Attempting to Update

I can't even tell you how many times I have sat down to write out an update post on our lives as a family of four, but......I forgot the laptop and the baby is asleep in my lap, or the laptop isn't charged, or Jordan woke up from her nap, or I get distracted and end up doing something random instead, or the list goes on and on. I'm currently on the couch pumping and keeping my fingers crossed that Brynnlee stays asleep long enough for me to get through one post. Cause, it's not just her I need to update on, but our big ALMOST two year old ::tear::

I've been attempting to keep a list of key things in my phone for both girls so as not to forget as much now, so let's see how I do. 

SOOOoooOOooOoooo........our Chunk a Monk is (over) a month old already. Ughhh, I hate how lightning fast their little lives go by and how fast they change, but at the same time, every new stage is so fun and exciting. 

A lot of what Brynnlee does and is is a constant comparison to her older sister.....already! The good thing about it is that it's helping me to remember some of the details of Jordan's first few weeks of life as we go through them with little sis. For instance, DIAPERS. Jordan could have cared less about sitting in a dirty or wet diaper and never minded us changing said diaper. Brynnlee on the other hand, lets it be known that there is a mess in her pants and then lets you know that the wipes are ridiculously cold on her little tush! She hates it! And speaking of diapers, those precious little newborn diapers lasted all of 2.5 weeks. Her adorable chunky thighs just didn't fit so well in those tiny things, so we moved up to size 1's. 

When Jordan was just a few weeks old, she developed a WITCHING HOUR in the evening. Once we hit about 7pm, it was like everything in her world was crashing down around her and there was nothing we could do to console her. This phase lasted for a couple weeks and then she grew out of it. Now that Brynnlee is 5 weeks old today, I think it's safe to say Brynnlee never developed a witching hour. When she's upset there is a reason for it, even if it's just because she wants to be held. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I didn't just jinx our luck with that one. 

I remember going through tough phases with Jordan when she would cry and cry and cry and we struggled to get her to SLEEP at night and those times were tough. They definitely ate at our patience as first time parents and it was not fun. We haven't hit that point with Brynnlee and hopefully we wont at all. Since day one, she never had her days and nights confused which has been so amazing. She spent the first couple weeks sleeping on my chest and would wake anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours later, would nurse and go right back to sleep. I started trying out the bassinet portion of the pack n play around 3 weeks and for a few nights she would start out on my chest for the first 3 or 4 hours of sleep, I'd nurse her and move her to the bassinet, nurse her again 2 or 3 hours later and attempt to put her back in the bassinet. Sometimes it worked and sometimes she was just so gassy she could never get comfortable. Unless she was on my chest, of course. For the past week, she's slept really well in the bassinet, with the occasional 2 or 3 hours on me. We had our first 5.5 hour stretch a few nights ago, but of course that was the same night we had a nice rainstorm come through and I was up closing windows around the house before it made a mess. So needless to say, I didn't quite get to enjoy the advantage of those 5.5 hours like I could have, but it still gives me hope of it happening again soon. Right? RIGHT?? I'm trying my best to start a little night routine already (I have no clue when we started with Jordan). My goal is to always have her down around 10, since that seemed to be when she was ending up going down on her own. I'll give her a bath every couple nights, get her changed and swaddled, nurse her (or give a bottle just for her to practice) and then hold her for a bit till she's out, or put her down right away if she passed out while eating. I get up with her two times before I'm up for the day and then she will sleep till around 9am while Jordan and I are downstairs watching cartoons and eating breakfast. Pretty easy compared to my memories of this time with Jordan. I remember having to use the 5 S's around our room trying to get her to close her eyes and then gritting my teeth as I tried to put her down for the night, hoping that her eyes didn't fly open as her head hit the bassinet sheets. We tried out her swing in our room for a bit and even spent about a week with her sleeping completely strapped in her carseat in her bassinet because she liked feeling that secure. I recall nights of rocking the bassinet, half asleep, trying to get her back to sleep. Oh the good 'ole days! I'm counting my lucky stars that Brynnlee hasn't been as tough on us.....at night!

During the day is another story! Early on, there were definitely worries in my head that she may have some sort of reflux or something because it seemed like she was never happy unless she was eating or sleeping! As the weeks have gone on, she's become more comfortable in this crazy outside world and her FUSSINESS has calmed down a bit. But like I mentioned earlier, she lets it be known when she has a dirty diaper and lets it be known that she hates having her diaper changed. She also doesn't seem to be a huge fan of bath time and thinks the devil lives in the car/her carseat! Although we have had a few successful car trips in the past few days, she typically screams the minute I cinch the straps down around her and we haven't even left the house. I've checked to be sure it's not too tight and she has some adorable snuggly bunnies on the straps alongside her face, but yet the screaming will continue until she's removed from that horrible contraption that she spends a decent amount of time in. One day last week, she had been screaming for so long that about two blocks from the house, Jordan had had enough, screamed herself and then said, "ALL DONE, BABY!" You tell her Jordan! Ha!

Another noticeable difference between our two beautiful girls is BABY ACNE. Poor Brynnlee has been plagued with it since 3.5 weeks. Jordan didn't have anything more than a bit of flakiness on the bridge of her nose. B's face looks a million times better in the past couple days, but it has made it's way form her scalp, to her forehead, to her cheeks and ears, and now down to her chin and a bit on her neck. I just keep thinking how glad I am that it wasn't all over her face at once. Her skin was also really really dry from day one and I found myself pulling off little string like things from her hands and feet and lathering her with Calendula lotion that smells oh so good and brings me back to lying on a massage table in Cabo during a summer vacation. Ahhhhhh. And then I'm brought back to reality and the crying re-invades my ear drums because she was just given a bath and she wont calm down until her clothes are on and mama has picked her up!

But on a more positive note, I am eating up her SMILES. Jordan was the first recipient at 3.5 weeks and got two smiles out of her in one morning. I got one a day later, but in hindsight, I'm pretty sure mine was more from gas than an actual smile. BUT......yesterday, I can officially say I got a few legit smiles out of her and it melts my heart. I got all giddy on the couch trying to get Bobby to see it and he would always catch the tail end of it. Then this morning she was all about it. We were both sitting on the couch together and she was giving smile after smile with a few ridiculously adorable smirks mixed in! Yup, I'm in love! 

Yesterday was also when I decided to quit squeezing her chunk into newborn CLOTHES and have really broken out the 3 month wardrobe. I can't believe it. It's so sad! The outfit she's wearing right now was one that Jordan wore when she was 2.5 months old and here is my 5 week old rockin the big girl clothes!  

Now, if I haven't bored you enough, I want to note those little RANDOM FACTS/CHARACTERISTICS that change oh so fast. Like how soft the bottoms of her hands and feet are. Even before I started using the Calendula lotion, her hands and feet were so incredibly soft, I can't stop touching them. It's better than feeling silk. I wish I could bottle the feeling up and save it forever. I felt the same way with Jordan, but it was the backs of her hands. I would rub them for hours on end, while nursing her or rocking her to sleep and I don't know when it happened, but that softer than silk skin somehow disappeared and I dread the day that happens with this little one. 

I also love running my hand from the back of her head to the front and feeling that adorable baby head with her soft baby hair in the palm of my hand. I can't get enough.  She lost her umbilical cord at about a week and a half and everything healed up perfectly. After trying to hold out on using a pacifier this time around, I finally caved at about 2.5 weeks and now we play the game of putting the "Chup" (as Jordan calls it) back in her mouth every 2.3 seconds after she spits it out! It's great fun ;o) At this point, she is only swaddled for nighttime sleep, but I have a feeling she will more than likely be swaddled for naps soon as well. She doesn't mind her swing, but we don't use it too often at this point. She holds her head up really well during tummy time and bobs around till she decides she hates it and cries or she lays her head down and falls asleep. She has had more blowouts than I care to even keep track of at this point and is textbook for filling another dirty diaper seconds after a clean one is put on. When Jordan was this age, I always though people were exaggerating this fact because I don't remember her making a habit of doing so and I also don't remember having this many blowouts with her. Maybe I chose not to remember on purpose?!?! Now, at the 5 week mark, I think it's safe to say that she wont have any birthmarks like Jordan did. I haven't noticed any pop up and I'm pretty certain that we saw them by this point with J. I used the Ergo with the infant insert for the first few weeks and then took the plunge and bought a Moby wrap. It's easier to keep on throughout the day and use as needed. In an attempt to build a freezer stash of breastmilk, I try to pump at least once a day. I started at about 3 weeks postpartum and generally pump in the mornings when my supply is at it's highest. In the beginning I was pumping after feeding B when she got up for the day around 9, but more recently I have started pumping after I feed her and get up for the day. With her asleep, it's just one less thing I have to juggle while I'm attached to the pump. I've been getting around 2 or 3 ounces at a time and hopefully will start getting more soon. My evening supply was lacking, just like it did with Jordan, so I started eating oatmeal every morning and taking 3 capsules of Fenugreek 3 times a day. I have definitely noticed that B is doesn't have to work as hard and doesn't get as frustrated while nursing in the evenings now and have also noticed that I smell like I just walked out of Denny's or IHOP and doused myself in maple syrup. I had Bobby stop by GNC the other day so that I could buy a new bottle of Fenugreek and he jokingly asked me if they had any other flavors. LOL!

So, all in all, the transition of one little one to having two under two has been a lot of work, but I think we've got the hang of it for now! Bobby has been a tremendous help and has taken over a lot of responsibility for J when he is home. I was so incredibly worried about how I was going to manage when Bobby went back to work, but aside from the bad day every now and then when J refuses to listen, B needs every ounce of my attention, and I just want to run away and hide.....we're getting along just fine and make lots of random trips to Target just to get out of the house.

I think that's it enough for now, but don't you worry....I'll be back soon (hopefully) with Jordan's 23 month ::tear:: update and I'll leave you with some pics of B's first month of life!

One day old

Five days old 

Two weeks old

Beach walk at two weeks

Sisterly Love