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4 Weeks: The Groove

I can't believe that my baby girl is already 4 weeks old.  All of our days and nights just seem to blend together these days.  I think we are starting to get into "the groove" of things around here.  We are slowly figuring out where to put all of the baby stuff in our house so that it's actually in a convenient spot, we are getting faster at changing diapers, we have mastered giving a bath in the sink, and the night time routine is slowly coming around.  She slept up in her crib the last 2 nights and it is going well.  (I think Daddy has a lot of anxiety about not having his little girl right in the room with us, but she is doing great!)  She is sleeping 5-6 hour stretches at night now, which is wonderful and Josiah is great about getting up to give her a bottle in the middle of the night, so I can get my beauty rest.

This week was much more emotionally stable than last week, which was a great relief.  We are finding things to do around the house and have continued to have lots of visitors.  Millie is such a popular little girl and I have a feeling always will be!  :)  She is very loved and we are very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family around us.

Daddy is still home with us and is currently looking for a new job that is closer to home, so that he can be around for all of Millie's firsts!  We ask for lots of prayers as he looks for a job. 

Well until next week, we will be eating, sleeping, and pooping!  :)

Playing trucks with cousin Callen.

3 Weeks: Reasons...

3 Weeks Old!

Wow, this week was one of many emotional ups and downs.  One that I will never forget and one I would rather not remember!  I am a true believer in the saying that "everything happens for a reason." But sometimes those reasons are so hard to wait for and believe in.

I have always told people that I would never move back to PA unless something happened to one of my grandparents and they would need help.  Well this week was one of those, everything happens for a reason moments come to life.  Our move to PA was not one of my choice.  We moved for Josiah's job and of course to be closer to family.  But I was leaving the place that I called home for the last 10 years, my job, my friends, my house, everything that was NORMAL to me.  It was so hard for me and I spent many night before we moved crying and agonizing over it, and spent many nights after we moved crying and agonizing over it.  However, I knew that God must have a plan in store.

Over a week ago, my grandmother, Mildred (who Millie is named after) fell outside and was having chest pain afterwards.  She went to the ER and after all the tests were performed, they discovered that she had a mild heart attack.  She underwent 2 catherizations to try and put stints in her heart but there was to much blockage.  The doctors told her that her only option was to undergo open heart surgery where they would perform a triple bypass.  Yes it is reassuring knowing that she was in the best hands possible and that these surgeons perform over 1,000 of these operations a year, but Grammy's heart is not like the average Joe's.  She has had a lot of trouble with her heart and this surgery was very scary for everyone in the family.  My daughter having the opportunity to know and grow up with her great-grandmother around is one of the most important things for me, and the thought of that not happening was heart wrenching. I am very close with both of my grandmothers and this week just made me realize how precious our time with family is.  Everyone thinks that Millie's name is so cute once they hear the reason for it, but it truly is a honor for her to be named after these two special ladies and to know that a little piece of them will always be with me.

With Grammy in the hospital the night before her surgery.

NOTE:  Grammy's surgery went well and now she begins a long road to recovery.  She came home Monday afternoon and will begin 12 weeks of physical therapy. 

As far as baby girl, she is doing well and growing like a weed!  I see her changing everyday right before my eyes!  Her arms and legs are getting super long and I think pretty soon we might be able to wear some of our 0-3 month outfits!!! Daddy continues to be our hero because he cuddles, changes diapers, and wakes up for night time feedings!  :)  She experienced her first clam bake at Grammy and Pop-Pop's house, where of course she was the center of attention.  I continue to fall more in love with her everyday and think that being a mommy is just the best job out there!  As I sit here and stare at her I am just so thankful for the blessing that she is. 

With Pop-Pop at the clam bake.

2 Weeks: Learning

Well another week has flown by and we are all still alive!  We continue to work hard to adjust to life with a baby.  Things like running to the grocery store or taking a nice long shower are no longer as simple.  We have to work on planning things out more and knowing who is going to watch her while the other gets stuff done.  Yes, she still sleeps a lot, and although everyone says to sleep when she sleeps, we find this is the best time to clean up and work around the house.  Speaking of that, I look around my house right now and it is in a standard state of disarray!  There is baby stuff everywhere!  We have not quite figure out the flow of where to keep things and how to organize things, so that it lasts for more than 4 or 5 hours.

The baby, as I'm sure your wondering, is doing great!  We were at the doctor on Thursday for a weight check and she weighed about 7 lbs 4 oz, which means she has already passed her birth weight.  (She ought to based on how much she eats!)  She is eating really well, taking a bottle of breast milk every three hours during the day and then going longer stretches at night.  Yes, I did say bottle.  I am exclusively pumping now and it has made life so much less stressful!  It allows me to relax while getting milk out, allows me to measure and be sure of how much baby girl is getting, and allows Dad to be a huge part of feeding and bonding with Millie.  We love it!  She is starting to spend more time awake during the day and is more alert to things that are going on around her, looking at toys, etc.  She experienced her first Steeler's game, but slept through the whole thing, and also got to meet her cousin Callen (my Brother's son who will be 2 in October).  He was very curious and liked to rock her while she was in her cradle, but wasn't too fond of the idea of sharing his Ba (grandma).

Go Steeler's!!!

Cousin Callen rocking Millie.

I continue to feel a little more like myself everyday, but still struggle with not getting enough sleep at night.  I am learning so much everyday, about myself and about being a mom.  Here are a few snapshots of my most recent lessons.

1. Taking a bubble bath is a hot commodity, close your eyes and enjoy it instead of trying to read another chapter in your book.
2. A trip to Giant by yourself is like a vacation.
3. Driving your car after not driving for 2.5 weeks is a little weird. 
4. The bottle warmer simply does not warm it fast enough when you have a screaming baby.
5. Finding time to take a long enough shower to shave your legs, just doesn't happen.
6. Baby will scream as soon as you leave to go to the bathroom.
7. Minnie Mouse, chirping birds, and a nuk are a magical combination. 
8. Letting your house get messy is OK!
9. After you finish laundry you are likely to be pulling clean clothes out of the dryer for a few days, because you just don't have time to put them away.
10. Grunting and a red face is usually the sign that a really full diaper is in the near future.
11. You just don't do your hair after your shower, thank God for pony tail holders.
12. Taking my own newborn pictures is going to be more of a challenge than I had planned.
13. Nothing calms a fussy baby like snuggling on mom's chest.
14.  It really boosts your self-confidence when you pick up your crying baby and she stops crying just because you are holding her.
15. They don't make diaper bags big enough for all the stuff you need to take with you when you leave the house.
16. I still could just stare at her all day long!  Love Love Love!
17. My husband is the best!  Not only does he take care of things around the house, he makes sure that I'm fed, helps so much with Millie (diapers and feedings especially), deals with my mood swings, takes care of the dogs, cuddles in bed with me and baby girl while watching lifetime movies, and of course is the best pillow... We love you Daddy!  <3

 

Snuggle time with Daddy!

1 Week

Wow, okay when everyone says how quickly time goes by when you have children, they weren't kidding.  I can't believe that yesterday my little munchkin was already a week old!  The days go by quickly, as well as the nights!  :)

We are all adjusting to life at home and are loving all the visitors and attention that Little Millie is getting!  She is such a good baby!  She pretty much sleeps for 2 hours, wakes up, needs a diaper change, sleep for an hour, wakes up, needs food, and then sleeps for 2 hours again!  Like clock work most of the time, it's pretty amazing.  Of course you do need to throw in some occasional time when she decides to be awake or throws up.  The first few nights she had some time between 1-3am when she decided she wanted to be awake, but we are slowly adjusting to days and nights.  :)  She doesn't seem to want to sleep on her back for very long so she is sleeping in a cradle type thing that hugs her and has her a little upright, right now, in our room.  We are slowly introducing the pack-n-play during the day for naps to help her get used to sleeping flat on her back.  Her favorite spot is nuzzled in on someones chest.  :)  And who can resist cuddling with a baby?  :)

I have been feeling pretty good considering what my body went through.  I did have some stitches that are healing and occasionally are sore. I started out breastfeeding when we came home from the hospital but Millie was having trouble latching and my boobs were in need of a release.  We bought a pump and I have been using that and giving her the breast milk from a bottle. I know that some look down upon that but it really is the same to me. As long as she is getting the nutrients that my milk provides, I'm happy.  the pump has taken some adjustment but I'm glad that I'm able to do it!  :)

Daddy is doing great as well.  I can't even tell you how much of a help he is!  He is the master of changing diapers, feeding, hooking up the breast pump, soothing a crying baby, and snuggling of course!  He has even caught quite a few pools of throw up on his shoulder!  Truly a different man than a week ago.  He is the best care taker and the most understanding, especially when mom just needs to go and lay down for a little bit. 

All I can say for this first week is that we survived and things are going well.  I can't believe the surge of emotions that run through me and it's amazing just how much you can love the little bundle of joy.  Being a mommy is by far the best thing!  :)  Until next week... more naps, poop, and liquid gold!

The Arrival: 40 weeks and 1 day!

I will just start by saying, we did it!  Millie Raine is here and we are now at home and doing well!  Adjusting for sure!  Thanks to everyone who has sent their love and well wishes and also to those that came to visit us!  I will do my best to recount the details of this life changing experience.... putting that on the table.... nothing is off limits! :)

I woke up Saturday morning, the day of my due date, and Josiah told me that he has made reservations at a really nice restaurant.  He said, " you never know when we are going to get another date night."  Keep in mind, this is the same thing I said when we went to Olive Garden a week earlier.  So we went about the day, and got ready and headed to dinner.  While at dinner I had some strong feelings in my belly first 15 and then 11 minutes apart, but then they subsided.  I told him that I didn't think they were like the pains I had been feeling, but after being at the doctor on Friday, I just assumed that things were all still pretty slow going.  I told him that if we got home and they were starting to happen more often, we would worry about timing them.  I had another sharp pain on the way home, but it was the only one.  When we got home we took a few pictures together.  (Again this was me thinking, this might be the last time we have to get pictures of us with the baby in the belly.  However there was always another picture after it.)

After taking the picture I started to get the pains more often, and they were very strong in my lower back.  Many supermom's that have done this before advised me of some ways to tell if it was real labor or false labor.  (take a hot bath, drink lots of water, change your position, etc.)  Well they were not subsiding after trying all of the hints and tips.  We started timing my contractions at 8:24 PM they started about 6 to 7 minutes apart and lasting about 1 minute each.  By 8:56 they were already at 4 minutes apart and I was panicking and was convinced this was a real thing.  However, I had heard the stories that you could have these strong contractions for an hour and then they could be gone, so we decided to try some more things at home to see if we could determine if it was real or false labor.  Nothing about it felt false!  After they continued we decided to call the doctor and get her advise.  After talking to me she told us to come in.  From 8:24 to 10:51 when we left the house I had 28 contractions, all in my back!

The next list of events comes straight from the notes app on my cell phone, that Josiah used to track the happenings of the evenings! He was awesome and such a wonderful support through the whole thing!  I wouldn't have been able to do it without him.  :) 

Left house 10:51 in hospital bed at 11:35. Blood pressure. 124/91. Millie's heart rate 130-140.

Officially in labor and staying in the hospital.

Contractions have been 3-5 minutes apart for last 4 hours. Average of 1 minute in length.

11:50. Doctor Cantarella came in to check. 4 cm!

12:01. Gave iv and took blood. For labs.

12:27. Water broke with strong contraction. Really need pain meds!

12:35. Nurse asked if there is a history of fast deliveries in family.

12:40. Nubain pain med given to take the edge off. Still hurts bad in back.

1:05 Anesthesiologist with epidural should be here soon.

1:15 5-6 cm dilated

1:25. Anesthesiologist coming in 8 mins.

1:50 Took longer than 8 minutes! Epidural in now.

After the epidural I was feeling great!

3:00-3:20. Lots of pressure with contractions.

3:30. Fully dilated! Practice push. Good pusher!

4:00. Started pushing.

5:30. Touched her head

5:41. Millie born! 

First family picture in the delivery room!

There is so much I can say about being a mom, the feelings are overwhelming.  She is just a few days old and has me wrapped around her little fingers.  I am so in love!  I decided to just keep track of random thoughts and feeling, some are very serious and others are just comical thoughts I have had through this whole experience!  I hope you enjoy!

1. People were right, you really do know when they are REAL contractions!
2.  I never thought I would be screaming out and begging for someone to come stick a needle in my back!
3. Epidurals are amazing!
4. Hearing a baby's first scream is the best sound ever!
5. After pushing for 1.5 hours you WILL wake up feeling like you ran a triathalon
6. Sneaking to the nursery in the middle of the night to sneak a peak was the best decision 
7. I could stare at my baby girl all day long
8. Cuddle time on mom's chest is the best time of the day
9. I love watching her sleep
10. Her farts smell terrible!!!
11. It is so much nicer trying to poop in your own bathroom instead of the one at the hospital
12. My husband has been the best through all of this!!!!!!!!!
13. It is still really weird to think that she was inside me for 9 months.
14. Seeing my husband hold his daughter makes my eyes fill with tears every time :)

Well there will be more to come in the next few weeks, so stay posted to hear more about our adventure!  Thanks again for all the well wishes and prayers for our baby girl!  She is just perfect!  :)