Avery: Two Weeks In (+ our essentials so far!)

Here we are at two weeks since Avery was born. It already feels like she's been here for much longer, and CP and I feel so fortunate to be parents to this little lovebug. I realize that as soon as I hit publish on this her temperament will probably change, but so far she is super mellow and looooooooves to sleep (so basically- CP!). We have to wake her for every feeding and she hardly ever makes a peep.

She's already becoming more and more alert during the time that she's awake and it's so fun to have one-sided conversations with her. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you know that Sloan has quickly found a new best friend and is so, so interested in Avery! CP and I are continuing to establish our new routines. Even though I'm a self-proclaimed procrastinator, I'm pretty positive that having a baby has changed that- hopefully for good! Frankly, there's just not time to procrastinate anything. Between prepping for feeding, feeding, changing diapers, etc, there's often less than an hour for me to get anything non-baby related checked off the list and I've been finding myself zipping around. It's sort of awesome! I know you're supposed to sleep when the baby sleeps, but my body can't shut down during the day and apparently I can run on far less sleep than I thought. Of course I have moments when I hit a wall and need to just lay on the couch, too, but I'm enjoying this newly discovered efficiency.

It's funny for people to say how much she's already grown in two weeks. When you spend all of your time with someone you're less apt to pick up on gradual changes, but it's definitely true that she's growing every day! I keep catching myself thinking "she's never ever going to be this tiny again!". I'll keep kissing those little lips as much as I can since I'm sure I'll blink and she'll be at the age where mom's kisses are sooooo gross- ha!

I wanted to include some things that have made all the difference for us so far, even at just two weeks in. I pinned these lists from other people like crazy and a lot of the recommendations are spot on! We were so fortunate to have a family that I used to babysit for give us a lot of hand me downs (Hi, Gretchen!), and I also picked up some new gear along the way. Here's a breakdown by baby and mom so far....

Avery:

Rock and Play- Avery spends a lot of time in here during the day when she's sleeping. She can be fussy when she's flat on her back, so the incline on the rock and play is super helpful and gets her to sleep instantly.

Halo Bassinest- CP and I weren't planning on having Avery in our room, but after some more research and personal anxiety on my end, we ended up getting the Halo Bassinest last minute and we both agree that it was an excellent choice for us. I love the fact that the sides are mesh, which make it super easy to check in on Avery when she's snoozing. It took her a couple nights to get used to it, but now she does fine and usually goes down quickly in it. A major pro is that the Bassinest swivels, although one con is that the base is pretty bulky and takes up a lot of room.

Summer Swaddle Me Blankets- CP and I learned how to swaddle at an infant class that we took and thought we had it down. Enter baby and everything went out the window. No matter how many times we tried or how tight we made it, Avery was breaking out of the swaddle every time (how do the nurses make it look so easy!?). My friend Madelyn had given us some of these swaddles and they've quickly become a livesaver. They're pretty idiot-proof and Avery is snug as a bug in it. Highly, highly recommend these! We also have the Miracle Blanket, which is the same idea.

Gripe Water- I'd definitely never heard of this, but it has quickly become an important item for us! Avery tends to be gassy right before she starts eating and sometimes it can take ten to fifteen minutes for her to push things out. When it's 3am and we're already delirious, this can seem like an eternity. When we give her a few drops of gripe water, though, she instantly calms down and is a much happier baby. The main ingredients are ginger and fennel, so it's like ginger ale for babies!

Me:

Trail Mix- Of course I start with the food :) Trail mix has hands down been the easiest thing to shove in my mouth during the little time that I have to eat these days. It's fast, high in calories and fat, and tasty! I've stocked up on a few bags from Trader Joe's and will continue to do so!

Target nursing tanks- I've been living in these! They're super affordable and comfy.

Milk Saver- Let's file this one under "things people forget to tell you about nursing". Leaky faucet-we'll leave it at that. Seriously, though....this thing is invaluable!

Pandora- I've been relying on it for those middle of the night feedings to keep me awake!


I'm looking forward to continuing to update this list as time goes on. I know we're going to blink and our newborn will no longer be a newborn!

Day 1 of being home alone with baby and puppy....if only I could grow another pair of hands (or two!). We survived, though- despite (or thanks to?!) lots and lots of licks from Sloan!