Koda and Olivia

Yes, it took me about a month to get this to work.

Yes, I work in IT.

She was doing this and then Olivia moved her hand right as we got out the camera. So I put her hand back for her :)

If the video isn't working, try this link:

Koda Kissing Olivia

Pregnancy Weight Gain

I tracked my weight gain all throughout my monthly posts. Since I never did a 40 week post (thank you Olivia for coming a few days early, I did not have a vegetable for a 40 week picture), I never posted a final weight gain. I figure you have been sitting on the edge of your seat, wondering, ever since Olivia was born. 

I spent the first 14 weeks incredibly nauseous. I spent the following 6 weeks pretty nauseous, so I didn't gain much weight early on. People kept asking if I was losing weight in the first trimester. While I was super sick, I felt even worse if I didn't eat - so I was eating anything that sounded okay. Pad thai one day, kraft mac and cheese another. That pretty much maintained my weight in the beginning.

Once the 'morning' sickness was over - all bets were off. I wanted FOOD. Always. No matter what. I didn't have any specific cravings. If you were eating it, I wanted it. I spent my days thinking about food, wanting food, eating food. I have never been hungrier in my life. 

I started using the app My Fitness Pal to track what I was eating. I needed to know that I wasn't eating too much fat (I have lymphedema in my legs that worsens with fat consumption), and wanted to make sure I was getting enough fruits and vegetables. I spent my days hungry and was still logging WAY more calories than my doctor said I should be eating. 

I felt like I was on the worst diet of my life. Knowing that I couldn't eat ALL day long. Telling myself to just wait 2 hours between my second breakfast and my pre-lunch snack. Drinking water, tea, etc to get through those two hours. Knowing that it wasn't healthy for me or Olivia to shovel food in. 

Prior to being pregnant, I made fun of Jessica Simpson. 'How could she gain that much weight? She just used pregnancy as an excuse to eat everything she wanted.'

I now feel bad for her. Everyone's body reacts differently to pregnancy. I know many people who ate completely normal. I tried. I tried so hard. And that was pretty miserable. 

I knew I was eating enough (more than enough) for Olivia and myself. Did my best to eat pretty healthy (minus the ice-cream, yum). And still felt that I could shovel in another 5000 calories and be happy. 

The day my water broke, I stepped on my scale.

37 pounds.

Woof.

When I got to the hospital, I stepped on their scale. Surely, I've lost a couple pounds of water. 

37 pounds.

Welp, there's my final weigh in.

Left: 12 weeks, normal weight. 

Right: two days before Olivia was born.

Gaining 'only' 37 pounds required a lot of self discipline. If I let myself eat as much healthy food as I wanted, I could have easily packed on 60 pounds.

The whole point in this post is to show that there are all sorts of 'normal.' If I see that someone gained a ton of weight while pregnant, I get it. I've been there. Or someone else who just couldn't keep the weight on, I get that too.

Its the first (of many) times that tiny little life inside of you lets you know who is in charge. 

So let's cut everyone some slack. Or a piece of apple pie.

Merry Christmas!!

Olivia - Two Months

When I was little I loved playing with baby dolls. I would feed them, dress them, and carry them around - secretly wishing they were real. I even had one where you could feed it water in a baby bottle and it would go straight through her into her diaper to be changed! Being a mom to Olivia has been nothing short of my childhood fantasies. I love dressing, feeding, and carrying around my baby girl. Life is perfect. I hope she stays this little forever. ;)

Our little nugget is already two months old. I guess this means she is no longer a newborn, and now actually a baby. 

Weight: 11 pounds (40th percentile)

Height: 23 inches (70th percentile)

Sleep: She sleeps in her crib and goes down very easily. She goes to bed right around 10pm, wakes up around 2:30 and then is up for the day around 6:30. The consistency of her nighttime routine has made a world of difference. I know approximately when she is going to wake up and how much longer I have to sleep.

I let her morning nap be in the bed with me, so I can nap too! Other than that, the naps are kind of a crapshoot. She'll nap in the bouncy seat, carseat, the moby wrap (attached to me) and in our arms. In the carseat, it has to keep moving constantly, strolling constantly, etc. In the moby wrap, I have to be walking, and she can tell when I'm just pacing in the house (hello 2 hour walks outside). In our arms or the bouncy seat, the house has to be perfectly quiet. Naps are much harder, but at least we've figured out what works and what doesn't.

Eating: Girl likes to eat. She eats every 2.5-3 hours during the day, and then has her 2:30 and 6:30 feeds at night. She takes a bottle before bed to fill up her tank - anywhere from 4-6 ounces. If she is still hungry, she will scream. We never have to wonder if she ate enough. She will let us know!

Best Moment of the Month: Her first belly laugh. Seeing my little girl interact, smile more, and then laugh out loud has been such a joy. I am seeing more of her personality come out, and it is so much fun. The pediatrician even said, "She is a very social baby!" 

Parent of the Month Award: This one goes to me again. I thought for sure I would rotate. We can blame it on the fact that I am with her more often. I had a super cute outfit for her with a white bow. I made her wear it for a couple hours when we were introducing her to people. When I took it off her there was a full dent all around her head from the headband. Poor girl. The price I made her pay for fashion.

Milestones: She's laughing a lot more. She can follow faces and stares people dead in the eye. She has full on conversations with you. She can hold things and she looks so grown up when holding her rings. She rolled from stomach to back once but I think it was a fluke. She has since forgotten how.

Clothes / Diapers: She fits perfectly into 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers. She will definitely outgrow the 0-3 month in length before anything gets too tight. 

Favorites: She's really liking the Nuk pacifiers these days - they stay in her mouth better than the soothies. She no longer likes being held like a baby, she wants to look out and sit up (minus not having the head control). She likes to be on the go. She wants me to walk around, push her in the stroller, walk her in the Moby wrap, the car to move, etc. (I have never hated red lights more!) She is a very alert baby and doesn't like to sit still. We're in for a real treat when she starts crawling!

Dan and my favorite is her little "who" sound. We keep saying 'Olivia the owl.' She does this side smile just like her daddy. We love that her little personality is showing through. I love our stroller and the Moby wrap - both a great ways to get her to nap. 

And more pictures from her two month birthday. All blurry, but I couldn't help but share.

Her tights had ruffles on the butt. Can't handle the cuteness.

And the outtake. Most pictures looked like this:

More Olivia Pictures Part 2

We take a lot of cell phone pictures of our child:

Bow sleeves:

Sleeping with Dad:

Getting pet by Koda:

 Dad thinks pants are too hard to put back on:

Most uncomfortable looking nap:

And a few with the big camera: 

Where she learned this bottom lip, beats me. It's her 'I'm sad look.' Nothing wrong. Not hurt. Not hungry. Just annoyed with all of you and want to be held. 

Boots with the fur:

They are my favorite pair of shoes that she owns right now. They are from Baby Gap and stay on so well!

And then my mom takes the world's best pictures of her:

More Olivia Pictures Part 1

Dan and I swear she's already talking. We can hear her say things like "HI!" and "Moooommmmmeeeeeeey" (when she's crying). There have been a few "uh-huhs" and some "yeahs." We think she's advanced ;)

It's about time y'all saw this sweet face some more ..

Olivia and her daddy:

Baby fuggs:

My big girl sitting in the Bumbo at 5 weeks:

Bundled up:

 Mommy and Daddy's bed:

Whoops, that head is heavy:

 Smiles like her dad:

 Learning to suck her hands:

Time Flies

My sweet baby girl is seven weeks. 

I know that really doesn't seem old to most of you.

But when you know maternity leave is 12 weeks, and you've just finished 8 of them .. it seems like time is flying.

People keep offering to hold Olivia to "give me a break." They keep telling me to just let her cry because she has to learn to soothe herself without me. I keep hearing "nap when the baby naps." My doctor told me this week that after she's been fed and changed, to make a list, set her down, and don't pick her back up until I finish my list. That it's okay if she cries - I can use the time to cook, clean, etc.

What if I don't want a break?

What if I would rather hold her? That picking her up when she cries soothes me more than it does her?

What if I no longer care whether the house is dusted, or dinner is made?

What if I don't want to nap?

I don't want to miss a minute of this. It seems that every time she sleeps she gets a little older. She smiles a little more. She has new found coordination in her hands and she learns to make a new sound. 

I don't want to miss it.

I don't want to put her down. 

I want to hold her, and smell her, and breathe in this entire moment because I know I'll need it. I'll need it when I go back to work. When I am having a hard day and thinking about how I just want to be home with her. I'll need her smiles when I am in traffic and remember how 2.5 hours a day she is in daycare just so I can sit in the car. 

I'll need to know that I soaked up every single second of maternity leave heaven. 

To me that means not sleeping while she sleeps, but instead letting her sleep in my arms.

It means picking her up when she's crying, even if I am 'spoiling' her too much.

It means not wasting her smiley, happy awake moments with things like housework. It can get done while she's asleep. Or there's always tomorrow.

I know I am going to miss it all too much.

Things you shouldn't buy at Trader Joe's when trying to lose the baby weight

Things you shouldn't buy at Trader Joe's when trying to lose the baby weight: