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Two months. It feels like I was JUST writing her one month recap and in so many ways, I was… but it’s crazy to think her age has doubled since then and here we are again. This last month was a total blur as we prepared for Hawaii, make the trek (that took us 3 days of travel) and have spent the last two weeks in paradise with our little lady who clearly enjoys the island life. Between Googling what the heck we needed to know about traveling with a newborn (blog post coming soon) and getting to the island and finding our groove with our girl here in the sunshine, this month went by in the blink of an eye… but something tells me I’ll be thinking that same thing every month. Here’s our two month baby update!

Traveling with a newborn…

Honestly, considering that we had to change every single travel plan 24 hours in advance (which looked like phone calls with 3 different airlines, changing hotel and rental cars… the whole shebang) thanks to the Polar Vortex, we came up with a decent travel plan. We ended up spending one night in Chicago with dear friends and then one night in LA on our way out so with four flights and three decently long days of travel, Conley was an angel. I’m working on full blog post all about traveling with her but for the sake of a quick recap, she didn’t let out a peep, she slept like a champ, and our flight attendants sent us home with a bottle of wine! It was far less stressful than I had feared and all I can say is that teamwork makes the dreamwork…. and Marie Kondo is a genius when it comes to organizing, so our suitcases were beautifully tidy!

Island life with a baby…

We had a good giggle when Drew excitedly told me I had to come to see the rental car… he had swapped out our normal sedan for a minivan to which I said, “You do know we just have one tiny baby, right?” It’s safe to say he’s fully embraced dad life. All in all, Hawaii hasn’t been any different than in the past minus the fact that we sit in the shade at the pool and get stopped every ten feet for people to “ooh” and “ahh” over the baby and ask us how old she is, followed up with “how did she do on the flight?” Overall we’ve kept our same routine of gym, coffee, pool, and eating at our favorite spots and she just comes along for the ride. She’s sat through a 3 hour birthday dinner for Drew and hung in her stroller while we ate sushi! My trick? I’ve been nursing her right when we arrive to the restaurant so that when the first course is served, she’s milk drunk and ready to doze. We love taking her on walks every day and are so thankful we’re not still stuck in snowy Minnesota since that wouldn’t really be an option right now.

Ch-ch-ch-changes…

Conley finally graduated to size one diapers, which felt like a huge milestone. She’s officially grown out of most of her newborn clothes and of course, I bought some cute little outfits for Hawaii! She’s starting to talk to us with little squeaks and coo’s and we can tell she’s tracking a lot with her eyes, following us when we move around the room and lighting up with our voices. Drew claims she rolled from her front to her back during tummy time (though I haven’t seen that yet!) and her neck control is sometimes hilarious, most of the time wildly impressive. She’s sleeping in 5-hour stretches, so we’re really only getting up about once a night which has been a blessing, especially with our timezone change coming to the island. She is a tank when it comes to eating and would eat all day if we let her, the proof is in her thigh rolls that are appearing!

How I’m feeling…

Overall, I’m feeling awesome. I feel strong and eager to keep moving and be healthy. I’ve never felt so inspired in my life to get back to the healthiest version of myself and I’m kind of surprised by this (says the mac and cheese girl!) I’m working out at the CrossFit gym three days a week and aiming for long walks on the off days. Being in the gym is both the most humbling and empowering feeling, humbled because my body feels so different but empowered because I’m amazed by my ability to pick back up where I left off. I’ve been rocking bikinis even though I’m still a little jiggly and have stretch marks but I’m proud of this body and feeling really inspired to rock the mom bod.

Beyond all that though, I’ve had a few hiccups with the boobs! I thought I was coming down with mastitis the day we were flying out and was able to call in a prescription to get on top of it before it got worse. We went to pick it up on the way to the airport only to find out their stock was expired and so I went without. It seemed to clear up but then a few days later it got really rough and so I was able to get a prescription here and I was doing all the things to try and get my boob back to working order. If you could see my Google search history, you’d die. I even sent photos of my nipples to a lactation consultant because I was desperate for help. Needless to say, I’m on the mend there and while breastfeeding overall has been awesome, I’m humbled by how much of a commitment it is to keep up with it. There’s a lot of maintenance when it comes to producing, feeding, and keeping your supply up, so I’ve been reminded that just when you think you’ve got it down, prepare to learn something new! (Eternally grateful there is no footage of the things we tried to get my boob back to good health!)

What we’re loving…

The overall list hasn’t changed too much from month one but there have been a few things that we’ve been obsessed with, loving, and using daily, especially on vacation so here ya go, my friends!

1.) The Solly Wrap: Babywearing has saved us, especially through airports but even through things like church, walks to watch the sunset, even dinners out. Thankfully Conley loves to be worn and close to me, but we love this wrap! Once you get it down, it takes less than a minute to pop the kiddo in and it also helps free up your hands when you’re doing things like cleaning (just ask Drew who likes to wear her when he vacuums!) We got so many baby carriers but this one has been a good one to start with and has been really awesome to have on our trip!

2.) The Haaka: Now this one was included in my last post, but I had to share a new reason I love it and it’s the best $20 you’ll spend. Not only does it help catch let down milk on the side you’re not feeding on (literally been able to save over a hundred ounces just from this little silicon piece) but it can also help when you have a clogged duct! Just put a tablespoon of Epsom salt in it, fill it with warm water, suction to the breast that has a clogged duct (make sure your nipple is in the water) and let it sit for 10-15 minutes, it can help pull the clog out. GENIUS.

3.) UPPAbaby Travel System: The way our MESA car seat and our VISTA stroller works together amazes me… I’m not going to lie, we have marital spats over who gets to push the stroller. This thing sat in its box until the day before we left, since we couldn’t use it in snowy Minnesota and we were so excited to put it to use in Hawaii. The awesome thing about this? They thought of everything. The stroller base can transition as the kid grows,  you can just hook your car seat in front or back facing or use the “rumble seat”, it tilts, it folds up easily, and it is smooth. We are pretty obsessed with our stroller and love that everything works together with ease! Brilliant design, beautiful looks, but so easy (and fun) to use!

4.) BIBS Pacifiers: If you follow me on Instagram you’ve probably noticed our cute little, colored pacifiers… I’ll be honest and say I was drawn to them because they came in muted, beautiful colors but we fell in love with them because they work. Finding a perfect soother for Conley took a little trial and error and so when we get these ones, we were skeptical, BUT they are so lightweight they stay in her mouth! We’ve given a few to friends and family who are desperate to find a pacifier that works and they’ve also gotten hooked. I am also kind of digging the fact that we can match her pacifiers to her outfits, because… mom life.

5.) Jamie Kay Clothes: I laughed because this was the first time I didn’t buy myself a darn thing before our trip, I was focused on our little girl. Since she was teetering between newborn and 0-3 month clothes and we didn’t know she was going to be a girl, coupled with the fact that all of her clothes were geared for snowy Minnesota, mama bought a few things for her. I’ll be honest, this shop isn’t cheap, BUT I managed to snag 6 outfits for $100 and considered it alright! These little linen rompers and overalls, the frills that aren’t too feminine, and the muted colors are to die for and I figured I’d rather grab a few things I LOVE than buy a bunch of stuff that I’m not crazy about. I mean, she’s not going to let me dress her forever, so I better take advantage of it now!

Overall it’s been…

I was a little nervous how different things would be, from flying with a newborn to experiencing our Hawaii life with a baby but our motto has been, “Let’s just take her with us” from the very beginning and we’ve stuck to that. From bringing her to the gym to our favorite fancy restaurants, she’s along for the ride and we love it. She’s super easy going, not tied to a schedule, and basically loves to hang out with us, eat, sleep, or poop. It’s safe to say she hasn’t taken anything away from our experience but only added to it (and I mean, we can just stare at her face for hours, talk about cheap entertainment!)

We can’t believe it’s been two months with our little lady. One thing we notice is how people will stare at her and you can tell they are remembering their kids being so little. We’re doing our absolute best to soak in every snuggly moment with her, to remember every little squeak and coo, and to never wish away these days. Most of the time we can’t remember life without her and I’ve got to say, we find ourselves saying, “She’s the best, we’re so lucky” a hundred times a day. Whether it’s nature or nurture or a mix of both, we feel so grateful to be doing life with this smiley, sweet girl. Two months down, a million more to go.

 

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Go back in time to Month One