Returned to Work on Wednesday

Man, six weeks at home really flew by! Pregnancy goes by slowly, but time with a baby sure goes by quickly!

Returning to work wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I think the anticipation was worse than actually returning. I've been doing 2 pumping sessions. However, due to my husband's schedule, I'm going to be working 9 hour days 4 days a week, and will probably have to increase it to 3. So far, I've gotten enough for her, but I know that my supply might suffer after more weeks of pumping. We'll see.

Also, I had my postpartum appointment, and things have healed up nicely! Yay! :)

Things I never want to forget

Leah is growing up so quickly, and it has me thinking of what moments I want to remember when she's grown. So far I have:

• The feeling of her falling asleep on top of me as I sit reclined on the couch.
• The satisfied look on her face and the post-meal stretch she does after a feeding.
• I once heard my husband singing lullabies to her over the baby monitor when he didn't think I was listening. It made my heart swell.
• The cute noises she makes when she's waking up. I also love the look on my dog Popcorn's face when she hears this. She's not quite sure what to make of it.
• Leah staring me in the eye as she nurses. This is one of the reasons I love breastfeeding.
• The cute, crooked little yawn she has when she's sleepy.
  

I'm sure there will be more times like this, but I never want to forget these. I wish time would slow down a bit sometimes.

Leah is a month old!

I can't believe it's already been one month since my sweet daughter was born. Where the heck did the time go?

I'll be returning to work on August 24th. I will definitely miss my sweet girl. My current obsession is making sure I leave enough breast milk for her to eat while I'm gone. I'm nervous I'm going to fall behind. I'd really like to not supplement, though I know it's not the end of the world if that happens. My current plan is to pump before I go to work, pump twice at work, and pump once at night. Hopefully, that will give me enough. If not, I'll re-evaluate.

She's growing so fast! This week, she moved to size 1 diapers and is mainly in 0-3 clothes. A few of her newborn outfits fit, but not many. It makes me a little sad, honestly. However, I know it's a good thing that she's growing and gaining weight.

We took her to the drive-in twice this week. The first time, we saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Captain America, both great movies. She slept through both movies, waking up between them for a diaper change/feeding. In other words, couldn't have gone better. The second time, we saw Captain America again, as well as Cowboys and Aliens. She was a little fussier then, and cried a few times during the movies. Luckily, she calmed down fairly quickly.

And finally, some pictures of my little girl at one month old:


I'm also a huge fan of this one:


She does not look happy.

Things I Love

Taking care of a baby has been a learning process. We have quickly learned which products we can't live without.

Aden and Anais Blankets from Target
These are SO easy to swaddle with. I know a lot of people say the Target ones are inferior to the ones sold on the A&A website, but I love them. They are 4 for $30 as opposed to 4 for $50 for the regular ones. Leah only likes sleeping on a flat surface (like the crib) swaddled. In fact, after I got home and saw how well she slept in them, I went to Target and bought another pack.

Chicco Lullaby Pack n Play
We have a two story home, and during the day, like to keep her with us. We put this in the living room, and this is where she spends a lot of her time during the day. It also has a changing table that we use during the day. Love it!

Fisher Price Rainforest Swing
She loves the music that comes from it. Sometimes we just leave it playing all night. In addition, sometimes she won't go back to sleep after a night feeding, and we'll put her in the swing to rock her to sleep. Once she's nice and sleepy, we put her in the crib.

Diaper Genie II Elite
When Ray is changing the bag in this, I occasionally get a whiff of what's in that thing. It smells awful, but this diaper pail holds the smell really well. We actually have two! One downstairs and one in Leah's bedroom.

3 Weeks Old

I think time is flying by way faster now that I'm a mama. I can't believe 3 weeks have already passed since my sweet daughter came into my life. That's half of my maternity leave!

I love being a mom. I can't believe how amazing it is. I love seeing this face everyday:



She's starting to stay awake more and more. She still sleeps the vast majority of the day, though.

In vanity news, I'm in pre-pregnancy clothes now! I'm pretty excited...I hate those stupid jeans with the full belly panel. Old Navy jeans, I have missed you!

We scheduled Leah's baptism for September. So now, I'm on the lookout for a baptism gown, and can't find one I like enough to spend that kind of money. She's only going to wear it once, so I don't want it to be TOO pricey. Yes, I am definitely a cheapskate.