The Jesters: One Month!

Hallie's first month has been exhausting, but so sweet. We are still living in my parents' townhouse while we finish the kitchen remodel at our new house. Since all their bedrooms are upstairs and I'm not supposed to climb up stairs much while I recover from my c-section, Hallie and I slept downstairs in the living room for the first three weeks after coming home. Although we ran a noisemaker in Emma's bedroom, she would hear Hallie cry several times during the night and either wake Dan up or come downstairs to join Hallie's and my slumber party. So all four of us were exhausted most mornings!

Hallie was born with a little bit of hair! It looked red under the delivery room lights at the hospital, but since then, it's become a mystery color. We'll have to wait a few months to find out what color her hair and eyes turn out to be. She lost 10% of her birth weight during our three days at the hospital (from her 6 lbs 6 oz birth weight down to 5 lbs 12 oz) because she was too sleepy to eat. They recommended that I bottle feed her and supplement with formula to make sure she was getting enough food to grow. By her two week doctor's appointment, she weighed 7 pounds and by the end of her first month, she was over 8 pounds, so needless to say, she is thriving! She sleeps between 1.5 and 3 hours at a time during the day and night. She's been a very easy baby to soothe, and she doesn't cry very much for a newborn, even when we're doing something she hates like changing her diaper or outfit.

She is starting to really focus her eyes on our faces, lights, and other interesting objects around the house when she's awake. If she's really fussy, we can take her outside for a few minutes and let her look around and it instantly calms her down. She loves to be held, of course, but she sleeps better in her bed or on the couch than Emma did at her age.

After Hallie came home from the hospital, the gifts just rolled in! We got a personalized cookie bouquet from my company, Epsilon Systems.

Emma's cookie had "Big Sister Emma" written on it.

Hallie considered whether she should eat her cookie, which was bigger than her head.

She decided to go for it!

We received a delicious fruit arrangement from Dan's school, StoneBridge.

And gorgeous flowers from one of Dan's coworkers

Hallie sleeping in the bassinet that Dan's dad made for his kids over 50 years ago!

Emma loves checking on her baby sister and holding her hand when she's crying.

Emma likes to give Hallie a toy to hold onto. We've been talking a lot about which toys are safe and unsafe for babies. She also sometimes helps put Hallie's pacifier back in her mouth, so we are trying to teach her how to do it gently and only when Hallie opens her mouth to receive it.

Getting my snuggles in with this sweet girl.

Dan has to share his lap with both girls. Emma has been very attached to her daddy since mommy has been recovering from major surgery and can't lift or play much.

Nana has been absolutely wonderful to Hallie and I during my maternity leave. She has helped me take care of Hallie every day, watched her when I needed to get out of the house, and let me take naps to make up for the lack of sleep I'm getting at night. She is the best mom and Nana in the world!

Hallie has gotten some sweet bonding time with her Grandma, too, since she and Grandpa have come down almost every weekend to help us with the kitchen renovation.