Free as a Bird

Well, I gotta say I'm starting to feel much more comfortable with this motherhood thing.  Things are definitely getting easier.  Although sleep (yes, sleep again!) is always an issue!  Even though things are constantly changing and routines aren't a for sure thing, it feels much more natural now.

Last weekend I bought this ring sling carrier.  It's great!  I am able to carry Lennon around the house and have both arms free.  The other night I carried her in it while we went for a walk at the mall and even breastfed her while walking!  Unbelievable.  Things I would never thought possible even a few weeks ago.  I'm so glad we live in a place where people aren't generally freaked out by women breastfeeding in public.  I do, of course, wear a cover so I'm not totally "free as a bird!"

Speaking of mall walks, that seems to be our pastime of choice these days.  I was at three different malls last week for walks!  The weather has been awful here.  Snow, cold, and more snow.  It'll be so great when the weather gets better and we can go for walks outside!  But, for now it's mall walking.  I've met up with other moms and babies from the prenatal class we did a couple of times.  Last week there were eight of us with our babies taking over the mall!  We looked like a stroller gang.  Haha!  I also meet up with Danielle and George a fair bit for walks and coffees.  It's great to have some other people to hang out with!

At the end of this week we head out on our first trip with Lennon!  We are going to Palm Springs and couldn't be more excited.  All the snow here is depressing.  We need some sunshine and warmth!  It should be great weather there.  Looks like temperatures in the high 20s to 30s!  Ahhh!  Hopefully Lennon will be good on the plane.  It's only a 2.5 hour flight so how much can go wrong in that time?!  Right?!  I'm actually not worried about it.  I think she'll be an excellent flier!

I need to load some pics off of the camera and my phone.  I'll add pics next time!

Golden Slumbers

10 weeks old yesterday!  We celebrated her 10 weeks by going to get her first round of vaccinations.  She was really good at the clinic.  Of course she did cry when the needles (3 of them) went in but she was fairly quickly soothed by a breast!  She was super sleepy the rest of the day, pretty much only waking up to eat.  She had a bit of a fever before bedtime.  We gave her some infant Tylenol and she slept as usual!  This morning she is her usual self again.

Happy Girl!

Lennon is now weighing in at 11lb 12oz.  That's the 75th percentile.  She measured 22.5 inches long and her head circumference 16 inches.  That's the 50th percentile for length and 90th for head circumference!  I suppose she got Fred's large head!  More room for brains!  Anyway, she's doing really well.

We've begun to settle into a routine.  Lennon usually wakes up for the day between 7:30 and 8:30.  Throughout the day there is a good pattern of eating, awake time, and napping.  Although her naps are short, usually on 30 - 45 minutes, I am able to get some things done around the house.  We still try to get out once a day.  She will sleep longer then as the car puts her into a deep sleep!  In the evening she starts to get a bit fussy around 8:00 and then starts to tank up for the night.  At 9:30 we head up to the bedroom, change her and give her her last feed for the day.  She is typically sleeping by 10:00 - 10:30.  She sleeps really well in the night (knock on wood!).  She'll get up around 4:00 to eat, is usually up for 30 - 45 minutes, and then is back to sleep until the morning.  I can't complain about this!

Once again, I'm going on about sleep!  I may have repeated myself in the above run down of our days.  Sleep rules our days though!  With her better, more predictable sleeping patterns, Fred and I are starting to get used to the broken sleep as well.  There are still nights when we don't feel like we've got enough though.  I'm sure that will continue well into her teens!

Because

Things are going great and Lennon is growing like a weed!  Just some pics and videos to post today...

Family Nap Time - there wasn't any sleeping though!

Smiley Girl!

Cutie!, Always with the tongue out!, Play time, with Dad, with Mom

Happy Girl

Reading with Dad

And I Love Her

Lennon is 2 months old!  I can't believe how fast these two months have gone.  She has changed so much and continues to change every day.  She is now smiling and giggling a lot more.  It's amazing when she looks at you and gives a great big smile!  Love it!  She is also starting to discover her hands.  She also loves it when we read to her.  She already has some favourites!  Thanks to Auntie Heather for sending some of Hendrik and Alana's old favs - Lennon loves them!  She babbles and giggles along as we read.  It's quite something to watch her as she learns and develops. 

2 months old - March 14, 2014

Things are going really well.  There is definitely more of a pattern to our days.  She will eat, be awake for awhile, and then have a little nap.  I am getting more time to do things around the house, which is great.  It makes me feel like more of a normal person again!  I am also getting out of the house more, at least one outing a day!  Nights are still going really well too.  I know things can change, but she's developed a good pattern that's been going on for some time now.  Hope it continues!  She goes down to sleep between 10:00 and 10:30 and will sleep for about 4 hours.  Feeding is about 30 - 45 minutes and then she'll go down to sleep for another 4 hours.  When I add up the hours of sleep I'm getting it seems decent but since it's interrupted sleep I still feel tired.  It's definitely more manageable than it was in the beginning though!

Cutie!, sleeping peacefully, enjoying her bouncer chair.

Most of my posts seem to be about sleep!  Haha!  What else is there?!  Breast feeding is going well now.  It feels way more comfortable and natural than in the first weeks.  She's eating well and gaining weight!  Tomorrow we'll see the doctor and she how much she's gained again.  Her eyes are staying pretty light and some days look really blue!  She's such a cutie!  She has lost a lot of her hair except at the back.  At the back it's still the long dark hair she was born with.  The hair that is starting to come back in looks fairly dark.  

Fred and I are both completely in love with her.  She brings so much joy!  

Good Day Sunshine

Lennon is 8 weeks old tomorrow!  I can't believe how fast the time goes.  She's growing and changing every day.  She is now over 10 lbs and is starting to smile!  She is also starting to cry more.  Usually it's because she's hungry.  Sometimes it's because she needs a change of scenery but most often because she's hungry!

We finally got some nice weather and were able to go outside for a walk on the weekend.  It has been so cold lately that all of our walks have been at the mall.  I have managed to not shop too much during these walks!  On the weekend we had temperatures above 10 and the sun was shining bright.  It felt great to get out and get some fresh air and sunshine!

Lennon is also starting to like her bouncer chair more.  She will spend some time in there amusing herself, which is nice for me to get a few things done!

Sleep is going quite well.  She still doesn't sleep a whole lot during the day unless we go out somewhere.  At home she'll take short little 20 minute naps (not great for me wanting to nap!) but if we go somewhere in the car she'll sleep for at least an hour or so.  Nights are different.  They have been going really well, knock on wood.  She has been sleeping between 3 to sometimes over 5 hours for her first stretch!  It's amazing how incredible getting a 4 hour stretch of sleep can feel.  She'll sleep another 2 hours after that usually and then occasionally another hour before getting up for the day.  I can't complain about the nights!  I hope she keeps it up!

Carry That Weight

Lennon is getting bigger!  Seven weeks old today!  The other day she graduated out of newborn size diapers and into size 1. She hasn't fit her newborn clothes for a while now and is starting to fill out some of her 0-3 month clothes. Good thing because she has got a ton!  She's been eating really well which I suppose is obvious by the way she's growing.

We had a doctor's appointment last Thursday and Lennon weighed in at 9lb 9oz. She's in the 50th percentile for weight and height. A perfectly average little girl!  The doctor was very pleased with how she's doing. Her cold has also cleared up quite nicely!

Lennon has been having more predictable nights. Hopefully I'm not jinxing it by writing about it!  She typically gets a little fussy in the evenings and starts to binge eat. She then goes down to sleep around 11:00, give or take half an hour. She will sleep for about three hours, once in a while only two (last two nights five!?). Her feeding is still a little slow, taking from 40 minutes to an hour.  She'll sleep another couple of hours and then only another hour or so after that feed. During the day she takes short naps. Sometimes I can get in a little 20 minute nap myself but not very often. Her best daytime naps are when we go out somewhere in the car!

Despite some ridiculously cold temperatures the last few days, we did bundle up and venture out a bit. On Friday we went to visit the school and went for lunch with my colleagues. Saturday we went for dinner with Auntie Holly who's in town to meet Lennon for the first time!  And Sunday was out to Grandma's house for a family dinner. Hopefully this cold weather will break soon. It would be nice to be able to take some walks outside rather than going to the mall all the time!

Lounging, meeting Auntie Holly, hello!, Auntie Sue, Auntie Holly and Grandma L