Newborn Lounger

I found this fantastic little "chair" for Larkin... it's called a Boppy Newborn Lounger. It's basically a Boppy pillow with fabric covering the hole so a newborn or young baby can lounge in it. We love it! Larkin is comfortable in it and it gives her a chance to look around and see what's going on around her. Here are a few pictures of Larkin lounging (the first two are from her first time in it)!

Due Date Party!

Today, June 21st, was our official due date... so we decided to have a Due Date Party! The day started out with a great visit from our NYC friends Dan and Dorit. They brought Larkin an adorable watermelon dress, onesie and blanket set from Gymboree, which Larkin is modeling in the picture of her and Dorit. They also brought us a variety of sweet desserts, which was perfect for Larkin's party. Thanks for the gifts and for visiting, Dan and Dorit!

Later that evening, Grandma Cook, Brian and I put a candle in the desserts and had a little party. Larkin wore her "coming home" outfit again and got to sport a festive "Happy Birthday" hat which she didn't mind all that much, to our delight!

First Time on Swing

Here are a few pictures of Larkin in her adorable swing. The swing was a shower gift from Brian's parents and it can swing both front to back and side to side. We tried both directions and we think Larkin prefers swinging front to back, but she lays there chillin' regardless. This Fisher Price Starlight Cradle Papasan Swing is pretty at night too - it has a canopy that can display a starlight show that's projected onto it. Larkin hasn't paid too much attention to the light show yet, but us adults like it!

Happy Father's Day!

To the best Daddy in the whole world... we love you!!! Happy Father's Day! Love, K, Larkin, Sera, and Snowy

Meeting Auntie Annie

Little Larkin got to meet her Auntie Annie today! Brian's sister, Annie, and her boyfriend Sean, came into town to meet Larkin and spend the day hanging out at Brian's parents' house. We had a great time and Larkin loved Annie! We cooked buffalo meat out on the grill, and enjoyed the perfect weather we had today. It was a great day and we can't wait for Auntie Annie to visit us again soon!

Double Crown

Both my babies, Larkin and Sera, have double crowns! (A crown is a circle or "whirl" of hair). Being a Rhodesian Ridgeback, it is expected that Sera would have a double crown. That is what gives her the "ridge" along her back, where the hair runs the opposite direction (from back to front instead of front to back), and it is the primary distinctive feature on a Rhodesian Ridgeback.

Funny enough, Larkin also has a double crown! While most people have one crown (and thus, one part in their hairline), Larkin has two, which is fairly rare. It is responsible for her current faux-hawk hairstyle as the hair from her two parts comes together in the middle! Having a double crown is supposedly lucky and our pediatrician has told us that it means that Larkin will likely be ambidextrous! The theory is this: right-handed people have hair that grows clockwise from the crown, left-handed people have counterclockwise hair growth from the crown, and people that are ambidextrous have double crowns (one growing in each direction).

First Tornado

At 2 weeks 2 days old, Larkin survived her first tornado! A flock of seven or so neighborhood girls were over visiting Larkin (she is a very popular topic in the "tween" girl neighborhood circles here), when the clouds started to build and the sky started to turn green. Knowing that a big storm was heading our way, we heard various neighbor mothers calling out for their daughters to come home. The girls left and shortly thereafter, just minutes before we were to sit down for dinner, the storm head was upon us and the tornado sirens went off. (Our communities have actual sirens that go off whenever a tornado warning has been issued. Tornado warnings mean that a tornado has been spotted and confirmed to be within a storm cell). We hurried down into the basement and waited it out. The tornados missed our neighborhood, but one did touch down only about 3 miles away and it hit a transformer, knocking out our power. We were without power for several hours, but it came back on just in time for our midnight feeding - how convenient! Above is a picture from our back patio.

First Tummy Time

Here are a couple of pictures of Larkin during her first official "tummy time"! Larkin seemed to be content enough on her tummy... she "read" her book, turned her head from left to right and back, and actually ended up sleeping through part of it.

Larkin is laying on a blanket that Brian's sister, Jenny, made for her. We taught Sera that she's not allowed on Larkin's blankets, so you can see her showing restraint as she watches Larkin's tummy time on the blanket. Sera has been such a fantastic big sister!

The day after these pictures were taken, we did some more tummy time with Larkin and she actually squirmed/wriggled her way up the blanket by pushing herself with her legs! Brian actually caught it on video - we were all so impressed as she grunted and pushed herself forward a whole foot! Not bad for 2 weeks 2 days old!

Belly 2 wks Post-Partum

My favorite jeans are back! Here are a few pictures of me 2 weeks after the birth. I'm down to within 10 lbs of my pre-pregnancy weight already...the weight seems to be falling off without much effort. In fact, I'm having to consciously eat foods with fat to keep my up my breast milk for Larkin. To be honest, while a part of me is excited to be getting my figure back, another part of me really misses being pregnant (I actually really loved my belly)!

These belly pictures come with a funny story. We were taking the pictures of me in the red shirt when we were interrupted by the arrival of our window cleaners. At some point this morning, I changed my shirt and then we regrouped to finish taking the belly picture. The window washers were still there though and they happened to be cleaning the window next to where we keep our bird, Snowy. Snowy was so frightened by the window washer that he flew all over the house until he found us upstairs in our bathroom. As you can see, he found comfort by landing on my head!

Larkin's 2-Week Update

We can't believe how fast Larkin's first two weeks have flown by! She is doing great!! Here's a summary of what's been going on here in the Hittle house.

As mentioned previously, since she was a preemie, Larkin was visited by some nurses and saw her pediatrician twice in her first week home, just to be sure she was gaining weight and overcoming her jaundice. We really lucked out... she is an eager eater and was back up to her birth weight by day 9 and was a whopping 6 lbs. 1 oz. by day 10! Her pediatrician was really happy about that. She also was able to overcome her jaundice on her own and didn't need the blue light therapy. After her good doctor's appointment on day 10, Larkin now doesn't need to go back for her next appointment until she's 1 month old. Now, 2 weeks old, Larkin is growing so fast - she is a muncher who loves meal time!

Larkin has also had a lot of firsts already... she smiles, she can lift her head enough to turn it from side to side, she can roll from her back to her side, and she seems to be able to focus better on objects like her black and white books.

For the most part, Larkin sleeps around the clock. She occasionally thinks 1-3 a.m. is a good time to be awake, but usually we have to wake her for her meals and aside from that she sleeps. It has only been in the last couple of days that she has had short spans of awake time during the day where we stimulate her with a variety of fun activities. She rarely cries and actually has been pretty good about self-soothing. Larkin loves to be swaddled, although she sometimes sneaks her little hands out so she can suck on them or try to scratch at her face!

She doesn't love bath time, but she does seem to enjoy our daily walks around the neighborhood with Sera. Sera has been so good with her. We love our family walks and I'm excited that we have a great summer in front of us where we can be outside a lot.

That's all I can think of now... it's meal time for the Little Hittle and then we're off to bed! More updates forthcoming...

My 32nd Birthday!

Today I celebrated my 32nd birthday! And, I've got the best birthday present I could have ever wished for.

We didn't want to take Larkin out on the town quite so soon, so we had a fun little party at our home with my parents and Brian's parents. Above are a few photos of Larkin with all four of her doting grandparents... she loved all of the attention! My parents have been staying with us since Larkin was born to help ease our transition into parenthood... we've been really lucky to have them here for so long and are so grateful for all their wonderful help. We're also lucky that Brian's parents live only a couple of miles away, as they will be such a good support system for us on a regular basis!

Sponge Bath

We learned how to give Larkin a sponge bath in the hospital, but that didn't keep our first attempt at home from being a bit comedic. (As you can see in the pictures, I'm nearly as wet as she is by the end of it)!

We started Larkin off with a little bit of "naked time" and were thrilled to see her roll from her back to her side, all on her own! She didn't like the sponge bath part too much and let out a few notable cries. But, interestingly enough, she was completely calmed when I washed her hair under the faucet. She loved that part! She also appears to like it when I comb her hair... that's my girl!

First Walk

Today, Brian, my Dad, Sera and I took Larkin on her first walk around the neighborhood. We walk Sera every day and since it was so beautiful, we thought it would be good to get Larkin outside for a little bit. Above are a few photos from that first walk. We introduced Larkin to some of our neighbor friends, but she won't remember it because she slept the entire time!

Larkin delights us with all sorts of faces and hand gestures. She loves having her hands up near her face and when she flashes both open palms around her face, I call that her "Just Jack" pose (from Will & Grace)!

Milkshakes, Pizza and Beer, Oh My!

Larkin went to her first pediatrician's appointment this morning. She had been visited by a couple of nurses at our home over the weekend so they could check her weight gain and bilirubin level in order to evaluate her jaundice. Luckily, Larkin has been eating really well and her normal newborn weight loss bottomed out at 5 lbs. 7.6 oz. and her bilirubin level topped out at 13.9, both on Saturday. That was great news because it meant that Larkin would overcome her jaundice herself and would not need any blue light therapy. Today, at Larkin's pediatrician appointment, she weighed in at 5 lbs. 11 oz, which was a nearly 4 oz. weight gain in two days! The pediatrician was really thrilled about that. Larkin's length was 18.75 inches and her head circumference was 13.5 inches.

When I asked the pediatrician a few questions about breastfeeding, one of the things he asked me was how I've been with my eating and drinking. I've already lost 12 of the 22 lbs that I gained while pregnant. I responded that I've been eating healthy foods, but admitted that I am a bit dehydrated and need to drink more water. That's when he said the most amazing thing! He said that I didn't need to worry aout water, but rather I need to increase my volume of fluids and foods with calories. He said that I need to be eating all of the things that I'd normally think I shouldn't be eating right now...milkshakes, ice cream, yogurt, pizza, cheese, and beer. Yummy, and they're just what the doctor ordered... literally! He said that the hops in the beer would help with breast feeding and the fat in the other foods would make sure that my breast milk provided Larkin with the right amount of calories. He told us that normal breast milk contains between 18-24 calories per ounce and formulas contain 20 calories per ounce. He said that if I don't have enough fat in my diet, then I could be giving Larkin "skim" milk, which is only 8 calories per ounce! So, it's not just the quantity of milk she ingests, but the number of calories she gets. What a great lesson!

Well, I'm not one to ignore a doctor's orders, so..... this afternoon, the entire family piled in the car and we headed to Winstead's, a diner that we go to for the best milk shakes in the world! Our favorite is a chocolate/cherry milkshake, and wow, it was fantastic! Tonight we're considering some pizza and I just might have that beer. Yummmmm....

Coming Home

We were given the green light to go home today! In between our every three hour feedings, we piled everything in the car and took Larkin on her first car ride. She slept the entire time!

I was excited to put Larkin in her "coming home" outfit. It's hard to see in the pictures, but it's white with pink, etc. ribbon flowers embroidered on the front. The dainty outfit is so adorable and believe it or not, Brian is the one who picked it out and bought it! Back a few months ago, we decided that we would bring "coming home" outfits for both a boy and a girl to the hospital, since we didn't know what we were having. We quickly found a cute blue with yellow ducky footed sleeper that we liked for the boy's coming home outfit, but we couldn't find the right girl's outfit. Then, for Valentine's Day, one of my presents from Brian was the perfect coming home girl's outfit. He had taken a trip to Tampa for work, and after a long day in the power plant, Brian (in his massive work boots, etc.) went to Neiman Marcus' baby department! He got a few sideways glances from some of the mothers and sales associates, but he persevered until he found an outfit that he loved. When he gave it to me, we both knew that it was perfect outfit and we were really excited to see Larkin in it today.

When we got home, Sera got to meet Larkin. It could not have gone better. Sera leaned in to smell Larkin, but otherwise paid her no mind. I think the fact that my parents are staying with us too, there are enough different things going on that Sera doesn't relate it simply to Larkin's arrival. Sera basically follows us from room to room, smells Larkin upon occasion, lays down in a dog bed that I put under the window in Larkin's nursery when we're in there, and otherwise ignores the baby. Knowing Sera's personality, we knew she'd be great with Larkin, but she has even exceeded our expectations.