Adventures in La La Land

Today is Lena's one month birthday! I could not get her to look at the camera. And then I couldn't get her to sit there without crying unless she had her binky in her mouth! Miss Lena is still sleeping well at night. The past few nights she's done a 5 hour stretch followed by a 3 hour stretch and then a 2 hour stretch. She eats in about 5-10 minutes and usually goes right back to sleep. This week I had a really bad cough, so I spent most nights on the couch so Justin could sleep. I brought Lena out into the living room with me and let her sleep in the swing all night, so she's getting a little addicted to it. The past few nights she hasn't been thrilled with sleeping in her stationary Rock n' Play. During the day she's still eating every 2 hours. I feel like Lucy was going 3 hours between feeds by this age, but Lena is like clockwork. She starts crying at almost exactly 2 hours. And she pretty much just sleeps when she's not eating. She has ...

You're getting this special edition of the Saturday 7 a day early because tomorrow is going to be Lena's 1 Month Update - and I'm going to be gone most of the day and won't have time to write 2 blog entries! Enjoy. 1. Lucy has been on nap strike all week. I really  hope it's just a phase and she's not giving up her nap!! I am not  ready for that! Haha. 2. I've been trying to drink more water lately. I think breastfeeding sucks all my hydration. I've always had dry skin, but now I have it in new places - for instance, my back is completely scaly and itchy. I thought it was some kind of rash at first, but have concluded it's just dry skin. Yesterday I drank 23 oz. of water, and it was very difficult for me. I hate it! 3. I finished seasons 1 and 2 of Downton Abbey. Now I need to get my hands on 3. Anyone care to share? Although I'm not sure I want to get into it as outraged as everyone seemed to be over the finale! (No spoilers, please. I kno...

So sorry for the delay. I spent yesterday holding a cranky baby and feeling too lazy to think up 7 things to write about. So here you have it a day late. 1. We had a very busy week. I'm pretty sure I had something written on my calendar every day. I think I'm busier as a stay-at-home mom than I was when I was working! On Tuesday, I got an oil change, hung out at Niki's for a while, and we had a visit from Violet (the little girl I used to babysit) and her mom, Erin. Erin made the most adorable matching hats for Lucy and Lena. I've gotten so many compliments on them. Really need to work on getting a picture of them together. I'm glad people who have skills make stuff for my girls. They'd be out of luck otherwise. Haha. 2. We also got to visit with Justin's sister, Kaley, a couple days this week. She lives in Chicago and came up to meet Lena for the first time. She and Justin's other sister, Stacey, brought Lucy and I pizza for lunch on Wednesday. I...

Lena Beana is 3 weeks old today! She's been kind of fussy the past few days. For the most part, if she's not sleeping or eating, she's crying - unless she's being held/jiggled. I told Justin that originally I was worried that she's getting colicky, but then I decided she's just getting spoiled. Haha. I know, I know. A 3 week old can't be spoiled. Although it sure is amazing how she can be screaming one second and silences as soon as I pick her up. Milestones She continues to roll over anytime I put her on her belly. And I'm pretty sure she legitimately smiled at me for the first time today. She did it twice at two totally different times. Love it. Makes the lack of sleep and constant nursing totally worth it. Routine We've started to go to bed a little earlier at night now that Justin isn't home to wake up with Lucy. I usually feed Lena between 9:30 and 10:30 and try to go to bed soon afterward. She sleeps for 4 hours pretty much like c...

1. I survived my first week home alone with both girls! It really wasn't that big of a deal. I nannied for 18 month old triplets, and when I went back to work after having Lucy I had a 4 year old, 2 year old, and an infant. So my 2.5 year old and newborn were a piece of cake. :-) The girls were good to me, I got some sleep, and we're still having people bring us meals so I didn't even have to worry about cooking! I did have a little bit of anxiety, but it didn't show up most evenings 'til Justin got home, so it wasn't too debilitating. 2. On Sunday, Justin's mom gave Lucy and Lena a bunch of clothes. One of the things for Lucy was a purple poncho/shawl type thing. As soon as she saw it, Lucy put it on and took off running down the hall yelling, "Super heroes to the rescue!" She thinks it's a cape. Haha. 3. We had a WIC appointment yesterday. Lena is 8 lbs, 9 oz. I got scolded that she hasn't reached her birth weight yet, and was offered...

I almost didn't get this up in time! Whew! Things are still going well. Lena continues to be an amazingly easy baby. (Although I just read in one of my mom emails that colic can start in week 2, so I'm still waiting for something awful like that to show up. Haha.) I just went back and read my 2 week update with Lucy and was amazed to see how similar things are. I'm going to frame this the same way I did that one a few years ago. Milestones Lena's umbilical cord fell off on day 9, although it has continued to bleed since then. I was happy to give her a bath so soon. Lucy was too. She loves to help me give her baths. She rolled from her belly to back at 12 days old! I was doing tummy time with her and she immediately flipped herself onto her back. I figured it was just a fluke and turned her back on her tummy. She lifted up that heavy head, leaned to the side and used gravity to flip herself back over! She did it 4 times total that day and once again yesterday....

1. I have a new favorite snack. My cousin posted the recipe on facebook, then I saw it on pinterest. They're called No-Bake Energy Bites, and they're made with honey and ground flax so I feel like they're healthy. ;-) The recipe says they make 25, but mine must have been too big because it didn't make that many. I ate the entire batch in 2 days. Oops! Anyway, here's the recipe: o                     1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats) o                     2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes (I omitted this because I didn't have any on hand) o                     1/2 cup peanut butter o                  ...