We survived our first Christmas as a family of three! Not only did we survive, we managed to have a blast visiting my family in Alberta. It’s so true that having a child makes the holidays extra special. Knowing they are experiencing everything for the first time is pretty cool and I found myself getting caught up in the moments I normally would have just overlooked. This year definitely felt magical. Even though things aren’t as “easy” with a baby (the travel, the sleep, the packing, the everything!), the extra effort is worth it. Aside from a few rough nights of sleep and a nursing strike on the plane there, things went rather smoothly and Adriana was such a trooper through all the family visits, late nights, and festivities.
My sister, nephews, and brother-in-law got to meet Adriana for the first time which was so special. My nephews really fell in love with her and loved holding her until she fell asleep on them. Total baby whisperers! My sister Kristi is a natural with her and they got so many snuggles in together. My sis took one look at her drool-soaked shirts/bibs and chewing of the hands and said, “Oh yea she is definitely teething!” The week flew by and there were a lot of tears when it was time to leave (right, Mimi?), but we’re hoping to get to Arizona with my mom and stepdad sometime later this winter so I’m already looking forward to that visit.
We went back and forth whether we would lug our good DSLR camera and big lens + external flash on the trip, but I’m glad we did. (My iphone being at full capacity may have had something to do with that decision! hah).
For my mom and stepdad’s gift, we made them a photobook of Adriana’s first 3 months. We also printed them a bunch of her newborn photos. But the thing that really got Mimi crying was the poem and handprint we made for her!
Ok, ok, it makes me cry too! bahhhhh.
PS – Getting a baby handprint is not easy! lol.
These photos make my heart happy! So much love.
PS – You can see my Christmas dinner plate on Instagram! It was epic.
We are getting together with Eric’s side of the family this week and spending a couple nights with my in-laws early in January since we weren’t around for Christmas this year. It should draw out the festivities a bit longer!
I hope you had a great holiday and are resting up for 2015. I wish you all a very happy New Year!
You seem to deal so well with meat eaters. I don’t know how you do it. This is my biggest struggle, especially with my partner who is a full fledged meat eater. You must be one heck of a woman.
Congrats on your little one! I have a 19 month old daughter and remember this time SO WELL! I wanted to pass on a lifesaver, especially given your psychology background, for you. It’s the book.
It also has an app for your phone which is abbreviated development information and, most important, tracks her age for you. It’s the only app I’ve ever paid for and it’s totally worth it.
The book is based on 30 years of infant development conducted by psychologist researchers in Sweden. They’ve studied babies around the world and found that all babies go through these age linked devleopmental (i.e., brain) changes. These changes result in sleep, eating and mood disruption that parents often see. Such as setbacks in sleeping, etc. Don’t be put off by the length of or idea of reading a book. It’s broken up into small and very manageable chapters that you don’t need to read until she’s in them. This book is a LIFESAVER and I can’t recommend it strong enough both as a psychologist (which I am) and a mommy.
My experience is that it took the frustration out of the changes in my daughter’s eating/sleeping/mood. When things would change all of a sudden for seemingly no reason I knew ahead of time and could see the changes coming and, most importantly, knew they would be ending in a few weeks. So vital when you’re going on no sleep. Equally as important was that it made these changes almost joyful. The book gives you signs to look out for (that the changes are coming/happening) and what the changes mean to the baby. It also gives you a list of “what your babies wants to do right now” to get to know and test their new skills. I cannot emphasize enough how spot on this information was. The list of what she wanted to do and how her abilities had progressed was exactly right and it made the sleeplessness and crankiness and clingyness all worth it because I could see her abilities shift and interact with her in whole new way. I know with your educational background that this book will be a lifesaver for you as well. And I don’t suggest a book to new moms lightly since just waking up in the morning is a monumental achievement. This one, however, will make it fun and take the frustration out. If you like it, I encourage you to do a shout out on the blog as I wish every new mom could get this book. :)
Such an adorable picture of the 3 of you (the first pic above!) Love the baby mohawk! :)
Gosh, Adriana is so adorable, I could just EAT. HER. UP! Your nephews are super cute, too!
Hi Angela,
I love reading your baby posts!! Looks like it was a great first Christmas! My son is 5 months old today and I am thinking ahead to next month when I will start to introduce solids (yay!). Do you have any information on raising vegan babies? Or recommended reading? I know that you are not at that stage yet but just wondering if you’ve thought ahead about that.
Thanks so much! :)
Breda
God grief! That poem has me crying now! Here I am, making oatmeal for the kids, catching up on blog post, having some tea, and crying :) You know, just a regular Friday morning!
Your family is so attractive holy crap!!!! LOL and I mean that in the sincerest way possible :)