Sarah is a week old!

June 24, 2014

She spends the majority of the day (and night) sleeping.  She wakes up to nurse and then nods right back off to dreamland.  

 The rare moments when she is awake, she likes to look around at the light streaming through the windows.

She has excellent neck strength and can lift her heavy cheeks up for a few seconds! 

She loves the front carrier and I am so glad to have access to both hands!

During the day she'll nap anywhere I put her, but at night she tends to want to be in my arms.  We are still working this out, but we are all getting much more sleep than we thought we would!  

We took our first walk as a family of 4 the other night and it went pretty well.  

People keep asking how Landon is adjusting to his new baby sister and to be honest, he's doing quite well.  Every part of our day looks and feels a little different now that Sarah Kat is a part of our life and so we do his snags at times and we have to explain how things have to change a bit.  The walk was one great example because Daddy picked up Sarah when she started to cry and Landon busted out crying stating, "I wanted Daddy to run with me."  We compromised and daddy was able to carry Sarah for a bit until she fell asleep and then he ran with Landon the other half of our walk.  

Landon is much more demanding of Jared's attention and time than of mine these days, so it has been an easy transition for me.Jared took all last week off and he's working half days this week, so Landon is definitely getting his "Daddy time."  I do miss my buddy, however, and I have to say I look forward to having him to myself in the mornings again, but of course I am grateful for the time to bond with and care for Sarah Kat stress free :)

Welcome to this Beautiful World Sarah Katherine!

June 17, 2014

So, its no surprise that I was extremely ready to meet this little girl in the final few weeks of my pregnancy.  I'd been thinking a lot about labor and delivery and wanted a much more enjoyed experience (if that's possible) than my labor with Landon, so I'd decided to go for the epidural as soon as possible.  I'd envisioned myself and Jared playing cards, watching TV and talking for hours as we waited for the BIG 10!

What happened was so not on my radar that during the whole process I think I was in a bit of shock.  

I rolled out of bed Tuesday morning June 17 at 2 am as usual to go pee and my water broke.  I awoke Jared and we consulted our "what to do if list" and called labor and delivery.  They assured me I had plenty of time, so I showered, got things together and about an hour later we arrived at the hospital.  By this time I had had a few contractions, but not very strong.  As we entered the room and they hooked me up on the monitors I was informed I was 3 cm dilated.   A few more contractions later, a 4 and literally a few more between a 7-8!  Things were progressing a lot more quickly than anyone could have anticipated and they were trying to still get that epidural after only Two hours and 2 hours minutes of labor, a few pushes later and no epidural, Sarah Katherine made her arrival!  How blessed I feel to have had such a fast (though definitely not painless) labor and delivery!

She weighted 8 lb. 2 oz    20 inches long 

So far she has been a very different baby than Landon from the get go.  She cried like mad as she was being cleaned off.  I remember with Landon asking repeatedly, "Is he okay?" because he wasn't crying at all.  She also has taken to nursing like a champ!  I struggled from day one with Landon and this time around has been a much better experience thus far.

Landon was so precious as he met his sister for the first time.  He loved examining her hands and feet and little ears.  He noted all her tiny fingers and asked questions about why she was nursing.  He even asked if I had a hole in me where the milk was coming out.  

We were so blessed to have Roxanne, Dave and Meghan in town what Sarah arrived.  I don't think we would have made it to the hospital in time if we had to wait for someone to watch Landon!

Meghan has already been so much of a help to us and we are so blessed to have her with us for a little while!

My parents drove from Myrtle Beach as fast as their bladders would allow and got to stay for a few days too.  Everyone has now gotten their chance to hold, snuggle and bond with our baby girl :)

The first day of her life, she made the sweetest mewing sounds as she slept.  The nickname Sarah Kat is very fitting, for her coos sound just like a kitten's.  

Day Two in the hospital brought me much pain and discomfort.  After getting that under control, we were ready to go home and be a family of four!

June 19, 2014

Sarah weighed 7 lb 8 oz leaving the hospital, her brother's birth weight :)

This little guy is so proud to be a big brother!  He loves to hold her, but in general just ignores her and goes about his day unaffected.

Here's our first family of 4 picture after her first sponge bath. 

It really makes me laugh because I think about our first days with Landon and how I would match our outfits for pictures and set up staged shots and was purposeful about what his first book should be.  As I was nursing her last night I burst out laughing once  i realized Sarah's first book was Hot Wheels Cave Race and Landon's was Goodnight Moon (which I had planned long before he arrived).  I think its very special this time around though because Landon was reading this book with his daddy beside us while I nursed Sarah.  

June 20, 2014

We all spent the day taking turns holding a sleeping Sarah.

These two ladies cleaned my house while Jared and Landon played in the pool, grilled dinner and spent time together. 

                                                                           This little guy goes wherever his Mama Sissy goes :)

June 21, 2014

We had to say goodbye to my parents :(

Her first doctor's appointment went great.  She is 7 lb 11 oz (she gained 3 oz since leaving the hospital).

We spent the evening outside and she spent a lot of time with her eyes open, looking around :)

Big Yawn!

June 22, 2014

While Landon and Jared went to church, us ladies stuck around the house.  Sarah slept all day except for the times she was nursing.  We were able to capture some pictures of her outside.  

  

Nature HuntWe took off on our nature hunt armed with the wagon and keen eyes.  Landon collected leaves, sticks, rocks, plants, pine cones, and mulch.  

Back at home, he examined each item under the magnifying glass and made comparisons between many of the items.  He noted how things looked different from one another, how they felt, how they smelled, and even how they tasted (the honeysuckle).  Picking up natural materials is one of Landon's favorite things to do along our walks.  He usually brings at least one rock home everyday, naming it "Roxy" and giving it a voice.  They usually sit on our porch to "guard the house," but I'm sure if I let him, he would bring them all inside and we'd find them laying all over our house! 

Landon is almost 4!

All about Landon:

This is the smile on Landon's face as he feeds a horse at Jared's coworker's faam in Mont Vale, VA.  

This kid loves to laugh, be silly, play pretend, climb, jump, dance, sing, play in the sandbox, push trucks, cars and trains around, fly planes, play games, and put together puzzles.  There is so much more to him than this, but for now that's what I can think of!

Playing Uno with Grandpa and Daddy

He is learning so much everyday and seems to really enjoy reading, writing, and making up stories.

Landon loves to play word games, such as "Word Bird put H with EN.  What word did Word Bird Make?  HEN!"  

My cloth diapering Journey begins...

Cloth Bum!

So these are what have been sucking up much of my time these days.  I've been doing a lot of research on the world of cloth diapering and this is the start of my stash!

So far, I feel like I have a pretty good start to cloth diapering, but I'm sure that once SK arrives, I'll find I've either bought too much or not enough.

More updates to come!

Updated stash picture

Fitteds

Newborn Stash so far

Top are Charlie Banana one size, middle fuzzibunz one size, lower are Applecheeks size 1, the black and white is a kawaii

Rumparooz One Size with my sweet boy playing, "Big Brother"

My favorite so far! Applecheeks Size 1