happy birthday, hadley! (cont.)

Wow - has it really been a week since we brought Hadley home?! Seems like it has flown by, but at the same time it seems like SO much has happened since. Miss Hadley Carter has truly become a part of our family that I now can't imagine living without. I thank God that He knew just who to send us to complete our little family of four. She fits right in!


[Tried to capture a few "home-made" newborn shots the other day. Once I get to editing them I think I'll have a few frame-worthy ones.]

And despite all of my worries and concerns - Knox has done GREAT with this new transition!


[Welcoming her home last Sunday. He LOVES holding her!]

He loves 'his Hahd-leee'. He loves helping me take care of her, and when she's crying he says "Shhh, Hahd-leee, it's Ok." It is truly the sweetest thing as a mother to witness... My babies love each other!



And yes, I do believe Hadley loves him back. I swear she recognizes Knox's voice from when she was cooking inside, and she just listens to him so intently. And what's more - his rowdiness and NOISE have no effect on her whatsoever. She's already tough enough to handle him!



I caught him doing the cutest thing with her the other night... My brother has always played the 'playful punching' game with him ever since he was tiny. You know - Nick would grab his arm and have him "punch" him in the nose, and then put on a big show about how bad it hurt, etc... Well - Knox started this with Hadley! He grabs her arm and 'punches' himself, and then it's 'Ouchie, ouchie, ouchie! Owwww... Nose HURT, Hadley!' Followed by hysterical laughter. I couldn't believe he actually remembered this and was sweet enough to think it'd be entertaining for her too, but now it's his favorite game to play with her! Ohh he has such a sweet heart!!! This is one of those things I NEED to catch on video...

[Why is it that he seems to be loving HER toys (Ok - they're his old ones) better than the hundreds of dollars worth of things in his playroom??? Heck I should have never even bothered putting them in storage...]

So like I said - so far there has been NO negative reaction by Knox towards Hadley. If anything I'm just picking up on a little more attention-craving from him, which breaks my heart :( A few fits (ironically, LESS than normal), but mainly it's a whole lot of Carry-me's, throwing things down on purpose just to say I'm sorry, Mommy, and spontaneous hugs and I-love-you's. (Typically he is SUCH the one to play hard to get while I beg for a kiss!) 

[Is it just me, or is she not just PERFECT?!?]

 It's been fun to watch James make this 'transition' too because he's never been around baby girls. He was the youngest of 2, has 3 nephews, and then of course Knox. All through my pregnancy he'd roll his eyes everytime I'd obsess over a bow, dress, doll, etc. I'd tell him Just wait, you'll understand... I was right ;) He now thinks it's all just as cute as I do, and I think Hadley has already got him budgeting for her pony. (Excuse me - she actually prefers a horse...) And she can't even talk yet! Scary...



As I mentioned previously - my Mom came in town from Tennessee the night before I was induced. And WOW - that was such a blessing! First of all - if there's anytime a girl needs her mom, it's childbirth. Second-of-all, I have NO idea what we would have done with Knox if she hadn't made it. She completely took over his care while she was here (which he LOVED), and it was nice to not have to worry about him. She was also just a huge help to have around... She cleaned and cooked up a storm - dinner every night plus a stocked freezer! We'll be eating good for a while... She also brought the quilt she made to match Hadley's bedding. It looks AWESOME!



Her birthday was the 25th, so we celebrated the night before with dinner. Which, OK, SHE made, but I did manage to put together the sides, a cake, and run out with James to pick her up a fancy panini grill. Which - by the way - was my first time to leave Hadley. I had a minor panic attack, thinking 'Oh my gosh, we've never been this far apart...' but we both survived ;)


['Washing the hospital off' our first night home.]


[After-bath cuteness.]

Mom left the next morning and we both cried. I wish she could have stayed longer. When I had Knox, he and I were still living in Tennesse, 5 minutes away from my parents, so he was surrounded by family ALL the time. They were such a huge part of his first 9 months. I'm gonna miss that for Hadley :(



Hadley's first trip out was to the doctor's on Tuesday. She got perfect report all around. Bilirubin levels were insignificant and her weight was 7lbs 8oz. She was 7lbs 11oz at birth and 7lbs 4oz when we were discharged home, so I'm sure (if we haven't already) we will have met and passed birthwight by her 2 week appointment.


[I can't figure out if she's gonna be a pacie baby or not. Sometimes she'll go to town on it, but if she's the least bit hungry it only makes her mad. That, and I have TONS of cute girlie pacies, but this stinkin green one from the hospital is the only one she'll take. She doesn't even like the pink Soothies I have. So we'll see. Knox took his for about a month and then was over it. I'm thinking she may be the same way.]

Her quick 'weight-recovery' doesn't suprise me though because if one thing is sure, baby girl doesn't miss a meal! She's nursed like a champ from the very beginning, and I love nursing her in return. Such a special mommy-baby time! And gosh, let's just say we have NO problems in the production area here. On top of her feedings, I'm also storing 15-18oz per day. We've got quite the little milk bank going on in the freezer, and the way things are going, we may be needing a deep freeze very soon. Ha!


[This sweater blanket has been around the block. I picked it up for Knox when he was born and it quickly became a favorite. It's lighter, but still weighted enough to be cozy. Perfect for summer babies... I pulled it out for Hadley, and once again - a favorite! It even made an appearance in our newborn pics, just as it did with Knox. Lord help us if anything happens to that blankie... We have another one in green, but it's just not the same ;)]

She is also a VERY good sleeper! She's been going 5 (and now sometimes even 6!) hour stretches at night ever since we brought her home. (Mommy REALLY appreciates this, Hadley!) There have been a few nights she's woken up and fed after her first 5hr stretch, and then wanted to stay up and party for an hour. But I really can't complain because once I get her back down she's good for another long stretch. I just need to start trying to keep her up a little bit before that bedtime feeding.


[She got "the stretch" honest from her brother. She even reminds me a whole lot of him in this picture!]

As of now, her little schedule is feed around 10 or 11pm (and of course she's sleeping before then too), sleep til 4 or 5am, and then she's out again until 9 or 10! Love this girl :)


[Stretching again!]

Since my mom left and James had to head downtown for work, Thursday was my first day at home alone with both babies. It went off without a hitch! They were both so good. (Again, I'm blown away by the fact that Knox's behavior/schedule seems to be better NOW than it was a month ago.) I guess my next step will be venturing out with both of them. I'll probably wait another week on that though since technically I'm still not suppossed to do any heavy lifting (ahem - Knox).



Friday I had two of my MOPS girlfriends over for a playdate. They both have 2 year old boys, one has a baby girl 2 weeks ahead of Hadley, and the other is pregnant with her second. Makes for a great playdate! Plus it's just nice to have a little 'gossip' time during the day ;) And of course, the boys always play hard so Knox napped like a dream.


[Friday, on her 1 week birthday.]

James' parents drove in from Tennessee on Friday afternoon. They now have 5 grandchildren and Hadley is the first girl out of all of them, so they are eating up all the pink, frilly goodness. And Knox is just in grandparent HEAVEN! He's been having a ball with them. (Can we say, SPOILED???) And they took James to Sam's and completely stocked our pantry, fridge, and freezer. I swear I don't know what I'm gonna do when I actually have to start planning/coordinating meals again...


[Why is it that the smallest 'blank' bloomers you can buy (0-6mo) are still HUGE on newborns??? I'm loving her monogram though.]

James starts a trial this upcoming week, so he's been doing LOTS of prep for that, and will be busy-busy all the way through Friday. Knox has his "Meet the Teachers" night at MDO on Tuesday - which he's getting his same teachers from last year, so there won't be a whole lot of 'meeting' to it. But we are BOTH oh so ready for school to start back up. He loves his little social time :)


[Mom, I'm sooo OVER IT!]

And then next weekend my Dad, stepmom, sister, and step-brothers are all coming in for a long-weekend stay. We're looking forward to their visit and I'm so thankful most of our family will have been able to meet Hadley within her first two weeks! James had to head downtown again today for last-minute trial prep, so we're missing church today. But his parents took Knox out for some errands, so I decided to get Hadley OUT out for the first time. We had our first mommy-daughter shopping trip and it was a great success. I know Knox is THRILLED I have a new shopping buddy! I'll do a little post on it later :)