The DiMaria's: Two Months In

Two months she's been in our arms, putting a smile on our face and joy in our hearts. I cherish each and every moment. Her sounds. Her smell. The feel of her head nestled in my neck as we cuddle chest to chest. She's such a sweet little girl and we love her more than we've ever loved anything. With her down for a morning nap, I'm happy to have a few moments to sit down and write a line or two. I do miss blogging!

~~~ HOW'S BABY ~~~

Dear Anita,
Your two month checkup with Dr. Cron was this past Monday. You're 9 pounds, 6 ounces and 22.5 inches long! You just came out of Newborn size diapers and clothes, which made Mommy tear up a little. I just love you so tiny in my arms, because I know you'll only get bigger from here. You also had your first set of vaccines at this appointment, which was not fun! I'm glad you won't remember it, because Mommy and Daddy won't soon forget. You screamed while Daddy held your hands as the nurses gave you three injections in your tiny thighs, and Mommy put her face in a corner and cried. But it was over in a flash and you stopped crying shortly thereafter. The day was stressful though, your leg became swollen, hot and red and you were upset and fussy. I went to the store and got some aceteminphen and that helped you through the night. We were so sad to see you in pain like that.
Aside from that, you're a very happy and alert baby. And oh, you're smile. It's so beautiful honey! You smile more at Daddy than at me, which makes it all that more special. You've yet to have a bad day, just a few fussy hours here and there. You drink only breastmilk and my oh my do you have a healthy appetite! Mamma's doing her best to keep up with you. During the day you have two or three naps. You like me to rock you to sleep. You're sleeping well at night, anywhere from 5-8 hours. You love your swing, and its where you sleep at night. Daddy puts you down and sits on the floor in front of your swing while you drift off. You've discovered your hands, you move them around in front of your face and just the other day started to put your fist into your mouth. Daddy worries you might start sucking your thumb, but I don't mind. Lord knows, it'll be easier for you to find at night rather than your binky! Your binky you seem to only want when your getting tired. Yesterday I showed you your first toy, and hung it down in front of you. Your eyes got really big, and you batted it around with the backs of your hands because you're not quite to the point of grabbing objects yet. It overwhelmed you after a few minutes, so we'll do that sparingly for now. You seem to really like when I read to you, you watch me with those big blue eyes and seem very content. It's hard for Mamma to get through a story without crying sometimes, such a precious moment between the two of us. A few of the books we are reading are: Guess How Much I Love You, The Giving Tree, and If I Could.
You enjoy car rides and your jogger, we've been on a few walks as the springtime season warms up. And you now fit into your baby bjorn, just last night Daddy took you to the neighbor's to visit and you fell asleep. We got the sweetest picture of it, you look like you were praying. We video chat with family in Michigan about once a week, and everyone says how alert and big you are becoming. Being the sweetie you are, you always share that pretty smile.
A few nicknames I have for you are AnitaRita, GracyFace, Babygirl and Pumpkin.

~~~ HOW'S MOMMY ~~~

Content, happy, and so thankful. Still in awe some mornings waking up to this new reality of being a mother. Phil and I are both home and I'm so thankful we're experiencing it all together. Anita has been such an easy baby, but a baby sure keeps one busy. We wake around 7 to nurse, I have a cup of coffee, put her down for morning nap and then a mad 1-2 hr dash to eat, shower and tidy up the house before she wakes and needs to eat again. Then she's up and we're busy nursing, changing diapers, playing and reading books, tummy time, midafternoon nap. Another quick window for me to exercise and tidy up some more. Before I know it Phil's peeking in asking what's for dinner, and I'm like "Dinner!?!?" A hot bath at the end of each day is so appreciated, because taking care of a baby all day - I'm tuckered out! Phil happily takes over and gets her all to himself for an hour or so. We put her down around 9 or 10 and she's out for 5-8 hours usually. Very lucky for her age I'm told - yay!
At my six week checkup I was shocked to discover I'd not only lost my 18 lbs of baby weight, but 12 lbs on top of that. The one challenge has been neck and back pain. For two weeks now I've been in physical therapy. It's due to breastfeeding and poor posture, as well as looking down at her as she nurses. AlsI'm on a daily regiment consisting of stretches and exercises using a stretch band, evercise ball and some floor exercises. I pray it gets better soon, because as it is right now I can only hold her for about 5-10 minutes and have to hand her off.
Breastfeeding is going well, but I worry every day if I'll produce enough milk to keep us going. It's a grueling process, as she eats 9-10 times a day. So if I nurse her at the breast, it comes out to around 2 1/2 hours each day. And on the days I pump and feed her by bottle it doubles the timing on it all. Up until about a week ago I was able to produce 5 ounces in excess to stock in the freezer for when I go back to work, but this week that's gone away and she's drinking everything I can produce. And she used to be satisfied on one breast, but now we're taking everything from both sides, and sometimes still needing 1-2 ounces that's previously been pumped. Whew, it exhausts me just thinking about it. But it's definately the most amazing bond with her, and I feel so honored to give her my ALL. I love knowing that we have this special bond, just the two of us. I pray formula isn't in our near future, but then again I think I need to be realistic and know that it may very well be. Good news is that I have a double, electric and handsfree pump on order, we're hoping that quickens the process and maybe even helps to increase supply. Next week we'll start working on a schedule that'll mimic me returning to work, I hope its not as difficult as I think it's going to be.
I've been in to see the guys at work a few times, they loved meeting Anita. It's been nice to not have to worry about being away, the office is just as clean and tidy as I left it and they keep telling me to enjoy this time at home with my family. And while I'll miss being home with her, I'm going to enjoy getting back to the office. However, I can't even imagine how tough that first week is going to be!

~~~ HOW'S DADDY ~~~

Smitten with his baby girl, that's for sure. They have such an amazing bond, she just lights up when he walks in the room. I love watching it. She really loves his deep voice. He's been the most attentive Dad and Husband, always close by to experience and help wherever needed. And when he's not inside the house with us, he's outside working on one of his many projects. This past month he's been working on classic Honda motorcycles and other small engine items to sell on the List of Craig. He took on a huge project of cleaning up an old farm and taking on the process of scrapping all the metal that came from it, brought in a big chunk of change! I can tell he's doing all that he can do project-wise before I get back to work. Soon it'll be him and Anita home together, and he'll really be busy. It's also time to work in the yard, which has always been a love of his. Yesterday he thatched the lawn and turned on the sprinkers. Next up will be edging, mowing, fertilizing, you name it. I'm always amazed at the energy level he has, I really don't know how he does it!

~~~ WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO ~~~

Staying home mostly, conserving funds and spending as much quality time before our babymoon is over. Easter was Anita's first holiday. We had every intention of making it the first day to church with her, and then I thought of all those kiddies with germs and decided to stay home instead. And we have our very own giant bunny, so we did a little photo shoot of our own. I couldn't believe how well behaved Cadbury was, letting Phil flip her all around, setting the baby on her and what-not. It was fun!
It was also Anita's first time in a dress, she looked darling!
Other things we've been up to...many friends and some family have been by to visit and we couldn't be more loved. A few walks to the store on nice days. Weeding the flower bed. Drove to Mountain Home last week to visit family as well as the cemetary to see my Dad. That was a tough moment, realizing my Dad will never be a Grandfather to Anita. I miss him more and more as the years pass by. Also took a drive up to Hailey to visit and BBQ with our friends Jason and Courtney, it was a great day exploring the beautiful nature preserve nex to their house. Anita did well with 6+ hours in the car.

Some photos from the past few weeks...