1 Month Old!

Yesterday Elise hit 1 month!  Can't believe a month has already gone by.  It certainly seems faster when you have two kids keeping you busy.  Elise has found her voice over the past couple of weeks, and she's been getting cranky in the evenings.  But we expected that, as most babies seem to have a rough time in the evenings.  Elise is waking up to eat every 2-4 hours at night, but thankfully I don't feel any more tired than I did when I was pregnant; I was waking up that frequently for bathroom trips and even more frequently because of aches and pains!  I think Nate and I are less deliriously tired this time...maybe we're more used to it?  And we're more confident and laid back, at least with Elise.  Finley is the tricky one, since this is obviously our first time parenting through the "terrible twos".

Elise went for a check-up at the doctor today, and she is now 9 lbs 6 oz.  She's around the 50% percentile for everything at the moment.  Here are some things we're loving about 1-month-old Elise:

• The softest, finest, shiniest hair ever
• Sleep smiles
• Squeaks, snorts, and the occasional sweet little coo
• Eyes that are getting brighter as the jaundice goes away
• Cute newborn stretches- the ones where she arches her back and scrunches up her arms and legs
• A few burps that would have made a frat boy blush   

Click here for a video from the past couple of weeks!

Elise & Family, 2-4 Weeks Old

Things have been busy, but now it's catch up time for some photos.  And you better appreciate this because I'm missing out on a potential nap to post these!

Yes, she is awake sometimes, we're just not good about taking pictures since it gets a little busy with two children who are awake and needing attention!

Finley always has plenty of kisses to share with his little sister.

Nate juggling his new role as a father of 2.

She looks a little sad in this one, but still so sweet.

Elise's first trip to the beach for one of Finley's friend's birthdays.  Happened to be at Shek O Beach, which was also Finley's first beach trip.

Nate had the day off from work yesterday, but Finley had school in the morning, so we went out to brunch with Elise.  Yes, that is real hot chocolate, scratch made with Belgian chocolate and all kinds of other unhealthy ingredients.  Yum!  

Long weekend with beautiful weather= more time at the beach, this time St. Stephens Beach.  

(Finley is still getting used to the idea of sunglasses, trying to look under them.)

Lookout, he's on a mission.

Multitasking.

The heat was just too much, so she was conked out.  I remember Finley used to do that when we took him to the beach as a baby.

Quick Video

Pregnancy Reflections

I know you all probably just want photos of the kids (did I really just say "kids"...plural?!?), so I promise I'll post more photos next time, but for now I just wanted to take a minute and reflect on the pregnancy since I'm predicting this will be it for our family expansions.  It's hard to believe that at such a young age, I am likely finished having kids.  (In fact, it makes me feel really old!)

I have loved being pregnant, despite the problems and bad side effects pregnancy brings along with it.  (I won't even get into them all.)  I will miss my baby bump.  I will also miss the excitement of having a baby, even though the waiting and wondering is enough to drive a woman crazy.  Giving birth is by far the most miraculous thing I have ever done in my life, and I feel so blessed to have been able to do it.  It is absolutely crazy to grow another human being inside yourself.  And it is also crazy to one minute have that human being inside your massive belly, and the next minute be holding him/her in your arms.

So here's a look back at Elise's pregnancy, as we come to the end of an era and I get ready to donate all my maternity clothes to other pregnant friends.

Positive!!

13 weeks and already showing.  Happens much faster the 2nd time!

Finley helping to announce the big news.

20 weeks, halfway there.

28 weeks and beginning the 3rd trimester.

36 weeks and ready to pop.

37 weeks + 4 days.  Just arrived at the hospital...show time!

The end result.  Amazing.

  

Out and About

After Elise had her 7-10 day old doctor visit, we took big brother to a nearby playground in Repulse Bay for a brief romp.  This playground has some fun spinny toys that other playgrounds don't have, which Finley loves!

Last weekend, at a mere 1 1/2 weeks old, we took Elise and Finley on their first big outing together.  We went to Hong Kong Park downtown-- this park is awesome.  Though in the middle of busy Admiralty, it is huge and beautiful.  Water features, fish, turtles, aviary, awesome playgrounds, etc.  I will admit, most of us were getting cranky by the time we got home, and Finley did go completely crazy in the aviary and then had a meltdown when we were forced to leave the aviary due to his behavior, but otherwise the outing went well.  It is full on to attempt an outing like that with a rambunctious toddler and newborn, even with a 1:1 adult/child ratio!  Here are some photos.

Elise's first bus rides.  We decided to bus it instead of taxi because I figured I could nurse more safely and easily on the bus if I needed to than in a taxi.  Yeah.  Easier said than done on the narrow, windy roads around here!  (But obviously Elise wasn't bothered by it.)

Here's Finley, captivated by the turtles sunning themselves.

Super cool water feature.  Finley is flapping his arms in excitement.  This was probably his favorite part of the park.

Waiting for the bus home.

Nate and I also took the opportunity of Elise being very young and cooperative to go out to an early dinner date last weekend while Cathrina fed Finley dinner at home.  That way we could get home in time for bath and bed routines.  Of course, Elise had to be fed during dinner, but it was otherwise smooth sailing, and so nice to have a little time to relax together as a couple!

So today is Elise's due date, and yet she's already 2 1/2 weeks old!  I can definitely tell a big difference in her behavior and development in the past couple of days as she's neared her due date.  She is awake more, and fussing more, and she startles more easily.  She's starting to hold her head up better, and she was even trying to push with her legs.  I think she just had to spend the first couple of weeks recovering from the birth and getting a bit older before being ready to do these things.  Elise is eating plenty, and definitely seems to be gaining weight.  We're getting those pudgy cheeks back!

Nate has been back at work this week for the most part, so that's been an adjustment for all of us, especially Finley.  His screaming is back in full force, but I'm hoping it will get better again soon, because at other times he is the sweetest, funniest 2 1/2 year old you've ever met.  I just want to be like, "You don't have to do this whole terrible 2's thing!  Just be your cute self!"  But of course, you can't really reason with a 2 1/2 year old, and part of his growing and developing is (constantly) testing boundaries.  A couple of cute Finley-isms:  Today we were reading Peter Rabbit and in one part Mr. McGregor says, "Stop thief!"...but Finley said, "Stop beef!"  He also came home from school with a robot he made, saying, "I am a robot," in a monotone robot voice.  So funny.  Loving all this verbal development, and actually being able to communicate with him!    

Brotherly Love

These photos are all from Elise's first week.  A couple of sweet little photos by herself...

 ...and lots with her big brother!  He sure likes to hug and kiss Elise!

I have been absolutely terrible about remembering to take pictures of Elise with her visitors, but here's one with my friend Stacey.  Stacey has two girls and is expecting another!

It's been busy, so I really have to look for time and energy to blog.  But I do want to take a few minutes to tell you about a typical outing with newborn Elise so you can appreciate our life right now.  This afternoon after Nate got home from work, he, Finley, Elise and I decided to walk to Stanley Plaza to buy a few things.  So we had to try to get the stroller (the big one, because Elise can't use the umbrella stroller until she's 6+ months old), Finley, and Elise down the 3 flights of stairs (because our apartment is a walk-up).  By the time we got there and made a quick stop in one store, Elise had to be fed, so I went into Starbucks and fed her while Nate and Finley played on the playground.  (We had to take two different elevators to get down to Starbucks, mind you.)  Both Elise and Finley pooped during this time, so we had to do a double diaper change.  There was one changing table, so Finley and Nate used that while I changed Elise in the stroller.  But of course once I opened up her diaper, she started peeing, so I had to act fast to keep her from peeing on the stroller.  Then we made a quick stop in the grocery store, and by the time we got out of the elevator on the top floor to walk home, Elise was demanding to be fed again (30 min. after the last feed).  So it was almost dinner time, we were not in a good location to feed her, and Finley was getting cranky, but I had to find somewhere to sit and feed her at least enough to be able to walk home.  Nate tried to keep Finley occupied running around for a few minutes while I did this.  We then walked home, but Elise got hysterical for some reason when we were still a couple of minutes away (turns out she had pooped again), so I had to take her out and carry her in one arm and push the stroller with the other while buses and cars whizzed past us on the busy street.  Nate tried to carry Finley and some of the groceries, because Finley was getting tired of walking.  Then when we got home, we had to try to get both kids, the stroller, and all the groceries up the stairs.  This took a couple of trips, and Finley was not happy about waiting upstairs with me and poopie Elise while Daddy got to go downstairs and get our things.  And there it is, a simple outing in Hong Kong with two kids!  

Elise's Motion Picture Debut

Finally, I have gotten around to making Elise's first video!  Not like we've been busy or anything.  Problem with two kids is that when Elise doesn't need me, I try to hang out with Finley if possible...or I try to do things like eating or maintaining some level of personal hygiene.  So you may not get as many photos and videos as promptly this time, but I'll try my best, particularly for our family and friends back in the States.  We want to share this special time with you from over 8,000 miles away.  :)

Without further delay, here is the link to the video.  CLICK HERE.  I will warn you that it's a little longer than our videos normally are, so it may only be for serious Elise and Finley fans!

Elise had her first doctor visit today and she seems to be doing quite well.  She's almost back to birth weight, and only has very slight jaundice.  Her umbilical cord fell off too early, so it's still doing a little healing around there, but the doctor worked on it a bit today to help out the process.  We just have to take her back to check her weight again on Monday and make sure she's gotten up to birth weight by then.  Elise is getting more and more alert each day, and the doctor said her overall alertness and wakefulness for nursing should improve noticeably in the next few days as she gains slightly more weight and gets a few days older.

I have to say, I totally forgot how many diapers newborns go through!  Finley only uses 3-4 a day, but Elise is a whole other story.  Of course, the doctor said that it's a great sign that she's going through so many, because it means she's getting plenty to eat.  Luckily newborn size diapers are cheaper than toddler size.  On a related note, Finley has made some potty training progress in the past week!  He has randomly started pooping and peeing in the potty at times, maybe about once a day. He's still not interested in going frequently or consistently, and we're not about to push it with everything else going on, but we're happy for the progress!