Questions...

I found this post that I started to write on October 10th (and never found the time to finish!!! Imagine that!). It's so funny to ready this 2 and a half months later. My how things have changed. Some of these questions are still valid questions in my mind. Others I have sinced answered.

From my original post on 10/10/2011:

Questions I've asked myself since June Anne's arrival:

1. How could anyone say that staying home full-time is easier than working?

2. Why are diaper manufacturers allowed to make diapers WITHOUT the wetness indicator?

3. Will I EVER fit back into my clothes?

4. Will I EVER get a full night's sleep again?

5. How is it possible to spend so much time staring at something so small?

6. How will I ever juggle everything I have to do plus take care of this little angel?

And knowing what I know now, some answers to my own questions:

1. Still wondering, how could anyone say that staying home full-time is easier than working?!? I have been back at work for a month now, and going to my office job is easier than my job at home, by far! I will say that juggling the two is quite challenging at times, so I have to give props to working moms, especially those that work full-time. I couldn't do it. I am so grateful for the ability to work part-time. It's a blessing I thank the Lord for every day.

2. Still wondering, why are diaper manufacturers allowed to make diapers without the wetness indicator? They shouldn't! Bottom line!

3. YES!! You will fit back into your clothes! I still can't fit into ALL of my pre-pregnancy clothes, but slowly but surely, it's happening. On 10/10, I thought it NEVER would!!!

4. YES!! You will get a full night's sleep!! Little did I know on 10/10 that later that week, my daughter would start sleeping 6-7 hour stretches. She now sleeps 10-11 hours a night! I will say that I will NEVER take a full night's sleep for granted again!

5. How is it possible to spend so much time staring at something so small? BECAUSE SHE'S SO STINKING CUTE!!! THAT'S WHY!

6. And how will I ever juggle everything I have to do plus take care of this sweet angel? You just do it. You figure it out. You sacrifice in other areas. You realize that there is a lot of "fluff" in your day that can be trimmed.

June Anne Update - 4 months

I can't believe my girl is 4 month old!!! Being her mommy gets better and better everyday, and I now can't imagine my life without her in it! June Anne is still happy, happy, happy! She is such a joy to be around, and I am so thankful. She smiles all the time, even at complete strangers. I'm told this will probably change when she hits the "stranger anxiety" phase, but for now, I'm enjoying how much her sweet smile blesses others. We went in for her 4 month check-up today (accompanied by her second round of shots...no fun!). Dr. Miller says she looks fantastic and that I am "doing a great job with her" (thank you, Dr. Miller, for that dose of reassurance!). She weighed in at a whopping 12 lbs, 1 oz! How my sweet girl is so little, I have no idea. The girl can put down some milk!!!! She measured in the 25th percentile for weight and 40th percentile for length (24 inches!). She screamed bloody murder during her shots and is now enjoying being held and cuddled all night because Mommy is scarred from the ordeal and certain that June Anne is as well!

Some new things happening in June Anne's life-

She started going to school 3 days a week now that I am back at work. It's working out really well, and I absolutely love her teachers! She loves them as well, and smiles and "talks" with them all day. I also feel like she loves the interaction with the other babies. When I take her in and pick her up, she's usually wide-eyed looking around at everything going on. For the most part, being back at work is great! I really missed my friends at work while I was out on leave, and I REALLY missed using my brain. I would be lying if I said that every day is easy. Mondays are especially hard as I have Thursdays through Sundays to spend with June Anne. So, Monday drop-off is not my favorite time of the week. But, I know she is in good hands, and I know that it is good for both her and for me.

June Anne is sitting up in the Bumbo sear very well and has started pulling up on Jason and me to pull herself into the seated position in our laps. It won't be long before she's sitting up!

June Anne is finally loving tummy time...something I attribute to her fantastic teachers. She rolls over from her tummy to her back, although it's few and far between. At times, she has rolled over 3 or 4 times in a row, only to wait another week to do it again! She's trying to roll from her back to stomach and can get almost all the ay over. She hasn't quite figured out how to get those hips and that shoulder around just yet. Soon enough!

June Anne has started grabbing on to things, including my hair (ouch), my pearls (no, baby girl, you can't have those yet!), clothes, her "baby," and other toys. She especially likes toys that make sounds and light up. She will laugh out loud at the lights.

She loves bath time still and kicks and splashes like a wild child with water and suds going everywhere! It's such a fun time for her daddy and me!

June Anne thinks her daddy is the greatest thing ever. She can be in the middle of a full-on meltdown, but as soon as she sees his face, she beams. It brings such joy to my heart to see them together. They already have such a special bond, and I can't wait to see how their relationship grows and flourishes over the years. I thank the Lord everyday for such an amazing father for my little girl. It heals my heart.

I'll leave you now with some pictures of my baby girl. She's just the best thing ever!

A year later...

I vividly remember December 28, 2010. It's funny how certain days start out like any other and end up changing your entire life. We had celebrated Christmas with Jason's family, and I had gone back to work after having a good bit of time off. Very few people were in the office that day, which is always the case right before busy season and around the holidays. I was completely exhausted that day, and I was craving pickles, of all things. I knew when I left work and could barely hold my eyes open that I should take a pregnancy test when I got home. And I did. And it was positive! And just like that, my world would never be the same.

A year later, I'm amazed by God's grace in my life as I watch my now 4 month old sweet daughter smiling and laughing. I am blown away by the overwhelming love a mother can feel for her child. And I am beyond thankful that God has entrusted this precious angel to my care.

A year ago, I would have never imagined that the little baby inside of me was going to be such a joy in our lives. I was so excited to meet my sweet girl, but I had no clue that she would be as incredible as she is! I can honestly say that I have enjoyed and lived in every moment this past year. I am so thankful. And December 28, 2010 will always be a day that I will never forget.

Happy Four Months!!!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

BeBe and Pops visit!

My baby girl has the best grandparents any child could ask for. Seriously. I am so grateful for our parents, who can't get enough of loving on my baby girl. A few weeks ago, my parents came to visit and love on my angel. It was a fun time! People often joke that when Pops is around, no one else can get a turn holding any baby that may be around at the time. It's obviously even more so with his own grandchildren! Luckily, BeBe came back the next week to help me make a trip to NC for work (more on that later...), so Pops was able to hold June Anne the whole time (which is obviously reflected in the picture below!).

Two Months...a little late

Happy Two Months to my precious angel a little over a week ago! In some ways, I feel like the past two months have flown by, and, in other ways, I feel like its been a long two months with so much change in our lives. Regardless, I can't imagine my life without this little miracle. I love her more and more every day.

We went for June Anne's 2 month check-up last Friday, and I was thankful that Jason got off early and was able to meet us there. June Anne was 10 lbs (30th percentile) and 22 1/2 inches (40th percentile). Dr. Miller says "she's petite like her mommy." :) She was flirting up a storm with Dr. Miller - laughing and talking while he was doing her exam. It made me feel good that he got to see what a happy baby she is. He commented that she is one of the happiest babies he's ever seen. She got her first set of shots as well - she did NOT laugh and talk during those. She did very well though and only cried for about 2 minutes. Having Daddy there helped her out, I'm sure.

June Anne is still an amazing baby (thank you, Lord! You knew what I needed!). She is happy and smiley during most of her awake hours. I would be lying if I said she never cries, but her fussy days are few and far between. She loves mornings, which must come from her daddy because I am NOT a morning person at all! After her first meal of the day is when she loves to "chat" with whomever may be visiting at the time. On the days that there are no visitors, she settles for talking to me while propped up on my legs. In these sweet moments, there is no where else I would rather be and nothing else I would rather be doing.

June Anne has pretty much put herself on a schedule, of sorts. She seems to be a creature of habit and likes consistency. Around 7:30 or 7:45 every night, she starts to get antsy, which means she is ready for her bath and ready to go to bed. So, following her lead, this is usually when we start her bedtime routine, which consists of a bath (which she LOVES), a good lotion down with nighttime lotion, and an extra-large serving of milk, which her daddy gives her in a bottle. As she gets older, I would like to add a book to that routine, but for the time being, she doesn't want a book - she wants her bottle! June Anne is an amazing sleeper. After her nighttime routine (which takes quite awhile because we like to give her some time in the bath and she really likes to slowly savor her milk!), we put her down around 9:00 pm. She sleeps all night (yes, all night!) until usually 5:00 am or 6:00 am, which is perfect for me going back to work in a few weeks! We don't hear a peep from her all night....the girl likes her beauty rest, and I am one thankful mama! During the day, June Anne eats every 3-4 hours and follows the eat, play, sleep routine for the most part. I haven't started implementing a strict schedule. I feel that what we are doing is working out well, so why mess with a good thing!

Some new things June Anne started doing in month 2:

Smiling and laughing - June Anne has started smiling and laughing all the time! It's the cutest thing! She especially likes to smile and laugh at her daddy when he gets home from work every day.

Rolling over - June Anne has rolled over from her tummy to her back multiple times now. One day she rolled over 4 times in one day! That's pretty impressive to me given that this is a 3 month milestone.

Sleeping through the night - 7-9 hours is considered through the night in my book! I'll take it!

I just love this sweet baby girl!

FAVE!

This is one of my favorite pictures of the loves of my life...just had to share. Pretty sure they are both in love.

Nin Comes to Visit

Last weekend, Jason's mom came to visit for the weekend. We enjoyed spending time with her, as always! Friday afternoon, we went to visit with Jasmin and her new baby (dog), Gabriel. He is a sweet dog that they rescued from the Humane Society. We spent Saturday morning having breakfast with Nin and Aunt Jasmin at Inner Bean Cafe, got our haircut by Rebecca, and then spent the rest of the evening visiting with each other over a yummy, homecooked meal (thank you, Melinda!). Sunday we made it back to church for the first time! It was so nice to be back at Quest! It was such a nice visit!!! We love you, Nin!

June Anne's First Playdate

June Anne had her first playdate a couple of weeks ago...although she ate and slept most of the time! :) We enjoyed spending time with Anna, Annslee and Elliott and their mommies as well as April and Baby K. I am so grateful for these friends and for their prayers, love and advice!

Babies Don't Keep

I realized on Monday that I am halfway through my maternity leave this week. I ended up deciding to take 13 weeks because that gives me the few days before Thanksgiving off. I will start back to work on November 28, part-time. Before I had June Anne, I had in my mind what maternity leave would look like for me. I would get all kinds of things checked off the never-ending to-do list that comes with having a baby AND buying a new house! I would finish painting the bathroom, unpack the last final boxes, keep up in the laundry and, obviously, keep the house spotless. Right! Little did I know that none of these things would get done. We bought the paint for the bathroom; the remaining boxes are still, well, reamining boxes; I stay pretty much on top of laundry; and my house is not the cleanest it has ever been. But, the moments I have spent with June Anne the past 6 weeks have been some of the sweetest of my life, and I know I will cherish them forever.

I have heard people say before that "babies don't keep," and I wondered where this saying came from. It's something that has been recited in my mind during the last 6 weeks. I searched the Internet and found this poem.

Song for a Fifth Child

By Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due,
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo.

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

This poem has really touched my heart. One day, I'm sure I'll master balancing things in my life a little better. I'm sure I'll be able to love on my angels, keep a wonderful marriage, do well at my job and have a clean house with clothes neatly folded and put away. But, for now, my job is to rock my baby. And that's exactly what I plan on focusing on the next 6 weeks! Because these moments are brief and so, so sweet.

Bath Time with Daddy

June Anne Update

June Anne was 6 weeks old yesterday. I can't believe how fast the past 6 weeks have flown by! She is changing every day! I took her in a couple of days before she was 4 weeks for a weight check, and she was 8 lbs, 7 oz! Dr. Miller said he would've liked for her to gain a little more, but she is still in the normal range since she gained so much, so quickly when we came home from the hospital. Since then, she has gotten so much bigger! She is out of newborn diapers and out of all of her newborn clothes and well into 0-3 month outfits.

Overall, June Anne is such a happy, good baby! I feel very blessed to have my first little one have her sweet disposition. She's so content and still, for the most part, only cries when she is hungry or has an upset stomach. Any other time she is a happy and content baby! She loves to be snuggled, and I make sure to cherish the moments I have her curled up on my chest or in my arms - I know they won't last forever. She absolutely LOVES the lamb swing! Jason and I say it's like a drug for babies because she can be having a full blown meltdown and the swing makes it all better! She loves Mommy and Daddy and recognizes our voices. She gives us the sweetest looks, especially when we go to get her out if her crib for her 2 am feeding or in the morning. She loves bath time and sits in the infant sling part of her bathtub like she's taking a soak after a hard day's work. It's the cutest thing! She obviously loves milk and loves to eat! We started giving her a bottle the day we got back from PTC. Jason usually gives it to her, and she devours it! She's had no problems switching between bottle and breast - she's not picky about how she gets her milk so long as she gets it when she wants it! June Anne loves to smile and laugh. She talks up a storm after each meal, and I love having these little "conversations" with her!

Sleep? June Anne is an awesome sleeper! I like to say that she likes her beauty rest. We usually put her down between 8-8:30 with no problem, she wakes up around 2:00 to eat and then doesn't wake up again until between 6-7 in the morning. Yes, yes, I do realize how blessed I am! I'm hoping she keeps it up and eventually drops the 2:00 am feeding! But, I know that will come in time. While I'm looking forward to eventually having a full night's sleep again, I'm not rushing her.

June Anne has brought us so much joy! We love her more and more every day!

Trip to PTC

Two weeks ago, I decided to load up June Anne and head to Peachtree City for a few days. There are a lot of special people there that June Anne needed to meet! Jason was working, so I decided to go during the week so I wouldn't "steal" his new daughter on the weekend, which is when we all get to spend the most time together. Going during the week, though, also meant that Bruiser and Bella got to come along fir the ride. What was I thinking, you ask? Did I temporarily lose my mind? Well, you are in good company because Jason asked the same thing! Fortunately, the trip was fantastic! June Anne slept the entire way there and would've slept the whole way back had we not got stuck in construction traffic for an hour!

Our trip was filled with lots of sweet friends and family who wanted to love on my precious daughter. She is such a blessed little girl already to have so many special people love her!

Happy 3 Weeks!

My sweet baby girl was 3 weeks old yesterday! I can't believe it! Where did the last three weeks go?

Is she not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?

The First Few Weeks

I can't believe that June Anne was 3 weeks old yesterday. I feel like the past three weeks have flown by! And there have been times in the past three weeks that I wish I could freeze in time. There are no words to express how much we love this sweet angel. Everyone tried to tell me that I would love her that much, but there is no way to truly understand until they arrive. It's completely indescribable.

The past three weeks have been filled with family, friends, and lots of sweet time getting to know my sweet baby girl. When we left the hospital, our families were both at our house and stayed with us that evening. It was so nice to have them here to spend time with June Anne. Before June Anne arrived, we had worked out "shifts" of when people would stay with us to help out right after her birth. My mom ended up staying the rest of the first week, Jason was off the second week, and Nin and Popi came this last week to help out. In between all of this help, we have had so many sweet friends stop by with food and to visit our little angel. What a blessing! I'm so grateful for our amazing family and friends!Our first week home was definitely a whirlwind! I was an emotional wreck! I was definitely prepared for the "recovery" - I have some wonderful friends who were brutally honest with me about this. The emotional part - I was not so prepared for. I saw friends who went through some of this after their babies were born, but you only see glimpses here and there. I didn't know I would have a meltdown at least 2-3 times a day! It wasn't that I was not elated that my sweet daughter had finally arrived - I was over the moon! The meltdowns were totally irrational and hormone related. I'm thankful that they have finally subsided. Week 1 was a learning week for all of us.

Jason had to work a couple of days that first week, so June Anne and I spent some time hanging out with BeBe and resting up from delivery. It was such a sweet time that I know I will cherish forever. It was so nice having my mom here - I didn't realize how much I couldn't do after labor and delivery. She was such a huge help.We managed to get out a couple of times that first week - we went to the doctor - June Anne was up 4 oz from being discharged! We also went to Kroger and Target, and spent Saturday evening at the Cain's watching football. June Anne also got her first bath - sponge bath at least - and her hair washed. She didn't love it so much!Jason was off for the second week - and what a sweet time it was! The week was absolutely amazing with us getting to spend time together as a family. Jason is amazing with his daughter, and he is totally in love. Seeing him with her has filled me with such joy. And like Mary, I have "treasured up all these things and pondered them in my heart." Not having the best relationship with my dad, I thank the Lord that my daughter has a sweet daddy to dote over her and show her what a daddy's love should be. I can't wait to see how this relationship grows in the next few years. I'm so thankful for an amazing husband and father!

This last week, Jason's parent's came into town to visit and help out. And what a help they were! Melinda cooked and helped clean the house, and John hung everything that needed to be hung downstairs! My house is finally starting to look like a home! Not to mention - they loved on my sweet daughter the whole week. June Anne loved spending time with her Nin and Popi!

Last week we also went for June Anne's 2 week check-up (at the beginning of the week). She is doing amazing, and Dr. Miller was impressed with how well she is growing and gaining weight. She weighed in at 7 lbs, 11 oz! 6 oz above her birth weight! Dr. Miller said everything else looked wonderful as well, and we feel so blessed to have a healthy baby girl.

As far as June Anne goes, she is a sweet, sweet baby. She rarely cries - the cries usually indicate that she is hungry, gassy or just wants to be put down and left alone (just like her daddy, she needs her space sometimes!). She doesn't care in the slightest if she has a dirty or wet diaper, and I have to admit that I have forgotten at times to change her because she hasn't told me she needs changed! It has been so fun to see her personality coming out in the past couple of weeks. She is chill, calm, and happy. She obviously loves to eat and has gotten the name "milk monster" from her vigorous eating style. She loves her Daddy and perks up the moment he walks in the door. She is curious and looks around constantly, taking in her small world. She doesn't mind the dogs - even the few times that Bruiser has snuck in with a kiss on the face! She loves to be outside, and, if she is fussy, she instantly calms down when she feels the breeze. Sometimes when Jason is working outside, we sit her out in the shade and let her enjoy the outdoors. Again, just like her Daddy. She loves going for walks in the B.O.B. I am so excited to see more and more of her personality come out in the next few weeks and months and throughout the years!