She was born on January 15, 2015 via cesarian section, and weighed 8lbs 5.8oz. She had a full head of hair and beautiful deep gray eyes. We are hoping they'll turn blue or hazel, but we'll have to wait and find out.
The first couple days required me to stay in the hospital bed, so daddy had the wonderful job of changing all her diapers. She pretty much nursed nonstop once she was with me, so it took less than 1 week for her to regain the weight she lost while we were at the hospital. She is continuing to eat like champ, and the last time we weighed her, she was a little over 10lbs! Looks like she has a healthy appetite just like her brother did.
Lucas is so excited to have Gwyneth in the house, although he really does not like it when she cries. There have been times that he begins to cry because she is crying, which means Daniel and I get to split up and try to calm them both down. He loves giving her hugs and kisses, and comes out every morning asking how she and I slept. (He knows how much his momma loves sleep).
Gwen's sleep patterns are pretty decent. We've gotten some good stretches out of her randomly, which always makes me wake up feeling like I can tackle the whole "being a mom of 2" thing. The only issue we're having is she won't sleep in her crib or bassinet. She will only sleep in my arms. This makes sleep uncomfortable for me, but we are working on it and hope she will transition into a more appropriate location soon.
We, sadly, had to say goodbye to our dog Luna just 5 days after Gwyneth was born. We had known she was very sick just 2 days before the c-section, but we were hoping she'd hold on to meet her new baby sister. I'm so glad she did, and our newborn photographer even made sure to snap a few pictures of Luna with Gwen so we could show her what a wonderful dog we had. The very next day after the photo session, we woke up to Luna having very labored breathing. We knew it was time to say good-bye. She is already missed, and it breaks my heart to know that Gwyneth will not get to grow up with her.
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| Photo Credit: Crystal Rice Photography |
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| Photo Credit: Crystal Rice Photography |
Gwyneth was born with a heart murmur, and while her Drs assured us they're very common with newborns and usually resolve on their own, after a few weeks we were given a referral to Seattle Children's hospital just to make sure it wasn't anything more serious. We drove the 2 hours there (which terrified me due to the fact that Gwen hates her carseat), and discovered that in the week between the referral and the appointment, her murmur had disappeared! Hearing that news made the long drive worth it.
She is a gassy baby like Lucas was, but this time, her Dr recommended me giving up dairy. Boo! I love milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, and all the goodies that contain those ingredients (cookies and cake anyone?), but we have seen some improvement in her mood and sleep patterns as a result, so I will continue with it until the Dr feels like her digestive system is mature enough to start re-introducing them into my diet.
This entire month we had help, between Daniel's mom being here, followed immediately by my mom, and then Daniel had a week off work. Daniel's mom was here just before she was born, and then a couple weeks later, my mom arrived. They both were wonderful with keeping Lucas occupied while I recovered physically and took care of Gwyneth. They even made meals and put leftovers in the freezer for us! We were so happy to have them here, and we already miss them so much.
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| Daniel's mom visiting after her birth |
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| My mom before she left |
She celebrated her first Valentine's day this month as well. We didn't do much aside from taking some cute pictures with her big brother, but with how bad flu season is and the fact that Measles is on the rise and there whooping cough is widespread in our area, we've been pretty content staying home. The weather was gorgeous over Valentine's weekend, so we at least had to get out of the house and go for a walk to the park. She was very content to take a nap in the Moby wrap while we all enjoyed the fresh air.
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| Valentine's Day |
This next month will be interesting as I begin to be on my own throughout the day with both of them. I know I'll figure it out, and I'm excited to see how much Gwyneth grows. She is already so different from when she was first born; It's amazing how quickly kids grow! I'll be sure to update then; thanks for reading!
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| Gwyneth @ 1 month |
