Month One

Congrats, Gavin!  You're one month old!

My baby boy, I can't believe it's already been a month (has it only been a month?)!  It feels like you've always been a part of our lives, yet time also goes by so quickly.  You are adjusting wonderfully to life outside the womb.  You seem to be such an easy-going baby, only crying when needing to be fed or changed.  Eating and sleeping come so naturally to you; you're such a pro!  You mostly spend your days napping and eating, but when you're wide awake and you're so alert.  You are beginning to look around and take in the sights and sounds around you.  The pugs barking will startle you, Ella's voice will soothe you.  You definitely enjoy snuggling, and sleep best when in our arms (though a rocker or bouncer will do for short periods of time).  You're already lifting your head and you've proven to be quite strong (moving and scooting in your sleep, and trying to launch yourself off of us when we hold you up).  You are very animated, making all sorts of faces.  You do an excellent impression of a fish, and even your worried, wrinkled face is endearing.  You sound like a squeaky hinge whenever we lay you down, and it's actually pretty cute.

We've definitely had to adjust to having a little boy, especially your dad (who you love to pee on!).
My favorite trait so far is when you lift your head towards mine when you're over my shoulder.  I love feeling your breath against my face, and getting a little cold nose snuggle from  you.  It's sweet and makes me feel like you know exactly who your mommy is.  I also cherish those little smiles that sneak across your face when you're asleep or when you're trying out those facial muscles.  I appreciate the occasional five hours of sleep you give me at night.  Your mellow demeanor is a bit of grace around this (sometimes) chaotic household.

At 8 lbs. 4 oz and 20.5" long, you are growing fast.  I can't wait to see what the next few months hold in store for you as I'm sure you will grow leaps and bounds.

make room for baby

I never did get a chance to post pictures of Gavin's nursery due to poor second child syndrome + arriving 2 weeks early.  We still have some little items to hang up, but for the most part, we (eventually) got everything set up.  There was definitely a marked difference this time around, since with Ella, I wanted everything in place before her arrival.  With Gavin, I wasn't in such a rush (probably because we knew he wouldn't be using the nursery for a couple months while he co-slept with us).  I did really enjoy decorating for a little boy and had a lot of fun getting boy clothes and finding more "boyish" decor.  We chose a more industrial theme, softening it with a muted color palette and adding a navy blue accent (which you can't really see from the pictures).  My favorite part of his nursery is definitely the striped ceiling (which we decided to make the main focus by keeping the walls neutral).  And I think the metal chandelier adds a nice masculine touch.  I'm still considering a chevron patterned rug to add a little more weight and interest to the center of the room.  But all in all, we're excited for Gavin to grow into his room!   

I'm still getting used to the panorama function on the iPhone camera, so the proportions are a bit distorted.

Bookshelf, lighting and accessories: Restoration Hardware Baby & Child
Crib & drapes: Pottery Barn Kids
Glider: Oilo
Ottoman and dresser: Room & Board

For now, he's pretty content bunking with us.  While he'll sleep a solid three hours in the co-sleeper, he'll clock 4-5 hours in our bed.  Too bad I don't get to fully enjoy those hours when he's sleeping next to me.  But he looks content, doesn't he?

Family of Four

Things have been a bit chaotic around here as we adjust to being a family of four.  I confess I've let some things slip, just so I can manage our day to day.  For example, Ella has been allowed to watch a lot more TV than she ever has.  Usually, TV time is relegated to weekends.  But now, she gets about 30-40 minutes of watching Olivia after her nap.  It just gives me a nice break, and she is so content eating her snack (another thing I let slide--eating in the living room) and watching her show.  I'm hoping when we get a better routine with Gavin, we can cut back on the screen time.  Especially with longer days approaching, I'm hoping she'll be able to spend her afternoons outside playing instead of sitting on the couch.  But it does make me smile to see her so grown up, sitting on the couch, eating a snack, all cuddled up with a blanket and singing along to Olivia.

Another thing I've been more lenient on has been letting Ella play with my iPhone.  She has learned to say "cheese"when she wants to play with it (I let her scroll through my photos and watch videos that I've recorded of her).  She also discovered how to use the camera and take pictures.  She is quite the budding photographer.

Her "selfie."

Love her perspective of her chubby toddler legs.

On of her favorite subjects: Mia.

This past weekend, we decided it was time to head out as a family of four.  I've been reluctant to take Gavin out much because of flu season, and I feel like EVERYONE is sick.  I just can't bear the thought of him being around all those germs.  But after 3 weeks at home, we were all going a little stir crazy.  So we ventured to outdoor spaces, and have enjoyed going to the Arboretum, Kidspace museum, and the park.  I also finally broke down and got a double stroller (the Baby Jogger City Select), and I was eager to take it for a test run (so far so good!).  While it took much longer to get out the door than expected, everything went pretty smoothly and Ella enjoyed being able to go out with both her parents and her baby brother, too.

At the Arboretum, she wanted to walk along the green line.  This picture reminds me how much she's grown!

Making handprints with Dad at Kidspace.

She is not a fan of getting her hands dirty (much to Grandma's dismay), so I was pretty impressed that she did this.

She loves playing in the water.  And she was excited to show us around the museum, which she goes to weekly with Grandma for a Baby and Me class.

Snack break at the park.  Ever the big sister, she wanted to sit by Gavin and rock his car seat.

and now, a sleeping montage

I'm truly thankful that newborn babies sleep so much.  I can stare at this face all day.

Someone is having a good dream.

Donald Trump, eat your heart out. 

Newborn Daze

The newborn period is always the most challenging.  And maybe it's because we had Ella and Gavin so close together, but I definitely feel more impatient for him to outgrow this phase.  The lack of sleep, the constant diaper changes, the spitting up and smelling like sour milk--it's getting old, fast.  I feel bad for complaining.  After all, Gavin is such a good baby.  He's easy-going and has a really mellow temperament.  He's fallen into a nice routine already, sleeping 4-5 hour stretches at night and eating very well.  And when we started him on a bottle this past weekend, he took to it like a pro (which is such a blessing).  I really can't complain, but I miss my full night's sleep.  I miss being able to wear clothes without fear of milk stains.  I miss not having to tote around so many diapers and changes of clothes and swaddles and blankets and breast pumps.  I miss having the bedroom to ourselves.  I miss being able to enjoy an evening with my husband without feeling guilty about not sleeping while the baby sleeps.  I miss being able to get out the door in a relatively efficient amount of time.

And then there's the added hormonal changes that happen after pregnancy, the postpartum baby blues that come with it, and the daunting task of trying to find "normalcy" once again.  While this transition to two children has been MUCH easier than the transition to one, I still get overwhelmed sometimes.  As time passes, I'm getting better and not having so many anxious moments of "how am I going to do this?"  I am slowly wrapping my brain around managing two young children on my own.  Adam has gone back to work, Grandma is no longer staying with us, and we're slowly finding our groove again.  I recently read a blog post that describes new motherhood so perfectly.  It helped to read it and know that the emotions I feel are so normal.  And even though this is my second time around, a part of me still has to mourn the lifestyle I had when it was just Ella.  Maybe it's because I barely got my body back before getting pregnant again (I was still nursing Ella when we found out), but shifting back into caring for a newborn baby has been challenging.  But at the same time, I know what awaits me as Gavin grows and I'm excited to take that journey again.  I just wish it involved more sleep right now.

There are things I appreciate about this phase, though.  These little gifts of grace of to new parents.  It helps tremendously that Gavin sleeps a lot, and demands very little really.  His needs are so basic, which allows me continue giving Ella the attention she needs.  I know it's just a matter of adjusting and getting into a routine again.  If anything, I'm learning (yet again) how little control I really have in it all and how I just need to pray more and have faith that I can be a good mother to these children, even when I feel completely overwhelmed or daunted.

Siblings

I've been meaning to post this, but never got around to it.  Here's a side-by-side picture of Ella and Gavin at approximately the same age (a few days old).

It amazes me how much they look alike.  I know, I know, they're siblings.  Of course they'll look alike.  I just can't get over it because we never got a really good ultrasound picture of Gavin, so we had no idea what he would look like.  Some people think he looks more like me, and Ella looked more like Adam.  But I think he just looks like a boy version of Ella.  I definitely look forward to seeing him grow and watching his features change.  It's so fun witnessing these little newborns blossom into little people.  Amazing.

Bright Eyes