Photos- the 2nd Month

 

Look how much my baby has grown in just one month...it's astounding to me!

The Joys of a Video Baby Monitor

I got a really sweet deal on a video baby monitor this past Black Friday... Yes, I waddled my butt out into the crowds and shopped like a mad-woman with the rest of them. And ever since, it's been set up in the nursery, over looking the rarely used crib since Vera sleeps in our room (and sometimes our bed) with us.

She's also become more "aware" and won't always fall asleep in the living room in my arms anymore when S and myself are watching a movie together in the evenings...I don't want to put her to sleep in the crib because transferring her into the bassinet in our room would surely wake her and I'm not quite yet ready to have her sleep in the other room yet (though I have recently told myself that she is going to start napping in the nursery to transition her out of our bedroom...we will see though.) And I can't keep her up that late in the evenings or she becomes impossible to get to sleep and cranky on top of that.

My husband is a genius!

He takes down the installed monitor out of the nursery and somehow rigs it up in our room to view into her bassinet so when I put her down for bed in the evenings or naps when she gets especially cranky, I don't have to keep risking waking her up by continually peeking into the room to check on her and can keep a constant eye on her.

Now, I don't know what my mom ever did without a video monitor when we were growing up and needed to go down for a nap...that or she wasn't as neurotic as I tend to be :)

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2 Month Stats

Wow, it's insane to imagine it's already been 2 short months since I've first laid eyes on you. Already, your personality shines through so much. You smile more and more everyday, love to cuddle (but what baby doesn't?), and you adore your daddy.

Tummy time is a giant success- not only do you have great head and neck control (since about 2 weeks old) but now you are lifting up the majority of your upper body for longer periods of time.
You don't mind bottles but still prefer your milk straight from the tap ;)
Speaking of, breastfeeding is still a great success.
When we call your name or one of your many pet/nicknames, you will sometimes turn and look for whomever is talking to you.
I think you're starting to figure out how your hands and arms work but it's shaky at best.
You now throw little hissy fits complete with a girly whine instead of a cry and kicking feet...oh how I'm not looking forward to the toddler years :)
You enjoy baths and kicking in the bathwater.
You are quite the neat little thing as well, when you spit up on yourself, you squall until someone wipes it up. Same goes for diapers, if you have used the potty, even if it's just a tiny bit wet, you fuss until it's changed letting us know that you won't stand for it...hopefully this means potty training won't be so bad?

And now for the best part, where I tell the world how much of a chunky monkey you are, my growing girl.

At 2 months, my girl is at the 99th percentiles for height AND weight at 13 lbs and 24.3 inches long! I had to swear to her pediatrician that I'm not sneaking her Little Debbie snack cakes on the side :)

She's at her grandma's for the evening while Mommy & Daddy go have dinner and a few drinks so I'll have to post some pics later on!

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Wordless Wednesday- Text Messaging Fun

an oldie but a good one between me and my mom:

now, before your mind goes to sordid and twisted...we really needed the bolt cutters for a home project, I promise! But this is just an example of my family and the twisted humor we all share!

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All Because A Daddy Loves His Daughter

Every morning, my heart swells and busts wide open with love. S wakes up before I do, reaches over since by now I have moved Vera into bed with us to get a few more hours of shut eye between 5ish and 8am, and he scoops "my girls" into his arms and cuddles us for a few minutes before getting ready for work. He'll ruffle her hair and kiss my cheek before climbing out of bed to put on his UPS uniform and Vera wakes up with a giant smile on her face knowing that Daddy is awake!

It's amazing to see those 2 interact with each other. I put in all the hours and boob time yet he gets the biggest, gummiest baby smiles! but ask me if I mind :)

He comes home and yells out "Fingers!!!" (because of this child's super long fingers- I'm going to HAVE to put her in piano!) and she will look around wildly until she spots him and give him the biggest grin! If we are in the living room and she can't quite see him cause something is blocking her view? She will whine until we move her then once she sets her eyes on him? It's a done deal.

When she's having a fussy night to the point where I can't calm her down, all I have to do is hand her over and 9 times out of 10, she's happy as a clam within moments.

We went to church without S this past Sunday and while we were getting ready, he calls me from the nursery and asks me to come in the room where he proceeds to scoot over enough for me to crawl next to him and lay down for a second then proceeds to inform me that that's not my spot, but Vera's spot for morning snuggles :)

They have regular daddy-daughter dances in my living room, he serenades her when she wakes up from naps, he snuggles her when laying on the couch, and holds her soft, tiny hand in his big, calloused one.

My heart explodes and my insides turn mushy all because a daddy loves his daughter.

S,
thank you so much for being an amazing husband and father for our little family. I know you never saw children in your future and I know you wanted a baby simply because I wanted a family. Watching you grow and change as a man because of this tiny little girl, seeing your perspectives on life change, feeling us grow stronger and closer together and to God all because one small human being has been the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed. The days are still crazy and our life has changed so much but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Feeling your respect, support, and awe keeps me going every day and I know that I would never be able to do this without you and your never ending love.

You are so amazing and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us.
-L

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Winning In The Sleep Department

Last night was weird. First, I'm holding and rocking and singing and trying to put Vera to sleep for hours. She isn't fussing but just staring up at me and looking around. I'm so exhausted that my body hurts. My limbs are pained and heavy, even my arms ache. I'm at my wits end so I just give up and lay her in the bassinet by our bed, eyes still wide open. She makes a few grunts and trills and within 5 minutes, she's silent. I peek over at her? She's put herself to sleep! It's only about 11:30p but I fall back into bed out of exhaustion and sheer joy! I'm expecting to be woken up again around 2am since she ate last around 10:30p. I tried to top her off but she wasn't hungry.

I get woken up by the sound of her stirring and making little noises. I think this is the 1st waking of the night, those few hours of sleep did me well though! I glance at the clock?

6:30am.

Wow! So basically, my baby not only put herself to sleep BUT ALSO slept for a solid 7 hours, give or take a few minutes!

While I'm not expecting this to be a common occurrence, at all, I am marking this as a win in the sleep department for both mommy and babe!

Look at my sweet girl still napping away after a long nights sleep!
And no judging! She's on the couch with a blanket and pillow SUPERVISED! It's not like we let her sleep like that all the time unsupervised.

Sleep & Play Babe

Vera loves her play gym, play mat, whatever those things are called. She'll kick up a storm and is finally starting to swat at the hanging toys, even though I'm still pretty sure 90% of the time it's accidental. She will also wear herself out and fall asleep. I put her in the middle of the mat come play time. By the end of it all? Well, she moves and plays so much, so hard... Just see for yourself!


Oh and please don't mind her colorful outfit selection. That's what happens when Daddy dresses her in the mornings! But at least he's figured out how to get the baby legs on her chubby thighs and that socks are a good idea too!

"Got His Daddy Pants On"

That's what my friends are saying about S these days...that he's got his daddy pants on lately.

That's right. He's being a daddy...and a super protective, mushy one at that. It makes my heart melt and is better mom porn than those Ryan Gosling photos ever could be, in my own personal opinion.

He sings to her, and rocks her, and reminds me of the weather when I'm getting her dressed and suggest footie-jammies or a jacket if it's chilly outside, he snuggles us both in bed and says how much he loves his girls, heck, we had a baby sitter last week so we could go enjoy a movie but we missed our movie by staying to late at the restaurant enjoying time with friends sans baby and even though we had no time limit on when to go get Vera, he wanted to get the girl right away!

When she gets fussy and I can't calm her down? Hand her to S and it's immediate smiles and coos (from both of them.) Back to the baby sitter...I've known the family since I was 14ish years old..."But I don't know them, I'm not sure I want your friend to watch her...makes me nervous."

I'm giving her a bath and he comes in and sits with me and talks to the both of us as I'm washing her hair or rinsing her down.

She'll be on the floor with her little play gym and he'll get down on her level and cheer her on/encourage her to swat at the toys and play with her. 

It's sickeningly sweet. And here we both were just months ago nervous about his new role as a daddy to a little girl. I think he's doing a great job already :)

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My Favorite Things (Part 1)

Sorry I'm not as rich or awesome as Oprah so I'm not in any position to be giving you guys these awesome things but, here's some of my favorite things that have gotten me through these first months of motherhood so far.

All these are my own opinion, I have linked them but I do NOT gain anything from you clicking the links or buying from said links. Also, a lot of these are tailored to breastfeeding and such since that's what we are doing, personally.

1. Lanolin & Soothie Gel Pads for the breast feeding set. Yes, the Soothies can get pricey but it is well worth it when you're dreading the next feeding because your nipples have been butchered all to hell by a baby that's still learning how to latch properly. The lanolin will help those poor nipples of your heal faster, protect them in the shower, and also soothes. You can put some on right before a feeding as well.

2. My iPhone & iPad. Yes, Breastfeeding is all about bonding with your babe but sometimes, it's the only quiet and relaxed moment of the day when I can check my Facebook, Twitter, respond to a few emails, and if time permits, throw together some lines of a blog post or watch some Netflix/Hulu.

3. Insulated Water Mug with Lid & Straw. You are one thirsty mo-fo while breastfeeding. Like, drink buckets of water kind of thirsty. I got mine from my hospital stay. I would say free of charge but I'm sure it'll be covered by the hospital bill...but this thing keeps my water nice and cold between sessions at night.

my insulated mug and a Luna Bar...breakfast of champions right there :)

4. Luna Bars. I don't know if anyone has told you yet, but you're usually going to be the last person at the house to eat plus, at 3am, I get hungry while I'm up feeding the girl and I keep a box of these on the stand by my glider to tear open and munch on one handed. Bonus: it has a bunch of good things for you in it that a pregnant or breastfeeding mama needs like folate, calcium, a slew of vitamins, and about 70% of the ingredients are organic.

5. Aquaphor. Miracle jelly in a jar. You can use this stuff on both you and the baby for everything from chapped lips, diaper rash, eczema, dry skin moisturizer, and skin protectant in general. Plus? The jar will last you forever as a little goes a long way!

6. Breast pump. Even if you don't plan on pumping ever...don't be foolish. A time is going to come when you're going to need even just a simple manual pump to help with engorgement or to take a night off and letting your husband or a grand parent feed the baby while you rest up. Which leads me to...

7. Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Bottles. These are awesome. They're supposed to flex like the breast and nipple do and can help prevent nipple preference/confusion. We tried these with Vera and she took to it without a problem and came back to the breast without a hitch.

8. Baby Nail Care Set. Clip those talons before they scratch up your baby's precious face or your own body/face/breast. Those nails aren't long but they sure can get sharp somehow. Not to be snarky but for those afraid of cutting your baby's nails? Get over it. It's got to be done sooner or later.

9. Fisher Price Seahorse. Vera loves hers. We push the little belly to turn it on when we out her to bed at night and she tries to shift herself right by it if swaddled, if she isn't swaddled, she will reach out and lay her hand on it and drift off to sleep.

10. Moby Wrap. I swear, this thing is the only way I'm able to get things done most days. I put her in it and she will calm down and usually fall asleep in no time while I get some housework caught up or take a walk in the neighborhood for some fresh air.

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Motherhood Is Rough

You hear it all the time but there's truth to it. It is rough. First, they send you home with this tiny little stranger, a handful of instructions, and expect you to keep them alive. As if that wasn't enough, it's a crash course in learning all about someone that doesn't communicate the same way everyone else does.

You get to learn through trial and error what each little sound and cry means. You think the baby is hungry? Nope, they need a diaper change. Okay, so you think they need a diaper change the next time...try again, scooter. Baby dislikes being held in the cradle hold but wants to be on your shoulder/their tummy/upright. And just when you think you've figured them out, they change the rules of the game on you...meanwhile you're enjoying this ride on just enough food to ward off starvation and a lack of sleep that would exhaust even a stereotypical frat boy.

It's demanding physically and mentally. Not to mention emotionally, hello! post-partum hormonal roller coaster! One minute you're gooey eyed over your husband snuggling with your newborn and the next? You are contemplating how far a plead of insanity could get you when you smother him with your boppy.

And me time? That shit is a joke and a half. Me time is a shower and a nap, hoping the baby won't wake up when you get 15 minutes in to sleepy-time. And there's always something that needs to be done in the house, if you're anything like me. I can't stand my house to be cluttered or messy. It messes with my mind and emotional state, as weird as that sounds? I'm no Martha Stewart by any means but I can't relax if the floors need to be vacuumed or there are dirty dishes in the sink. I don't know how I'm going to survive toddlerhood, by the way, if a destroyed house screws with me! :)

And adult conversations? Few and far between these days. When I get out of the house to meet up with some girlfriends for coffee...you'd think I was an escapee from a National Geographic episode.

I knew motherhood was going to be different and definitely not easy but I think I fooled myself into thinking it wasn't going to be rough. But I also wouldn't trade my sweet girl for the world.

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