Got milk?

So I believe Miss Tessa is going to be my little bean and I'm completely fine with that.  The first few weeks, though, turned out to be somewhat stressful trying to get her to gain weight!

 

I breastfed Riley for 4 months but had also started supplementing her with formula VERY early and was never able to make up for it so I was determined to try and do things differently this time.  Breastfeeding is super tough and it's easy to give up on if you don't totally understand how it works.  So Tessa was born weighing 7 lbs 8 oz and she started eating right away.  Our first checkup with the pediatrician was Jan 4th and she weighed 7lbs 1 oz...still a normal amount of drop in weight so no big deal but the doc did need to see her get back to her birth weight so we had to go in a few days later, Jan 9th to have a weight check.  At that appt she only weighed 7 lbs 1/2 oz so she had actually lost 1/2 an ounce.  We have been taking her to a pediatrician office off base and I absolutely love the doctor.  He was still not stressing me out and said he was not at all worried about her because everything about her was fine.  She was not jaundiced, she was alert, and she was having all the normal amount of diapers.  He did recommend I see a lactation consultant and I did and she was extremely helpful.  She showed me that I wasn't feeding her long enough.  I thought she was just a more efficient eater than Riley but turns out she was missing out on some good stuff.  I also started taking Fenugreek and pumping a lot to try and increase my supply.  A friend of mine had a baby scale so I borrowed that too and was able to weigh her before and after feedings and on a regular basis so I had the peace of mind that she was in fact gaining weight.  

When we went back for another weight check on Jan 13th she had gained a little weighing in at 7lbs 3 oz so we were moving in the right direction.  Our final weight check on Jan 26...almost one month old...she had finally gotten past her birth weight and weighed in at 7lbs 13 oz.  Phew!  It doesn't matter that my doctor wasn't stressed...knowing your baby is not gaining enough weight is super stressful  He never pushed me to give her formula and give up on breastfeeding and I'm so glad because it all worked out and as of now I haven't had to supplement at all!  She'll forever be my long and lean girl and there's nothing wrong with that.  Once I knew she was moving in the right direction I was ok with her being tiny because after all they grow up way too fast!  Genes may have something to do with it because although you would never guess Jason was always 10th percentile weight until he was 7 or 8!  I was born weighing 9 lbs 8 oz so she surely didn't get this tiny baby thing from her mama!

I absolutely love all that the iPhone has to offer that I didn't get to experience with Riley!  I have been using the Total Baby app and it's AWESOME!  It tracks everything...doc visits, growth, immunizations, feeding, sleeping, diapers, baths, pumped milk storage, etc.  You name it this app probably has it!  No more spreadsheets, writing things down, or simply trying to remember when they last had a bath!

DiDi comes to visit!

DiDi could not wait to get out here to get her hands on her girls!  She came out just before Jason went back to work to help me with the transition of losing his pair of hands!  It worked out great and we were so glad to have her help!

She flew in on Thursday and was able to go with Jason to pick Riley up from school.  Riley was so excited to see her and introduced DiDi to all of her friends...she's so cute and has the best social skills!  Riley showed off all her new tricks and DiDi got some good snuggle time with Miss Tessa too!  

Friday we went to one of Tessa's doc appointments in Davis and then had a fun lunch in Crepeville!  Afterwards we headed to Ikea to get some more bins and such for the playroom since we were out of room with all the new birthday and Christmas loot!  I never knew they had free childcare!!!! Hello!  It's so awesome.  So Riley played and had a blast while we shopped...and you know who just snoozed the whole time!

Saturday DiDi took Riley to see Beauty and the Beast and she wanted to dress up in her Belle dress...so cute!  Then they went on their usual DiDi/Riley date to Chick-Fil-A! 

On Sunday we went to church and then headed to Napa for lunch!  We had never taken her to Rutherford Grill so that's where we went and it was delish as always!

The girls! Tessa doesn't realize how lucky she is to have already experienced Napa at just a few weeks old! :)

 DiDi and her boy!

 The whole group...but apparently the guy that offered to take the picture didn't completely think of getting Tessa in there!

On Monday we went up to Davis to meet some of my girlfriends for breakfast at Cafe Bernardo...one of my favs!  After breakfast we went to the park to let the kiddos play!

Riley and Ella had a blast playing in the leaves!

 Fun!

 All the mamas!

 Monday night Desiree got to come with me to Bible study and meet all the Bible babes...it was a fun day and night!


We had a great visit with DiDi and thanks for all of your help and the yummy Chicken Pot Pie!

Friends meeting Miss Tessa!

 It's always fun to have visitors after having a baby and getting to introduce them to the newest little bundle!

We got a special visit from Riley's friend Vanessa and her family.  They came with food and gifts for all!  Vanessa missed Riley's party because she was spending the holidays in Hawaii so they made Riley her own strawberry birthday cake and Vanessa got her a guitar from Hawaii...so sweet and special!  The cake was DELICIOUS and we may or may not have had it finished in a little over 24 hours..yikes!

Love these girls!

 Jill showing Baby Tessa to Max!  He's almost exactly a year older than her!

 My sweet friend Jill!

 Will and Nicki were in TX when Tessa was born so we went over to visit them after they got back and this was Will's first time to meet Tessa!  He just loves to hold babies!

 Planting a big wet one on her!

 So sweet!

 Since Riley was off school for Christmas break after Tessa was born she got to spend a whole day playing with Vanessa...both the girls wanted to give Tessa a kiss before they left to go play!

Family Pictures

 My friend Sara took newborn and family pics for us just a little over a week after Tessa was born.  It was so much fun.  Tessa was sort of awake and fussy at first and then after we worked so hard to get her posed for all the pics she decided to completely conk out and we took a bunch more.  I think Sara took something like 1,300 pictures...wow!  She is oh so talented, creative, and patient and I loved every minute of it and all the amazing things she captured.  Such awesome memories.  Obviously I had a lot to choose from but here are some of my favorites!

Adjustments

I'm sure some of you with more than one kiddo can relate but until I had my second I didn't realize how easy a newborn is.  I don't think I stressed any more than a normal first time mom with Riley but all in all it was stressful...I was always questioning everything I did.  With Tessa I felt sort of like I had it under control and knew  what I was doing!  Now let me also say that I have had the blessing of two easy babies..no colic, etc so keep that in mind.  :)

Newborns are physically exhausting but a 4 year old is emotionally and mentally exhausting!  The best help was someone taking care of Riley...keeping her entertained, getting up with her in the morning, doing her bed time routine, etc.

Riley has done GREAT with Tessa...she absolutely adores her, wants to hug and kiss her all the time, and just can't get enough of her.  I knew she would have some sort of adjustment though because it has just been her for the last 4 years.  Her way of adjusting was taking it out on me.  She seemed to be overly defiant towards me for the first couple of weeks.  Obviously I was hormonal but something happened that I had not even anticipated in one bit.  Having a second baby I was going into it feeling guilty that I wouldn't get the kind of one on one time with Tessa that we had with Riley.  The opposite was true though.  I got NO time with Riley!  The 3-4 months before Tessa was born was just me and Riley since Jason was in Vegas.  We had our little routine going on and our special Mommy and Riley time so in a matter of weeks Jason was back at home and now I had another sweet bundle of joy to love on who required most of my time.  Just as much as it was an adjustment for her it was a big adjustment for me too.  I felt like I missed Riley and she was living in the same house as me.  When the opportunity would arise for me to get some one on one time with Riley she either was a total mess with her behavior and I had to spend the whole time disciplining her or she wanted Tessa to be included.  I had a hard time with all of that for sure.  The good news is that it was a phase and something we all adjusted to.  As the cliche goes "it too shall pass."  After a few weeks and after all our visitors were gone and we were getting into our own routine things seemed to fall into place and I had more time to spend with Riley and her behavior was much much better!

The best thing is that Riley absolutely LOVES being a big sister and LOVES having a little sister.  I am covering these girls in prayer that they can have an awesome relationship as kids and as adults.

Grammie Visits

 My mom came to visit just a few days after Tessa was born and she cooked GREAT meals for us all week!

It was fun to pick out the recipes and get the grocery list together and she did the rest...thanks Grammie!

She also took care of Riley a lot of the time she visited.  There were tea parties, movies, visits to the park, and much much more!

 Of course Grammie gots lots of cuddle time with Tessa too!

The first few days!

 The first few days were great...you forget the sleep deprivation of a newborn but they are just so sweet and cuddly it's hard to resist all at the same time!

Tessa was eating well..every 2-3 hours but she was not a fan of sleeping on her back.  She wanted to be on her belly on someone's chest so we did what worked so we could catch a little shut eye!

Just like Riley she would sleep lots and lots all day and then about 9 pm she would be wide eyed and ready to party!

 Sweet sleeping girl!

 Riley wanted to read to Tessa and it was so sweet!

  I had made matching outfits for my sweet girls and gotten their initials embroidered on them so we had to play dress up!

 We did lots of snuggling on the couch!

Tessa spent much of the first few days in a milk coma!