I better write this post fast before she turns six months!! Gosh this month has FLOWN by!! I think month five has been the fastest so far -- truly in the blink of an eye we're nearing six months!! To be honest, there hasn't bee a HUGE change from month four to month five or maybe it's that all the changes are subtle and meld together that it's hard to keep track. Just all of a sudden you turn around and it's like your baby is a new person over night!! Here are a few of the highlights of month five!

• Isla is a ROLLING machine!! She loves to roll from her back to her tummy - just don't let her stay that way for long or she'll let you know she's not happy!

• Speaking of rolling over, she LOVES sleeping on her tummy. As soon as I place her in the crib, before I even leave the room, she's already rolled onto her tummy to sleep. 

• Still HATES the pacifier - I still don't know if it's good or bad for us!!

• She started eating solids this month - we started with oats and she DEVOURED THEM. She LOVES her food!! We just started on avocado. 

• Isla has learned her voice this month becoming more and more vocal. He little coos and squeaks are pretty much the sweetest sound in the world!!

• Sleep still alludes us -- she's given us a few days here and there where she'll sleep through the night (a consecutive 8 hours) but most nights she's up around 4 or 5am AND WON'T GO BACK DOWN. We're tired. 

• Isla helped me kick off the wedding season by traveling to the Cape with Dave and I in May. She slept like a champ in a strange place and even took a nap so I could watch the Royal Wedding!!

• Isla loooves her big brother and thinks he is the silliest -- he obviously loves this to no end :) 

See more of Isla's First Year : Month One, Month Two, Month Three, Month Four

Well it's happened -- its month four and I've fallen behind on Isla's monthly update!! I'm only two weeks behind so I'm calling it a win ;) Getting anything done with a infant, 5 year old, and busy wedding season just beginning is giving a huge does of reality. Maternity leave is over and relearning that mommy/business balance is beginning all over again. Good thing these kiddos are cute!!

Month Four was certainly an exciting one and saw many developmental achievements for our little babe!! Lots of fun highlights to share :

• Isla learned to roll over this month and gradually she has gotten stronger and stronger. Now, nearly every time I place her on the floor seconds later she's on her tummy looking at the world around her!!

• She laughed for real this month and it is pure bliss. She has the BEST little giggle and I can't wait to hear it more in the coming months!!

• She's still a little cooer and it's pretty much the best!!
  

• We dedicated Isla this month with our immediate family in attendance. We all went out afterwards for lunch and well you can imagine the fun chaos that ensued with five kids under the age of 5 ;) 

• It was FINALLY warm enough to sit out on the deck and watch big brother play. Isla LOVES the sunshine, just like her Mommy!!

• I'm pretty sure we can feel some teeth in there - there's certainly enough drool to make near hourly outfit changes necessary!!
  

• Sleep is OK. Isla has an established bedtime of 6:30pm/7:00pm which is GREAT. The daily wakeup call of 4:30am, not so much.

• The attic was finished this month which means that everyone, including Isla, spend a lot of time up here enjoy the soft carpeted floor and ample sun kissed spaces :) 

• We're pretty sure we see some red hair coming through, but WHO KNOWS?!

• She's started to slowly bring things up to her mouth which is really fun to watch her do!!

• Isla loves to sit up (with some help) and MUST see the world around her!!

See more of Isla's First Year : Month One, Month Two, Month Three

It's been three months since Isla Girl made her appearance into this world and it's becoming harder and harder to imagine what life was like before her. Yesterday, at my parent's house, I looked a picture from a vacation we took together when Jonathan was three. It was just the five of us. How rich and and full our lives are now with our darling baby girl. Adored by her grandparents, her brother and of course Dave and I, she makes each moment together so, so, sweet!!

Month Three has been full of lots of wonderful growth for our little lady -- she's so strong and it makes me SO proud!! My Mom keeps saying that she can't wait to keep up with her older brother. She wants to upright, facing forward, to see all the things that are happening around her. She is fascinated by faces, especially Jonathan's, and it's the sweetest thing to see their bond forming. We painted Jonathan's bedroom and so for the past two nights he's been sleeping in our room. Last night he woke up in the middle of the night as Isla was stirring and whimpering a little. Jonathan asked in the cutest voice ever, "Can she come cuddle with me?" Instant heart melt!!

Here are highlights her third month :

• If you've been following along with these monthly updates you know that Isla HATES the pacifier, so finding ways to soothe her aside from ME have been few and far between. She recently started sucking on her hands and thumb and have given us a few moments before we need to scoop her up. 
• Speaking of her hands, she LOVES them!! She loves sticking them high in the sky and holding on to her fingers. She loves to grab onto things (like my shirt when she's feeding) and your fingers and basically anything within her reach.
• She loves talking with her "friends", the little toys that hang from her play gym. She has the cutest little voice (and laugh) and gosh I couldn't be more in love!!
• Isla's personality has definitely started to make a presence. She still is a quiet soul, so would rather observe. But at the same time she's started to talk more and more. We think she might like music too because if anyone is singing or music is playing, that is the time she is the most vocal!!
• She loves making eye contact with you and one of my favorite things to do is to look her in the eyes, smile as big and wide as I can and watch her as her face lights up and she gives me this huge toothless grin. Isla definitely smiles with her eyes!!
• Speaking of her eyes, they are still blue!! I hope that we'll have a blue eyed baby girl on our hands!!
• People are constantly asking me if she had red hair -- I think so!!! She's got this peach fuzz of golden hued hair and I am hoping and praying that she'll have red hair just like her Momma!!
• Around 10-11 weeks Isla started sleeping from around 10:00pm (after her last feed) to around 6:30am. Minus a few nights where she woke up in the middle of the night, she's been pretty reliable and we couldn't be more grateful!!
• I think the thing I've noticed most this month is Isla is looking less and less like a newborn and more like a baby!! She likes to sit up, her back and neck muscles are getting stronger. Her face and belly and legs are all filling out!! She's still a petite girl in terms of weight, but her length, oh her length!! She's SO LONG!! 
• I'm happy to say that her cheek game is still strong - big ole cheeks that are oh so kissable!!

See more of Isla's First Year : Month One, Month Two

My precious baby girl is TWO months old today!! TWO!! I'm sure I'll be saying this every month, but I simply cannot believe it!! I was telling Dave the other day that I cannot even believe I was pregnant, it feels like a dream. Nearly one year ago we were heading into Boston for my IUI, hoping and dreaming of growing our family. And even though that treatment failed, nearly a year later here we are holding our tiny miracle. It's too sweet. (I haven't share too much about our journey through infertility -- but if you'd like me to share more I will.)

We've quickly discovered the old adage that no two babies are alike to be completely true!! While in some ways she is similar to her brother, Isla is a very different baby than he was. She doesn't seem to sleep the same, she doesn't eat the same and her personality is very different. Since we are nearly five years removed from the infant stage of parenting, it's been a learning curve to say the least!! Equally as amazing though, is how much her big brother loves her. To watch them interact, to see him loving her, to know that they will carry a special bond together for the rest of their lives is something I will cherish forever!!

Month two has been full of exciting milestones!! Here are highlights her second month :

• Around week seven she start smiling and hasn't stopped since. Her smiles are wide toothless grins that can brighten anyone's day. Her Daddy says her smile can melt ice, it sure is melting our hearts!!
• I told Dave to be gentle with Isla one night as he was changing her diaper. She's a delicate little flower I proclaimed. Immediately she let out the loudest fart imaginable. BABIES!!
• She is quickly outgrowing all her three month clothes. With a slow start with her weight, every growth milestone we hit is a victory around here!!
• This month Isla, Mommy and Jonathan survived a night on our own (with a TON of help from parents!!)
• Around week six I started to wonder when I would start to hear her darling coos and I'm happy to say she is a cooing machine that warms my heart and makes me smile!!
• Isla stayed with my parents for our first date post baby (if you don't count going to see Star Wars at two weeks postpartum ;)) We enjoyed the first part with her as we went out to breakfast then spent the afternoon at the movies. What a treat!!
• She still doesn't take a paci - the other night she sucked on one for a few minutes and we nearly celebrated until it promptly was spat out of her mouth in disgust. Oh well!!
• The only thing that is predictable in this little one's schedule is that she will sleep right after her morning feed -- for several hours!! And while I can't predict anything else, that morning nap is great for Mom!!
• Sometimes if she has napped for a long time my arms will ache to hold her and feed her and keep her close <3 

How can we possibly already be at one month old!! It hardly seems possible. Honestly it hardly seems possible that our house is filled with the joy of a newborn again. It's surreal, amazingly, wonderfully, surreal!! When Jonathan was a newborn I documented his first year of life through a series of monthly blog posts. And while I might have been the only one who cared enough to read them, it was a joy for me to remember that fast first year and document all the change he underwent. I knew that I wanted to do the same thing for our baby girl and here I am today, ready to share the first post!!

This time has gone by so fast - so, so fast. I remember the night before my scheduled c-section Dave and I sat together and through tears I cried that I wished it was a week from today. I was terribly afraid of what lay ahead and now here we are five weeks later. Having a scheduled c-section this go around felt much different than my experience with our son Jonathan (who was an emergency c-section after nearly two days of labor.) Walking into the OR room first thing in the morning was a strange experience. I found that surgery this go around was a bit more traumatic then I was expecting, recovery has been much slower than last time and the entire experience was much different. BUT our darling daughter has been the gleaming light through it all and has made whatever experience we had so entirely worth it!!

Ms. Isla Rose -- many people have asked us how we chose her name. The short answer is we liked it :) After our 10th anniversary trip to Scotland in 2016 we fell in love and so on a whim we decided to look into Scottish names. I stumbled upon Isla one day and it just kind of clicked. Dave liked the name Rose and together it seemed to be the perfect fit for our baby girl!!

Some highlights this first month of life for Ms. Isla Rose :

• Isla's birth experience felt entirely different than Jonathan. Instead of being a week late like J, she was a week early. Instead of an emergency surgery, her's was schedule for first thing in the morning. Instead of bouncing back like I did with J, my recovery took time. 
• Isla is also a very different newborn than Jonathan. She was very jaundice and sleepy the first three or so weeks of life. Feeding wasn't nearly as easy as it had been with Jonathan and it took a lot of work for me and her to find a groove. I think at week 5 we are JUST starting to find it but we've got a long way to go.
• Because of the jaundice and feeding issues Isla lost a bit of weight by the time she left the hospital and we've been playing catch up ever since. She's never looked unhealthy or too skinny, but the scale let us know that she needed to gain a LOT more weight and quickly.  
• Isla LOVES her big brother, probably more than anyone else. She coos and smiles at him any time he's around her and he of course LOVES that!! He's equally infatuated with her and it makes us beyond happy. Jonathan has been an amazing big brother so far and we are so grateful!!
• We celebrated two Christmas' and New Years with Isla (she liked to party at night in case you're wondering ;)), and spent most of the first weeks of her life cooped up in home due to the insanely cold weather (-20 degrees anyone?!), sickness and recovery. Not much traveling or outdoor activities have been had aside from heading to the doctors office.
• The times that Jonathan wasn't on a snow day or on vacation, Dave and I enjoyed visiting our favorite coffee shops while he was on paternity leave. Kaffmandu, Honeycomb and Mystic Coffee Roaster just to name a few :) 
• Isla usually wakes up around 2-3 times a night, woof, a little different than Jonathan. We'll definitely be excited for the day when she makes it to 4-5 hour stretches!! 
• Isla feels like a different baby than Jonathan in so many ways - She HATES the pacifier!! And being swaddled!! And being on her back!! And being cold!! What she does love is sleeping on your chest. And while that makes getting anything done near impossible - with her curled up next to your chest, well there really isn't anything better in the world!!

I can't believe that I am officially writing this blog post!! But here we are, almost ready to welcome our baby girl into the world!! Appropriately I will be taking a maternity leave in anticipation of her arrival and for the first few months of her life. I wanted to share a few details with you of what that means for future, current and past DZP clients and what they can expect over the next months as we take a break to enjoy life as a family of four!!