One Month

I can't believe Rachel is one month old today. I blinked and the time flew by. And what an exhausting but wonderful month it has been. Rachel is doing great. She sleeps a lot and she is pretty easy going. She is good at holding her head up and just today she really started "cooing" and making lots of cute little sounds. I wanted to run downstairs to get the video camera but I didn't want to miss anything that she had to say. It was so sweet especially since she had a look of surprise in her eyes at the sounds she was making. I decided to just stay with her and soak up all the wonderful joy of one of many of her "firsts". Hopefully I'll get to catch it on video soon and of course I'll share it with you here.



Rachel is such a blessing in our lives and Nicholas is so excited to be a big brother. He is all about Rachel. He talks about her to everyone and he wants to be involved in everything we do with her. Just yesterday he was concerned because she was getting a little fussy so he sang a song to her. He was so proud when she calmed down and quit crying. But it has been hard month on Stuart and I as we adjust to the big changes in our house....getting used to the middle of the night feedings, constant diaper changes, and juggling our time between both children so no one is short changed.

Our health insurance offers a maternity program in which a nurse called me once a month during the pregnancy to check on me, offer suggestions to help me through challenges, and answer any questions I had. She called me about 2 weeks ago to see how Rachel and I were doing. I hardly had time to take her call. I was in the middle of fixing a snack for Nicholas but Rachel was crying and needed a diaper change. The nurse asked about my nutrition to make sure I was eating healthy. I told her that I had missed breakfast that day but had some of Nicholas' leftover food for lunch because I hadn't found time to fix something for myself. She encouraged me to try to find time to make healthy, well balanced meals for myself. Yup, sounds good. Then she asked about exercise. Oh please! I told her that I was down to my pre-pregnancy weight but that was probably just from not eating because it certainly wasn't due to any formal exercise program. I hardly have time to go to the bathroom in peace! When am I suppose to exercise?! Finally, she asked about my GOALS for the next few weeks. What?! Goals? What goals? I seriously laughed out loud. I have a newborn and a four year old. I'm the household maid, grocery shopper, meal planner and chef, entertainer of a four year old, chauffeur, diaper changer, breastmilk feeder, bill payer, family fun planner, runny nose wiper, and kisser of all boo boos....and now I'm doing it all on little sleep - not to mention dealing with my own medical issues of a c-section wound infection and some weird post partum high blood pressure. My goal for the next few weeks is to just keep everyone fed and keep the house from totally falling into shambles.

Stuart has been so great and supportive. He comes home from his hard day at work and takes care of whatever needs to be done whether its changing diapers or getting dinner ready or just spending some time with the children to give me a break. He knows how hard my day is. I told him that I was glad that he is so understanding when the house isn't all nice and clean each day when he gets home. He chuckled and said something to the extent that he's impressed that it just looks about the same as when he left in the morning and not totally fallen apart.

For all of the challenges that this month has brought, I wouldn't trade a moment of it for anything. It has been filled with such joy and thankfulness for the love, friends, and blessings that God showers in our lives.

Shopping for Girls

Christmas is coming so of course we'll need to get pictures with Santa. I'm not a proponent of spending a ton of money so that my two children can have fancy name brand "matching" outfits that they will wear only one time for Christmas. It's a really cute idea but the only ones I've found out there are just ridiculously expensive. Until I find a less expensive way to match their outfits, I'd rather put that money towards their education. Children outgrow clothing so quickly that it just seems crazy to spend much money on it.

For their Santa picture, I am going to find outfits that kind of coordinate even though they don't match per se. I've done a little shopping and I'm already tired. I didn't realize how easy I had it with a boy. There isn't much to their outfits. It is always easy to just pick out a few pieces that mix and match together and get out of the store rather quickly and cheap. However, girls seem to be a whole different thing. There are tons more outfits to choose from and they all seem to be more expensive than boys outfits. Does it really cost that much more to add a piece of lace or a simple bow on a shirt?

And what's up with the headbands and bows? For baby boys, it's ok to have a cute little bald head but baby girls seem to always need something in their hair - even though they don't have any hair! Where do I even go to get these headbands with a bow on it? And tights?! I've got to find tights for my newborn to wear with her dress. Who sells those? Where do I go?! I'm so out of the loop and clueless about these things. I've got some work to do to get caught up on newborn girl fashion. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Play-Doh Creations

Nicholas and Daddy recently had lot of fun playing with Play-Doh. They were working at the kitchen table for quite a while. When they were finished, Nicholas showed off his hard work. Of course, they are Star Wars themed. The big ball is Darth Vader's Death Star and the ship on top is a Star Destroyer. He is so proud of creations and he is letting them dry so he can keep them forever.



By the way, we went to playgroup this morning and one of them moms commented on Rachel's "red" hair. So funny!

Updates on Rachel

When Nicholas was first born, he had light brown hair. However, several people commented that it had red highlights. I never really saw it. When I'd look closely at the individual strands of his hair they seemed brown but I think the pink of his scalp was reflecting as red highlights in his hair.

I explained this to one friend of mine in particular and she thought I was crazy for not seeing the red hair on my child. I have nothing against red hair. As a matter of fact, I love it. At one time, I even tried to have red highlights put in my hair (Stuart can tell you how successful that was!). What's odd is that the only person I can think of with red hair on either side of the family is Stuart's paternal grandmother.

Rachel was born with this same light brown hair that Nicholas had. Again, I don't see it as red hair. However, Mrs. Carrico looked at her this week and commented on her red hair. Yes, it does look a little red but again I think it's just reflecting her pink scalp.



When Nicholas was a few months old, most of his brown hair fell out. He was a cute little bald guy. When the hair grew back, it was blonde. I wonder if this will happen with Rachel or will she remain a brunette (or a red-head as some call her)?

Also, Nicholas was born with light blue eyes like Stuart's and they have remained the same beautiful blue ever since. However, Rachel's eyes are a darker blue. I wonder if that means they'll eventually turn hazel like mine??

I put Rachel on my postage scale today and it says she weighs 9 pounds 3 ounces. She lost a lot of weight after birth but she seems to be gaining weight just fine now.

Rachel first lifted her head up when she was about a week old. Now she is quite good at lifting her head and shoulders up when she is on her tummy. A few days ago, I had her on her tummy to check out her head control. She decided that she didn't like being on her tummy and started crying. I didn't roll her over yet because I was still trying to see what she would do with her head. Of course she just got madder and madder. Next thing I know she has rolled over on to her back. Ok, 3 weeks seems too early to be rolling over. Surely I missed something. So back to the tummy she went and, boy was she mad by then. She cried and fussed and kicked then...rolled herself right back onto her back.

She's cute when she's mad. She crinkles up her little face and cries, "Geeeeeeee".

Nicholas is still madly in love with his little sister. I would have expected some signs of jealousy by now because she likes being held all the time but I'm really not seeing any. Mrs. Carrico says that she hasn't seen a prouder big brother than Nicholas. She says that he talks about Rachel all the time and always includes her in his prayers. We see that during prayer time at home too. Every day when I pick him up from school, he tries to let any friend that's nearby see "my baby", as he calls her. Today I overheard him whispering to Rachel, "I'll always love you. I'll always be with you."

Lighting Test Shots

Stuart is always experimenting with photography lighting. This week, a co-worker of his let him borrow a lightbox and Alien Bee studio light. Stuart has been talking about these for quite a while so I knew he'd want to play with them as soon as he got a chance. And of course, family makes for great guinea pigs. Nicholas was already in bed for the night so Rachel and I were recruited as his models. How can I complain about it when he got such cute shots of Rachel?