Newborn Photos, Fall and Winter Berry Theme

Holland had her newborn photos taken at 9 days old and just 4 days past her due date. All photos were taken by Organic Bebe Photography. We were asked about color preferences for the session, and I wanted to do something with winter white and berry colors. I thought it would be nice to play up her birth Month of November and incorporate both fall and winter themes for our first two seasons with our baby girl.

Getting out the door to get newborn photos seemed like a daunting task. Holland was fussy the night before. We had been home with her for less than a full week and were both running on no sleep. I wasn’t necessarily happy that some of the photos included me, but our daughter might appreciate her first family photos one day.

I ended up choosing this snowy scene for Holland’s birth announcement! We sent it out at the beginning of December so families could display it with their Christmas Cards.

2 Months with Holland

Since I am posting these 2 months after Holland’s birth, this seems like a great place to write about the first months with our daughter. Her birth went great, but I was nervous to bring her home and no longer have help from the nurses. She seemed so fragile, and I had never even handled a newborn before. I’ve added her birth story here.

First Weeks at Home

The first weeks with Holland felt like a blur. Even now I am having some trouble remembering details. She wore newborn size until about five and a half weeks old, which surprised me. We stopped swaddling pretty quickly because she never wanted her arms bound and switched to sleep sacks that allowed her arms to be free. She couldn’t smile until six weeks old, so we joked that she was our frowny baby. She loved to purse her lips, made huge frowns, and would wrinkle her forehead just like her dad.

Likes and Dislikes

Now at 8 weeks old, Holland loves to smile and gurgle at us! She’s interested in looking at her toys and likes to watch TV. She also thinks it’s funny when I eat, especially something crunchy like popcorn! I’ll place her in her newborn high chair so she can watch us cook in the kitchen and then we have dinner together.

Holland hates blankets and socks and will kick them off. She doesn’t like to be held all of the time and will sometimes fuss when being held but will calm down when we place her in her Dock-A-Tot. She loves getting a bath, but getting her out of the bath and changing her clothes causes some pretty loud cries. She doesn’t like her car seat much which made walks with the jogging stroller/car seat attached difficult.  I started taking her out in her travel stroller with a newborn attachment that allows her to lay flat and she’s been able to nap during walks.

One item that I recently bought for Holland is a BabyBjorn Bouncer. The moment I got it out for her she loved it! We use the bouncer daily as well as her Graco Baby Swing. She’s not able to bounce herself in the swing, but it has music and white noise and will change it’s rocking motion if she starts to cry.

One Month Into Parenthood

The first couple of weeks were rough because we were warming up to Holland and she was just beginning to learn who her parents were. Once she became familiar with us I could tell that she felt safe and we started bonding more closely around the four-week mark. By this point, we were much more comfortable with understanding her cries and practicing our bedtime routine. I’m still nervous to bathe her because she’s so slippery when I try to pick her up. Reed and I are mostly bathing her as a team right now.

Bedtime Routine

Establishing a routine of getting her upstairs and ready for bed early has really helped us sleep. In the first 2-3 weeks at home, Holland would sometimes sleep for upwards of 4 hours at night, and I would stress about not feeding her often enough. By 5 weeks she would give us a 6-hour stretch of sleep every once in a while. Now at 2 months old, she just slept for 8 and a half hours straight. I’m shocked at the rest we got! We are currently averaging about 6.5 hours a night with a couple of rough nights sometimes.

Life with a 2-Month Old

It melts my heart when Holland looks at me and works so hard to make a soft little cooing noise! She just started to reach up and touch toys, although I’m not sure yet if it’s intentional. Holland will look at hanging toys in amazement and sometimes it will calm her into a nap! I wish it could always be this easy to entertain her.

Holland, It’s been a blessing to watch you grow for these first couple of months. I’m so excited to spend this next year seeing you discover new things and meet so many milestones. Reed and I are so proud to be your parents!