Hadley Marie: Two Months

Hadley is a little over two months!  I was waiting for her two-month well check to post this so I would have her updated measurements.  As of today, she is 14 lbs., 13 oz and 24" long.  That puts her at 97th percentile for weight, and 90th for height.  Looks like she's going to be tall, though not too surprising since I'm 5' 8" and Dave is 6' 5".

Here she is modeling some knits I had originally made for Arden; a little bolero sweater and a (raspberry?)beret.

She's turned out to be a really good sleeper, and has slept through the night on several occasions.  A typical night has her zonking out around 10 or 11 pm and waking around 3:30 am.  I'll get her up at 6 am to nurse and then back to sleep until after we get back home from taking Arden to daycare.  On days that Arden doesn't have daycare she'll sleep until around 7 or 8 am.  I'm pretty much caught up to her with breast milk, and only have to supplement with formula on rare occasions.

Arden continues to be enamoured with her little sister and likes to hold and feed her on occasion.  She offers her toys whenever I'm changing Hadley and makes sure she has a pacifier if she wants one.

Here's Hadley at one and two months for comparison.  She's not really as much larger as it appears, but I couldn't get the collage to be proportional.  My plan is to take a monthly picture of her on the quilt for the first year so we can watch her grow and change.

Baby Shoes

I made my first pair of shoes today!  I used a pattern from Amy at Naptime Crafter's Etsy store; Peekaboo Pattern Shop.  I won a giveway on Fingerprints on the Fridge a while ago and I had chosen as one of my prizes the Pleated Mary Jane shoe pattern.  Amy and I were both participants on Project Toddler Runway, so I was especially pleased to win this prize from her!

I needed tiny shoes for Hadley to go with her holiday outfit, but the smallest shoes at Target were too big for her.  Then I remembered my free patterns!  I had the houndstooth suiting from my inspired by boy-themed entry for Project Toddler Runway - Lil' Rascal, and the lining fabric was leftover from a baby quilt I made for a friend.  Woo-hoo!  Everything free and I didn't have to leave the house!

The pattern was really easy to follow and I made these start to finish with Hadley on my chest in her Moby wrap.  It made checking the fit really convenient, since her little feet were right at my waist!

They were a little difficult to maneuver and sew but I think this is purely because they were the smallest size.  I'll likely be making another pair very soon in the next size up so I'll let you know if it's easier!

I really like the little pearl snaps on the straps and the pink lining peeking out.

A Fair Isle Sweater for Big Sister

I did it!  I finally finished the second fair isle sweater for big sister Arden.

Here it is with the smaller version I made for Hadley.  I made this one size larger than the pattern was written, which involved a lot of figuring, so I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Don'tcha just love the fair isle part?  I wish it didn't go up all funnel-y, but I like it irregardless.  It works better on Arden because she actually has a neck.

I staged a mini photo shoot of the girls in their matching sweaters before Hadley completely outgrows hers.  You can see she's already testing the buttons...

I like this one - it looks like Hadley is tickling Arden.

Arden's such a nice big sister.  She likes holding Hadley and feeding her bottles.

Too bad Hadley was having some trust issues with letting her 2.75 year-old sister hold her!

I can't imagine how professional photographers manage to get two or more little ones with good expressions!  Do they swap out the heads in photoshop or something? 

So anyway, Arden's sweater should fit her through this season and likely the next, while Hadley's might fit through next week.  So sad. On the bright side there'll be more sweaters I had knit for Arden that she will grow into!

Hadley's Hat

While waiting for more yarn to arrive to finish the last three rows on the fair isle sweater I'm knitting for Arden, I finished up a cute little flower hat for Hadley.

It's the same pattern to coordinate with the one I made in purple for Arden last fall.  It's from Itty Bitty Hats by Susan B. Anderson.

This time I wasn't a rusty knitter and didn't knit into the backside for the entire project like I did for Arden's.  I'm supposed to say it gives it character, but we know the truth...

Hadley's is a little on the big side, but that gives it room to grow.  At the rate she's growing, it's a good thing!  Arden's hat still fits her a year later, so I'll get one more season of use.  Plus, the coat and snow pants I bought are still fitting - go slowing growth rate!

All the hats in the book are adorable and look super quick and easy - I should have tried a different one, but I couldn't resist the matching sister hats.  I'll have to get a picture of the two of them together in their upside-down daisy hats!

Hadley was getting hungry during the photo shoot so she was trying desperately to find her fingers.  I had just fed her, but obviously she didn't think it was enough.

I have a weekly knit night on Thursday during which I should be able to finish the sweater for Arden - if my yarn comes in time.  If it doesn't, I guess I'll just have to start a new project.  Maybe something for me?!

Cutie

Just couldn't resist posting this picture of my littlest cutie snoozing this afternoon.  I'm making good progress on the fair isle sweater, so hopefully will have a finished sweater to share soon!  I'm working on the fair isle part, which is the most fun.

Hadley Marie: One Month

Our sweet little Hadley has reached her first milestone - one month!  After initial concerns about failing to gain weight after leaving the hospital, she's made up for it in fine form and at her one month check was 11 pounds, 4 ounces and 23 inches long.  Both measurements put her in the 97th percentile - quite a change from Arden who was 15th percentile for weight and was nearly three months old when she was Hadley's size now.

She's a super snuggler, and pretty quiet unless she needs something.  We started calling her "mouse" at the hospital because she was quiet except for some squeaks.  I've added "Gus", after the chunky mouse on Cinderella now that she's gotten into her eating groove.  She likes to fall asleep while eating, and then get really upset as soon as you try to put her down to sleep; begging for more.  This is a bit tiring at night when I get up to nurse her, but I'm getting the routine down a bit now.  She sleeps in three hour stretches and is creeping up on four hours, so that's not too shabby for one month.  I'm not able to keep up with her appetitie solely with breastfeeding and expressed milk, so we're supplementing a bit with formula.



She's doing great with tummy time; doesn't complain and lifts her head up really nicely and tries to scoot with her little legs - I'm thinking we have an early crawler on our hands.  She loves to look at lights and faces, and there's a tree outside our living room window that she could stare at for hours.  She's awake and alert most of the morning, and then begins a cycle of cluster feeding and snoozing from afternoon through night.

Big sister Arden is still doing amazingly well with her and as a bonus seems to have clicked with the potty thing and is now on her fifth day accident-free!  Let's hope I haven't jinxed things!  The key seems to be some cute panties I got from Old Navy and we let her pick a new pair of "big girl panties" at the end of each day without accident.

Trick or Treat

Arden's daycare had their Halloween party on the 31st, and I stuck around to help out and take some pictures.  This is the only one I can share without other kids identifiable in it, but it was a great party with lots of activities.  This is the first time I've seen Arden use scissors, and I thought she did really well.  There was a candy corn craft with stick on buttons, coloring, stickers, and a chain craft with the paper where you scratch off the black coating to reveal colors beneath - not sure if there's a name for those!

She was the only girl not wearing a princess costume with the exception of a duck and Minnie Mouse.  I like that she chose a more original outfit; I wonder how many more years she'll escape princess peer pressure...

Posing with our pumpkins while waiting for Daddy to get ready.  You'd think a man would take less time to get ready, but I can be out the door in less than half the time it takes Dave.  I guess I'll give him an allowance because he was also getting Hadley ready!

I just love her smile.  She kept the goggles on the entire time, which I think is really surprising for someone her age.

We took the sit n' stand stroller, which she's really taken a liking to.  Hadley was all snuggled up in her bundle me carseat snuggie.

Hitting her first house.  She did a nice job saying "trick or treat" and "thank you".  I'm not sure everyone could hear her, but she said it.

Dave dressed up as Gru, the super villain from Despicable Me to go with Arden's minion costume.  We had the bald head cover and he wore running pants and his pea coat.  I thought it turned out darn good for a free impromptu costume.  Only one group of fellow trick or treaters got Arden's costume, but we expected that.

Hadley slept through the bulk of the festivities.  I love the button nose and pouty lip!

Establishing Routine

It's been nearly three weeks since Hadley arrived into our lives.  My body is recovering well, and we're all doing remarkably well with sleep and routines.  We were monitoring her weight gain closely for the first couple of weeks because she lost a couple more ounces between being discharged from the hospital and her well baby visit with her pediatrician.  I was trying to exclusively breastfeed, but we had to supplement with a little formula to meet her feeding demands and she went from 8 lbs. 2 oz to 9 lbs. in less than a week.  This is pretty much par for the course for us as we had to supplement Arden's feeding a little as well.

Arden has truly exceeded any expectations I had for her as a big sister.  She is very gentle with Hadley and completely unprompted says goodnight to her with things like "cutie pie" and "I love you".  She brings toys for her to look at and is always willing to help bring me things while I'm feeding Hadley.  We discovered that she can swap out DVD's on the machine in a much easier fashion than my father can!

The little fair isle sweater I knit for Hadley fits really well right now, so I've been devoting any free time I have to trying to finish Arden's matching one so I can get a picture of the two of them together before Hadley outgrows hers.  I have the back and both front pieces completed, leaving the arms and cowl to go. 

Hadley is a really sweet baby - we've taken to calling her mouse to Arden's monkey moniker since Hadley is pretty quiet except for some squeaks and squawks and happy little grunts while feeding.

Love At First Sight

Hadley Marie arrived on her due date of Oct 3 at 10:14 PM.  I was scheduled for an induction the next day, but after having contractions throughout most of the day, I had called my husband and asked him to come home around 3:30 PM.  I tried laying down to be sure the contractions were continuing.  They were, so I called my OB at 4:00 and they said to head to labor and delivery.

Once we were at labor and delivery, they checked me and I was dilated to 1cm, which is where I had been for the past week or so.  I was also 100% effaced.  They reported back to my OB and she said to admit me since we lived in the next town over.  The plan was to give me a sleeping pill to try to allow me to rest overnight and then carry on with my induction in the morning if I had not begun active labor by that time.

We were pretty much settled into the room by around 6:30.  I was having pretty regular contractions, but I was handling them well.  Since they hadn't restricted my diet and room service was closed, Dave ran out and got a light dinner for the two of us. My cervix was checked and I was at 2cm.

By the time Dave returned, my contractions were a little stronger, but I was still managing them well with walking and breathing.  We decided to carry on with the plan for Dave to go where Arden was staying overnight with a friend and help settle her in for the night.  While he was gone, I took advantage of the jetted bathtub, which really seemed to make things better.  I was just about wrapped up with a round of in-bed monitoring when Dave got back around 9PM.  We had begun discussing pain control with the nurse and decided to go one more round in the tub and then start working on an intrathecal injection.

After only a short time in the tub the second time, it was apparent that my contractions were getting much stronger and the warm water wasn't helping enough.  I sent Dave out to tell the nurse I needed to get pain relief.  When I got out of the tub, my membrane ruptured and then the fun really began.

The nurse wanted to get me into the bed to check my cervix and get the monitors on.  I was having a hard time managing the pain and was taking Dave on this weird little shuffle dance around the room to handle it.  Finally I was able to get a breather and got into bed.  The nurse checked my cervix and said she was pretty sure I was dilated to 9cm, but that she wanted another nurse to double check.  The double check confirmed 9cm.   I was beginning to feel urges to push at this point and got pretty freaked out because I could tell by the apologetic looks on the nurses faces when I asked about the intrathecal that I was having this baby naturally whether I wanted to or not.

Several nurses rushed in and started prepping for delivery.  My OB who lived nearby was told to hurry in, and they told me to blow away the urge to push.  I tried, but my body was pushing for me.  Another Doctor here for a different patient came in and took control.  I received a local injection and an epesiotomy.  Hadley Marie was born at 10:14 PM with only a few pushes.  As soon as she was out, I only had eyes for her and the fear and pain of my lightening-speed labor was quickly forgotten.  She was so big with chubby thighs and cheeks!  My doctor arrived shortly after the delivery and completed our cord blood donation kit, the placenta delivery, and my epesiotomy repair.

Hadley is 8lbs., 14 oz, and 21 1/2" long.  This puts her a full two pounds heavier than her big sister at birth, and about one inch longer.  She is a very quiet little girl so far and we've already started calling her mouse because of this and the little squeaks she makes.  She's doing a good job nursing when we can get her to wake up long enough.  Lately she seems to have figured it out and if anything is a bit too good at sucking.

We have no plans for another baby, but if for some crazy reason we find ourselves doing this again I'm demanding an induction the week prior to the due date and I want and epidural started as soon as the induction.  I'm afraid we'd have a roadside delivery next time!