"Put Baby Sophia in the play gym?"

It's been a big month of change for our routine-oriented Joshua.  First he gets a baby sister, and starts to get used to having her around.  Then she and Mama are whisked off to the hospital and are gone from the house for two and a half weeks.  Then everyone is finally home, and it would appear that baby sister is in fact not going anywhere, and takes up a lot more of Mama's time than he's willing to give...  So we're definitely still dealing with all of these transitions, and trying to find our bearings as a family of four.  And Joshua is having to learn how to express his frustrations in more constructive ways -- lately, he's taken to demanding that we "put Baby Sophia in the crib!!"  Which is at least better than wordless screaming tantrums, especially when he remembers to tack on "pleeeeeease!!!" at the end.  :)

But there have also been many moments of sibling love.  Though Joshua gets impatient with the amount of time we now devote to Sophia rather than solely to him, I think it's fair to say that he really does love his baby sister.  He continuously asks to "see Baby Sophia's forehead" (i.e., "kiss" her by touching his cheek to her forehead), and wants to see her first thing in the morning and right before his nap and bedtime.  And any time she cries, he stops what he's doing and rushes over to her, saying "shhh, it's okay, Baby Sophia!"  So incredibly cute!

We've pulled out Joshua's old play gym for Sophia, to use as a station for her tummy time.  (And Emily and Brian, it's safe to say that ALL of our kids love your gift!)  Joshua seems to have fond memories of playing in the play gym -- he was really excited when we set it up again, and squeezed himself into it again.  :)  But what he loves most of all is playing with his sister in it.  He'll plop himself into the play gym, then look up at me and ask, "put Baby Sophia in the play gym?  Right here?  Next to Joshua?"  Then he'll turn the music on for her, and try to show her how to play with the various hanging stuffed animals.  I can see glimpses of their future -- I can't wait until Sophia is old enough to really play with Joshua!  And Joshua clearly feels the same way.  :)








(As an aside: look at how strong Sophia's neck is already!  Such a thriving and growing wee girl!)

All told, our little guy has been handling all the big changes in his life really well.  Please pray that we would be able to foster his love for his sister (and her love for him!) as we continue to navigate through this season of transition!

Sophia's newborn photos

Back when Sophia was just one week old, I decided to try my hand at getting some posed newborn photos of her.  This is one of those areas of photography where I've always had a healthy respect for the pros who really know what they're doing -- like Amy Ro or Amber of Little Moon Photography.  I know so much goes into getting a beautiful newborn shot, and I had no delusions as to my own skills -- I'd never tried taking newborn photos before!  But I knew some of the theory (aim for the 7-10 days old window, make sure the baby is well-fed and sleepy, keep the room super warm, have white noise running, be very patient and slow in trying out poses, and never ever actually put a baby in this kind of pose since it's actually done as a composite in Photoshop), so I figured I'd give it a go.

And yeah.  My already-high respect for newborn photographers went way, way up.

I tried taking some photos of Sophia on my own when she was 10 days old.  And then I had some photographer friends over for a fun morning of hanging out and trying out different blanket and beanbag configurations when Sophia was 12 days old.  I got some cute photos on both days, but that's just because little Sophia looks adorable no matter what.  :)  It's hard to get a baby to fully cooperate with your artistic vision!  ;)  And Sophia showed her displeasure with one of the blankets by, um, pooping all over it...

Next time around, I'm going to seriously consider hiring a pro to handle these photos.

But look at Sophia in all her newborn adorableness!


Headband by Amy of Happy Gnome Headbands






Viewed through my mommy goggles, I think these are pretty perfect.  :)

Sophia Watch: One Month

We're back home from Sophia's extended hospital stay, and getting back into a good rhythm at home, so it's finally time to post the first in our second Baby Watch series!  :)

Sophia turned one month old in the hospital, so we had to wait a few days before we could take her "official" one month photos.  But I managed to take some photos the day after we got back home, just four days late.  :)  As with Joshua, I'm planning to take photos of Sophia every month, next to a large stuffed animal as a growth comparator.  And this time around, I'm going to try to prop her up in a sitting position, in hopes that it will be easier to get a photo of a sitting baby than trying to compel a newly-mobile baby to lie placidly on her back... We'll see how successful my attempts will be with Sophia!

So, without further ado, here's the inaugural Sophia Watch photo!


(And introducing Bunbun, Sophia's giant plush bunny!)

Look at how big she's grown in her first month of life!  We had her one-month check-up last Thursday, and she weighs 11 pounds (90th percentile) and is now 21 inches long (50th percentile).  Dr. N was very pleased with her growth, and noted that it's unlikely that Sophia's staph infection was indicative of any problems with her immune system, as babies with compromised immune systems just don't thrive as well as Sophia is doing.  We're so thankful for how well Sophia is growing!

I've mentioned this before, but Sophia really is a mellow, contented baby.  She's pretty much put herself on a three-hour routine of eating and sleeping, but she's not much bothered by disruptions to her routine (or even to her sleep).  Which is a really good thing, given how very disruptive her big brother can be!  Joshua means well, but his full-body hugs and his insistence on shoving Sophia's pacifier in her face while she's nursing aren't really as helpful as he might think...  But it really is sweet to watch them interact with each other.  And we're thankful for Sophia's easy-going nature in the face of Joshua's attentions!

And here are some favorites from our one-month photo session with Sophia, complete with cameos from big brother -- who just happened to be wearing his two-year birthday shirt.  I wish I could say I was organized enough to have coordinated that!






And then, of course, Joshua insisted that it was his turn to wear the sticker.  :)


We all love you so much, Sophia, and we're so thankful to have you safe, healthy, and home with us!  Happy one-month birthday, little girl!