...Two Years Later!

Can't believe it's been 2 years since Riley  arrived. Riley is an energetic, healthy, sweet two year old and we love & laugh every day spent with her. 

She turned one with a Kite Party and two with an Abby Cadabby Party. 

She loves painting, dancing, playing, tutus, Sesame Street, and babies. 

The latter is a good thing, because she's about to become a BIG SISTER! 

Favorite Things at 4 Almost 5 Months!

The biggest changes these past couple months are in Riley's personality. She is proving to be Smiley Riley for sure!

She is happiest in the mornings and loves to give great big gummy grins!

She has found her voice and talks/makes noises often. She hasn't laughed or giggled much out loud yet, but I know its just a matter of time!

She loves to spit and make spit bubbles. The books call it making raspberry sounds, but lets be honest she is spitting and we are so very proud!

She still loves to kick and takes it very seriously and is so very proud of herself.

She loves for us to sing songs to her. Her favorites are Itsy Bitsy Spider, ABC's, and Baa Baa Black Sheep.

She still likes to wear pink. ;) Otherwise everyone would think she was a boy. Hairbows are still too big for her head.

She likes toys more. She likes to chew on them. Her favorites are the Sophie Giraffe (which squeaks) and her Lightning Bug (which crinkles).

She loves to put her feet in her mouth.

She tolerates/sometimes enjoys going for walks in the stroller.

We are still working on rolling over. But she already gets on her side to play with her feet, so hopefully it will be just a matter of time.

Can't wait to see what excitement the next month brings!

Happy Birthday Justin!

Today is Justin's birthday! We have a fun evening planned and we will be out longer than we have in a looooong time!

This will also be the first time we will be leaving Riley with Ashley for her final feeding. Usually I try to make sure I am home for that feeding, so my OCD self can make sure she gets enough to eat and will hopefully sleep through the night. But tonight I am letting go and I am determined to not be a control freak and let myself have some fun! It might take a couple beers, but it will be worth it!

Happy Birthday Husband!

Progress

When I found out that our baby would be due in May I was very excited about Justin being off all summer and our being able to be out and about in the warm weather.

The reality was quite different. The weekend we came home from having Riley it was 90+ degrees outside and it stayed that way the whole summer. I always forget how hot the summer is here! I guess after 7 months of possible snow I always think I'm ready for summer until I am reminded of what it feels like to sweat to death. (Ok, maybe that's a little exaggerated.)

Anyway, the reality of the summer was not what I imagined. Anytime we tried to take Riley out in the stroller she would scream the entire time. At no point was it relaxing or fun to get outside with her. She had to be strapped in to her car seat at that point since she was so little. She hated this. She would get hungry and cry. She would get hot and cry. She would get bored and cry. If you tried to give her something to look at and the sun got in her eyes she would cry. Who knows half the time she probably cried for no reason. And when I say she would cry, what I really mean is she would scream at the top of her lungs. But we kept at it, otherwise it felt like we would be confined to the house forever.

However, I am happy to say we are finally making progress! Once Fall came and she was big enough to sit up in the stroller we have finally been on some pleasurable walks. It is cooler outside, so she doesn't get too hot. The sun sets earlier, so it doesn't get in her eyes. She can see the world around her and enjoys playing with some toys, so she is much happier going for a walk now! And this makes Mom & Dad much happier in return!

The Joys and Trials of Breastfeeding (Take 2)

I can tell that I wrote the previous post on an "easy breastfeeding day". The next day we hit a growth spurt.

During growth spurts Riley eats and eats and eats. I can not keep up. A cow could not keep up.

During this time I still love feeding her and its still a special bonding time, but its also trying in that I sometimes feel like a failure as a mom. I usually end up supplementing with formula, because its impossible for me to give her enough milk. If she is hungry, she is in a bad mood. She gets that from me!

Luckily they usually only last about a week for us and then things seem to go back to normal. Whatever that is!

The Joys & Trials of Breastfeeding

No one told me that breastfeeding would be so much work! But rewarding as well.

We had a bit of a rough start. Riley kept wanting to put her tongue to the roof of her mouth, so you obviously can't be very successful with sucking that way. But eventually we got that figured out. Then she would fall asleep and feeding would take an hour or more. She would keep feeding just not very vigorously. When I was told I would feed her every 2 1/2 - 3 hours, I didn't realize that that was start to start. So for the first several weeks I was pretty much sitting on the couch and she was attached to my boob.

In the beginning, I would only offer her one side because she seemed full and content. However, she was not getting enough. And she let us know! Boy did she let us know...it just took us several days to figure out what all this screaming was about. We've always loved her, but once I started offering her both sides we liked her a lot more!

Since our little Riley Girl is so petite I think she eats more often. We're still on a 3 hour feeding schedule, but luckily she has gotten faster at feeding! I go to a Breastfeeding Group every Thursday to weigh her and see how much she takes in during a feeding. She was 6 lbs. 12 oz. when she was born and the week that she turned 3 months we finally broke 10 lbs (just barely)! She is behind in weight for her age, but as long as she is making progress her pediatrician is happy.

I love nursing her and I feel like its a special bonding time for us. But it also causes a little anxiety for me when she wants more milk and she thrashes around crying like I'm intentionally keeping it from her. But despite all the tears that come with nursing for us, it is worth it because there are even more smiles!

I love when she is satisfied and she looks like she is drunk on milk. Or when she is almost done eating and falls asleep, but she is smiling while still on the boob. Makes me laugh every time! Now that she is getting older she looks at me while she is eating and it is the sweetest thing in the world. I would not trade our time together for anything.

I will cherish this stage; the good & the bad too.

6 Week Pictures

I'm catching up! Here's sweet Riley at 6 weeks. Thank you Meghan Shaw for taking pictures for us. They are fabulous!

6 Week Riley - She had just started smiling.

Shouldn't I be sleeping right now?

That's more like it.

Winston says, "What is going on?"

Mommy Love

Daddy Love

Precious Riley