Two little girls means...

DOUBLE the bows
DOUBLE the drama
DOUBLE the pink
DOUBLE the clothes
QUADRUPLE the money needed!

....ok not really, but you get my drift.

Reagan is 8 weeks today and I am still in shock that I have two beautiful daughters. Growing up I always thought I would have three mean, rambunctious little boys; I would be the mom driving the minivan to 17 different practices each week, always un-showered, constantly putting out fights, yelling at them to stay out of the mud puddle, shopping for navy, green and yellow clothes with matchbox trucks on them, adding a pair of jeans to their wardrobe each season would suffice their clothing needs...

Again, not really but you get my drift!

Instead, I have the complete opposite - two little girls. Allie alone takes care of the amount of drama we want and need around this house, so I can only imagine what Reagan will bring to the table. One aspect of having two daughters that is a blast, yet expensive, is dressing them.

I bought Allie and Reagan matching hot pink and lime green monogrammed clover shirts for St. Patrick's Day and you would have thought I gave Allie $1 million - she was SO excited to match her sister.

I've always been a smocked outfit fan for Allie but I've never felt like she could play and be "herself" in dresses so I always opted for bubbles before she could walk, and now the short sets. But my goodness, this little habit, of wanting to dress them alike, adds up! A typical smocked outfit runs between $40 and $70 a piece...at least $80 per day if not more. Not.in.my.budget. I have several outfits from Allie that are adorable for Reagan to wear now but finding a match for Allie is easier said than done.

SO, I've explored the world of Etsy to assist.

I found these outfits last week and placed my order for the Easter Bunny. The first and third pictures are pinafore sets that are precious and can be used to create two outfits. I had each girl a monogrammed white Montag shirt made with their initials to match the bloomers / shorts. The second picture is a fabric swatch of a third set of bloomers / shorts I am having made for them. I found a seller on Etsy who made all three Montag shirts (for a total of 6) for $72 shipped. They are basic white shirts (thick material) with corresponding thread (red, baby blue and light pink) to match each set of bloomers / shorts. The actual pinafore sets and the extra set of bloomers cost a total of $100 for everything so I basically purchased six outfits (really more if you figure they can wear the matching monogrammed shirts with other leggings, jeans, shorts, etc for $172 which is less than $30 per outfit.

I love dressing the girls alike BUT I had to find a way to make it affordable while not sacrificing the quality or cuteness of the outfit. You have to love maternity leave!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

A couple weeks ago (when we still had a 2-year-old bed partner!) Allie told me she wanted to sing for Reagan so I asked her to practice. This is the sweetest video (it's dark because we were going to sleep). As a parent of two it really makes you realize the love they have for one another.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

What a difference a year makes!

I cannot imagine NOT having an iPhone. I also don't know what I'd do if mine ever crashes - I have so many pictures of the girls on it!

I love looking back at pictures of Allie and seeing how much she has grown. The pictures below are from St. Patrick's Day last year; the very last one is from 2013.

I love watching this little firecracker grow!

Reagan "chatting"

7 weeks and 2 days old...where has the te gone?

Chatty Kathy!

"Allie, what are you doing?"

"Shaking my booty!"

Booty Shake!

Better nights!

Ah, I feel refreshed this morning. The last two nights I tried moving Reagan back into our room so I can "assist" in helping her soothe herself back to sleep after her middle of the night feeding.

Ben had an academic gala last night so it was just us girls (and poor Mr. Toby!) until he got home around 9. We put Allie to bed, I bathed Reagan then Ben fed her at 10 pm and put her to bed in the rock and play in our room. She did not wake up until 3:45 am to eat! :)

I fed her at 3:45 am, then put her on her back in bed with us (I want to see how she does on her back before transitioning her to the crib in a couple weeks). It took her awhile to go back to sleep - I had many "popping the nunu back in" situations but once she fell asleep at 5 am, she slept until 8 am.

In a nutshell, I did everything by myself last night (as with all work nights since I am off) and actually feel refreshed this morning.

Way to go Reagan Charlotte!

On a side note, Allie Parker not only went to bed by herself last night but she also slept all night in her big girl bed and did not wake up until 8:45 am. Needless to say we made a big deal about this by taking donuts to her Panda class.

No more nunu's!

For those of you who know Allie you know the kid always, I repeat, ALWAYS had a nunu in her mouth. And this my friends, drove Ben and me NUT-SO.

We've tried numerous times to get rid of them, but the easy thing to do as a parent, is give them back when they fall or can't sleep at night.

Well Thursday afternoon my grandparents left to go to Marshall. That morning when Papa took Allie to school I made sure she took her menagerie of nunu's with her so they could somehow drive off with them when they left to go home.

Thursday night was rough - she woke up around midnight screaming for them. She has an ear infection, which I know hurts, so she woke up in a huge fit around midnight last night BUT we haven't caved and I am happy to report, she's doing very well. :)

Sleep...

I am so glad I blogged as much as I did when Allie was a baby because it's really all that's helping me keep my sanity as I attempt to get as "much" sleep at night as possible.

I am a "stack" feeder meaning I feed Reagan 4 ounces every 2-2.5 hours during the day. Just like Allie, she doesn't always take all 4 (so frustrating!) but she gets her belly full throughout the day. My issue is, these half-feedings often turn to half-feedings in the middle of the night when I need her to drain these bottles for sleep purposes.

At this point with Allie (almost 6 weeks), I found a blog post that says she slept from 11 pm to 4:45 am without waking up.

Normally at night, I bathe both girls between 6 and 7, Allie goes to bed around 8:30 and Reagan takes a bottle around the same time. After this bottle she's typically out. Ben stays up with her while he watches TV and tries to feed her again around 11 before putting her down for the night. This 11 pm feeding normally only consists of 2 ounces or so (again, frustrating) which means I'm up between 2 and 3 am to feed (again, normally half of a bottle). Given I KNOW she can go 6 hours between feedings (8:30 pm to at least 2 am) I need to figure out a way to get those 6 hours in the wee hours of the morning so I'm not up at 2 or 3.

Last night I fed Reagan around 8 pm and bathed her at 9:15 pm, HOPING to keep her awake and get a full belly around 11 pm. I went to bed at 10 and Ben was in charge of the 11 pm feeding. Of course she fell asleep at 9:30 pm and only took 2 ounces or so at the 11 pm feeding.

...and she was up ready to eat at 2:45 am, which she only took another 2 ounces.

I am going to try this again tonight, again, just hoping for at least 5 continuous hours of sleep from 11 pm to at least 4 am.

Any advice for getting a newborn to stop only taking half bottles, especially during the times it truly matters???

Oh my dear Allie P

1-month doctor's appointment

Stats for sweet Reagan:

10 lbs 1 oz
21 1/2 inches long

Yes, I'm going to be a big girl!

Side note - at AP's same appointment she was 10 lbs 14 oz and 22 inches long.

Our weekend in pictures