Some Comparisons

I know you aren't supposed to, but I also know I won't be able to help comparing my two boys as they grow.  Right now there isn't much to go on since Elliot is only one month old (and Andrew is 2.5 as of today - where has the time gone?!?), but I'm already seeing some similarities and differences between the two.

Andrew at 1 day old and Elliot at 5 days old

They were similar in size when born - Andrew was 7 lbs 5 oz and 20.75 inches and Elliot was 7 lbs 8 oz and 20 inches.  According to the measurement they had the same size head, but Andrew's looked a lot bigger. I think it's because Elliot's face is kind of compact.  Andrew had/has long and thick eyelashes and Elliot's are almost non-existent.  Andrew had a thin tuft of light hair on the top of his head and Elliot has a mass of dark hair on the back of his, but not much on top.  Andrew has blue eyes and it's looking like Elliot's are going to be brown.  They both have the little pouty lips and so far they have similar noses.

As far as temperament it's hard to tell just yet.  From what I remember I think Andrew was a little fussier.  Elliot is pretty laid back so far.  He fusses, but there's always a reason. He's either tired, hungry or needs changed.  Andrew loved being swaddled but Elliot raises hell if we try to confine him and pin his arms.  Andrew loved the swing and slept in it a lot in the first month or so but Elliot doesn't enjoy it that much. He'll sit in it some, but he'd rather be elsewhere.

They both LOVE sleeping on the boppy pillow

 They are also both very snuggly and cuddly.  Andrew's favorite place to nap seemed to be on our chests and Elliot is following suit:

You can see the difference in their hair here, too,

As Elliot grows I am interested to see in what other ways they are alike and different.  All I know is they are both super sweet and I love them to death.  J and I have two adorable little boys and I feel beyond blessed to be able to call myself their mom.

One Month

Holy moly - Elliot is already one month old. How did that happen??

The time is already flying by.  It probably went even faster because we had help for the first almost 4 weeks so we weren't in a sleepless haze (like we are now).  Either way, it seems crazy that we have already been a family of four for a whole month.

My fears of Andrew being jealous and hating his little brother have been eased.  It took him a little while, but he has adjusted very well and loves his baby brother.  When I get him up for breakfast in the morning if Elliot isn't down here he asks "Where's baby brother?".  The other morning after he had breakfast we heard Elliot start to fuss upstairs. Andrew grabbed a bottle of pumped milk that was sitting on the counter, exclaimed "Baby's milk" and took off up the stairs to find him to give it to him:

Last night when Elliot was in the car seat when I got home from picking Andrew up from daycare he looked at him, said "That's my baby brother!" and went and put a blanket on him.  And Sunday morning when I had Elliot on the boppy on the chaise Andrew hopped up there to sit next to him. He loves to say "Baby's soft!" and rub his little head.  Seeing him sitting (willingly) with his baby brother melts my heart:

Elliot is doing well, too.  He's not sleeping through the night by any means, but we can get one almost 5 hour stretch out of him for the first part of the night.  He's eating like a champ, but I'm a little concerned about how fussy he gets when he is eating sometimes. I hope it's not reflux, and since it's not every time he eats I don't think it is.  He isn't a fussy baby, but if he's hungry, tired or needs changed he'll make some noise.  He loves to cuddle, makes the sweetest and cutest little grunts and sighs and looks like an angel when he's sleeping.  It appears his eyes are going to be brown and he has a mass of dark hair on the back of his head, so apparently he and his brother are going to look very different from each other.

I'm taking Andrew in for his 30 month well check next week and I'm hoping I can plop Elliot on the scale to see how much he weighs now.  We've moved him up to size one diapers but he's still fitting in his newborn clothes.  He's still a scrawny little guy, but he's starting to fill out.

Oh, and my fear that I couldn't possibly love another baby like I love Andrew was unfounded.  I'm like the Grinch and my heart has grown a few sizes since Elliot arrived. I love both of my boys more than life and can't imagine life without them.  I'm looking forward to watching the two of them grow up together and watching them become the best of friends.  I just don't want it to come too quickly - I want Elliot to remain my little baby for a while longer.

On Our Own

This morning J's mom left to go back home to Charlotte. She had been here for the past three weeks helping out with Elliot.  I know a lot of people have tense relationships with in-laws, and it's true that mine can sometimes drive me absolutely crazy, but I really cannot sing her praises enough in this instance.  Her help, especially at night, has been invaluable.  I actually feel like a human being because I've been able to get a decent amount of sleep the last few nights.  I'm pretty sure all of that will be coming to an end.

I'm not sure if that is why I've been such an emotional mess this morning or not.  All I know is when I was talking to her this morning as she was packing up her stuff I kept tearing up. And once they left I was a bawling mess.

I think it's because I am now terrified about handling all of this on my own.  I know I've done it before and we made it through this period with Andrew.  I'm not sure why I'm so scared this time.  Probably because I also have to handle Andrew - a two and a half year old ball of energy that demands attention almost constantly.  It's not like I'm doing it alone or anything. J is a wonderful father and we are in this together.  We just need to get ourselves into a routine and get settled.

I have two weeks left of maternity leave (yeah, that's it and it SUCKS), but I still have 10 weeks until I will be going back to the office.  Hopefully that gives me plenty of time to get a morning routine down so that when I DO have to get both kids out the door it won't be such a mess.

But I don't want to think about that right now, because it stresses me out.  Instead I just want to enjoy the time I have left when I can just sit and watch this precious baby and not have to worry about work:

How We're Doing

I know I haven't been posting much lately, but that can't be all that surprising considering the whole new baby in the house thing.  It's not that I don't have any time since Elliot still loves to sleep, but I have had the attention span of a gnat due to my interrupted sleep so I haven't been able to put together a coherent thought lately.  Things are improving, though, so I thought I'd update.

First off, Andrew is adjusting well.  When he doesn't see Elliot he'll ask "Where's the baby?".  Or if Elliot is crying he'll ask "Why's the baby crying?".  A couple times he has wanted up in the recliner with me while I've been feeding Elliot and when I've told him he needs to wait a few minutes he has gotten upset.  The first time it happened I teared up. I don't want him feeling like I don't have time for him or that he's been replaced.  He hasn't done it lately, though, so it's getting better.  And a couple times while I've been feeding the baby he's walked up with a burp cloth and started rubbing Elliot's head and saying "Wash baby's head!".  I love that he's trying to "help".

I've been doing what I can to make sure I have one on one time with Andrew.  This past weekend I took him to the park for almost two hours so J and my MIL could clean the house.  We took the golf cart and hit two different parks (the big one a mile from our house and the smaller one behind the school next to us).  It's important to me that we have some time together because he's my first baby and I don't want him to feel like he is less important now.

We did have a little stomach bug issue on Monday and I had to go get him from daycare.  He was a miserable little munchkin that day and night, but he's doing much better now. Thankfully on Monday when he was sick he was relatively content enough to lay on the couch with us while I fed the baby:

As for Elliot, he's doing well.  As of last Wednesday he was back up to birth weight, so it only took him to 11 days to get there (Andrew took almost 3 weeks).  He is eating very well and is a hungry little bugger.  There is clearly no problem with his kidneys or bowels based on the sheer number of diapers we go through.  We've had a few incidents with shooting poo (clear across the room and onto the curtains. I'm not kidding) and I've been peed on and spit up on simultaneously, but he's doing great.

He is still very sleepy during the day, but we're working on it.  He's also been waking up an hour after eating in the middle of the night and my MIL has been having to give him a small bottle, so last night I pumped before bed and when I came down four hours later to feed him I gave him that 3.5 ounces first and then nursed him to make sure he was getting enough.  For the first time in over a week he was still asleep when I came down the next time to feed him. So I pumped one side, got Andrew's breakfast all ready, and then went and woke up Elliot and nursed him on the other side.  So last night was the first night since she'd been here that my MIL didn't get up to soothe him at all overnight.

Way too alert for the middle of the night!

Speaking of which, having her here again to help out has been a godsend. She gets up with him if he's just fussy overnight and soothes him if she can. If not I come feed him. And she has watched him for me some mornings for an hour or two so I can lay back down and try to catch a quick nap.  I'm not sure how much longer she's staying (she's been here for two weeks), but I am grateful for the help as long as we have it.

I can't believe I only have three weeks left of maternity leave (this country blows for maternity coverage).  Fortunately I will be working from home with Elliot for another 8 weeks so he won't start daycare until December 1st.  Hopefully by then we have a routine going because right now I am dreading how to handle getting the two of them (and me) ready to get out the door in the mornings.

Anyway, things are going well. I'm tired, of course, but I'm also so in love with my guys. I feel so blessed to have two beautiful healthy children and I want to enjoy every second with them.  Life is good  :)

Oh, and here I am at 20 days postpartum.  I still have 18 lbs to go to get back to pre-pregnancy weight and I can't wait to get the all clear to get back to the gym.

I'm wearing non-maternity shorts for one of the first times since Elliot was born.  My belly is still really doughy and I need to get back to lifting to tone up my arms again. I feel like most of the weight is in my legs and butt so I'll have my work cut out for me.  Oh well, it was all for a very good cause:

Wordless Wednesday ~ My Three Loves

Newborn Photos

On Thursday I took Elliot to get his newborn pictures done at 5 days old.  I also took Andrew with us in hopes of getting some sweet pictures of the two of them.  He wasn't overly cooperative (he cried when we asked him to lay on the blanket and would roll away every time we put the baby next to him), but with the bribe of fruit snacks and watching Jake and the Neverland Pirates on Selena's phone we were able to get a couple cute ones:

I was also tickling his legs which is how we got a smile out of him.

This one cracks me up with Elliot's facial expression  :)

Once we got a few of the two of them I called J to see if he could come get Andrew. I knew we still had a while to go and there was no way my little 2.5 year old was going to last.  He hadn't napped and he was getting fussy.  Thankfully J's conference call was over and he was able to head our way.  Once they were gone we got started on Elliot.

I'm in love with this one and his little grin.

He peed all over the blanket during this one.

Trying to get him to keep his little legs folded up to cover the goods for this one wasn't easy.  She would get him all settled and as soon as she grabbed the camera he would kick his legs out. My little exhibitionist.

Another little smirk  :)

My sweet little peanut

I had to stop and nurse him three times throughout the photo shoot, but I think we were pretty successful.  I regret not doing real newborn pictures for Andrew and had I known this photographer then I would have. This is the third time she's done photos for us and I have never been disappointed with the results.

At the end she asked if I wanted some of me with him and even though I wasn't feeling overly photogenic on only a couple hours of sleep I couldn't pass up getting some pics with my little guy:

I love this one.

I can't wait to get the rest of them. Selena will send them to me on a USB, but considering it's a holiday today there won't be any mail. Really hoping to get it tomorrow so I can see what other adorable pictures she captured.