30 Months

Sophie is now officially two and half years old!

The biggest thing that happened this month for Sophie is that she became a big sister. I was very nervous about this before Josie was born because I didn't know how Sophie would handle having a new baby in the house. I am so impressed at how well she's handled things. She absolutely adores her baby sister! At first Sophie was jealous of the attention Josie was getting from Joe, but that went away quickly and it never got in the way of her love for her sister. Josie is the first thing that she asked about the morning and she makes sure to give her lots of love each day. She is constantly giving Josie kisses, hugs, and wants to hold her. She's also become quite the helper. She will get me diapers, burp cloths, and pacifiers when I need one. She will also throw away diapers if needed. It is such a big help during the day when I am home alone with both girls.

Earlier this month, Sophie had a stomach bug. She took a nap in our bed with Joe while I was downstairs with Josie. Joe woke up before her and he left her in the bed so he could go do other things. A little while later she started screaming and crying. Sophie was still in bed, surrounded by puke! I can count on one hand how many times Sophie has puked, so this really worried us (puke would worry us anyway, but you know what I mean). Joe cleaned her up, brought her downstairs to me (I was still recovering from my c-section and couldn't help out), and cleaned our bed. We hoped it was a one time thing, but she wasn't that lucky. She ended up puking five times! Poor kid! After she puked for a second time, I had Joe get a big, red bowl out for her to puke in. Whenever I  saw that she was about to puke (she would make this awful burping sound and sit up real straight), I would put the bowl in front of her. She would then freak out on me: "No, Mommy! No, no, no!" Then she would make that burping sound again and vomit in the bowl. I'm pretty sure she thought that I was making her puke by placing the bowl in front of her.  I felt so bad for her. Luckily the bug didn't last long and she was back to her old self the next day.

Sophie's favorite book this month is still Everyone Poops. She could listen to us read it all day long. She even  has memorized parts of the book. Her second favorite book is I Love You Stinky Face. She goes nuts over this book and wants to hear it every day. I love it, too, so I am happy to read it to her.

I've been trying really hard to make sure that I am spending one-on-one time with Sophie so she doesn't feel left out. We snuggle on the couch a lot (cause momma is tired!). Besides that, Sophie has been 'helping' me cook and clean in the kitchen. I pull a chair up next to where I am working (sink, island, stove-at a safe distance) and she climbs up. She loves it! Often I will give her bowls and spoons to 'cook' with. She will also test out any food that I chop up (she likes raw onions - go figure!). She even helped me make a birthday cake for my mom today. I love spending that time with her. I can't wait until she can really help me out.

I can't believe how grown up Sophie is becoming. She's a sweet, smart, funny, helpful, sassy and strong young lady. I am so thankful that I am her mom!

I am going to sorta miss seeing this paci.

Sophie's 2nd favorite thing about getting a new baby sister - getting presents!

The 3 of us hung out on the couch a lot this month

3 Weeks Old

It has been 3 weeks since my little Josephine has been born. I already find it hard to remember what life was like before her. (Must be the sleep deprivation clogging up my memory) Josie is doing great. She is still drinks about 3 oz at a time. She is still spitting up multiple times a day and seems pretty gassy at times. Poor girl! Hopefully the gas and spit up is temporary and will end soon. 

Being home alone with the girls while Joe is at work is going well. It is exhausting, but so nice to have that time with both of them. I have received some help during the day. Both Grandmas have come over this week to spend time with the girls. Yesterday, Joe and I were able to go out and spend some time together when my mom came over. When Joe's mom came over today, I was able to get a much needed nap (after only getting 1 1/2 hours sleep last night). I am so grateful to both of them for their help!

Earlier this week, my mom kept Sophie overnight. The next day while big sister was still at Grandma's, Josie and I made our first trip outside alone together. I had to drop off paperwork at the doctor's office. She was a perfect angel and slept the whole time we were out.  I hope it is always like this.

The newest thing that happened this week is that Josie smiled. She has been smiling in her sleep since she was born (which I don't count as they are probably just from gas), but on Feb 17th, she smiled while awake. Joe had just come home from work and was holding Josie. He was talking to her and all of a sudden she broke out into a big smile! It only lasted about 5 seconds, but those were 5 wonderful seconds. 

This isn't her smiling for Joe (obviously), but you can see just how sweet her little smile is. 

Happy dreams or gas? Either way that smile is pretty darn cute. 

Here are some pictures from this week:

Josie's 1st Valentine's Day

Meeting cousin Kaci for the first time

I tried out our Boba wrap for the first time. Josie loved it and slept for two hours. I liked having my hands and arms free.

She likes to fall asleep when I burp her. 

Little smiles in her sleep

Mommy and Josie

Daddy and his girls

Sophie likes supervising Josie while she does tummy time. Supervising includes lots of kisses, pats on the back and exclaiming "Good job, Josie!"

Stretching those legs and lifting that head.

2 Weeks Old

It has been two weeks since Josie has joined our family. We are starting to get into the groove of being a family of four. Joe and I take turns spending time with each girl and caring for them, as well as giving each other breaks. So far it is working out well. Sophie's jealousy over Josie taking her daddy time away has seemed to diminish a lot this week. She has become even more helpful and loving towards her little sister. It is so heartwarming to see.

Josie has been doing really well this week. She is drinking around 3 ounces at each feeding and keeps gaining weight. She is still spitting up fairly regularly (most are small ones, but some are pretty big), but she doesn't seem that bothered by it. I've given Josie the nickname 'squeaker' due to the fact that she constantly makes these little squeaking noises while sleeping. It is pretty cute. She will also make these big gasping sounds randomly. That is more scary than cute. Even though she doesn't really like it, she has been doing well with tummy time. I am impressed with her head control. While it still wobbles around, she can lift it all the way off the floor and look from side to side before resting again. (She has been doing this since day 2 in the hospital when laying on my chest, though it was only for a few seconds then.)

I am glad that I am able to help more this week as opposed to last week when I was still recovering. The number one reason I am glad that I am more helpful this week is because the stomach bug that has been going around hit our house. One morning I woke up not feeling well. I got sick twice, but once I took Pepto and a nap I felt better. Later that day while Sophie was napping, she woke up and puked all over the bed. She came downstairs and seemed fine, but later puked again. She ended up puking five times. Poor thing. She slept through the night without puking and was back to normal the next day. Instead, she passed the stomach bug on to Joe. He had mentioned how he had an upset stomach. He was doing okay at first that next morning, but I woke up from a nap on the couch to him puking in a bowl in the kitchen. He was out of commission for the rest of the day. Luckily Josie stayed healthy. (Well, she was pooping and spitting up, but I think that was more because she is a baby instead of a stomach bug.) We were so glad when everyone was back to normal again.

Joe went back to work today, so it was my first day alone with the girls. It went pretty well. The girls slept in for me until 8:30 which was wonderful! After that I was just a matter of feeding, changing diapers, playing and snuggling with the two of them. I was exhausted but loved being able to spend time with my girls. I am just so thankful that I am feeling better from my c-section and my incision area isn't hurting. I know I am overdoing it a little bit, but it's worth it to be with my girls. (I love saying 'my girls!')

My favorite moment of the week: It was Sophie's bedtime, so she came over to give me a kiss goodnight. Afterwards, she bent down to a sleeping Josie, kissed her on the head and said, "Night night, sweetie." My heart melted! It was so sweet.

Here are a few pictures from this week: