Living Like the Kings

Another week down…and Taylor is not 5 week old. That means that I’m almost halfway through my maternity leave – can’t believe it.

This week is a blur – I’ve spent most of the week attempting to space Taylor’s feedings a bit and begin getting her into a routine. It worked out so well for us with Peanut that I’m pretty determined and we’re starting to reap some of the benefits. Taylor’s disposition is starting to change a bit, or at least it’s more predictable. We’re also stating to set up a bedtime routine which is helping. I’m hopeful that we make more progress this week and then I’ll give you guys an update.

My picture taking is beginning to tone down a bit. Mostly because Taylor requires so much attention that I find it difficult to take pictures…plus I doubt you guys want to see 500 pictures of her crying. On top of that, T has a really bad case of the infant acne – it’s on her face, shoulders, neck, ears, belly. Peanut had some baby acne but it didn’t even come close to how bad Taylor has it. We know it’ll get a little worse and then start getting better.

This weekend was incredible. Jon got a few hours to himself while we had a play date with Lucas and Amy. Sunday was Father’s Day – brunch, a trip to Home Depot, nap (just for the tot), and a trip out for ice cream and the playground. An amazing day with an amazing finish – both kids are asleep in their rooms (shh I don’t want to jinx it).

How was your week?

Join in the fun – the rules are pretty simple: take pictures throughout the week (it can be your phone, iphone, camera, whatever) and post them with a link back to this post. Then come back here, link your posts, and check out some others.

Follow me on Instagram – Mrslltkings.

Get Shareaholic

I know that you hear/read parents saying that time flies way too fast, especially once you have kids. But honestly, I can’t even explain how quickly time passes once you start seeing it in milestones your kids are hitting. Before you know it, you go from counting down the weeks of your pregnancy to celebrating your kids’ second birthday or writing a 1 month post for your second baby. Sometimes I cannot believe that I’m an adult, much less that I’m about to turn 30 and have 2 kids. But this isn’t about me. This is about miss T.

Dear Taylor, you are officially 1 month old.

My second-born child, you are very quickly becoming my little baby. I’ve heard plenty about your first reserving a special spot in your heart as the one that made you a mama and you, my love, have an equally special spot in my heart as my little baby. The one I hold longer than needed and shower with way too many kisses, knowing that this is the last time that I’m going to experience these newborn days.

The first couple of days were easy – you were sleeping most of the day away and eating whenever you were awake. But once we brought you home, things turned pretty quickly. You seem to be very upset about leaving the womb and would love nothing more than to be back. Translation? You are one very very unhappy, fussy baby. But you are so cute that daddy and I don’t stand a chance.

This first month brought a lot of weight gain on your part (you love to eat!!) – it’s actually incredible. Your big sister barely gained any weight…ever (still doesn’t), so watching a baby that gains weight so easily and quickly is probably among my favorite things. You were born at 7lbs and 14oz and while you lost about 5% of your weight after birth, you were back up to your birth weight by the 4th day and up to 9lbs and 15oz at just over 3 weeks. Today you are 10lbs and 8 oz (I know, I’m shocked too). Your triple chin and chunky thighs are so stinkin’ adorable that I can’t get enough of them. I hope they stay.

On that note, you were out of NB diapers within the first week. The same goes for NB clothes. Right now you’re in size 1 diapers and 0-3 months clothes (although everything’s a bit snug already).

This month also brought a lot of tears, unfortunately mostly yours. We are still trying to figure out if it’s reflux, an allergy to something mommy ate or lactose intolerance, but for now we’re just doing everything we can to make you comfortable.

You seem to absolutely love being snug and tight in the carrier worn by mommy all day long. I think if you had it your way, you would be in it 24/7. Unfortunately for you, my little nugget, mom has about a trillion things she wants to get done during the day, so although you do spend about 80% of your time in the carrier, I sometimes have to take a break and you are not a happy camper. Recently you have started to love the swing we borrowed from my bff – the very same one that your sister used. We’re just happy to have found something the comforts you.

The amazing thing is that you do sleep really well at night! Although we have an incredibly fussy period between 6 and 10pm (unfortunately for us putting you down to bed isn’t working…we just end up swinging/walking/bouncing/feeding you from 6 until 10pm until it’s bed time, but we’ll keep trying), you fall asleep beautifully at 10, wake up sometime between 1 and 3am, then again around 5am and then again at 8 (if you wake up at 1, you have an extra meal around 3). As hard as the day might be, you make up for it during the night.

During the few minutes when you’re not crying while you’re awake, you’re starting to shower us with your beautiful smiles. They make daddy and I so happy and make us forget everything else. You’re also incredibly strong. You are able to lift your head during tummy time and hold it up completely if we’re holding you up or have you over our shoulder. You look like you’re going to move when you’re doing some tummy time by kicking your legs and trying to push off. During diaper changes it’s almost impossible to move your legs or arms if you’re protesting. You are one strong baby!