1 month~Mallory

I blinked and a month went by.

She loves to comfort nurse in the evenings.  Only the evenings.  Usually when I want to go to bed.  But she is averaging 3 hours between feeds during the day and 3-4 at night.  This seems a long time to me, but she's having the dirty/wet diapers so I let it go. 

I pumped today for the first time.  I was nervous because pumping wasn't easy with Eleanor and Mallory had nursed a few hours before but I did okay.  I don't plan on Rob giving Mallory more than an ounce to start but I want her to be okay with bottles.  Eleanor was good at first but I had clogged ducts and stopped giving her them and she never wanted them after that so I won't do that again.

I think it's time to retire newborn one piece sleepers and pants (onesies are still okay) and I could probably go into size one diapers but I want to use the newborn ones first.

She's not good at burping.  Nursing longer stretches than I feel like she should be going but she's doing fine and having output so I don't worry about it.

She's a loud baby.  She makes a lot of noise when sleeping and several people have commented on it.

Eleanor still adores her.  I knew she would after an initial period of jealousy, but she has yet to show jealousy which has surprised me a little.    She get's so excited when Mallory opens her eyes.

Mallory sometimes will sleep on my chest in my bed, something I allow way more than I did with Eleanor.  Usually though she prefers to sleep in the crook of my arm when in my bed.

She is also particular in how she's held.  She doesn't like to be held in a cross cradle position.  She fusses until she's put upright.  If I set he on the playmat or changing table she will stretch out, and give a content like sigh and just be happy.

She loves her bouncer (but don't put her in here on vibrate after eating).

I tried weighing her last night and today by weighing myself and then holding her and both times was a 10 ish pound difference so I'm guessing she's 10 lbs.  That makes sense right to use that method?  But 10 lbs!?!

Round 2: 35 Weeks

How far along:  35 weeks!  Although I don't foresee this baby coming early at all, if it did we could have a baby in just a few weeks.  I'm getting a bit nervous now.

Baby Size: A baseball glove, a gallon of milk, a honeydew melon or a coconut

Weight:  Up a couple pounds.  Still fluctuating around the 30lb mark.

Symptoms:   

• Reflux
• Restless legs
• Out of breath
• Can't bend over
• Achy and sore
• Seeing stars/dancing lights if I bend over and then stand up.  This isn't a new one and it isn't that I'm even standing back up super fast.  It happened the other day when I bent over to pick up a stick. My doctor wasn't concerned when I mentioned it yesterday. 
• Wild dreams
• Nausea
• Night sweats
• I'm grumpy with Rob all the time. 
• Lots of stomach pressure
• Occasional kicks to the cervix

Maternity Clothes:  Tops are maternity.

Sleep:  Up every 1 1/2 to 2 hours at night.


Cravings/Food Aversions:  I snack all the time, and eat a lot of chocolate.  Which explains some of the weight gain.  Yet I don't really ever feel hungry, and when I do eat I only eat small portions before I feel full. 

Belly Button:  Out

Rings on or off: On

Gender:  I think girl more than boy, but I bought a few cute boy outfits the other day and so now it must be a boy so he can wear them.

Name:   I think Rob is back to the girl name we decided on, but no middle name yet

Movement:  The baby had some quiet periods over the weekend, or it could have been that I was busy and just didn't notice it. 

Stretch Marks:  They are starting to be more obvious in places other than my belly (hips, back)

Best moment: Baby got a few toys for Christmas from my sister and niece and then I felt bad that I didn't even get anything for the baby.  Lol. 

Looking forward to:   Seeing Eleanor and this baby bond although I'm nervous about jealousy (see below)

Nervous about:  Eleanor's adjustment.  She was a bit jealous over Christmas when Rob was holding our nephew (who turned 1 yesterday!)  

The thought of two kids is starting to scare me a bit.

Nervous about not working because that means no income. 

What I miss:   Bending over, not being so cranky.


Labor signs:  Braxton Hicks.  I get them a lot. 

Appointments:  I had one yesterday.  They didn't do the GBS test like I thought/hoped because I didn't have Eleanor with me.  Otherwise it was a quick appointment; measuring on track and HR in the 150's.   Next one in two weeks

Misc.  I bought some more newborn diapers and size 1/2 (Sams club combines the sizes for their brand I guess) and I think I'm set on those for a few months (longer if we mix cloth in) and I got gas drops so I feel like I got something done. lol. 


To Get

• New pump parts
• Ring sling
• Newborn diapers
• Size 1 diapers 
• Gripe water
• A baby book
• Receiving blankets (we used this as burp clothes)
• New bibs
• Pacifiers (just a few in the smallest size)
• Some fleece sleepers
• Gas drops
• Petroleum Jelly
• Hand sanitizer. 

To do:

• Wash clothes/nursing pillow covers/car seat cover/rock n play cover/newborn cloth diapers
• Check Snuza Battery
• Hang up wall art, and shelving in Eleanor's big girl room
• Clean closet in Eleanor's big girl room and move her clothes into there. 

I sneeze/peed for the first time this pregnancy last week so coming across this today was appropriate. 

I got some new clothes for the baby.

Weekly Wrap Up 2/1/14

1) So this week I was supposed to work (I did work last Friday) Monday-Thursday (this Friday was a 1/2 day for the girls so I knew that I wouldn't be working).  Because of snow days Monday, Tuesday AND Wednesday and an appointment cancellation on Thursday I didn't work at all.

2) Last week I won a $50 off a $50 purchase of P&G products at Babies R Us.  While I use cloth sometimes, Rob doesn't and we really didn't have that many size 2 diapers so I knew what I was using that coupon for.  The Babies R Us isn't super close, but I had planned to go out there, look around (since I had gift cards as well) and then go to the breastfeeding support group.  Of course I would be running late, and I didn't want to go after the group because we were supposed to get some snow and more cummy weather.  So I spent a total of about 5-10 minutes there.  I went to Mcdonald's because it was right by babies r us and then sat in the back seat of the car in the parking lot scarfing it down.  I got all these diapers for under $3, but I used the gift card so really it was free!

3) Again, because I know I complain all the time, but this weather is crazy.  This artic blast/polar vortex can leave and be gone.   I don't ever remember a winter like this.  And of course I would have a tiny baby and not want to leave the house unless necessary.  So if there are more little babies in our future I will do my best to not have a fall/winter baby (although you can't plan this really.  Had I not had my previous losses I would have had a late spring/early summer baby).  I guess I never really understood cabin fever.

4) I learned last night that 2 glasses of soda with caffeine makes Eleanor stay up for 5 hours.  I also learned that sleep deprivation will cause me to knock a brand new roll of toilet paper into the toilet and then have to fish it out of pee water and throw it away.  Thankfully it wasn't the last one.

5) So basically me week consisted of me staying home almost every day.  I was in need of fresh air and a break one night so I decided to get gas in my car (which I did need to do) just to get out.  It was probably -10 below windchill but it was free time!  lol.

Favorite Things: 1 month edition

Now that we have hit the one month mark (um...what?)  I figured it would be a good time to share some of our favorite things that we have used this past month.

1) Snuza:  I don't think I would sleep at night without this thing.  It is a motion sensor that clips on to Eleanor's diaper and detects breathing.  If she stops breathing for 15 seconds it vibrates, and at 20 seconds an alarm sounds.  It's gone off a couple times because it was loose, but I still would rather false alarms than not at all.

This is probably one of my all time favorite baby products.  I have already looked into replacement batteries, but I think I'd have to go to a specialty battery shop.  Otherwise I will get another one as a backup.  It's  worth that much to me.

2) Rock n play: Eleanor sleeps in this at night next to my bed.  She loves it.  It cradles her and I think she feels secure in it.  I have yet to hear anyone say anything bad about them and so I knew I had to have one.  I got mine from a garage sale for half the price in great condition, but I would have paid the full price for it.

3) Sleep sacks:  We tried a few different ones, but the ones that worked best was the Halo swaddle ones, because they have the zipper that zips up from the bottom which makes diaper changes much easier at night. Now she doesn't like to have her arms in, but they still help to keep her warm at night.\


3) Snugabunny bouncer:  She also really likes to sit in this and watch the birds, and will fall asleep in it often.

5) Newborn diapers.  We didn't buy any, but I'm thankful we were given some because they worked out a lot better the first few weeks than the size 1 diapers did.  The wetness indicator was a plus also.



6) My breast friend nursing pillow: My sister lent this to me and I am thankful because the other nursing pillow I had would have been to snug against my stomach.


7) Keyfit caddy stroller frame. I know I've made mention of this before, but I love this thing.  It's so easy to fold/unfold, it is pretty compact, and I love that the car seat just snaps in.  I've used it a lot on our neighborhood walks.  It's not the best handling stroller on uneven surfaces, but it does okay.



8) Quick snacks:  Granola bars and cheese sticks have become a staple for me.  I didn't realize how little time I actually would have to eat.   The s'mores granola bars are my favorite, but I haven't been able to find just a pack of them in stores.  I always have to get them in a mixed pack, but now that I know amazon sells just them, I will have to invest in some.




9) Ibabylog app.  I have it for my iphone so I don't know if it's just available for apple or android as well.  This app is free and has been a lifesaver.  It keeps track of everything you could want it to.

 There is the obvious one of feedings.  It tracks nursing sessions from which side to the length of each feed to how long in between to how many per day.  It tracks bottle feedings to how long and how much was given.  It also tracks diaper changes (including wet or dirty and if dirty what kind).  You can also use it to track doctors visits, baths, medicine, pumping sessions, sleep etc...  I'm so glad I found this app.

And like I said it's totally FREE! I'm cheap, or better put frugal, but I would have paid for this app.   It can even be synced between phones etc... I have yet to do that though.

Week One Update

My baby is already a week old.  

The last few weeks of pregnancy dragged on, so I'm not liking how time has seemed to sped up and a week has already gone by since Eleanor was born.

We could have stayed in the hospital until Thursday, but my ob said we could leave that day when he checked on us on Wednesday morning and I was ready. We'd been there since Sunday morning.  We did hang out there that day, and waited until after I had ordered supper to leave.  We got home about 7:30pm

First car ride

Funny thing is that Rob's best friend's wife was induced Wednesday for high blood pressure, and she had the baby that afternoon.  The hospital has maternity rooms on several floors, but luckily they put her in a room 2 doors down.  So we put Eleanor in her bassinet and walked over to visit baby Liam.  Liam's two older brothers were in the 9 and 10 pound ranges so it was crazy that he wound up being a pound smaller than Eleanor (side effect of the blood pressure medicine).

She loves to have her feet up in a frog like position or to have them crossed in the rock in play, and she loves snuggling, although I'm sure all babies do.  But she's also okay if she isn't being held usually, and is content in the rock n play.

She hated having her diaper changed those first few days and would just cry.  She doesn't cry as much anymore, but because she always has her little feet and legs up it's difficult to get a diaper on her at times. 

Nursing is still sometimes a struggle.  The problem is getting her latched on.  My nipples are a little more on the flat side and I've been using a shield when needed.  I probably use it half the time.

I expected it to be tough though, so I'm glad I was prepared for it.

The pain is getting a little better, especially on my lower right side.  Getting in and out of bed the first night home was torture so I started sleeping sitting up in the glider or on the couch.  I still will have this sharp horrible pain that will bring tears to my eyes, but I've been a lot better the last few days about taking my pain meds as often as possible, and I used a belly binder thing which keeps stuff nice and tight and that also helps.

I've had a few little hormonal moments.

When we came home I knew it was important to let Rob sleep at night since he is the only one working \so I didn't want him to have to get up.  But by the second night I was exhausted.  Getting up constantly hurt my stomach, and the lack of sleep was more than I could handle and I had several crying sessions that night.

The first day home Eleanor slept most of it and didn't eat much and I was worried.  Even on Friday (day 2 home) she was eating a little better, but was not having wet or dirty diapers. She was super fussy and Rob gave her gas drops later that night.  I was nursing her and heard that poop and knew it was going to be a runny mess.  A few minutes later I had her flipped on my arm burping her, and noticed the brown stain running down her leg.  First blowout at 2 am.  And then there were a few more that night.

I cried earlier that day because she wasn't pooping and then cried because she was. Those hormones are no joke.

I also don't know why I was ever worried about Rob not helping out because he is amazing with her. He does anything and everything he can.  Usually I'll feed her around 9 or 10 pm and then he'll stay up and hang out with her for a few hours or until she needs to eat again.  I get a late nap in and he get's time with her in and it is working out well for us.

I think that our first week has gone pretty well.  Caring for her is easier than recovering from the c-section.

I'm not worried about losing the weight at this point, although I did think I would have lost more by this point.  I'm down almost 10 lbs.

Since you made it this far, I'll reward you with a few pictures! If you follow me on instagram you may have seen some of them already. 

Are we ready yet?

Everything in the pictures is overflow and extra stored in the basement. I'm still working on the nursery post.  I'm pretty sure this kid has way to much stuff.  And I didn't even show the several totes of toys and other misc. things that she has also.  The totes are a good size too; you can't see how big they actually  are from the pictures.

Are we ready for her yet?  I think so. Haha. I just want her to get her so she can use all this stuff and wear all the cute clothes!

We do plan to cloth diaper, but we were given all these diapers, and will use them as well.

Extra wipes in the basement

Size 1 that didn't fit in her room & 2 diapers

Size 3 diapers

No size 4 and the lone size 5 box; Hopefully we can be potty training by this point

Extra girl clothes and one lone boy tote


I won the city mini last summer and we were given the snugli stroller and adaptor.
We also have a keyfit caddy for the carseat


Teething and feeding stuff ( sippy cups, bibs etc...), extra bath
stuff and extra blankets



I do also have a space saver high chair and an old pack and play that I bought
at garage sales ($10 for the high chair and $15 for the pack and play).


I also have one of these that I won in a giveaway.