Starting New

 Aubrie is officially one month old! Where did the last 4 weeks go?!? And she is realllllly bulking up!

 

We went to visit our friend's 4 day old baby yesterday and Aubrie looked huge compared to this new little thing. I'm a little sad that she isn't a newborn anymore, but I'm excited to see who she is and who she turns out to be. We can't help but compare Aubrie to Marlie as a baby... here's a few highlights that we've noticed so far...

 

Marlie:

• Had quite a bit of hair when she was born- "dirty strawberry blond" hair.
• Had to wake her to eat at first, and she took about an hour to nurse each time. Slowly she started nursing every two hours - on the dot!
• She lost a lot of weight before leaving the hospital so we watched her weight carefully to make sure she was gaining it all back at a normal rate.
• Loved to be swaddled!
• Started sleeping 5 to 6 hours after only a few weeks. We are so lucky!
• Never really had a problem keeping warm - she was comfortable and content.
• Very alert. She had to be facing outward when held or positioned so she could see everything going on around her.

Aubrie:

• Very little hair on this little head! And its just "dirty blond". No red.
• Started nursing very well on her own and eats every 1.5 to 2 hours! I usually cut her off after 45 mins.
• Didn't loose quite as much weight after being born, but gained over a pound in just two weeks. I don't think there will be a problem with weight gain!
• Loves to be swaddled and will not cry herself to sleep unless she is.
• Sleeps 4 to 5 hour stretches at night. Wishing we got more sleep, but that will come.
• Gets cranky if she is cold. She is happy as a lark if she is cuddled and warm!
• Very alert and likes to see what is going on. Holds her head and looks around very well.
• Looks like Marlie's baby pictures, but has her own look to herself. Especially her eyes.

Overall consensus is that Marlie is most like Chris and Aubrie is more like me. We are excited for this new year and all the changes it will bring.

As far as resolutions go, it's been a good time to reflect and think about what I need to change in my life. There's a lot, being a new mom-of-two. I've decided overall that instead of making resolutions that I will forget about after a few weeks, I will make a new resolution every month. If I can keep it for a month, great. If it becomes habit, even better! What am I aiming for? Well, I'm still working on that. Keeping a better schedule to help me keep the house in order is at the top of my list. A program I found online called Project 52 is a definite keeper too. It's an online course to help you push yourself to improving your photography skills, one week at a time for a year. Excited about that one! Check up on me at my photography site to see how I'm doing. And while you're at it, stop by my house unannounced sometime and see how I'm doing on keeping my other resolution this month.

I wish you all the best of luck on your own resolutions this year! Wanna know Aubrie's resolution? Poop, eat, poop, sleep, eat, poop, eat... And Marlie? Well, she is still mastering being a Big Sister. She's got the idea down pat. "Mommy, I don't need your help. I'm a big "ister" now. I can brush my teeth by myself." She loves her little sis so much and takes good care of her!