2 month doctor visit

Today Rose had her two month well visit...and all is well :)

Rose weighed in at 9 pounds 2 ounces and is now 23 1/4 in length. 

(Remember she was 6 pounds 10 ounces and 19 1/2 inches at birth.)

She is such a good eater :) and I can't believe that she has grown almost 4 inches since birth! 

My little girl is REALLY growing up before my eyes.

She is meeting all her milestones and we were told she had good muscle tone. 

She was also a favorite with the nurse after she cooed for her.

Here are some pics from today:

 Rose is excellent at letting me change her diaper and Scout keeps her company by singing to her!

 Rose during play time tracking a toy.

 It was a busy day and everyone needed a nap :)

Return to Work {BIG FROWNY FACE}

Had I been asked two weeks into my maternity leave if I was ready to return to work I would have said YES!! Being home all day with Rose is wonderful but {TOUGH} work and I had no idea how I was going to survive ten weeks! But now sadly this is my last week and I cry every time I think of leaving my little girl even though she will be with her grandma or nanna. (Justin is playing the lottery this week...so we'll see how Plan B goes!) My job really isn't the issue either. I actually really enjoy my work with families and little kids; I will probably even be better able to understand what parents are going through now that I too am a parent, but I won't be with my baby :(

{Big Sigh}

So I go back to work next Tuesday...I will cry and be sad...that's the way it is! When work is done I will rush off to pick up my little girl, who will have been well cared for and loved by her grandma. I will hold her and play with her all evening until daddy helps her fall asleep for the night. Then we'll do it all again the next day. It will get easier for all of us, although I will never miss her less, we'll find a new routine and make the most of the time we do have together!!

Car Terror...and all things I fear

Soooo, I think it safe to say that I have been a VERY cautious parent, to me, this has bordered on fear of doing anything that may possibly upset my baby. I was so proud of myself that a week after giving birth I took Rose to an appointment all by myself, however, she screamed in the car and I was unable to console her. Then I tried again a few weeks later, but had the same result. This led me to REFUSE to take Rose anywhere by myself! Justin had to be with me now for any appointments and grandma had to come pick us up if we were going to spend the day at her house. I just could not handle upsetting Rose with a car ride where she was screaming or I was pulling over every 5 minutes.
Along came my sister!! The car seat was moved so I could reach Rose and we added a mirror so I could also see her...why I had not thought of this stuff who knows (they say pregnancy kills brain cells, so I'm blaming that). On Saturday we went to Target. Rose didn't seem so happy at first, but I was able to put her paci back  in and that seemed to make her happy enough to fall asleep by the time we got to Target. Then today I took her {all by myself} to church. Again I had to put her paci back in, but she fell asleep on the way there. Then she had fallen asleep at church and stayed asleep while I put her back in the car seat and all the way home :)
I know Rose will still have her moments of hating the car (and other things) but I no longer fear taking her by myself!

5 years + 2 months =

One Happy Little Family :)

Today Justin and I are celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary, 5 YEARS!!!! I know compared to my grandparents who have shared over 60 years together, 5 does not seem that impressive, but I feel like we have reached our first milestone and I am EXCITED :) I am more in love with Justin today then I was when we were married. We have experienced a lot during these first years of our marriage: a house fire, LOTS of house renovations, job changes, and a birth :). During all these events and just from day to day, Justin has shown me compassion and patience, made me laugh, and shown me what it truly means to love someone. I am so looking forward to the next 5 years!!

Just for fun here we were 5 years ago...oooo, how young and silly we were!!

We spent the day together, mostly...Rose was with Grandma this morning to practice for when I return to work. Justin and I went out to breakfast and cleaned up the house during this time and after we picked Rose up, Laura took me and Rose shopping at Target. This evening the cousins and grandparents came up for dinner.

 All the cousins together!

Thanks to my sister for coming up again to offer us more support and advice!!

 Grandpa and baby Rose

Now on to Rose! What an exciting month this has been for her and her parents. Rose continues to develop her voice and loves to talk in her baby sounds. This makes me soooo excited!! I {LOVE} hearing her voice. She is continuing to develop more and more coordination and strength throughout her body. Although she now protests tummy time...she starts crying, but this is a fake cry as she turns it off as soon as she is placed on her back...I guess she is developing her personality!! Also since about a week ago she is playing more and more with her hands. Sleeping at night is going better overall too. Most nights Rose is going to bed between 8-9pm and waking once for a feeding before getting up for the day around 5:30 am.
Rose also had trial runs with nanna and grandma this past week which went well, no one was crying when we returned to pick her up anyway :) Both nanna and grandma have changed the cloth diapers and given bottles, so that is covered! I am returning to work on July 5, so I only have one more week with my little flower...I am not really happy about this, but I know Rose will be given undivided attention and love while I am at work.
Justin and I treasure our time with our  little girl and cannot believe two months have passed so quickly!!

Father's Day :)

Tomorrow Justin celebrates his first {real} father's day...other years the doggies have always gotten him a card ;)

Now Justin has been initiated into fatherhood by Rose, a role that will be defined by her memories of him...

This makes me think about my dad and how very blessed I am to have a father who took his role to heart in the fun and tough times (I had my moments!). Some of the wonderful things I will always remember about my dad are his attending my dance recitals, going on a class trip to the Philly Zoo, driving out to Indiana to visit a college, teaching me how to use power tools (successfully because I still have all my fingers!), and cooking Sunday morning breakfasts. These are only the first thoughts that come to mind, but there are soooo many more! My dad made his family a priority and I never felt like I was competing with his job or hobbies for quality time.  When I became a mother his role as my father did not end, rather now he continues to be not only a wonderful father, but a super grandfather!

I am so very blessed to have a wonderful dad and know that in years to come Rose will have special memories with her father also!

Fluff Mail

So all of a sudden Rose has outgrown her newborn diapers! This is SUPER exciting because this week I have been able to try some of the larger diapers I bought...

I bought and received several different types of one-size (OS) pocket diapers and all-in-two (AIT) diapers to try when Rose grew a bit. So here we are 7 weeks later, ready to try them out!

Rose is our little string bean. At her 1 month well visit she was 20.5 in and 7.7 lbs, so we need diapers that fit well around lean legs and a long torso. After several run throughs so far we like the Rumparooz, Fuzzibunz, and Grovia. If money were no consideration, I'd probably buy all Rumparooz, but still for a great fit and less money the Fuzzibunz are great! Also the advantage they have is lots of different fit options since they use adjustable elastic around the legs. This also makes them less bulky out the front. The Grovia also fit well and are very versatile with the ability to use disposable or cloth inserts.

So after selling off some if the newborn diapers and other OS pockets, this is what I got in the mail today:




Plus I have one more Fuzzibunz coming, there was a buy 5 get 1 free promotion. Plus I received a free bitti tutto diaper and it was free shipping (Justin loves when I am such a good shopper!).

Rose doesn't really understand all this yet, but I will teach her how much fun it is to buy stuff and get free stuff!!






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Mirror Mirror...

Yes, Rose is beautiful, but you don't need to tell her that, she loves to look at herself!!


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6 weeks and still alive!

I know the blogging has been a bit slow...right now there is laundry to fold, dishes to put away, and a lot of dog hair to be vacuumed, BUT I am holding Rose! I guess those other things will always need to be done and I don't want to miss a moment with my beautiful flower :) I realize now more than ever that parenting is the toughest and best job there is EVER! I will be heading back to work July 5, unless we win the lottery, so I am committed to enjoying this special time with my girl while it lasts.

So here we are past the 6 week mark! Rose is doing terrific. She smiles and is making all types of cooing sounds (I love these!). She continues to do well with tummy time and feeding. She is very interested in lights and likes hearing songs. She has been giving us 4-6 hour streches at night and goes back to sleep. She also takes good naps during the day. At night she sleeps in a wedge in our bed and during the day she is held.

This brings me to the two areas I did a 180 on: co-sleeping and pacifiers. I didn't think either were wrong or bad, just not things we were going to do... So with the paci we do try other things to sooth her first and I would like to get rid of it asap, but for now it's ok. The co-sleeping, though, doesn't bother me at all! Since I'm breastfeeding it actually makes it really easy. Besides I don't know of teenagers who sleep with their parents, so Rose will eventually sleep in her own bed :) when we're all ready!

On a happy note, all this holding, rocking, and bouncing has burned TONS of calories. If possible I think I in better shape then before I was pregnant!

Rose had more visitors

Today Rose met Becky, Jeremy, and Brahm!

We can't wait until Rose is a bit bigger so these two can have play dates!