1 Month

(Let's just pretend there is a "1 Month" sticker on Sprout.  I was so impressed with myself that I actually took the photo on time, until I realized the sticker never made it on her shirt.  There's always next month??)

It is hard to believe that a month has gone by since Sprout made her debut (okay, she's really 6 weeks, but what do you expect with my track record & this blog??).  It's been quite the flurry of activity.  With Bean, we had a slower paced first month and didn't get out much.  This time around (and due to Bean), we get out a lot more.  Sprout is a trooper and just goes along for the ride.

I like going back and look at Bean's stats to compare the babies.  So far, I feel like the two babies are completely different.  Bean was more quiet and I would have to encourage her to eat in the beginning.  Sprout, however, loves her food and would eat every hour if I'd let her.  Luckily, once she is fed, she's happy to just hang out in her swing until she's hungry again.  I also was more hands on with Bean - constantly holding her, mapping out our day based on her eating and sleeping, etc.  Not Sprout -- she's along for the ride.  Scheduling still is based all on Bean (sorry Sprout, get used to it).

I thought going from zero to one kids was going to be harder than going from 1 to 2.  I figured since we've done it all before, it should be easy.  Right?  Wrong! It's waaaaayy harder to add in that second kid because of the first kid! Newborn up all night?  Suck it up -- you have a toddler to take care of!

So back to Sprout -- here are her 1 month stats:

- 8 pounds, 4 ozs (week 5)

- Eats every 2 - 4 hours (sadly she does the longer stretches during the day, and shorter at night)

- Tolerates Bean and her constant loving (Bean likes to hold her, kiss her, lay on her, etc)

- Shrieking cry & very vocal.  When she's sleeping, we often forget we have a second kid; but when she's awake, she doesn't let us forget!

- Spends most of her day in the swing.

- Loves to be swaddled to fall asleep.
- Super chill in her baby bathtub.  With Bean, she got a bath almost every day.  Sprout is lucky to hit the week mark.  Sorry little girl. However, when she does get a bath, big sister Bean loves helping out!

- For the first 3 weeks, she slept in a bassinet in our room.  I'd feed her and change her all in our room, too.  On week 3, I would take her to her room to feed and change her, but would still put her to sleep in our room. Finally at week 4, she made the move to sleeping in her room full time at night (okay, in the morning around 6, she ends up back in our room until I get up with Bean around 8 -- if I'm lucky!

("I kiss him" -- something I hear multiple times a day.  Bean LOVES to be involved with baby sister.  She's always catching on to pronouns; however, she always uses the wrong one.  Daddy is a her and Bean is a him, ha!)

(Sprout and her crazy faces.  So far, I don't think she looks much like Bean.  I do think she has a lot of Steve in her.  Stay tuned for a "Who does Sprout look like" post.)

(Sprout is not in love with her paci, but will suck on one a little bit to fall asleep.  Bean used "gumdrop" pacifiers, but Sprout seems to be liking the soothies/wubbanubs!

 (Sprout loves having in her hands up by her face.  She's also starting to show some interest in her thumb, if only she can figure out how to get it in her mouth!)

(Matching sisters!)

Heins 57, or life as 4

A month has flown by since Sprout has joined our family.  I recognize I'm way far behind on the blog (although, I looked back and with Bean I did a 2 week post, and a 1 month post.  So going by that history, I'm just 1 post behind!).  The easiest way to catch up is to do a hodge podge post.  So here's random photos and commentary on the past month:

We took Bean home on Thursday, and thankfully, my mom stuck around for a couple extra days to help us adjust.  She was a big help in keeping Bean busy and letting Steve & I catch up on sleep!  Our first full day at home marked my birthday, but really it was just another day. Steve & Bean surprised me with roses! We didn't do any big celebration on Friday; but my dad, sister Sara, sister Amber + fam all came on Saturday to meet Bean.

(Sara approved of Sprout's name and loved cuddling her even more.)

(Sprout getting passed down the line.  Big Sister Bean got first dibs!)

(With family visiting, it got chaotic inside.  Luckily, the weather was just right for some sprinkler fun with cousins outside!)

(Sprinkler fun was followed by chalk bodies.  You can't tell in the photo, but Bean all those chalk bodies were hers and they were named "again" & "again-again" & "again-again-again".  Haha)

(Ahm & Abo and all their granddaughters who were in present.)

Everyone left except my parents on Saturday night.  They stayed so that they could go to church with us to have Sprout dedicated on Father's day! Yes, we were those crazy parents who took their 5 day old to church.  

(We'll blame the sleep deprivation on Steve's closed eyes.  Look how tiny Sprout is!  Even though having it done on Father's day didn't matter to Steve, I pushed to have her dedicated on that day so that she'd be with same group of babies that were all born around the same time.)

(Sprout on her dedication day -- No, she didn't wear the ears at church, but I did think about it!)

My mom went back home with my dad, leaving Steve & I alone with the kids for the next week.  Things went fairly well.  Steve had a long list of projects he wanted to accomplish.  He quickly learned that wasn't going to happen and pretty much buddied up to Bean for the week.)

(Cuddles in bed! Bean loved us all laying together.  Even now, she'll get on our bed and tell Steve and I to lay down with her. If we are lucky, we can catch a few extra minutes of closed eyes while Bean thinks we are playing.)

My mom came back on the following Sunday and brought back reinforcements -- Gabbie! I don't remember why the weekend was rough, but I do remember my mom walking in and my breaking down crying. Haha, oh those crazy hormones.  Bean wasn't getting enough attention from us, and Gabbie was just what she needed.)

(Bean wanted to be with Gabbie constantly.)

(Frick & Frack wearing their "matching jammies".)

(My mom & I took the three girls to the zoo one day while they were here -- okay, really, I needed to go and get my wedding ring checked for its warranty.  It just so happens that the jewelry store and the zoo are 5 min apart.  Win-win!)

(Pony Ride! Bean loved it!)

(Question - Can you push a stroller with a 7 year old and a 2.5 year old?  Answer - No.)

(Riding the carousel! That girl on the outside had me nervous. She was riding alone and had issues like: couldn't get on the horse & when she did, her shoes fell off.  Sheesh.)

(Feeding the giraffe some lettuce -- Bean loved it this time!  Maybe it was the fact that we were at eye level with the giraffe and it's long tongue couldn't get through the fence.)

(Brushing the goats!  Bean wasn't traumatized by the poop this time, either.  She's growing up!)

(All 3 napped on the way home!)

I feared a huge fall out when Ahm & Gabbie had to leave.  But Bean was actually okay with their departure.  She talks about Gabbie constantly and just says, "play Gabbie in a few weeks".  I guess that means I have to do some cousin planning for Bean! Steve went back to work while my mom was still here.  His work is pretty crazy this month and he had to work a Saturday - leaving me at home for the first time with 2 kids for an extended amount of time.  It was a success! 

(Sprout got a little too comfortable in daddy's arms -- if you know what I mean!)

(I'm learning that bribery is great motivation.  A sucker and new play-doh toy eased the pain of Gabbie's departure.)

(We went to our friends' house for 4th of July.  We let Bean do her first sparkler, and she got a minor burn from trying to touch it after it burnt. She still had fun, though!)

(A shockingly good photo!)

This past weekend, Steve's family was able to come visit and meet Sprout!  I sucked at taking photos and came out with only 2 from the whole weekend.  His parents arrived on Friday and stayed until Monday night - giving me some extra help while Steve was at work! Scott, Ashley, & Tyson came up for Friday night & Saturday and gave Bean some extra attention and a new toy -- a sprinkler!

Our weekend was filled with lots of yummy food on the grill thanks to Doug & getting to sleep in thanks to Trisha! She would wake up with Bean and allow us to catch some extra sleep in the morning.  It may not seem like much, but it was a huge help for us!  They also helped Steve get some maintenance items checked off his list -- washing/waxing our car and scraping/painting some trim on the back of the house.

(While the others worked, I played with Bean outside with her new "Frozen" sprinkler from Scott & Ashley! She is timid to do it on her own, but loved being held as I ran around it, getting us both wet.)

(Bean wanted to be outside and paint, too.  So I gave her a cup of water & a brush.  She loved it.)