New Normal

I'm not sure if it is possible at this point in time, but we are really trying to find a sense of normalcy again after the arrival of Janie. And by normal I really mean sleeping and bathing. And maybe getting dressed. And eating. I really am not asking for much!!

Though, let's be honest... How normal can we possibly be if our bath tub looks like this...

There are 12 toys, if you're counting.

And if your grocery list consists of this...

Don't we all need that???

I know everyone tells you that "each baby is different" and "they do things on their own time" and really it is the truth! I thought that I would have so much knowledge to resource from having Nora not too long ago to help me through much of the pregnancy, labor & delivery, and bringing home a newborn. Don't get me wrong... all that information definitely helped me and prepared me, but it just wasn't the same. So much about Janie is different from Nora. Nora was a great baby and Janie is too, but the challenges that we encountered with Nora were just different than the ones that we've had with Janie.

Three weeks.

That is one thing that was the same. There is definitely still more that will change and more challenges to come, but it AGAIN took about three weeks for us to figure it all out and feel like we adjusted to our new life styles. I remember feeling like it took three weeks for my body to feel normal, for breastfeeding to finally be "okay" and for Nora to start to adjust to "real" life outside of the womb. And although having Janie has brought on entirely new challenges in many different ways, I feel that three weeks was that magic time yet again. We are at the four week mark now so I am hoping to focus on finding our "new normal" as a family of four.

Janie Elizabeth, three weeks old

A little preview into our lives:

Janie has been eating every three hours during the day. She was eating every four hours around two weeks, but as my body has figured her out and she has figured out mine, along with adjusting to day & night, she moved back to three hours. I'm working this week on getting her on a predictable schedule - eat, play/activity, sleep, repeat.

2 1/2 weeks old

As night time approaches, she will sleep a little more soundly and go a little longer between her feedings. By a little longer, I mean an hour or an hour and half longer. MAYBE two. Doesn't sound like much (and I wish it were longer) but it does make a difference when we are trying to sleep.

And by we I mean me, because at this point I am really the only person getting up in the middle of the night.

We decided to transition Janie to her room last night in hopes that we will all get better sleep. Did you know how much noise babies make while they are sleeping!!??!! Well, it's a lot. Especially in the half hour to hour before they actually get up. Which means, one less half hour or hour for mommy. And that's a big deal. It didn't go quite as well as I planned being that I was still up every 4 hours with her, but it wasn't too bad I guess.

Justin has been getting up with Nora in the mornings since I am usually sleeping between feedings, nursing Janie, or taking care of Janie if she is awake. It has been working out well, but I will eventually need to figure out how to schedule them both to get ready before getting myself to work. It would be FANTASTIC if Justin could be working from home or in Dallas while we figure out a good routine, but we'll see!

Sweet little Nora

Nora continues to go to "school" on weekdays. She really likes it and learns a lot! She can sign "boat" and "plane" now. She can blow her nose on her own. And this just in - I taught her how to smile. Love her!

Nora "smiling" with Pops.

Yesterday I am made some attempts to put Janie down for naps in her own room and in her crib. This was quite successful (hence the blog post). I am VERY excited about this!  Now if we could be this successful at night...

Sleeping! Yay!

That's mostly it! I can't believe Janie will be a month old on Friday. It feels like not long ago that we brought her home from the hospital! Pray for good sleep for us...

Janie, four weeks old

An almost-smile

Two Weeks

Our big events the last couple weeks have mostly involved doctor appointments, sleeping, and eating, but we have made it to the two week mark with no major hiccups! 

Tummy time!

Janie had her two week follow up with her pediatrician today! When we left the hospital, Janie had lost so little weight and her jaundice levels were so low that we didn't have to bring her back to the hospital for a re-check after a couple days. That was great news! 

Snuggly.

We went to he doctor late last week because Janie had been spitting up/vomiting a lot, especially at night, and I was starting to get concerned that there may be an issue and she might not be getting enough to eat being that so much was coming up! It was A LOT. Nora just didn't do all of that so it seemed quite abnormal to me. 

Thankfully, our doctor said she was gaining weight very quickly (13 oz in a week!!) so that was not the problem. He thought she had been overeating, leading to her spitting up lots of extra milk from nursing. I've been adjusting her feedings since then and think I've got her eating a better amount, though I'm still working it out a little. Due to the adjustments in her nursing, my body has had to go through another adjustment period on top of that. Thankfully, I think we are all starting to figure out what works. Though… we still have some moments of LOTS of spit up. I think I may have to deal with a little more reflux than I did with Nora. And therefore, more laundry.

A few days worth of burp cloths...

Today at the doctor Janie was healthy and happy! She is in the 75th percentile for height, so she may be on the tall side like her sister. 

Sweet baby Janie

7 pounds, 7 ounces

20 1/2 inches long

We've still been trying to get our nights figured out. Janie is not sleeping as well at night as she is during the day. I know this is normal for newborns, I just want her to get adjusted so badly!! Our doctor said we should go a little longer between feedings since she is eating so much and has already surpassed her birth weight. If I hold her, Janie will go a little longer between feedings, but without being held she will only go 30 min-2 hours before waking up. Hopefully that will get better as she adjusts to night and day. Oh, please get better!! Last night she did go 4 hours on her own so I am hoping that was not a fluke!!

Some other happenings since last week:

We went and had her second PKU test completed as our first official time out of the house when she was a little over a week old. Janie did pretty well considering the nurse pricked her heel and made her bleed. And made mommy hold her down while she filled up her little sample card instead of hold and rock her.

Bundled up for our first outing!

The weather was really nice this past weekend so we went out as a family of four in public! It went pretty well... The baby was fed and the toddler napped and we went to our Town Square outdoor shopping center for about an hour and a half. We really just walked around, got a smoothie, played by the fountain, and ate a cookie, then went back home. The ride home was the most interesting part - Janie cried some and Nora whined a little, but we made it back with no major problems! Phew!

Janie sleeping soundly.

Nora passed out after our outing!

Nora went to her cousin Hunter's with Grandma Peipert last Sunday afternoon and had lots of fun! We were thankful for a little quiet time around the house and that Nora was able to get "ot"(out) of the house for a little while. We have been stuck inside for the most part because Janie is so small and not on routine yet, so I'm sure she was ready for an outing!

Slide!

My sweet girl. 

Until next time...

Newborn Janie

Our very talented friend took some pictures for us right after Janie was born! Here are some of her beautiful shots!! Thank you, Leslie, for capturing such precious shots of our new baby girl!!

 

One Week

Yesterday was Janie's due date and we are spending today enjoying one full week of her life. Can't believe it! 

I'm one week old today!

Sweet baby Janie.

Janie & Nora at 1 week… resemblance?

We've been reminded of just how tiring nights with newborns are. Janie is up to eat every 2-4 hours, depending on the feeding, and I am awake for about an hour with her while she nurses so it makes for pretty broken sleep. I expected it but then again I just didn't remember how tiring it would be. We've been making coffee daily and I've been trying to nap with Janie at least once during the day to try and help. But when you have a toddler on top of that, sleep isn't always an option! 

Little Janie checking out the world!

Sleeping baby faces - what is she dreaming about??

Having two kids instead of one has been quite the adjustment. Nora has done really well with Janie, for the most part. She signs baby and says "dede" every time she sees her or any baby really. She will sign bed when she's sleeping and say "sssss" for "shhh". She tries to be gentle but really isn't usually (we are working on that one). She likes to try and put her hand where Janie will grasp it but it doesn't work out for her every time. When it does she really loves it though! 

Nora being sweet with baby Janie.

"Shhh" the baby is sleeping!

Nora still requires lots of attention all of the time so that makes it difficult to do anything else. She needs (wants) someone there while she eats and plays and she wants to be held a lot. We finally have her saying "upa" (up) instead of "aah duu" (all done) when she wants up and it's pretty sweet and hard to resist. She was that way before Janie was born so it's not really a surprise. I'm trying to just enjoy the time with her and tell myself that eventually she will become more independent. And that eventually we will catch up on some sort of sleep. We will see. 

Janie's first bath at home!

What just happened??

All clean!

I feel like my body may have finally adjusted to life after pregnancy for the most part but I'm not going to count on it for another week or so. I may actually get dressed today!

Ready for snuggles.

Time does go by fast and babes change so quickly so we are trying to take it all in as much as we can, tired or not. 

Awake & alert!

Happy New Year from Nora!

Janie Elizabeth

Welcome to the world, Janie Elizabeth!

Janie Elizabeth Peipert

December 31, 2013

8:34 am

6 pounds, 13 ounces

20 inches long

We got a sweet little New Year surprise when baby Janie decided it was time for her big debut a week early!

I went to the doctor as scheduled the morning of December 30th and hadn't really had much of a change in my progress except for a few random contractions. That night, I felt like I might be having some more but they were still 15-20 minutes apart so I went to bed as usual, hoping to get some rest and re-evaluate.

As it turns out, they were the real thing! They got closer together and around 1:00 am (and not so much sleeping after all) I decided it was time to think about getting to the hospital. We called my mom to come to the house for Nora and left around 2:00 am. When we got there, I was starting to progress in active labor and so they admitted me and ordered up the meds quickly. It feels like it takes FOREVER to get everything set up, even when you've pre-registered, while having painful contractions!! We had a few little issues getting my epidural to work correctly/at all but around 8:00 am everyone decided it was just time to deliver. 

In the next thirty minutes, my doctor came, my water broke, everyone suited up, I got a last minute push of pain meds, and delivered little miss Janie! I can't believe how quickly it went. I am very thankful for that!

Baby Janie, minutes after she was born!

She was so tiny!

Daddy holding Janie for the first time.

Sweet little babe with mommy.

Janie got to meet her big sister on her birthday and it went pretty well! Nora was a little nervous (hence the hand chewing) but she didn't react in a way that seriously concerned me. I'll take that for now! Nora came by the next day as well and have Janie a few kisses, but otherwise just carried on as usual.

Happy family of four!

Nora giving Janie kisses!

Janie had lots of visitors at her stay! We were happy she got to meet all her aunties and most of her grandparents. Grandpa is I'm sure quite anxious to get his hands on her - we hope he feels better soon!! Thank you to everyone who stopped by to visit on their New Year holiday! We loved sharing Janie with you!

Janie with Pops.

Janie with Mimi.

Janie with Auntie A.

Janie with Grandma.

My sweet team from school came as well.

We couldn't have asked for more... Janie is healthy and absolutely perfect. She lost only 5% of her body weight after birth (possibly thanks to my milk coming in super fast!) and has low jaundice numbers! Also, she is going through diapers like you wouldn't believe.

Snuggle time!

Enjoying our time with the sweet girl.

We think she looks a bit different from Nora, especially the nose.

Who does she resemble???

We came to the hospital in 2013 and left in 2014 with a new daughter! We are so happy to be home and are hoping for a smooth transition from a family of three to a family of four. Happy New Year to all!

Heading home!

Not so sure about this car seat...

Home at last!!