Scarlett Pannebaker

4.29.14: Thirty weeks, baby! 'In my thirties', just like my age;) Final decade of pregnancy weeks....or, whatever. Woah.



Do you know what happens every single week when I sit down to write these posts? I always think, 'There is nothing new going on, I have nothing to say, so maybe I will just phone it in or skip this week's update.' And then I somehow manage to post a lengthy update I didn't know I had in me. Whoops;)



Baby is: up to three pounds and 16 inches, at his max for amniotic fluid this week, and kicking his mama like crazy. As always, he seems to like jabbing my belly button at all times. I seriously love feeling this kid move.

Highlights of the week, since there were too many 'best of' moments to narrow down:

Tues: Truman informed me he wants to marry Cecelia when they grow up. OMG. Heart melted. Also had a wonderful morning at the playground with some friends/kids, then a long walk to Starbucks with just my kids in the afternoon before hitting another playground. Fresh air, exercise, and SBux treats for the win!
Wed: I got off work early, so I went to a coffee shop for 'me time' on the computer. My happy place, for sure, and I would love to make this happen more regularly somehow. Also: lots of decaff coffee treats this week;)
Thurs: Went to a meeting at my office for the first time in many months. Co-workers were shocked that A) I'm pregnant and, B) due in July. They say I 'wear it well' and seemed generally excited for me. Realized I have about two-ish more months of work and then 12 weeks off. Yesssss.
Fri: Took a long walk with Henry dog and soaked in the sunshine after work. Another happy place for me.
Sat: Family time!! Playground, errands, amazing mommy-nap, and then an adults-only game night here after major deep cleaning of the house. We had ten people here this time, instead of the usual eight and it was maybe one of the most fun game nights yet! Love hosting parties here.
Sun: My birthday! General amazingness, including brunch with my guy, family time lounging around and also walking to Starbucks for a treat, and a solo maternity shopping trip-- resulting in a new spring wardrobe that makes me feel cuter and ready to tackle the final weeks of pregnancy in style. Also: my kids are the sweetest and husband is the best. All of my friends and family members (and social media, thank you!) made me feel super-special and loved on my big day. Feeling very overwhelmed with the love and gratitude all day on my birthday. I almost wrote a mushy/emotional blog post that day just to remember how happy and content I was feeling, but did not in the name of enjoying the moment instead of blogging about it. Each year really does get better and better. And 33 doesn't feel 'old' most days.
Mon: Started my 'to do before baby list.' This feels so real all of a sudden!

Truman took these family pictures for us before my birthday brunch. Hilarious that he asks to take pictures now, and we are working on finding the right composition/not cutting off our heads.


Yeah, let me see how many you just took, buddy;)


And Nate took this one. Love that CC is picking her nose. Put on my shoes so that my gargantuan feet weren't blinding you, like above.


My birthday lunch was freaking phenomenal. Monkey bread with whiskey caramel sauce? Yes.


And the best omlette/pancake ever. That's cheesy-beer sauce on top (bacon and sausage inside) and Wisconsin 100% pure maple syrup for the 'cake. Drool.



Such a lucky lady with a 'made by the kids and husband' cake. Perfection. And yes, kids stayed in their jammies all day on Sunday 'just because'.


Exercise stuff: Walked three days this week, probably about 2 miles each time. Still with the slight cramping/tightening of the old uterus but if I slow way down it gets better. Somewhat annoyed that I can't be as active as I'd like because my body tells me to chill out, but I get it. I'm very pregnant and realize it won't be forever, which makes me both very sad and very happy depending on the minute.

How I feel: Exhausted some days, high on life for others. Harder to get up from laying down, difficult to carry my children around, and still with the pressure 'down there' that makes me feel like baby is sitting directly on my private parts. Not sure my nether-regions will ever recover from this babe:/ Also really struggled to get up on Truman's top bunk to read the kids books the other night--I was just so uncomfortable sitting up there and both kids were kind of rough with my belly, so I vowed to avoid the top bunk from here on out. Also: it was not a pretty sight to see me get down from there.

I think I'm more tired this time around but still feeling really good for being in the final stretch of pregnancy. Mostly it's just the whole 'having two kids to care for' thing that makes me so tired compared to other pregnancies. Duh, right? Feeling very close and very far away from meeting baby boy.

The Superficial: Belly seems round and high to me, and I'm still loving my basketball belly. I think it's the biggest of all my pregnancies so far but strangers still seem to think I'm 'soooooo small' when I tell them my due date. I particularly enjoy telling people that this is my third, not my first, child when they ask. There should be a study on people's reactions and comments to pregnant women out there---such a wide variety of opinions on gestating mamas. I haven't heard anything especially MEAN this time around and honestly don't even care about the 'too small' comments. Definitely taking that as a compliment this time around! I don't feel 'fat' but I still marvel at how much my body is changing. Pulled out my big girl C cup bras and held up one to my usual A cuppers, for Nate to see the difference. Seriously, it's insanity up in here---porn star status compared to my teenage boy status before! Truman and Cecelia found it hilarious to wear my big girl bras around the house a bit....then Nate quickly ended that party, disturbed by seeing his children with big knockers. ;)

Best comment of the week: 'You don't look old enough to have three kids!' Hahahahaha, thanks, sales lady trying to get me to buy more maternity clothes from your store. Your comment worked and I like you, cha-ching;) Especially because she told me this on my thirty-third birthday and I was questioning my youth before this statement.

I posted these outfits on Instagram--some of my favorite new purchases. Bought them all and then some, so pretty sure I'm set for warmer weather should it ever decide to come! Had big success at Motherhood Maternity/Pea in the Pod. A little nervous about the coral leggings but I went for it after Dizzy and Nate both confirmed they were cute via text. Also: my belly button seems to have it's own agenda these days, huh? And I was having a great hair day on my birthday, so another point for 'Life is Good at 33!'


The coral leggings. Can I pull them off? Didn't get this tank, already have two almost identical at home. Also, do I love stripes or something??


And this dress was a huge hit on Instagram, and I do love it. But from the side I feel like I look a little bit like a house. In my efforts to embrace more flowy tops/outfits, I realize that they make me look very pregs. And I am.


And these were the 'maybe' outfits that I did not purchase, but I secretly want a few of them right now looking at this line up. I just had to draw the line somewhere and it was difficult to edit my giant pile of clothes...so, whatever.

I did actually get that black cardigan in the bottom center pic. Wanted those jean shorts, too, but they were $75 so I opted for the darker ones in the first grouping instead (only $40). I feel inspired by those lighter denim shorts though and might attempt cutting off some of my old maternity jeans that are super flared. Wish me luck!

Enough dressing room pictures....

Happenings: No big nursery progress this week, but instead I'm focusing my energy on cleaning and organizing our house.Wiping baseboards and door frames of the dirty/sticky hand prints is not my favorite thing to do but all of a sudden it's very necessary! Scrubbing our kitchen floor by hand, washing the couch cushions in the washer (scary!! but it worked), and sorting through our closets were all highlights of my week-o-nesting.

Also, we have been talking a lot about maternity leave/return to work set ups this week. Nate is going to take some substantial time off for paternity leave this time! At first we thought he got paid at 60% for 6 weeks and we were planning for him to take off the entire month of July, but it turns out the policy is nothing special and sort of sucks. (ie no paid time off at all for dads, but they can't fire him for using PTO---awesome!). Cue the sad trombone. So now he is thinking about using PTO to be home for the first week and then maybe take of every Tuesday and Thursday for three more weeks after that.  I'll still take it, even though it's not nearly as amazing as having him home for a full month! I knew that rumor was too good to be true.

I will probably stop working right before the Fourth of July, assuming I make it that long---really not feeling like working lately, not good since I have another ten weeks to go! Then we will likely send Truman and Cecelia to Lori's just two days per week during my maternity leave this time, although last time we sent Truman there for three days each week. I don't want to pull them all the way out of Lori's because it's so good for them to have their friend/other-authority-figure time....and Nate and I want some time alone with the new baby, too. Win-win for all. By the end of my maternity leave, Truman will be in Junior Kindergarten anyway (!!), and will be totally done with Lori's at the end of August. Can hardly imagine that transition!

Also, my mom wants to fly out and stay for a solid few weeks, too. Do you know what this means? SO MUCH HELP for baby #3!!! And trust me, I know better than to turn any of it down. Maternity leave is always such a special, magical, exhausting and chaotic time of life....it should be infinitely better with my husband and my mom around for a majority of it. Cannot.Wait. I'm lucky, I know!

My guys with matching hats. Love them, and I know one more little guy that can't wait to be a part of their manly activities!


Food stuff: I've actually been craving spinach salads and any/every fruit out there lately. Sure, I still love my sweets (birthday cake, Easter candy, etc) but it's interesting that healthier foods are what I want more than anything. This was around the time when my appetite calmed down with Cecelia, too. It's nice not to have that ravenous, 'must eat all the food' feeling anymore. Hope it doesn't come back anytime soon because I'm running out of room for big meals, anyway.

Other random belly pictures:

Friday night before bed, felt like my belly was super round and low all of a sudden:


Saturday, feeling like this belly was crazy high:


And later that night, a little blurry but again....hello, belly! You keep changing on me.


Birthday belly!


Comparing pregnancies: Truman's pregnancy at thirty weeks: others telling me my bump was 'too small' and I was 'barely showing'.  Ooohh, and I forgot about the one of the rudest comments ever: "I'm sorry but you don't even look pregnant, it just looks like you got a fat gut.' NOW I remember that one, and that particular person is pretty much miserable in general (and I never see her anymore anyway). What a mean thing to say to someone! I mean, my belly wasn't huge but I had just experienced a huge growth spurt and most definitely looked pregnant at 30 weeks. I was still running and trying to get the 'very active baby kicks' on video.

Cecelia's pregnancy at thirty weeks:  feeling like my bump was pretty small, others telling me 'you don't even look pregnant', getting harder to move around, new maternity clothes lent to me by friends, and moving into bi-weekly appointments. Oh, and I thought CC was very active. I guess I've thought all of my babies were active, but I still think this little guy takes the cake and have successfully gotten MANY videos of his antics already, unlike my other two pregnancies when I struggled to capture it on film.

Summary: I freaking love being pregnant, even though I'm tired and getting bigger and cranky at times. Can't believe I'm so close to being done with pregnancy. I will absolutely miss the sweet anticipation of meeting our newest family member, will miss feeling his gigantic kicks and like I'm protecting him from the outside world. Even if I'm not actively thinking about this baby as much as I did for my others, I definitely feel very connected to him and can't wait to meet the little man.

Dearest Baby Boy Truman,


Four weeks ago today I had the privilege of meeting you and from the moment I saw your squishy baby face I fell madly in love with my son. It's totally cliche and it can't possibly make sense to anyone unless they've experienced it themselves, but my whole world changed the day you were born and it absolutely changed in the best possible way. How did I get so lucky to be your Mommy? I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you are mine, that your Daddy and I made you, and that we get to keep you forever and watch you grow up a little bit every day. And boy, have you done some growing in the past four weeks.




Breastfeeding is certainly your favorite hobby and you showed off your instinctual skills for latching onto Mommy right away. Your Daddy weighed himself with and without holding you and we think you might be close to 10.5 pound already, which means you are still gaining almost a pound a week! Your cheeks are plumping up and your thighs are a little more meaty, and much to my dismay your newborn sleepers are getting a little too snug for my little peanut these days. I'm definitely going to be that mom who cries every time I put away another clothing size that no longer fits my munchkin because I just want to freeze time and keep you this tiny forever sometimes. Then again, your Daddy and I cannot wait for you to get bigger and more interactive with us because when you smile in your sleep it already melts my heart. I can't imagine how amazing it will be when you purposefully smile AT me which will probably be in the next month or so. I have a feeling you're going to have a lady-killer smile that will make all of us weak in the knees, possibly causing my head to pop off from love. Is that possible, I wonder?





Truman, you have experienced SO many 'firsts' in your first four weeks of life. We gave you the first real tub bath on 3.27 and you hated it with a passion:) Your Daddy gave you your first bottle full of Mommy's milk on 3.26 and you totally made his day with your adorable facial expression as you gulped down the milk like a champ. I guess you don't care where your milk comes from as long as we keep your tank full at all times! Your umbilical cord stump FINALLY fell off on 3.25, at 3 and a half weeks, and your little tummy is simply too cute for words. We've been cloth diapering your tushy now and it's going really well. I think you like the feeling of soft cloth on your butt and I personally adore your bulky booty full of cloth:)





Except for a few nights here and there, you've started to fall into a sleeping pattern that makes your Mommy a happy (and better rested) woman. Most of the time you will sleep for 3 to 4 hours at a time at night, nursing for about 30 minutes or more when you wake up, and you'll fall asleep fairly easily after each feeding with a little bit of coaxing from me. Sometimes you just want to be held and Mommy breaks the rules when she pulls you into bed with her and Daddy--but you just love laying on our big mattress in between your two favorite peeps (I'm assuming we are your favorites at this point, and we're going to go with it for awhile).

Becoming your Mommy has taught me more about life than I could have imagined. It's like all of the important things are blatantly clear to me now and everything else is just silly and insignificant. I'm surprising myself with parenting instincts that I never knew I had, and by making a few choices that I SWORE I'd never make when I was pregnant. For instance, you are sleeping right next to our bed instead of in your nursery (I swore that wouldn't happen!); I'm letting you run the show with your 'schedule' instead of imposing a strict time line on you for each day (I totally thought I'd like a set routine but find myself trusting that you know what you need better than the clock knows); and I find myself enjoying our little trips in the car to run errands and you've even been a social butterfly during coffee dates, a baby shower, and a few doctor's appointments. Each time we get out in the big bad world I feel a little more confident and you always surprise me with how well you do on our trips. You are certainly a laid back dude and I don't know why I expected anything differently from you. Thank you for being so kind to us rookie parents. It's greatly appreciated.

Each day I notice that you are a little more alert, you sleep a little less, and you are totally obsessed with lights and windows and looking up into our faces. Your personality shines through your numerous facial expressions and pretty much our whole family spends way too much time just staring down at you. It's just too entertaining to watch you be yourself and we can't get enough of it. Because you are the first grandchild on both sides it's safe to say that both your Wisconsin and your Missouri Grandparents are spoiling the heck out of you. Grandma and Grandpa H like to come upstairs each day and steal you away for a few hours just to 'play' with you. And Grandma and Grandpa B love to watch you on Skype each weekend, as you just light up their computer screen and show off all that you can do (sleep, cry, sneeze, yawn, and hiccup...that's about it right now) :) Your Missouri Grandma flew in to stay with us for a whole week this week and she is obviously head over heels for her grandson and who can blame her? I think both you and I are going to be spoiled to death while she's here and I'm not going to complain if you aren't!

Truman, I could go on and on about these four weeks we've had with you but I'll wrap it up by saying that you are the most precious gift we could have ever imagined. We love you more than words could ever explain and I'm trying with all of my might to stay in the moment and enjoy each second of my maternity leave with you. In some ways it's just flying by and in other ways it seems like it was a different lifetime when you were still inside my belly. I thought I'd miss pregnancy and there are a few things that I'd love to feel again, but for the most part having you on the outside is exponentially better than having you inside me. Getting to hold you each day is pretty much the greatest experience ever. I love you little T-man. Can't wait to watch you grow.

Love, Mommy



(yes, we are really sleeping here) :)

12/30/16 | 12w6d

I never made time to post about week 12 and now I'll be 13 weeks tomorrow, so here goes my first combo post.





On Christmas Day, I was 12w1d and we finally told the kids our news. It was something we had been so excited to tell them and it seemed like they might already know, since we've definitely talked about the pregnancy around them PLENTY of times. Predictions: Truman would be seriously pumped, Cecelia would take some time to warm up to the idea, and Porter would be clueless. Ah, foreshadowing.

We opened gifts with our family of five on Christmas morning and spent a few hours putting together train tables, eating breakfast, and organizing new toys. Before I hopped in the shower, I asked Nate if we should do it and he said, 'Yep.'

I had been thinking of a fun way to tell them for weeks. I bought a sixth (!!) stocking a few weeks prior and put it in a Christmas bag. I wrote a little note from our Elf on the Shelf, Candy Cane Jane, and acted like I just saw it all of a sudden. 'Hey, Truman, what is this note?' I asked him.



He took over from there, reading the note out loud to his siblings. CCJ had him look on the desk for the next clue, where the stocking was waiting along with another note. Truman thought the stocking was for Henry, and kept reading the clue. When the elf mentioned that the big surprise would happen in July, Truman thought it was the elf's birthday. I was shocked that he hadn't already figured this out!

The elf had them sit on the couch so mom and dad could tell them the news, and Nate shot a video. Their reactions were seriously CLASSIC. You can watch the video, but Truman was jumping up and down, Cecelia just stared at me, and Porter kept saying, 'no' and hit me.


Telling the kids on Christmas Day from Julia H. on Vimeo.

Most excited little boy, authentic hug for his daddy after Truman found out the news<3


Cecelia eventually warmed up to the idea after she said she just didn't want 'it' to mess with her Shopkins. Then she said she wants it to be a girl and wants to name her 'Julie.' HA! Porter eventually chilled out and told a random neighbor, 'I'm going to be a brother!' later in the day. So apparently he kind of gets it. Truman has just been so stinking excited from the second he found out. He wanted to know if the grandparents already knew because he wanted to announce it to the world. The second thing he said was, 'I can't wait to tell my teacher!' He keeps saying that he can't wait for the baby to come, and he also wants a sister. In fact, he wants to name her Rose and is pretty adamant that this will be a girl. I think all of them will be just fine either way, but it's kind of cute that they want it to be a girl (and also, because I feel like it's a little lady, too).

Other tasks Truman has decided that he will manage as a big brother times three: he wants to read to her each night, get her dressed (!), give her a bottle, give her a pacifier, and sing her lullabies. I mean, seriously. He also nominated Cecelia to paint the baby's fingernails and told Porter that his job will be getting wipes and a new diaper for the baby. Porter is all over that one.

The kids will be 7, 5, and maybe 3 on the nose when this baby is born. It's going to be a wild ride and we are so excited!!!

Other happenings: I have not taken a nap all week which is major progress. I can eat without wanting to puke. I've been finding the heartbeat pretty easily a few times a week and the HR is now in the 160s. It's still the best sound in the entire world. Oh, and I'm for real showing. No seriously. I had to unbutton my pants when I was sitting at a hockey game for a few hours, I just couldn't handle the wait of my jeans anymore. My boobs are bigger and I'm sure I've gained a few pounds. The scale at Urgent Care said I was up four pounds but I did have my gigantic winter boots and huge sweater on, so I'm not counting that just yet. I've just started to miss running and alcohol but not THAT much. New Years Eve tomorrow night would be nice with a glass of wine but I'll survive, I suppose;)

We welcomed several visitors to our house this week for the holidays: my mom and dad, my brother, Jon and Brittany all came this week and they are leaving tomorrow. We let Truman tell my brother, who was the only one of the bunch that didn't know yet. He was shocked and excited, which seems to be par for the course right now!

I've been pretty tired this whole week but not tired enough to nap. I haven't slept the greatest at night either, mostly because of my darling Porter boy. He was awake from 2-4am last and so was I. I know I'll crash hard tonight but I don't want to waste time napping---a very good sign that the first trimester yuckiness is fading away.

We took our family pictures earlier this week, when I was technically 12w4d. The photographer just sent me some of our balloon pics and I can't quite pull the trigger on posting them yet! I had it in my head that I'd announce to social media next week, after I pass 13 weeks so I think I'll stick to that plan for now. I did just send a few messages to closer friends that should probably not find out on Facebook and Instagram.



This all seems so REAL all of a sudden. I have my first appointment in about 11 days and am really excited to see my old OB again. One of my friends just did the genetic testing for the first trimester, and all is well--no abnormalities. It does make me wish I would have done that test, too, just for the peace of mind. But I'm trying to stay positive and believe that this baby is going to be exactly who he or she is meant to be in our family.

I feel like there were more updates I wanted to share and now I can't remember. I just really cannot believe I'm having a fourth baby. It's starting to sink in and it's both CRAZY and feels completely right. Perhaps the next weekly update I do will be in real time on the blog. NUTS!

Twenty weeks: 1.11.12





Size of baby: a banana according to Baby Center or a cantaloupe according to The Bump. I simply cannot imagine baby is as big as a melon just yet, since Baby Center doesn't claim that one until week 34, so I'm sticking to one of my (and Truman's) most favorite fruits this week and will probably choose most Baby Center fruits from here on out. They are just more fun than The Bump, as much as it hurts to admit that one.

Cravings: This week I was totally digging diet soda. Which is funny because I never drink it anymore, maybe once a week at the most? But I just HAD to buy a diet A&W Root Beer two liter at the grocery store this week and seriously have to restrain myself from chugging the entire bottle in one sitting. Something about that bubbly, sweet, coldness that I can't get over. I realize this is not very healthy, blah blah blah, but cut me some slack here. I gave up my heavy addiction to coffee. A diet soda every now and then (and root beer doesn't even have caffeine, people!) will not kill me.

What I love: being half baked! Being at the magical 20 week mark, which means ANATOMY SCAN baby! Freaking 5 months pregnant = no joke anymore. loveitall.

What I'm looking forward to the most: Our big scan is tomorrow, Thursday 1/12/12, you guys. Cannot handle the anticipation that baby will be visible on a screen for us to view for a whole hour. Obviously, praying that baby measures right on track, appears totally healthy, and then finally, that he/she spreads 'em wide just like Truman did for us, so there are no questions about private parts. And then waiting 48 hours for the Big Reveal on Saturday. Can barely handle all of this right now, seriously.

Worries: That something might be flagged in the scan. Looking forward to getting the official call from my OBs office after the scan is complete to discuss the results. But we do happen to have a fabulous ultrasound tech because I requested him, and he's the same dude that did our big US for Truman's 20 week scan and also he is who I saw right before my D&C. Remember how I was going to a different OB during my miscarriage and it was handled in the worst way possible and I wound up in the ER with words like 'hysterectomy' floating around me? Yeah, that sucked. And this US tech was so sweet when my current OB (my saving grace) wanted to make sure that my uterus was not, in fact, on the verge of exploding from a random blood vessel like the other OB had said. He made me feel very confident with my choice to return to this OB and even said, 'hope to see you back here soon under different circumstances.' So basically, 'hope you get knocked up again with a healthy baby and then we can do a FUN scan, instead of such a horribly sad one.' Well, I'm here, buddy!!

What is different this time around: Ugh, why was I such a typical first-time-mom-overachiever last time? I had painted the nursery, purchased a crib and a changing table, and obviously this time around I'm nowhere near that prepared. Also, I was just starting to feel 'fat' and bought some maternity clothes. My bump was freaking puny last time and I thought it was big. HA. Oh, to be young again:) I have had those first 'I feel pretty chunky' thoughts this week, because clothes just aren't fitting me like they used to, and I'm definitely in between sizes of jeans now. But I have to remind myself that no matter how frumpy and awkward I feel, I'm going to be exponentially more uncomfortable in the coming months so I might as well get used to it. Nothing a big old cardigan and some leggings can't fix, anyway. :)

Symptoms: A few headaches this past week, which are never fun. But don't worry, my beloved diet soda seems to help a bit.

Sleep: No issues just yet. Passing out so hard that I wake up in a puddle of drool most mornings. Very sexy, no?

Movement: Lots, daily, and Nate and I have been having a lot of fun watching my belly bounce around and also feeling it from the outside. Did I ever mention that I love feeling a growing baby move around inside me? Totally indescribable.

The belly: Big. Fitting into maternity tops that were too big just 3 weeks ago. And multiple patients of mine have noticed at this point. Like, woah.

Boy or Girl: Honestly, no real intuition anymore. Too anxious to find out on Saturday to place any bets. But you are welcome to predict the future sex of our baby if you so choose! I am guessing I'll have pictures to show along with the big announcement maybe on Monday morning-ish, so hang tight!

Milestones: The babe is 10.5 ounces, 6.5 inches, and can now be measured from head to toe instead of just to the butt. He's swallowing, producing poop (!!), and continues to grow up a storm every day. Inching our way towards viability day, dude!

Best moment of the week: I was getting dressed one morning and Truman ran up to my belly, said 'BABY!', and then started hugging my legs as hard as he could. I sat down to get closer to his level and asked if he loves this baby, and he told me 'yeah!' and then gave my tummy a kiss. I kid you not, I almost melted and had to fight back tears. I just love picturing Truman as a big brother and I pray that having a newborn won't rock his little world too much, and that I'll be able to show both children enough love. But until I really have to worry about expanding my heart for another child, I feel so incredibly blessed to have my caring first born. Just can't believe I get to have another one of these little amazing creatures.

And the second best moment of the week? At 19w6d (Tuesday night), we made an offer on our first house. Fingers crossed it's the house for us, but WOW what a big week for our little family. So excited, many more house posts to come once we know if it's actually ours or not. And don't worry, Truman came with us to write the offer and pooped a nasty turd about 10 minutes into the meeting with our realtor. Even he noticed the stench. Fabulous.

Six weeks already/only? Time flies but it also seems like she has been a part of our family forever. I've been looking forward to this six week milestone because it seems like a lot of babies sort of round the corner at this point and the fussiness/spit up/uncertainty issues start to dissolve. And overall, I think that is true for Cecelia---praise the Lord. Looking back on it now, week four was really freaking hard. It started to get better each day last week and hopefully we keep getting more and more comfortable with each other as each day passes.



The biggest change in the past few weeks is that Cecelia's evening hours are much more pleasant. She may have a few moments of being fussy just because she is super tired or wants to nurse, but nothing like that horrid fourth week. Maybe we can just read her a little better now and figure out what she wants, but I also think she isn't just crying to cry anymore. In fact she is having a lot of evenings when she just chills out and looks around the house all contentedly. Especially because she has had a few days when she barely manages to stay awake for longer than 30 minutes at a time---it's like she is all rested up and ready to rip in the evenings before bed. Totally fine by us as long as she isn't freaking out anymore!



Another positive changes is that she isn't spitting up as much anymore. I was going to be REALLY excited about this realization but then she barfed everywhere again this morning--bringing the grand total of HUGE puke sessions up to 8 total. But really, she did it once last week and once today, and every feeding in between those has been pretty darn dry. Maybe there is something about Tuesdays now? I still think she is just randomly gagging since the big ralphs usually happen 5-10 minutes after a feed and usually when she is laying down. She's not crying after and it definitely freaks me out a lot more than anyone else. It's not fun to change her clothes, my clothes, and clean up all around the vomiting scene but I feel more confident that this is just a random baby thing that Truman never did. I guess being baptized by my daughter's spit up is like a rite of passage that most moms endure---nothing like being soaked in your own breast milk!

What, this hat doesn't fit yet?


One sort of 'sad trombone' change is that her normally great night time sleeping has regressed a bit. She was consistently waking each night at 2-3 and again at 4-5 making it just two times that she needed to feed, and she'd usually fall back to sleep pretty easily after. And although she DID give me her first 5 hour stretch of sleep last week, she followed up that accomplishment with some pretty horrid nights. She will sometimes wake 4 times now and occasionally won't fall back to sleep for 45 minutes up to 1.5 hours. Gah! She will be grunting and squirmy and need diaper changes all of a sudden. Waking up at 12:30, 2:30, 3:30, and 4:30 is so not cool, my dear. Now, granted, last night she did great again and only woke up twice but still. Maybe it was another growth spurt? Gotta love blaming everything on a spurt, right? I'm considering moving her from the co-sleeper in our room into her crib for at least the first part of the night but we'll see. Such a big step. But such a cute nursery that needs to be used:)

Another bummer? Baby acne did, in fact, attack my perfect angel's face. Right at the 5 week mark I started seeing little red dots which is exactly when Truman got it. It's fading a bit now but still there---not awful or anything, but it's still kind of funny/heartbreaking for my newborn to have the pimply skin of a teenager. She still rocks it, though, and I'm still snapping pictures. But I am using every ounce of my being to refrain from picking at her acne. You all know I'm a big time picker, right?

Acne on a ballerina. Still cute, yes.


Fluffy hair and good head control!


On the awesome side of things? Baby girl is smiling a lot more now! She actually gave us the first smile around 3 weeks but now I can work hard to get a gummy grin in return, so it's not quite as random. And oh my goodness, her smile is killer! I love this stage of newborn-hood because it's like you are finally getting some positive reinforcement for all of the hard work you are putting in as a parent. Like, 'Hi---I'm slaving away for you, sleep deprived, covered in my own boob juices, fat, hungry, changing a million poopy diapers a day. Can I just get a freaking smile to show that you actually appreciate my services? Thanks.'

And of course, when I say she is smiling a lot more I didn't even capture it on camera this week. Mommy fail.

And speaking of anxiety and stress, baby girl still hates a bottle. As in, the past 24 hours have resulted in 3 failed attempts by Nate and myself. I'm starting to freak a little bit--I know we still have 6 weeks until I go back to work but man. She is one picky lady who loves the boob but hates a rubber nipple. My mom got Cecelia to take 1 ounce last week and I thought we were in the clear! But then the next day she refused twice and ever since then it's been a hellish battle to get pumped milk into the girl. We are trying lots of ideas: warmer bottle, different bottles, different rooms of the house, sitting, standing, rocking, music, etc. I think our best bet is to focus on the early morning hours when she is content and sleepy but not starving. We did a bottle at 6 am this morning and although it was another epic fail, I feel like we have to keep trying! Any stories of breastfed babies who HATED the bottle at first, but then pulled through and took it just fine for daycare welcome. Already stressed about the potential for her to refuse bottles up until my first day of work (August 20---mark it on your calendar). Come on, CC---I'm glad you love my boobs but let's work together here!



Anyway, last week was super fun with my mom and Memaw here. I cannot get over how easy it is to care for a newborn when my toddler is fully entertained by GoGo. And we had a fabulous Fourth of July, took Truman to his first fireworks, I got a mani/pedi for a little mommy alone time, and we survived the worst heat wave in Wisconsin's history (that is my stat, maybe not a correct statement, but whatever). I had my six week OB appointment yesterday and got cleared to exercise again, so Cecelia and I had our first mommy/daughter run and OMG. I missed running so much in the past 10 months!! Cannot wait to get back into kick-butt shape with my newest sidekick bumping along in front of me. She is wearing her first cloth diaper today and filling it out nicely, looking extra cute in the fluff. I'm pretty sure this means her newborn clothes are officially retired and the 3 month sizes are really pretty snug in certain brands. LOVE this new wardrobe of hers!

Two extremely random things that I have no idea where to put in this post:

1. I had an epiphany the other night. As CC's hair grows out (and stays put!!), she is starting to resemble Kate Gosselin. I'm both loving and hating this realization. Observe.


2. Cecelia's nursery was featured on Buy Modern Baby! Check it out if you care to see more of the same pictures I featured over here. :)

So yes, overall life is pretty good at the moment. I'm falling more in love with Cecelia every day, especially now that those hard early 'I don't quite know you yet' days are fading into better, more comfortable ones. My favorite thing to do is just kiss her little forehead and smell her sweet baby head. She is just such a blessing and I'm soaking it all in, trying hard not to get to excited about what is to come.

Picture time!

This picture took my breath away because she looks SO much like Truman with her hair slicked back. So stinking cute.


American Baby:



Four generations of girls in the family. Adore.








We never get pictures with Nate's family since we always see them, but here we are!


Pulled out the activity gym and she loves it! And I love babies in skirts.


My running partner, snoozing on her job as a cheerleader


Cloth!


I'm a pumping fool! Up to 134 ounces frozen already, which I'm really proud of while I can't help but organize my numerous bags over and over again. What? You don't organize your frozen milk by date, with coordinating numbers, into different freezer bags based on the month?



That's the sixth week of Cecelia's life! Off to attempt a smiling photo shoot!