I need a stiff drink

As I write this, it's Tuesday night 8pm and both girls have been sleeping for an hour..like hardcore out of it sleeping. That's because neither one of them napped at all today. Ella had maybe a total of 30 minutes of sleeping today, so that doesn't even count in my books. 

The day started off a little out of sorts for us as the girls and I slept in until 9am which isn't the norm. Usually we're all up at around 8am maybe 8:30. Ella started the day at about 5am wide awake, starring up at me while she nursed. This never usually happens. So I wrestled with her until 7am. Nursed her, rocked her..just hoping to get a few more hours of sleep. She eventually went back to bed at 7am, me right along with her. 

Ella's sleep has been so random lately. All last week she would nap twice, 30 minutes each nap (yippee..insert sarcasm) and then crash at 7pm and sleep for a good 10 hour stretch, nurse and then sleep another 3 hours. So obviously I couldn't complain too much as I was getting a good nights rest. However, the seriously crappy part of her taking quick cat naps during the day is her being miserable and TIRED but refusing to go to sleep. Probably the most infuriating thing ever. A sleepy baby who doesn't want to go to sleep. 

Then this whole past weekend, she started napping again for about 2 hours in the morning but not sleeping as soundly and only doing about a 6-7 hour stretch. Huff.

Oh the joys of parenthood when you have two small kids. I wouldn't change it for the world. These two little ladies make any challenge or struggle, totally worth it. 

Halloween weekend was super busy but also really fun. We painted our upstairs bathroom and are excited to finish it off with some new decorations and accessories like a new faucet, mirror,  etc., We are still picking these things out but hope to have it all finished in the next month or so. 

For Halloween, Harper and I were witches and Ella was a super adorable berry. 

Fraser picked out an inflatable costume that made it look like he was riding a dinosaur; this is what happens when you let a man pick out a costume. I didn't get too many pictures of him since he took it off pretty quickly as he couldn't even sit down while wearing it!

We had a bunch of yummy finger foods with family and the girls had a blast!

Now we're just trying to get everything ready for our sweet Harpers' 2nd birthday party. I'm feeling totally unlike myself as I still have things to do and normally would have everything perfected and ready to go weeks ago! The theme is Bubble Guppies - she is beyond obsessed! I can't wait for her to see all of the decorations.

Now for a bunch of pictures: 

Although days like today make me seriously want a stiff drink or 5 (it's been 3 years since I've had a drop of alcohol, that's what being pregnant twice and breastfeeding in between gets you..), I am seriously blessed to have two beautiful healthy girls who get to grow up together and experience things together. I am also so blessed to have an amazing partner who brought home pizza today because he felt I shouldn't cook after the day I had today. He is seriously the most thoughtful person ever! 

And now I have to go because Ella is waking up looking for a boob, seriously how does she just keep going..haha. 

Ella's 4 Month Update + Loving Fall

Earlier this month, Ella turned 4 months old. I know I say this a lot, but where does the time go? I feel like I was just pregnant last month and now I have this baby who is constantly smiling and giggling at me. 

Breastfeeding: No changes, still a great eater. I have noticed TMI that I'm getting a little sore lately after she nurses, and I remember I did with Harper around the time she started to teeth. Ella's been drooling up a storm and shoving everything in her mouth so I think that's what is going on. 

Sleeping: She has been going to bed at around 7:30pm and sleeping 8-10 hours straight, then will nurse and sleep another few hours. This is obviously amazing, however for whatever reason she wants nothing to do with napping. She will have two 30 minute naps throughout the day which is brutal because she's miserable and exhausted come bedtime. It's crazy to me how she went from having a 2-3 hour nap during the day and sleeping a 5-6 hour stretch at night to her schedule now. 

Weight and Height: She now weighs 12 lbs 12 oz and is 24 and a half inches long. She's healthy as a horse just tiny like her momma was as a baby. It's still an adjustment having such a tiny baby when your first was a tank. Haha.

Milestones: She just finally rolled from her back to her belly. So now she's doing both belly to back and back to belly. She's also laughing and smiling constantly and even some babble. She holds toys really well and is getting better at bringing toys to her mouth. 

Random: Ella has severe eczema. It's awful. I'm pretty sure she has a full blown allergy to dairy, so when I eat anything with dairy in it, she reacts. I've tested this a few times now and I'm almost 100 % positive that this is the case. I will go from cutting all dairy out of my diet and for the most part her skin will clear with the exception of some spots. Once I start consuming any dairy (I only consume lactose free as Harper had a lactose sensitivity), she becomes covered head to toe in eczema. I'm going to get her referred to an allergist and a dermatologist. Right now we have a routine of two short baths a day, one in the morning and one at night. Followed by her immediately being smothered in Cetaphyl cream, head to toe. I use scent free and dye free laundry detergent, cetaphyl cleanser for in the bath and I avoid any perfumes or scented products. As long as I stay clear of dairy, her skin is pretty clear.

For the most part she is a happy baby but with this no napping and possible teething, she has her pretty fussy moments. 

Harper just adores Ella. She's constantly giving her kisses and patting her head. Her new thing has been "aww baby". And she says it in this high pitch baby talk which is hilarious. 

 Ella refuses to sleep at night without being swaddled. I told Fraser we're going to have a toddler who sleeps swaddled at this rate. My only concern is going to be when I want to move her to her own room in the next month or so. It's not recommended swaddling a baby in their crib once they can roll over onto their belly. So, that's going to be interesting. For the time being, I'm enjoying getting sleep at night. 

Now for a ton of photos of my babes: 

Two weekends ago was also Thanksgiving here in Canada. Which meant it was Ella's first holiday. We had a bunch of my family over for dinner which was really nice. We had lots of good food and just relaxed. Thank goodness for my amazing mom who helped tackle dinner with me! Here are some photos from that weekend:

I am thankful every day for my two beautiful, healthy little girls and an amazing partner who is literally my rock. 

Oh and mini pumpkins, I'm thankful for them as well because their too stinking cute. Xoxo

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!!