parenthood

It has been a little over two months since our sweet pea arrived. We named her Julia Elise.

We kept the name as a surprise. Since we already knew that we were having a girl, we figured that we needed some sort of a surprise. For the longest time I have always said that if I ever have a girl, then I will name her Julia. I have always loved that name. I love the way it sounds… Ju–li–a. So pretty! 🙂 Elise was a name that I found while searching in a baby book. It was perfect, I thought! Joel was not completely sold on it at first, but it grew on him. So it stuck!

Julia’s favorite leg position as a newborn.

It has been so much fun having her in our lives. She is a really good baby. She eats and sleeps well. It has been fun to see her grow from a newborn to more of an infant. So far she has gained 2 lbs and has grown about 3 inches. Her face is fuller and she has the cutest cheeks, which I want to kiss all day. I also love her tiny nose. That is also super kissable. Her hair has also grown a bit, mainly on top of her head. I joked that when she was first born, she looked like a middle aged man with hair only at the back of the head. Her hands are so delicate. She has Joel’s fingers… long and skinny. Her little finger is a complete image of Joel’s finger. It even bends the same way. 🙂 I also love her little feet. Her toes are also long and skinny. I love the way she looks at me. Her eyes are always focused on my face as I look at her. She smiles a bunch too and makes some pretty funny faces. Recently she has started to “talk”. I love her voice… it’s so sweet. The other day she had a pretty good conversation with Joel that lasted for about 15 minutes. 🙂 She is super strong too. When she holds your finger, she squeezes it really hard. She can also push pretty hard with her legs.

Being parents has definitely been an adjustment for us. Joel and I have been just the two of us for 14 years. We now have this little person who is dependent on us, especially on me. I think this has been one of the hardest parts for me. Since I breastfeed, I have to be home constantly. It has gotten easier now that she eats every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Also, soon she will be eating using a bottle, which will give me the opportunity to be away for longer periods of time if needed.

Another adjustment has been the typical challenge of a newborn… fussiness. Although she is a really good baby, she does have her moments of course. Her fussiest time seems to be in the evenings. This is the time when we want to chill on the couch and eat dinner, so it makes things challenging. She does not like to sit in one spot for very long. She wants to be walked around for a change in scenery… well, who wouldn’t?? 🙂 Also, it has been challenging to figure out why she is upset. We noticed that most of the time is related to hunger… it took a bit of time to correlate the two.

Nevertheless, we are super happy to have this sweet little girl in our lives. How could you not… just look at her! 🙂

What?!?