Monday, August 31, 2015

sleep thief

my baby is giving me a run for my money.
every night she tries something new.
i love schedules.
or at least routines.
it helps me plan my day and
get through my nights.
if i know that i will only get up once
and still get 7 hours of sleep a night,
then i'm all good.
but we seem to be going back and forth
on whether or not she is sleeping through the night
and it makes getting up hard because
I KNOW she can do this.
let's go back...
magically, last tuesday, reid started sleeping through the night.
halleluiah.
i would put her down at 10:00 and she
would sleep until 5:00.
then she'd go back down until 7:30.
she did it three nights in a row.
i thought we had this thing licked.
i got lucky with easy sleepers TWICE.
it was the exact same schedule we originally had when brette
was a newborn and i felt good about how this was going to work out. 
then friday night she decided to go back to her
old stomping ground and get up at 3:00.
dang it.
once brette slept through the night she
never went back, so i was just assuming reid would too.
saturday night was all sorts of weird.
she fell asleep at 8:30 instead of 10:00.
what?!
she was so exhausted so i went with it.
but i woke her back up at 10:30 to nurse
in hopes of getting her to sleep until 5:00 or 6:00.
she woke up at 4:20.
not too bad, but i was hoping for more.
after i nursed her she slept until 8:00.
later than normal.
cut to sunday.
once again she fell asleep by 8:30
only this time i didn't wake her back up.
i wanted to see how long she'd go.
she woke up at 4:20.
EIGHT HOURS.
what. the. heck.
amazing!
i'm have no clue what she'll do tonight,
but i like where she is heading.
also, let me add that i put her in crib on saturday and sunday
because 8:30 was too early to have her in our room sleeping.
i think the extra room might be helping.
if she keeps this up, then we might be done with the bassinet altogether.
it's little sad she's ready for her crib,
 but it's also a moment i look forward to.
babies are loud sleepers and
this mamma hears every noise.
so who knows.
its throwing me off that every night is different
because that's just not the way i roll.
give me my routine!
i know she'll figure this out.
i just need to be patient and
count my blessings.
here's a bunch of pics of reid sleeping last week...
on her lounger
on papa
in a pack-n-play for her first sleepover

and in my arms


sleepy little thing, isn't she?

Friday, August 28, 2015

baby body

reid is five weeks old
which means my body has
had five weeks to go from this:
 
to this:

unfortunately that has not happened.
apparently carrie eats tofu and works out,
two things that have not been part of my post-partum routine.
the first three weeks were great.
i lost 18 lbs without doing a darn thing
except eating a lot and nursing.
with 10 lbs to go, i kept waiting for them to magically fall off too.
i mean, hello, i'm chasing around a 2 year old
and nursing.
but two weeks later... and not another pound gone.
i figured it's time to take action.
do i have the free time to work out?
nope.
if the weather is good, we go
on an occasional stroll through the neighborhood,
but depending on if brette has chosen to ride or walk,
we're probably moving at a snails pace and only making it to the mailbox.
not exactly great for burning calories.
so that leaves me with my diet.
it's the key to getting that last pesky 10 lbs off.
and if any of you were/are nursing moms,
then you know that you are always hungry.
always.
it makes it hard to eat only one lunch,
instead of three.
or maybe 9:30 at night is not the right time
for a bowl of ice cream.
stupid diets. i hate them.
but technically,
i'm just trying to make better food choices,
get my portion size under control,
cut back on bad carbs
and not eat anything after dinner.

i started on wednesday and
here's brette already hogging my salad.
 
 
hopefully i'll be back in a week with good news.
 


Thursday, August 27, 2015

hot mess

last night was not good.
i had a lot going on and i knew
it was going to be a test of my planning skills.
i had to get all three of us ready so we could
go to the store for balloons,
grab dinner,
meet a neighbor lady,
and then head to westport
for eden's 3rd birthday by 6:30.
ronnie was m.i.a. because he
was working two hours out of town.
we were ready by 5:00 and
it was going fine until
reid threw up all over herself and her
car seat as we were walking out the door.
not cool.
literally the puke was pooled around her as it drained
out of the bottom of the car seat.
oh. my. god.
so i had to change her clothes and clean her seat,
which made me late from the get go.
not to mention i had broken out in a crazy sweat.
i blame the hormones.
i had to scratch going to the store and drove
through McDonald's to grab B some chicken nuggets.
they forgot to give me a straw so i
couldn't give her milk because
there was no way i was cleaning up another
car seat after she inevitably split it.
this means i get to hear "i need a drink" 
at least 100 times while i rush to meet our neighbor.
i was 5 minutes late meeting her and
she turned out to be a talker so at 6:15 i finally
excused myself so i could rush down the highway to
miss eden's ice cream party.
we are now 20 minutes late.
MF.
no worries,
i get the girls out and my brother and dana are
there to help me out.
i leave reid with dana while brian and i go get B some
ice cream so she can join the other kids.
as soon as we sit down to eat,
i realize that it is now after 7:00 and its time for reid to nurse.
i grab her and go sit in my car (fun times) while
brian and dana take care of brette for me.
she falls or bumps her head or something and is crying
so brian brings her over to the car.
not much i can do but she stops crying and goes on her way.
that's when the nice gentleman in the car next door wants to start
up conversation about the birthday song (i have no idea why)
and i'm just trying to make sure he doesn't get a good look at my boob.
meanwhile, i miss singing to eden and watching her open up her gifts.
son of a bitch.
i cut nursing short so i can get back to the party and
away from "birthday song" guy.
things get better for awhile.
i am able to sit and talk,
help B make her way through a party
and enjoy myself.
brian helps me load up my crew.
(brothers are super great stand-ins when husbands are gone.)
its now around 7:45 and on a normal night B would be
heading to bed in 15 minutes.
instead we're 30 minutes away and reid decides
that the quickie dinner i gave her earlier is not cutting it.
she starts crying every time the car comes to a stop,
which is all the time as we make our way out of westport and
through the plaza.
we're not used to reid crying in the car,
so it pisses off brette and she starts yelling at reid to
"no cry more"  and "stop it."
newborn crying?  check.
2 year old yelling? check.
headache for mamma?  check.
want to kill daddy?  check.
fun times.
when i hit the highway i rolled down the windows
and reid fell asleep while i had to tell brette the title of
every song that came on the radio.
this really fun game we play all. the. time.
at what point can you just turn up the music and ignore her?
i called ronnie when i hit our road and he met me in the driveway
(in his undies because he's been enjoying a nice hot shower in an empty house)
to help me unload and get B ready for bed
while i fed my starving newborn.
as i finally laid down that night around 10:00 i realized i never ate dinner
and i was still in my button-up shirt.
 
and THAT is why we are rarely out of the house past 6:00pm.
pass me a beer,
i need a break just thinking about it.



pssst - HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY EDEN LOU!
 



Saturday, August 22, 2015

reid: one month

in some ways i can't believe its already been a month,
but mostly i feel like she's been here for way longer than that.
but here's the low down on her life thus far.
 
 
growth:
we actually went to the pediatrician this week
and reid weighs 9lbs 3ozs. 
gaining weight just like she should.
they didn't measure her height, so
i'm not sure how much taller she is,
but i know she's grown because some of her newborn
sleepers don't fit anymore.
we literally have 4 more newborn diapers in the house
and then we'll be switching to size ones.
typically a newborn poops several times a day
but we're lucky if reid poops once,
so when it happens, its a mess
and i'm looking forward to getting the extra coverage
of the next size up in diapers.
as for clothes she's still in newborns,
but i have started putting her in 0-3 months
because the weathers been a little chilly and
all her newborn outfits are sleeveless.
i think her eyes are turning blue already,
or maybe that's just my wishful thinking,
but i swear i see blue.
her hair is still red and depending on the light,
it changes how dark or bright it looks.
 
 
sleeps:
by three weeks, brette was sleeping through the night.
unfortunately we didn't get that lucky twice,
BUT reid is still a really good sleeper.
we put her down between 9:00 and 10:00,
she sleeps until 3:00.
i nurse her, change her, burp her
and have her back in bed in 45 minutes
and she sleeps until around 6:30.
its nice because i can normally be done feeding
her before brette wakes up, so at least i don't have to fight that.
as for naps, we're not really in a "schedule"
because she's still so young and sleeps on demand.
in fact, some days, i feel like she sleeps all. the. time.
she is most awake in the evenings from 6-9,
especially if i'm about to eat dinner.
she can sense dinner and makes sure that ronnie and
i take turns eating so that she can be held.
a true baby move.
she'll sleep some in the evenings, but for the most part, she's awake.
it makes it easy to put her down at night because she's
exhausted by bedtime.
and if you put her in the car,
she's konked out in minutes.
basically, she sleeps just fine.
 
 
eats:
reid is exclusively nursing.
i've given her a handful of bottles before bed
to see if i could lengthen out how long she sleeps,
but normally she is SO tired i can't get her to
wake up enough to take a bottle.
she is nursing every two hours unless she sleeping.
i've developed mastitis this week so i've even been
waking her up to nurse just to relieve some pressure.  
she nurses really well and haven't had any issues with latching.
the biggest difference i see is how much she throws up.
brette was not a puker.
reid is.
i spend a lot of time keeping her elevated until i think
her stomach is settled.
i also burb her like crazy and
sometimes even an hour (or more) after she's eaten,
she still might throw up.
i've been doing lots of laundry.
 i took her to the pediatrician and they think she has some reflux,
so now i give her some medicine twice a day to help with the acidity.
she'll still puke, but hopefully it more pleasant for her,
if that makes sense.
 
plays:
she's not playing yet,
unless you count her interest in watching ceiling fans.
she also loves jeep rides,
walks in the bjorn and
being outside.
she also loves to shower,
so i've been doing that instead of giving baths.
its easier on me and i get a turn too. bonus!
we sing to her and brette gives her lots of lovin'.
in fact, brette has started calling her reidy.
she'll say "i love you, reidy"
which i think it the cutest thing ever.
 
 
firsts:
pretty much everything is a first.
she had her first time without mommy.
i left for 45 minutes to run to the store and left
ronald in charge of both girls.
i'm pretty sure he was relieved when i got home.
she had her first sleepover at mimi and papa's.
her first jeep ride.
her first shower.
her first invite to a bday party.
her first play-date.


so basically, she's doing really well.
we're enjoying watching her grow and
trying to remember exactly how to 
care for a teeny tiny baby girl. 
happy one month, reid!
 
(i was in a total rush for pictures and it frustrated her,
hopefully she'll be in a better mood for her two month,
because she really isn't much of a crier.)
 
 



 
 

Thursday, August 20, 2015

here and there

i think what makes a house really cute are the details.
oh sure, paint color and floor choices are key,
but the furniture, wall hangings and
decorative items can really make or break a room.
little by little i've been adding some finishing touches around here.
nothing really on the first floor because ronnie
sucks at life and still hasn't finished the walls.
(i'm considering hiring someone at this point)
but the upstairs feels complete.
1- added wall art and a shower curtain to the girls "flamingo" bathroom.
this is the one room that i feel is kind of bright, but since
its a kids bathroom i figured, eh, why not!
 

2- bought curtains for reid's room.
it is actually a shower curtain from target.
i loved the gold and white herringbone pattern, so i cut it in 2,
used some hem tape and made it work.
ronnie is supposed to hang it tonight.
 
3- bought and hung our new family photos.
(master bedroom mantle and hallway)


4- found old washboards for the laundry room walls.

5- put a new rug in the family room
that we found on sale at home goods.
that old shag rug was my favorite, but its not kid
or pet friendly so it had to go.
it. was. gross.
just imagine - - the dogs had peed on it, brette spilt drinks,
dropped play doh and even took a crap on it.
one day i'll have a pretty cream shag rug again,
but probably not for 15 years or so.

6- finished my "white erase board" for the kitchen.
my mom found the perfect doily and
i replaced the glass and now it just needs hung.
i love it.



and that's it for now.
its the small things that i love to find and add to our house.
i have a bunch of stuff and ideas for downstairs when/if
the time ever comes. (fingers crossed its soon)
the reason for the delay is ronnie likes working outside better,
so he decided to get rid of one of our many weed/flower beds
and cut down six small trees in our front yard.
 
the outside still needs a lot of work,
which is why i'm begging ronnie to work inside while its hot
and do yard work this fall.
he says he's painting this weekend.
here's hoping!
if so, i'll post pictures next week.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

first timers

let's give a round of applause to first-time moms.
are they nervous?
sure.
over prepared?
definitely.
but is that really a bad thing?
not. at. all.
 
i know the luvs commercial makes it seem
like first time moms are a little neurotic and
when you have your second you are easy breezy.
but this week i was wishing i was my first-time-mom self.
two years ago my diaper bag had:
diapers
wipes
 a change of clothes
lotion
 nail clippers
powder
vitamin d
vix vapor rub...
i mean, i had everything.
i don't know what i thought was going to happen,
but if brette had an emergency hang nail, a sweaty butt or
a sudden stuffy nose - -
i. was. ready.
 
now?
i have a minnie mouse doll, a swimsuit,
a diaper, change of panties, a t-shirt, a few wipes,
flip flops and a granola bar.
r a n d o m
so when reid blew out a diaper while we were out,
well lets just say i missed my old diaper bag.
poop was on her clothes, her blanket and
her burp cloth.
dammit.
luckily we had just left wal-mart and were at my brother's
so i could scrounge up extra wipes and brette's t-shirt.
 
 
thank god its not winter.
my poor second child.
its time for me to repack my diaper bag
and try to be more like a first time mom.



Wednesday, August 12, 2015

20 minutes

normally i get woken up in the morning.
not surprising.
but immediately i'm on the go.
i have to take brette potty,
then get her in my bed to watch cartoons while
i go downstairs to feed and let the dogs out and get brette a drink.
(because my child wakes up thirsty.)
once i'm back upstairs i change and nurse reid,
while hopefully brette just chills beside me.
reid has been waking up around 5:00am which unfortunately means
that her next feeding is around 7:30.
its not fun to have both girls wake up at the same time.
and sometimes brette doesn't cooperate with cartoon time.
sometimes she's hungry or wants to be held
and in those instances i just try to make her wait until i'm done with reid.
it's a hectic 30 minutes.

but today,
today was good.
i woke up on my own at 7:24.
i remember because i was shocked that both girls were still asleep.
i contemplated going back to sleep myself but
decided i should take advantage of these couple minutes
of peace to jumpstart my morning.
i took the dogs out and fed them.
i got brette's drink all ready.
i washed my face, brushed my teeth,
got dressed and even put on make up.
and just as i was about to sit down,
brette woke up.
luckily reid was still sleeping so i had
time to take her potty, get her dressed and fed.
i swear, but 9:30 all three of us were ready for the day.

and it didn't feel hectic.
 
so i've decided i need to make everyday feel like today
and try to get up 20 minutes before the girls.
now i just have to MAKE myself actually get up.





Tuesday, August 11, 2015

at least i know it's august

yesterday someone asked me what the date was.
i thought it was the 3rd or 4th.
nope, totally the 10th.
i've lost time.
somewhere in between the diapers,
the naps, nursing and holding both my babies
i've completely lost track of my days and weeks.
 
i blame the littles.
but who can fault me when i stare at these faces all day?

 (our tiny peanut laid out on our king size bed)
 
 (B making play-doh cookies with aunt sheri)
 
 (hanging out on the deck while daddy makes us breakfast)
 
 (lazy days in our PJs)
 
 (purple pals - paige and reid)
 
 (playdate at the glover's)
 
(a little chalk art before nap)
 
 
and if you want to see some
adorable photos our newborn session is online.
its the same photographer that did brette's
and i love that ronnie got to come this time,
so we could even get a family photo!
 
click on the link photo cart
click on the portraits box
our shoot is called 7-27 Brooke
when you click on our box it will ask you for a password.
type in cox
a big picture of reid will come up and underneath it will say:
click here to enter
click on that link and you should be able to view all her pictures.
 
i'm loving them.


Thursday, August 6, 2015

life update

another week has come and gone
and things seem to be getting better and better.
brette is used to having "baby reid" around
and she asks to hold her, kiss her and she
HAS to help me change her diapers.
the only time i still see a bit of jealousy
is in the afternoons after her nap
when i'm nursing reid and i can't hold her too.
we're working through it and most of the time
i can make her happy if she sits next to me with
my arm around her.
 
reid is still in her newborn honeymoon phase.
she eats, she sleeps, she stares at us.
she doesn't cry very much and a lot of the time
its almost like she isn't here.
she is so quiet.
very unlike her sister.
my pediatrician told me that between 4-6 weeks
she will be awake more and a lot fussier,
so i'm taking advantage of these few weeks while i can.
nighttime has gotten a lot better over
the last few days too.
she goes down between 10-11,
sleeps five hours, nurses
and then sleeps until 7-8.
i can totally live with that.
i'm only up once a night.
of course, i'd love her to go longer,
but i'm not complaining at all.
 
ps- mothers of two... how do you go grocery shopping?
once i have the carseat in the cart and brette riding in the seat,
i have no actual space for food.
i hate leaving grocery shopping for the weekends,
but i'm thinking i totally need ronnie so we can have two carts...???
 
 



 
 

Monday, August 3, 2015

a piece of us

as you know,
i always try to have our thank you's done
before i go into the hospital because
after i get out of the hospital it gets way
too crazy for me to sit down
and actually write out cards to everyone.
when i had brette i made little "peanut" m&m thank you's.
they read - thank you for visiting our little peanut!
 
 
i wanted to stick with the candy theme with reid
and i like that it gives people something to snack on.
i found a version of this reese's pieces thank you's on pinterest.
i just changed the verbiage a little and i think
it's the sweetest little message to our family and friends.
 
 

 
 

and thank you.
thank you for coming to visit.
thanks for bringing dinner.
thanks for bringing clothes, books and 
treats for both my girls.
thanks for helping me with brette.
thanks for keeping me company while i adjust to
life with two kids.
and thank you to welcoming reid into our lives with so much love.
 
 
thank you.
thank you.
thank you.