Jade, One Month!

  We reached the one month mark already! Feels longer and shorter then that all at the same time. Jade is a comfortable weight and is gaining right on track, weighing in at 9 lbs 7oz, she doesn't feel quite so newborn and fragile anymore which is nice. Breastfeeding is going much smoother than last time and I can already see some chub on her legs, much different than Hazel as she didn't gain super well for the first 6 weeks. We are out of the newborn clothes and into 0-3 clothes. Jade has been a lovely baby so far, maybe because I know what I'm doing this time, maybe just a character thing. One thing that we have noticed so far is that Jade is either content or she is NOT, which I hear may be contributed to the redhead traits. 

We have a nice system going with Jade sleeping in her crib during the day and in the bassinet in our room closet during the night. I'm hoping we can keep this up for a while as so far she is a lot quieter of a sleeper then Hazel was (or I'm less paranoid?), But Jade may outgrow the bassinet quicker then I want her too.

Night time feedings have been going well and she has done some four hour stretches already, though typically she does three hours. So far the hardest thing has been waking up fast enough as Jade doesn't give much warning, she is either sleeping or awake and crying quite loudly and my brain just doesn't quite wake up that fast! Though I have a feeling it will learn to. 😅

Hazel is starting to adjust and I'm learning how to teach Hazel about Jade. We took out the baby toys so that Hazel has some toys to give to Jade when she is sad. Hazel is learning how to help burp the baby and helps find outfits when we are changing Jade. Hazel has learned that when Jade cries she typically needs milk and is happy to help with the blankets if Jade got "to much milk". 

Looking forward to seeing these girls grow up together, though hopefully not to fast!

Jared was pretty excited when this outfit fit already, as he was looking forward to his little giraffe again if the baby was a little girl!

Colds, Baptism, and Family Time

Jade at one week! This is still one of my favorite pictures so far! Unfortunately it was also taken the afternoon before she got the same cold we all had....😔 Jade getting sick was pretty an avoidable as we were all sick the week before....but it was still pretty hard to see your very newborn baby with a cold... 

By Wednesday afternoon Jade was sounding pretty rough, she was quite congested, which is lousy for a newborn/ nursing baby... I had a nurse come by and visit that day, much to my surprise she suggested that we bring Jade into emerge as she had very labored breathing. I was overwhelmed with the suggestion, called Jared to come home with a snot sucker (which I think are gross, but was a better option then the hospital at the moment) and I didn't take my eyes off of Jade until Jared came home. Once Jared was home I was able to calm down a bit as I was quite weepy, the snot sucker helped quite a bit which also helped me relax about the situation. The next afternoon we had a doctor visit booked (another reason we didn't go to emerge the previous evening), and even though Jade's breathing was improved she was still concerned with how labored it was and sent me to the pediatric ward so that the on call doctor there could take a look at her. Hazel was at a friends house for the doctor visit already and it worked to extend her stay for a while. I was in a much better mental space that afternoon so going in for a extra check up wasn't such a overwhelming thought. As hard as it is seeing Jade hooked up to all the different monitors it was nice to be able to see her oxygen level looking good even with her uneven and labored breathing. The pediatrician was a very reasonable man, understanding that our whole family had been sick, and after looking her over he sent us home, but gave us the ability to come back anytime in the next 48 hours if anything got worse. I was quite happy with the compromise as staying at the hospital for continued monitoring had been a possible option when my doctor had sent me in, which didn't really sound like that much fun... 

Hazel and Jade's first time sharing a play space. It was nice and short and went well :)

We were very thankful that we were still able to have Jade's baptism on Sunday, she was much improved by Sunday and at this point was a little stuffy and had a lingering cough. It was a very special family day for us, with lots to be thankful for! On a sentimental note, Jade is wearing the same baptism gown that Jared wore that was made by his Mom, and Hazel is wearing a dress made by Oma.

The Flokstra family braved the snow with their camping trailer to come for a visit for the weekend. It was lovely to have them there for the baptism and Hazel was thrilled to have friends for the weekend! Unfortunately due to the weather our visit got cut short... but we had a lovely time while they were here. 

I can't complain about Jade much, she has been quite the great little sleeper!

Looks like we might have a strawberry blond or maybe even a red headed Jade!

The Flokstra's headed out, but Nana soon showed up! Nana brought lots of new books, which Hazel very much enjoyed! 

Having extra family around has been really good for Hazel so far, it allows her to still have something to do and watch me with baby Jade and get use to me feeding her all the time.

Nana even managed to find a book that made Daddy laugh! The Pout Pout Fish book was quite the hit, but didn't quite beat the two "Big Sister" books that she got that get read over and over again!

Hazel is slowly interacting with her little sister (which Hazel pronounces "little bister") Jade a bit more each day. 

Even caught Hazel singing to Jade during her floor time 😍 (Video below)

And Hazel was okay with sharing some Mommy snuggle time with Jade too.

Some last minute pictures before we had to say Goodbye to Nana.

My very "photogenic" girls... Jade is working on her silly faces already...

One more group pic and then Jared brought Nana to the airport and picked up Aunty Genoa, I believe Jared was at the airport for a total of 25 minutes! Pretty slick little airport nice and close to home!!!