Our latest photo

Alright just so we can say that the blog has been updated...

Pictures from Sunday

These are just some quick snaps I made today. She has been doing really well with her routine. She had been sleeping through the night since last friday night-she did get up at 4 am on mon. night- until we took her to the farm the past two nights she has gotten up at 4 and 5:15 but that isn't bad and i think once she gets back into her routine she will go back to her all night routine. We have switched once again to a new formula although I think her tummy trouble will not fully be resolved until she outgrows it and her digestive system matures but if she will sleep all night then we are okay with not so great nap times due to tummy upsets. We are really enjoying her and she is growing more and more everyday. She is talking and "singing" her favorite song is jingle bells and she will sing along with me. She is so wonderful and we just love the stuffin' out of her!

First trip to the farm

Eric and I decided we needed a retreat and we always go up to the farm to do that so we chose a weekend and headed up there. We went on a thurs. evening and arrived at about 6:30. From then until bed time we worked on getting her bed ready and bringing in all our junk and baby stuff-did I mention we looked like a band of gypsies with everything we brought along. We did just what we always do at home-take care of baby wash and make bottles, go down for nap time, etc. Why we thought all this would be different in a different setting I don't know but we did enjoy our weekend and did make it outside to look at the beautiful fall leaves which we didn't get any pictures of. We went the weekend of Nov. 7th.

Thanksgiving

We had thanksgiving and all our relatives who lived far away got to meet our precious girl. We went to Eric's parents for homemade pizza on wed. night, lunch with my family on Thurs. and then headed to the farm for a hayride and bonfire complete with weiner roast except it was canceled due to rain but next year it will be really fun and Sophia will be old enough to enjoy it. So we enjoyed just hanging out and playing games. We came back on Sat. around lunch and then went over to Eric's parents to visit with Steve and Marsha-long time family friends. It was a fun holiday in which we ate entirely too much food, laughed a lot, and the baby was passed around from one person to the next. I am looking forward to having her at home and to myself!

Meeting cousin Elaina

Elaina was so excited that Sophia was born that she cried the day that her mom came over and she didn't get to come. Her meeting was delayed for a few weeks but once they finally got to meet they both enjoyed the meeting immensly. She even brought a colorful picture for Sophia's room.

Happy Halloween

So, it's been almost two months since we posted but here are our pics from these days gone by. These are from Halloween- we were a beautiful ballerina! It was cold that day so we took most of them inside.

our first (very short) shoot

Here the photos from our first little photo shoot. Which lasted all of 2 minutes, but she was great! Hope ya'll enjoy.

updated pictures

Here are some pictures that we have not posted but intended to. First: A list of all that is needed to survive the first week of a newborn baby (all of you mothers will know what the plastic looking things are and men that don't, you will). Second: We found our thumb... at least for a little while... Third: Me and the baby girl taking a nap. Fourth: Our first bath. Fifth: Uncle Dustin. (sorry no artsy shots...but they are coming stay posted!)

My birth story

Every woman has a birth story, they al tell you theirs when you are pregnant and you are at somewhat interested when you are pregnant because you are hoping to happen up on that woman who had the twenty minute labor and in three pushes the baby was born. You always hope in the back of your mind that you could be that woman, but you know it really won't happen to you. So, here is my story. Eric and I went to our dr. appt on wed. and he said that I had made no progress- no dialation no thinning-still looked like I did weeks ago- and that I had a 60% failure rate being that I had not changed any. So, he asked what we wanted to do and I told him that I at least felt like I should try to have her and not just skip and go straight to a section and he said that was fine to show up at labor and delivery around 7:30 and be admitted and we would begin the induction on wed. night. So we are so excited and we show up at the hospital and they don't have a room for us, so we go to a coffee shop and kill and hour and a half and then are admitted and it turns out we are in the same room we were in for my kidney stone. So, they give me the cervadil around midnight and we attempt to sleep. At 7:00 am the dr. came by and checked me and I was at 1 cm and he again asked what we wanted to do and I said to keep going with the induction, so he gave me my epidural then and broke my water. And I just waited. I told the nurse at 11:00 that I was "feeling" something and she checked and I was at 7 cm! we were so excited and felt sure that birth would be soon so all the family was called in and began showing up since we are getting close. Dr. Holland stopped by and we joked and he said he would be by later to check on me and all is well. We continue to wait and it takes until 4:00 to get to complete 10 cm and get ready to push. The baby is fine this whole time and is monitored well. I begin pushing and just make no progress. I am unable to move her at all and after about 2 hours the nurse calls the dr. to come look. He gets there and watches and we push some more and he says that she is crooked and is trying to come in at an angle. So, we sit up in the bed and try to see if she will come on down some on her on but she doesn't. So, at 6:00 he says he feels like we could deliver the head but the shoulders would be tricky or difficult to deliver or get stuck or something.. So at that point we decide to go for a section. I was pretty tired and not encouraged that anything was happening and I was ready to get my baby out. THey prep me and take me in and Eric gets suited up. They bring him in right before she is born-long enough for him to feel a little woozie-glad he was sitting down. but then they say "the head is out and then they suctioned her nose and mouth and it was a few seconds before we heard that first cry and the doctor calls out "6:56" as the time of birth and then they brought her quickly around the tent and said here is your baby and I almost couldn't believe it, she was really here in flesh and bone and weighing in at 8 lbs 20 in. long! Eric went over to the incubator/warmer where they cleaned her up and then they brought her back over to my face for me to see her and then they were off to the nursery and I was staying to be closed up. I asked them how long they were going to be and they said about 20 min. I went ot sleep on the table and woke myself up several times snoring. I then somehow wound up in the recovery room and was still very groggy and had "the shakes" from the anesthesia which is normal and they kept putting warm blankets on me. I was lying flat and had to sit up in very little bits so as not to get nauseated. Then mom and dad were the first ones that I saw and then we had family coming through, I kept falling asleep during the visitng and Eric brought Sophia back to me and i was so sleepy feeling that I was afraid to hold her that I might drop her. I was also on a pain pump which added to the groggyness. So, the whole time during my pregnancy i read that it was improtant to nurse as quickly after birth as possible but I couldn't sit up and could barely keep my eyes open so nursing wasn't happening. We finally got to a room about 11:00, Sophia had stayed with us through all this time-well, at one time i sent her to the nursery but nwo I can't remember why but anyway we got to our room late and I still had not fed her, and I finally got to feed her around midnight and boy did she eat well. I felt terrible that I had had to wait so long but there was nothing else I could do, I didn't sit fully up until around 10:00 so anyway we kept thinking we were going to our room at any minute. OUr care at FGH was wonderful. All the nurses and staff were great and I never felt like they were trying to get me to bottle feed- they were very supportive of breast feeding and actually kept up with her diapers and how long her feedings were and all other sorts of things that had to do with her-she had her own nurse and I had mine- which may be how it is in all hospitals but I was impressed. We then came home on Sat. at lunch. The days in the hospital were nice but we were ready to get home. I was not comfortable for her to sleep in our room without someone watching her-I like to know she is breathing, so when we got home I have had my SIDS/movement monitor to help me to relax-it is problably the best gift we recieved as far as giving you peace of mind. I definately recommend it to anyone!My incision and section recovery has been not as bad as you might think abdominal surgery would be, I have been sore-no doubt about it- but after the first week, I was getting around pretty well. All in all it was worth it-labor and section- to get such a wonderful reward in the end.

Small Miracles

Well, our baby girl is now 10 days old. I can't believe it was only last week at this time that we had spent our first night at home. A few things I have learned in this week are that no matter how many books you read, you are never prepared completely for baby's schedule, which doesn't always work with yours. They don't perform just like the book said they would and the author leaves out the part where it takes baby a month in order to learn her new schedule. I have learned that tv doesn't compare to the hours of entertainment that your child provides and how you can never get enough sugar. Their skin is so incredibly soft and completely precious. Sleep is a commodity that is lost and you do continue to go on without it-however much more emotionally charged. I am so glad that we have our daughter here and I can see her and check on her. I have had teary days and happy days. Mostly the teary days come behind the little sleep nights. But, we have had lots of excellent help in the grandmothers. They have been our saving grace! They have come and stayed during the day and night and it has been great to be able to feed her and hand her off to someone else and even if she cries at least there is someone else who will see to her for a little while and I can go to sleep. Eric has also blossomed as a father-he has given baths, changed diapers, changed clothes, and put to bed- it would be impossible to be a parent without a partner- I have no idea how single moms do it. He is a wonderful father and I am a very lucky woman to be blessed with such a helpful partner. We also had a miracles last night. We fed her at 10:00 and put her down after that and she slept 5 whole hours and woke up at 3:00 to feed again and she then slept until 7:30 this morning when we woke her up. So, if you don't count the feeding time, we slept for 6 whole hours! In the land of baby this is unprecedented good news. I feel like a normal human this morning and it is amazing how sleep can transform your emotional state! She is now having some wake time in her bouncy seat. So if you tally all our small miracles together- long restful night, grandmothers, husbands, healthy baby, we are a very blessed couple indeed.

4th Day

Well, Today we got our spit bath. I had some good eskimo kisses with the baby girl. Mom is knocked out right now from feeding and making this beautiful girl happy and content. With each passing day our love for Sophia just seems to get sweeter and sweeter. ( I was looking through and found this picture-see bottom pic- that we did late one night trying to stay awake in the hospital)

3rd Day, 2nd Day Home

Today was our third day home and we have enjoyed sitting outside enjoying  the wonderful weather. As you can tell we have Uncle Drew, Daddy's thumb, and Great Grand Poppa that can't take there hands off this pretty girl. Today the plan ( and if you know Amanda you know about plans...) was to lay her down in her bed for her nap time, but well, she never made it to the bed. It's just to hard to take your hands off something this perfect!