Sisters Sharing Stories

I propped Adrienne up in the chair as I was changing her sheets this morning, and Jillian requested to sit with her. I suggested she read her a story as long as they were sitting there. It was a sweet moment of sisters sharing stories.

One Month Old

Agreeable Adrienne is 1 month old today! I have decided that is exactly what she is--agreeable. She is pretty good about going with the flow, unless hunger is involved, and then she shows us her impatient side. Adrienne is super snuggly, and loves to cuddle with anyone willing to hold her. I must admit I am enjoying the newborn stage much more this time. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the fact that her delivery was easy and uneventful and therefore my recovery has been easier, but perhaps it is because I am pretty sure she is our last baby. I look at Jillian and am reminded of just how fast children grow, so I am doing my best to savor the sweet moments (even in the middle of the night) that I know from experience pass all too quickly.

At 1 month old, Adrienne is now beginning to stretch her nighttime sleeping a bit. I can usually get her down between 10 and 11 for about a 3-3 1/2 hr block of sleep. After she wakes to eat around 2, she goes back to sleep for another 2-2 1/2, then repeats that stretch again after an early morning feeding around 5. I am happy that this sleep occurs on her back in her bassinet next to my bed, and I no longer feel as though she will only sleep well on me. She has taken a couple of naps in her crib, but think she prefers the smaller confines of the bassinet at this point. I am close to moving the bassinet to her room, however, because she is incredibly noisy. This child grunts and squirms and makes all sorts of animal-like noises as she passes through sleep cycles, spits up, or works to poop. It's louder than any other baby I've heard. I am sure I would sleep much better during those short nighttime naps if I would just move her to her room, but I can't seem to bring myself to do it yet.  Matt will probably force me to do so soon!

Adrienne continues to be an enthusiastic eater, and I am happy that breastfeeding is going well. She has now had a couple of bottles of pumped milk, and though she takes a bit of coaxing to start, has no trouble taking it. I am thankful that Matt offers to take the first nighttime feeding with her on the weekends so that I can get a bit more uninterrupted rest. We have had a bump in the road in the feeding department, however, and I am trying not to be frustrated. Adrienne has thrush, so both she and I are undergoing treatment since it is so easily passed back and forth between baby and breastfeeding mother. It thankfully doesn't seem to be causing her any distress, but has me discouraged in that I have to throw out all the milk I have worked to pump and freeze, and prevents me from freezing additional milk during this 2-3 week treatment period. This is because she can be reinfected if we use the milk after the infection clears. Anyone who has breastfed knows it is painful to throw out that liquid gold! Hopefully this inconvenience will pass soon.

Adrienne continues to amaze us with her strength and level of alertness. She loves to watch her mobile in the crib and enjoys stretching out on a blanket on the floor to look at new and interesting toys. The most exciting development in recent days is that Adrienne is giving us social smiles! She smiled at me for the first time on her 4 week birthday, and it was a beautiful sight! She is starting to find her voice and occasionally coos at her mobile. I think we have another social butterfly on our hands! Adrienne is the perfect addition to our family, and we are so thankful she is ours.

Here are a few recent pictures of our 1 month old sweetheart......

Snuggled up in full ballerina attire on Grammy's chest

Giving Dad a swift punch in the nose (unintentional, I'm sure)

Deep in conversation

Chatting with Grandma after a bath (which she now loves!)

Giving Mom the googly-eyes after a feeding on her 1 month birthday

Strong and busy legs (I already knew this based on her activity level in the womb!)...she can kick out of a tight swaddle with no trouble!

First smile caught on camera--a beautiful sight!

Sip and See

I met a wonderful group of ladies through my Bible study last year, and they have become great friends. Most of them are stay at home moms, and they really were crucial to helping me adjust to being at home, and continue to provide that support I need. I was so touched to learn that they wanted to throw a baby shower for me. I really felt this was unnecessary because I was having my second baby, and even more so because it was another girl and we had everything we needed--but, they insisted. So, we decided on a "sip and see", where the shower would be held after the baby arrived so that all could meet her. On July 18th, we did just that! It was a lovely evening with friends and we enjoyed wine and dessert (two of my favorite things!) while the baby was passed around and we chatted. I was glad my mom was still in town so that she could attend and meet more of my friends. I am completely embarrassed to report that I didn't take ANY pictures! I took my camera, but was too busy chatting, eating, and feeding Adrienne to snap any. I think mom got a few, but I don't have them to upload to the blog. Despite the lack of photos, I wanted to document the event and express my appreciation to these ladies for loving on us--thank you Jaci, Kara, Jess, and Betsy...I love you all!

Crib Envy

Someone appears to be a bit jealous that Adrienne has taken over the crib. This is where I found Jillian this morning......

Just look at those eyes full of mischief--little stinker!

Bath Time!

Adrienne got her first "real" bath yesterday at 16 days old. Her umbilical stump actually fell off kind of early at 4 days, but her belly button still looked a bit wet, so we continued sponge bathing until things dried up appropriately. Here is our little beauty before the big bath event--bright eyed, unaware of the fun to come!

 Soon it was time to hit the tub. Grammy got us a very cool new puj tub that enabled us to bathe Adrienne more comfortably in our small bathroom sink. I started the bathing process.....

 ...and then my faithful assistant joined me. Daddy and Grammy played paparazzi for the event. Jillian wasn't sure what to think, except she still couldn't understand exactly why Adrienne could not just take a bath with her. We will have 2 sisters in the big tub soon enough!

I gave Jillian the task of rinsing Adrienne's hair, and she did a lovely job.

 I'm not sure if Jillian is just proud of her work as official hair rinser, or if she's secretly laughing that Adrienne didn't find her bath to be the most enjoyable experience...I was afraid to ask!

Hopefully Adrienne will change her opinion of bathing with time and more frequent exposure. She was not a fan!

Two Weeks Old

The past 2 weeks have been a blur of diaper changes, frequent feedings, and little sleep. I quickly remembered how all-consuming infant care is....add in a very spirited 2  1/2 year old and you have a mom who is easily overwhelmed. I'm sure that will pass, or I'll at least get used to it. We are lucky we've had such great help. More on that later. So just what have we been doing for the last two weeks?

Grandad arrived the day after we came home from the hospital and stayed for a few days. I am pretty sure that he and Adrienne (and Jillian) enjoyed each other.

Adrienne experienced her first meal out. She was the perfect Chipotle patron, sleeping through the meal so I could eat mine.

Jillian and Grams were along for the Chipotle trip (Grandad, too), and Jillian decided to give Grams a bit of impromptu love

This is how Adrienne spends most of her time during late night hours...snuggled up against Mom after a feeding.

Lounging in bed with Dad on a Sunday morning

Practicing for the real deal with some gas-induced smiles

Enjoying visits from friends. Jillian and Sophia loved playing doctor together.

A and I escaped the house one morning to have coffee at Panera with our friends Charie and Emmy (4 months)

A became jealous of my pastry and decided she needed a snack, too! Can you see her little feet sticking out of the hooter hider?

Jillian has become very interested in puzzles lately, and practices frequently. She did a great job of multi-tasking one afternoon as she carried on a detailed conversation with Aunt Meggie.

My impression of a 2 week old Adrienne is that she is relatively laid-back. When she cries, she means it, and it's for a reason--a burp that needs to escape, a dirty diaper, or hunger. I've not noticed much fussing just for the sake of fussing, and I appreciate that. She is a true snuggler and is happiest when held. She'd prefer to sleep nestled up next to me in bed or on my chest, and for the most part I let her.  I'm too tired or lazy (or both) to work on getting her to sleep appropriately in her bassinet or crib most nights, though she is able to sleep in her bassinet for a good 2-2 1/2 hr stretch at times during the night. The kicker is she'll sleep for up to 4 if sleeping with me. Hmmm....which would you choose as a tired mom?? Adrienne is an enthusiastic eater, and as a result seems to spit up a lot (or at least a lot in comparison to Jillian who rarely did). This compounds the putting her on her back to sleep in her bed at night issue, because I hear coughing/gagging or the sound of spit-up hit the bed and that is just not conducive to sleep for either of us. Another "side effect" of her voracious eating is frequent pooping. The girl can really let it rip, and she has a knack for doing so just after you've changed her. Again. Adrienne is strong and has fantastic head control for a babe of her age. When she's awake, she's truly alert and taking in her surroundings. So far, she seems unphased by the rough touches and loud noises of her sister. I hope that continues.

Many have asked just how Jillian is handling our new addition. We're experiencing some bumps in the road, as we knew we would where a 2 year old is concerned. These are mostly related to an increased defiance toward Matt and I, and more frequent tantrums. I am grateful that she hasn't taken any of her aggressions out on Adrienne, and truly seems to love her. She loves to bring me diapers, swing her in the infant swing (sorry, Adrienne, for the amusement park style rides you've had to endure thus far), and becomes distressed when she cries. Just today, after a lunch out, we made a quick stop at Panera so Grams could run in and get us all a cookie. Adrienne was hungry and proceeded to scream continuously as we waited in the car. Jillian lasted about 30 seconds before pleading with me, "Mom, we have to go home. Hurry. Adrienne is hungry, Mom. Please, hurry, and it's raining outside. We have to go home right now!" She was ready to leave her beloved Grams behind so we could bolt home and feed her sister. (Adrienne made it just fine another 2 minutes til we got home, by the way. I promise she was not abused for the sake of my cookie craving). 
I think it's safe to say that we are surviving thanks mostly to my mom right now. She has been here since just before I went into labor, and her help has been continuous. She has done all the cooking, all the laundry, cleaning, and most of Jilly care. She has even regularly taken a shift in the night with A so that I can get a couple hours of uninterrupted sleep. I'll be honest and say that I am scared for her to leave. We have been spoiled rotten and are so appreciative of all the TLC she has freely given. I think we just might keep her! (Sorry, Dad, if you want your wife back you have to come get her and pry her out of my vice grip)

What's In A Name?

Naming a child is a tough task. I blogged a few months ago about how we were struggling this time, since we never had a second girls name we considered when Jillian was born. So just how did we arrive at the name Adrienne Elizabeth? I'm glad you asked...

We truly were at a loss for a first name for our baby, so I picked up what I thought was the best/most comprehensive name book--The Baby Name Wizard. We had many a laugh at some of the names (I think Dorcas elicited a large belly laugh from both of us....sorry for anyone named Dorcas reading this blog), and we each had a few we liked, but none of them overlapped. All of Matt's choices were met with a firm "no way" from me, and vice versa. Then one day as Matt was perusing the list, he said "What about Adrienne?" I quickly shot him down for 2 reasons.
1. We went to high school with a boy named Adrian, and he happened to be my best friend's boyfriend. I thought it would be weird to name our daughter Adrienne, feeling as though people from our hometown would think we named her after him.
2. Rocky Balboa. Need I say more?
Matt asked that I just consider it, and not totally shoot it down right away. I agreed, but truthfully decided to blow it off as a contender.

A couple of weeks later, as I was feeling frustrated about our name prospects, I picked up the book again. I decided I would read every name with a fresh pair of eyes and give it a fair shake. When I came to the name "Adrienne", this is what I read:
-Popularity: #751
-Style: French, New Classics, Nickname-proof
-Adrienne is an elegant old favorite--French, feminine, and familiar. You may have some friend who'll shout "Yo! Adrian!" like Rocky Balboa, but that joke is now heading for retirement. (Baby Name Wizard Book)

I should back-up here and describe our criteria for a name. Just as in the case of naming Jillian, we wanted a name that was familiar, yet uncommon. A name that would not be difficult to pronounce or spell, and that our daughter wouldn't share with 5 other girls in her kindergarten class. As I re-read the description of "Adrienne" again and again, I realized that I actually really liked the name--the feminine spelling, the sound of the name, and the fact that it sounded like it belonged in a family with a sister named Jillian. Over the next couple of weeks I began to let go of the fact that I once knew a boy named Adrian, and started to find myself amused by someone shouting "Yo, Adrienne!" at our daughter. I realized that my hold-ups regarding the name were irrelevant if WE truly liked it.
I soon reported to Matt that I actually in fact really liked the name, and it was suddenly the front runner with another name we considered (that I will not disclose). Over time it just became her name, and I think we both were sure, even though we repeatedly asked one another if we had any reservations. Matt suggested that we use the "Adrian" spelling, citing that many would likely misspell it--but I would not concede on that one. "Adrienne" is clearly the feminine form of the name, and even though some might misspell it, I didn't want anyone who saw her name in writing to mistake her for a boy. Matt thinks I give the average person too much credit as far as that goes, but I choose to believe that most people would know that a name ending in 'enne' is feminine. We shall see...
As for her middle name, it was a no-brainer. "Elizabeth" was always slated to be Jillian's middle name. We decided to honor Matt's stepmom by using her middle name instead (Michelle) shortly after she passed away early in my pregnancy with Jillian. Why Elizabeth? Besides the fact that we both love the name (but feel it's too popular for our criteria as a first name), it is Matt's late maternal grandmother's name. It is a name that is all over both sides of the family tree, and is also the full version of my middle name (Beth). Some might feel "Adrienne Elizabeth" is a little long, but I think it works considering our short last name. Lastly, I think it is sweet that Matt has essentially named our daughters. He came up with Jillian years before we had her, and he came through again this time.
So there you have it. Adrienne Elizabeth Howe. I think it suits our sweet little lady, don't you?

Have I mentioned I am in love with this baby?