Eden is 1 month old!

Dear Eden,

You are one month old, and its amazing to me how quickly the time is passing. You've already done so much your first month- your first camping trip, your first parade, you're a true adventuress! At one month you are still pretty sleepy, but I've learned to enjoy it and let you pretty much sleep in my arms whenever you want. Nearly all of your time has been with me, so its true that you are a momma's girl. Daddy hasn't taken paternity leave yet (that happens when we head to Portugal) so even he is feeling like he doesn't quite have the skill to calm you down just yet. We, on the other hand, are pretty good together. You are such an easy baby for me and you calm right down when I have you.

At one month we have no routine, and we're all fine with that. You follow along with whomever has you and has cozy arms. You do love to be held, but also do pretty well when we set you down as long as you are asleep. I'll totally admit that as our third baby I have no shame in holding you as much as possible. You're only little once and I'm soaking up every moment. I'm not a parent that easily or willingly hands off my babies- I always have, and probably always will, always want to hold you, just as I do with your brothers.

In this first month you are growing- we joke that your chins are doubling at a rapid rate as you like to eat often. I don't mind terribly though, as I have lots of milk- the freezer will be well stocked by the time I head back to work full time. You've given us some glimpses of what its like to have a full night sleep and we love it. Sometimes you give us four hours in a stretch, which is glorious. When you are sleeping though, I do a really really crappy job of putting you back in the cosleeper. I often let you sleep on my chest. In fact, you are as I type this. You are so cozy and I am such a bad parent for letting you be on your tummy. Sigh. Oh, how the parenting expectations fall with the third child.
Really though, I am still super hyper crazy about SIDs and breathing in general, so when I fall asleep accidentally with you on my chest in our bed, I wake up in  a panic and chastise myself that it will NEVER happen again. And then, three nights later, because I am so tired after nursing and burping you, it starts again.

You really are such a blessing, and amazingly, a month into this, your brother's still adore you. I thought the novelty of new baby would wear off and you would become less interesting to them. But that hasn't happened. They still can't get enough of you, and it really warms my heart to see how kind and loving they are with you. In just these 31 days you have changed dramatically-- its a prelude to the rapid pace of this first year. I'm trying hard to enjoy each moment of it, to hang onto the tiny baby phase, but to also gracefully welcome the new interactive stage you are entering.

Speaking of interaction, you smile! You are so happy! I love your little smile because it shows off the one little dimple you have, and just like your brothers, you smile with your eyes- they really light up when you are happy, which makes me happy.

Generally though, things feel (knock on wood) so much easier this time around. It could be that we aren't chasing two babies around, so of course it is easier. But then again, people often say 3 is a game changer. For us, it hasn't been that way just yet. I love that the boys are old enough to mind themselves when I need them to and overall I'm just way less crazy. I am more relaxed, less scheduled, more willing to allow her to be with me out and about and less likely to fret about missing naps in cribs and such. We're doing things a bit differently this time because of this new relaxed vibe and I'm happy to report it working out better for me personally too. I really don't feel like a zombie at all, and that is way more than I can say for how things were with the boys.

And so, we round out this post with a celebration of one month! We're so happy to be right where we are with you and so happy you've joined our family!

all my love
Momma (and Daddy too!)

Eden is 4 weeks old!

Ah! We're almost a month old! How did this happen? Okay, I know how calendars work, but seriously, its all going too quickly.

At four weeks Eden is starting to fall into a bit of a more predictable routine and we experienced what I think was our first growth spurt, because she wanted to nurse for three days every 1.5 to 2 hours. Holy cow it was a lot of nursing. And then she would promptly fall asleep. I reasoned she must be growing. Drew weighed her and she's coming in somewhere around 8 pounds 10 ounces. Woo hoo for growth!

This week I'm feeling a bit more tired- the late hours are catching up to me, but also a little bit more on pace. I'm crossing things off our lists and getting caught up to reality. This week Eden's passport came in the mail, which was fun to receive. She'll be taking her first trip over seas in just a few weeks!

Eden however is doing well. She's nursing like a champ, even if still lazy at it. Sometimes I have to take her off and make her actually put some effort into it to get her to latch on right. She's sleeping well at night and mostly only cries when you change her- she's not a very big fan of that, she's hungry or she needs to burp. I've taken to calling her sassy pants this week, as when she does cry its usually with gusto, she wants something and is intent on letting us know. As soon as we figure it out, she quiets right down though.

We got out the play mat this week and started to play with some toys that make sounds and we've all taken to adapting the Music Together song "Hello Everybody" to now say "Hello to Eden, so glad to see you!" we sing it to her often. The boys continue to be enamored by her and love to play with her on her play mat, hold her and sign to her. Just today they were arguing about how many times each of them has gotten to hold her, making sure its been even. This week she also officially moved out of the newborn clothes into the 0-3 month clothes. The newborn diapers that we have left (we are saving them for the lakehouse trip this week) are getting tight- hopefully not too tight so we can still use them on our trip this Friday.

So far she's keeping with much of the same routine. My guess is like the boys, she'll turn out to be a good afternoon napper the way she loves to sleep on us in the afternoon. Our mornings are still to be determined as we aren't on a typical schedule with getting the boys ready for school or anything. I imagine once she actually starts waking around 7 she'll start napping around 9 or so, just as they did.

This week we are getting some social smiles! I love them and its adorable to see her smile in response to my smile. She's also starting to make noises that indicate happiness! Its so sweet to hear her coo and respond to me. In the same vein we've also seen our first quiver lip sadness. She did this once when I was firmly telling the boys what to do (read YELLING) and she looked up at me like "oh my gosh, that's horrible!" and slowly started to cry. Instant training to get me to not yell in front of her. She's training me well already.



She's also spending more time the Moby, which she seems to love, although I'm still working on getting it all tied up just right. I feel like she slides down and then I end up taking it off and starting over. Overall though, the moby and Ergo are becoming a staple around here. Two hands are better than one!

She's also getting more time with her brothers, who still really adore her. Owen has been asking more often to hold her and talk to her. He's smitten with her, but also doesn't know quite what to do when she's upset. This week he quickly put his hands over his ears every time he was holding her and she cried and gave me a look of panic like how do I make it stop?

Eden's becoming more patterned about diaper changes. She generally doesn't like them and hollers at us for changing her. She does really enjoy her bath though, she's always so alert and watching intently when she's in the bathtub.


I really can't believe she's four weeks already. Its sobering how quickly maternity leave goes by and my heart aches for those moms that have to go back to work full time at 6 weeks. I can barely swallow the idea of going back at 3 months, let alone six weeks. There is something so horribly wrong with our workforce that we don't value this precious time more. Really, six weeks is not enough. I'm so thankful we have so much more time than that to get to enjoy her and that when I do go back I have flexibility in my job and that she'll be in the hands of our super and amazing nanny. Lots to be grateful for! We are indeed very blessed.

Eden's photo shoot

Trying to capture the wonder of the first week has always been important to me- it seems like babies are so close to heavenly, and I always have so much gratitude and find so much joy in those first weeks. Here are the photos from the first two weeks of her life. So precious to us.

Announcing Eden!

Eden is 3 weeks old!

Three weeks. I feel like time is moving at warp speed! Slow down already. I want to savor every moment of the itty bitty stage. She's only tiny once and I feel like its happening too quickly!

At three weeks we are venturing out into the world! Eden was officially the youngest camper at St Croix State Park to visit the lodge and she camped like a champ. It was hot hot hot that weekend, so she spent most of the time with a fan pointing on her. Turns out she seems to dig fans! We ended our trip on father's day, Drew's first as a dad of three. It was a fun day, but after the weekend I think we were both pretty worn out. 

This week we were back on our own schedule. Grandma headed back to Milwaukee and we were in our stride. Its always nice to have help, but its equally nice to have our own pace again. Sometimes I think I'm more efficient if I know there isn't anyone else there to help and I have to do it myself. To help with the routine I put her in the Moby, she seemed to like being all cuddled up and I was able to have two hands free! Score!

You also tried out the cradle, which you also seem to like. Mostly, if you are sleepy, you like all the beds/swings/etc we have around the house. This makes you a pretty easy baby, because usually I can put you down to sleep. In fact, you are a pretty easy baby. You rarely cry and at night you are totally content to eat and go back to sleep, which is awesome. Your brothers used to like to wake up and stay awake, or at least fuss for a bit before going back to sleep. Not you though, you like your sleep. Just like your momma. Three weeks into this gig and I'm actually NOT feeling like a zombie. That's sayin' something!

Even though we can put you down, you spend a lot of time in my arms. We're a pretty tight duo! Back to the whole this time passes too quickly thing and I want to hold you as much as I can. We've found that you also love it outside. You like to look at the trees and leaves move in the wind, you are usually quiet and alert when we are outside looking around.

Our routine goes something like this these days- at three weeks we aren't really seeking a schedule, but I can see one peeking its head through.  You wake up around 5:30/6:00 to nurse and then fall back to sleep until about 7:40/8:00 when we get up with the boys.During the night you sleep in the cosleeper between us, so you are nice and close, but not on the mattress, which I love (that's you in your cosleeper above) They get up around 7, but since from 6-8 you are usually asleep on my chest, they humor us and get books to read quietly in my bed until you are up. Then I pump and we head down to get breakfast.

Here we are camping, it must be about 7 am, and you are in that second bit of sleep (below).

In the morning, during breakfast etc. you are usually awake, alert and interested in the world. The boys though have tasks, so we spend the time chasing them around making sure they get dressed, make their beds, brush their teeth, etc. Once that's under our belts we usually try to play a little bit- they read you books or we look around. I'm getting back in the habit of narrating everything to fill your adorable brain with words.

Its not long after and you are heading towards a nap, usually in my arms, the moby or something similar. We try to get things done around the house, but usually are batting around 50% of what we used to do. This week we've had Candy three days to help with the boys and its amazingly wonderful. She takes them out of the house from 9-2 and we get to be a tiny bit more efficient.

At work these days I'm the boss lady for many things. This means that even though I'm on leave there are things that I keep tabs on and a bit of work that I'm doing from home. Rebecca, one of my favorite colleagues came over on Wednesday to get some work done, but mostly she just wanted to hold you!

Anyhow, you are awake and cat-napping, on and off until a bit after lunch (with nursing every 2.5 to 3 hours during the day and then 4 to 4.5 hours at night) and then you hit the sleepy afternoon and mozy in and out of longer naps and cuddles. You are a mass diaper filler, rarely using less than 12 diapers a day. Probably because you are a big fan of nursing.

Then around dinner time we usually get another little alert period where the boys always want to hold her, sing to her and love on her. Its very sweet and usually I'm always amazed that we arrived at dinner time so quickly.

After dinner we get you ready for bed and you settle in to sleeping. Starting about 7:30 you settle in for cozy sleeping time. We usually hold you until 10 or so when we go to bed, but mostly you are asleep on one of our chests and then we off to bed we go to start the process in another day.

This week camping was lots of fun, and the boys loved sharing your first camping adventure. We went to St Croix state park, so not too far away and you got to go to your first beach.

It started to rain a bit and then the bugs came out, so we retreated to our campsite, where the sun promptly returned and it got hot. Here you are in the camper all sprawled out with a fan blowing on you. You look pretty happy!

The hardest part about camping with you is that one of us always had to be holding you (we didn't bring anything to put you in, so here you are cuddling with daddy while I took a shower one day, I think).

It was a fun trip and we're so happy to have you in our lives. It three weeks time all of our hearts have grown 3000 times as big. We all love you so much!