Maternity Leave Reflections

As my maternity leave is quickly drawing to an end, I have been reflecting back on the past 14 weeks of being home. How did time go by so quickly? What happened to my plans of unpacking our new house, finishing Micah's baby book, starting Macey's baby book, and blogging more often?  Although I didn't accomplish all of my to-do list projects, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with Macey and spending more time with Micah too. In addition to a lot of snuggles and playtime here is a picture heavy post with what we've been up to over the past few months.

MD visits : ( The first week of my maternity leave was a little (or a lot) stressful, as Macey was jaundiced. This picture shows and reminds me just how yellow she was. We had to make daily trips to the hospital to have her bilirubin levels checked. She had to have multiple blood draws out of her poor little foot. Fortunately, her bilirubin levels dropped on their own and she didn't need to be put under lights.

A MUCH appreciated visit from one of my best friends, Jackie! After dealing with a jaundiced Macey, a sick Micah, Kyle's busy work week schedule and a very cold week, she will never know how much I appreciated the good conversation and yummy lunch that she brought that day.

Lots of cuddles - I love how much Micah loves his little sister!

It was certainly a cold winter/spring maternity leave - no two-a-day walks like I did on Micah's maternity leave. BUT, this little guy loves wearing his puppy hat so much that he frequently asks to wear it in the house and at daycare.

Micah's 2nd Birthday which included a trip to Bounce World and a Pizza party at Mr Pizza

Micah and I took a Kindermusik class with Miss Linda in Rochester every Monday for 4 weeks. Micah seemed to enjoy it. We'd usually hit up the mall playground and food court after class with Grandma Carol.

Loving the extra space in our finished basement

A day trip to the cities to meet baby Gus and see my best college girlfriends

Celebrating Papa Jim's birthday at the end of February

Another trip to Bounce World - this time with good pal, Harrison

New double BOB stroller. Over the past few weeks, we've been able to enjoy several walks and I even got a run in yesterday in the beautiful 50 degree weather.

A fun Sunday afternoon visit from cousins Andie and John while they were back in Minnesota on spring break.

Another wonderful visit with Jackie and her family. The kids had a blast playing together and we enjoyed Ryan and Jackie's company.

Another attempt at a group picture. Haha, Oliver and Micah refuse to smile for pictures together. I think that we're 1:20 in pictures where we've gotten both boys to smile at the same time...

These pictures truly reiterate how great the past 14 weeks have been. Tomorrow a new normal begins. I  like my job and my co-workers, but I love being a mom to these 2 terrific kiddos. Fortunately, Kyle is off tomorrow, so the transition back won't be as difficult. Macey starts daycare on Thursday. We have an upcoming trip to the Dells with our good friends the Kelleys to look forward to this weekend. For the rest of the day, I'm going to enjoy a lot of snuggles with my little girl, a walk in what's reported to be last day of spring weather before winter returns, and one last day in my yoga pants!

3 Months

The past 3 months have literally flown by. I say that with some sadness, because in 1 week from now, I will be back at work and Macey will be getting ready to start daycare. I am so fortunate to have enjoyed 14 precious weeks home with my baby girl, as I've watched her physically transform and her little personality evolve.

The Superficial - Over the past few weeks, Macey has filled out. I love it! She now has a few chins and her long lanky legs now have little rolls on her thighs. We don't go back to the MD for another month, but I anticipate that she's put on a few pounds over the last month. She's mostly wearing 3-6 month clothing, but still is able to squeeze into some 0-3 month clothing. She wears size 1 diapers. She continues to be tall, and have long feet. She will only keep on about two of the pairs of socks in her wardrobe, and kicks the rest off. Her eyes remain blue and she's starting to get a little more hair. It's hard to tell, but I think it's going to be straight, unlike big brother's adorable curls.

Eating - Macey loves to eat, and it is apparent given her healthy appearance. It seems that she's recently been going through a growth spurt as she has been taking a 5 ounce bottle every 3 hours like clockwork throughout the day. She loves her formula, and I think that I finally have found a good match - Earth's Best Organic. Unfortunately, I can only get it at Babies R Us, which means going to Rochester almost on a weekly basis solely for her formula. I'm still pumping 5x/day and nursing too. Most bottles consist of a combination of breast milk and formula and are tolerated well.

Sleeping - Macey continues to be on a good sleeping stretch. She's been sleeping through the night since she was about 5 weeks old. We love it! She sleeps in her Halo Sleep sack. Over the past month she's transitioned out of her "Rock and Play" into a bassinet. She still sleeps in our bedroom, right next to our bed. Her bedtime has been getting earlier and earlier. Currently, she falls asleep around 10:00 and will sleep until Micah wakes her up in the morning. While she sleeps great at night, she's not much of a napper during the day. I may get her to sleep 30 minutes at a time. Sometimes I will get her to sleep longer, and that's usually when she's fallen asleep in her car seat.

Personality - Macey loves to interact with us. She loves it when we talk to her or sing to her and will smile or do a high pitched squeal back. Kyle and I joke around that she's our little opera singer. She often wants to be held and will cry when put in her bouncy chair or rock and play. When tired, she wants to be held. She does not like to be hungry, nor burped midway through her bottle. She will scream like we're starving her when this occurs.

Development - Macey has been working on her abdominal strength lately. She's been doing a lot of kicking and lifting her legs and head at the same time. I'm jealous at her abdominal muscle strength. She brings her hands up to her mouth, and frequently chews on them when she's hungry or tired. I honestly have been terrible with tummy time, but she has great neck strength as she shows great head control when sitting up. She been doing a lot of cooing and working on her vowel sounds. She also bears weight through her legs. Kyle and I have been meaning to get her bouncer and her johnny jump-up out.

Health - Macey continues to be healthy - thank you Lord! She had another touch of a cold, but it hasn't affected her much. I will admit that one of my biggest fears about sending her to daycare is knowing that she will probably get sick, as she's exposed to a whole new selection of germs.

26 months

Happy toddler golden birthday Micah. Whippy turned 26 months today, March 26th and continues to fill us with a lot of laughter and happiness on a daily basis.

1) Big kiddo - Micah is now down to going to the MD on a yearly basis for regular check ups, which is good for both him and the MD. His 2 year appointment was a struggle. Nonetheless, his weight and height checks are now done at home. A few days ago he topped off the scale at 36#.

2) Growth spurt - Micah is starting to transition into 3T and even some 4T clothing. He's currently wearing a toddler size 8 shoe, but those are getting a little snug on him. We have an upcoming trip to the Dells in the next few weekends, and I'm looking forward to hitting up Nike outlet for some bigger shoes.

3) Good eater - Kyle and I frequently comment how we are thankful for Micah's willingness to eat a variety of foods. He essentially eats what we eat for supper. It's rare that we have to warm up left overs or make a PB&J for him

4) Has a sweet tooth. Recently it's been splitting an ice cream sandwich with me after supper.

5) Loves fruit which is great to see. Last summer, he avoided strawberries whereas recently he can't get enough of them. Sam's Club has great and reasonable fruit which is nice since we've been going through a lot of it lately.

6) Daycare drop off were going great until this past week. For whatever reason, he's been crying at drop off time.

7) At pick up time, he is often resistant to coming home.

8) Very young love! Micah has a little girlfriend, Heidi. Those two can often be found together playing in the play kitchen at daycare or in a set of tunnels. A few weeks ago, at daycare pick up, we received a report that Micah and Heidi were caught kissing. Kyle and I are in for trouble!!

9) Learning anatomy - knows his "clavicles, scapula, patella and femur" Papa Jim is so proud!

10) Potty!!! Over the past week Micah has used to big boy twice. I'm not sure if it's a fluke or not, but both times happened right before he got a bath, and the bath water was running. Nonetheless, I was incredibly excited. He received a matchbox truck each time for producing about a 5 second stream of pee. There are 13 more individually wrapped matchbox cars on the top of our refrigerator for our continued potty training endeavors.

11) Speaking of bath - he now loves his bath thanks to his Elmo bubbles

12) "I do it myself" is said multiple times around our house each day.

13) Gets mad if Kyle and I try to assist him into or out of his car seat. If we even touch him during the process, he has to start over and make sure that he completes the task without our help.

14) Loves his "Micah music". It's a kids CD made up of songs like the "Muffin Man", "If you're Happy and you Know it", "The Grand Old Duke of York", etc. Micah requests it every time that we get in the car. We have heard the CD 100's of times, but Micah does not get sick of it. Kyle and I both agree that we need to expand our selection of "Micah music".

15) Loves to sing, especially songs from the above CD

16) Favorite toys continue to be his Matchbox trucks, monster trucks, or anything that really moves.

17) Since Kyle and I just spent a descent amount of money on a double stroller, Micah has now decided that he likes to walk when we go out for walks. We let him walk a few blocks, but he's still learning to stay by the side of the road.

18) Likes to play outside with Kyle, which usually ends with Micah sitting in Kyle's boat in our garage.

19) For the most part, he's a great sleeper. He goes down quickly at night, after his night time routine of bath, teeth brushing, a pacifier, stories, and lastly his fan and music turned on. He may wake up a few times during the night, but falls back to sleep relatively well. Recently, he's been sleeping in until 7:00-8:00. We'll take it!

20) Does not like to be told "no". What kid does?!!

21) Tantrums, hitting, kicking, throwing are still present, but they seem to be reducing in frequency. Time outs seem to work best for punishing Micah. Recently, Micah has become more aware of why he is being placed in timeout, and is able to repeat back to me what he did wrong once finished with his time out.

22) Compassionate - I love this quality about Micah. He hates to see us upset or sad and will give hugs if he feels that those emotions are present.

23) A good big brother - Micah loves his little sister, and has shown no jealousy towards her. He frequently asks to hold her. He will put her pacifier in when it falls out and will try to rock her bouncy chair or "Rock and Play". Sometimes he needs reminders to be gentle, as he'll try to put all of his body weight on her when hugging her.

24) Talking in full sentences all the time. I love his voice and to hear what thought processes are occurring in his little mind.

25) Asks questions such as "who" or "what's that" all the time. A few days ago, he was looking at one of my People magazines, when he turned to me pointed to a Calvin Klein advertisement and said "who's that cute guy?". Shortly after he said "that's Mommy and Daddy". Not so much, but it certainly made me smile.

26) Going brown - Micah still has his adorable curls, but his hair is starting to darken a bit. I think it will bleach out during the summers when he's out in the sun, but I eventually think that his hair will turn brown.

Enjoying an ice cream sandwich to celebrate his "golden" toddler birthday