Well it’s about time I share a little bit about our new baby girl, Riley, here on the blog! Riley is now over a month old and it’s been awhile since I’ve shared any sort of updates on my blog. If you follow me on Instagram you’ve likely seen plenty of pictures of her already! I know I’m biased, but I’m pretty sure she is the cutest little baby ever! I will share her birth story in a later post since it was a little traumatic for me I haven’t wanted to write about it yet!
These six weeks have gone by fast, but, like they say, every day is a little slow. The first two week were mostly a haze, especially the first week after she was born. Thankfully, my mom came up to help us out and she was super helpful! She cooked dinner, did laundry and dishes and helped take care of Carter including getting him ready for school in the morning (just to name a few)! Considering I had a hard time doing much of anything, let alone being able to walk very much, her help was invaluable!
Riley is starting to settle more into a routine of waking up two times per night, so it’s nice to be able to predict it a little better. I’m really looking forward to dropping one of those night feedings! I am finally starting to emerge from the “new mom zombie” stage into the “just plain tired” stage and now that I am cleared to work out that should help me with my energy!
Baby Stats
Riley has gained well beyond her birth weight now and is up to almost 9 pounds! Since I am writing this several weeks past the month mark, I’m sure she’s up to or over that now. She has gotten taller since birth as well. We are doing a combination of breastfeeding and formula bottles, and she is good at both! Nine pounds may sound small to some, but she was born 6 pounds, 6 ounces, so it really is a nice gain. Carter was born smaller as well, so I guess I just have small babies. So far her eyes are still blue and her hair is kind of a reddish brown!
So far she has been pretty easy, considering! She still has her days and night mixed up a little, and prefers to take her longer naps during the day. But, that is slowly changing and she is starting to have longer sleep times at night, finally! She loves riding in the car, and sitting in any seat that swings or vibrates. She loves looking at her brother when he talks and sings to her. She has a super strong neck and head control for her age (not just me saying this, the doctor brought it up!) and loves to head butt me when I’m burping her.
Baby’s Firsts
We already took her on her first trip when we went to Philadelphia for my brother in laws wedding, and she had her first hotel stay! In December she’ll have her first flight when we got to Florida for Christmas! So, she is a baby on the go! I basically take her all over the place and she’s been to plenty of restaurants, Starbucks, grocery store etc. I guess some people don’t do this because I’ve gotten a lot of comments while we’re out such as “wow you’re out already, good for you!” But, I can’t just sit at home all day!
Overall, it’s going well and she is starting to fit into our family. It’s weird to try to figure out a new routine after many years of only having one kid, but we’re slowly making it work. The hardest is bedtime, because Carter has such a set routine and it’s sometimes disrupted if she needs to eat or wakes up during his bed routine. The night routine will take awhile to settle back into place. Soon I’ll share her birth story and some newborn photos and then before we know it, it’ll be time for her two month update!
