Happy 2 Month Birthday!

My sweet, precious, and adorable little girl is TWO MONTHS old new today!
 

 

Our pediatrician is out of town so we don't have her 2 month check up for another two weeks, but according to my scale at home, Ellie is a whopping 11 pounds. Length and head circumference updates will have to wait until our appointment.

 

I feel like with each passing day Ellie's little personality develops more and more. I love soaking in every moment with her and I try really hard to take advantage of her awake moments - playing,  talking, singing, dancing, going for walks, reading books, baby massages, tummy time, and the list goes on. The older she gets the more awake time she has, so we're working hard to get those developmental and physical milestones in check.

 

In the past month Ellie....

 

graduated from using baby mittens (aka she no longer uses her tiger claws to attack her face) yay!

outgrew (90% of) her newborn clothes

smiles all. the. time.
no longer has baby acne or a heat rash

talks back to us with her adorable little oohs and aahs

loves laying on the changing table
is very curious and loves to look around

sleeps for at least 6 or 7 hours during her first stretch at night, followed by a 3ish hour stretch

shortened the length of her naps throughout the day

LOVES being outside

prefers to sit up on our laps without leaning against our bodies (we use our hands to support her)
giggles in her sleep

has great head control, although she still has her little bobble head moments

has an intolerance for dairy (mama is now on a dairy free diet)

turns her head when she hears mine and JP's voices

still loves the morning time more than any other time of day
is a super mama's girl
has started blowing bubbles, drooling, and sucking on her hands..
..which leads me to believe she has started the beginning stages of teething

Dear Time,
Please slow down...
Sincerely, a Mama that's not ready for her baby girl to grow up

 

 

Here are some many pictures from the past month:
(please excuse the phone quality, or lack thereof, for some of the photos)


Cutest baby lips - ever!

Learning to use her pointer finger. :)

 To say that this girl loves her bath time would be an understatement!

 

dreaming about mommy :)

Melt my heart, this sweet girl is so beautiful!

She loves morning cuddles with daddy.

Lily loves tummy time too. Ellie was already spent.

gorgeous weather = naptime outside

Relaxing with daddy after an exhausting day!

She has a thing with checking herself out in the mirror on her swing. So cute!

Monkey faces - one of her favs!

 

 Happy St. Patricks' Day!

 Cutest baby tush!

 

Meeting Auntie Shelby for the first time!

To Our Sweet Elliebean,
You are the sweetest and best thing that has ever happened to us. I can honestly say that love has truly been redefined. There is no love like a mother's love. I'd heard this before and now I get it. I also once heard that when deciding to have a baby, you're allowing your heart to forever go walking outside your body. It's so true. You have my heart. You have daddy's heart. Your little personality is coming to life each and every day; it's truly the most amazing thing to watch and be a part of. We love you more than I could possibly put into words and I'm SO incredibly thankful that God has chosen us to be your parents. You're the light of our lives and while I want this time to creep on by as slowly as possible, I can't wait to see what new developments and milestones you make in the coming weeks. We love you, bean.
Love, Mama (and Daddy)

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Baby Cuteness

This precious little love muffin is 8 weeks old today!

 

Melt my heart, I love this girl to pieces!!

 

She's changing so much and so quickly, I can barely keep up with her.

I'll post a 2 month update in a few days, but until then, check out the cuteness!

 

 

 

"Peace out friends. Happy Friday!"

--Ellie

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Products: The Overrated

In reference to my Products: What I Love post, there are also those products that I don't love and find to be overrated (at least for now). I imagine, I may find some of these things useful later down the road. However, I thought I'd like them from the get-go. Not so much.

 

What's Overrated?

 

1. Baby Bjorn

In theory, we love this. JP enjoys wearing it, but it just doesn't work that well with a newborn.
So, we put it back on the shelf until Ellie gets a little older/bigger.

 

2. Huggies Diapers

Between my shower and JP's Baby-Q, we got a ton of diapers in all sorts of brands and sizes. We quickly learned that Huggies diapers are awful. We had quite a few blowouts and they didn't fit as well, both of which caused us to put them on tighter. Putting them on tighter made her skin more irritated. Domino effect, if you will. We used all the newborn ones, but only because we had them easy access. We'd never buy them now. We still have many Huggies packages in other sizes. As we approach each size, I will definitely be exchanging them for Pampers.

 

3. Target Up&Up Wipes

We got a ton of these at my baby shower. While we used them all, we hated them. They would stick together in the package, making grabbing them with one hand impossible, which isn't convenient when you have a super poopy diaper with a baby that likes to ride the upside down bicycle with her legs. They were also really long and super wet, both features we hated. This happens to be one of those things you just can't go store brand on, stick to the good brands, friends.

 

4. Simplisse Gel Soothies

The first two weeks of breastfeeding were SO incredibly brutal, which you can read about here. In between sessions I would rotate between letting my lady humps air dry, using Lansioh cream, and using the Medela soothies. The Medela ones were great. We tried the Simplisse soothies one time (BBB was out of the Medela) and they were awful. They weren't as soothing and were actually painful to peel back off. If you want soothies, definitely stick to Medela!

 

5. The Boppy (for breastfeeding)

I originally asked for one of these to aide myself in nursing. However, when placed on my lap it's too high and makes nursing more difficult. I've gotten pretty good at just holding her up and supporting my arm with my leg or a pillow if there's one nearby. She's still light enough that I honestly don't need anything. I sometimes walk around breastfeeding her! We do use the Boppy as a little chair when she's sitting up and even for tummy time though.

 

6. Any Plastic Bathtub

I got a super cute one at my shower. I forget the brand, but it was a cute little princess one. However, it just didn't have enough cushion or padding. It also didn't work well with our kitchen sink, which is where we prefer to bathe her.

 

7. Nursing Cover

While I do nurse in public and I'm not ashamed to do so, I just use a blanket to cover the goods. It's much easier to maneuver the baby and boob than when using a nursing cover. So, don't waste your money. If you REALLY want one, use an apron. Same thing.

 

8. Sleep Sacks

We used these the first few nights she was home to help keep her warm. However, we quickly learned that while they kept her warm, they weren't as conducive in helping her stay asleep. We went back to swaddling very quickly. Perhaps we'll try the sacks again once she reaches the point of being able to move around in her sleep without waking herself up.

9. Crib Bumpers

While they're adorable, they are NOT safe for a baby. We never got one because I knew of the risks beforehand. While this research is everywhere, I find this article helpful. These have actually been banned in some states. Unfortunately, they're still being sold here in Arizona. If you want something to protect Baby from the crib slats, I recommend getting a mesh bumper. We haven't purchased one yet since Ellie isn't in her crib, but I imagine at some point when she's moving around a lot and sleeping in her crib, we'll put one up.

 

There are quite a few other products/items we have that we haven't used yet because Ellie is still so young. So, I'll probably make a 2.0 version of products I love and those that are overrated later down the road.

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Feeling Grateful

This sweet girl....

 

is over SEVEN weeks old!

 

How is that even possible?

 

This time has flown by at incredible speed and as exhausted as I've been at times, I've loved every single minute with her. While I've missed my kiddos at school, I'm so grateful that we have the ability to allow me to stay home for so long.  In fact, Ellie and I went to visit them today. It was so great to see their smiling faces!

That being said, I still have eight more weeks at home with my girl. I'll go back for two weeks to finish out the school year. Then, I'm home again for the summer.

I don't think we could have planned it better if we tried.

 

Happy Monday, friends! :)


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IwishIwouldaknown

***TMI Warning: I'm being completely honest in this post. If you're one to get easily grossed out,
freaked out, you are a man, or are not pregnant, I'd suggest skipping this one altogether.***

 

I've done a lot of research.

Before we were pregnant, once I got pregnant, and since having Ellie.

 

I've read countless books, articles, and I may or may not be a blog junkie.

Throughout all my so called research, I've read a lot about being pregnant, labor and delivery, and life at home with a baby. Even then, there are some things I just didn't realize. I didn't realize how hard, intense, or lack thereof things would be.

 

These are the things IwishIwouldakown.

Perhaps I read about them in some instances, but I guess I just didn't truly get it
or fully understand until I experienced it firsthand.
Well, now I know.

 

IwishIwouldaknown about the seriousness of discharge.

I never thought much about this one, although I read it could happen. In all honesty, I don't think all women experience discharge during pregnancy. However, if you get it, be prepared. The amount can be ridiculous and I highly suggest investing in panty liners. In bulk. It's ridiculous.
Costco membership anyone?

IwishIwouldaknown how difficult peeing in a cup could be.
With each prenatal appointment, I was always asked to pee in a cup. Well, folks, when you have 30 pounds of baby ALL up in front, you can't really see down South. Yet, you have to pee in a cup?! Exactly what you're picturing is exactly what happens.
 

IwishIwouldaknown that back labor is no joke.

First of all, much to my dismay, contractions are not like cramps. They are a thousand times worse. I'd always heard back labor was painful, but oh. my. gosh. It was a million times worse than a regular cramp. The morning I went into labor the contractions were painful, but hardly ever reached a minute in length. I for sure thought I was in false labor. However, once they moved around to my back, I knew it was the real deal. There were not words to describe the pain. My contractions were only 30 seconds or so in length, but I just knew. That was our sign and we were on the way to the hospital shortly thereafter.

 

I wishIwouldaknown about pushing.
When you're ready to push, as in push the baby out, you will know. It will feel like a bowling ball is sitting on the inside of your rectal area and you need that bowling ball out..stat. It's intense, but hey! On the bright side of things, at least I knew it was time.

I wishIwouldaknown about postpartum bleeding.
Rather you deliver naturally or via C-section, be prepared for the bleeding. It goes on. and on. and on. Sort of like the energizer bunny. When I say on and on, I'm not talking about a few days. More like a few weeks. At least. Trips to the bathroom take some time, especially with that first week or so. Don't expect to be in and out in a minute. It just doesn't happen. Don't even get me started on the ridiculous pads you have to wear in the meantime.

IwishIwouldaknown breastfeeding is REALLY tough.

I'd heard that it was tough. Women often give up. Now, I truly get it. Those first two weeks or so are brutal. I mean, really, really brutal. I'm not going to sugar coat it for you. They get raw and sensitive. Eventually a scab forms. Your baby sucks the scab off and reopens the battle wound. Rinse and repeat. There are things you can do to help ease the pain, which I'll wrote about here, but be prepared. Nothing completely rids you of the pain for those first two weeks. IF you can get past it though, it's more than worth it. Not only does your baby get all of the nutrients and antibodies from your milk, but it's such an incredible bonding experience. I love that time with my sweet girl and while I wanted to give up on more than one occasion, I am SO, SO glad that I pushed through.

 

IwishIwouldaknown life at home with a baby isn't as hard as I expected.

To be completely honest, I think we have an easy baby. By easy baby I mean she cries, she poops, we change an unreasonable amount of diapers, she gets fussy, she's demanding, and she wakes me up at night. I consider all of that normal, hence, the easy baby part. That being said, I got so many comments while pregnant, "Get ready to never sleep!" "Your life is over as you know it." and other variances of these phrases. In reality, it isn't that bad!! I get at least 6-7 hours of sleep at night and while it may not be consecutive, it's plenty to function the next day. I still do all sorts of things: I still see my friends, I go shopping, I run errands, and I can keep my house clean. I still shower too, gasp! I was honestly expecting the worst with a newborn and you know what I got? The best. I love my sweet girl and she makes being a new mom wonderful and easy. **knock on wood**

 

IwishIwouldaknown I'd miss aspects of my "old life."

Now, don't misinterpret this as contradicting to IwishIwouldaknown # 4. Motherhood and life with my new little family is absolutely amazing. I wouldn't trade it for the world. However, when things like spring break are upon us, I miss the good ol' days we'd all pile in a couple of SUVs and head down to Mexico. JP and I won't go on our annual tropical vacation this summer. I miss happy hours in the sun with this beautiful weather. Those are the sorts of things I miss. Granted, we'll get to do those things again, sometimes with a baby in tow..even if a tropical vacation isn't in our near future. In the meantime though it doesn't hurt to daydream about cocktails by the pool and days spent on the beach.

 

I wishIwouldaknown sneezing, coughing, and laughing would never be the same.
Towards the end of pregnancy, it was essential that my bladder was empty at all times and in particular, before I'd sneeze, cough, or laugh. You just can't control yourself and end up peeing a little. I thought it would go away post partum. Nope. Also, if you have to pee, go pee. Holding it does not work out in your benefit, both before and after baby. Trust me.

IwishIwouldaknown babies poop. A LOT.

Yeah, yeah. Of course babies poop. Duh. I knew she would and I know all babies are different, but oh. my. gosh. This girl poops like it's her job! I think she poops at least 10 times a day, maybe closer to 15 some days. It's ridiculous.

 

So, there you have it. For all of my friends that are pregnant and soon-to-be-mamas, don't say I didn't warn you. Although, keep in mind that every woman, pregnancy, labor/delivery, and baby are different. So, take it for what it's worth - with a grain of salt.

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Thanks loves.

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