Pictures from the Hospital and Sadie’s First Two Weeks

Just like that my littlest love is two weeks old!

We’re pretty vocal about how we have no clue if we’re done having kids or not, so watching Sadie grow and change so quickly makes me a little anxious for time to slow down. I want to soak up every precious thing about this newborn stage that I can – sleepless nights and all; I know it’ll be gone in a blink!

Wanting to rewind a bit today and share some pictures from Sadie’s first two weeks of life as seen through my iPhone. 🙂

We were so happy to see my sorority sister Lauren just hours after Sadie was born! Lauren works in the NICU at the hospital I delivered at, so she was able to run down and visit with us before she went back to care for her babies. So great to see you, friend!

Jamie talked for months about how he couldn’t wait to soak up “chest naps” with Sadie just like he did with Hadley. Here he is with both girls when they were each one day old. Hadley is on top and Sadie is on the bottom. 

I love these two best friends of mine! They came to visit us in the hospital during our second night there, and they both came with their arms loaded with gifts. They brought Jamie and me our favorite beverages to enjoy once we got home from the hospital (in true best friend fashion) and they brought both girls gifts as well. Love them so much! Emily (on the left) is our little comedian of the group, and she had Jamie rolling on the floor laughing. Much needed relief after two days in the hospital!

Have I mentioned that Jamie is the BEST dad? He is so obsessed with his girls. I always pictured Jamie as a dad of boys, but now I couldn’t see him without his daughters for a single second. I always wanted to marry a guy who I thought would be a wonderful dad, and I hit the jackpot with Jamie.

One of my best friends from college came all of the way up from Birmingham to see us, and we couldn’t have been happier! Bonus: We get to see her again this weekend too!

I love a baby in a diaper!

I joked with Teddy for weeks leading up to the delivery that I was about to ruin his life all over again by bringing home another baby, but as soon as we got home with Sadie he warmed right up to her. 🙂 Seriously… this was within minutes of getting home! Love it.

My beautiful girl in her coming home outfit that was a gift from my mom!

Since we only had a few days with Jamie before he had to go back overseas, we tried to squeeze in as much family time as we could. My parents have a mini golf place a mile from their home, so we busted out of the house and spent a couple hours playing. It felt so good to get dressed and get out, even for just a little while!

Some of my favorite moments from the last two weeks have been when I’ve been holding both girls. Looking at pictures like the one below is a quick reminder that I am very, very blessed.

Day six: Oh, how I love you!

One of the best parts of being in Alabama has been getting to introduce Sadie to many of my closest long-time girlfriends.

My beautiful best friend Ashley meeting Sadie!

Day six: We busted out again for all of 90 minutes to grab Mexican food, a drink, and ice cream. It was awesome.

Day seven: Getting all four of us up and dressed by 9:30 for newborn pictures was sheer chaos, but seeing Sarah in action made me so excited to have these moments in our lives captured. She did an amazing job as usual. Can’t wait to share them with you next week!

If you’re a regular reader around here you know that I adore my sister! Hadley is also obsessed with her. Jennifer drove six hours home from Destin, Florida at 35 weeks pregnant just to meet Sadie and help us around the house for six days. She occupied Hadley so that Jamie and I could snuggle Sadie, cooked us many meals, talked me off the ledge when breastfeeding became a struggle, and so much more. Life is so much better because I have her as my sister.

A few weeks ago I mentioned in a post about getting Hadley a “big sister” gift, and we settled with this ! We’ve been meaning to get one forever, and I’m so glad we waited until now because it’s been a great distraction for Hadley when I’ve been tied up with Sadie.

Making new friends at Army posts is hard, but I struck gold with a few that I’ve found at Riley. Four of my closest friends pitched in to send this beautiful arrangement to me in Alabama, and I couldn’t have been more surprised or thankful. The doorbell rang right as I was about to burst into tears over breastfeeding, so their timing was perfect. Thank you girls so much!

We’re digging the ! I’ve been carrying Sadie in it multiple times a day for the last week, and we’re both pretty happy with it!

Gosh… I can’t wait to resume family walks again in a few weeks when Jamie is home for good. I’ve missed them so much while he’s been gone, and we only got to squeeze in one before he left. Come on June!

This picture below is SO ATTRACTIVE, right?! Real life, folks. My eyes started to swell a bit at the 11 day mark from little sleep. After a couple days of good naps, I feel better!

Sadie got to meet my brother this past weekend when he came home for a few days! Hadley was so happy to have him home to play with. They’re pretty fond of each other!

Having a best friend like Jessica makes me feel like the luckiest Army wife and mom. We met four years ago when we were both new teachers in Tennessee, and we’ve done so much life together since. She, her husband, and her daughter Mia live about four hours away near Fort Benning and they drove all the way up for a couple days to see us. Watching the girls play together was a really sweet site to see. It was such a breath of fresh air to spend time with her. Love you, Jess!

Because I like to keep it real around here, I want to give a breastfeeding update! Many of you know that I was an exclusive pumper for 3.5 months with Hadley before switching to formula, and I wanted to give breastfeeding a better shot this time around. Whew – it’s been tough. Between engorgement, soreness, and bruising, I was thisclose to throwing in the towel. Two things saved my life -and . I’m incredibly happy to report that it’s been five days since I’ve cried over breastfeeding (big deal you guys!) and that things are finally going beautifully and as they should.

Ready or not, we’re headed back to Kansas soon to ride out the end of this deployment chapter of our lives and prepare to get Hadley and Sadie’s daddy back for good. Thanks for all the love you’ve sent our way the last few weeks. We’ve really felt it! You guys are the best. XOXO