and gave him something to look forward to.  He LOVED it and had a blast again this year. 

Mike and I also enjoyed celebrating our anniversary during VBS week--Noah went to church and we took Emily out to dinner.  Again, she slept the whole time giving us a quiet dinner to reflect on the last year.  It's been a wonderful 8 years and is always fun to look back and see how far we've come during that time!  I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful man to share life with.

Meeting Grandpa.  She didn't cry the entire time, it just looks that way.

Noah teaching Grandpa how to play Toy Story while waiting for our food at Dave & Busters

Another little Longhorn fan.  We start 'em early!

Though it looks like a curling iron burn, Noah actually had a run in with a bar stool and the back of the couch.  His forehead was the only casualty

All dressed and ready for Emily's first Sunday at Point of Grace

There's nothing like the smell of a clean baby...

We're still doing sponge baths for Emily.  Her umbilical cord has been kind of stubborn (not wanting to fully dry up) so we're having to wait till she gets a real bath.  In the meantime, Mike got some photos of her roller coaster of emotions associated with bath time.  

Photo Shoot

I did a little photo shoot with Emily at home in an attempt to get some good photos for use with her birth announcement.  You can see the finished product in our previous post.  Here are some of my favorites that I captured while snapping away.  I love all the different little faces she makes.  I only wish I knew what was really going on in her little head--probably something like "Put the camera away crazy lady and give me some more milk!"

Emily's Birth Announcement

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Week One

We were excited to come home on Sunday, less than 48 hours after Emily was born.  Noah was so sad the night before when it was time for him to leave the hospital with Grandma and Granddad--he wanted Mommy and Daddy and Emily to come home and didn't understand why we had to stay another night.  His excited little face was so cute when we came in the door Sunday afternoon and we quickly started checking out baby sister very closely so he could start getting to know her.  He was especially interested in her weird looking belly button.  My parents were able to stay an extra night and my mom gave me a little break and got Emily changed and ready to eat during the night so Mike and I could get a little extra sleep.  And it was nice having them here to help entertain Noah a bit as we were trying to get settled into our new routine at home. 

 Little miss all snug and posed while in the sling with Mommy

We had a check up with Emily on Tuesday (7/26) to check her weight and skin for jaundice.  When we were discharged from the hospital she weighed 7 lb 2.2 oz and was already up from that at 7lb 3.5 oz on Tues.  Her jaundice looked no worse than on Sunday so we didn't even need to get a blood level which was great.  Overall she is healthy and thriving so far--such good news!

The rest of the week was pretty laid back.  Mike has two weeks off from work so it's extra nice having him around.  We enjoyed introducing Emily to family and friends that stopped by to meet her.

 Meeting The Whites (Wed 7/27)

Here with cousin Lydia

 Cousins Lydia and Jared

 And Aunt Dayna

(Uncle Brian and cousin Isaac were there too, just no pictures of them)

 Aunt Kristi came back on Thurs (7/28) to spend the day with us.

She helped give Noah some extra attention--here playing Rabbits on Wii

Emily got her first sponge bath on Thursday.  Noah was anxious to watch and help.  He helped wash her arms and legs and decided he needed to get baby sister her special princess rubber ducky to play with while she had her "bath".  Such a good big brother!

My brother came to visit for the weekend.  We enjoyed some nice (well as nice as it can be in 100+ degree weather) time outside--it was especially good for Emily and me to have some fresh air.  Noah and Daddy had a water war in the back yard which Noah loved!

Meeting Uncle Thomas

Here is Emily at exactly one week old (7/29).  We'll try to take regular picutres like this with the same bear in the same chair to track her growth.  When we weighed her at home she was 7.6 lbs on our scale--so just a bit over her birth weight already!  Babies are supposed to be back to birth weight by 2 weeks of age so she's growing like a champ so far! 

We're beginning to learn Emily's personality--she's quick to get upset and let you know when she's unhappy about something (which really isn't often and is mostly for good reason-hungy, dirty, tired) but she's also quick to be soothed.  For some reason Mike thinks that trait came from me.  Hmmm.  We're enjoying her newborn stretches, grunts, and other noises.  When she gets really mad her cry makes her sound like a goat so we kind of laugh at her (honestly we're not mean parents) and when she gets the hiccups sometimes she sounds like a little chihuahua yapping.  I wonder how many other parents compare their babies' noises to animals??  She's been mostly great to us at night so far--just waking 2-3 times to eat but going back to sleep easily when she's done.  We're enjoying what seems to be an easy baby so far--hard to know if she's just different than Noah or if we're just more experienced this time.  Or likely some combination of both.

Overall we're adjusting well as a family of four.  We've had a few rough spots with Noah--mostly just dealing with some extra whining and more blatant disobedience.  We're trying to balance being understanding as he is obviously going through a big adjustment right now too and sticking firm to our rules so he doesn't think misbehaving will help him get his way all the time.  He's been only loving to Emily and I know the rest of the stuff will work itself out with time. 

Emily meets her family

A huge thanks to my parents and sister for coming in to town on super short notice to be with Noah and be here for Emily's birth.  Of course she came so quickly that she was here before anyone even made it into town!  Kristi stayed with Noah and got him settled for the night and my parents were able to come straight to the hospital and meet Emily not long after we got settled into our post partum room.

Meeting Grandma & Granddad

Proud Grandma

 Proud Granddad

 

 Emily's first diaper change.  Thanks Grandma!

 Saturday morning Noah got to come to the hospital.  I was looking forward to the moment of him meeting his baby sister almost as much as I was actually looking forward to meeting her myself.  And he was super excited about it too!  He had a huge smile when he came in the room and walked right over to me as I was holding her.  With no hesitation he came over and started stroking her face and bent down and gave her kisses.  Love at first sight!  I was so proud of him and so happy to finally get to introduce him to the baby that we'd watched grow in my belly for so long!

My favorite moment on Saturday was when he (unpromted by anyone else) sweetly started singing the ABC's to Emily and gave her eskimo kisses all over her face.  So sweet!

Noah getting his first peek at baby sister

Meeting Aunt Kristi

We didn't have many visitors in the hospital (which can actually be a good thing) but did enjoy a visit by Linda Hunt--who was also the first non-family visitor to see Noah too--our friend from Point of Grace and our Pastor.  When Delton came by on Saturday night he prayed for all of us just before leaving.  We were trying to get Noah settled down to pray with us and instead of letting Delton pray, Noah decided he would pray and said the Lord's Prayer for all of us all by himself.  Another sweet moment.

Though our stay in the hospital was pretty uneventful, we were very pleased to be able to go home early in the day on Sunday.  Emily and I were both doing well, so after about only a total of 40 hours from the time we set foot in the door on Friday we were able to take our little girl home Sunday afternoon.  Here we are getting her dressed in her special "Little Sister" outfit and getting ready to go home to start our lives together now as a family of four!!