Wrapping up November

At the end of November we celebrated Liam being with us for a whole month.

Great-Grammy meeting #2.  Lucky boy has 4 great grandmothers and 2 great grandfathers.

On a good day, we baked some bread.

Real life mom - not showered, yoga pants and breast milk on my shirt.  But getting the baby to sleep in the Boba wrap makes me feel 100%.

A few gorgeous sunsets gave us a show around 5pm.

Our first big snow of the year happened the days surrounding Thanksgiving.  Charlie was in heaven.

Thanksgiving day was slow and easy.  Just the three of us.

Right as we sat down to eat, this happened.  So i strapped L to my chest and ate while he snoozed on me.

The long weekend following Thanksgiving was just as slow and nice.  A few cranky days, still figuring each other out.  But beautiful days just the same.

But oh, this boy of ours.  He is just perfect.

Grateful on Thanksgiving Eve

He sleeps the best up against our chests. 

He looks at us with inquisitive eyes, reaching deep into our thoughts.

He snuggles up against us in the early morning hours, taking over our whole bed.

His little 6 pound body at birth has grown and continues to fill out, I'm guessing close to 9 pounds now.

As he grows, i realize how quickly this is all passing.  Newborn clothes are tucked away, while 3 month sizes slowly creep in.  Father son drives and mama son dances help relieve the tension he feels in the early evening hours.  His body pressed firmly and lovingly against my stomach, his hands cupping my breast.  We spend many hours like this daily.  I have a love affair with breastfeeding.  It's so satisfying to me, to be able to comfort and nourish his growing body and mind.

When we're not nursing, much of our day is spent in carriers, so he can hear my heartbeat while he sleeps.  So he can feel my warmth and breath as i move about my day.  My back aches at the end of the day from this constant carrying, but i don't mind.  I feel whole when he's with me.  When daddy gets home from work he spends a few hours a night listening to his heart, feeling his warmth.

We continue to adjust and become a family.  I continue to slow down and realize what i used to be able to accomplish in an hour, now takes two or three.  And thats ok.  Charlie continues to become protective of his brother.  Jason and I continue to use his quiet nap times to catch up and nourish our marriage.

Today was our first big snow of the season.  Liam felt his first snowflakes, cold and fresh on his newborn face.  He squinted and slowly opened his eyes to this new feeling, this new smell.  Winter is here.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we are looking forward to a nice quiet day, just the 4 of us.  

This year, this season, this Thanksgiving we are so very grateful.

This November

 The end of October through November have proven to be a defining month for our family the past few years.  In 2012 i had my thyroid attack, which was quite intense.  In 2013 we experienced the loss of our first pregnancy, which humbled us.

Yet this year, this October into November, we welcomed our first child.

This November,

More of our time is spent indoors, than out.

Extra love is given to our first born, Charlie.

Somedays, when Liam is sound asleep on me, i just cuddle him up and continue resting with him.  For soon he will be a busy little guy running around, and i'll long for those newborn snuggles.

We enjoyed an especially gorgeous sunset on his due date, two weeks after his birthday.

On a partially great night (sleep wise), we spent two hours together in the kitchen cooking a epic meal.  I love, love, love cooking with my husband.  He usually takes on the meat, i master up the sides.  This night we made rosemary/garlic/butter steaks with homemade onion rings on top with sweet potato and green beans on the side.  I suppose this night was more meaningful, as we were able to catch up and just be husband and wife again.  I miss him a lot, while we are adjusting to parenthood.

This November is felt with great love, little sleep, constant adjustment, and deeper meaning.

Four Generations

She rocked him and sang to him as he fell asleep. 

I didn't think she would ever get to rock my babies.  She was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago, i was heartbroken, thinking of her never meeting my future kids.

Yesterday my grandma met Liam.  She loved him up and sang him old nursery tunes.

I'm so grateful for this life and that her cancer has been on the back burner for a few months.

She seems strong and healthy right now.  

She seemed like my old grandma, the one that didn't have cancer defining her, rather, the grandma that has beautifully worn fingers from knitting, perfectly combed hair and makeup.  The grandma that is grateful for blue skies and good books.  A grandma giddy to love up on my brand new baby, her great-grandchild.

I'm so thankful for yesterday and all the tomorrow's from here.

Three Weeks In

At three weeks, we are still getting to know each other.  It's amazing how one small human can change so much while also bringing so much love into our home.  

He is a pretty content baby, when i eat responsibly :)  We have found that excess amounts of dairy or tomatoes do not agree with his little belly.  I love all things dairy, so i feel like cutting it out will be hard, but necessary.  Other than those two foods, breastfeeding has been going so well.  Being that he was a few weeks early, he had a hard time latching, so we have been using the nipple shield.  I love it, but it's also a bit of a pain.  He likes to yank it off and i always have to make sure it's ready to go for the next feed.  But really, i'm just glad that it helps me to breastfeed.  Every session we start by trying without it, and sometimes it works, so i know we are making progress.  He has been gaining weight like a champ, over an oz a day.  On wednesday he was 7 pounds 5 oz, a full pound over his birth weight.  I feel so good that he is getting enough from me, we just have to figure out this diet thing.  Sleep wise, he usually sleeps a bunch during the day.  Awake for a bit in the morning, taking a good 2 hour nap in the afternoon.  At night we go every 2.5 to 3 hours with one 4 hour stretch in there.  Surprisingly, i feel pretty rested most mornings, which totally amazes me!

Motherhood is everything and nothing that i expected.  I feel so grateful and overflowing with love for L and my hubby.  But i also feel like sometimes i have no clue what i'm doing.  I have been reading: Happiest Baby on the Block, which seems to help.  When he is fussy and won't stop crying, usually around dinnertime, i just feel so defeated.  I know this is normal and will pass, but sometimes it's just so hard.

I have been getting out of the house, running errands, which feels good and totally changes my perspective.  Last weekend i did a full grocery shop with him, which made me feel like superwoman.  I put him in my Ergo with the newborn insert, which put him right to sleep in seconds.  He loves the car, and falls asleep within minutes of getting buckled in.

I'm thankful for my husband and his relaxed nature with L.  He keeps me calm when i don't know what to do, or i'm stressing over something little.  This little boy sure does make a mama worry!

I love watching him sleep and all of the cute little expressions that cross his face.  

His spontaneous smile melts me.

His bleach blonde fuzzy hair is the cutest thing.  I hope it stays!

His neck is so strong, tummy time is adorable.

I call him my little angry bird when he is really hungry and trying to latch on, he moves his head back and forth so fast, its so cute.

When he is feeding and satisfied he makes the sweetest little noises that sound like a baby bird.

Breastfeeding is so rewarding.  I totally love it.  It's also incredibly wet, my goodness, we get soaked!

Every morning we nurse in bed and watch tv while i eat my breakfast.  I love those morning hours, snuggled up with my little guy.

I'm so grateful for an awesome breast pump, my seemingly good supply, My Brestfriend, the Boppy and my visiting nurse that totally helped us turn a corner with the latch on day five.

He loves the Boba wrap, we are usually sporting this during the dinnertime.

My parents were here for a week when Jas had to go back to work.  They will never know how much that week meant to me.  I needed the support and it was the best gift we could have recieved.

I never really understood when people said newborns smell so good.  Well now that i have my own, he smells delicious, i could just eat him up!

Yesterday on 11/14 Liam experienced his first snowfall and first trip to Franconia Notch.  We took a little after dinner drive to help him sleep.  Two hours of dark interstate driving with classical music playing put mama right to sleep as well, after a much deserved catch up talk with my love.  Thank goodness for soothing techniques.

I can't believe next week marks a month.  Every morning i wake and feel grateful we made it through another night.  Every morning i wake and feel grateful for this beautiful boy that we love so very much.