A Tug on the Heart Strings

This past week has been my second week back and I am slowly getting back into the swing of things. The hardest thing is saying goodbye to this little one.

Diaper changing time and floor mat time have become my special moments as a mom. 

 Andi is really starting to babble and answer back. It makes my heart melt, especially when she has that huge grin on her face. The first thing she does when she wakes up is greet me with a real big smile. My heart melts every time. I have to say my cup runneth over! I never knew just how rewarding being a mother would be and how much a little baby can have such a huge impact on your heart. I LOVE her sooooo much, I just want to eat her up....lol. I told Matt last night I am ready for another one. I might become this crazy person that is obsessed with having babies...lol. Another thing that tugs at my heart strings is watching her sleep. I have never seen something so precious, angelic, and innocent. She is my baby angel:-)

She has learned how to trick you. If you leave the room, she will act like she is crying and when you come back to check on her she will give you a big, cheesy grin! You can tell she gets A LOT of attention and she eats it up!

She is falling asleep earlier now. Instead of 10 we are at 9...yay! She usually sleeps about 7-8 hours a night and then a 2-3 hour nap after she eats and plays. This is what our mornings, afternoons, and evenings consist of:

 

 

 She starts showing how she plays a little better in this one:-) It sounds like she says hi back!

 

 She usually gets really loud and carries on. Every time I would take the camera away she would act like her normal self and then when I would bring it back, she would stop. I think she is camera shy:-)

 She doesn't have her crying rampages at night like before. She will get a little fussy but then fall right to sleep. She has been a very good, healthy baby and I hope it continues.

This past weekend was her first restaurant experience, one that I missed due to work. I will admit that is upset me, I am already missing out on her firsts. Apparently she did well, just loaded her diaper. I was sent this picture as she was doing it!

We got this new seat with toys from Matt's dad and step mom. I put her in it and she is holding her head up pretty well. Hopefully within the next month or so she will hold it up all the time. She does when you carry her around.

We explore a lot of things. I will put her in her walker (which she is still too small for) and push her around. She really likes it because she can look around.

She is a very observant baby. We have her swing near the TV and she will turn her head all the way around trying to look at it.

 She still isn't a fan of tummy time, not even on her boppy. She will get her legs to moving so fast but the poor girl isn't going anywhere. She will even get to rocking, which she has rocked her self onto her side briefly. She would rather be on someone's chest for tummy time, which she will push up and look around so I guess that will have to do.

Her First Shots and Adventure

I wanted to get a pic of her awake in her outfit, but she was exhausted after her outing. She got her shots Friday. I felt so bad and teared up when they gave them to her. I had Pa-Pa Davis come with me for moral support. I am not a big fan of needles...needless to say shots from my experience as a kid. She was playing, cooing, and smiling and then got stuck 3 times. She didn't cry very long, she actually had her melt down getting put into her car seat, which didn't happen for awhile. Luckily she didn't have a fever that night and she wasn't fussy either, she was just tired.

I decided to take her to my work and let her meet my coworkers. That was over stimulating for her. We only visited for about 30 minutes and I thought that was enough being her first time in public. It is amazing how a baby attracts people and kids. You can't help but awe over a little baby. I have only taken her out twice to the pediatrician and that was it. I am slowly getting braver. She acts pretty good, I just have to have her binky and bottle nearby. I am not brave enough to take her to a restaurant yet. Maybe in a month or so. I am waiting for the flu bug to pretty much be gone.

We went to a new pediatrician, Dr. Nitta, and I am overly impressed by her and the nurses. The bed side manner is great and she is very thorough in her examination as well as explanatory. I learned a lot from her in one visit about Andi, than the last two at the other pediatrician. Here are Andi's stats so far:

• She is right at 11lbs
• 22.5 in long
• She is in the 95th percentile and above average( which apparently she was in the bottom 10 in weight and length when she was born)
• She is VERY social
• Has sensitive skin, especially on her face
• Overall a very happy, healthy baby. 

One thing we have noticed with her, she will follow you with her eyes and other people. She is a good watcher. The other night we had her in her swing away from us and had some visitors. She was watching us the whole time and started getting fussy. I went and got her and she became happy being part of the conversation, sitting on my lap looking around at everyone. She will watch me do my exercise videos....I often wonder what she is thinking... Sam has really became her protector. He always lays by her when she is on the floor. The other night JuJu tried to get between him and her and he absolutely wouldn't let her. He started showing his teeth and growling at her. He knows he is going to be Andi's little horse when she gets bigger...lol.

Well I got my hair chopped off and I LOVE it!!! It is sooo much lighter and easier to take care of!!! Matt really likes it too!! I could have gotten it shorter but it is a good starting length.

I go back to work Monday. I am only going to work 30 hours that way I can have 3 days off a week and not worry if Matt is going to be working on Fridays. Plus it gives me more time with my baby...which I am going to miss. I am not going to know what to do since I won't be staring at a baby all day! This past week I went to a training class for Clinique and I felt like a fish out of water. It is going to be an adjustment getting back into the swing of things after being gone for 2 months and not wearing make-up the whole time...lol.

Matt and I celebrated Valentine's Day last night at Haruno's, and let me say how hard it has been to not have sushi for over a year! FINALLY, that craving has been satisfied!!! We celebrated our 1st V-day there 4 years ago and he didn't say more than a sentence the whole time due to it being close quarters with other people.

He can be shy at times and so can I. This time we had good company: Christie, Cassie, Rick, and Michelle. My how times have changed!

This has been our 2nd date night since Andi has been born. The funny thing is that we used to not have a whole lot of date nights, we enjoyed staying home. Now, we like to get out. So much for our hermit lives...we have a baby now:-)!

2 Months Down...PTL

 

 Andi is smiling more socially!!! It is sooo adorable. She smiles the most right after she wakes up. She loves playtime on her mat. We have hung a musical mirror and she will stare, coo, and smile at her self for well over an hour. It keeps her quite content. She really likes it!!! She has been such a great sleeper this past month!! We finally have a nightly routine down, and it has had good results!! I usually feed her around 9, change her, and then swaddle her. I then sing her 4 different songs. Brahms, You Are My Sunshine, Stay Awake, and Baby Mine. Usually by the end of Baby Mine, she is asleep. I put her in her bassinet around 10 and she has been sleeping until 4:30-5ish. Then she gets changed, fed, and will sleep until 7:30-8ish!!! Hallelujah!!! At the end of this month, we will be moving her to her crib. Hopefully she will adapt to it well.

This past month has been crazy! Andi has only been in public twice...both times were to the pediatrician. My main reason for not taking her out anywhere else is due to the bad flu bug. I do not want a sick baby. Matt has never been sick since we have been together, in fact he hasn't been sick since high school. About two weeks ago he came down with the flu. We got him on Tamiflu quickly and to keep me from getting it, I had to take it too. During this time Andi stayed with both sets of grandparents for 4 days so we could get the germs out of the house. I have never done so much sanitizing and washing clothes before. It literally sounded like Matt was going to hack up a lung. To make things worse, he said he had to go to work in Kansas and would not stay home. Of course it was one of the coldest days we have had. I think it was 8 degrees that day and he was out ALL DAY in it. Thankfully his cold didn't turn into pneumonia but we are pretty sure it turned into bronchitis. He came down with an ear infection as well.

Thankfully I never got sick, however I had to dump my milk for 10 days. By being on tamiflu, my milk decreased quite a bit. Andi made a big dent in what I had frozen. When I started breastfeeding, my goal was to make it a year. After she was born, and the latch on issues/45 minutes to nurse, my goal was to make it to 6 months. Now I don't think I am going to make it that long. In the beginning I was producing over 42 oz a day and it has dwindled down to 7oz/day. A lot of it is my fault because I didn't pump every two hours like they say to keep your supply going. However, I am not a robot. Four times a day was getting old. Everytime I turned around it was time to pump again. I then cut it down to 3x and now I am pumping twice a day. The lactation consultant told me that my milk would eventually run out because it isn't the same as nursing. If I were going to be a stay-at-home mom, I would have nursed. But with my work schedule and varied hours, it would be too difficult. So probably within a month, my milk will probably be dried up. Andi has done so well, and I really contribute it to the breast milk.

Onto formula, I am not a fan. I have been putting rice in her formula which sustains her longer. I have now switched to oatmeal cereal since rice seems to be constipating her. She hasn't had a bowel in 3 days which the pediatrician says is normal since she is changing over, but it has me worried. Andi is still her self, but to go from 3-4 bm's a day to zero, is a little alarming. Formula makes her toots and burps smell horrible and when she had her bm it smelled retched. I definitely prefer breast milk by far!!!

We have had a lot of issues with our insurance and hospital bills, now that they are rolling in. Before I had her I called my insurance to get everything lined out and to make sure I understood everything. I was told that when she was born she would be covered and then I had 31 days to enroll her officially if I wanted her on my insurance. I told them she would be put on my husbands. Well we got her bill over 31 days later which is close to $3000 and since I didn't put her on mine, we are responsible for payment. This is BS!!!!  It's times like these, I sometimes would like to be through the state. Oh well, lesson learned!!!

Starting Monday, I go back to work full-time. I'm not looking forward to it. I'm coming back at a busy time, pre-selling for gift. I hate calling customers, with a passion!! Anyway, I have gotten our routine down in the morning and things are going smoothly. Andi is such a good baby, I am very thankful!!! She is very easy going. She just gets upset when her diaper is wet, when she is hungry, and if she is being held too much. She is going to be very independent, which can be good and bad!

I have finally gotten enough rest and motivation to start exercising again. I'm 5 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight thanks to breastfeeding, but I need to lose another 20 to feel better about myself. My body just doesn't look the same after having a baby. The first step to my make-over is getting  a good foot of my hair chopped off and a new style. It is the longest it has ever been! It is down to my butt now and it tangles sooooo bad. I have started getting rat nest tangles again, the same as I did when I was 5. I have to wear it in a bun 24/7 to keep it out of reach from Andi and from tangling. I . This will give me incentive to lose weight. I just need to stick with it. Since my pageant days, I just don't have the motivation to work out simply because I burnt myself out and I am inpatient. I would workout for 2 hours a day/ 6 or 7 days a week. It definitely payed off...I was the smallest I have ever been due to eating only 500-800 calories a day and in the best shape of my life. I used to be a lot harder on myself and stricter about what I ate. Now I just don't have the drive or time...so I need to go slow and eat right...not starve:-)

Growing Strong

It is funny how the smallest things can give you a thrill. Andi has started cooing and squealing. She has also started smiling now when she is awake. Sometimes she responds to you. We get the biggest kick out of her when she is on her mat for tummy time. She gets her legs to bicycling and lets out loud squeals! You can't help but talk back. She likes to look in the mirror and  will get excited! The fun is beginning and we can't wait for more:-)

She has started holding her rattle and can lift her head 90 degrees, just doesn't keep it up very long. She is now over 10 lbs!

She has started liking bath time as well. When we first started bathing her she protested but now she enjoys it! We have started giving her nightly baths since she has a blowout between 4 and 6pm. 

This was her very first bath at home!

And now....see how she has grown:-)

So many of her onezies are ruined now. Thank goodness we are out of the newborn diapers, that was the main problem. The size one diapers are really big on her but at least it keeps it in A LOT better!! Earlier this week, her blowout was the worst we had seen yet and Matt was helping me hold her over the trash can so we could get the diaper and onezie off. There wasn't a place you could put your hand and not get poop on you. Matt freaked out and had to immediately go wash his hands so needless to say I got poop all over me holding her. I don't know what he is going to do when I am working nights and he is home alone with her.  The other day he was taking her clothes off for bath time and when he brought her to me he said he was worried. I asked him why and he said because she enjoys being naked!

Matt still isn't very confident in feeding her simply because she choked once with him. So when he gets home he volunteers to change her diaper as long as I feed and burp her. She is a really good burper. She had a really, really loud burp which made Matt proud. We still get tickled over her loud noises. The other night I was holding her and lifted my leg on the couch and at the same time she let it rip. Matt thought it was me and said I shouldn't blame it on the baby...lol

These past two days I haven't really gotten much done, I have basically been holding her all-the-time since her swing went out. We have only used it 6 weeks and the motor all ready quit. I ordered a different one, one that has a plug in and is bigger. It came yesterday and hallelujah she likes it!! The only bad thing is that it is too big to move into the bedroom so I guess we are going to have to train her to sleep in her bassinet and soon her crib. Night time doesn't go very well and I am still swaddling her. She has been sleeping good in her swing but she sleeps the best on me. She will go to sleep around 11 and wake at 3 and then at 7:30. It is just getting her to sleep. She sleeps great during the day but she has to throw a crying fit between 8 and 9 where all you can do is bounce her. She will fall asleep but soon as you stop she is crying again. I have to start rocking her hard and quick  while singing to her. She does a lot of fake outs. She will be asleep for a good 15 minutes and I get up with her and move her to her swing and as soon as I place her in it she is awake. When she wakes in the middle of the night and I am changing her she starts cooing and wanting to play....that is not the time to play! She really is a good baby but I still dread night time, especially when I go back to work in 3 weeks. 

A couple of weeks ago we had her 1 month pics taken. It went alright. She had to have her paci. We had to remove it quick to get a pic without her crying. The funny thing is when we would sit her up, she would stay as long as she had her paci in her mouth. Once you took it out she would fall over. It was her balance apparently.  I have posted our favorites below....

I wish we could have gotten a better pic of her in this dress. It is really pretty but this was her last dress change and she wasn't having it!

We will probably have pics taken every 3 months...I can't believe she is almost 2 months. Time has gone by quick.

Andi Faye is 1 Month

Time has passed quickly. I will be heading back to work in 4 weeks. I don't know if I will be ready. It is hard to believe she is already a month old. She is growing like a weed, already over 9 lbs! The older she gets, the more she looks like me as a baby. The only thing she has of Matt's is the Maness nose and hair color. We still can't get over how big her hands and how long her fingers are. She has already outgrown newborns in the length and foot part. She has outgrown newborn shoes as well. 

Yesterday we had pictures made by Michelle, Matt's step-mom. We are excited to see them when they are finished. Of course I dressed her up in all the frills and she was adorable!!! She didn't like it much. We had to console her with her paci and pull it out quick to get a pic. We also had some family ones taken as well. I'm not liking my hair very much right now. It has gotten really long and I usually just wear it up. Andi has gotten a hold of it and it is fight to get her to let go. I don't know how much longer I am going to have it...lol. 

The funniest thing she does is giggle in her sleep. She will have a big smile and just laugh. She has started cooing some and definitely locks eyes for a long time. We have gotten a better night routine down, thank goodness!!! She finally got big enough where we could use an actual swaddler on her and that knocks her out. I always feel like I am putting her in a straight jacket. She doesn't like it at first and it is difficult keeping her hands down but once she is a burrito she is fine.That is the only way we can get her to sleep in her bassinet. Sometimes we have to start out in the swing. She has been going to bed between 10-11p and has been sleeping until 3a. At night I have started feeding her rice and formula because it keeps her satisfied longer.

She likes to sleep like this in her swing

Poor Sam hasn't gotten use to her crying yet. She will let out blood curdling screams when her diaper is wet. Mainly because we are fighting diaper rash. The bassinet is at the end of the bed and that is where Sam sleeps. She will be screaming when I change her and Sam starts choking and just looking at me with a "help me" look. Sometimes when we sleep on the couch, she will be in her swing and Sam will be lying on the edge by it. When she screams he will fall off the couch. He has been quite amusing. He and JuJu have been great though. They always have to check on her and make sure she is ok.

I have to share a funny incident. One morning I was feeding her and she was grunting, filling her diaper. It went on for about 5 minutes and she stopped so I thought it was safe to change her.  While I was changing her I noticed her butt hole was open and puckering. I thought that was weird because it had never done that before. I immediately thought of the scene in the movie Change-Up with the twins and as soon as I thought of it, it was too late. She shot poop like a water hose. It went up and landed on the dresser and continued down. Of course the drawers were open because I never close mine all the way and it went in all three drawers and into the open door in the middle of the dresser. So a lot of my clothes got hit. I ended up getting sprayed with it and poor Sam was standing beneath me. My reaction time was a little slow because I was half asleep and later that day I was finding dried poop on my feet and in Sam's hair. She definitely keeps us entertained and we can't wait for her to be older because it is just going to get even better!!

Next month she will be getting her shots, which I am not looking forward too. I had to change pediatricians because the one she was seeing doesn't accept Matt's insurance. He was really good, and I liked him a lot. The new has high recommendations, so hopefully she is good too! 

Until next time.....