Arielle at 1 month

Hello baby girl and welcome to your first monthly update! I can't believe a month has gone by already (technically 5 weeks since I am so bad at blogging these days)! You had your 1 month check up today and you are 11 pounds 9 ounces and 23.25 inches long. That puts you in the 75-90 percentile for weight and the 95th percentile for height. I'd better start dressing you in all of your cute 0-3 clothes since it is obvious you won't be fitting in them for very long.

You have been alive such a short period of time, yet you have already been through 2 Scampoli family holidays. You slept through Thanksgiving and a Christmas Eve party even though there was chaos happening all around you. You are a great sleeper, and mommy appreciates it.

You are a breastfeeding champ (obviously since you weigh so much already) and we are a great night time team. You co-sleep with us and I feed you lying down, which is both convenient and allows me some lovely cuddle time in the still of the night. You give me a 4 hour and a 3 stretch at night and usually another 2-3 hour stretch in the early morning. It is broken sleep, but it is still restful since you sleep very soundly.

You have already started smiled, right around 4 weeks. Your brother didn't do that until he was 6 weeks old! You are holding your head up like a champ, but still not really digging tummy time. We need to work on that.

You are liking your baths much more now and are starting to have more and more quiet alert time instead of having to be held and bounced all the time. You do have a fussy period that can last between 6-11. I can usually pop you in the Baby Bjorn and you will fall asleep on me. This is killing my back, but it is better than bouncing on the exercise ball for hours on end!

You look so much like your brother it isn't even funny. Luckily he's darn pretty for a boy! I'll do a little side by side post later for comparison!

I look forward to watching you grow and hope that the time flying by translates to a quick winter. Don't gain too much weight because I have already bought an entire 6-9 month summer wardrobe for you and I will cry if you are too big to wear by then!

Nathan at 2 years 6 months

I'm way late on this update. You have been 2 1/2 for 2 1/2 weeks. Oops. I guess life just gets in the way some times. You are adjusting pretty well to being a big brother. You love your sister and want to be up in her business at all times. Every time she cries you tell me that, "Arielle needs boobies". You are obsessed with climbing into her swings, bouncy seat and car seat, I swear you are going to break one of them. You are a great helper and bring me diapers, her "paci" (not sure where you picked up that term since I have never called it that), and take her diapers to the trash for me.


I'm not sure if you are, indeed ,100 decibels louder than I remember or if that is your way of getting a little more attention, but I'm not a big fan of all of the recent screaming. You are having more and more tantrums lately and exerting your will by telling us no constantly.

Time outs really aren't working very well. I have to stand over you and keep putting you back in the corner. Also, you pretty much think it's a joke and are all smiles when you get out, even if you were crying and screaming one second before that.

You are hilarious with some of the things you come up with. You will throw a ball or do your "break dancing" and ask if that was "cool" or a "cool move". You have the cutest "wiggle booty dance". I have been meaning to get it on video because I always want to remember how funny you are.

I love the way you mess up words or phrases. You have a toy "spacernaut" (astronaut). When you take my blood pressure with your doctor kit you tell me I'm "healthful" (healthy). Things are still "sharpt" (sharp) and you still love your "bankalee" (blanky).

You are still a pretty good eater, but the battle of wills is coming out a bit at meal time. If we can trick you into starting eating, you will eat your food, but it takes twice as long to get through a meal than it used to.

I swore you had gained 5 pounds lately, but maybe it is just the juxtaposition between carrying your little sister and then picking you up. We weighed you at the doctor's office today and you weigh just over 34 pounds but are 38 inches tall (with no shoes on)!!

You have the most amazing memory and know all of the words to about 6 Disney songs. I'm talking LONG songs here, like a whole new world and Prince Ali from Aladdin and Part of Your World from Little Mermaid. You ask me to sing them every night and I oblige, even though I am so sick of them I could scream. I know there will be a time, soon enough, when you don't want mommy to sing to you so I will cherish the little things while I have them.

I can't believe you are half way to 3. It will be fun to watch as your sister grows and you two interact. I hope you stay sweet to her and take care of her.

Merry Christmas!

Wrap Up

I miss blogging. I really do. I miss rubbing my pregnant belly as I read every one's posts. Heck, I even miss writing my own. Truth is, I just haven't had the brain power, will power, or (wo)man power to do it lately. I imagine I will get back on track in the near future, but for now a quick wrap up of the last week and a half will have to do.

• We went to see Santa and try to get a Christmas tree at Brigg's Nursery. Nathan was so cute with Santa. He got right up there and told him that he wanted a "Big, Huge, Iron man and Spiderman" for Christmas. We tried to get a decent shot of him smiling, but you know how it goes with toddlers. We got these weird half smiles out of his buddy Tyler and an equally strange tongue in teeth smile out of Nate, so these were the best shots (sadly). I had Arielle in the Bjorn (oh I can't wait to use my ergo....come on 15 pounds!!) and she was peacefully sleeping, so I did not remove her and hand her to germy Santa. Maybe this week at the mall I will attempt that.
  

  They have a cool indoor polar express train set up and this entertained the boys for a while as they ate their candy canes. We didn't end up getting a tree (for the second time in a week) since they were ridiculously expensive and rather piddly looking for the price. Aaron surprised me and came home with a tree when he went to get dinner. It is an awesome tree and I will post pics...eventually!

• One of my oldest and best friends, Darcy, came to visit for the week. We have known each other since we were 15 and she lives in Oregon so I only get to see her once a year. I was so happy to have her visit! She was such a great help with the baby and Nathan. We got our craft on and I helped her make two Christmas presents with my handy dandy sewing machine. I can't say what they are just yet as I am making a couple to give as gifts myself, but I'll reveal all of my crafting after Christmas! We managed to get dressed up and go to my favorite restaurant to have a cocktail and share a creme brulee. It was only an hour and a half, but I felt like a real person again! Sadly, I suck at taking pictures these days and we snapped one pic before we left to take her back to the airport!
• I made chocolate chip cookies and I told my little helper that he could assist me in the making. We got the flour in a bowl, but then I needed to get into the drawer that his chair was blocking. I held his arm and tried to move the chair, only to throw him off balance and knock the bowl into the floor. The poor kid froze like he was going to be in big trouble. Instead I just laughed as it was totally my fault. Then, of course, I made him stand there covered in flour until I could get my camera and take a picture. See the empty bowl behind him. Ugh!
  
• Arielle has been doing great. She is 3 weeks old today and drank her first bottle of expressed milk tonight. She has been fussy and cluster-feeding in the evening and we thought a quick shot might fill her tummy enough to get her to nap once more before her normal bed time of 10:30 or so. We have been carrying her around or bouncing on the exercise ball from about 6-10 every night, so it is a welcome break for our backs! She had her first bath last week. She liked it for a total of 6 seconds and then screamed the whole time. I will try again this week!Well, not exactly short and sweet, but somewhat summarized! I have a ton more projects to finish before Christmas. I still haven't made Christmas cards or birth announcements. I have to get tot he post office tomorrow and all of this has to get done while taking care of the girl and trying not to body slam my defiant toddler. Wish me luck and I promise I will be back to commenting as soon as humanly possible!

Blog Bid Hope

I am participating in an auction to support 2 very good causes, The Liz Loglin Foundation and a fellow blogger Anissa Mayhew who recently had a stroke. I have donated 2 items, a personalized onesie and a crayon roll up. There are tons of great items to bid on so please go check it out and get some Christmas presents that will also help make a difference.

My Punchkin Wear Onesies and Little Aloutte natural wood teether

My crayon roll up and Liz's toddler apron

I will also give 10% off and free shipping for any orders on my Punchkin Wear or Etsy sites for people who participate in the auction! Email me before placing your order so I can send you an adjusted invoice! Happy Bidding!!

I blinked...

...and this baby girl is 2 weeks old! Well, tomorrow she will be, if you want to get technical!

It has been a busy time for us. She has already survived a Scampoli holiday gathering, of which I have no pictures to show {hangs head in shame}. She even slept on my lap through the chaos, that was 18 people in one room, 10 of whom were playing Apples to Apples (very VERY loudly).

She is the best sleeper so far (I pray I didn't just jinx myself). She generally gives me 3 hour stretches and sometimes even graces me with one 4 hour one at night. She falls asleep instantly in the car (unlike her screeching brother when he was a baby). She nurses well and is gaining the weigh back she lost in the first few days.

She dislikes the swing and gets the hiccups EVERY time I put her in it. Her brother wouldn't even sleep unless he was on me or in the swing, so this is such a weird change for me. It is also a nice change!

She does have one fussy period a day, usually between the hours of 6 and 10 at night. We're working on this.

Natey has been a bit wild but so sweet with her. Every time she has her eyes open he, "Hi Arielle"s her for about 10 minutes! He is a bit rowdy, but I think he is just adjusting to having a small, crying being in the house. Every time she cries, he announces that, "Arielle needs boobies". I just can't wait until he does this in public.

We have managed to do a little bit of Christmas shopping this week, went to visit Liz at her craft show yesterday and today we went on our first real outing to see Santa and attempt to get a tree (still didn't happen). I decided I didn't want to wake my sleeping newborn and hand her to germ infested Santa, so Nate got to sit by himself again this year (post coming soon). I was a little disappointed that her super cute outfit that Heather bought her didn't get to be seen by all, but I took some pictures when we got home.

All in all the whole family is doing really well, I have just been busy trying to squeeze things in when she naps. I'm sure it will get easier as she gets a little bigger and I get used to having 2 munchkins in the house. I love having my big boy and baby girl. They fill my heart and make me smile, even when I'm tired.

A Baby Story

Sunday night I went to sleep on the wrong side of the bed...literally. We have a co-sleeper and thought it might be logistically easier if it were on the side of the bed opposite the door for easier coming and going in our room. Unfortunately that is Aaron's side of the bed. I thought we could give swapping a try for a night and see how it went. I warned him, before I went to bed, that if I couldn't sleep I was waking him up to switch. After some weird dreams, a drooling incident (that's a whole post of it's own) and waking up at 4:30am with my back killing me, I decided I had had enough with HIS side of the bed. I grabbed my pillows (which is like 100 when you're 9 months pregnant), got up, grumbled to him to scoot over and nestled happily into the right side of our bed.

Eight minutes later I had my first contraction. This was no false alarm, no pre-labor. This was what I remembered from the last time. How had I mistaken my 5 hours of fakers on the 14th for this?? As I laid there through the first few, I smiled. It was time. I was finally going to have this baby!!! I waited until 6:00am to wake Aaron and let him know. At that point the contractions were 5-6 minutes apart and getting stronger. I decided I'd better eat and get a quick shower before we had to leave for the hospital. At 7 I woke Natey up and grabbed the last of our stuff and put it in the car. As I watched my handsome little boy run around in his jammies I began to tear up. This was the last time he would be an only child. All of our worlds were about to change forever. We snapped one last picture as we left the house. It was a gloomy day out as we left our house. We had planned to drop Natey off and then go to the hospital, but by the time we left the house at 7:30 my contractions had sped up to 3-4 minutes apart. I figured it would be a better bet to take me first.

I got to the hospital at 7:40, got settled into triage and waited for my midwife. When she arrived 15 minutes later, she checked me and I was dilated to 5cm. They were getting my room ready so I stayed in triage and waited for Aaron to arrive. He got there, my contractions started getting stronger and I was moved up to my labor and delivery room at 8:55am. My midwife checked me again and I was dilated to 8cm. It all seemed a little surreal this time. I was more in control. I knew what I was doing. I trusted my body and the fact that I had done this once before without drugs. There was only one point during the last 2 contractions before I started pushing when I looked at Aaron and said, "I'm scared". He smiled at me and said I was doing a great job and we'd have this baby out in no time. At 10:31 am I delivered my beautiful baby girl, Arielle Lorraine. To say it was amazingly fast would be an understatement. I could not believe it only took 6 hours from start to finish. As they laid her on me, I though she seemed so small. After carrying 35 pound Natey around, I couldn't fathom that she was 9 and a half freaking pounds!!! What?? I just delivered a gigantic baby, with no drugs, and I didn't so much as tear. How, on earth, is that possible??

For those of you who played the game, I wanted to show proof that she was, in fact, born the morning after the last guess!! Between my blog contest and the pool from my baby shower we raised 76 dollars. Since no one got the date right, it will all be donated to the MS society. What is even better is my work has a matching gift program, so a total of $150 will be donated in my mom's name!

My midwife was amazing, yet again. I loved the experience I had when I was pregnant and delivering Natey and this time was no different. I even followed her to a new practice and delivered at a different hospital than I preferred to have her. Truth be told, I would have a baby in a Walmart if she would deliver me!

Aaron was the best partner yet again. He has such a quiet calm about him that it always helps to calm my nerves. I know he truly believes in me and it reassured me all the way through.

Natey came to visit us that evening. He is the proudest big brother I have ever seen. He loved holding her and is always wanting to touch her face. He was so gentle with her and seeing them together melts my heart!

I felt surprisingly great after having her (obviously since I was tweeting and updating Facebook, via my beloved BlackBerry, 45 min after she was born). I feel a lot calmer this time. Maybe it's because I feel like I know what I'm doing. I'm not all panicky and freaking out over every detail. I let them take her to the nursery so I could get some rest (which I didn't do when Nate was born) and I felt like I was ready to go home the next day. They did her 24 hour check and said we were free to go!

Now we're home and she is the best baby. She sleeps well, is feeding well and I'm even getting rest when she sleeps. Keep your fingers crossed that it stays this way and I will update more as the days and weeks go by!

I know you want to squeeze those cheeks. How could you not??!!

"Nesting"

I have given new meaning to the word "nesting". Most people equate nesting with organizing, cleaning and preparing their home for a new baby. Don't get me wrong, I have done my fair share of that in the past 2 weeks since I have been off of work, but I take the word to a whole new level! The "theme", if you will, of baby girl's room is birds. The inspiration for her room was the 2 yellow bird cages I found one Saturday while yard-saling. I wanted something sweet and girlie without gagging myself in pepto bismol pink so I painted her room a pale shade of limey green and the bedding takes care of the pink factor. I don't have the crib set up since Natey is still sleeping in it still, but here is what the bedding looks like.

About a year ago I saw a pattern to make fabric birds. Liz made one and I attempted to make one, but I tried to be all smarty pants and use my sewing machine, and it was fugly. Yeah, it didn't work. These babies need to be hand sewn. There was also a picture of a mobile made up of these birds. I thought it was the cutest idea but, not even being pregnant at the time, didn't really have a use for it. Fast forward a year and I had picked out the room decor and it just fell into place. I was meant to make one of these mobiles! It looked simple enough. Cut out coordinating fabric, enough for 11 birds. Sew and stuff birds. Sew birds to the sticks. Attach sticks together and hang. In reality it was "that easy" but VERY time consuming. It took me a total of 10 hours to finish this project!

Here are the birds just after I sewed them.

And here is the final product!!

I love how it turned out. The hardest thing was getting the branches balanced. I swear, if you ever make one of these start the balancing at the bottom! You can't really get a feel for the color of the room since I took these pictures with no natural light, but after the nursery is all put together I will do a post showing the whole thing!! Oh and baby girl, if you were waiting for me to finish this project before you arrived,

I'M DONE!!!! YOU CAN COME OUT NOW!!!!