Baby Journal - 5 Weeks

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*My camera BROKE today! The card reader won't work so I wasn't able to take a picture of Jessica at 5 weeks... I feel lost without my Canon!!!

Firsts
First (real) smile: June 24, 2011.

Fun Fact
Jessica's going on her first trip this weekend! Steve's the best man in a wedding in Waterloo, Ontario, and we're leaving tomorrow for our four-day trip. It's going to be busy, but luckily my parents are coming to help out.

Journal Entry
What I miss...

Things have definitely changed with a new baby around. We're finally starting to settle into our new "normal" and things are going well. Thinking back to before Jessica was born, there are only three things that I miss:

My mornings with Emily. Every day since Emily was born, I got up with her in the morning. This was always our special time, just me and her, and we had such a nice routine. Our mornings were fun, quiet, and filled with lots of play/bonding time. I really miss that! Now although I often wake up at the same time as her, the whole family is there and it can be quite hectic at times. We're constantly juggling our attention between the two girls, who needs to eat, who wants to play, and who needs to sleep. There are more meltdowns and crying babies than there used to be ;).

A nice-looking body. Like any new mom, I long to feel/look normal again. I find myself daydreaming about how my body used to look, even though I know it'll never look quite that good.

Spare time. I sure miss the "free" time I had during Emily's naps and after she went to sleep. My days are so much busier now and there is very little "me" time. The only thing I'm making time for is blogging (and I'm basically squeezing in minutes at a time whenever I can, like during middle-of-the-night feedings). I know that this lack of spare time is only temporary though and it's definitely worth the wait.

Overall
Jessica had four straight nights with an 8-hour stretch between feeds this week. That was wonderful! She broke her streak last night which isn't surprising since she's been cluster feeding and fussy over the last two days. Jessica is starting to lose her "easy baby" title as she becomes harder to keep happy and harder to put down for sleep. She's also had a few screaming/crying fits late in the evenings so maybe this is all connected to a growth spurt? Regardless I know that this too shall pass.

Interview with (22-Month-Old) Emily

Nathalieland: Hi Emily! Who's that you're kissing??
Emily: This is ball ("baa"). I love him and feed him and play with him and take him with me wherever I go.

N: How sweet. So how does it feel to be 22 months old?
E: It's pretty frustrating, actually. I have so many wants/needs, but I can't always communicate them effectively so it just makes me angry.

N: I'm sorry to hear that! Hopefully this is a short phase and soon you'll learn to talk it out.
E: Yeah, my parents are working on it.

N: So tell me what you've been up to this month.
E: Well I'm really into gardening, baking, puzzles, and counting. I can count up to five by myself and up to ten with my Daddy's help!

N: That's great!
E: But my absolute favourite thing right now is the alphabet ("e-dee") -- always wanting [my mommy] to sing it or write it down, loving toys about it, and pointing out letters wherever I see them. For (almost) each letter of the alphabet, I can pronounce it and tell you a word that starts with it. And I can even spell my name!

N: That's fantastic Emily! How are you doing growth wise?
E: I'm definitely a size 5 diaper now. I fit very well into 2T clothing and even some 3T stuff. I'm such a big girl!

N: Is that because you're a good eater?
E: Oh gosh no. I'm pickier than I've ever been and I'll only eat what I like. One day I'll love something and the next day I won't, and I'll only eat a few bites of meat if my daddy asks nicely. On the plus side I think utensils are fun!

N: I see. Has anything else changed?
E: I don't really watch Caspar Babypants videos anymore...

N: [gasp!]
E: I used to watch them in the morning with Mommy, but since Daddy wakes up with me now we watch Sesame Street and Life (Birds) instead. I only watch Caspar Babypants on occasion... but I still love listening to him in the car!

N: I was just talking to your sister the other day -- how are things going with her?
E: Things are fine! I acknowledge her presence and the things she does (eating, sleeping, diaper checks, etc), but I'm still not really interested in having her around. I have learned a lot from her though! I now love to change, swaddle, rock, burp and feed my "babies". I also like to put them in car seats and swings.

N: Are you showing even more independence now that you're approaching the big 2-4?
E: You bet. I say (scream) "ME!" several times a day to indicate that.

N: Before we finish Emily I just wanted to say that with those blue eyes, blonde curls, and sweet smile, you are the most adorable toddler I've ever seen!
E: Aww, thanks. My parents tell me that all the time.

N: I hope you have a great 23rd month, Emily. Good night!
E: Bath time!

Nice to Meet You, Elmo!

Emily met Elmo at our grocery store on Saturday! They were having a "Customer Appreciation BBQ" which included free food, a petting zoo, pony rides, and special appearances by Elmo, Dora, and Kung Fu Panda. Let's just say Emily didn't care about anything but the three appearances!

Petting zoos aren't cool when you've got Elmo around...

Hi Dora!

High five, Elmo!

We didn't stay for long (not even for the free food) because it was a madhouse! There were tons of kids everywhere and no real structure so it was too crowded and crazy.

I'm glad we had the chance to take pictures with the characters though -- Emily loves looking at them!

Interview with (1-Month-Old) Jessica

Nathalieland: Welcome to Nathalieland, Jessica! It's nice to finally meet you!
Jessica: It's nice to finally be here.

N: Tell me a little bit about yourself, Jessica.
J: I'm one month old today! I weigh around 9 lbs, wear a size 1 diaper, and fit into (some) newborn and (mostly) 3 mo. clothing.

N: I hear you're a good eater.
J: Yep! I typically eat every 3-4 hours during the day and 4-5 hours at night. Although the last few nights I've had an 8-hour stretch between feeds! I usually eat for about 10-20 minutes.

N: That's great! Do you sleep as good as you eat?
J: Pretty much. I fall asleep quite easily, especially when I'm swaddled and held/rocked. I often have long naps during the day (2-2.5 hours) and like I mentioned, I've had some long stretches at night too. Mommy often ends up having to wake me up during the day to eat because I sleep so much.

N: Is there anything you're not good at?
J: Smiling for the camera. Ha!

N: What do you think about your big sister Emily?
J: I have a big sister? Funny, I never see her around... Although I have noticed that sometimes when Mommy is holding me, I'll hear a little voice saying "Dada Baby," then all of a sudden Daddy will be holding me. Same thing happens the other way around when Daddy is holding me and I hear "Mama Baby."

N: Haha, that must be her! Don't worry, eventually she'll warm up to you and I'm positive she'll love playing with you and teaching you everything she knows.
J: Sounds nice!

N: How do you like tummy time?
J: Oh I love it. I either chew on my fist or fall asleep.

N: Ha, you know you're supposed to be working on those neck muscles...
J: Yeah but I'd rather just chill.

N: I'm sure this means nothing to you Jessica, but your interview marks the 300th post published on this blog!
J: You're right, it means nothing. But congrats anyway!

N: Well Jessica, thanks for sitting down with me and answering my questions. I look forward to getting to know you a little bit more every month!
J: And I look forward to growing and developing every month!

Blogger Picture Quality

A few weeks ago I noticed that the pictures on my blog weren't as clear as I would like them to be. They only appeared nice if I clicked on them to enlarge them. It really bothered me, but I didn't think much about a solution. Then just a few days ago it occurred to me that maybe I could fix this!

Through Google I found this blog post which helped me solve my problem. All I have to do is change the following line in the HTML code for each picture (this line appears at the bottom of the picture code):
".../s400/PictureQuality.JPG..." to
".../s800/PictureQuality.JPG..."
Note that the number "400" might be different depending on the size of the image. I usually find that doubling this number, whatever it is, helps. Here are the results:

Before

After

The second image is sharper than the first which makes me very happy! I went ahead and edited all of my posts since Jessica's arrival so that those pictures would be nice and clear too (I would love to edit all of my images but who has time for that??). Anyways, I just wanted to share this information in case you were bothered by the blogger picture quality as well!

Baby Journal - 4 Weeks

(She looks this angry in all the pictures I took today... She did not enjoy her photo shoot ;))

Firsts
First outing just me with my two girls: June 19, 2011.

Fun Fact
Steve and Emily have been baking daily since Jessica was born. That means they've made 7x4=28 baked goods over the last four weeks! (No wonder I feel fatter now than I did during pregnancy.. Ha!). To keep things sane they're only making quarter or half recipes and occasionally trying healthier items. Emily loves baking with Daddy so much that she requests to do it every day and Steve simply can't refuse this quality time with his girl!

Journal Entry
The sleep setup...

I never thought I would want my baby to sleep in our room. I'm a very light sleeper and hearing/seeing my baby squirm all night would certainly keep me up. I also worried that my moving/noises would wake her up too! Emily slept in her room from the start, and even on bad nights we usually moved to the couch or Pack N' Play downstairs.

Jessica hasn't slept a wink in her room yet. The night we got back from the hospital we set up the Pack N' Play (with change table and bassinet) in my walk-in closet. We also set up a feeding station (chair, nursing pillow, side table with drink, laptop, etc.) next to our bed. Totally the opposite of how it was with Emily, but this works really well for us with Jessica.

We did this mostly so that the crying baby is far from Emily (to avoid waking her up), but also because it gives us quick/easy access to Jessica, the feeding station, and the bathroom. Steve is also there to help if I need him (if I was in another room he would never wake up). It's working great for now and since she's in the closet, the disturbances are minimal compared to being right next to her.

Our nighttime wakings consists of: change, feed, burp, change (if necessary), rock. Sometimes Jessica needs to be swaddled to settle down, other times not.

During the day there are a few different scenarios for sleep:
- Steve rocks her and puts her down in the bassinet in our living room.
- Steve rocks her and lets her sleep on his chest (this is when putting her down fails a couple of times).
- I swaddle her and rock her to sleep, then put her down in the bassinet.
- I put her in the baby wrap. She goes to sleep immediately!
- She sleeps in the carseat while we're out.

Overall
Jessica is still a very content, easy baby. She eats well, sleeps for long periods of time, and is easy to go out with. She is getting tougher to put to sleep though, especially in the evening (well, she goes to sleep ok, but successfully putting her down can be a challenge). Also this week she's started getting a bit of baby acne. Emily had it at two weeks so I was definitely expecting it with Jessica too.
I find the hardest part (so far) about having two kids is knowing that even on those rough nights/evenings, you still have to get up at 6am with your other child and won't be able to rest until nap time. I miss the "nap when the baby naps" rule. Now it's more like "nap when the toddler naps, if she naps, and if your baby is also napping at that time."

Family Portrait - Take 2

MUCH better!

Although Jessica's not looking her best, this picture is a significant improvement from our first try! If I could I would keep trying until we all look great, but I don't think the rest of my family agrees with that ;). This picture will have to do for now.

Daddy Day

We had such a wonderful Father's Day celebration yesterday!

The day started off with some father-daughter bonding: watching Sesame Street and Life (Birds) together. This has become their first-thing-in-the-morning activity since Jessica's arrival.

Then Steve and Emily made some yummy pancakes for breakfast. Emily wasn't really a fan though -- she preferred her Cheerios and pear.

Emily and Jessica got their Daddy lots of fun baking items since he loves baking with his girls so much!

Recipe book, spoon, cookie cutters, and miniature cake pans!

I got Steve some new swim shorts. I really wanted to make a Father's Day card with Emily but sadly never got around to it.

After breakfast we headed out for another beautiful walk at Lemoine's Point and played at the nearby park. The weather was absolutely gorgeous!

Steve put Emily down for her nap after lunch, then he started work (his first day back at work since Jessica's birth!). Once Emily woke up from her nap, the girls and I headed to my parents' for our usual Sunday dinner. This was my first outing alone with the two babies! Other than a bit of a rocky start (Jessica didn't fall asleep in the car as expected, so she was crying when we got there and Emily had a bit of anxiety), it went very well! Luckily Emily loves going to my parents'. They have so many fun toys and lots of yummy food. I think it's her second favourite place to be (first is our home). So Grand-Maman spent some quality time with Jessica and I had lots of play time with Emily. My dad did what he does best -- cooking a delicious supper and entertaining Emily.

Happy Father's Day to Steve and my dad (Papa) -- the two most wonderful, caring, and dedicated fathers I know! 

To read about Steve's first Father's Day (last year), click here.

This is How You Take a Family Picture

Emily and Jessica's great grandfather Basil is visiting from England this month. He's making his final overseas trip to celebrate his 88th birthday with family in Canada. Quite a special event! For such an occasion I thought it would be nice to take a family portrait to give to Basil as a birthday gift. We tried to take the picture yesterday and here is how it all went down...

*****

"Family Picture" has been on my to-do list for days now so I decide that today (Friday) is the day. I showered today, the kids are clean, and the sun is out (which makes for good lighting). I plan out all of our outfits (including a quick run to Walmart to complete Emily's ensemble). I fiddle with the tripod/camera and finally have it attached and ready to go. Now we wait for the right time to take the picture.

Fast forward to the evening. Jessica has been either sleeping or fussy all day. She's still asleep, but will be waking up soon so I figure now is the time to take the picture. I get dressed, brush my hair, and put on a bit of makeup. I tell Steve what to wear and he changes while I get Emily dressed up. Now all we need to do is wake baby up, dress her quickly, and take the picture. I know that we have to act fast because not long after Jessica wakes up, she's going to want to eat. No problem though, she's usually quite content for a few minutes after waking up.

As Steve starts to unwrap Jessica, Emily requests to work on her (24-piece) zoo puzzle with Daddy. Not really the time, but ok... I dress Jessica up and she's nice and happy while I hold her. Minutes go by... Emily is still working on her puzzle. Jessica is starting to fuss (minutes really do count with babies!). Emily finally finishes her puzzle so we rush to the steps (well, I rush. Emily wanders over) to take the picture. Baby is fussing a lot more now and before I even have the chance to turn on the camera, she has a blowout in her diaper. Well we can still do this real quick, I think, then two seconds later the phone rings. Ugh!

Steve runs to get the phone, I'm holding a poopy/fussy baby, and Emily is ever-so-sweetly sitting on the steps, waiting. Just a telemarketer, of course, so Steve finishes in a couple of minutes. Steve and Emily take their positions on the steps, I push the button, and run to take my spot while holding Jessica. Click. Click. We do another take. Click. Click. By now Jessica is angry and Emily is done, so we take a break.

Unfortunately I fail to mention to Steve and Emily that we're taking a break, so while I'm changing Jessica's diaper and starting to feed her, they're waiting on the steps for the next shoot. Miscommunications = frustrations, but we get over it. It's time for Emily's bedtime snack. While Emily is snacking and I'm nursing Jessica, I take a look at the pictures we have so far. They're so bad I'm laughing hysterically. I start thinking about what needs to change for the picture to be better (Steve should turn a little sideways. I need to lower my knee, stop slouching, and keep my hair out of Jessica's face, etc). No problem though, we'll try again after Emily and Jessica are done eating -- Jessica will certainly be content then. How wrong I am. She's crying non-stop, probably gas.

While Steve is trying to soothe Jessica, Emily finishes her snack and starts playing. Now it's getting close to bedtime. I figure we can squeeze in one final try, but Steve doesn't think it's a good idea and says we're not trying again tonight. He passes me the baby and takes Emily upstairs for her bath.

I'm standing by the steps, holding (a now content) Jessica, thinking about all the effort I had put into getting this family portrait done today, but with nothing to show for it. I go upstairs and break down, crying. Steve offers that we go take another picture, but clearly that won't work with my red/teary eyes and Emily's desire to hop in the bathtub.  

We'll try again tomorrow, Steve says. I don't think you understand how much effort that all took, I think. Jessica spits up on Steve's shirt and is crying again. All I can think is we can't do it tomorrow, my hair won't have been washed.

The thought of doing it all over again is exhausting. But alas, we can't give Basil this:

Family Portrait, June 17, 2011.

p.s. I wrote this post because as frustrated as I was that evening, I know I'll be able to look back and laugh at the craziness of it all. I hope you found some humour in it as well. 

My Little Gardener

I was sure that with a newborn and a toddler my vegetable garden would really suffer this year. But it turns out it's never been better... because I have my own personal assistant!

Emily loves to pull out the weeds, loosen the soil, and water the plants with her mommy.

Weeding... She's very focused with this task and is excellent at differentiating between weeds and vegetables!

 Loosening the soil...
(we call it "scratching the dirt") 

 Watering the plants...

 ... and the bee too!

Thanks to Emily's hard work and dedication my garden has never looked so (consistently) beautiful! Just wait until she realizes that all of her effort leads to tons of tomatoes and cucumbers -- her two favourite vegetables.

Also have I mentioned that Emily loves the outdoors and getting dirty? Here is her current favourite sandbox activity:

Dig a hole, pour water inside...

... reach into the hole...

... and pull out muddy sand!

Baby Journal - 3 Weeks

Firsts 
First move to a bigger-sized diaper: June 11, 2011. Steve had to make a 9pm run to Walmart because we realized we didn't have enough diapers for the night! Jessica now wears size 1 diapers. 
First night we didn't have to wake Jessica up to eat: June 13, 2011. She had a 5-hour stretch between two feeds -- it was nice to get a bit of extra sleep! It also helped that she was hungry when she woke up instead of sleepy.

Fun Fact
Jessica weighed 8lbs 3.5oz. at her doctor's appointment on Monday! Doctor said she's doing great.

Journal Entry
The many emotions of me...

Joy. Sometimes I can't help but smile and be so grateful for my family! Jessica is so sweet and content in her newborn stage which is just wonderful.

Exhaustion. I'm still not getting nearly enough sleep at night and it's not always possible to nap during the day. The lack of sleep is definitely catching up to me.

Guilt. Emily was the kind of baby that needed to be held. It took weeks before we could put her down or in her swing (and even then it couldn't be for long periods of time), so we held her all the time! Jessica is pretty much the opposite and since Emily requires so much of our attention, we're definitely taking full advantage of it. I always feel guilty though when I put her down, especially when she's awake. It makes me sad that I can't/don't hold Jessica as much as I did Emily. 

Peace. Some moments of my days are so peaceful and beautiful. The kind of moments where everything's going right: baby is sleeping while we cook/eat dinner, Emily is behaving so sweetly, and the atmosphere is just perfect. These are the moments that make me sit back and think "wow, life is beautiful" (and they also make those not-so-nice moments worthwhile).

Jealousy. I struggled with this one a lot when Emily was a baby too. I'm jealous of Steve! Jealous of the extra sleep he gets. Jealous of his lack of discomfort. Jealous that he can head out at any time for any amount of time. And mad that he doesn't realize how "good" he's got it. These feelings come and go, and I'm trying really hard to just appreciate what I do have and appreciate what Steve does for us -- he's an amazing father!

Stress. I put a lot of pressure on myself for things to go well, especially when we're out or having visitors. Ideally I would have a happy or sleeping baby who doesn't need to eat at inopportune times. But life isn't predictable and babies/mommies aren't perfect, which causes me to stress out a little! Happily though things are much easier with Jessica than they were with Emily (especially feeding and sleeping), so my stress levels are drastically lower this time around.

Love. Love for my girls. Love for my husband. Love for my home and my life. There is so much love in my life right now!

Overall
Finding the time to blog has become a lot harder these days! Jessica is a fast eater now and she's been unlatching a lot lately, so it's nearly impossible to blog while breastfeeding anymore. Jessica has been having a "fussy/awake time" every evening between 7-9pm. She's not hungry (which we learned from experience... feeding = puke) and she won't sleep. It can be pretty frustrating!

Big Sister Emily, Little Sister Jessica

Yesterday I took my first stab at taking pictures of Emily and Jessica together and in matching outfits! Emily wasn't too sure what to think about the whole thing (she hadn't been that close to her sister before), but overall she did great. I didn't manage to get fantastic shots or anything, but it's still sweet to see my girls side by side :).

I still have a lot to learn when it comes to taking pictures of my toddler and baby (someone prop that baby up! fix those shirts!), but I'm sure I'll be getting lots of practice in the months to come.

p.s. I bought the shirts they're wearing from this Etsy shop. They say "Big Sister Emily" and "Little Sister Jessica".

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