Eat, Sleep, Poop.

Sleep, eat, poop. by sarawisely on Polyvore

Amazon.com / Medela Advanced Personal Double Electric Breastpump Model #57065 / Up Up Milk Storage Bags

After three months of our wonderful little bean, we have learned a few things. Not anywhere close to everything, but enough to say, "oh my. That was a great purchase. Perhaps I should share that with the world." So, here it is. My favorite things regarding eating, sleeping and pooping.

Halo Sleep Sack. The hospital was actually nice enough to give us this one. Full of fleecy wonderfulness, this swaddle blanket--most of the time-- lets our gal get a good nights sleep, free of face-punching baby movements. Sad for us, it was too hot to use in the summer, but it's working well now. Would I change anything? My mom ended up getting us a few more of these that weren't fleece so we could use them earlier, which was great-- however our little gal is always quite determined to escape. In doing this, she often pulled the entire swaddle wrap up around her face-- which is scary. Looked uncomfortable, and nothing like waking up to your baby with blankets around her face. I think I would opt for the miracle blanket next time-- which was sadly too small for our gal by the time I discovered it.

Waterproof changing pad liners. You think you have poop under control. Until it comes shooting at you from all directions. Trust me on this one. You don't want to have to be worried about changing out the whole cover every time an explosion happens. Fold it over, and continue your diapering experience (even when giant floods attack you and your little one. It happens.)

Muslin Receiving Blankets. These are amazing. Cuddly, soft and wonderful. By far my favorites that we have. They wash up great, and are warm in the cold, cool in the summer. I lovelove them.

Medela Pump/Up and Up milk storage bags. This works great for me at the moment. I have a place at work where I have a locked door, countertop, sink and outlet-- if not, I've heard fantastic things about the Medela Freestyle. Nuff said. And Up and Up makes great storage bags that are pretty cheap compared to other brands.

Dr. Brown's Bottles. The bottle aisle in Babies R Us is seriously scary. Who would have thought there were so many choices?! My mom has been using these when I am at work, and she says good things about them so far. I like the fact that they decrease tummy bubbles by letting no air flow in. Good? Good. Easy-peasy. Just remember to get your size 1 nipples for your newborn (hooray learning things!)

BumGenius 4.0's. I love these. Lovelovelove them. I have also purchased a few Elementals (I have 6 Elementals, and 12 4.0's) and I prefer the 4.0's. I will probably post again only on how much I love my diapers-- hubby things I'm crazy, but I have to say, I am super excited and pleased with my purchase. Perhaps he will change his mind three months from now when they pay for themselves. Until then, I'm enjoying my happy little bean's face every time I change her... super microfiber-y softness = happy girl. Grandma doesn't mind using them either! (Again, more to come!)

Other Sleepy things.
Right now we have her sleeping in a little pack n' play by our bed. We use extra receiving blankets as sheets, which is working well (no need to invest in sheets, people were awesome and gave us a million blankets-- we can change them out as spittle happens, as needed. We put her down for naps in her crib, which we've outfitted with the Breathable Baby Crib Bumper, to save from those 'oh-sweet-lord-I've-got-my-arm-caught-in-the-bars' cry. I think it works quite well so far.

We also love our Sleepy Sheep, which makes white noise. It's actually quite nice for us as well; it helps a bit with the anxiety at night of 'oh my gosh! Is baby breathing?!?!?!' moments. Only downside to this one is it turns off after 45 minutes. If I were to get another one, it would be the Sleep Slumber Sound Machine.

Relaxing.
As far as 'just hanging out' goes, we love our swing. This one works well for our house, because it's pretty small as far as swings are concerns. It also rocks, plays music, and all of that other good stuff. But again, any would do.

Traveling.
We have a Graco Quick-Connect Jogging Stroller travel system, which we love-- I just wish we had figured out that it doesn't quite fit in to our Mazda 3 hatchback. Which is crazy. Because it's got a giant trunk. You live and you learn. We also love our Ergobaby, which my sister so wonderfully purchased for us-- it's amazing. Super supportive, has extra storage, and she feels nice and snug. It's a winner, for sure. 

I'm sure there are more things... I will post as I think of more! I was obsessed with baby blogs telling me what to buy when I was pregnant-- and after dozens of blogs, the one thing I've discovered is that it's different for everyone. I've had a blast figuring out the good, bad and ugly around here-- but learning is half the fun! (Which would be my last bit of advice... find your local baby consignment store sooner rather than later. I discovered mine recently-- and was floored at how cheap everything was-- and in such great shape! Check it out before you spend $60 on a swing. In our case, we got lucky and received one at our shower-- and then my aunt happily found the same one at a garage sale for $5 a month later. Keep your eyes open :))

Even more photos!

Just a few photos from last week's adventures... couldn't help myself. Amy got her this adorable outfit, and brought her a few more!! (6-month clothes already... I can't believe it!) 

Two Months Already!

Out little bean is two months old already! (And by this blog post, she will be nearly 10 weeks today-- this photo was taken last week.) And, as I guessed, things just keep getting better. It is crazy looking back of photos already and seeing how big she's gotten. 

Another sad note about the two-month mark-- going back to work. My job sadly only paid for 6 weeks of maternity leave, which was heartbreaking. (I took 8 weeks, but the last 6 weeks being unpaid just didn't pan out for us). Going back to work was so much harder than I ever thought. Everyone tells you it will be hard, but I don't think you can really wrap your head around the idea until the time comes. I definitely spent the week before in a lot of tears; every time she would fall asleep on me, or smile at me, or anything else at all... It's not the fact that I don't think she will be taken care of incredibly well (my mom is so amazing, if I turn out half as good a mom as she was to me I will be lucky), it's more the fact that I can't spend 100% of my time with her. I'm heartbroken that I am going to miss anything. I know spending 9 hours away from her every day will mean we are going to miss some big milestones... I have to keep reminding myself that even if she has firsts at Grandma and Grandpa's, that she will have firsts here too. And everything will be okay (still doesn't mean I have tears writing this now... sigh.) I know with time things will get easier, but I'm still in a bit in a rough patch. 

Right now Walter gets to spend the first half of the day at Grandma's, which means I can go over there at lunch to feed the bean. This has been super helpful for my poor little brain too-- having a Norah snuggle break in the middle of the day is just what I need these days!

Size: We have been vastly underestimating how much she has been growing-- she was 12 lbs at her 6 week appointment, and 24 inches long-- (90th percentile for weight and 100th for height) so she's spending her time working on getting big and healthy. Which we have been enjoying too! I can only guess she is around 13.5 pounds or heavier at this point. 

Sleep: This month has been monumental-- sleeping through the night is possible! We've officially had three nights where we've put her to bed (around 8-9) and she hasn't woken up until 7 or so. It's been wonderful! All of the other nights she's good for about one long stretch, a wake up/feed/change, then a shorter stretch. Still not bad at all!  

Social: Being awake more often these days means she is up for playing more often! Right now her favorite thing to do is talk and smile to people when she's on the changing table or on her play mat. It's quite precious. She's started to make cooing sounds (which melts my heart), and little laughing noises. You can make her super happy and smiley when playing with her chin, which again, nearly makes me cry-- she's just so dang cute :)

Diet: Still breastfeeding! Everything is going really well. We're working on being able to be more efficient in public (successful feeding at the Puyallup Fair with my mom-- still haven't tackled places like the mall and such yet), and the mess factor is going substantially down.  She has taken the bottle like a champ as well-- I've been pumping on my breaks, so my mom is fully stocked. So far, no major problems! (She's gotten a scary habit of trying to drink too fast and gags herself... which is super scary... but she handles it pretty well and goes right back to eating good. Still scares me!) 

Clothes: Oh my. Two months old, and fitting 3-6/6-9 clothes. We have been using the diaper service Bryan's boss got for us this month, which adds a bit of bulk-- so our 3 month onesies look like deep-v shirts. The bulk of our clothing stash for her was three months-- I foresee us needing to buy a few items sometime soon here! 

Likes: Still loves eating! She also loves time on her mat looking at herself in the mirror. Changing her diaper still makes her super happy-- she legitimately looks joyous in the process. 

Milestones: Looking at us in the eyes, smiling and making (more purposeful!) sounds. She's also started gripping things-- not so much a purposeful grab, she more gets excited when she gets something in her tiny fingers. 

This month, it seems like a mass majority of my photos have been on my phone! Shame on me. I will make a point to have and post more photos regularly. Right now I hardly spend any time online-- our nights are pretty packed. We get home with her around 5:45, and after a quick dinner/playing with her until her bed time at 7:45-8:30, I do a few chores, get ready for the next day (sanitizing and such), maybe watch one show with Bryan, and am in bed. I'm still not ready to sacrifice those few hours of Norah time for internet time (who the heck would? Look at that face!) So at the moment, I will stick to weekends :) 

A little photoshoot

I've had a few people ask me why we hadn't taken newborn photos (where babies are posed to be wrapped in strange things looking contemplative or hanging out with strangely contemplative faces). At first, my thoughts were that they were expensive and a bit silly (and my sister did such a fabulous job in the hospital, I felt extremely lucky!). However now I'm feeling a bit sad that I don't have even more photos of our gal in her first few days. In a 'better late than never' attempt, I set up a mini-photoshoot in our bedroom to try and capture a few 'birth announcement worthy' photos of our own-- even at nearly two months old. I think they turned out pretty well! I'm still not sure which announcement route to choose (is a two-month old photo too old for an announcement?) but I am having fun looking regardless. (To design or not to design? Minted.com has some fabulous options, but being a designer I always feel guilted into doing them myself-- hmm...)

Kelly came over the other day too-- and took this little pic while she was getting changed; she loves time on the changing table!! Some of my favorite faces so far. That's where I get the majority of smiles in my day for sure.

In other news... I go back to work on Thursday. I can't believe how fast two months has flown by. I feel extremely lucky that I have a job I love, and that Norah gets to go hang out with my mom (I was so lucky to have her growing up, and feel even more blessed that she wants to be such a huge part of my daughter's life). Even though this is the most amazing solution for us, it's still heartbreaking. I am trying to soak up every smile this last week. Until then, I'm trying not to think about how hard it's going to be to be away for her 9 hours a day. Transitions are never fun.

Alrighty, I'm off to do some more snuggling :)

7 Weeks!

I can't believe it's been seven weeks already. Norah has been keeping us plenty busy-- the past few weeks we have been figuring out how to sleep (and when!), and also starting to figure out things outside of the house.

I learned the hard way that keeping her up too late equals an even later night for me. A few nights of 'hyperactive baby', left me to some 3am Googling, which lead me to the idea that a hyperactive baby in the night equaled a sleep deprived baby. Lesson learned! We've been putting her down at 8pm or so, and now she has been much happier. The other night, she slept for a whole seven hours in a row! We have also been instructed by the pediatrician to stretch her feedings out a bit, looks like a full nights sleep might be nearly around the corner.

I can't believe fall is around the corner! Which in our house means lots of beef stew, apple cider candles and football. Lots of football! Our lovely friends have provided us with a bit of football gear (thanks Jess!!) which makes Bryan a happy dad :) We also spent the other weekend sprucing up our backyard a bit; my dad showed Bryan how to use the paint sprayer to stain our silvering fence-- it looks awesome! (I did my part as well, by tearing out the old red shed-- with my bare hands-- post-partum power!!) 

Norah is still dictating my days, which means my posting is a bit erratic-- today for instance, she ended up taking her 11:00am nap right about now at 3:00pm-- sleepy gal! My house suffers, but I don't mind. I'm so thankful she's sleeping at night so I don't need to nap when she naps. 

Other than that, we have been out and about in the world more these days-- we went out on a date with her the other day, first to Home Depot-- then another night to the Ram and Babies R' Us. Little steps! Yesterday Grete kidnapped us and took us to a pickling stand in Puyallup and out to lunch... we had so much fun! Every time we take her out it gets a bit easier. It's definitely been an adjustment, but each time we do something new I get excited. I am so excited to make more memories with her.

One Month Update

How can Norah possibly be one month old already?! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home. And on the other hand, it feels like we've always known her. It's kind of an odd feeling, really. 

This last month has, of course, been fantastic. Full of all sorts of new (scary, heartwarming, exciting and tiring) things. Again, it's been so awesome seeing so much of our family and friends-- Norah is so loved already! 

And keeping true to form, here is what has been going on this past month:

Size: Last time she was weighed was at her two-week appointment, where she was just about 9 pounds-- so I'm guessing approaching 10 pounds at this point? As of two weeks ago, she was in the 95th percentile for height and weight-- eating is definitely not her problem. 

Sleep: There are definitely good days and bad days (or rather, good days and typical newborn days?) During the night we seem to have mastered the three-hour sleep/wake pattern; she's up nearly every three hours like clockwork for a change and a feed. The hard part is when she decides she's awake and ready to party at 10pm-- until about 2-3pm. Doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's quite challenging. It's so sad when you're incredibly tired and ready to pass out-- and she's staring back at you with her big blue eyes, kicking away, giving you that 'why aren't you playing with me, mom?' face. 

Social: First few weeks, she was the master of sleeping on-- and through-- everything. Nothing could wake our gal up. Lately she's been a bit more active when people come over, which leads to a bit of fussing-- we are having to plan visits around when she needs to be fed; which generally leads how social she's feeling that day.

Diet: Breastfeeding only (like a champ-- she had to use the shield for the first three weeks, but we've officially kicked the habit-- woohoo! I am much less covered in milk these days than I used to be. Huge upgrade.) 

Clothes: Fitting well in our 0-3 month clothes. There are a few newborn things that fit, but nothing too crazy. Right now I'm just a bit sad, everyone bought us all of these adorable newborn clothes-- what I'm discovering is she only lives in onesies, and since we don't get out much, there's really no excuse to wear real clothes (me as well). I'm making a pact to never again buy a future-mom a newborn outfit. (It's tough getting her dressed, too... so even just trying things on for the sake of it just gets her fussy and sad.)

Likes: Eating! Blowing kisses on her cheeks, raspberries on her tummy, and eskimo kisses. She also loves when dad walks her around the house (she refuses to let him sit down), and spending tummy time on my chest. 

Milestones: Smiles and giggles! Not always in response to things you do, right now it seems more of a 'I'm happy, and here's my smile' type of thing. We are very much looking forward to the time when we can coerce a giggle out of her-- but again, not trying to rush anything! I will take the happy wide eyed, open mouth response to most things at the moment :)

Life as we know it...

Oh man. The past few weeks have been unreal. Life with Norah has been so different, challenging, and absolutely the neatest thing I have ever experienced. So far she has been treating us quite well; other than wanting nothing more than to play with us all night long, she has been very relaxed and forgiving. Before Norah, I had pretty much zero experience with newborns (other than meeting my nephews and niece when they were born... but even then it was just a few minutes of holding and that was about it). The land of diaper changes, burps, and 3am feedings seemed very foreign, but has been getting better every day.

And I'm not going to lie, I could stare at this face for hours on end.

Great Grandma Bitterling stopped by and got some cuddles...

Omi and Vic stopped by as well...

Trying out a bit of tummy time...

Aunt Amy getting gripped...

I have been posting oodles of pics on Facebook, but I want to be sure to keep posting here as well. Until then, a very happy hello from a very happy family!