Maternity Leave

For the past 3 months I have been on maternity, and it was nothing like what I expected. I was actually really worried to be at home with a baby for 3 months. I thought I would for sure be incredibly bored, and not know how to take care of my baby. To my surprise, I LOVED being home for 3 months. 

People always say that with newborn babies you can do nothing and still be so busy all day. I never understood how true that statement is. A majority of the time I did "nothing". The dishes piled up, the laundry was never folded, the bathroom needed to be scrubbed, the grocery store was out of the question, and eating that day was always questionable. My entire day consisted of keeping my baby alive. We woke up, I fed her, played for half an hour, and then I bounced her to sleep. She didn't and still doesn't take long naps, more like 25 minute power naps. When she woke up we were on repeat....all day long...

I often said I felt trapped, or just needed to talk to someone, but then by the end of the day I would look at my sleeping baby and feel a huge sense of accomplishment. We survived another day, she was happy and safe, and I was excited to start over again the next day. By the last couple of weeks I was finally starting to get the mom life down. She was old enough to (happily) sit in a swing or the mamaroo while I cleaned up the house. I had her on a schedule that made us both happy, and was finally not feeling so exhausted every morning. 

In the end, maternity leave felt short, and went by way faster than anticipated. I was blessed to have a great support system there with me every day between friends and family, and was so sad to see my leave come to an end.  I'm glad that I was able to be home for those first three months of Annika's life, especially since I know that there are quite a few people that don't get that opportunity. It was so fun to see how much she changed everyday! Here's a list of things I notice with 3 month old Annika :) 

* She gave us her first laughs at exactly two months old and they are adorable

* She surprised us and rolled from her tummy to her back at two months old (she did this for 3 days and hasn't been able to do it since)
* Her hair is getting long and blonde

* She LOVES looking at her toys hanging above her on her play mat and in the mamaroo

* She's recently discovered her feet and is amazed that she can kick things

* She's getting better at reaching for things and trying to grab them

* She still loves being wrapped up in a blanket with her binki when she's tired or in her car seat

* She's getting better at not being held, but is still the happiest during cuddles

* She gives warning screams for a few minutes before she starts to cry

* She loves to see the world whether it's from being held forward facing, or being lifted high into the air

* When she makes a new cooing sound it shocks her and she gets concerned before smiling and trying to do it again. 

* She is finally looking to the left and not favoring the right as much

* She is strong! she wants to stand, and move around like she can see bigger kids do. 

* She never stops moving, constantly kicking and moving her arms around, looking from side to side discovering herself and the world. 

And here is a huge pile of pictures that I've taken from her over the past three months. She's just so dang cute, I couldn't resist!

Annika Jan Lowe

Little Miss Annika Jan Lowe is now 3 weeks old! I'm in complete shock that she's growing so fast. It's been so fun to watch all of her little accomplishments, like learning how to spit out the spit up instead of swallowing it, and burping when her tummy hurts. It's these little things that make me so proud of her! She's getting so strong, and can pick her head up and move around. We've tried tummy time a couple of times, she doesn't hate it but she also doesn't get it. Every time I flip her over she curls up into a ball and grunts from trying to hold herself on all fours instead of actually laying on her tummy. She'll get it one of these days! I'm amazed by how much my love grows for her every single day! I wake up and have morning cuddles with her everyday, wishing that there won't come a day when she doesn't want to come curl up with me in bed. She looks so different from the day she was born, and is more like a real baby now. Which is exactly why I'm so glad Anna was able to come over a couple weeks ago and get some newborn pictures of Annika! I look at them almost everyday, she is very talented and captured her little personality perfectly. This was also the first day that Annika stayed awake for more than 5 minutes (which is great because it was a good sign that her horrible jaundice was finally gone). 

 And because I couldn't choose between any of the pictures you get to see them all!