One month in...

Well, Haddie is a month and a week old today and we feel so very lucky to have such a good baby! She was up to 6lbs 1.5 oz at her 2 week check up (she was 5 lbs 12 oz at birth) and at a
month we weighed her here and she was 8 lbs! She is gaining rapidly! She's fitting into clothes that didn't fit Harper till she was 2 months old. She is proving to be a great sleeper too! Right around 2 1/2 weeks she started giving us a good 4-5 hours of sleep to start off the night (8p-12a or something like that)... now she is sleeping roughly 7p-1a and thenup again at 4 & 7. Not too shabby for a month old! She's still just cat napping during the day, but we figured out that she naps for a long time in the afternoon if we are out & about... or sometimes she'll take a longer nap in the swing with the vacuum cleaner sound going on my iPhone. I discovered she liked that the other day when the actual vacuum put her to sleep. Aaahh ha! She is also super mellow, happy to hang out and only fusses when she's hungry, tired or just uncomfortable. I don't think she's cried for more than 30 seconds at a time. She's feeding well and took to the bottle right away--we tried it much earlier than we did w/ Harper because waiting seemed to turn Harper off of it. She's easy to soothe, loves to cuddle and adores Harper. She actually smiles at her! She's starting to really look you in the eye and track where you go. Not sure how much she can see at this point, but she will follow Harper with her eyes.

(:

Memere was here for 9 days after Haddie was born and was a huge help. Karen was around a lot too to help with Harper and bring meals. We had some amazing friends who also brought us food and took Harper on outings in the first few days at home. I don't think we cooked at all for the first three weeks--what a treat! When Memere left, Tom went back to work and us 3 girls were on our own. Daycare was closed for Christmas and then Harper got an ear infection so we were really on our own for two weeks! But we survived, figured a few things out and now we're back on our normal schedule. Harper enjoys her daycare days so she can play with her friends, and I enjoy the "quieter time". Haddie and I are getting to know each other quite well.

Harper is doing GREAT! She has never been unkind to Haddie and loves holding her, playing peek a boo and "Where's Haddie?" (she'll look all over the house for her as a game, really cute!). She loves to give her eskimo kisses, gentle pats on the head and tickle her cheeks. She has also helped me with all of Haddie's baths--gently washing her and helping me fill the tub with warm water. She is very much into the baths and even took a bath herself in the small baby tub. Cute. It's amazing how nurturing she is with Haddie... couldn't be happier with that! The rest was a bit of an adjustment but she seems to accept when Haddie needs attention or needs to eat, go to bed, etc. She's testing our limits and wanting us to do things for her we know she

is capable of doing, but I think some regression is expected. We are all tired but trying to be fair and kind to each other

Harper started a dance class on Wednesday morning for 16 weeks--ballet and tap. She LOVES it and does such a great job listening to the teacher. They will put on a recital at the end of the class, can't wait for that!

The days I'm home w/ both girls has been an adjustment, but we're at a point where we are getting out and about and having a blast! I had a major set back with nursing Haddie due to a thrush infection and about threw in the towel,

but a doctor's check up 2 weeks into the infection found I was allergic to the cream I was using to treat the thrush, so the rash, pain & burning was due to that, the thrush had cleared up in the first 48 hours. That was not fun! Good news is hydrocortisone cream & Benadryl cleared it up in 2 days. Pphew! Really glad that's over! So now I can pump milk again and have a little freedom... Harper and I had "Mommy Harper Morning" today... we went to her favorite restaurant (Huckleberry) for breakfast, picked up some art

supplies and played at the park. I think she needed some 1:1 time with me.

Tonight is the Patriots/Broncos game and Harper said she wants my team to win. (: Good girl! We picked up some supplies and made a Patriots onesie for Haddie (Littlest Patriots Fan) and a t-shirt for Harper (I love Tom Brady).

Julie comes to visit in 2 weeks (yeah!) and then we're hoping to plan a trip to MA in March/April sometime so everyone can meet Haddie. We're plugging along and having fun... baby stuff seems a bit easier the 2nd time around. Maybe we learned a little the 1st time?!

When Haddie was 11 days old we did a newborn photo shoot with our friend Megan Pisha of Make the Moment Last Photography. She is incredibly talented and got some amazing shots. The pictures on today's blog are a few of the ones she took. Enjoy!