We had a nice, relaxed Easter this year. These tired parents of a newborn were not up to planning anything elaborate, but we still found ways to make the holiday fun for Kaden. We missed out on some of the big organized Easter egg hunts in town, but Kaden enjoyed hunting for eggs hidden around the living room. We also tried dying eggs for the first time. Daddy had to get in on the action and decorate a couple in a true fighter pilot fashion. ;^)
Easter morning, the kids got dressed up and opened their combined Easter basket (mostly filled with goodies from family. Thank you!) Then we went to church, where mommy spent most of the service pacing the halls with a fussy baby. (They broadcast the sermon over speakers out there so I still got to hear the message, though.) Then we went over to a friends house for a delicious brunch and some great fellowship time. My hands were full feeding Audrey so I didn't get any pictures, but our hostess made quite the spread, and the kids looked so cute playing together.
I honestly don't remember what happened the rest of the day... Haha! (Mommy brain.) I'm sure it was filled with relaxed family time. I managed to get the kiddos to pose for a quick Easter photo right before bedtime. Audrey was in her third outfit of the day and I had to photoshop out all the pasta sauce on Kaden's face, but we got a semi-decent snapshot of them in spring attire.
Kaden loves his baby sister, and we are more thankful than ever for new life and all the promises of the Cross!
Audrey's first month has flown by! We were so thankful for all the help from friends and family that made our transition to a family of four quite smooth. Between the uncle and grandmas who willingly took care of Kaden all day and night, the husband who got up with him on weekends so I could sleep in a little longer, and friends who made us meals, this grateful mama had it pretty easy those first few weeks. I really only had to focus on feeding and caring for our little girl, and what a joy that was!
First home video of our little girl!
Audrey also made caring for a newborn look easy. She's a spirited little thing, much like her brother was. But she has already settled into a good feeding schedule and sleeps A LOT, which is an answered prayer. Those first couple of days in the hospital, it was a challenge to wake her up to eat. Sometimes it took an hour of moving her around, stroking her face, talking to her, and eventually undressing her and rubbing her with cool cloths to rouse her enough for a meal! That newborn sleepiness soon wore off, though, and she began demanding to eat every 2-4 hours. She doesn't cry just to fuss or for unexplained reasons like Kaden did. For the most part she's content to hang out. But if she's hungry or tired, boy will she let you know! This little lady knows what she wants and goes after it! We love her tenacity.
Unfortunately, keeping up with that appetite has been difficult. Once again, I'm having problems with breast feeding her. Thankfully, I learned a lot after battling this issue with Kaden, so I knew how to help the process along. In addition to hydrating like crazy (drinking at least 100 oz of water and gatorade a day), I've been drinking 2-4 cups of Mother's Milk tea a day (filled with herbs like fenugreek which naturally promote a healthy milk supply), and baking and eating "lactation cookies" (filled with things that increase your milk supply like oatmeal, brewers yeast and ground flax seeds). I've also been pumping after most daytime feedings to tell my body it needs to make more milk, and giving what little I produce to her in a bottle around dinner time (to give us a little peace so WE can eat too). It's a demanding regimen, and I don't know how much longer I'll be able to maintain it. But it's worth it. Not only do I think she's getting a lot of immediate and long-term health benefits from nursing, but I feel like all the work to increase my supply is helping her to grow.
Initially the doctors were worried about her slow growth since she's still pretty tiny. But at her one month check-up she weighed 9 lbs 3 oz, which puts her in the 50th percentile for weight - which is perfect. For the most part she's still in newborn clothes and diapers, but I expect that to change very soon. If she doesn't get too chubby for them, she may soon be too long to wear those little newborn onesies. She's already tall for her age (22 inches, which puts her in the 75th percentile) and she has long, willowy limbs and long fingers and toes. Maybe she'll be an athlete!
Or a dancer. Audrey is an active little wiggle worm. She does not like to be swaddled, but instead wants to let her limbs wave free. When she's awake, it's fun to watch because it seems like she's dancing or trying very hard to communicate an idea. But the movement doesn't stop when she's sleeping, and the resulting sleep positions are quite comical! We've realized that - even if she doesn't like it - she really does need to be tightly swaddled in order to sleep well because she moves too much and always wakes herself up.
We named her Audrey because we could sense right away that she is a strong little girl for her age. ("Audrey" means strength and nobility.) At only a couple of days old, she could already hold her head up, and at one week old she learned to roll over from her front to her back. (Another thing she has in common with her big brother is that she does NOT like tummy time and will not consent to stay on her belly for more than a minute.) We fully expect her to hit a lot of those movement milestones early and start crawling, walking and climbing well before we're ready. Not only does she have the strength and drive to move, she's got a big brother to keep up with!
video of her rolling over at 1 week old
It's been fun starting to get to know Audrey and trying to figure out her personality. She certainly shares a lot of traits with Kaden. Physically, she resembles him (though she looks a lot more like me than he does. She has light brown hair and dark blue eyes, which we expect to turn brown here soon.) She's also very alert and aware of her surroundings, just like he was. Though she doesn't look quite so serious when she's peering around and seems to take more pleasure in watching things like baby mobiles and moving lights. And she has inherited the Zuercher family super hearing. She is very aware of, and sometimes bothered by loud sounds. With those good ears and long fingers, she could become a great musician. But she doesn't seem to have quite as much interest in music just yet. We'll see if that develops later.
For the most part, she's your average happy baby who spends all her time eating, pooping and sleeping. The only health problem we've encountered so far is a moderate case of silent reflux. So she's on medication for that. But otherwise, we are thankful for a sweet, cuddly, healthy baby girl!
2 weeks old
Most of my photos of her look like this. Always moving!
Being coached on how to look cute by big brother. ;^)
