Sunday, October 9, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
4 months.
Willow is 4 months old now, which is so hard to believe! It seems like only yesterday we were driving to the hospital for my c-section, so nervous about returning with a baby that we could barely breathe. Fun Fact: I was close to having my c-section cancelled. For whatever reason, I thought it was okay to drink water the morning of my surgery. The nurses told me that if any anesthesiologist had been there that day other than the one I had (his name escapes me, but the amount of the bill he sent me certainly does not) my surgery would have been cancelled. There would have been some very annoyed grandparents!!
We feel we have finally graduated from the newborn stage! We are getting regular sleep, at least 8 hours each night, and Willow has developed the sweetest little personality. She loves to be tickeled, especially if you make a "tickling noise" while you do so. It gets a big smile every time accompanied by the gasping sound that we love so much- her first attempt an an actual laugh. When we put her in her swing, she talks to the mobile (a little cow and chicken) like they are talking back to her. We have the most precious video of this that I will try to post soon. Willow generally only fusses when she is sleepy or hungry, with a few exceptions when she is just feeling grumpy. We have seen her roll over 4 or 5 times, and she can fully support her head. We are cherishing these sweet days of smiles from our STATIONARY daughter, because as I have warned Brennan from my experience with nannying, when they can move it is a game changer!! One pleasant stranger issued this warning to us recently: "Your baby is cute. Enjoy her while she can't talk". Honestly, I really look forward to all of her development milestones and being able to have conversations with my little girl! Every day is a new adventure!
The last four months have taught us so much. Here are a few lessons we have learned.
1. Rooting doesnt always equal hunger. In the first few weeks, after a feeding, if Willow still rooted, we would continue to feed her in bewilderment that she could still be hungry. We learned this lesson when she threw up all over herself, ourselves, and our bed. We felt terrible for overfeeding the poor girl!
2. Always check for poop explosion when you change a dirty diaper. Nothing is worse than lifting that onsie up her back and pulling your hand away covered in fresh poo.
3. SWADDLE SWADDLE SWADDLE
4. Babies are not easy to travel with. Willow and I have left on a jetplane together 3 or 4 times, and it is an unbelievably challenging task to fly alone with a baby. TSA is particularly annoying. I promise, Willow isn't smuggling drugs in her diaper!
5. Willow doesn't like crowds. After two weddings that left her an emotional wreck, we will be getting a babysitting for all future events!
6. Babies come with a lot of gear. We have already sacrificed our coffee table to accommodate her things, and our dining table could go next.
7. Having Willow has taught us patience, compromise, sacrifice and most importantly, how to love more deeply than we ever thought we could!
My sweet angel is stirring in her crib, so now I am going to enjoy my favorite part of the day with her...she is most happy in the mornings!
We feel we have finally graduated from the newborn stage! We are getting regular sleep, at least 8 hours each night, and Willow has developed the sweetest little personality. She loves to be tickeled, especially if you make a "tickling noise" while you do so. It gets a big smile every time accompanied by the gasping sound that we love so much- her first attempt an an actual laugh. When we put her in her swing, she talks to the mobile (a little cow and chicken) like they are talking back to her. We have the most precious video of this that I will try to post soon. Willow generally only fusses when she is sleepy or hungry, with a few exceptions when she is just feeling grumpy. We have seen her roll over 4 or 5 times, and she can fully support her head. We are cherishing these sweet days of smiles from our STATIONARY daughter, because as I have warned Brennan from my experience with nannying, when they can move it is a game changer!! One pleasant stranger issued this warning to us recently: "Your baby is cute. Enjoy her while she can't talk". Honestly, I really look forward to all of her development milestones and being able to have conversations with my little girl! Every day is a new adventure!
The last four months have taught us so much. Here are a few lessons we have learned.
1. Rooting doesnt always equal hunger. In the first few weeks, after a feeding, if Willow still rooted, we would continue to feed her in bewilderment that she could still be hungry. We learned this lesson when she threw up all over herself, ourselves, and our bed. We felt terrible for overfeeding the poor girl!
2. Always check for poop explosion when you change a dirty diaper. Nothing is worse than lifting that onsie up her back and pulling your hand away covered in fresh poo.
3. SWADDLE SWADDLE SWADDLE
4. Babies are not easy to travel with. Willow and I have left on a jetplane together 3 or 4 times, and it is an unbelievably challenging task to fly alone with a baby. TSA is particularly annoying. I promise, Willow isn't smuggling drugs in her diaper!
5. Willow doesn't like crowds. After two weddings that left her an emotional wreck, we will be getting a babysitting for all future events!
6. Babies come with a lot of gear. We have already sacrificed our coffee table to accommodate her things, and our dining table could go next.
7. Having Willow has taught us patience, compromise, sacrifice and most importantly, how to love more deeply than we ever thought we could!
My sweet angel is stirring in her crib, so now I am going to enjoy my favorite part of the day with her...she is most happy in the mornings!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Lately
Last time I posted, I mentioned that Willow was taking naps in her crib. This was great because it gave me time to do other things such a clean the house, read, or perhaps put together a blog post. When Willow picks up a really great habit it usually only lasts long enough for us to get used to it! Her crib naps have been less frequent lately but she is in bed now though so I thought I would sit down and update you all on our lives lately.
Two weeks ago Willow and I took a trip to Atlanta to spend some time with my parents. She was a complete angel the entire weekend. Because my parents live in a studio condo where the living room and bedroom are separated by half-wall and our trip spanned Wednesday-Friday, I was stressing over the idea of Willow keeping my parents up all night when my mom had to work in the morning and my Dad had to wake up early to do retired-person things (walk to breakfast and take naps). The entire week leading up to the trip she kept us up until 2am, so I was expecting this behavior to continue while in Atlanta. To my surprise, the first night of our trip we laid her down at 10pm and didn't hear from the little weasel again until 7 o'clock the next morning. No one had to rock her to sleep 3 different times, and there was no middle-of-the-night feeding. As Brennan would say, I woke up in the morning thinking I must have gone deaf since I hadn't heard a baby cry all night. Amazed at her wonderful sleeping habits and slightly bitter that she refused to practice them at home, I assumed this was a fluke and didn't get my hopes up for a repeat. However, my little girl slept like an angel for the rest of the trip. It was amazing! I was excited to get home with her and get adjusted to our new sleeping schedule but of course her first night back at home she screamed so much and so late that I nearly took her to the emergency room! Seriously. I was on the phone with a nurse trying to figure out what could be wrong with this crying machine. After hours and hours of non-stop tears, she finally made the biggest poop to ever come out of a 9 pound creature, and fell fast asleep.
She may be unpredictable, but she's cute enough to get away with it. She has also learned to smile and coo. Those gummy grins and sweet sounds make the sleepless nights totally worth it. Seeing her smile is so thrilling, I can't imagine how proud of her we will be when she a brings home good grades or graduates from college. I am starting to learn why my parents didn't mind spending all of their money on us kids (clothes, cars, trips ect). I would do ANYTHING to make her smile!
I would include details about what else is going on in our lives but as of now being parents with opposite work schedules disallows any possibility of a social life outside of our home, with the exception of getting away to see The Hangover II. And the relationship that Brennan has with Xbox live. Exciting travels are in our near future though! The weddings of Julianna & Alan, Caitlin & Kyle, and Zach & Ashley, then finally our anniversary trip to Universal Studios in august! We can't wait! For now, our little family is our first priority and we wouldn't have it any other way!
Two weeks ago Willow and I took a trip to Atlanta to spend some time with my parents. She was a complete angel the entire weekend. Because my parents live in a studio condo where the living room and bedroom are separated by half-wall and our trip spanned Wednesday-Friday, I was stressing over the idea of Willow keeping my parents up all night when my mom had to work in the morning and my Dad had to wake up early to do retired-person things (walk to breakfast and take naps). The entire week leading up to the trip she kept us up until 2am, so I was expecting this behavior to continue while in Atlanta. To my surprise, the first night of our trip we laid her down at 10pm and didn't hear from the little weasel again until 7 o'clock the next morning. No one had to rock her to sleep 3 different times, and there was no middle-of-the-night feeding. As Brennan would say, I woke up in the morning thinking I must have gone deaf since I hadn't heard a baby cry all night. Amazed at her wonderful sleeping habits and slightly bitter that she refused to practice them at home, I assumed this was a fluke and didn't get my hopes up for a repeat. However, my little girl slept like an angel for the rest of the trip. It was amazing! I was excited to get home with her and get adjusted to our new sleeping schedule but of course her first night back at home she screamed so much and so late that I nearly took her to the emergency room! Seriously. I was on the phone with a nurse trying to figure out what could be wrong with this crying machine. After hours and hours of non-stop tears, she finally made the biggest poop to ever come out of a 9 pound creature, and fell fast asleep.
She may be unpredictable, but she's cute enough to get away with it. She has also learned to smile and coo. Those gummy grins and sweet sounds make the sleepless nights totally worth it. Seeing her smile is so thrilling, I can't imagine how proud of her we will be when she a brings home good grades or graduates from college. I am starting to learn why my parents didn't mind spending all of their money on us kids (clothes, cars, trips ect). I would do ANYTHING to make her smile!
I would include details about what else is going on in our lives but as of now being parents with opposite work schedules disallows any possibility of a social life outside of our home, with the exception of getting away to see The Hangover II. And the relationship that Brennan has with Xbox live. Exciting travels are in our near future though! The weddings of Julianna & Alan, Caitlin & Kyle, and Zach & Ashley, then finally our anniversary trip to Universal Studios in august! We can't wait! For now, our little family is our first priority and we wouldn't have it any other way!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
becoming parents
When I found out I was pregnant last July, I was in shock. Standing in the bathroom in the guest house at my father-in-laws, our temporary residence, I bawled my eyes out while trying to muster up the courage to walk out into the living room and drop this bomb on my un-suspecting husband. I just watched him there for a second watching TV, trying to let him have just a few more moments before he found out he was going to be a Daddy. I felt like a pregnant teenager, like I was going to be kicked off the dance team for this. When I finally said it, "I think I am pregnant", his reaction was, "why??". "Because this stick says I am!!!! *sobs*. Brennan wrapped his arms around me, reassured me that this was going to be the best thing that ever happened to us, and from that moment on I was over joyed at the idea of becoming a mommy. Granted there were still moments of fear to follow. We lived in a two room apartment above Brennan's dad's catering kitchen which had stairs leading up to it that you were literally risking your life on every time you climbed them. Of course this was an upgrade from our apartment in TN in which we had mice for roomates and rednecks for neighbors, but still not where I imagined bringing a baby home to. We initially moved to the guesthouse so we could build our savings, but now that I was pregnant it was time to GET OUT.
We stayed there a few more months while we looked for an apartment that would allow us to have our pit bull, Karma, living with us. Our boxer, Major, was no big deal but its the pit bull breed that apartment communities ban. We found a place we loved and told them we had a boxer and a mutt. We even went as far as to take her with us for them to meet and approve her, and when they asked if she was a pit bull we played dumb. Now, this dog has pit bull written all over her. So they basically called our bluff and laughed us right out of that office. We (Brennan) left disappointed that we would have to find her a new home. Thankfully Brennan's brother took her in so Brennan still gets to visit her.
Getting our own place made us feel a little more prepared to have a baby in March. Over the next few months we did our best to prepare ourselves and our home for our precious little girl. When I had my scheduled c-section (due to placenta previa) on March 3rd, our lives were forever changed.
The first time I held her, I couldn't speak. I simply started at her in amazement of God's amazing ability to create such a beautiful little baby, and also in complete wonder of why I deserved to recieve this little gift. Oh, and also shear terror that she was OUR responsibility and the poor thing would have to endure a life with us for parents. This moment lasted only for about 2 minutes before they had to take her to the NICU, where she would spend the next 5 days.
When we finally brought her home we were so happy to finally begin our life with her. My parents and sister stayed with us all week to help out and it was AMAZING. My mom and sister cleaned, cooked, and waited on me hand and foot. Brennan ended up getting sick that week so it was really great they were there. It was also great to have my dad there so someone could hold down the couch and make sure the TV was working ;)
For that first week she slept around the clock, rarely cried, and was a pleasure in general. Then that week ended, and madness set in. My family left and it was just the three of us. She stayed up all night and slept all day. She also developed colic. It was the most challenging thing I could ever have imagined. There is nothing more frustrating then not being able to comfort your screaming child, especially when you haven't had any sleep. We got used to sleeping in 3 hour increments and since she insisted on being held all the time we learned to do everything with one hand. When she would finally fall to sleep, we laid in our bed being as silent as possible and tried to get some rest before she woke up and it all started over again. While this was all very challenging, it was also wonderful. She's the most beautiful little crying creature we have ever laid eyes on and I would rather spend my time holding her and loving her than doing anything else.
Things have settled down in the last few weeks so we are finally able to reintroduce some level of normalcy into our lives. Willow sleeps in her crib and naps without having to be held! I started back to work 2 weeks ago and now work Saturday-Tuesday with Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off. Brennan works at night and stays home with Willow during the day. His mom keeps her for a couple of hours each afternoon and I pick her up when I get off work at 7. Because of this arrangement Brennan and I don't see each other as much as we would like but Willow is always with someone who loves her so for now it is working out great. Last night I went to his mom's to get my girl and to my surprise Brennan was there too. He said that Becky would be keeping Willow while we went on a little date. He surprised me with a beautiful set of pearls and dinner at PF Changs. This was the first time we had been out alone since Willow was born, and while it was so much fun and a night I won't forget, we couldn't wait to go pick up our baby! She is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to us and we are so thankful we got pregnant on accident. God knows what he is doing!!
Now if you made it all the way to the end of this incredibly long post you must really be my friend, so thank you!!
Side Note: At work this week, someone wiped salsa off of Brennan's arm, licked it off her fingers, then went back for more. He also met Mark Ingram and got his autograph. At my job, a man called and pleasured himself to the sound of my voice and it unfortunately took me about 30 seconds to realize this was what he was doing.
Getting our own place made us feel a little more prepared to have a baby in March. Over the next few months we did our best to prepare ourselves and our home for our precious little girl. When I had my scheduled c-section (due to placenta previa) on March 3rd, our lives were forever changed.
The first time I held her, I couldn't speak. I simply started at her in amazement of God's amazing ability to create such a beautiful little baby, and also in complete wonder of why I deserved to recieve this little gift. Oh, and also shear terror that she was OUR responsibility and the poor thing would have to endure a life with us for parents. This moment lasted only for about 2 minutes before they had to take her to the NICU, where she would spend the next 5 days.
When we finally brought her home we were so happy to finally begin our life with her. My parents and sister stayed with us all week to help out and it was AMAZING. My mom and sister cleaned, cooked, and waited on me hand and foot. Brennan ended up getting sick that week so it was really great they were there. It was also great to have my dad there so someone could hold down the couch and make sure the TV was working ;)
For that first week she slept around the clock, rarely cried, and was a pleasure in general. Then that week ended, and madness set in. My family left and it was just the three of us. She stayed up all night and slept all day. She also developed colic. It was the most challenging thing I could ever have imagined. There is nothing more frustrating then not being able to comfort your screaming child, especially when you haven't had any sleep. We got used to sleeping in 3 hour increments and since she insisted on being held all the time we learned to do everything with one hand. When she would finally fall to sleep, we laid in our bed being as silent as possible and tried to get some rest before she woke up and it all started over again. While this was all very challenging, it was also wonderful. She's the most beautiful little crying creature we have ever laid eyes on and I would rather spend my time holding her and loving her than doing anything else.
Things have settled down in the last few weeks so we are finally able to reintroduce some level of normalcy into our lives. Willow sleeps in her crib and naps without having to be held! I started back to work 2 weeks ago and now work Saturday-Tuesday with Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off. Brennan works at night and stays home with Willow during the day. His mom keeps her for a couple of hours each afternoon and I pick her up when I get off work at 7. Because of this arrangement Brennan and I don't see each other as much as we would like but Willow is always with someone who loves her so for now it is working out great. Last night I went to his mom's to get my girl and to my surprise Brennan was there too. He said that Becky would be keeping Willow while we went on a little date. He surprised me with a beautiful set of pearls and dinner at PF Changs. This was the first time we had been out alone since Willow was born, and while it was so much fun and a night I won't forget, we couldn't wait to go pick up our baby! She is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to us and we are so thankful we got pregnant on accident. God knows what he is doing!!
Now if you made it all the way to the end of this incredibly long post you must really be my friend, so thank you!!
Side Note: At work this week, someone wiped salsa off of Brennan's arm, licked it off her fingers, then went back for more. He also met Mark Ingram and got his autograph. At my job, a man called and pleasured himself to the sound of my voice and it unfortunately took me about 30 seconds to realize this was what he was doing.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
and we're back!
I started this blog in January of 2010, had three posts, then I ran out of stories and abandoned blogging all together. SO much has happened with us since that time, and I am now ready to get back on the blogging horse! The following is a list of the changes we have been through:
1. Moved to Alabama
2. Had a baby
...and thats pretty much it. However, our average life is filled with joy never dull and I am excited to start sharing our stories with the 5 people who will read this.
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