From NC to PA...: At home with Emilia

I can't believe Emmy will be one month old tomorrow! Time is going at warp speed right now (or maybe it just feels like one really long day with a few naps thrown in... ;)

Here's a look at what is happening around our house these days!

Emmy: 1 week old

Sleep: The first question everyone asks! Of course she's not sleeping long yet - she's not supposed to! This insight and experience from Nolan has me handling this aspect of having a newborn much better than last time. I remember feeling a distinct panic that I would never sleep again last time, and this time I know it is just a season that passes quickly and to just appreciate all the newborn snuggles and the fact that my only job right now is to keep her happy and fed! She likes to be held... only held, which has made it difficult to figure out where she can sleep at night. Right now we are going between her sleeping in the bouncy seat next to the bed and in the bed with me (carefully... with barriers). Ideally, i'd like to keep her out of the bed and into her crib soon - she is progressing with sleeping in the bouncy seat for longer stretches, so I'm optimistic.

Sleepy Emmy

Mamaroo from Jessica - another place she can take short naps during the day

Arms always have to be out (and near her face) - she doesn't seem to care if she's swaddled or not.

Classic pose - and exactly how Nolan slept too!

Sometimes we get just the single fist pump (Jersey style)

Love her!

Feeding: Breastfeeding this time around has been even better! My milk has come in great and I'm making much more than last time. I already have a huge stock in the freezer of frozen, pumped milk which makes me happy (but wondering how we are going to store it all if i keep at this pace!) Emmy has a great latch and has had no problem going back and forth from breast to bottle. She also seems to like the pacifier more than Nolan did, although I'm being cautious in giving it to her too much. It does help when she's uncomfortable/gassy to soothe her and help her fall back asleep.

Milk Coma

Personality: I can already tell we have a spunky girl on our hands! As I mentioned, she makes it KNOWN if she is hungry - very loudly! In general, she is pretty content when fed/clean. She LOVES to be held... all the time. It is hard to put her down, although i've been having more success lately if she falls asleep on the boppy when i feed her to move the boppy to the couch with her in it. She sleeps quietly (unlike Nolan was!) but is very vocal when awake. I've started calling her "Pip Squeak" or "Squeaker" because she squeaks so much!! She also gets pretty grunty when she's working out gas - this is the most frustrating when she's upset since there's not much we can do to help her. Seems to happen a lot in the middle of the night too, which is no fun for anyone! Overall though, I'd say she's a pretty easy baby and content!

Emmy at 4 days - already very alert!

Always looking around

Visitors/Outings: My parents have been in and out a lot with my mom helping a ton in keeping up the house/making dinners/giving my time for naps. Joe and I even got our first dinner alone post-Emmy this past weekend while my parents watched both kids. We kept it local and tried out Ekta (Indian) in Bryn Mawr, which was delicious! We also took Emmy on her first outing (not to the Dr's) two weekends ago to Aunt Jessica's house where she met her cousins Mattie and Mia and Uncle Timmy, and Nolan was happy to play with Mattie for a few hours. We've also had several of my coworkers/friends come visit briefly to kindly drop off food/gifts - Jess, Colleen, and Shelby. It's been fun to get lots of packages in the mail of gifts from family members as well - we are very lucky with our support system! Since Emmy will be a month old this week, I'm excited to start bringing her out to do some errands during the day to break up staying at home.

Pop Pop Meeting Emmy

Nonna is popular around here!

Nonna and Emmy wearing the outfit Nolan picked for her during Christmas :)

Doctor's Checkups: Emmy has had 3 checkups so far - one the day after discharge (Friday Feb 6th), another one a few days later (Monday Feb 9th), and a third a week after that (2 week checkup on Feb 17th). The first check up we saw a different doctor since it was whoever was available on short notice post-delivery. The second two we saw Dr. Patel, who is Nolan's pediatrician too - we love her! Weight is the main focus of these appointments to make sure she is flourishing at home and comes back to her birth weight by two weeks. Emmy went from 6lb 9oz at birth down to 6lb 1oz at discharge down to 5lb 13oz at her first appointment, then back up to 6lb 1oz at the second appointment, then finally over her birth weight up to 6lb 14oz at her 2 week appointment! Her doctor was so pleased with her progress that we don't need to go back for a 1 month appointment and can skip straight to a 2 month appointment (which will coincide with Nolan's 3 year appointment, so I will take them both!)

Wrapped in a blanket waiting for Dr. Patel

Hair: This needed it's own category because we are obsessed with Emmy's hair! It is adorable - very dark, almost black, and sticks straight up in the air in spikes! It looks like a mohawk from the side after a fresh bath :) It will be interesting to see if it ends up curly like her big brother's or stays stick straight like it is now. Nolan's also fell out around 3/4 months then grew back thicker, so we'll see if she follows the pattern.

How's my hair looking?

Side view

Baby Mohawk

Maternity Leave so far: I'm really enjoying my leave so far. It's amazing since normally I get very stir crazy if I don't leave the house every day, but I've really embraced the slower pace of life right now (mostly because I know it's not permanent!) and am loving the quiet days at home with Emmy and Dean.

Love these moments and bask in them!

First week at home - tired, but happy!

Snuggles on the couch

Snuggles in bed

Kisses and newborn baby smell

Grabbing my shirt <3

Daddy and Daughter: I've loved watching Joe's relationship grow with a daughter. I can't help but to sneak in lots of pics when they are cuddling/sleeping!

Daddy hugs

Snoozin' together

Nice form!

First Duke/UNC game! (Duke won!)

What a great Daddy my kids have!

"Watching" both kids (Nolan on the monitor)

Big Brother!: Nolan has exceeded all expectations in his transition to become a big brother. My heart bursts with love for him and am so proud of how he's done with this big change. The first night we brought Emmy home, he decided he would move to his big boy room to give her his old crib to sleep in and has been sleeping great in there ever since! He loves feeding her a bottle, giving her hugs, and always asks for her to play with him (which I have to explain that he needs to be patient for when she's a little bit older!) He now says with pride that Emmy is too little for food and only eats "Mommy's Milk" that comes from "Mommy's Milk Machine" (breast pump) and says that "Mommy used to have a baby in her belly, but now she has milk in her belly!" I love watching him grow with every day and stare at him in disbelief that he now seems enormous and so old just overnight since bringing Emmy home. He is a reminder for how fast things happen, and to appreciate every day with my newborn.