Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
.:One Month Old:.
Our sweet little Reece is one month old! I can't even believe it. Time is already going by too quickly! She and I are really doing a lot better now. I don't feel completely overwhelmed with being a mom anymore. We still have our moments where we wonder what in the world the other is doing, but it just gets a little easier every day.
At one month old, Reece still does not enjoy taking a bath. However, she is able to take them now without pooping! She didn't even cry last bath until we took her out of the water. Luckily the rest of her cord FINALLY came off, so we can get her more wet now. Maybe that will help. She is doing better with her diaper changes, and doesn't cry through those anymore. She also graduated to a size one diaper! They are a little big on her still, but they work. She sleeps full time in her crib now, and loves her soothie/binkie. Reece now weighs nine pounds, eight ounces. She was just diagnosed with reflux, and is on baby antacid for it now. This will hopefully be a relief for her!
Josh has been saying he's gotten her to smile for him a couple of times, which I was having a hard time believing since I'm the one with her all day and she doesn't smile for me! But, today I finally got one out of her! It was not a full on smile, but it was definitely meant for me! The first picture below is the first smile I caught her doing on purpose - she was happy when I hung her toys from her car seat. It will be fun to see her develop that new skill!
Here are a few recent pictures of Reece at one month old.
At one month old, Reece still does not enjoy taking a bath. However, she is able to take them now without pooping! She didn't even cry last bath until we took her out of the water. Luckily the rest of her cord FINALLY came off, so we can get her more wet now. Maybe that will help. She is doing better with her diaper changes, and doesn't cry through those anymore. She also graduated to a size one diaper! They are a little big on her still, but they work. She sleeps full time in her crib now, and loves her soothie/binkie. Reece now weighs nine pounds, eight ounces. She was just diagnosed with reflux, and is on baby antacid for it now. This will hopefully be a relief for her!
Josh has been saying he's gotten her to smile for him a couple of times, which I was having a hard time believing since I'm the one with her all day and she doesn't smile for me! But, today I finally got one out of her! It was not a full on smile, but it was definitely meant for me! The first picture below is the first smile I caught her doing on purpose - she was happy when I hung her toys from her car seat. It will be fun to see her develop that new skill!
Here are a few recent pictures of Reece at one month old.
Friday, October 24, 2008
.:Grateful for the fleas:.
I just got done reading a book for my book club - The Hiding Place. It is the story of two women who harbor Jews in their home during the Nazi regime, and how they end up in a concentration camp as their punishment when they are caught. Throughout it all, they are constantly turning to their Bible and to the Lord to get them through their trials. At one point in the book, they decide that they need to be grateful for EVERYTHING - even the bad things. So they pray for the fleas that are all over in their room. They didn't understand the reason for this until later, when they learned that the only reason the guards never came in to supervise them (which allowed them to worship out of the Bible and pray with the other women) is because of all the fleas in there.
So I decided that I need to be better about being grateful for all of the 'fleas' in my life. Here goes...
I'm grateful for:
- my flabby tummy: It is evidence of the miracle Josh and I created, that I got to carry for nine months and give birth to - our beautiful daughter!
- Josh working for 13 hours today: It allows me to stay home with our daughter and be a stay at home mom!
- waking up all throughout the nite: I get to spend time with our daughter, and share a closeness with her.
- living away from my family: It makes us appreciate the time we do get to spend together that much more!
On top of the 'fleas', I am grateful for a lot of other things too:
- Josh and all that he does to provide for our family
- Josh and I's relationship and marriage
- Josh's priesthood
- Reece
- the gospel
- my church calling (even though I don't always say it or act like it!)
- both Josh and I's family
- our ward
- my friends
Hopefully I'll remember to take time in the future to be more grateful for not only the good things in my life, but the 'fleas' too!
So I decided that I need to be better about being grateful for all of the 'fleas' in my life. Here goes...
I'm grateful for:
- my flabby tummy: It is evidence of the miracle Josh and I created, that I got to carry for nine months and give birth to - our beautiful daughter!
- Josh working for 13 hours today: It allows me to stay home with our daughter and be a stay at home mom!
- waking up all throughout the nite: I get to spend time with our daughter, and share a closeness with her.
- living away from my family: It makes us appreciate the time we do get to spend together that much more!
On top of the 'fleas', I am grateful for a lot of other things too:
- Josh and all that he does to provide for our family
- Josh and I's relationship and marriage
- Josh's priesthood
- Reece
- the gospel
- my church calling (even though I don't always say it or act like it!)
- both Josh and I's family
- our ward
- my friends
Hopefully I'll remember to take time in the future to be more grateful for not only the good things in my life, but the 'fleas' too!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
.:Day vs. Nite:.
Things are going well with little Reece. I can't believe that she is almost one month old! Time has gone by so quickly already! She is a good little baby. We are on a pretty good eating schedule right now, and her napping is really improving. We have finally gotten her to start sleeping in her crib. For a long time, she would only sleep in our bouncer chair. She still likes to go to it sometimes in the middle of the nite, but for most of the nite and during the day, she sleeps in her crib. It was a breakthrough for us!
I've really been working on her naps. I want her to be able to fall asleep on her own, without me rocking her or bouncing her to sleep. I realize she is still really little to be too worried about this, but I figure it doesn't hurt to start early! I've been able to put her down while she is still sleepy but not asleep yet, and she usually goes down without a problem. We also keep a fan in her room to give her some white noise. She seems to be associating that with sleep time.
The only real problem we're having right now is the title of this entry! I think she somewhat has her days and nites mixed up! Reece doesn't get up a lot during the nite - usually only twice. The problem is that after her 1:00/2:00 a.m. feeding, she just likes to stay awake for a couple of hours. This is frustrating for me! She cries if I try to put her down in her crib, but is perfectly content just being in my arms. I'm working on cutting her nap times back during the day, and making sure things stay noisy and bright during the day, as well as keeping her nite time feedings very mellow - nite light only, no talking or stimulating her, changing her diaper as quickly as possible, etc. It hasn't really been working yet, but I'm hopeful that eventually she'll figure it out. I just need to remember to be patient. She's not even a month old yet!
Other than that, things are going well for our little family. Josh is working like crazy! He had a few days off last week to use some vacation time, and it was SO nice to have him home so much. I hadn't realize how much I've been missing him. I know this is just going to be our lives for awhile - crazy busy for Josh, and not seeing each other as much. But I am so grateful that he has the two jobs to provide for us and that I am able to stay home with Reece. I can't imagine going back to work and leaving her! It would be horrible! Even though Josh is super busy with work, he is still always so helpful with Reece and helping around the house when he is home, as well as being in a good mood and making time for me too. He is such a great husband and dad!
Here are a few recent pictures of Reece:
I've really been working on her naps. I want her to be able to fall asleep on her own, without me rocking her or bouncing her to sleep. I realize she is still really little to be too worried about this, but I figure it doesn't hurt to start early! I've been able to put her down while she is still sleepy but not asleep yet, and she usually goes down without a problem. We also keep a fan in her room to give her some white noise. She seems to be associating that with sleep time.
The only real problem we're having right now is the title of this entry! I think she somewhat has her days and nites mixed up! Reece doesn't get up a lot during the nite - usually only twice. The problem is that after her 1:00/2:00 a.m. feeding, she just likes to stay awake for a couple of hours. This is frustrating for me! She cries if I try to put her down in her crib, but is perfectly content just being in my arms. I'm working on cutting her nap times back during the day, and making sure things stay noisy and bright during the day, as well as keeping her nite time feedings very mellow - nite light only, no talking or stimulating her, changing her diaper as quickly as possible, etc. It hasn't really been working yet, but I'm hopeful that eventually she'll figure it out. I just need to remember to be patient. She's not even a month old yet!
Other than that, things are going well for our little family. Josh is working like crazy! He had a few days off last week to use some vacation time, and it was SO nice to have him home so much. I hadn't realize how much I've been missing him. I know this is just going to be our lives for awhile - crazy busy for Josh, and not seeing each other as much. But I am so grateful that he has the two jobs to provide for us and that I am able to stay home with Reece. I can't imagine going back to work and leaving her! It would be horrible! Even though Josh is super busy with work, he is still always so helpful with Reece and helping around the house when he is home, as well as being in a good mood and making time for me too. He is such a great husband and dad!
Here are a few recent pictures of Reece:
Monday, October 13, 2008
.:Tough job:.
Well, being a mom is a lot more tough than I was expecting it to be! I didn't know that having a newborn could be so much work! But Reece and I are starting to figure each other out. We finally have the nursing thing down, which has been such a relief. Aside from that, I am just trying to learn what her different cries mean, and how to meet her needs the best. I'm trying not to be too crazy about scheduling yet, but I am also scared of getting into bad habits early on that will be difficult to break! I am hoping to start figuring out how to get her to fall asleep on her own soon, instead of having to be rocked all the time. (Even though sometimes I love to just cuddle her to death!)
Reece had her two week check up last week. She passed her birth weight, which was a big relief to me! She weighed in at seven pounds, fifteen ounces. She is in the 35th percentile for weight, and the 75th for height. Everything checked out healthy on the little babe. She had to have her heel poked for some blood tests. She was already upset because she hates being naked, but getting poked sent her crying to a whole new level! I have to admit, I cried right along with her! But she did a great job, and we go back to the doctor in six weeks for her two month check up and more shots. Yikes!
At two and a half weeks old, Reece hates getting her diaper changes and taking baths - anything to do with being partially or fully undressed! Hopefully she passes this stage soon because we're going to be doing a lot of both of those things for a long time! She likes to be held and rocked and bounced, and makes lots of cute facial expressions even though she doesn't mean to. I'm so excited for when she can start smiling on purpose! She is becoming a lot more alert, and spends time just looking around the room and taking things in.
She is a sweet baby girl and we are so happy that she has joined our family!
Reece had her two week check up last week. She passed her birth weight, which was a big relief to me! She weighed in at seven pounds, fifteen ounces. She is in the 35th percentile for weight, and the 75th for height. Everything checked out healthy on the little babe. She had to have her heel poked for some blood tests. She was already upset because she hates being naked, but getting poked sent her crying to a whole new level! I have to admit, I cried right along with her! But she did a great job, and we go back to the doctor in six weeks for her two month check up and more shots. Yikes!
At two and a half weeks old, Reece hates getting her diaper changes and taking baths - anything to do with being partially or fully undressed! Hopefully she passes this stage soon because we're going to be doing a lot of both of those things for a long time! She likes to be held and rocked and bounced, and makes lots of cute facial expressions even though she doesn't mean to. I'm so excited for when she can start smiling on purpose! She is becoming a lot more alert, and spends time just looking around the room and taking things in.
She is a sweet baby girl and we are so happy that she has joined our family!
.:October pictures:.
Some pictures from October so far...
Big yawn
Checking things out
Pretty in purple!
Stretch!
Mommy, Reece, cousin Andi, Aunt Dani
Cousin Andi, Aunt Dani, and Reece
Cousin Andi, Mommy, and Reece
Going on a walk
Precious babe
Bulldog
Tummy time!
With Grandpa Stewart
With Aunt Dani
Grandpa Stewart and his two granddaughters
.:More pictures:.
Some more pictures of Reece.
Looking pretty
Relaxed
With Grandma Beckloff
With Gramzee
Pretty in pink
After Reece's first bath at home - she hates baths!
.:Pictures of the babe:.
Here are some pictures of our sweet baby girl, Reece. It will just be a random assortment from the hospital for this entry.
Sweet hair!
Sweet baby girl
Mommy giving Reece loves
With cousin Millie.
Coming home from the hospital
Right after Reece was born.
After Daddy gave Reece her first bath.
Mommy, Reece, and Daddy
Look at all that blonde hair!
Daddy giving Reece loves.
Monday, October 6, 2008
.:Happy Birthday Reece:.
Well, it's been awhile since I last updated. So much has happened since then! I thought I better put in Reece's birth story before I forget all the details!
I went in on Wednesday, the 24th, to be induced. During the day, I had been feeling more contractions than usual, but nothing strong or anything. I didn't think much of it. So we go to the hospital that evening to get started with Cervadil. They hooked me up to the monitors and the nurse said that I was having a lot of contractions, and could I feel them? I said yes, but that they weren't too strong. She said that if I kept having them, that I probably wouldn't be able to do the Cervadil because it could bring on labor too quickly and stress out the baby. She said what they would probably do in that case is either send me home and come back in the morning for pitocin, or start me on a low dose pitocin drip that nite. I told her that I wasn't going home! :)
At about nine that nite, the contractions started coming - strong and hard! I couldn't believe that I might actually end up going into labor on my own! The nurse said that we could stay and suggested that we go walk around for an hour and see if we could get things started. I'm still only half a centimeter to a one at this point. So Josh and I go walk around for an hour, and the contractions are coming really hard at about 1-2 minutes apart. After the hour, we went back to our room for me to labor some more. Finally, at about 1:30 or so, I couldn't take the pain anymore and asked for something. I was still only about a one and a half, so they said I couldn't have my epidural until I was a four or a five. They put an iv in and started me on phentanol (spelling??) That pretty much did nothing, and I asked if there was something else they could give me. She said they would probably give me a shot of demarol in my hip. Well, as she went to check on that, she was watching my monitor at the nurses station. She came back in awhile later and said that since my contractions were coming so fast and so hard, they were just going to give me my epidural. I got that at about 3:30 in the morning.
At the point, the only thing to do was wait. Josh and I tried to sleep a little bit. My mom came to the hospital at around seven, and by then I was dilated to a four. We just stayed in there, talking and doing crosswords, and I was complete by noon. My water had still not broken at this point. The nurse said that they were going to let the baby descend a little bit on her own so that the pushing would be easier on both me and the baby. Then the nurse checked me and accidentally broke my water. I don't think it did a whole lot to increase the labor but we started practice pushing at that point.
At 1:15 I started pushing, and at 1:53 our beautiful Reece Noelle was born! She was 7 pounds, 10 ounces and 20 inches long. She has a full head of blonde hair and the cutest rosebud mouth I've ever seen.
I think it is so funny that I went in to be induced, and ended up going into labor on my own. I ended up having her on her due date, and with my own doctor. How often does that happen? :)
We are home now and doing well. Breastfeeding was a real challenge for us the first little while. We went back to the hospital to see the lactation specialist, and I spent a few days in tears over it. But we have finally figured it out and she is doing great now! She is so precious and I'm loving every minute of being a mommy!
We've been lucky to have family around to help with the cooking and the baby while I figure out what I'm doing. Mom and Dani were real lifesavers! Sunday was Josh and I's first day home alone with little Reece. She was being such a fuss pot all day long! She was screaming so hard when we gave her a bath, that she pooped twice in the bath. It was sad to see and hear her so sad. She really doesn't like taking a bath or getting her diaper changed. She has pooped on the changing table already from crying so hard, and peed on me this morning while I was changing her from crying so hard. It's a necessary evil so I guess we'll keep the bodily functions coming!
Other than that, Josh is just so super busy with his two jobs. He hasn't been feeling well at all, and I know that makes things so much more difficult on him. I've said it before, but I'm so thankful that he is so willing to do the two jobs so that I can stay home with Reece. I can't imagine having someone else watch her. I really hope he starts feeling better soon, the poor guy!
Our internet is not working well right now, so I'll have to add some pictures of the sweet babe on later.
I went in on Wednesday, the 24th, to be induced. During the day, I had been feeling more contractions than usual, but nothing strong or anything. I didn't think much of it. So we go to the hospital that evening to get started with Cervadil. They hooked me up to the monitors and the nurse said that I was having a lot of contractions, and could I feel them? I said yes, but that they weren't too strong. She said that if I kept having them, that I probably wouldn't be able to do the Cervadil because it could bring on labor too quickly and stress out the baby. She said what they would probably do in that case is either send me home and come back in the morning for pitocin, or start me on a low dose pitocin drip that nite. I told her that I wasn't going home! :)
At about nine that nite, the contractions started coming - strong and hard! I couldn't believe that I might actually end up going into labor on my own! The nurse said that we could stay and suggested that we go walk around for an hour and see if we could get things started. I'm still only half a centimeter to a one at this point. So Josh and I go walk around for an hour, and the contractions are coming really hard at about 1-2 minutes apart. After the hour, we went back to our room for me to labor some more. Finally, at about 1:30 or so, I couldn't take the pain anymore and asked for something. I was still only about a one and a half, so they said I couldn't have my epidural until I was a four or a five. They put an iv in and started me on phentanol (spelling??) That pretty much did nothing, and I asked if there was something else they could give me. She said they would probably give me a shot of demarol in my hip. Well, as she went to check on that, she was watching my monitor at the nurses station. She came back in awhile later and said that since my contractions were coming so fast and so hard, they were just going to give me my epidural. I got that at about 3:30 in the morning.
At the point, the only thing to do was wait. Josh and I tried to sleep a little bit. My mom came to the hospital at around seven, and by then I was dilated to a four. We just stayed in there, talking and doing crosswords, and I was complete by noon. My water had still not broken at this point. The nurse said that they were going to let the baby descend a little bit on her own so that the pushing would be easier on both me and the baby. Then the nurse checked me and accidentally broke my water. I don't think it did a whole lot to increase the labor but we started practice pushing at that point.
At 1:15 I started pushing, and at 1:53 our beautiful Reece Noelle was born! She was 7 pounds, 10 ounces and 20 inches long. She has a full head of blonde hair and the cutest rosebud mouth I've ever seen.
I think it is so funny that I went in to be induced, and ended up going into labor on my own. I ended up having her on her due date, and with my own doctor. How often does that happen? :)
We are home now and doing well. Breastfeeding was a real challenge for us the first little while. We went back to the hospital to see the lactation specialist, and I spent a few days in tears over it. But we have finally figured it out and she is doing great now! She is so precious and I'm loving every minute of being a mommy!
We've been lucky to have family around to help with the cooking and the baby while I figure out what I'm doing. Mom and Dani were real lifesavers! Sunday was Josh and I's first day home alone with little Reece. She was being such a fuss pot all day long! She was screaming so hard when we gave her a bath, that she pooped twice in the bath. It was sad to see and hear her so sad. She really doesn't like taking a bath or getting her diaper changed. She has pooped on the changing table already from crying so hard, and peed on me this morning while I was changing her from crying so hard. It's a necessary evil so I guess we'll keep the bodily functions coming!
Other than that, Josh is just so super busy with his two jobs. He hasn't been feeling well at all, and I know that makes things so much more difficult on him. I've said it before, but I'm so thankful that he is so willing to do the two jobs so that I can stay home with Reece. I can't imagine having someone else watch her. I really hope he starts feeling better soon, the poor guy!
Our internet is not working well right now, so I'll have to add some pictures of the sweet babe on later.
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