Haddie-Lynn: three months

Dear Haddie-Lynn,

Three sweet months with my very sweet girl just like that. Your little personality is starting to peek through and we just can't get enough. You smile and have started to coo a little bit. It's music to my ears. 

You're eating every 3 hours, 40 minute nursing sessions with mama or a 5 oz bottle with daycare. The length of your nursing session doesn't surprise me because your brother was the exact same way. You are starting to become a bit more interested in the world around you though and will get distracted.

We don't have any official stats this month, but you are barely hanging on to your three month clothes. Footies are pretty much maxed out and mama is going to have to face the music and just let you jump into the next pile of clothing.

Your sleeping has remained pretty great, except for a small bout at the end of November. You'll have your last feeding at 10pm and then wake up around 6am the next morning. Those few bad mornings you'll wake up around 4am which is just killer for mama. Hopefully this phase won't last very long. You are still sleeping in your swing.

During your two month check up the doctor noticed you seem to have a preference on head position. This is starting to cause you to have a flat spot on the back of your head. We've started taking you to physical therapy and have been told to do lots and lots of tummy time. Lucky for us you don't seem to mind it too much. You're very good at holding your head up high so we think the flat spot will round out pretty easily.

You are such a happy, easy going baby. We are so so thankful! While your cry is much louder than your brother's ever was, you don't wail too often. When you do it's mainly for attention as you'll give us a big goofy grin as soon as we go and check on you.

We had lots of exciting events this month including, big brother's 4th birthday, Thanksgiving, and your baptism. Christmas is right around the corner and then it'll be the new year in no time. 

Bubs and sissy at three months

We love you to the moon and back sissy girl.

All my love, 

Mama

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Haddie-Lynn: two months

Dear Haddie-Lynn,

I blinked and another month has passed. I know I need to savor these moments with you because they are gone before I even realize it. Your little personality is starting to show and it makes my heart smile. You are beginning to coo and recognize daddy, bubba, and me. We all just love to see that sweet dimple on your left cheek.

You are doing great at nursing. You're pretty consistent at wanting to eat every 3 hours, but there are moments where you go a little longer or want to eat a little sooner. Getting a bottle at daycare was a bit of an adjustment. At home you nurse for about 30-40 minutes, but at daycare you suck down your bottle in only 10! That means the time between feedings is a bit longer and you weren't a big fan. You are drinking 5 oz bottles already! We tried to start with 4 oz, but you are happier with 5.

At your two month check up you weighed 11 lbs 7 oz (45th percentile), were 23.75" long (86th percentile), and your head circumference was 15.5" around (73rd percentile). You are only slightly bigger than your brother at this age. He was 11 lbs 3 oz and 23.5" long. You are wearing 3 month clothing and have outgrown some things that are labeled 0-3 month. Your cloth diapers are still sized at the smallest stride and the tightest snap around the waist.

You are such a great sleeper. You are continuing to sleep through the night in your swing. We haven't moved you to your crib just yet, because why mess with a good thing. We have been able to combine your last two feedings and put you down around 9:30pm. You love love love to snuggle under the blankets. I never put it over your face, but as soon as I turn around you have moved it up and over yourself.

You have been spending more time on your play mat and seem to really enjoy all there is to see. Your brother loves to get down on the floor and talk to you while you do tummy time or he'll be sure to turn on the music and lights for you to watch. He loves you so much already.

We are so blessed by you sissy girl. You certainly are a joy to this family. Your daddy and I love you to the moon and back.

One month vs two months

Bubs and sissy at two months

Bubs and sissy at two months on top and one month on bottom

All my love, 

Mama

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Haddie-Lynn: one month

Dear Haddie-Lynn,

Here we are already at the one month mark. Sweet girl you have stolen our hearts. As soon as you came into our world, you just fit. There wasn't any drastic change or big life altering moment. It's like you've always been here and been a part of our family. 

The happiest moments for me are when I get to see your brother love on you. He absolutely adores you. You are his baby and I hope it always stays that way. He loves to give you kisses and tuck your blanket around you. He is my helper to make sure you are safe and happy. He is by far your biggest fan.

At your two week check up you weighed 8 lbs, 12 oz and measured 22 1/4" long. Your next doctor's visit is at two months and I'm sure you'll have grown like crazy again. You are already too long for your newborn sleepers, but that's no surprise. They barely fit you from the very beginning. You are a long little girl. 

You are already sleeping through the night and have been for about a week now. You have your last feeding at 10 and wake up between 5 and 6. There have even been a couple of times where I had to wake you up. Your daddy and I are very thankful for giving us some great sleep. 

Nursing got off to a rocky start. By day three, I realized I had thrush and it became too painful to nurse you. I called the doctor for antibiotics right away but sadly they gave me the wrong dosage at first so it took awhile to clear up. I pumped and gave you bottles for a little over a week. When it came time for you to nurse again, it seemed that you preferred the bottle. Mama doesn't give up easily though. We went to see two different lactation consultants and your pediatrician and after persistent trying, I was able to get you to nurse again.

Now you seem to be doing just fine. We are trying to keep you on a schedule since you seem to respond best to that. You eat at 6, 9, 12, 3, 6, 8, and 10. Eventually we hope to turn the last two feedings into just one at 9 and put you to bed an hour earlier. I'm sure it'll come with time.

On October 11th we used up your very last disposable and decided to give your cloth diapers a try. There have been a couple of leaks, but you're doing very well in them. They give you a big cloth bootie and I love it. Mama's friend Miss Jessica gave us Parker's pink diapers so you even have some girl ones in your collection. 

You are our little beauty and complete our family. You are everything we hoped for. We love you to the moon and back.

Here is a fun little comparison of you and your brother at one month old. You two are twins for sure with your facial features and even a lot of your mannerisms. You didn't end up with red hair and blue eyes like bubba, but brown hair and brown eyes just like mama.

All my love,
Mama

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

21 weeks

Nothing too exciting to report. The hubs and I did start shifting all of the furniture around between the guest room and the nursery. We are having to get a little creative on making everything fit, ha. We are very blessed to have nice family furniture passed on to us, but that means I can't easily get rid of anything either.

Still tired. Still peeing 2-3 times in the middle of the night.

Appetite is definitely coming back. I have days of feeling hungry all the time.

I can start to feel baby girl's kicks and jabs from the outside. I can watch my belly jump around. I want to see Quinn's reaction when he feels it for the first time.

Quinn randomly will tell me he wants to give baby sister a hug or a kiss. It's about the sweetest thing I've ever seen. I do worry about how he'll adjust, but then these moments just let me know it'll be fine.

Comparison shot: Look at how much higher baby girl is compared to Quinn! That just amazes me how differently they sit within my body.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

20 weeks

Baby girl had her full anatomy scan this week. I *might* have asked the ultrasound tech to double-triple make sure she is still a "she." We are good to go on buying everything pink and bows, haha!

The even better news though is that everything checks out just as it should. Such sweet relief. I'm very thankful for every report of "looking good." We had genetics testing done earlier on and no news is good news on that front as well.

So I was the crazy lady up at 3 in the morning buying baby girl Lilly for Target shifts. I was only able to get these two pretties into my cart and checked out before everything was sold out. I had planned on getting myself the matching versions but I wasn't fast enough.

Well of course that didn't stop me from obsessing over it. I found the See Ya Later shift on Instagram for not an insane mark up and bought it. I'm still on the hunt for Nosey Posey but that's proving to be a much harder find unfortunately.

The specific cravings are subsiding and my appetite is starting to come back. I am officially 3 pounds over my pre pregnancy weight but I'm sure that will start climbing soon.

I'm getting a bit of the nesting bug and looking forward to starting the nursery. Sadly we had a huge debacle with the sleeper sofa I ordered for the new combo guest/craft room. It wouldn't fit through the doorway to get it in the room, ugh! I ended up ordering a different model and now we wait another 6 weeks for it to be ready.

Comparison shot:

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

19 weeks

Nearly halfway there. I remember with Quinn, I thought time was flying at this point. This time around though I don't feel the same. It already feels like I've been pregnant forever.

We don't have a name picked out and it's driving me a little crazy. I want to know what to call her, even though we'll be keeping it a secret like we did with Quinn's name. Also, no telling of the initials like last time. That just encourages guessing.

Remember Nguyen had a warehouse sale and I just couldn't help myself. Baby sister got some fun mail, four new bloomer sets. They are just so precious. It does make me sad that Quinn is growing out of all his smocked outfits though.

I wouldn't say I've had any specific cravings lately. I'll still eat a popsicle here or there, but I don't feel like I absolutely have to have one. My appetite in general is mediocre at best. When I do eat, it's very small portions or I feel so uncomfortable for hours afterward.

She is definitely a mover and a shaker. It has gone from flutters to full on kicks this week.

And the comparison shot...

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

30 by 30 list update

I created a little 30 by 30 list for myself and my last update was on my 27th birthday, so lets revisit!

• Have 2nd baby.

• 2013 - Haha! God willing not anytime soon. I'd say closer to my 29th birthday.

• 2015 - Right on schedule, baby girl is due this September 

• Get current with scrapbooking. I'm working on 2010 right now {and by working I mean that's where I stopped right before I had Quinn...}.

• 2013 - Ummm haven't touched it. I keep trying to get the room cleared so we can paint and organize and I'll have my space again.

• 2015 - Allison and I were skyping on Thursday nights and then back in February did a marathon weekend. I believe I am now halfway through 2012.  

• Get 2nd holes pierced in my ears. I want to be able to wear the diamond studs the hubs gave me everyday.

• 2013 - Nope, still chicken.

• 2015 - Annndddd, still not doing it. Probably should just cross this one off the list.  

• Establish a workout routine.

• 2013 - Doing it! I'm working out 6 days a week following the Bikini Body Mommy Challenge.
• 2015 - Well I had joined Planet Fitness and was trying to go minimum 3 times per week. I was mildly successful until I got pregnant. Now I'm trying to find the energy to start again.

• No credit card debt.

• 2013 - Two of my three cards are clear!

• 2015 - There's a little something on all three cards…whomp whomp. 

• Visit five new places.

• 2013 - Nothing yet, but we are planning on going to Savannah for our anniversary.

• 2015 - We did end up going to Savannah and we just returned from Beaufort this past weekend.  

• Read the Bible.

• 2013 - I'm still following She Reads Truth on and off.

• 2015 - Fell off the bandwagon completely. 

• Own a beach house or have an awesome rental.

• 2013 - We are trying a new rental on Isle of Palms this summer. Fingers crossed we'll want to use it again the next year.

• 2015 - We switched to Hilton Head last summer and we are renting the same condo this summer.  

• Join Junior League.

• 2013 - Nope.
• 2015 - Still nope and probably not likely with a baby on the way. 

• Maintain a size 8 figure {almost there already!}.

• 2013 - Done! I actually fit into size 6 jeans and size 8 dress pants.

• 2015 - Before pregnancy I was teetering between an 8 and 10 soooo not the best. Hopefully I can do better after baby comes. 

• Sew ten projects for me.

• 2013 - Does pinning ten new projects count? No?

• 2015 - I'm fairly certain I accomplished this goal. I made a ton of appliqué shirts for myself, a tote bag, and some things for Quinn that I wanted to do. I'm about to sew new bedding and curtains for baby girl's nursery too. 

• Create the perfect craft room {I feel like this will be an always ongoing project..}.

• 2013 - Now that I have my card catalog, I've got another piece of the puzzle!

• 2015 - It's done! Now it just has to be moved, ugh. Current craft room will become the nursery and current guest room will become a new combo room. We've ordered a sleeper sofa which should be ready end of this month and then the rearranging will begin.  

• Host a fancy dinner party using our wedding china.

• 2013 - Hmm, not exactly. Christmas Eve dinner we ate off our wedding china, but we also were in our pjs, ha!
• 2015 - Still not yet BUT we did tons of renovations on the dining room/kitchen area so it's ready for a party now. 

• Read 30 books.

• 2013 - Yikes, haven't even started this.

• 2015 - Sigh, no, but I predict the kindle will get some major usage once I'm breastfeeding again. 

• Find a church we love.

• 2013 - We started going to St. Paul's. TBD if it's the perfect fit.

• 2015 - St. Paul's has become a perfect fit and of course I find out today our pastor is being reassigned. Sigh. 

• Visit my great-grandfather's grave at Arlington.

• 2013 - Nope.

• 2015 - Still nope. 

• Go out on the Sky Walk at the Grande Canyon.

• 2013 - Nope.
• 2015 - Still nope. 

• Start a college savings account for Quinn.

• 2013 - Nope.

• 2015 - No…hides shamefully. I did try but then I got mad at the bank and closed the account.  

• Have a family portrait taken every year {we already have a session scheduled for this year with my fav girl, Erica!}.

• 2013 - We had pictures taken in November, so I plan on having them done again this November.

• 2015 - We have kept this tradition alive! Erica took two family sessions last year plus our baby announcement pics and she'll be doing maternity pics this summer. (Then newborn pics…I'll be keeping her busy for sure.)

• Create five family traditions that we repeat yearly.

• 2013 - This past Christmas I started a tradition of the Christmas Eve box. Everyone received Christmas pjs and there was a movie and hot chocolate included for later.
• 2015 - the Christmas Eve box is still going strong. We also added Toodles the Elf on a Shelf into the mix. I can't think of any others though.  

• Start a prayer journal.

• 2013 - Nope.

• 2015 - Kinda bummed I forgot about this one. Must remedy.  

• Start a vegetable garden.

• 2013 - Nope.

• 2015 - Uhhh no. We might be getting closer though. We are putting in a pool this spring and hubs has suggested adding some garden boxes. 

• Visit Yellow Stone.

• 2013 - Nope.

• 2015 - Nope. 

• Establish a yearly party {4th of July maybe?}.

• 2013 - Nope.

• 2015 - Does Quinn's birthday party count? 

• Bake a cake from scratch.

• 2013 - Ha! See comment about box mix above.

• 2015 - Still rocking the box mixes and I might be ok with that. 

• Get my concealed weapons permit.

• 2013 - We have our class scheduled for this October.

• 2015 - Done! 

• Catalog our Christmas ornaments.

• 2013 - Was going to do it this past Christmas, but didn't.

• 2015 - Still no and I might give myself a pass on this one.  

• Learn how to can the vegetables from our garden.

• 2013 - Nope.

• 2015 - Got lots of goodies that will help me with the process, but have yet to actually follow through. I'm thinking this one might go more hand in hand with when we actually have a garden. 

• Learn how to crochet.

• 2013 - Nope.

• 2015 - No…and do I really need to add in another craft hobby to my arsenal??  

• Find my signature drink.

• 2013 - Nope.

• 2015 - Nope. 

Final tallies:

• Complete - 7
• In process - 5
• Uncomplete - 18 (ouch) 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

18 weeks

Still going strong on the popsicle front but I've added caesar salad to the craving mix. I guess there could be worse things to crave, but it's still all very odd to me.

I can feel more flutters now, which to be completely honest, I could do without. Yes I understand it's great that she's moving, but it's just very creepy and alien-like to me. You go majority of your life where the only time you feel something in your stomach is if you have an issue and then for 4 or 5 months it's now considered "magical." Pass.

Also the round ligament pain has begun. Ouch!

Back is starting to feel better.

Quinn is starting to connect my growing belly with baby sister. He will gently pat my tummy and recite how she's growing and one day will just POP! out, ha. He's also very excited to give baby sister his baby things like the crib, changing table, and cloth diapers.

Comparison shot of Quinn vs baby sister.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

easter

About a month beforehand, my mom called me up and put in her request to have us spend Easter at the log cabin. She hadn't cooked for an army recently and who was I to deny her that pleasure? Quinn was actually able to spend a long weekend with them as well. His daycare was closed for Good Friday, but both the hubs and I had to work, so Memere came and got him Thursday afternoon and kept him until Sunday.

The easter bunny left a bucket of treats at our house for the little guy, so we brought them along. Glow in the dark items are a recent obsession and the bunny knows what's up, four packs of bracelets in various colors AND a glow sword.

Quinn is also completely tickled to sit quietly for huge chunks of time and work on puzzles. It's the only thing that keeps him still for that long. Bunny put two of those suckers in the basket! We also had 4 new Llama Llama books (fitting since I call him my little drama llama), egg shaped chalk (how could I not?), a travel color wonder book with marker (for future restaurant distraction), and lots of plastic eggs filled with jelly beans. PS I wish easter candy makers would get on board with more non-peanut contaminated products. I couldn't find one single chocolate bunny without the warning.

The other easter bunnies of the family set up a quick egg hunt in the back yard. Replace the smart phones with a standard film camera and I'm flashing back to many a hunt in my own Memere's yard. There were 5 cousins and we would each hunt for a specific color as to keep it even steven.

Quinn was fairly decent at the hunt, but good thing he didn't have any competition. Child is easily distracted, haha.

We were also able to get a pretty cute family picture. I still failed at getting any pictures of Quinn with grandparents or of all the awesome food. Ah well.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

17 weeks

This week we found out we are adding a sweet girl to the mix! Quinn has always been pretty adamant that mommy has a baby sister in her tummy and I guess he was right.

Still tired, still have to pee all the time. Two constants that I expect to stick around.

I threw my back out the beginning of last week and then ended the week with a stomach bug. Woof. Who knew to lose those 5 pounds I just had to become pregnant?

I'm still craving popsicles, but now more specifically pineapple popsicles. Have you ever tried the Outshine brand? Very yummy.

And here's the comparison shot. Baby girl seems much higher to me than Quinn.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

16 weeks

When I was pregnant with Quinn I took bathroom bump selfies. While I'm still very grateful that I took the pictures, I wish I had done it differently. Baby 2 is getting the chalk board treatment! (the hubs is not happy that he has to be involved and snap the picture, haha)

The second trimester finally brought along with it the slow down of the morning sickness. I thought I had morning sickness with Quinn, ha! This time around I actually had to be on Zophran 24/7 or literally suffer the consequences.

I'm still feeling tired all the time, but I think that's just called motherhood. The hubs travels a lot which leaves me on my own with a very bouncy pre-schooler. (Just look at those tired eyes…)

For most of the first trimester, I barely felt like eating at all. When I did want something it was normally mashed potatoes. So random. So good. This week I want popsicles.

The baby must be tap dancing on my bladder. I can't make it through the night without at least two or three bathroom visits.

As you can see the bump itself is going strong. I've been in leggings or yoga pants since about 8 weeks along. Your body truly does know how to make room the second time around. With Quinn, I thought maternity pants with the full belly panel were the bees knees. This time? HATE them. I want nothing to do with them.

And because we all love a good comparison…Quinn vs baby 2!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin