LONDON ROSE // TWO MONTHS

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You guys....London Rose is TWO MONTHS OLD. I'm semi-freaking out here. She has grown so incredibly quickly and seems like a little baby now instead of an infant...weren't we just telling the world we were having a girl?!!?!?

It's been so sweet getting to know this little girl and I can't wait to see her personality come out more. I still can't believe she's mine.

LONDON AT TWO MONTHS

WEIGHT: 12lbs 9oz
She's proving to be a great eater, just like her big brother. And my goodness, the thigh rolls have come and they are seriously delicious! Also cheeks and that double chin. She's just under the 85th percentile for weight. During the day she eats every 2-3 hours..sometimes a longer stretch if she's having a good ol nap.

HEIGHT: 24 inches!!! I still can't believe that. She went from 20 at birth to 22 at 5 weeks to 24 almost 3 weeks later. She's now in the 97th percentile for height, so crazy.

WEARS: Sadly she's outgrown newborn clothing :( She's fitting great into 0-3 month clothing but I think she may be moving up to 3-6 closer than I want to admit!!

SLEEPS: She's sleeping like a champ...just like her big bro. Most nights she goes down around 8pm (although tonight I put her down at 7:20 because she fought her last nap) and then sleeps for anywhere between 8-11 hours. She fights her swaddle hard and if it isn't velcro-ed tight enough, her little hand creeps up and wakes her up. Last night was a "bad" night (because it was post shots and James didn't swaddle tight enough), which meant she went down at 8:30pm and woke up at 3am for a quick feed and then back down until 7:45am...I know, she's a dream!!!

Our regular schedule when James' is working looks like- 7am Luca up, 8:30ish London up, 10ish walk to park/mall and she sleeps in the wrap, 12:45ish Nap #2 in her crib (which usually is at least 2 hours!!!), 5ish nap #3 in her crib. I'm finding her fighting the last nap more and more, so on days where James is working, I really just need to put her in the wrap or carrier and get her to sleep! Otherwise she's super cranky and overtired from 5-7pm, which is no fun for any one!

We moved her to her crib at 7 weeks (which was the same time we moved Luca) and I gotta say, it's sooo nice to have our room back. I can stay up reading without worrying about her waking up. I still wake up a ton in the night to watch her in the monitor though.

HIGHS: Her sweet giggles!! Oh man, they have been so precious. She has the sweetest smile too and gives you the best coos. AH, I'm just obsessed with her.

LOWS: Her two month shots!! Oh man, she cried SOOO much and took forever to calm down. It was the saddest thing. Even the nurse was so sad and said most babies do not cry that much. She was also super fussy that night and thankfully calmed down eventually. I don't know how you mamas of colic babies do it. The crying gets to me soooo much. You mamas, are super heroes!

Another low was getting sick conveniently the weekend when James away. Oh man, I got hit with a serious head cold and it was the WORST. And having to take care of two sick babies when you are sick is not fun at all. So glad we're on the mend. 

PARENTING: We've definitely have found a groove with the whole two under two thing. It's crazy and sometimes intense but honestly, not as crazy as I thought it would be. Thankfully, James is able to help get Luca up in the mornings (even on days he's working), which is a huge blessing for me to catch a few extra ZZZ's or quickly have a shower. It was super hard the days when James was on tour but we made it through! 

POSTPARTUM: Oh man, this is an area that I have been SO lazy at. Seriously, I am just not motivated at all to exercise and eat well. I've been eating like crap but thankfully breastfeeding is keeping me around the same weight. I still have 22lbs to go until I'm pre-Luca weight. I know I'll get a better groove in the New Year so I'm really trying to not be so hard on myself but we're heading to Mexico in January....eeeeeek...thankfully I have my one piece from when I was 1 month postpartum with Luca!

LOOKING FORWARD TO: CHRISTMAS! So much to look forward to....our family of four opening presents and eating yummy breakfast on Christmas morning, Uncle Franco and Auntie Emy from NYC meeting London, along with James' sister and hubby coming up from Austin! Oh and did I mention we booked a last minute family trip to Mexico in January!!!! So much to look forward to.

Can't believe London's next update will be in 2018!!! This year flew by WAAAAY too quickly!!

XOXO,
Laura

Huge thanks to Rachael Alexandra Co for snapping these gorgeous photos. If you live in Victoria, BC, you need to hire her!

2017 CHRISTMAS FAMILY PHOTOS

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What a difference a year makes...or two. Seriously...look back at our 2016 photos...and our 2015 photos. The familia has GROWN and I just feel so dang blessed. My Nanny Rosa would always call Luca "tesoro" which means treasure and that's really what these two tiny humans are...treasure. Gifts from God that are entrusted to us. What a privilege and blessing...I need to remind myself that, especially in the throes of wiping snotty noses, cleaning blow outs, dealing with a fussy babe, etc.

 
 

We had our fave, Rachael Alexandra do our photos and we couldn't be happier. If you live in Victoria and are looking for a family or wedding photographer, book her!!

Photos with a camera shy 17 month old and a newborn can get a little hectic but she managed to give us amazing shots...even with Luca running away the entire time, ha.

 
 

Seriously, how sweet is our London girl. She is such an amazing babe. We all have a cold right now and she is such a trooper. Already sleeping like a dream (8 straight hours, hellllo!) and just providing pure cuteness all around. I couldn't imagine life without our dream girl.

 
 

It's kinda funny because as we were getting ready for the photos James and I were fighting. We resolved it on our way to the photos but it's a reminder that a few photos can give you the impression that everything is all dreamy but EVERYONE has issues and fights and insecurities and struggles. Just keeping it real folks :)

 
 

Love these treasures of mine.

 

XO,
laura

LONDON ROSE // ONE MONTH

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Our sweet London Rose turned one month on the 19th!! It's so insane and totally unfair how time goes by so quickly!!!

LONDON AT ONE MONTH

WEIGHT: 10lbs 5oz
This little lady is packing on the pounds in the sweetest way possible. She was 8lbs at birth then dropped to 7lbs 10oz and then when my milk came in she ate, ate, ate!

HEIGHT: Haven't measured her but will find out at my doctor's appointment next week!

WEARS: She's barely squeezing into her newborn clothing...so incredibly sad :( But now she has a wardrobe full of 0-3 month clothing to wear!

SLEEPS: Oh man, I thought Luca was an amazing sleeper...well this girl is schooling him! At this point with Luca he would give me a couple 3 hour stretches at night and that was great...this little lady gives me one 4-6 hour stretch followed by another 3-4 hour stretch!! She sleeps beside our bed in a dockatot on a stand that James made. We moved Luca to his crib at 7 weeks and I'm kinda hesitant to move her so soon because she could be our last baby but we'll see...her noises sometimes wake me up and I'm pretty sure she'll sleep even longer in her crib where she can't smell my milk!

HIGHS: Her coos, her smiles...seriously, they melt your heart. Because she came 12 days late, we got smiles and coos extra early. Watching her sleep. Seeing Luca give her kisses. I'm so excited to see their bond develop. Hair bows! Ahhh I love having a baby girl. I'm already dreaming of our future shopping trips.

LOWS: Nursing has been a bit interesting this time around...I don't want to get into too much detail but I thought she had a tongue tie and turns out my let down is too strong and she clucks her tongue to slow it down which gives me blisters...ouch!! It's gotten much better but I cannot wait till she grows and can handle more milk so I won't have any pain.

Another low was almost getting smashed into by a car running a red light and then someone rear ending us as I had to slam on the brakes to avoid the idiot trying to run the red. Not fun but thankfully we were just tapped and London slept right through it.

PARENTING: The first week was INTENSE. I defs felt guilty for not being able to spend as much time with Luca. My heart ached but James got better at soothing London (now he's a pro!) and now I get a lot of time with Luca. I'm pretty lucky to have James home most of the time. He gets up with Luca and I can have a shower every day...yay! We're still finding our groove as we navigate toddler meltdowns but it makes me realize how easy a newborn is the second time around! My anxiety is waaaay lower than the first time and I can bring her anywhere and don't have to worry about tantrums over a pouch being empty, ha. James is going away for a few days in December, so we'll see how I do with two on my own....#sendchocolateplease

POSTPARTUM: Thankfully my body healed waaaay quicker this time around. The only thing was hurting was my dang lower back and hip but that cleared up at 2 weeks postpartum. Now that I'm one month postpartum I want to start some gentle exercise. I'm thinking very gentle yoga and some power walks. It sucks that the weather is usually yucky, because I'm not itching to get outside but I know I need to do this while James is able to watch Luca. Annnd we're potentially going to Mexico in January so I'd like to shed a few pounds before then!

LOOKING FORWARD TO: Christmas with my babies! We're going to get our wood fire up and going and I'm so excited. Roaring fire + baby cuddles + Christmas tree lights + Christmas music + Christmas baking...yes please.

Oh man, I seriously feel like time is going by way too quickly. I'm trying to slow down and enjoy this stage because I know she'll be walking and talking in no time.