Happy First Month Rowan!

This first month has flown by so quickly! I'm sure part of that is because of the holidays. It has been so nice to have Mike home to help out with the kids. Going from 1 kid to 2 adds a lot of work and often issues when they both need you at one time! There are many things that Rowan does that reminds me of Liam, but she is definitely her own little person with her own personality! She still has not taken to the binky which can be very difficult when she is fussy and we can't calm her. She generally likes to be calmed by being held, which is nice most of the time, but can be difficult when we need to get something done, and also to get some sleep. She does seem to be getting a little better about sleeping, but that varies night to night. She does not really like being on her back, and really does not like her bassinet. Unless she is deep asleep, she will wake up if we put her in her bed. We have noticed that she is getting a little better about hanging out as her awake time gets longer during the day. She has enjoyed her swing and bouncers a few times. After her belly button healed up we were able to give her her first real bath, and we recorded it. She seemed to like it for the most part. She seems to be a very efficient eater. She eats a meal in about 1/2 the recommended time to feed, and even then she sometimes eats too much and ends up spitting up!! I was a little concerned at first that she wasn't eating enough, but she is gaining weight just fine, so no worries there. We got her professional pictures, and they turned out so cute. We are sending out the announcements now. Rowan also had her first Christmas in her first month of life. She got some cute gifts from family, thank you! Sadly, she also has her 2nd cold, and she's just barely a month old! One of the downsides of having a winter baby, poor thing. Overall, this last month has been pretty good. We are definitely sleep deprived, and stressed at times, but then one of them will do something so cute, and it makes it all worth it.

Toddler Bed (Day 1)

So Liam officially started climbing out of his crib yesterday, and fast! We knew this day was coming, and knew he was capable of climbing out for several months now, but he had just not tried it until now. He generally was OK taking his nap and going to bed, so we felt it was safest to leave him in his crib. But in the last few days he has really been upset about nap time and bed time, and has started to fight us. Then after escaping his crib several times, we decided it was safer to transition his crib to his toddler bed. For his nap time, he fought us for a long time, we eventually just shut the door and locked it from the outside. After about 20-30 minutes he sat down by his crib. He put his blanket over his head like a ghost, and in the monitor we could see his ghost head wobble back and forth until he eventually fell over onto the floor. He slept for about 90 minutes. Not TOO bad I guess for his first time without his crib. Then this evening, he fought us again. We offered to tuck him in, but he would have none of it! We eventually just had to leave the room again. Mike went to check on him since we couldn't see him on the video monitor. He had fallen asleep on his changing pad that is on the floor! We both got a good laugh about that. Hopefully he will start to get the idea that the mattress in the room is the most comfortable place to sleep! These next few weeks sure will be interesting, if nothing else.

2 Week Update

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks already! Rowan is already growing so quickly. She had her 2 week check up this morning, and she has already gained nearly 1 pound, and grew an inch. So now she weighs 7 lbs. 14 oz. and is 20" long. The nurse says that they like to see the baby gain back what they lose after birth, so she is definitely on the right track. She is such a sweet baby, and loves to snuggle. Her favorite place to sleep is right on our chest. I think she likes it because she can hear our heart and perhaps is reminded of being in the womb. We were relieved that she started to nurse right away since it was a bit of a struggle with Liam because he was a preemie. Basically, she is your typical baby, loves to sleep during the day, and is up more at night. Her general waking hours are between 3 am and 5 am. Some nights are better than others, but we seem to be getting better. Sadly, she has had a bit of a cold, so her nose is stuffed up at times and makes it hard for her to breathe and nurse. The Dr. also checked her heart murmur today, and said it was completely gone, which is a huge relief.

Liam was not able to visit us in the hospital because of the H1N1 this year, so the first time Liam saw Rowan was at our house. He opened our bedroom door where I was holding her on the bed, and then immediately closed the door after seeing her. He has been a bit shy of her, but has slowly warmed up to her over the last couple of weeks. After several days he touched her foot. Then one evening he comforted her when she was crying. He stroked her cheek, and offered her the binky (which strangely she doesn't like as of yet). He will say 'Baby Sad' when she is crying, and he is surprisingly understanding when we need to attend to her. Recently I was able to put Rowan on his lap and took a quick picture. He pointed to her eyes, nose, mouth and ears. He really seems quite interested in her, and has been nothing but sweet with her....just wish that would last forever!! Anyway, we are enjoying our new bundle of joy, and still adjusting to little sleep, but it has all been worth it!

Happy 2nd Birthday Liam!!

So we froze a little of Liam's birthday cake so that he could have a piece on his actual 2nd birthday. Here is a picture of him enjoying it.



Below is Liam's yearly 'watch me grow' pics...it's fun to see how he has changed since he was born...