2 Weeks Old!

Miss Eloise Jane is two weeks old today.

And this girl just got a new nickname: "Bruiser."

I am convinced Eloise is dead set on NOT being the "littlest" sister, as seen from her 2 week Pediatrician visit. Since birth, she has already gained a POUND (8#2oz, 50%) and if you go by her measured birth length (which we *think* may have been incorrect) she has grown TWO inches (21 3/4, off the official charts so notated at 98%). I am just amazed that not only was she already back to birth weight, but a POUND over it! That's some insane growth. Her big sister at 2 weeks old? 5#16oz, having finally surpassed HER birth weight of 5#14oz.

So yeah, we have a 'not so little" bruiser on our hands. It will be interesting to see if her stats stay at those percentiles.... if they do then she definitely has inherited her Papa's genes!

Relaxing upon arrival to the doctor's office

I couldn't believe this weight gain! 

Though I should believe it, given how constantly this one wants to eat.

As for me, not much weight loss since last week, though my belly has shrunk more. I lost another 1.5 pounds to clock in at 129.8- a 17.2 pound loss overall from the 37 gained. Almost halfway there! I cannot WAIT to be able to walk outside again- this 100 degree heat doesn't lend itself to much outdoor activity, but once it lets up (sadly in October) I will be taking full advantage.

I had a couple days of the Baby Blues this past week, where I was feeling overly tearful at the littlest things. What has helped tremendously is starting to ask for HELP. Having BC take Eloise even for 30 minutes is like heaven, and I am amazed how productive I can be in that short amount of time (laundry! dishes! cleaning! showering!).

I've started pumping a 2oz bottle of milk each morning, and yesterday I left BC with a bottle and actually headed out ALL BY MYSELF. Freedom!

Again, super productive in a very short amount of time (Target! bank! gas station! two baby stores!). The best part? WALKING. Yes folks, I can WALK again! That may sound trivial, but since around 15 weeks pregnant I've been handicapped with Symphysis Pubic Dysfunction... so, to be able to walk freely without pain is nothing short of a miracle. My body was sooo happy to be moving again, and this whole outing went a LONG way toward my postpartum mental health.

Physically, my bleeding has let up quite a bit since passing birthing a fist sized clot this week. I am still sweating profusely every night (yuck), and my hemorrhoids and other achy parts are getting a little better each day.

As far as Eloise goes? This one is a bona fide SNUGGLER. AKA: Velcro Baby, meaning she does NOT want to be put down pretty much ever, thank you very much. Which is cozy and lovely and SO HARD at times, given I can't get much done when holding her.

She love love LOVES to snuggle chest to chest, and will inch her way up until her head is right beneath BC's or my neck, loving when we then kiss her little forehead. I've taken a couple of naps with her on my chest like that, and those are super cozy for us both.

I did break out my ring sling (which happily Eloise doesn't mind) -though it quickly gets VERY hot and sweaty in there (hello 100 degree heat!) Since Eloise is over 8 pounds already, I can start using some of my other carriers and hope to start familiarizing myself with those in the next week.

I never in a million years would thought I'd be a bed sharing kind of Mama, but this snuggle bug sleeps SO much better lying near me, and when baby sleeps better, EVERYONE sleeps better (though she is still up pretty much every 2 hours all.night.long nursing.... there's a reason she's gained a pound since birth!)

She loves sleeping slightly on her side with her little body curled toward me:

Personality wise, this one definitely has fire in her belly and isn't shy about letting us know when she doesn't like something (diaper & clothes changes, being put down when she isn't sound asleep). She's super alert when awake, and already quite strong with good head & neck control.

Big sister Iyla is doing great and soaking up the last week of her Papa's Paternity leave. I had a moment of panic thinking ahead to next week ALL BY MYSELF with two kids, and sent out a plea to my parents to please come back. Thankfully they'll be here next Tuesday-Friday to be extra sets of hands as I work toward getting us all on a schedule. This way I won't have to take Eloise with me for Iyla's school pick up and drop off, or to those OH SO HOT swim lessons.

Every time Iyla comes into the room where Eloise is she wants to hold her, touch her, and kiss her. She truly loves her baby sister, and it never ceases to melt our hearts. This was one of the main reasons I went through all I did to bring another little one into the world (another 3 years of charting and trying, to include 3 injectable cycles, 2 IVF's, & lots of $$$). I so wanted for Iyla to experience having a sibling.

We had a photographer come take some family photos of us yesterday that I can't WAIT to see! He is someone just getting started in the business whose style I really like (unposed, natural lifestyle type photos)- and we got an amazing deal due to his wanting subjects to build his portfolio with.

So of course I had to order Lady Eloise some new head bling toward the shoot. From the stash (pictured below) I ended up using the top middle flower for photos, but also LOVE the little headbands on the bottom left- which are so soft and perfect for a newborn:

Buying things for little girls is sooo much fun (and dangerous!)

Iyla was absolutely hilarious during the photos, totally hamming it up for the photographer with HUGE smiles and eye contact. BC and I kept looking at each other like "who IS this girl?" and remarked that maybe it was time to get her an agent! I think she genuinely liked the photographer.... every once in a blue moon she'll meet someone she is instantly smitten with, and it is always so sweet to see.

After our photo shoot Lady Eloise promptly passed out in my arms, chest to chest in her preferred snuggle position:

It's been a lovely, sleepy, challenging two weeks. We are slowly seeing some light at the end of the newborn tunnel, as we get used to our new normal with TWO children.

On another note- a Happy Birthday shout out to our Mimi today.... we love you!

Throwback shot of my mom and I from my 1st birthday

*This entire entry was typed using one hand at a time while holding Eloise. 

It's only taken 8 hours to complete!*

Party All Night

Man oh man did Miss Eloise give me a run for my money last night.

It looked loosely like this:

8:45pm: nurse for bedtime
9pm: put her down in bassinet for first sleep, I pass out in bed
9:40pm: She's up!?
9:45: nurse again, though there ain't much left in there (I had pumped for the first time that morning and was concerned it affected my overall supply throughout the day).

And that little lady?

WIDE AWAKE.

Until 12:45am. That's THREE HOURS of party time if you're counting.

In that time, we went through many cycles of nursing, trying to coax/soothe her to sleep, changing diapers, re-swaddling, rocking,.... you name it.

I even out of desperation went downstairs to get the pumped bottle of milk I'd stored that morning. The great thing was that she took the bottle NO PROBLEM (her first! Hoping we don't have issues there moving forward)- which confirmed to me that she was hungry and that my boobs were just DONE from the 3 constant hours of her on again off again nursing.

At around 1am I finally, FINALLY got her to sleep again.

1:30am: she's up!

OMG SO TIRED.

I nurse again then go to change and swaddle her. As soon as we sit down to rock in the chair she has a BIG poo.

Of course.

This girl is the queen of pooing right when I am JUST getting her settled, or she's JUST fallen asleep, or I've JUST put the most perfect swaddle ever on her.

So: I go to change her AGAIN. And while in the middle of changing her, she poos AGAIN, soiling her clothes.

OMG SO TIRED.

So I strip her down and lay her on top of a clean diaper while I run to use the bathroom myself. When I return, I find she's peed all over her swaddle blanket.

So: I change her, re-dress her, and run to her nursery to grab another swaddle blanket.

I swaddle her, give her my now completely deflated breast, then head to bed where it takes almost another hour to get her to FINALLY sleep.

This is around 3am. So at that point Lady Eloise and I had clocked in maaaaybe 1 hour of sleep TOPS since 9pm.

OMG SO TIRED.

We both pass out blissfully until around 6:30am, when she was ready to nurse. She nursed for all of 3.5 minutes before passing out again. At this point I didn't bother changing and re-swaddling her- I just laid her right back down to sleep.

You'd think given the night we'd had that I'd go back to sleep too. However, I cannot for the life of me get back to sleep after 6:30am.... it's my internal clock's natural rising time, and despite only having gotten a sporadic 3-4 hours sleep all night long, I was up.

OMG SO TIRED.

It's going to be a loooong sleepy day today. It's a bummer too because we are planning to head to my Aunt's house for a visit and for them to meet Eloise, and I am definitely going to be hurting.

And so it goes.... apparently Eloise is nocturnal like her Mimi. ; )

Here's hoping that tonight does NOT bring a repeat performance!

More of this tonight, sweet girl. More of this.

One Week Old/One Week Postpartum

I can't believe it's been a whole week since we welcomed our sweet Eloise Jane into the world!

Sleepy smiles at one week old

I am full on into the sleep deprived bliss of the newborn period... it is a strange and magical place to be, where days are sloooow going and it's hard to get anything 'done' but hold and tend to baby. I am SO thankful BC was able to take a 2 week Paternity leave (basically he is taking paid vacation days)- as we are now mastering the 1 to 1 defense. He and Iyla are spending some wonderful quality time together, and I truly think it is helping her transition go incredibly smoothly. In fact, there doesn't appear to be ANY transition for her- she is as happy and carefree and loving as always, constantly wanting to kiss and hold and "pet" her baby sister. It makes my heart swell.

This post is going to serve as a 'catch all' of Eloise's first week so I can keep updating from here. Because you know I already have hundreds of photos that need to be posted. ; )

Like this adorable one! 
Iyla and her Mimi at Iyla's school when Mimi and Grampy were here caring for her. 

The best quote of Mimi & Grampy's visit happened one night when Mimi was putting Iyla to bed. Iyla- not wanting Mimi to go- said:

"Mimi's don't go to sleep"

My mom replied "Oh yes, Mimi's DO go to sleep."

To which Iyla retorted: "No they don't. Mimi's are nocturnal." 

Way to whip out the fancy science vocabulary, kid!

Our 2nd day in the hospital brought with it our first visitors- my parents and Iyla. We were SO excited for Iyla to meet her baby sister! We wanted her to come in first for a little family time, and I had a present ready "from Baby Eloise" for her- a stuffed Mama kitty that has 3 magnetic nursing kittens.

When Iyla first entered the room she didn't want to hug or greet me- she just wanted to see Baby Sister in the bassinet. We took Eloise out and asked Iyla if she wanted to hold her, getting a "No! I don't like her."

Alrighty then.

The Mama kitty was taken out and given (big hit! She declared "I've been dreaming of having this kitty") and Iyla took to playing with her new toy on the floor while my parents came in for their first meeting.

As Iyla observed her Mimi holding Eloise she came over and said that she wanted a turn too. BC and I remarked later how silly it was for us to forget our slow-to-warm little girl.... who always needs to do things in her own time, in her own way.

After a little time and observation she was now ready to officially greet her little sister.

And it was magic.

As Iyla held Eloise, she kissed her head and cooed: "I'm your big sister. I'll take care of you."

*Cue heart melting*

Aaaand.... a moment later Iyla announced "I'm all done!"

She is 3.5, after all.

Here are a few photos of this precious first meeting:

Warming up with her little kitty family

 Observing Mimi first

 This is what we got when my dad asked Iyla to smile for a photo

A family of four! Holy s***

Eloise rocked all of the hospital newborn screening tests, passing her hearing test, heart exams, and bilirubin draw (thank GOD!) with flying colors. So on Sunday, July 24th we got the green light to head on home! 

 Little squish's first time in the car seat

Iyla was super excited to have us all home again, and thankfully Mimi and Grampy stayed another night to help facilitate our transition home as a family. I can't say enough about how helpful it is to have extra pairs of loving hands helping out!

Grampy and his baby Eloise

As far as me? At one week postpartum, my body is slowly but surely healing and adjusting. My milk came in the afternoon we got home from the hospital (so about 36 hours after birth)- and Eloise has thankfully been an excellent nurser from day 1! Painful engorgement set in sometime Monday night (3 days postpartum) as my body worked to make sense of the milk arrival. I opted in lieu of pumping right away to let my body and Eloise work it out and get acquainted with one another. Happily the engorgement let up Thursday, around day 5-6 pp.

My lovely hemorrhoids temporarily got better at 4 days pp, but came back with a vengeance day 5 when my constipation FINALLY let up. I now have a cushy donut-esque sitting pillow on order to hopefully expedite this part of the recovery.

I could tell Thursday into today there was a lot of hormonal purging going on, as I got some serious night sweats, a pick up in bleeding (which has been very light since about 3 days pp), a headache, &....*ahem*- the opposite of constipation. I know it's my body's way of readjusting to no longer being pregnant, and its definitely an interesting phenomenon to experience!

Other postpartum notes:

*My feet were OH so swollen post birth (and still are somewhat)- which is a common side effect of all the fluids they use during the epidural.

*My hair! I've had a week straight of great hair days, with it looking and feeling more thick and full. Not sure what is up with that, but I like it.

*I'm feeling cold again. The thermostats are turned back up and cardigans have been pulled out.

*This 1:1 defense is NO JOKE. I am so grateful BC has two weeks off to help- and that help looks like him fully taking over Iyla care. Which leaves me primarily in charge of/mostly alone in Eloise care. Which also means I'm not eating or drinking as much as I should (or sleeping, but that is to be expected)- because it is just sooo hard to do these things one handed with a newborn! Yesterday I didn't eat breakfast until 11:30am. Thankfully today I was on a more normal morning schedule, thanks to BC having set up a 2nd monitor upstairs for Eloise watching.

*At one week postpartum, I have lost 15 1/2 of the 37 pounds gained in pregnancy. My belly is shrinking a little more every day and it feels OH SO GOOD to be able to move freely again!

 Selfie with Eloise in her nursery

One week postpartum belly

As far as Lady Eloise goes, she is overall a really sweet, loving, alert spirit- but will definitely let you know if she doesn't like something (like car rides, diaper changes, & being put down when still awake)! She is sleeping the days away in 2-4 hour nap stretches, and nights... well, nights she pretty consistently is up EVERY 2 hours. We've had a couple glorious nights with 3 hour stretches, but it also isn't uncommon for her to wake EVERY hour either. I'm one sleepy Mama, but again- am luxuriating in this gentle, sweet newborn phase. I'm already feeling emotional about it all as I know how quickly it passes and that this is our last go at it.

Eloise had her first doctor appointment this week at 4 days old (BC and Iyla came too!), and was none too pleased to have to endure the car ride there:

 Grumpy girl after a LOT of crying in the backseat. It's heartbreaking to hear her back there and not be able to help!

She weighed in at 7lbs 1 oz- which is AWESOME since she is almost back up to birth weight (she went down to 6#15oz at the hospital). All that night nursing is doing its job! She measured 20 3/4 inches long, head 14 inches, putting her at 95% for height, 30% for weight, and 90% for head size. Another long and lean girl like her big sister Iyla!

The doctor mentioned she looked slightly jaundiced (NO! I had immediate flashbacks to our hospital stay with Iyla due to this)... but said if she was eating well (yes) and pooping regularly (super YES- this girl goes almost every hour!) we should be just fine. I thanked our lucky stars for that!

The one shot I got AT the doctor's office itself... sweet girl was none too happy about all the poking and prodding, so I had to wait for a peaceful moment to officially document her visit.

Eloise also had her first chiropractic adjustment at 5 days old. She was peaceful on the car ride there but screamed the entire way home. While Dr. Ron was holding and adjusting her she let loose a big poo- it was pretty hilarious and Dr. Ron was more than happy to then hand her back to Mama.

Ready for our first solo outing to the chiropractor

Here are a few more photos of sweet Lady Eloise's first week of life:

Baby sleep poses are just too much. I can't stop taking photos!

 This is one of her favorite sleep positions. I've been having her sleep in bed next to me and she always curls her little body and/or head to face me.

I've also taken to calling Eloise "chicken legs"- and you can see why! She appears to have the same long legs as Iyla, courtesy of their Papa (lucky girls!):

As far as Big Sister goes? She has been having a blast with her Papa staycation. He takes her to school, swim and dance lessons, out on adventures (the park, the museum), out for breakfast and dinner... it's been a really sweet time for those two.

Here are some shots from Iyla's past week:

They go out to breakfast at the local Quickie Pickie several mornings a week

Iyla also had her first ever trip to the dentist this week! Papa reported that she did awesome, bringing her beloved "Dinies" (dinosaurs) with her for support:

Iyla ALWAYS wants to see what Baby Sister is up to- she is sooo sweet with her

All my girls

Boat safety at swim class!

In closing, a comparison shot of newborn Iyla (on the left) and newborn Eloise. They are definitely sisters! A bit different noses, but other than that... a lot of similarities. I'm curious to see if the resemblance remains as Eloise grows and changes.

Feeling oh so blessed and oh so grateful for my two healthy, beautiful little girls.

Happy one week in the world, sweet baby Eloise! We love you more than you will ever know.