Eat, play, sleep, poop....

Hello again! Its been a while....in baby years its been an eternity! Mia is now 10 weeks and 1 day old. It is amazing the difference a couple weeks can make at this point in the adventure. She is really coming into her own now. She is awake FAR more than she ever has been and during the waking hours, she is not always crying or fussy. Most of the time, she isn't even hungry! this was a very hard concept for both Dan and I to grasp at first, so we mainly just stared at each other wondering what we were supposed to do with her. Now we fill our time with playing....and by playing I mean mommy making funny faces and kissing all over her and daddy clapping his hands, jumping around and just being kind of a goober in general. All of which she seems to be relatively amused by....at least while we're present. I'm sure she's already rolling her eyes when we walk away ;-)

So much has happened since I last posted. I have mentally started this update about 15 times, but there just hasn't seemed to be a good time to sit down and actually put pen to paper (or hands to keyboard, whatever the case may be). We managed to make it through Christmas without a hitch. We spent Christmas eve with my family at my grandmother's and then at my mom's house and then we went to Dan's parent's house on Christmas day. It was definitely a long weekend. I am learning very quickly how much a weekend like that can take longer than a wicked hangover to recover from. I guess without realizing it, Mia had put me on a schedule (and herself of course, she's very bright). So, to be gone from our house for so long all weekend, and off of her routine, we definitely felt the reprocussions. Our normally mild mannered little one had screaming fits at night, which I am assuming were from sheer exhaustion and her bed time got skewed so we are now back to getting up in the middle of the night. I hate to say we're "back to normal" now, for fear of what that might mean later tonight, but that seems to be the case.

I remember from the get go after Mia was born, I would go back and review these baby sleep books and updates I got from 'what to expect' to try and figure out when to try to start putting her on a schedule. Well lucky for us, Mia is her father's daughter and she put herself on one pretty quickly. It seems like over night she went from falling asleep while she ate to making it through a feeding, playing for a while then being perfectly content putting herself to sleep. I was thriled the first couple times I didnt have to rock her until she was completely asleep and then gently place her in the crib and slowly back out without making a noise.....but now I kind of look forward to the nights where she needs a little cuddle with mommy before she turns in for the night :)

Dan is off this week so he has gotten to spend a lot more time with her. I have to fight the urge to tell him what she needs and how she likes things done because I know he needs to figure it out on his own, but I have to admit....its painful sometimes, but also equally amusing. Dan has learned that our daughter is calmed from a scream when he sings (yes, you heard me, SINGS) the chinese food takeout menu to her. For those of you who have been to a greek church before, you know the priest sings the scriptures in a weird sort of talk to music way that doesnt really have a pattern or rythm of any kind.....and Dan has adapted this method in calming our child. He always begins with the "starters" (makes sense) and finishes each section with 'Ameen' (I assume its Amen with a Greek accent....). I'm not sure what on earth made him think to do this, but clearly someone was craving chinese while the kid was screaming at some point ;-) It's hilarious. See, if I had told him that she probably had a dirty diaper, and THAT'S why she was screaming, I may have never been witness to his sure fire method. Sometimes it pays to keep your mouth shut. We'll consider that my lesson for the week ;-) I am also amused when Dan informs me what Mia likes or needs. For instance, the other day, I was told that Mia prefers to go to sleep with the light on. Hmmm...ok? Well apparently when daddy put Mia to bed one day last week, he left the light on and let her fall asleep on her own, so now in a man's world, this method will work until the day she dies. Noted. Thanks, Dad ;-) I think as women we are more adaptable and willing to try new things should situations call for it. For Dan, if this method doesn't work, then Mia is hungry. End of story. These are the situations when smiling and nodding come in handy ;-)

As for how I'm feeling....I feel good. I am getting sleep, I know what to expect during my day, I'm not scared to take my child out for longer than a 2 hour stretch and I have become a MASTER at getting my enourmously oversized stroller in and out of my car. I feel  like now I am just working out the kinks. I am trying to figure out how to make Mia's bedtime closer to 11 or midnight so that I can actually sleep completely through the night. As of right now, she goes down about 9ish and wakes up around 3-4. I'm definitely not complaining about a 6-7 hour stretch of sleep, but in order for me to actually get that, I have to be in bed by 9 too....and that is generally not the case (I see all of you who knew me before laughing, as 9 used to be LATE for me).

In other news, we are getting closer to being homeowners! We have a tentative close date of January 24th. We have already had a number of scares on the mortgage front mainly due to idiots who don't know how to do their jobs...and inaccuracies on our credit reports. So far though, all of those things have been remedied fairly easily and things seem to be moving in a positive direction. We started packing earlier this week so we are now living in what seems like a box fort. It's amazing how quickly the walls start to close in when you have the promise of almost 4 times the square footage just over the horizon. We visit the house about once a week to see how things are progressing. It's so cool to see how quickly things are coming together. We now have our coutertops in along with the tile in the bathrooms and laundry room. They have painted and stained the cabinets, and just put in the light fixtures this week. The fence posts are going up and they are getting the lawn ready for sod. Next week they are projecting that the wood floors will go in, and then the appliances not long after that! We are so excited :) I'll take some pics the next time we go out to post on here. Right now the only ones I have are when the only thing that was inside the house was the drywall.

Well I guess that's it for now, I am going to try to update sooner than later as I'm sure there will be a period where things will be pretty chaotic in january, so there will most definitely be some lag time then. Plus, I'm sure there were a million things I forgot that I wanted to say......

Until next time, i've posted some pics from Christmas. Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and a happy new Year to come!

Christmas morning I can't figure out who was more excited ;-)

my precious baby girl right when she woke up....her dad and I had been up for hours already! who does that?!

This was a laugh in case you were wondering....

so studious already

Mia's first stocking!!

This was at Dan's house for Christmas day - this was the first outfit we bought her :)

Cooper and Mia in their matching out fits that aunt Deanna got them :)

it was love at first sight ;-)

crazy to think we met 11 yrs ago, and now we have kids that are a year apart...love :)

So, today Mia is 7 weeks and 5 days old. Saying that amount of time and living it seem like two very different increments. I am still constantly amazed at how quickly things are changing both with her on her own, and with our family in general. I always find that the end of the year flies by most of the time, but this year, it's out of control how quickly its moving. Mia goes in for her 2 month appointment next Monday. How can she possibly be that old? I'm pretty sure I just got out of the hospital, and I had every intention of being back to pre-pregnancy weight (haha) by this time....so surely there has been some sort of miscalculation. None the less, my baby will be 2 whole months old on the 19th. I'm not sure why, but just saying that makes me a little sad.....

Mia now has a distinct grasp on the concepts of day and night. She is sleeping consistently at least 6 hours at night....a day that only a few short weeks ago, I was sure would never come. A few nights ago, I leapt out of bed at 4AM and ran (literally) across our apartment to make sure she was still breathing! She was. And she didn't seem in the slightest concerned that I almost took out our Christmas tree and nearly broke my neck tripping on Luci's chew toy that has been in the floor since I can remember....not sure why I haven't picked it up, it's still laying there, I must enjoy a challenge....I digress....I just couldn't fathom her being asleep for longer than 4 hours, but as it turns out, she is her momma's girl and it didn't take her long to figure out that day time hours are SO MUCH more bearable with more than 2 hours of sleep ;-) Needless to say, minus the occasional moment of hysteria thinking that my child is no longer breathing, I am thoroughly enjoying the added hours of slumber. They certainly help me deal with our new little emerging drama queen :)

She certainly is developing quite the personality! She smiles all the time, and the world stops for a moment, then in the very next instant, she screams...it's a viscious cycle, each to counter act the other. She smiles so I know I'm doing something right, and screams to remind me that even though she's happy, this is no cake walk. And I'll take it however it comes. She definitely has me on my toes though. Seems like when she was younger (yes I realize has only lived 7 weeks) there was no question what she wanted. When she was awake, she was hungry. I would feed her, and she would go to sleep until she was hungry again. Easy (I'm pretty sure my self from 5 weeks ago would punch me for saying that). Now, when she's awake, there's no telling. Maybe she's hungry, or maybe she just doesn't like the color shirt I have on that day....and don't think I haven't tried changing my shirt to see if that stops her from crying! Want to know the even more awesome thing, and by awesome, I mean not awesome, when she is crying from sheer boredom and I finally do something to appease her, then she starts crying again....she requires a WHOLE NEW thing to become contented again! I'm learning very quickly that the same thing twice in a row NEVER works! I feel like I could be on one of those weird cooking shows where they give you a pumpkin, a jar of strawberry jam, two clams and a bag of fish livers that you have to make a gormet meal out of...except instead of cooking, I'm trying to keep an infant entertained and happy. I am very resourceful these days ;-) But seeing her little faces (both happy and sad) still makes my day. I can't say enough how grateful I am to be able to spend this time with her.....she's pretty cool, I think I'll keep her.

As far as how I'm feeling, I am pleased to say that I am LESS tired. I'm not sure how this happened, but I went from being a morning person, to NOT being a morning person after having this baby. Wha?? Yea...I can't figure it out. I keep telling myself that after her 6AM feeding, I need to just get up and start moving, but I have yet to fight the urge to get back in bed (being the couch after the 6 o'clock feeding, we normally snuggle up together) and don't emerge again until around 9. Even at 9, I am still not totally with it. I'm just glad that we have at least a slight resemblance of a routine in the mornings, so I know that after she eats at 9, I have at least 2 hours to do something with myself before its boob time again ;-) While I'm starting to feel more confident in the mommy department, I am still lacking confidence in the woman department. I am struggling a lot with what this pregnancy has done to my body. I honestly thought that losing the weight would be a walk in the park, I also thought that I would have plenty of time to work out and would start that immediately...yea, right. I'm finding that it's not so much a matter of 'I don't have the time to workout', its more 'I don't have the energy to workout, plus I kind of don't want to even if I did have the energy'. But, I am reminded every time I go to get dressed that if I ever plan wearing anything in my closet again that is not an old t-shirt and oversized sweater, that I am going to have to get off my bum. So.....in an effort to make that happen, I have enlisted the help of Jillian Michaels :) All of you who know me well, know that I have a secret infatuation with the woman. And she and I are going to be seeing a lot of each other in the next couple of months. I have decided (just now) that in order to keep myself motivated, I am going to track my progress on this public forum...so get ready ;-)

To date I have lost 26 of the 40 lbs I gained while pregnant. My goal is to be at my pre-preg weight by the time Mia is 5 months old.....so I have 3 months to lose 14 lbs. I think I can. Bring it, Jillian.

Aside from my body image issues, I am doing well. I  am getting out a lot more often and, lucky for me, my child is an ANGEL in public! If she is fussy at home, I pack her up and put her in the car and as soon as we start moving, she's out. Now, the one draw back is that if I happen to hit a red light, sh*t hits the fan! I have never encoutered a being that was so motion sensitive! I now make it to my destination by way of right hand turns I can take in order to avoid having to stop.....Also, I have now begun mentally packing our apartment nightly in order to prepare for our move. Unfortunately, none of my mental packing translates to ACTUAL packing...its a shame really. We don't have our official close date on our house yet, but the guess is that we will close around January 24. We are super excited, but along with the excitment of a new house comes the anxiety of a new house.....

I guess I've written enough about not much, so I'll give you guys a break for another week or so ;-) I don't have any pics uploaded at the moment, but as soon as I upload some current ones, I'll post them. She looks so different now! It's amazing how much she's changing every day :)

And for the record, I've learned this week that the only thing that is consistent in this house now, is change.....and Mia's crazy man farts ;-)

It's all about the little victories...and the BIG purchases

Hello all! I'm not sure if you knew it, but its December....as in the LAST month of the year. Holy cow. Where did the year go?! My little Amelia will be 7 weeks old tomorrow. 7 WEEKS! It seems like so much has happened since my last post so please forgive me in advance for being completely scattered. It's 7:15AM, I've been up for 2 hours and chances are good that the tiny one will be joining me at any moment, so if this post drops off out of no where, you will know why ;-)

Well I'm pretty sure that when I last blogged, my little one was starting to smile and be awake for longer stretches, she probably was sleeping for a good 4 hours during one stint at night and I'm not sure if I shared or not, but her insides were not functioning properly....if you know what I mean. Things are still similar to the aforementioned, but so different at the same time. Mia smiles all the time now! It's the cutest thing I have ever seen. I still can't find that 1 thing that consistently makes her do it, so Im always pleasantly surprised when my sessions of cooing and making funny faces pays off. Its kind of like she's just humoring me....and I'm ok with that. I have a feeling this is only the start of a long line of her humoring me in one way or another ;-) I figure it's the least she can do, afterall, she does have a personal assistant to cater to her every whim 24/7. She is really starting to become more and more aware of her surroundings too. She recognizes me now and will follow where I am (assuming I'm not right next to her). When Dan gets home and night, she lights up! Its adorable :) She is really starting to gain control of her head too. She still is kind of wobbly and I get the occasional head butt (hopefully unintentional), but I got to give her credit, I mean, that is a HUGE brain she is carrying around....so it's going to take time to get full control of the sheer volume!

Now, I think I've established over the last almost year that this blog is a no holds bar kind of forum, so here goes. My new rant topic: poop. (*immediately everyone logs off*) I'm pretty sure there was a time in my life where being pooped on first thing in the morning would have been a good indicator of a bad day to come. That is no longer the case. From about week 2, Mia has had problems going to the bathroom, and was super gasy (which I can only assume she got from her father). When we saw the pediatrician, I let her know that she was only going once every 3-4 days. And by day 4, like any human would be, she was not a happy camper. The doctor said that was still in the "normal" range, and not to worry. Well let me just tell you what the normal range is: babies can poop after every feeding (8-10 times a day) or they can go up to 5 days without a movement. Seriously?? wow. Well, being the expert that I am on these things, I decided to diagnose my child on my own because while the doctor can tell me what's "normal", she does not have to endure the sad faces and colichy behavior that comes along with an infant that hasn't pooped in 4 days. So, I determined that maybe she had a lactose allergy. I changed her formula to soy, and have noticed a dramatic difference. Now, she's an every 2 day pooper.....still not a lot for a baby, but hey, I'm not going to complain about not having to change 8 poopy diapers a day! This is what I meant when I referred to small victories....

And I officially just wrote more about poop in one day that I suspected I would in a lifetime....not that I ever predicted I would write about it in general....but you get my point.

Another small victory is the fact that Mia is now doing a 5 hour stretch at night! MOST nights, she will go to sleep around 10 and wake up at 3. This is huge! I never dreamed that I would be this excited about 5 hours of sleep, especially given that pre-Mia, I was an 8-10 hr/night sleeper, but good Lord...give me 5 hours any day now over the 2-2 1/2 I was getting at a time before! Its amazing how refreshed I feel during the day now ;-) I even attempted a workout last week (from which I am still recovering). She is also napping regularly during the day, and I find that once she goes to sleep, I go into speed racer mode. Never knowing when she is going to wake up makes me prioritize things very differently....and move much more quickly. Yesterday, she went down around 3:15 and got up at 5:30. during that time, I was able to clean my entire apartment (including dusting and vaccuuming), do 3 loads of laundry (fold and put away), prep dinner and sit down for a little 'me' time :) I was actually waiting for her to wake up when I got done. Needless to say, I am starting to get my groove I think. I think the one thing I'm lacking now some sort of schedule. I like things to be predictable, and while there is a general theme to my days....there is still not a solid schedule. I know that she's only 7 weeks old though, so I'm trying to give it time. Patience is not my stong suit...even now.

Last BIG pice of news is our purchase :) Dan and I will be closing on our first house next month! This was something we had intended to be a little further down the line, but we came across a deal we just couldn't pass up. We had been looking at builders in Frisco hoping we could move into a new home sometime in the summer. Well one of the builders had an inventory home on a large lot with the floorplan we had fallen in love with for sale to be finished next month! Since the home was already being built, there were already a lot of upgrades in it and since it's the end of the year, we got a great deal. We are still going through the process of selecting our finishes, but everything should be finalized in the next week and we will get our closing date! I could not be more excited to be moving into a bigger and permanent place. The house is gorgeous, it really is our dream home :) Once we get everything finalized, I will post some pics. Until then, please pray that everything goes smoothly for us on that front!

I am still thrilled to be able to be at home with Mia, if I were working I would most likely be going back next week. It's probably a good thing I'm not.....last week I walked out of the house twice with my top on inside out. The other times, there is no doubt I had spit up somewhere on my person or was wearing sweat pants that hadn't been washed in a week. Dan's one lucky S O B ;-) I just keep getting sexier.

Well, I am guessing I have about 3 minutes to spare before I get to hang with the little one again, so I'm thinking I might go brush my teeth or something equally exciting ;-)

We just got our edits back from Mia's newborn pics, so here are some of my favs... :)

Relief at last!!

Today my little angel is 4 weeks and 6 days old.....Its hard to believe we have already surpassed the one month mark! I have already started weeding out newborn jammies that she is too long for and onesies that are busting at the seems...how is that even possible? It feels like I just brought her home yesterday!!

Mia had her 4 week check up yesterday. She is doing just swimmingly...not that we expected anything less :) She weighs in at a whopping 10lbs 3.5 oz and is 21 3/4 in long. This child has increased her weight by almost 50% since she was born! wow....just wow. Every day she is becoming more alert and just this morning I got her to smile....like LEGIT smile....AT ME....SEVERAL times! This is a huge milestone. If I were organized or had a free second other than what I have at this very moment, I would immediately go update her babybook. Instead, I'm just making notes here and I'll eventually get around to the official update ;-) As of the last 2 weeks, Mia is becoming more routined. She is eating about every 3 hours (sometimes 2 1/2) during the day and about every 4-5 hours at night. During the day, she naps pretty consistenly(*she types hesitantly, knowing immediately what this means for the future of this day....*) during the day which allows me time to get things done at home and occasionally shower (although this task is completely overrated if you ask me). At night, she eats around 10:30-11 for her last feeding then we get up around 3 and then MOST of the time, she goes back to sleep until around 7-8. Now, the last couple days have completely blown my schedule out of the water, but I kind of feel like by writing it down, I am putting it on some sort of wish list, hoping it will come back soon.....I really kind of enjoy getting 8 hours (even if its split into two 4 hour increments) of sleep at night!

As for me, I am really understanding what a huge learning process this is. I feel blessed that Mia is such a good baby 90% of the time, during that 90%, I feel like mother of the year and question why people ever say this whole child rearing thing is so hard....and the other 10% I feel completely inadequate...a total mess. Its that 10% that I wonder how they ever let me leave the hospital with her, I'm clearly not cut out for this! But I digress.....lets get to the real meat and potatoes of this post: breastfeeding.

I feel like I should start by going through a typical day in my life. We  get up around 7 and I change her diaper and nurse her for about an hour. Typically she is asleep, or on the verge when i'm done so I put her either in the boppy or the swing and she sleeps for an hour or so. During that time, I get some coffee, let the dog out make the bed (if Dan hasn't already) and shower (if I plan on exiting my humble abode). Mia wakes up....she's ready to eat again. I change her diaper, and nurse her for about an hour. If I plan to leave the house, after this feeding is when I do that, so after she eats, I get her dressed and load up. I have about 2 1/2 hours before she will eat again, so I have mastered fitting what I can into that time period. When I get back home, I let the dog out, change Mia's diaper, and nurse her for about an hour. Then she sleeps.....she wakes up, I change her, nurse her, repeat....I think you get the idea. I say all that to let those who weren't already aware (which is not many) the huge amount of time I spend nursing. You would think that, knowing how many hours you spend with your nipple in your kids mouth when they are this age, God would make it feel less like medieval torture, and more like a walk in the park!

Now, please remember that this blog is about MY experiences, and only that. I'm sure some women take to breastfeeding like its no big deal. In fact, MOST women solely breastfeed until their kids are AT LEAST Mia's age and then sometimes they will start pumping. As you all know, that is not the case with me. I was reading an article the other day about what kind of "latcher" your baby was. I found Mia....she's a baracuda! She latches on like her mouth is the only thing keeping her on this earth and if she were to let go, she'd fall into a black hole never to be seen again. Possibly melodramatic, but very true. And don't get me started on unlatching, she pulls that head away from my chest at 90 mph with those lips still tight until my nipple is forced out of her mouth by sheer distance and springs back and hits me in the chest....by this point, i could probably breast feed her from across the room given that my nipple stretch capacity has far exceeded what i ever thought possible. This child never had a problem latching on. She never had a problem getting nutrients....she ALWAYS wanted to eat in the beginning! That's a blessing....I am aware that its a blessing. But nothing in this world could have prepared me for how much pain I would be in to give her those nutrients. I struggled with it from day one. And by struggle, I mean physically AND mentally. I talked to my girlfriends and relatives, they all shared the opinion that it was an unpleasant experience and assured me that the pain was temporary and that one day in the near future, it would just stop hurting, but I somehow gathered that I was A) more of a wuss and/or B) in more pain, because ALL of these women kept at it....even through the pain and never took a break by giving their babies a bottle. Well which ever it was, if it weren't for that bottle, I would not have made it. Every morning I would wake up and just say to myself, "we'll just give it one more day, if it doesn't get better, I'll just pump and give her a bottle....." and by the end of the day, I felt completely defeated, and would swear that it just wasn't for me. But, I would still get up every morning and try it just one more time. Well, THANK THE LORD, I've made it! My kid is almost 5 weeks old, but by George, I don't hate breastfeeding anymore! I can now see past the split nipples and the pain...I don't grit my teeth when she latches, then unlatches by yanking her head back as though to remove my nipple with her gums, then relatches.....my prayers have been answered! Either that, or I have completely lost feeling of my boob tips. Either way, I am so thankful. Yes, thankful. That is quite possibly what I am MOST thankful for this year, that is, aside from my healthy baby and wonderful family. Yep, numb nipples is number 3 on my list ;-)

Well, I know its been over a week since I posted and I just wrote a small novel about my sore nipples....but that is kind of my life at the moment. Sore nipples and sending texts to my husband and friends about my baby's bowel movements. Oh Lordy, don't even get me started on poop! I'll just say that today was the first day that I threw up in my mouth a little while changing her diaper....and also the first time I have had to clean poop out of anyone's belly button..... Glamorous, I know ;-) Regardless, there is still no other place I would rather be. Mia is the light of my life, and even when she's fussy and poops in her own belly button, she still makes me smile.

These last two weeks I have learned:
Mia is capable of being awake for 12 hrs straight...and it doesn't make her happy.
No matter how strongly I ask "What is it you want?", Mia will probably not be able to answer me for several years.
No matter how tired I am or what time it is in the morning, when I look down at my baby nursing and see her staring up at me lovingly, I fall in love all over again, and it always makes me smile :)

Side note: The Jones family is going to attempt our first Turkey Trot this year!! We're so excited :) Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

This year, I am Thankful for.....

Well, I've now started this blog entry 4 times. Maybe this one will make it to the world wide web ;-) I have been so scatter brained lately that I often forget why I've walked into the bathroom...even when I'm about to pee my pants. Its ridiculous.

Tomorrow marks 4 weeks with our sweet baby :) Hard to believe its been almost a month already! She changes so much from day to day, its amazing. I am so glad I can be with her all the time so I don't miss anything.

Since, as hard as I try, I am not updating this blog on a weekly basis, I thought I would go ahead and jump the gun a little and, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, tell everyone what I'm thankful for this year....and SPOILER ALERT it's not ONLY the precious baby that's sleeping in my lap as we speak ;-)

This year, I have so much to be thankful for. The whole year has been one big blessing after another. I'm so thankful that when Dan and I decided we were ready to make our family of 2, a family of 3, we were able to get 'er done in just one shot ;-) I'm so thankful that I was never sick during my pregnancy, that there were never any complications, and more importantly, even though I packed on a whopping 40 lbs....I got NO STRETCH MARKS (thank you Lord!) I'm thankful that Mia carried to term, and that when I delivered her, things went as smoothly as they could have gone, and when she got here, she was perfectly healthy. I'm thankful that my recovery was only miserable for a couple days, and that during those days, I was able to have the two people that love me more than anyone else (Dan and my mom) taking care of me. I'm so so so thankful for my husband who works so hard, allowing me to be at home with our baby during this special time....and that he's not rushing me to go back before I'm ready. Even more than that, I'm thankful that I have such an amazing partner in this. A man who transitioned so seemlessly from husband to daddy. A man who comes home after a 12 hour work day and immediatly jumps into daddy mode. He looks forward to feeding her and having her fall asleep on his chest. For that, I am so thankful. I'm aslo thankful for my family. Mia is the 4th baby girl to enter the Swindle family, yet she has been embraced and loved like she is the first and only (as were each of the others :)) I'm eternally thankful that I have had such an amazing role model during my 29 years...my mom. She is the reason I wanted to be a mom in the first place. I look forward to having the kind of relationship with Mia that I share with my own mom. I'm thankful for the support of my friends. Mia is so lucky to have so many aunts who love her so much, and each of you bring something different and special to the table. As she gets older, she will undoubtedly see exactly what I see in each of you and know why I couldn't have done this without you :) Finally, and most importantly, I am thankful for my baby girl, Amelia Anne. I'm so happy to wake up to her every morning (and midnight and 3 AM ;-)). I am thankful that I get to be with her all day and listen to her funny noises she makes when she sleeps and see the faces she makes when she wakes up, or when she's starting to get upset. I love how she loves to get a big stretch in right when she wakes up, and even though her toots are deadly, I love those too. This year has been the best I have had in my life.....I could not ask for more.

I've attached a couple of pictures, sorry most of them are when she's sleeping....that is the time I have my hands free ;)

I caught a sleep smile :)

See, she DOES have eyes ;-) They are beautiful and blue, but its hard to tell from this pic

our first shopping trip!

Mia got all dolled up for Grammy's 60th birthday party. This was after I took off the enormous headband ;-) Dan swears she is going to hate me....i disagree

Big Stretches!

In case I don't make it back on here before next week, hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving!

We all know who rules the roost now!

Well, I am now 2 weeks and 5 days in....going strong. I feel like I am finally starting to feel like myself again. I look back and the last couple weeks seem like an eternity, but they went by in a flash at the same time. I can't even imagine life before our little Mia got here. I also can't remember what it was like to be 40 weeks pregnant (that's probably a good thing when it comes to the probability of increasing our family number). I put on 40 lbs, 15.5 in, and 2 full cup sizes when I was pregnant. I have managed (by no fault of my own) to drop 24lbs and 7in  since then. Although, I fear those were the 'easy' ones to lose. From here on out, I may have to do more than stick my boob in my kid's mouth....but now the thought of that does not make me completely physically exhausted, so chances are good I will part ways with my couch at some point in the near future and start trying to make some progress on that front. Speaking of boobs, I have also put on another cup size since birth....yep, regular old Pamela Anderson over here ;-) I'm sure Dan is hoping they stick around....and we won't fill him in just yet on what happens once I stop breast feeding....no need to kill the dream this early.

As far as Mia goes....well, she's amazing :) We had her 2 week doctor visit last Wednesday at 8AM (I will have more to say about 8AM appointments later on in this post) and our little baby is growing up quick!! When she was born, she weighed 7lbs 6oz and, as babies tend to do, she lost some weight the first couple of days we were in the hospital so we left with her weighing 6lb 15oz (which is on the low end of the weight loss spectrum, but that probably had to do with her 12 hr marathon nursing spree on night 2). On our 3 day check up with the pediatrician, she told us that they generally expect them to be back up to their birth weight by their 2 week appointment. Well, Mia, not unlike her preggo Momma decided to blow those numbers out of the water! Our little one, as of last Wednesday, weighed in at 8lbs 7oz!! My jaw dropped! It kind of made 2 weeks worth of nipple mutilation seem worth while ;-) We can even fit into some of our 0-3 mo outfiits now! I just can't get over how fast she is growing.....its awesome, but kind of sad at the same time. I know everyone warned me that this time goes by quickly, but I really had no idea until now what they meant.

Aside from, her weight, Mia is changing so much from day to day. She is awake a lot more often, so we get to stare at her beautiful blue eyes and she is so aware of things around her now, its incredible :) She love sitting in her swing and staring at the mobile and moving her arms like she is conducting an orchestra....its precious, but that may be just to us because we are slightly partial and totally infatuated with her ;-) I put her on her tummy yesterday and she is already holding her head up like a pro (at least for a not quite 3 week old). Just as we expected, already very advanced for her age....we're starting her French lessons next week, you know, once she's mastered English ;-)

I said I was going to have more to post about 8AM appointments, but now that I think about it....my thoughts are probably understood by everyone out there with a kid! Manty props to you working moms.....I cannot tell you how much respect I have for what you have to do to get yourself out the door in the morning while trying to get your little one(s) fed, dressed and packed up to leave!

I think the hardest part for me so far has been the unpredictability of her schedule. Every time I think I have it down, she throws a 5 hour nap (not complaining) into the mix, or decides to pull an all nighter.....neither of which I am ever prepared for, and both of which make me feel very uneasy and highly inadequate. For the most part she is on about a 3 hour schedule as far as feeding, but I wouldn't set my watch by her or anything. Also, I feel like I'm not producing enough milk.....she is ALWAYS hungry :( We are supplementing breast milk with formula for now, and praying that eventually my body will make enough to keep her content from feeding to feeding. The hard part is judging how much formula to give her....if anyone has advice at all on this subject, PLEASE give it! I have read too many books and I feel like I'm failing every time I mix up a bottle :-/ I have spoken with the pediatrician who has assured me that I'm not, so that makes me feel better....at least a little.

We have started venturing out of the house at least daily and that is getting a little easier. She is generally pretty content for about 2ish hours before we hit meltdown mode, so its given me just enough time to meet up with my mom for lunch and MAYBE run an errand or two. I tried my hand at taking Mia to the grocery store the other day and let me just tell you, after trying to figure out how to get her stupid carseat into the basket without it tipping out over the side, and being approached by 2 different people offering help because i looked so completely out of my element.....that will be the last time we make that trip sans Daddy Jones. Ridiculous.

I guess what I have learned this week is that this child will sleep when she's tired, she'll wake up when she's hungry....and she doesnt really care what time it is when she does either! Dan and I are clearly not the ones calling the shots these days.

I finally was able to upload some pics from the hospital, so I'm attaching a few.

First minutes of her life....I'm already in love :)

cute little baby tooshies!

first dirty diaper....as i'm typing this, realizing not everyone cares about this part ;-)

Uncle Cory, and tired mommy!

Aunt Nana and Mia

Grammy and Mia

Already so comfy with Aunt Amie! so much love :)

cousin Lora telling me how tiny she is, she's already a pro!

Yia-Yia, Teagan and Mia and myself

Aunt Krs and Mia

Aunt Robin and Uncle Greg and Cousin Stella

Aunt Kels and Mia

This prob should have gone on the last blog, but here I am the morning I was induced.....40wk 4 days

Our first family pic :)

and a couple from this morning.....she helped me write this blog, or at least slept while I wrote it. That's help enough these days ;-)

October 19, 2011: The Day My Life Turned Upside Down

I'M BACK!! It's been almost 2 weeks since my life completely changed for the better. Amelia Anne Jones was born on October 19, 2011 weighing in at 7lbs 6oz and measuring 19in long. I know I've said it before, but THAT was the best day of my life.

It seems weird not to start my blog letting everyone know how "far along" I am and how I'm feeling.....so I think I'll keep that going. Today I am 1 wk and 6 days into my newest adventure....Mommyhood. I feel completely exhausted, totally inadequate, a little sore and HAPPIER than I have ever been in my entire life! Looking back on the 40weeks and 4 days that I was pregnant, I remember reading daily about what I should expect in regards to how much my baby would eat, when she would sleep, what her poop would look like, what my body would look/feel like.....and it was all a waste of time. Nothing prepares you for what comes with pushing a child through your...well, you know....and simultaneously caring for said child while trying to recover from the trauma your body just went through....on NO SLEEP! It was no joke....it's still no joke. I do remember asking every mother I know though, "How do you do it?!" and every mother responded the same "You just do." And they were all right.

This has been the most challenging and rewarding 2 weeks of my life. I may only get to sleep for 2 hours at a time, but when ever I wake up, I get to stare at the prettiest little face I've ever seen. I get to hear her coos, toots and catch her smiling even though I know she doesn't mean to. For the first time in my life, I am a kid's number 1. Regardless of who is holding her, when she cries, they look at me. When she's hungry, they hand her to me. It's the best. I wouldn't trade one midnight feeding or dirty diaper for anything in the world.

But I think I may have jumped ahead a little bit.....

For those who read my pregnancy blog, you know about me and my need to plan. And you also know that every inch of the way, this kid let me know that this was NOT ABOUT ME! She is still no different. I had every intention on waiting until the last possible moment to think about inducing and not taking any drugs during the delivery process. Well, I made it until 4 days past my due date and got an epidural at 3 cm. I was induced at 7:30am and she finally showed her cute little face at 7:14pm. All of my progress was made in the last 3 hours I was in labor. I was at a 3 for at least 6 hours, but went from a 6 to a 10 in less than 30 minutes (ouch, btw). It was ridiculous.....and totally worth it.

Dan, Mia and I got home from the hospital on the 21st and took the first two days to recoop. It was just the 3 of us, and it was a blur. My first night at home, my milk had not yet come in and Mia literally nursed for 10 hours straight. I was in tears because I was going on no sleep and had a little human gnawing on my nipples for an ungodly amount of time. But I made it through with the help of my amazing husband/baby daddy. He really was the only thing keeping me from a complete melt down. In fact, through the whole process, he has proven to be the best coach/cheerleader/shoulder to cry on....and more importantly, the best Daddy I have ever seen. The way he interacts with her makes me melt. He's so attentive and when he looks at her, you can just see how much he loves her.....aaaannnnddd.....now I'm crying (again).

Dan went back to work last Wednesday, and that was the day that I broke down (again). Let me just tell you, pregnancy hormones had nothing on what's going on in my body at the moment. I'm ridiculous. When Dan went to work, my mom took some time off to help me out. She too, has been a life saver. Today was her last day....tomorrow I completely expect to have another meltdown.

I'm quickly learning that getting out of the house is both necessary and completely exhausting. My need to plan is making it difficult for me to feel succesfull during these outings. I have realized that in order for me to be somewhere, I need to allow myself at least 2 hours to get myself and the baby ready....and often times, even that is not enough. The biggest problem, is that from feeding to feeding, there is sometimes not even 2 hours....so I would say that my hygeine may be the one that's suffering most ;-) My child, however, looks adorable every time we leave the house, and I'm pretty sure THAT's what's most important :)

This whole post is extremely scatter brained.....I will try harder to make future posts more thought out and cohesive. That will probably be easier once I'm not trying to catch up on a two week period that includes the birth of my child and my first attempts at parenting.

I'd really like this blog to be one where I reflect on what I have learned. During these two weeks, I have learned:
- It doesn't matter that she JUST ate, she may actually be hungry again
- She will wait until I sit down and get my boob out before she decides to poop
- Breastfeeding is not for the week at heart (or nipple).....This sh*t is hardcore!
- Regardless of how bad or tired I'm feeling, looking at her face, ALWAYS makes me smile :)

Here are some pics from her first two weeks, I will eventually upload the ones from our good camera, but I'm just not there yet....baby steps. So please bear with my little phone camera photos.

Fresh from the womb ;-)

on our way home from the hospital

We did a lot of this the first couple days....and now....

Taking a snack break during her newborn photo shoot

She's always so alert! and has the prettiest blue eyes :)

She sleeps with her hands over her head....just like momma

love sleeping on daddy's shoulder

best nap buddy ever :)