Nora Kay Love ~ 2 Months

And on the same day that I headed back to work with my part-time responsibilities, Nora turned 2 months old.  I honestly cannot believe how fast time is passing! 

Weight:  We went in for her 2 month well-check just a few hours ago and we're officially at 11 lbs, 6 oz and 22 3/4" long.  Elyse only weighed 9 lbs 14 oz at her two month!  I knew that Nora was bigger, but she's definitely packing on the pounds (or at least ounces)!  She has been wearing size 1 diapers for quite some time now and has some pretty significant chubby rolls forming on her thighs!

Clothes:  We're pretty much completely done with newborn clothes...unless her momma fails to pack the right size and we have to scrunch her little legs into a newborn sleeper.  Of course, not that I would have any experience in that!  I haven't packed away any of her newborn stuff quite yet...we'll see when I actually get motivated to get that done. 

Food:  Yeah, obviously this girl could give lessons on how to eat!  She is still eating great, and has learned to take a bottle of pumped milk just as well.  My milk supply seems to have finally leveled off and while I still think I'm producing enough for at least two babies...Nora doesn't seem to be choking and gagging anymore which is a great improvement.  She's having somewhere between 6-7 feedings a day and is taking 2.5-3.5 oz at each feeding. 

Sleep:  Oh man, I hate to even talk about this.  First off....this girl has not figured out the bliss of a LONG nap.  She goes down incredibly easy, sleeps for 45 minutes, wakes up, and I typically can get her to go back down but sometimes that involves me rocking or holding her for the remainder of the nap.  However...I'm not about to complain about her napping because this girl is a rockstar when it comes to her overnight sleep.  She eats her last meal about 8:00 in the evening and then had found a pretty good routine of waking once to eat during the night and then sleeping until 6:30-7:00.  However, these last two nights she has slept ALL night!  Woohoo!  Elyse did this a bit around this same age but it didn't last...let's hope this time around is different!

                                                 

Activity:  We're definitely getting more activity these days.  She LOVES laying on her piano mat looking at a little mirror and also just laying on the ground looking up at the ceiling fans.  She seems to need sufficient activity for her naps to work at all, so I try not to hold her more than necessary...but it's so hard not to. We're also still working on tummy time, but that's still a work in progress. 

Personality:  Our gassy, fussy little girl has made drastic improvements now that we've got my milk supply under control.  She truly only fusses when she's tired or super hungry...and once she gives into her tired eyes, she's much happier.  She has also learned that a pacifier can have some great soothing effects, so we keep these nearby.  She's starting to give us those adorable gummy grins and is responding with some seriously precious cooing...I can't hardly stand it!   

Likes:
Rocking.  I'm so thankful that we purchased two new rocker-recliners before she arrived.  She loves to rock and this seems to be the easiest way to soothe her during her few & far between fussy periods. 

Elyse.  She is really starting to interact with Elyse and watch her every move.  I know this is only going to increase drastically in the coming weeks and months and it's absolutely precious to watch. 

Bathtime.  This is an easy way to keep her awake or make her happy for a few moments before her nighttime feeding.  I'm thankful that she doesn't seem to mind bathtime. 

Her Momma. Yup, she's a momma's girl and I'm perfectly okay with that! 

Dislikes:

Clothing Changes.  She doesn't really mind the diaper changes anymore, it's just the true clothing changes that she doesn't like.  And I honestly can't blame her.  We keep her so warm and cuddly that when it's time to change clothes I'm sure she gets quite chilly laying on her changing pad! 

Nasal Aspirator.  With the cold, dry air of the winter she's pretty much had a runny nose since she was born. Which means we get to use the nasal aspirator or the Nose Frieda quite frequently...baby girl is NOT A FAN!

Elyse & Nora: As I mentioned above their relationship continues to grow and grow.  Elyse is a big helper and I'm so thankful that she's as independent as she is.  We're having to work with Elyse on not messing with Nora while she sleeps...but other than that she's been great.   

2 Month Milestones:

First Smile on Camera--01/13/2015

First Bottle Out--01/21/2015

First Babysitting Experience with Papa & Gigi--01/24/2015

Project 365: January

And just like that, almost a month has passed since I blogged.  And if I'm being completely honest, it's been that same period of time since I've actually sat down at a computer and typed.  Phones and iPads are nearby most all the time and actually sitting at a computer isn't anything that ranks high on the list of priorities...but as of tomorrow, that's about to change.  Tomorrow I'll be heading back to work, in the same part-time roll I had before Nora arrived.  

Nora arrived on December 2, and really between the newborn fog and the holidays...December is a blur!  January we hit our stride with normal life as a family of 4 and I couldn't be happier!

And while there are so many other things to document, namely Nora being 2 months old tomorrow...WHAT!?!?  And my feelings on heading back to work...I decided to play a quick game of catchup via my iPhone pictures and Instagram Project 365.  So, hold on, there's a whole lot of cuteness about to come your way, thanks to two precious girls who have stolen my heart completely!  

 We helped Nora learn how to play the piano...

We celebrated surviving the first month of Nora's life...

We spent time with our cousins...

We took lots of baths, and I promise...we enjoyed most of them...

We did laundry.  LOTS of little girl laundry.  

We spent time with Papa & Gigi...

We were just too cute for words...

See...more cuteness from Queen Elsa...

More baths with the Bath King...Daddy!...

We spent lots of days at home and never got out of our jammies...

We had dinner with Cousin Harper...

We all acted silly and like big kids...

We slept in Momma's arms and Momma loved every moment...

We dressed up like Sheriff Callie to eat donuts at Mamaw's house...

We built gigantic towers of blocks...

We had lots of smiles and lots of comparison talk about how much the girls look alike...

We had playdates with friends that ended up with passed out kiddos...

We watched movies and Momma marveled at what a beautiful little girl this one has become...

And at how fast this one is changing...

We started sitting like a lady to read coloring books...

We got lots of snuggles from Momma...

And maybe even more snuggles from big sister...

Momma started working out again and headed back to Zumba class...

We found some new favorite outfits...

And we fell in love all over again with baby jeggings, baby fingers, and baby socks...

Momma had a girls' night out with her besties...

And we enjoyed a few sweet treats after we successfully had both girls in bed...

We dressed up in adorable clothes and made faces that made our hearts melt...

We had family nights out for dinner...complete with Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches...

Papa & Gigi watched BOTH girls while Momma & Daddy had a date night...

And I fell more in love with this man as he became the daddy to another beautiful little girl...

We played our own version of Where's Waldo?...

We started grinning and smiling more than just when we had gas...

We watched movies and read stories and played games and spent our days learning our new normal...

And we enjoyed an unseasonably warm day by venturing out to the park...

Momma wore Nora while Elyse burned off some serious cabin fever...

Momma & Elyse had a date day complete with pedicures, lunch at Chickfila and a trip to ToysRUs...

We spent some time at Gigi's house...but she also got a break for awhile before taking back over as babysitter...

We bought Elyse a big-girl bed (to be installed in a week or so when it comes in)...

And we went to Bears games to cheer on Mommy's alma mater...

This month has been full of great joys...and obviously some difficult times as well.  However, I'm so thankful for these last 31 days with my girls.  I wouldn't trade it for the world!  

Nora Kay Love ~ 1 Month

Well, just like that Nora has flown right past the 1 month mark!  I know the holidays had something to do with how fast the time went by, but I've also decided that everything moves at lightning speed when you have a toddler & a newborn!  

I'm failing miserable at keeping this blog up to date with our everyday life...but to be honest, it's not all that exciting right now.  We're spending lots of our time at home or with family as we've transitioned back to a life that revolves around 3-hour increments.  It's been quite the adjustment, but life is so sweet and we're loving our new little girl to pieces!  

Even if I can't manage to keep the blog updated with our life, I still hope to do monthly updates...I had them for Elyse, so I can't let Nora down already.  

Weight:  Who knows, but definitely packing on the ounces.  At her two week check she had already made it up to 7lbs from the 6lbs 2 oz she was when we left the hospital.  We've already moved her into size 1 diapers, simply because we had LOTS more of them on hand and I hated to have any newborns left over.  They are fitting her fairly well, so we'll just stick with it.  

Clothes:  She's wearing a combination of newborn & 0-3 month clothes at this point.  Again, I hated to spend much money on any more newborn clothes from what we had for Elyse...so we've moved into the 0-3 month range.  Surprisingly these aren't all that too big, and most of the newborn things were already getting a bit too short!  She's growing like a weed!

Food:  Nora seems to have taken another note from her sister and is eating like a champ.  Literally, this girl is a speed eater...eating her entire meal in NO MORE than 10 minutes!  Normally it's more like 7-8.  I would be slightly worried, but she easily makes it through the 3 hour mark without eating again and she's gaining weight and has good diaper production.  It doesn't hurt things that I'm basically a cow and instead of having a problem with ENOUGH milk...I'm over-producing.  We're currently working on some things to help her out, poor baby girl was choking half-way through every feeding!  Slow down sister!

I did pump just a bit last night due to discomfort and I think we'll be using that to give her her first bottle tonight.  I'll be starting back to work in 4ish weeks so baby girl needs to take a bottle.  And let's be honest...Momma & Daddy would love a quick little date night!

Sleep:  This girl has been wonderful!  She was in our room for the first 2 weeks and after a ridiculous amount of no-sleeping for us, and a refusal to sleep soundly in the pack-n-play...we made the move to her crib.  And things have been pretty stinking fabulous since then. She's taking at least 2 naps in her crib, the others are quick catnaps in her rock-n-play. She goes down between 8:45-9:15 after her last feeding, and typically wakes for 2 more quick feedings through the night but goes back down without much of a fight.  Most mornings she wakes on her own between 6-7am.  I'm certainly not complaining...for a 1 month old, I'm feeling pretty fabulous!

Activity:  Ummm...she's 1 month old.  So not much.  Due to her gas issues, we weren't laying her down much after eating...and then she was quickly going back down for a nap so she hadn't been getting tons of downtime. However, we're transitioning into more playmat time and just alone time on the bed when she's awake.  Most of the time she is perfectly happy for a pretty good chunk of time...which is definitely nice when lunch needs to be fixed or I need to get ready for the day.

She doesn't seem to hate tummytime quite as much as her sister...which is a definite plus!

Personality:  Again, we've had the gas issues which were caused by my oversupply.  This made her seem to be a little more fussy in the early weeks.  However, now that we've found our groove she's a peach!  She's pretty much only upset when she's hungry, but more often it's a sleepy issue as she quickly becomes overtired from being awake too long.  I'm still working on learning most of her cues, but she is becoming pretty easy to read!  We're starting to get little smiles here & there, which seriously warms my heart.  I can't wait for her to start interacting and loving on us!

Likes:
Butt-patting, rocking, swaying, walking...this girl does not want to sit still!  When she gets upset a combination of these things is the only thing that will soothe her.

Pacifier.  We gave her a pacifier in the hospital and have had absolutely no issues.  She's learning to soothe herself with it, and I'm so thankful for that.

Bathtime.  She enjoys a quick warm bath in the sink, with her big sister watching over her.

Her Momma. Let's be honest, at this point sometimes all she wants is her momma. And I'm more than happy to oblige!

Dislikes:  

Diaper Changes.  Sometimes she is more than happy to lay on the changing pad...but other times, man we must be torturing her!

Otherwise she's a pretty chill baby...which I'm thankful for as Elyse likes to get in her personal space quite a bit!  

Elyse & Nora:  Elyse has been absolutely wonderful since the moment Nora was born.  Sure, she has her moments but she's also 3.  And almost all of her behavior is completely age appropriate.  The schedule I have Nora on allows for them to both take naps at the same time which is incredibly nice for Momma!  Hubby & I have a pretty good tag-team going on right now and I'm so incredibly thankful for that.  Elyse wants to help out in almost any way she can and is always concerned when she hears her crying.  She is quick to give hugs, kisses, and even light headbutts to her little sister which is absolutely precious to watch.  And today her new saying is..."Nora, we're sisters and we're friends.  You know that?"   MELT. MY. HEART.  

1 Month Milestones:

First MSU Bears Game--12/20/2014

First Walk--12/7/2014

First Sunday @ Church -- 12/14/14