A Little Cuteness

A Letter from Mommy- Genevieve

Dear Genevieve,

It is crazy to think that you have officially been a part of our lives for 2 months already. You arrived 5 days early, although I was ready for you to arrive a week or so ahead of that.   You must have thought that I needed a pedicure, because you waited until after a girls day at the spa with Grandma and Aunt Megan.  The nurses commented on my pretty colored toes.   Although the contractions were hard, your delivery was quick (10 minutes of pushing!)   You were a big baby, although not as big as your older sister.   Like Eleanor, you were born with full head of hair that everyone comments on.   You gave us a little scare with your umbilical cord wrapped around your neck, but you were fine once you got out.   With only 10 minutes of pushing, you did not wait for Aunt Megan to arrive so she could be there during your birth.  You can tell people you had your first visitor in the middle of the night (Aunt Megan could not wait to meet you and was there at 2AM).   I loved having you in my room during the hospital stay, it gave Daddy and me time to get to know you before we took you home.   Your big sister was really excited to meet you and has loved you since day one.   She always wants to help in any way she can, and lets Daddy and I know if you need anything.  

The first month was a little rough since we were dealing with your reflux.   You were eating every 2 hours during the day, pretty much all the time in the evening and waking once or twice in the middle of the night (sometimes wanting to eat off and on for 3 hours).   By week four I needed a change, so we went to eating every 2.5 hours during the day.   It was amazing the difference that made.  You started sleeping longer at night and are now sleeping 7-9 hours straight!  You may not have been as good of a sleep as your sister in the beginning, but you are at the same point she was at this age.   It is like you knew I was heading back to work and decided to take it easy on me.   I do miss our middle of the night cuddle times... sometimes.

You are a great eater and it shows!   Breastfeeding with you has been a breeze from the first time. You are pacifier specific and did not want to take one until you were a month old.   I think you surprised the doctor at your 2-week appointment with how much weight you had gained.  Growth has not been an issue with you.   Like your older sister, our guess is you will be topping the charts on weight and height.

You are like your cousin, Liam, in the sense that you don't always like to be held and you are not a fan of being swaddled.  You like to lay down and check things out on your own, with your legs and arms free to explore.  You love your changing table and crib.  Your changing table is your 'happy place,' if you are not happy there, you are not happy anywhere (including Mommy and Daddy's arms)   The fan and mobile are some of your best friends. Like your sister, car rides put you to sleep, but you would rather not be in your car seat if you don't have to be. You are a long baby, enough so that none of your 0-3 month clothes fit (and the majority of them have not fit in a month).   You have slept in your crib since night one and have never had a problem with it.   I love cuddling with you after your morning feeding, I have missed it since going back to work in the mornings.  

The smiles you started giving us a few weeks ago have melted our hearts and make our day. It thrills your sister when she can make you smile... your Mommy and Daddy love it as well.  Your day-care providers have loved you from day one and miss you when you are home with Mommy in the afternoons.  They will be happy to have you all day starting next week.  You sleep in your crib like a champ at day-care, and have initiated two of the three providers with your reflux issue.  

You hardly cry and are content with being dragged around from place to place.   That is a good thing since your big sister does not like to stay at home.  You do pretty well when I put you in the Moby or Ergo baby carrier, this helps a lot!

You really are a great baby and we could not have asked for a better second child.  Your sister set the bar very high, and you have managed to top it!

I love you more than I ever dreamed imaginable, and look forward to watching your grow-up (but not too fast please). You are the greatest gift God could have given to your Daddy and I.

Love,
Mommy

One Month New

It is a couple weeks behind, but this is Genevieve's 'official' one month photo.   I love that one of my friends gave us a hair bow that clips in Genevieve's hair!  And that the weather was warm enough to show off an outfit that another set of friends gave us.   She is growing up so quickly!  And yet she is still really little.

Eyes Wide Open

We love this little baby!

Blankie Time

It seems like each night there is a picture opportunity similar to these two pictures: Nick, Genevieve and Eleanor laying on a blanket or two on the floor.  Super cute!

Newborn Pics: Mommy and Daddy

We didn't forget to get a couple of just Mommy and Genevieve, as well as Daddy and Genevieve.  I also though it would be fun to have a picture of her little feet with the symbols of marriage and love that started it all.

The Girls- Newborn Photos

What is a newborn photo shoot without pictures of Big Sister and Little Sister--- this was a must when we were picking a photographer.  Needless to say, the pictures we got were exactly what I dreamed of and more.   Our friend, Emily, made the girls matching tutus and they were perfect for the pictures. The pictures do not do the tutus justice, as they are super cute with lots of detail in the ribbons.  Genevieve was not very fond of hers and proceeded to have her first blow-out in it.   Good thing I could wash it out so it is as good as new.

A few favorites: newborn photos

We have Genevieve's newborn photos taken when she was one and a half weeks new.  Here are a few of our favorites that were not posted to Facebook:

 

The photos were done by Sarah McConnell Photography and we loved working with her.  She provided the hats/hairbands, so I cannot take credit for those cute little additions.   The photos were exactly what we were looking for in terms of style, timing and variety.   It is going to be hard to pick a favorite for our 8x10 wall frame.  Good thing we have the CD so we can change it out when we want!

Someone does not like being naked

And that someone would be Genevieve.

One Month New!

I cannot believe we have had Genevieve as part of our family for an entire month already.  I also cannot believe that I am a month into my maternity leave and will head back to work in a few short weeks.  


Here is where Neve stands today. She:

- is rarely fussy.

- has strong neck muscles and loves to look around.

- loves the ceiling fan.

- sleeps in her crib (and has been since day 1).

- is very bottle and pacifier specific.

- is still working on the sleeping at night thing.  She can do it, she just doesn't always want to and I think she is too young for the cry it out approach.  We are working on a routine from the Baby Wise book and I hope that cuts down the number of times she is up at night.

- makes little kids want to hold her, which makes her sister jealous because Genevieve is HER baby sister.

- is going to be ticklish.   We can just tell.

- is still in 0-3 month outfits.  She has longer legs than Ellie did, and not as long of a torso.

- has already been to two birthday parties and Easter celebrations!  She is a party animal.

- loves to drink her milk fast, and then proceed to spit it up (about once a day or once every other day).

- must think Mommy lives to do laundry (see above comment).

- has a knack for dirtying her diaper within 15 minutes of being changed.   The girl goes through a ton of diapers!

- is adored by her big sister, Eleanor.    Eleanor must know where Genevieve is at all times, and the minute Ellie gets home from day-care she wants to play with her.

- continues to make her Mom and Dad the happiest people on earth by having her in their lives.


- makes our family complete.

One month new!

Playground Time

With the beautiful weather, we have made a few trips to the park.   Genevieve tends to sleep, while Daddy or Mommy and Eleanor play.   Our house is right behind Nick's head... very close to the playground!

Someone loves to hold her little sister

That someone would be Ellie.

Time to Go Home

All ready to head home from the hospital!

So Peaceful

A couple of pictures of Genevieve at the hospital.

Just Born

I ordered these "monthly" stickers of Etsy and received a "Just Born" one with them. Of course Genevieve is not a fan of being in just a onsie at such a young age... I couldn't blame her.

Saturday Update: 5 hour stretch and more

Since I didn't get around to a 5 on Friday post, here is a Saturday Update:

Genevieve decided that she would go 5+ hours between feedings last night, from 10PM to 3:20AM. I went to bed shortly after she was done feeding at 10PM, so I was able to enjoy almost all of the long stretch. Of course when she got up at 3:20AM she was up for two hours straight (I am usually back in bed in 40-60 minutes). Between eating, dirty diapers and being fussy there was no break. 5 minutes after I got back to bed, Ellie woke up crying (which is not normal for her). Since I wasn't fully asleep yet, I went into take care of her. 30 minutes after that I got to enjoy my warm bed again. I think in total I actually LOST sleep on the whole deal with Genevieve since she woke up again at 7:20AM (excluding the time spent getting up with Ellie). Not sure which I prefer, the consecutive sleep or the longer amount... a combo of both would be perfect. Thanks to Nick who let me go back to sleep after Neve's 7:20AM feeding. He tended to Ellie and her early 6:30AM wake-up (she has been getting up between 7:15-7:30AM lately). She only came in to see me 5 or so times... at least I felt loved.

Ellie is really into helping with Neve. She really enjoys helping change the diapers. She brings her step stool and puts it right in the middle of Neve's changing table so she can get in on the action. While I love that Ellie wants to help, it is a little difficult trying to change a dirty diaper with a 2 year old in the way. I guess I will learn to change a diaper in a different fashion so Ellie can be in on the action.

Ellie started visiting the next room up at day-care. She officially starts in the new room on Monday. We are excited that she is moving up to the next level, but we will really miss her teachers in the current room. At night one of us lay in bed with her and sing songs. Last week she wanted to sing a song that neither of us knew... she told us to "Ask Alyssa tomorrow." Alyssa is one of her teachers and I guess Ellie thought Alyssa should teach us the song. Alyssa thought that was pretty funny. When Alyssa goes home early (before Ellie) Ellie says, "Alyssa go home. I sad." It is cute. The teachers have done a wonderful job teaching Ellie her numbers, colors and shapes. It is amazing how much she knows!

Nick goes back to work full time on Monday. He used the time off to get things done around the house (and bike) so that he was able to help out the entire night once Ellie was home. It will be different without that extra time, but we will get used to it. Genevieve and I are going to start his first day back on a positive note and visit him at work. We will also stop and see my department while we are in the building.

We had a great Easter at my Aunt Janet and Uncle Steve's! Genevieve ate every hour, but we still had a great time and people got to see the newest addition to the family.

Genevieve's Hospital Visitors

In yesterday's post I noted that Ellie was not all that interested in Genevieve... she was really excited when Cousin Liam arrived at the hospital!

It was great not having Genevieve be in the Special Care Nursery like Eleanor was. We got to spend lots of time with her AND she was able to have visitors at the hospital! Here are a few pictures of her first visitors:

Grandma and Grandpa Greving with Genevieve, Liam and Eleanor

Cousin Liam (8 months older than Genevieve), Uncle Mike, Aunt Megan, Genevieve, Eleanor and Daddy

One set of Genevieve's Godparents, Brad and LuCinda, and Genevieve

Grandpa Thorson and Genevieve

Grandma Thorson and Genevieve

Sue and Genevieve

Ellie Meet Neve

The girls first meeting at the hospital the day Genevieve was born.

About 5 minutes into the visit, Ellie was asking Grandma and Grandpa to go to their house. Although she likes her baby sister, she wasn't all the interested at their first meeting. I think she was too excited from her sleepover at her friend, Sophia's, the night before and her next trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house that would happen once they left the hospital.

2-week Stats

We had Genevieve's 2-week Well Baby visit today. As the Dr. put it, "she is a perfect baby." She has great color, is growing like a champ, and is very easy. Here are her stats compared with Ellie's:

Neve's 2-week stats

Weight: 9 pounds 10 ounces
Height: 22 inches
Head circumfrance: 14 1/2 inches

Ellie's 2-week stats

Weight: 9 pounds 2.5 ounces (95 percentile)
Height: 20 1/2 inches (85 percentile)
Head circumfrance: 14 1/2 inches (89 percentile)

Unfortunately, our regular Dr. was on rounds this week and the Dr. we saw didn't give us the percentile rank. But you can see from Ellie's stats that Neve should be scoring pretty high since she weighs more and is longer than Ellie was. I am sad that Neve's longest period between feedings is 4 hours and not the 5.5 hours Ellie was doing at this point. I guess it is a trade-off that Neve rarely cries and Ellie had a fussy period from 7-10pm each night. They are each their own person.

Newborn Photos

On Thursday we had newborn photos taken of Genevieve, along with a couple of the two girls and a family shot. The pictures were done by Sarah McConnell Photography and we could not have been happier with the result. They were exactly what we wanted! Here is our sneak peak from her website:

http://sarahmcconnellphotography.net/2012/04/06/introducing-genevieve/

We should have the remaining 40-60 photos in a week or two, so I am sure there will be more posts to come.

If you know someone in the Des Moines area that is looking to have newborn photos done, we would highly recommend Sarah.