Christmas Cards

I love Christmas cards!  I love getting them and I especially love choosing the one we'll send out for our family card.  Usually I send them out super early, and obviously this year, not so much.  I'm hoping to get them out before Christmas, but I haven't even ordered them yet, so maybe not!  I love Tiny Prints for our cards, invitations, announcements, etc.  I got Emma's birth announcement from there, and since Lucy is only a few weeks old, I thought I could find a cute birth announcement that also doubled as a Christmas card.  Here is a link to Tiny Print's collection of holiday cards.

I love this card because I can fit several pictures on it.  Plus it's cute and colorful!

I also like this one.  It's simple but cute.

I love love love this one.  Lucy would look so cute on this.  I would obviously have to find a picture with Emma in it too, but I am definitely leaning towards this one.

I think this one is cute too.  It only has one picture, but if I could take a cute family pic, it would be great.  I'm not sure how easy it would be to take a family pic with a 6 week old and a 2 year old though.

I think these ornament birth announcements are so cute.  They would be something different for sure.

TinyPrints also has a lot of holiday and winter themed birth announcements here.

This one is nice and has multiple photos, so I could feature one of Lucy but also include Emma.

I love this one

Check out this one

So, basically I have no idea which card I'm going to pick.  There are so many cute ones, and I have the hardest time making a decision every year.  But now I have two cute little girls to put on a card!  Any suggestions?

Fussy

Lucy is so fussy! I am at a loss for what to do. Do I just cut out all foods from my diet? Do I go with formula? Do I pump and give bottles? When do I find extra time in my day to pump? I can do it sometimes, when Nick is here to watch the girls, or if by chance Lucy takes a good nap. It's so frustrating.

I'm all about breastfeeding and totally understand the health benefits of it. But it is really hard. And there's so much guilt that goes along with it, whether you do it or not. If I keep going, I feel like I am possibly causing her fussiness. Is my milk hiring her stomach? She seems hungry all the time...so I not have enough milk? If I go with formula, I can know exactly how much she's eating, but I have to figure out which formula works best for her. And I'd she's just as fussy in formula, well then I look stupid for switching.

Also, no one told me that nursing would make my hormones nuts. Seriously it's bad enough having a baby, but bf'ing has kept my hormones all over the place. I am acting like a crazy person. If going with formula helps me get back to myself and makes me a better mom and wife, isn't that what's best?

Maybe my baby just has colic and she will harps out of it eventually...in that case, it doesn't matter what she's eating. Also I hate the breast pump.

This is a random post and something most people probably don't care to read about, but I have lots of time to kill while nursing!

Big sister

Is it bad that I still take more pics of Emma than Lucy?!

Lucy Belle

I guess I'm a little behind, but these past 2 weeks have been a little...busy...overwhelming...stressful.

Lucy Belle Addington was born on Tuesday, October 18th at 8:08am.  She weighed 6lbs 10 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.  Her weight was almost exactly the same as Emma's (she was 6lbs 9 3/4 oz), but Emma was only 18 inches long.  Unfortunately, I had to be put to sleep during my c-section, which we didn't find out until about 30 minutes before.  I didn't like not being able to see Lucy as soon as she was born or not having Nick with me.  I also didn't like how groggy the medication made both me and Lucy.  I don't really remember the first time I did meet Lucy, and Lucy especially was very sleepy while we were at the hospital.  It has taken her a while to really start opening her eyes, but this week she is starting to be much more alert.  Her eyes look exactly like her sister's did (guess she better get used to being compared to Emma all the time...that's probably terrible parenting but oh well).

I would not call Lucy an easy baby!  She cries through diaper changes and really almost anytime she's on her back (although today I got in two diaper changes and a few minutes of playtime in the pack & play without any crying, so that's progress!).  She is a big eater.  I started out trying for a 3 hour schedule, but have had to push it back to 2 1/2 because she eats so much.  She does well for her first 3 naps during the day, and then gets fussy when we put her down in the afternoon and early evening.  We usually end up putting her in the carseat for those naps.  At night, she has not been a great sleeper.  She eats every 3 hours or so (although last night she went for 5 hours!), and then has a very hard time falling back to sleep.  She's sleeping in the carseat, since she can't stand the bassinet.  We try hard not to let her wake Emma up, but Emma has apparently the best hearing ever.  Seriously, she can hear anything, anywhere in the house.  It's crazy.  We're figuring things out as we go, but Nick and I are exhausted.  There's not much time to nap during the day.

Emma is adjusting.  She seems to love Lucy and constantly wants to hold her and play with her.  She doesn't quite understand that she has to be gentle with her, or quiet when she's asleep.  She's been a little wild, and Nick and I have probably made it worse by being somewhat lenient on her.  But now I am going to have to get back to disciplining her.  Three of her molars are STILL coming in and she has been pretty miserable.  Today she has a slight fever and runny nose, and she took a VERY short nap.  I hate those molars.  So Nick and I have had our hands full.  I have to brag on my husband though...he's been so helpful.  I have no idea what I'd do if not for him.  He is exhausted when he gets home from work, but he takes care of Lucy and plays with Emma, and at night he is up with her to change diapers and get her back to sleep.  Once Lucy starts taking bottles, she won't even need me!

Here are a few of Lucy's first pictures.

I week old