All About Nolan

Finally... a post all about Nolan! I have been meaning to write this every week since he has been born... I'm sorry Nolan! It is incredible the change in him already...

One Week Old

Two Weeks Old

Three Weeks Old

Four Weeks Old

Six Weeks Old (AH I didn't have any pictures during 5 weeks)

Seven Weeks Old

Two months old

Nolan is such a joy and our little family is filled to the brim with love for him. The first month was the most challenging mainly because trying to figure out how to balance two kids takes time. Nolan was  a happy baby all day, but every night at 6pm he would start screaming and not stop for close to three hours. This was very challenging, especially for two very sleep deprived parents who hardly had a moment to speak... but we made it through that thank God!

Nolan ate like a champ from the very beginning and by his five day visit to the Dr he had passed his birth weight! At two months he was 13 pounds 1 ounce and he is still eating every 2 - 3 hours a day. We are finally getting to closer to three hours increments though which is a nice. 

Now at 11 weeks old Nolan is a happy camper. He is waking up about once a night to eat, he has been taking a two hour nap in the afternoons, he coos and smiles and only cries when he is hungry, tired or has a dirty diaper. Actually I shouldn't say cry... it's more like a yell. He is happy to just sit in his bouncy chair and watch his sister play, he HATES his gym but enjoys the swing. Whenever we are at church he always wakes up when there is music and I had a sweet moment where I was singing while holding him and he started to make noises that sounded like singing. Possibly a musician in the making?! He loves baths just like Mikayla did (and still does) and he also does well in his car seat. I say all this now to watch it change by tomorrow... but so is the life of a baby!

It is interesting to note the differences I see in him compared to Mikayla. He seems so much more chill... but maybe that is just because I am so much more relaxed. I also find that I can read him so much better than I could Mikayla. Maybe the complexity of girls starts as an infant? ;-) I love having a little boy and am drinking in every moment I have with his sweet baby self.

Two Babies Two Months

I was curious if there were any similarities between Mikayla and Nolan at two months old. I have been noticing small expressions that Nolan does which transports me back to when Mikayla was a baby.

And so here they are... different, but definitely from the same gene pool!

Bye Bye Blues!

Is there a megaphone somewhere? I am feeling the need right now to shout from the rooftops to all who will hear that I HAVE MADE IT! I have finally gotten through the dark tunnel of after-the-birth-baby-blues-and-getting-used-to-the-fact-that-I-have-another-child phase. In the moment it felt it like would never end and I thank God, two months later, that it has.

I believe this time around was harder for me with the baby blues. Maybe because I felt isolated and alone in this still very new to me place. The whole feeling of knowing that you have this amazing and beautiful family, but having a hard time rejoicing in it is the worst. Each day was a struggle for me to find happiness amidst the dirty diapers and toddler tantrums and to not dread the next day where I had to experience whole thing over again. I couldn't let my mind move past the very second I was living in or the overwhelming reality of my responsibilities would come crashing down. I wanted to yell at myself to embrace this change in our family, but instead I tried to show myself compassion and take each step at a time. Dhrumil was an amazing help, my ever constant rock, holding my hand and helping me in anyway possible. My parents were also extremely helpful, coming one weekend just so they could give me a break and also an afternoon for me and Dhrumil to go out together. When they visited last time my mom gave me a little box with the quote above on it. It helped me find the small moments during those hard days to help me get to the next day.

AND SO... I'm still here... I'm still me... and it is night and day how I am feeling! I am proof that you can make it... whatever dark season you may be in (baby hormone induced or not)! I have had a few such seasons so far in my life, but each time I have come out on the other side and am rejoicing that I have!

Here are a few signs that I have made it...

- I am now used to the fact that it takes a hour to get out the door and I do not get discouraged because of it.
- I am cooking again
- I am flossing my teeth and plucking my eyebrows again ;-)
- I wear makeup when I go out (most of the time)
- If both kids are sobbing in the van... I take a deep breath and keep on driving
- I GO PLACES!

There are more, but those are the big ones. It also helps that both kids are now going to bed at pretty much the same time at night!! Nolan was colic for about a month, but not anymore. Dhrumil and I have gotten our evenings back and it is divine.

I am sure tomorrow will have its own challenges filled with poop explosions, lessons in staying quiet while Mikayla chooses her own outfit, small pangs of missing work where normal sized people appreciated my talents, spit up covered clothes and discussion upon discussion upon discussion of why we only have two snacks... BUT it's ok... because it will also be filled with toothless grins, uncontrollable giggles, cooing and looks of love only children can give you. And you know what? I am excited for ALL of it!