Ella's 3 Month Update

This is long overdue considering Ella is almost four months but I want to update so I can look back. 

Ella has been changing a lot these past few weeks, with her sleep patterns and just her personality in general. She is a big smiler and a total mommies girl. 

Sleeping: Ella went through a short (thankfully) phase of waking every 2 hours during the evenings to nurse. I'm thinking it was a growing spurt since she's back to her usual 6-8 hour stretch, which is awesome. She is also starting to sleep more without being unswaddled which is great as this was something I was worrying about. Harper hated being swaddled so I never had to worry about getting her to learn to sleep without. So I'm glad Ella's doing so much better with this. She naps really well during the day in her crib. Usually she has a 40 minute to an hour nap in her crib in the morning and then a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. 

Nursing: She still nurses extremely well. No issues with her latch and she nurses pretty much every hour and a half during the day. 

Weight: This is the thing I'm always worrying about. She is so tiny in comparison to what her sister was weighing at this stage. Harper was over 16 lbs at this point where Ella is just shy of 12 lbs. We were at the emerge this past week due to Ella having a high fever and not wanting to eat. She was hooked up to an IV for dehydration (which was awful) and was weighed. She was 10 lbs 7 oz at her two month appointment and is now 11 lbs 14 oz. So she's gaining weight, just very slowly. I was a very tiny baby and did not gain weight very easily, so I think Ella is taking after me. 

That being said, I'm too paranoid she's not getting enough calories from my breast milk for whatever reason, so I'm going to start giving her a bottle of high calorie lactose free formula before bed every night to see if that helps her gain some weight.

Ella is a momma's girl, who's always smiling and cooing away. I couldn't be happier to be this little gal's momma.

Tantrums, giggles + nose picking

 

Life around here has been pretty chaotic since Ella was born. It feels like we don't stop from 7am until 9pm. Diaper changes, messy faces and constant drool. Harper's molers have FINALLY started to come in, which means she is a constant drool monster and every sweet kiss she gives me usually ends up with my face being completely soaked. But I still love my sloppy kisses. Ella's also been drooling like crazy so I'm sure she is starting to teeth being that she is almost 3 months old.  

I feel like all I do all day is change diapers. I've made it routine that if I change one diaper, I immiediatly change the others. That way I feel like I get a bit of a break in between unless of course either one decides to take a massive crap 5 minutes into a nice clean diaper. Huff. 

It is very clear that Harper is approaching the "terrible twos" stage, with her random tantrums, grunting and slapping of random objects. Not to mention the fact that her favourite word is "no". This stage is especially fun to experience when you have an infant permantely attached to your bosom which makes it difficult at times to get whatever it is, your almost toddler, wants - which of course in her world needs to happen RIGHT THIS FREAKING second.  

It's also fascinating to watch Harper while she is playing with her toys, seeing what exactly keeps her entertained. Her current favourite is to dump all of her toys out of their buckets and either sit or stand in it. She will do this process over and over. It's pretty adorable, until she trips and does a face plant into the floor. Oh and nose picking is also a favourite of hers, which is always disgusting - especially when she tries to pick my nose.

Ella is still growing at warp speed. I just want everything to slow down. Although everything is so chaotic, I am loving every minute. Loving my two babies and watching them grow. 

Today's update: my sweet Ella laughed for the first time a week ago. Best noise ever. And the Halloween Jammie's have officially come out! Autumn weather and festivities here we come!!

Ella's 2 Month Update

This is past due, but better late then never! The two month mark is already here and I feel like we were just in the hospital two weeks ago. I wish I could slow time down so I can enjoy every last moment with my babies being little. With Ella being my last baby I can't help but feel sad with every week that goes by as she continues to grow.

We had her two month doctors appointment a few weeks ago, which meant needles. Ugh. I hate these appointments - everyone of them with Harper I dreaded. Nothing's worse then hearing your baby scream (like you've never heard them) and not being able to do anything at that moment. Ella calmed down pretty quickly, once I started to nurse her, thankfully. She weighed 10lbs 7 oz, which is CRAZY to me since I thought she weighed more and her sister was a tank at this age, weighing a whopping 16 lbs. 

Ella is definitely our little peanut! Her length is 23" and is overall a pretty healthy little lady other than the fact that she is covered head to toe in eczema. 

Breastfeeding has still been going amazingly. She latches with no issues and nurses quickly like her sister did, which is amazing, especially during night feeds. 

She sleeps pretty good at night still, usually in bed by 8pm and will sleep until 2am or sometimes even 4am! After her long stretch, she usually wakes every 2/3 hours. She starts her day at around 7:30am.

During the day she is pretty content as long as momma is holding her, which can make things a little more challenging for me. I'm trying to put her down more often so I can spend time with Harper who is always wanting my attention. 

Harper just adores her sister, especially when she can sit next to her or hold her. It honestly warms my heart, seeing her face light up when Ella is next to her. She will actually cry when I pick Ella up when she starts to fuss. She is such a proud little sister which is a huge relief for me. I was always worried that Harper would want nothing to do with Ella initially due to jealousy, but she's such an amazing big sister. 

We're just loving life with our two little ladies. ☺️

Home with 2 under 2

The thought of being home with both girls (being so little) was enough to give me anxiety when I was at the end of my pregnancy with Ella. I thought over and over about how the heck I would manage to pull it off - having one attached to the boob 90% of the day while also taking care of the other. Once Ella was born I had the baby blues for the first two weeks. Anytime I thought about Fraser returning to work, I broke down in tears. It didn't help that Ella started having trouble nursing due to her lip and tongue which just added a whole other element to my worries. 

Luckily the baby blues passed and I wasn't an emotional wreck any longer (phew). Being home with both girls has been amazing. Ella has been nursing wonderfully and Harper has been dealing with the lack of attention (getting used to not being the only baby) extremely well. Harper will see I have put Ella down and will come over for some snuggles or will bring me a book or toy. I have mastered utilizing the time I'm not nursing or soothing Ella, with playing or cuddling with Harper.

Harper is growing at a crazy rate. Everyday it amazes me all that she knows - all of the new words she's learned and her understanding of what I am asking. The little turkey still only has eight teeth, I'm waiting for the morning she wakes up totally miserable with about 8 new teeth poking through - ugh. We have seen some sneak peeks into the terrible two stage: slapping, saying no to everything, random tantrums over nothing. I think she's also ready to be toilet trained. She tells Fraser and I when she's going to poop. But I keep thinking is, Oh boy that's going to be fun with a small baby who is constantly nursing. I just know Harper will have to use the potty at the exact moment Ella is nursing. I better get used to walking and nursing at the same time.

 

Harper giving her sis big kisses.

Overall I am impressed with myself how well I've been taking care of both my girls - juggling both wanting to eat at the same time, both pooping at the same time, both screaming at the same time. There's moments in the day where I want to have a mini melt down, but many more moments where I am overjoyed with these two little blessings that mean the whole world to me.

Ella's Newborn Photoshoot + Update

I was so excited to receive Ella's newborn photo shoot disc in the mail a little over a week ago.We went with Inspired Photography by Christy - the same photographer we've used for all of Harper's photos. She is simply amazing and super talented. The angles she uses along with all of the props she collects - and the cute baby of course - we end up with stunning photos we can cherish forever.

Here are just a few of my favourites:

A quick update on little miss Ella:

Sleeping: Still sleeps awesome 95% of the time. She usually goes to bed at around 7/8 o'clock lately and will do anywhere from a 6 hour to an 8 hour stretch. She will nurse and then sleep another 3 hour stretch and continue this pattern until about 7:30am/8am. In the end I usually end up with at least 7-9 hours of sleep by the time I go to bed at night - which is great!

Breastfeeding: She nurses like a champ! Phew. What a relief. She had her tongue tie and lip tie release almost three weeks ago. It took a few days for everything to heal up and then she latched on like a dream. Thank goodness, because that was really stressing me out. Right now I'm trying some lactation recipes to keep my milk supply up.

Weight: She will have her 2 month appointment in the next few weeks and I'm excited to see how much she weighs as she definitely seems to be chunking up. Harper at her 2 month appointment weighed a whopping 16lbs! She was such a chunker but Ella is much more petite. 

Misc: Ella failed her hearing test twice on her right side. Most likely due to excessive crap built up in her ears (I've been picking it out since she was born). We're trying not to worry too much as the tests have been so inconsistent (one time she almost passed during several attempts and other times came no where near passing). We will need to bring her to St.Thomas for a two hour hearing test where they can run multiple tests to rule out hearing loss. The only thing that is worrying me is that I have hearing loss and had several issues with my ears growing up, where I had to see a specialist for several years. Fingers crossed that doesn't happen to our little babe.

Overall we have been getting the hang of juggling all that needs to be done with two small babies. It's had its rough moments where Fraser and I want to pull our hair out, but it seems to get easier as the time goes on. I'm enjoying every day with my two sweet little girls.

One Month + Sleeping + Breastfeeding

Where has a month gone? I cannot believe that our sweet Ella is already a month old. It feels like just last week we were in the hospital. 

One month update:

Sleeping: Ella, thankfully, has been a pretty good sleeper since we've brought her home. Almost everynight, with the exception of one rough night here and there, she sleeps a good 5-7 hour stretch at the beginning. She usually goes down for the night between 8:30/9:30 and will sleep until 4am - wake nurse/bottle (pumped milk) and sleep another 2-3 hours. She's also really good for going right back to sleep - not stair at me wide awake for a few hours like her big sis did when she was itty bitty. 

Personality: Ella is pretty passive, however lately she has been a lot more fussy. Harper was lactose intolerant the first year and we're thinking Ella may be showing signs as well. She's been super gassy and has a rash on her face off and on all day. Looks like I will be on a strict dairy free diet again for a while..ugh. 

Breastfeeding: Boy where do I start. When Ella was first born, I was so relieved because she seemed to breastfeed like a champ. This last about two weeks when my breasts were really engorged with milk. Then I started noticing my milk supply going down and Ella was having a hard time latching and staying latched. I also noticed her tongue looked odd - rather than having a pointy tip on her tongue, hers had almost a heart shape. I started researching and immediately found information of tongue ties. I didn't need anyone to confirm her tongue tie since it was so obvious. She would cry and you literally see the skin underneath went all the way to the tip - pulling her tongue inwards. I quickly made an appointment with a clinic that uses a laser to correct it for minimal healing.

Up until her appointment I had to pump to keep my milk supply up and to save my poor nipples. We went to her appointment, they confirmed she had the worst tongue tie a baby can have and also a severe lip tie. Both were corrected that day and we were sent on our way. The worst thing about the whole procedure is the excercises you have to do afterwards which consist of rubbing the incision three times a day to keep it from reattaching. Yikes. 

Weight: 8lbs 14oz (three weeks)

This past month has zipped by and it's definitely had it's ups and downs but I wouldn't change it for the world! Love my two little ladies.