Our First {Real} Garden

So one day on one of our many Home Depot runs (it's become my favorite thing to go walk the garden section on weekends lately) Larry got the idea of trying to grow some watermelon. We weren't sure it would even take so we just got one pot, some soil, and the seeds just to see.

Well turns out he's got quite the green thumb and watermelon leaves started popping up fast. Before we knew how quickly more would show up we ended up making another run and got one of those 4X4 cedar box kits for raised garden beds, soil, and some carrot, cucumber, and lettuce seeds (which we got with Larry's gift card he got for Father's Day) to grow some veggies as well. Those started sprouting quickly so we decided to get another box and soil to transport the watermelon leaves to the new box. They looked a little sad at first, but after getting watered they looked a little better and we got those going again.

After a few days

After a few weeks!

I'm so happy to see how quickly things are growing and how good they look so far. I can't wait till they are grown well enough to pick them. I take Cara out every few mornings to check them out. She obviously has no idea what they are, but I'm excited for her to try them one day and to know we grew them all ourselves!

Going Back To Work

I wish I would've known how stressful getting back to work and figuring out a new schedule was when I made all the plans I did this week. Oh man!

So I joked with Larry when I was on maternity leave that I wish I could've come back after 8 weeks and used the other 4 weeks later when Cara was learning more (even though I doubt maternity leave works that way). Honestly, as hard as it would've been to leave Cara earlier, it might have been nice to get into that routine earlier. I had plans for almost every day after work this week and it meant I didn't have time to workout and I felt like things were so chaotic because Larry was stuck with Cara and I didn't feel like I got time to play with her (and I'm not used to that). It has been extremely hard, I'm pretty sure I'm starting to get stress hives all over :\

Luckily, we've crossed the hardest hurdle, the first week away. It wasn't a full week, but close enough (hopefully adding one day next week won't be too much more difficult). I'm having the hardest time realizing Larry now has to split his time between work and a baby and so then Cara isn't getting as much attention as she used to and it was a little heart breaking to me. I know this is what we agreed on when we decided to have a baby, but it's much harder than I realized it would be. The thing is I know it's good for Cara because I was playing with her constantly throughout the day and Larry will be good at leaving her to play on her own and she'll learn to be more independent that way. But I still miss our walks through the house, reading to her, and even changing her diapers (apparently when it's your kid it isn't as bad as when it's other's kids haha).

One day I might be able to stay home, maybe I'll just stop worrying about being away from her and feel better as time goes on, either way it'll get better and I'm trying to keep that in mind every day and enjoy at least bringing in money each day :) Until then at least I have pictures like below to keep me going and remind me why I'm working so hard (so she - and any future kids - can have an amazing life!):

Her many expressions that keep me smiling
Throughout my day

Cara's First Hike

So we I decided for my last weekend on maternity leave we should go on a hike. One reason being I wanted to prove I could do a hike after having a baby and another reason being I want to hike more with the kids* as they grow up so why not start early? Plus it keeps us feeling healthy haha.

I pulled out our hiking books to get a good idea of what hikes were near us and would be good for us. I wanted one that was with a waterfall because I love those ones the best. I found quite a few (one of which was recommended by my Dr.) and after discussing them and coming to the conclusion that it was our first hike, our first time taking Cara out in the carrier, and other reasons that it would be best to go with the shortest one - Battle Creek Falls (which happened to be the one my Dr. recommended, funny huh?).

Turns out it was a good thing we picked a shorter hike. It wasn't too bad, but I forgot to grab our water (we had bottle makings for Cara and we covered ourselves in sunscreen and added bug spray to Cara because I'm just that paranoid and careful) so it turns out it's more difficult to hike without water. We used to hike and bring lunches with us so we could eat at our end and I was bummed we didn't bring food this time, but then when we got to the end I realized it would've been hard to eat with Cara since we didn't really have a place to put her and it was pretty busy at the waterfall so it worked out. We got to the waterfall, I took my loads of pictures, we watched for a few minutes, and then hiked back.

On the way up Cara was obsessed with staring at Larry's shirt (she likes to think she can read his shirts haha), but once we got to the waterfall she became intrigued with the sounds and wanted to watch things on the way down. It was so cute to see her curious face as she noticed people and nature passing by.

That curious face...melts my heart!

So overall our first hike was pretty successful, they are a little different than they used to be, but still enjoyable and I'm glad Cara didn't have any fits in the carrier or with all the stuff (sunscreen and bug spray) on her. It was her first time being in the sun for that long so she did really well with that as well and I'm glad we got to get that in. Now to get ready for my last Sunday before I return to work (I can't tell if I'm dreading it or just want to get it done and over with haha).

*and by kids I mean the one we have now with the hopeful thinking we'll have more. Please don't read too much into this particular wording

Cara is TWO Months!

I am TWO months old!

 

 

I like: The living room windows (this should really say loves the windows...they got her first real smiles), standing on her legs with assistance from us (she LOVES that), bath time (for the most part, it's the getting out of the warm water and freezing she hates), car rides or walks to new places, mom and dad (if others are holding her she always knows where we are in the room...I'm taking that as a sign of love haha), my voice (she coos and makes noises all the time and I LOVE it), and (of course) keeping my parents on their toes when it comes to what actually puts me to sleep.

 

I dislike: Being put down or sleeping during growth spurts (which makes it fun for mom and dad!), tummy time (if it goes past 2 or 3 minutes) or gas bubbles (who can blame her though, right?)

 

I am now: wearing 0-3 months clothes and size 1 diapers (WHAT?!). At her two month appointment (which was today, but the picture was taken on the 2nd though) she was 11 lbs. 3 oz. and 22.9 inches long. Our unofficial measurements on the 2nd were just over 10 lbs. and 21.5 inches, so we were kind of close to what the dr had :)

Didn't have the bow yet,
But she's so cute all smiley

 

A Typical Day looks like:

• 8:30 wake up, eat, get changed (diaper and clothes)
• 9 - 9:45/10 play on activity mat, tummy time, walk around the house
• 9:45-11:45/12 nap time
• 12-2 eat, change, and play again (this time we'll throw in a book or a Disney movie instead of a walk)
• 2-4 nap (she'll usually make it to 3 or 3:30 on this one, but then we do a walk to the mail box at 3:30 and she'll sleep through that)
• 4-7 eat, change, play (we'll do dinner around 5:30 so she'll go in the swing at this point) and 6/6:30 is when she starts to get fussy for bed.
• 7-7:30 bath (either with these head to toe wipes I got or a real bath)
• 7:30 start bedtime routine. Sometimes she goes to bed at 8:30, other times it's 9:30. We're working on getting it closer to 8:30

 

Such an angel when she sleeps
And I love when she's cuddle-y

 This Month I: Got to meet Nana on mom's side, which means I got to go to a bunch of new places during the day (see this post for that visit and what Cara liked and didn't like). I also celebrated dad's first Father's Day by only giving him the good smiles (the little stinker!). I grew a bunch and am still doing what I can to keep my parents on their toes a bit haha.

 

Trying out sunglasses for our Zoo trip
(I determined they were too big for her though)

 

Doing her "exercises" with Daddy

Parent's Notes: Cara was such a good baby this month. It was SO nice having my mom in town to have an extra set of hands and eyes for me during the day. It was also nice taking Cara out during the day, which I guess I was nervous to do before now thinking it would throw off her schedule too much. But we did really good, I wasn't able to pump as much as I'm used to so I made sure to make up for that after the visit and get back into the schedule, but it was SO nice seeing I could take her out during the day and be good. I even started walking up to the Ridley's up the street when we need an item or two from the store and taking Cara with me.

She's got a grumpy face, but she
Actually liked the chair for a bit

She also got super smiley and better at holding her neck up. It was nice because she would get little smiles here and there (I even joked with Larry that I worried about her sense of humor because I would hardly get any smiles even though I would play with her or make funny faces/voices at her all day and get almost nothing). Then I got some gripe water and OH MY GOSH! What a game changer! That must have helped so much because she got SUPER smiley after that. It's like having a whole new baby!

Looking at her windows :)

 

Another helpful gadget we got was a monitor so that we can put her to bed earlier and leave her in the room while we have our own time again. That has been a major help in keeping me feeling sane and more normal (even though I don't actually leave her in the room unless I'm putting pumped milk in the fridge real quick, but it'll be good for when I'm ready to).

Trying out the carrier

 One of the biggest shocks was at one point during this month she actually nursed! We decided to try it on a whim and for a few nights she took too it like a champ. Unfortunately, after those few days she started to get too frustrated with it and she'd start to throw a hissy fit that we couldn't calm her down from and so we decided to stop trying. It was sad it didn't last long, but it was nice to at least have those few days and it seemed to really up our bond (she's super cuddle-y with me after that).
 

Update on last month's goals:

• We did good with the sensations, but I'd like to work more on those, especially the feeling one. The smell she'd react to some things, but not a lot, so I think we have to wait a bit on that one, and listening just comes with being awake so not much to report on that one either.
• We worked a little more on tummy time, but more towards the end of the month. She has a stronger neck when we hold her up, but lifting it is going to take a bit more work.
• She isn't grabbing things just yet. We can get her to hold onto things if we wrap her fingers around them, but she doesn't grab herself yet. She will still grab fingers though, so it's a start.
• Nap time schedule we messed with in the middle of the month, but things are going well with it so far.
• I was able to start my workouts again after my mom's visit and I bought this amazing post partum belt that helps get all my insides back together. My diastasis recti went from 4.5/5 fingers to 2 finger wide so I'm doing better on that, but at my 6 week check up my midwife still said I need to work on repairing it and can't do any sort of stomach workouts just yet. I did get a new Fitbit (I lost the charger to my old one and I couldn't find anywhere sold just the charger so I had to upgrade) to help motivate me to get up and stay active whenever possible.

Goals for next month:

• Mom continue working out and build up to 3 days a week (I'm only at 2 right now because my weekend one usually ends up getting skipped). I also would like to make sure I'm wearing my belly belt as much as possible to get my abs back together sooner (the midwife said up by my ribs is looking good, but the lower you go the wider it is)
• Continue working on sensations, tummy time, and grabbing toys.
• Get out of the house at least one day a week and do my best to hit my goal steps each day.
• Continue working on nap schedules and getting it all ready for when I go back to work and she's with Larry all day (sniff sniff...I'm going to miss being the one she sees most of the day)
• Keep the smiles coming!! I can't seem to get enough of them, I love making her smile and coo!
• Make the most of this last month I have with her! It's REALLY going to be hard leaving her each morning, even though I know it'll be good for us all around.