tag along

I had an OB appointment the other day and I usually schedule them on the two days I know Blakely will be in MDO.  Well I have kept her out of MDO this week (and probably next) because the flu is so rampant here and I am stressed about us getting it.  SO she got to tag along to the appointment with me.  

I told her in the morning all about it and that she was a big girl to get to go and meet Dr. Jaime.  She had all kinds of questions about him.  I explained that he took care of babies while they were in tummies and that he took care of her when she was in my tummy.  She thought that was cool and then asked about a million other questions.  

Since we haven't left the house much lately I tried to make it somewhat of a date for the two of us.  We left the house early so we could drive thru chi.ck-fil-a then we drove to the hospital.  We parked and I let her get in the front seat with me.  We ate our food while listening to the Fr.ozen soundtrack.  

This was just a quick checkup so I thought it would be a breeze taking her.  She was very interested in the fact that I had to pee in a cup.  She wanted to do it too.  Took me 5 minutes to explain that she could not.  She was really cute during the appointment.  She sat in the chair and let me talk to the nurse and then the doctor.  About halfway through she got up, came over to me and asked if she could give me a hug.  I said yes of course.  Then she went back and sat in her chair.  

Turns out he wanted to check me again (because of the vagina pain...fun).  So I strategically placed Blakely at the head of my bed and gave her my phone.  She was totally engrossed in the phone so I don't think she even realized I got half naked!  

Everything was fine.  Which makes me feel (and him) feel better.  I am really hoping to avoid being checked next time.  I go back in 2 weeks for the big ultrasound.  Once I got dressed and we walked out into the hall he asked Blakely if she wanted to see the babies.  She of course said yes not understanding what that meant.  The sonographer wasn't busy so we got a sneak peek at the babes and Blakely thought it was pretty cool.  She kept saying "that's baby sister on top and baby brother is on the bottom".  

She did great with me and I am glad that I got to take her AND that she got to see the babies.  She keeps asking to feel the babies move but she can't feel them yet so I think seeing them move around in there was fun for her.  For a few minutes and then she was back to digging in my purse and pulling things out.  :)

When we were on our way home I was telling her that she was such a big girl and maybe she could go with me again.  I said, "I really love it when you go to the doctor with me" and she responded with, "I really love it when you go by yourself and I get to spend the day with Daddy".  Ha!  So there may not be a next time but I am glad there was a first time!  ;)

next steps.

***If you are coming to this post from the SUYL infertility link up, hi!  Please feel free to check out the "Our Journey" tab across the top to see a detailed infertility history.  In short, we tried for 3 years before getting pregnant on our 3rd IVF.  Our miracle daughter was born in 2011.  We have since been trying to add another child to our family.  One negative FET, one negative IVF and another completely messed up IVF later and we are still waiting and hoping!  Please leave a comment or email me if you have any questions!  southernprincesskelly {at} gmail {dot} com   ***


Alert.  Wordy infertility post coming at ya.  Feel free to skip if this isn't your jam.  

I figure I can't just wallow in not knowing what steps to take when it comes to trying for another baby.  I just gotta go for it and do something.  As many of you mentioned, I called and made an appointment with my clinic.  I sort of wanted to vom while talking to the nice lady.  She asked me if I was a new patient...HAHAHA!  No.  I explained that I wanted to meet with Dr. B to discuss the possibility of us doing another IVF and to also discuss the the possibility of y'all not screwing it up.  

I was straightforward with her (no curse words, I promise).  I mentioned a tiny bit about the screw up in July and she acted like she knew what I was talking about, maybe not specifics but she knew something.  I told her we were thinking about giving it one more shot and we wanted to have a lengthy discussion with the doctor about it.  Appointment scheduled for next Thursday.  

What do I want out of this appointment?  Well, basically I want to see how I feel going back there.  I am still obviously bitter and I want to know if I can trust them.  As of right now the answer to that is a big fat no.  This is a big deal and very important to us.  I want to be reassured that they think they can help us.  I have no idea how I will feel going back there.  I may want to run out the second my foot hits the waiting room.  We will see.  

I also want to know what Dr. B has to say about another IVF.  Would he do anything differently?  Is there anything we can do to help improve egg quality?  I am only 31!  Does he think it is worth a shot or do we need to move on?  (Donor eggs, Donor embryos, adoption, etc)  I want to know if he would have a plan and if we felt comfortable with that plan.  

So we wait for that appointment.  

Right after I scheduled that I decided to look into a few clinics that I have heard great things about either from blogs, blog friends, or the internets in general.  I found one that seemed like a good fit.  The more I looked at them and their doctors the better I felt.  On a whim I clicked the link that said schedule a phone consult.  I figured it couldn't hurt to see what my doctor had to say and then have a phone conversation with another doctor and see what he/she had to say.  

After filling out a boatload of information (all very easy by the way, their site and service has been marvelous) we scheduled our phone consult for the end of January (after our consult with Dr. B).  Once this was scheduled I was sent a list of different steps that needed to be taken before that consult.  I got to work on it immediately.  Since we had to schedule the phone consult for a time when Lonnie was working (there was nothing else available and his schedule is very inflexible), I asked if I could be put on the cancellation list and if anything came up sooner could they give me a call.  

Well they called me 2 days ago and said they had a cancellation for yesterday evening.  Lonnie would be home.  My mom would be off work to watch B.  I'll take it.  

So yesterday evening we had a phone consult with the doctor who founded one of the leading fertility clinics in the nation.  Oh my word.  This all happened so fast.  I clicked the link on a whim during nap time like 4 days ago!  I mean I thought I was going to have weeks to prepare my questions and prepare my heart.  I'll save the details of that convo for my next post (i'm sure you can't wait...) but I will say that when we hung up the phone Lonnie and I looked at each other and smiled big.  We felt very encouraged and it's been a looooong time since we've felt that way.  That right there is worth a lot.  

I forgot how hard this was.

IVF is hard.  I mean for real.  I forgot just how hard it was and this time I have a toddler.  Hard.    The hardest thing is how I feel.  I can figure out someone to take care of Blakely at the very last minute when I have appointments.  I can inject myself 4 times per night.  But these damn emotions.  They get me.  

This post will probably be all over the place because that is just how I feel right now.

I was really feeling good about this whole thing.  I mean we have Blakely....that is what matters.  I thought I could focus on that.  I can't really explain how all of these hormones make me feel.  It is like every single thing in my head is the biggest deal.  Every thing is so important even though, rationally, I know it isn't.  For example, I dropped a can of salsa this morning.  Normally I would just clean it up...no big deal.  Well I burst into tears because why do I have to drop the fucking salsa?  Another example.  I forgot to turn the dryer on last night. So now I have to re-wash all of those clothes.  I do this a lot...no big deal.  I got so frustrated this morning.  I was throwing the clothes back in the washer and near tears of frustration.  See?  I know these are stupid things to get worked up over but I get worked up anyway.  I don't have any control over it.  

Then there are the big things that actually do matter.  

Yesterday I had my first ultrasound since starting the stimulation meds.  I had been taking them every night for 5 nights.  Well I watched the ultrasound and I thought it looked okay.  Not the best ever but okay.  I had about 11 follicles that he measured and a few more smaller ones.  After he was finished he took me into his office to talk about how it looked and where we go from here.  The usual.  He started comparing it to my last IVF (#3...the one that worked..obvs).  I am not responding to the meds as well as I did last time.  He said we need more follicles and my estrogen needs to go up higher.  Ok.  Fine.  Let's add more meds.  Then he said he would call me after they got my labs back and he would either up my dose or CANCEL THE WHOLE THING.

I froze.  He had to be kidding.  But he wasn't.  I couldn't even ask him any questions for fear of crying all over his desk.  I just got the heck out of there.  I got to my car and proceeded to cry the entire way home.  An hour drive.  I called Lonnie and I'm not sure I even made any sense on the phone.  He kept telling me it was going to be ok.  He kept saying if this IVF got cancelled then we would just try again.  I know he was trying to make me feel better but I don't want to try again.  I want this one to work.  I am tired of this shit.  I just want to have our babies and move on from this IVF chapter of our lives.  We have been bogged down by infertility for so damn long.  It is exhausting.  I just wish sex made a baby for us.  Is that so much to ask?  

They called me late in the afternoon and said that my estrogen had gone up but it was still a little low.  He decided to up my medication for 2 days and see me back on Saturday.  I am really hoping for a good report tomorrow.  Bigger follicles, more follicles, and higher estrogen.  Please.  

So yeah.  It is a roller coaster.  I knew it was but I forgot just how severe these emotions can be.  By last night I was happy and feeling good about the whole thing again.

The doctor that I saw yesterday has made me cry before.  He is great and probably my favorite but he always prepares you for the worst case scenario.  I hate that.  On our first IVF after our first ultrasound he told me that I would probably only get 5 eggs and maybe no embryos.  I cried the whole way home...it was tragic (in my head anyway).  Well it turns out that by the next ultrasound 2 days later my body had kicked into gear and I had plenty of follicles.  I ended up with 14 eggs at retrieval.  I am hoping he is just telling me worst case scenario this time and it will all work out fine in the end.  At least that is what I am clinging to at this moment.  

 I just wanted this time to be a little easier.  It took 3 years to finally get pregnant with Blakely.  Three really hard years.  Countless timed cycles, too many ovulation tests to count, a million medical tests for both of us, more injections than either of us can remember, 4 IUI's, 3 IVF's, a shit ton of money, and a whole lot of depression.  But it was all worth it.  I would do it all again because she is the best thing that ever happened to us.  I need to keep reminding myself of that instead of having this ridiculous pity party.

weekend + IVF update + dizzy baby

I went to the doctor today for an ultrasound and lab work.  I have been on the lupron shots for a week now.  This appointment is to make sure my ovaries are good and suppressed.  All looked well and we are set to start stims this Saturday.  They had a resident there today so she did my ultrasound.  She scanned for 15 minutes and then told me she was going to have Dr. M come in to scan because she couldn't really see my right ovary.  It took all I had not to reach down there and guide her in the right direction!  I mean...my ovaries are super easy to see...they sit pretty...riiiiiiight where they are supposed to be.  I wanted to help her out but then I thought that would be weird, no?  Anyway, I don't mind letting them learn.  I had to learn once too and I am sure I took forever to find ovaries back then.  Actually, I know I did.  :)

Just say yes to students...and doctor students...

We had a fun weekend...yes, I know it is already Wednesday.  The past 2 days have been a bit hectic.  My brother in law and his family came to stay with us for the weekend.  Kristen, my sister in law, has recently gotten in to running.  She is running a 10K in a few weeks so she signed us up for a 5K to prepare.  Now, let me say, I have NOT been running.  I used to run and I *sort of* enjoy it.  No, that is a lie.  I hate running.  But I LOVE the feeling I have after I run.  So it balances out.  But I just haven't really wanted to run and I know I can't train for a race since we are about to get to the nitty gritty of IVF.  I do about 3 miles on the elliptical 2-3 days a week so I thought that would help me out for this race.  No.  Not at all.  

It has been pretty nice weather here over the past couple of weeks but on race day it was 35! And windy!  Are you kidding me?  Not only do I hate running but I really hate running in the cold.  Me, Lonnie, Marshall, and Kristen all bundled up and headed downtown.  We left the 3 kids with my mother in law...she is a saint.  

Me and Kristen before the race.  

cold

side note.  have I mentioned how happy I am that my honey is rocking the full beard these days?  I love it.  I know it won't last much longer...

Lonnie and I coming down the stretch.  Kristen took this picture because she smoked both of us!  

Even though it was way too cold for me, we still had a great time.  It was something fun for the four of us to do together.  We will definitely run more together.  Hopefully I will be walking the next one because I will be knocked up.  *please*

We all came back home, showered, and decided to head to the horse races for the afternoon.  There is a big race track in my town and we go a few times a year.  It is a fun way to mingle, lose money, run into people you haven't seen in ages, and drink beer!  Then sometimes you run into people you see all the time...the bestest!   :)

That night we ordered some amazeballs Italian food to go and ate family style in my dining room.  All while drinking wine and chatting about whatever came to mind.  It was the best kind of time and I am so thankful to have married into such wonderful and loving family. 

I leave you with this Iknowsheismychildbutthisisthecutestvideoofalltime.  Blakely learned how to turn in circles yesterday.  Dizzy baby.  

A few appointments

Last week I took Blakely to her 15 month check up.  I never worry about taking her to these visits because she loves people and she is never scared.  

Well consider me worried about the next one!  

My sweet girl started screaming from the second we walked into the room until we walked out of the room at the end.  Geez.  

You should have seen me and the nurse trying to get her to be still so her head could be measured.  It was not fun.  Not fun at all.  

I am sure most of these appointments are the same everywhere.  The nurse checks her weight, height, and head circumference.  She leaves and the doctor comes in and does his thing.  Listens to her heart/lungs, mashes on her belly, looks in her ears and mouth, and takes any questions, etc.  Then nurse comes back in with shots.  Done.  

After her stats were taken and she had completely flipped her shit, I texted Lonnie and told him.  He blew me off (because she never acts like that) until he called and could hear her still screaming.  I'm not even kidding when I tell you that it took me a good 10 minutes to get her to chill.  Crackers, water, milk, books, and even my CELL PHONE would not do the trick.  I was sweating like a crazy person.  

Then our pedi comes in.  Blakely is not scared of other people.  She waves and grins at every single person in Walm.art...to the point where our trips there take twice as long as they should because of all the old people we have to chat with.  Well, as soon as she sees Dr. W she flips her shit again.  He and I had to talk over her the whole time.  The only time she wasn't actively screaming was when he let her play with his stethoscope.  But as soon as he tried to touch her with it, the jig was up.  You should have seen him trying to look in her mouth!  She hates that.  I have no clue how many teeth she has because she won't let me look.  Once I finally corralled all of her limbs and he pried her mouth open, he said, "Wow, she is getting a full set of molars and a few others too!"  Yeah, maybe that is why she is so sassy and cranky these days.

Thank goodness this visit was short.  I didn't have any questions and everything looked great for B.  He could tell that I was shocked by how B reacted to being there.  I just couldn't believe she was so freaked out!  He said this visit is always the hardest and she was acting completely normal for a 15 month check up.  I just laughed and thought no way in hell am I bringing her to the 18 month check up without Lonnie...no way in hell.  These toddlers are totally unpredictable.  

this is how Lonnie found us when he got home from work that day.  on the kitchen floor...just surviving until he got there....

She actually did pretty good with the shots.  I think she had just screamed herself out already so she didn't have much left in her.  

Good news is that our girl is doing wonderfully!  She has always been in the 50th percentile for height and weight.  She stayed there for weight this time but she jumped to the 90th percentile for height!   I knew she had gotten tall when she started pulling things off of the counter.  She is 32 inches tall and 22 pounds 10 ounces.  He asked me how many words she says and I had to think for a minute.  I've never really counted or known a number.  I did a quick rundown in my head and guessed about 10.  Once I had more time to think about it I think it might be more but I'm not sure.  I'll make a list for her 16 month post in a few weeks.  I am so happy to have a healthy growing girl.  I know how lucky we are to have her!  

As soon as this appointment was over, B and I got in the car and drove to my appointment (for IVF #4).  I had to go in for day 3 labs.  I had my mother in law meet me at the clinic because I knew it would turn into more than just labs and there is no way I can have B there with me.  MIL entertained her while I was getting labs, ultrasound, and a trial transfer.  He said we needed to to the trial transfer because everything is different in there since I had a baby.  No kidding.  

Anyway, everything looked great!  I got to start taking the birth control pills about a week ago (right after that appointment).  I start Lupron injections on the 13th.  On the 20th, I go in for labs to make sure I am suppressed and then we can start with the stimulation meds.  It is looking like a retrieval the first week of March and then a transfer soon after that.  My birthday is March 17th so hopefully I will be getting great news around that time!  

Sweet story....  There weren't that many people at the clinic that day, which is totally amazing.  I had told my MIL if more than one couple came into the waiting room to take Blakely out into the hallway.  (You know, because people who are trying to have a baby don't really need a baby shoved in their face). They are always so busy so I figured MIL and B were outside or in the car or something.  Well, when I was having my lab drawn the girl asked me if I was the mother of the dancing baby in the waiting room.  It took me a second and then I thought YES!  Yes, I'm sure I am!  Before I went back out there, I peeked around the corner and, sure enough, Blakely had MIL's phone, with the music turned on, shaking her booty all around the waiting room.  It was adorable.  There were no other couples out there thank goodness.  I'm sure I worry about that too much but I just try to think how I would have felt before I had Blakely.  Anyway, I am the mother of the dancing baby in the waiting room.  so awesome.  Hopefully soon, I'll be pregnant with another little dancer :)

always carrying around Nanabob's phone....

I'm still here...really, I am!

I have been absent for a good reason!  We took another vacation.  This time to Los Angeles. It was absolutely wonderful and I will be doing a post on it later this week.  For now though it is bullet points...it's all I've got!!!

• THE birthday is in just over 3 weeks.  I think I may have overextended myself on this one.  I didn't invite many people, just family and close friends, but I still feel like I have a bunch to do.  I'm trying not to stress about it though.  After all, no one cares about the little details except me, right?!?

• I have had quite a few blog friends celebrate their babes 1st birthday recently.  I just love it!  I remember when we were all pregnant and waiting for our miracles.  Amazing what a difference a year makes.  

• Speaking of babies...mine has turned into a "monster baby".  I feel like she is giving me a taste of what the toddler years are going to be like.  She screams her adorable little head off if she doesn't get what she wants rightthatverysecond.  It is weird because I don't really know what to do.  She is obviously too young for discipline yet she definitely knows what she is doing.  It is just a weird age I guess.  For example, I give her carrots and peas for lunch and she freaks out and throws them all over the floor.  Weird.  So I decide to try strawberries and grapes....she devoured them.  That is just a tiny example of what I am talking about.  Another example, I strap her in the car seat and give her the book that she usually loves to play with and she scream/kicks/has a total meltdown.  I then reach over and hand her the moose and she is happy as a clam.  Cray Cray.  

• Do any of you watch football?  If so, did you watch the game last night?  Talk about crazy...I mean....there really are no words!  

• For all of my Big Bro.ther watchers...IAN WON!?!?!  I liked the kid but seriously...Dan is the best that ever played the game.  Besides Dr. Will...maybe.  

• Blakely's one year appointment is the same day as our appointment for the consultation for our FET.  Full circle or what....

• Weaning is going pretty smooth so far.  My main worry is that she is getting enough breast milk.  I seem to be producing just as much (which is painful when cutting out feedings!) so I think she is.  I am down to 2 and sometimes 3 feedings a day.  By this weekend I want to be down to only 2...morning and night.  

Ok...I am hitting the bed pronto.  Long day tomorrow!

I made the call...

So, I just made the call to my doctor. (like 45 seconds ago!)

I left a message saying that I was wanting to go ahead and make an appointment to talk about starting with our frozen embryo transfer.  

YIKES!  

I don't know why it seems so intimidating.  I was so nervous to leave a message for the nurses.  I mean it just brings back so many memories.  All bad/negative/depressing/sad.  Ugh.  It is so hard to go back to that place (that physical place).  But mainly I am worried about going back to that emotional place.  That is not a fun place to be in.  I was there for almost three years and in a REALLY bad spot for over a year (3 IVF's will do that).  I don't want to be that sad ever again.  I know it will probably be different because I have my miracle baby now but I won't know that until I go for it.  

The logistics of a FET or a full fresh IVF (please let the FET work) will be much harder this time, of course.  I really don't want to take Blakely there.  I am sure that there will be a time that I will have to but I am going to do everything in my power to not take her in there.  I remember being that girl in the waiting room and another girl there had her baby with her.  In a way, it gave me hope but mostly it made me want to run away and cry.  Those were not good days.  

When I was about 8 months pregnant my husband needed to get back on some medication that made his sperm count go way down (testosterone..see the our journey tab at the top for more info).  We decided to have some of his sperm frozen for future use in IVF's just in case when he got off of the meds his count didn't go back up.  We had to go to this same office three different times for him to give his sample.  

***sidenote that he might kill me for*** I am so proud of my husband for this.  He has had to do a semen analysis at least 15 times...all at the office.  He is a rockstar....he never complains to me about.  He just knows that it has to be done and he does it.  That has always made things so much easier on me...I never had to worry about him whining about this very inconvenient fact of infertility!***  I love you honey...don't be mad!  ;)

Anyway, I was 8 months pregnant.  I refused to go into that waiting room with him!  I mean, when I was struggling with IF I don't know what I would have done if a big ole pregnant belly walked up in that clinic!  He went in without me and when they called him back he told the nurse I was outside.  They snuck me in the back door!  A think a pregnant belly is harder on an infertile girl than a baby...at least it was for me.  

I am about 2% worried about the logistics of all of this.  I am 98% worried that I am going to go back to that unstable, crazy, depressed shadow of my normal self that I was for so long.  I don't want that.  I am scared of that.  I want to be a good mom to Blakely and I don't know that I can do that if I get that depressed again.  

So, yeah, I am worried.  But I am also excited.  Excited that we do have 2 frozen embryos.  Our last cycle was the only one where they were able to freeze any.  Excited to hopefully be pregnant again soon.  I miss it so much!  Excited to make my husband a daddy again.  He has been ready to have another baby for about 6 months!  

Here we go.  Scared, worried, excited, happy, sad...whatever emotional roller coaster I am in for, I am in...all in.  I have my little pea pod to come home to this time and that is more than I could have ever asked for.  I thought for a long tim that we might not ever get our happy ending but we did.  So whatever happens from here is just a bonus.

Four Months Old!!!!

Crazy long post ahead with boatloads of adorable baby pics!  You've been warned ;)

Blakely turned four months old on February 13.  The time needs to start slowing down because I can't believe she is this grown up.  Sometimes I look at her and just think back to when she was a little newborn...I guess I will do that her whole life!

Firsts:  She rolled from tummy to back for the first time on 1-21-12.  She has done this quite a few times since but she doesn't really do it on purpose.  It still sort of surprises her.  I think she is close to rolling from back to tummy because she sleeps on her side most of the time so she just needs that last little push to get over.  

She had her first hard core growth spurt.  She wanted to eat pretty much all the time for about 4 days.  I fed her about every 1.5 to 2 hours for two whole days and my nipples weren't even that sore the first week of breastfeeding!  She was super fussy during this time and only wanted to be on the boob or asleep.  We just hung out in bed for days....it was nice to snuggle :)

She found her feet and plays with them all the time now.  

She took her first ride in the big girl stroller.

She attended her first baby shower.  It was for my friend Anna who is due with baby boy Hudson on my birthday, March 17!  She did so great.  

She started reaching out and grabbing her toys this month.  I noticed her doing it on purpose over and over again on 1-31-12.  

Her first time wearing a hoodie!

Her first jean skirt!

First time sitting up in her Bumbo seat

Her first snow day!  Although by the time I got her all dressed up to go out in it, the snow had melted....

Her first Super Bowl

Her first time in the Jumparoo!

Feeding:  We are still exclusively breastfeeding.  I dont' have any intentions to stop any time soon....boobies are magic!  She has started taking a bottle SO.MUCH.BETTER.  She still only likes to take it from me or Lonnie but we are working on that.  I usually give her a bottle once or twice a day and it is always the last feeding or two of the day.  I wanted to start giving her a bottle to go down for the night so Lonnie and I wouldn't always have to be home at 9 every night.  We tried to go out the other night and have my aunt put her down but she didn't really want to take the bottle from her.  We will keep trying though!  

This is what she has started doing when I feed her.  It's like she thinks my boob is hilarious!

At the doctor today he talked to us about starting solids.  He said it was up to us as to when we wanted to do it.  He said that from 4-6 months anything that we give her is just practice to get her used to eating with a spoon.  All of her nutrition will still come from breast milk.  When she gets to six months he wants her to have cereal every day to get more iron since she is breastfed.  So I bought a box of rice cereal.  I don't know when we will try it out...Lonnie wanted to do it like yesterday so we will see.  Maybe this weekend.  I just don't quite think she is ready but maybe I'm just sad she is growing up so fast? 

Sleeping:  She is still such an awesome sleeper at night!  I feel like we are so very lucky when it comes to this.  She sleeps about 10-11 hours each night.  Her naps during the day have gotten so much better as well.  She will usually take 2-3 naps a days and then a small cat nap in the evening.  

Diapers:  She is still in size 2 disposable diapers but we have switched to cloth!  Right now I am still figuring out which one is my favorite before I order a whole stash.  I have 10 different diapers (I know, I am obsessed) so we are cloth throughout the day.  Still disposable at night.  I just got some hemp inserts today so as soon as I get those washed I will try one at night.  I will do an entire cloth post soon to let y'all know what I like and what I don't...although I am so not an expert!  

Look at that cuteness!!!

The diaper is cute but the only thing I see in this pic is her bald spot!!!  

Clothing:  We are in a weird spot with clothes.  0-3 month stuff is getting pretty small and she can't wear any of it with the cloth diapers now.  So we are pretty much in 3-6 month or just 6 month since switching to cloth.  The 0-3 dresses will still fit with the cloth diapers.  I got so many clothes from my showers but not really any 6 month stuff.  I have a ton of all other sizes!  So I have had to order some 6 month things for her.  I hate to order anything for the cold weather because spring is right around the corner so I feel like she is wearing the same things over and over again...which is totally fine, I know :)  I can tell that she will be up a size in pants with the cloth diapers.  But I figure with spring and summer coming I can just keep her in dresses and rompers to show off her super cute diapers!  I should probably stop ordering all girly print diapers....I can't help it....the cuteness is unbearable....

Weight:  She weighed 14 lbs 2 oz at the doctor this morning.  That is right at the 50th percentile.

Height:  She is 24 inches long and that is just under the 50th percentile.  

He was happy with her growth and said that she was doing great!  She got her four shots and she screamed for a few minutes.  Lonnie had to get some blood work done so I carried her out to the car while we waited for him.  She was really upset in the car from the shots and being so sleepy so I fed her and she conked out for a while.  We came home and all took a three hour nap...it.was.awesome!

Eyes: They are still blue.  They are a darker blue like Lonnie's but they do seem to be getting a little bit brighter blue.  

Hair:  Her hair is still light brown and sometimes it looks a little red!  She has a bald rim around the back of her head now from rubbing her head and turning it back and forth when she is playing.  It is more bald on the right side because that is the side that she always wants to sleep on.  The front is getting pretty long.  

Daily Routine:  I stick to this routine pretty much every day.  Sometimes it gets a little off but I just adjust throughout the day to get back on.  

730 to 8am-wake up for the day.  First feeding.  She usually only eats off of one side (bc it is so dang engorged!) so I pump after.  
8 to 930am-play in the bouncer and watch mommy clean up the house and get Grand Di dressed and ready for the day. 
930 to 1100-morning nap.  This is still her best nap.
11am-next feeding.
1130am to 2pm-we usually play on the floor or with Grand Di since she is staying with us for a while.  Sometimes she will take a small nap from 1-2
2pm-next feeding.  If she napped before this feeding then we will play til about 415 before the next nap.  If this is only her 2nd nap then she starts to get real fussy around 3.  I usually have to rock her or put her in the swing to get her to go to sleep.  Sometimes it even takes the boob.  
5pm-next feeding and daddy comes home to play. 
7pm-next feeding and sometimes this is from the bottle if mommy has had a cocktail ;)
9pm-last feeding and she goes down for the night.  
I usually pump again when I go to bed which is like 1130...way too late!

Favorite Toy:  By far her favorite toy is this ball.

It is quite possibly the best baby toy ever invented.  Except, of course, for Sophie...

A few other things I want to remember...

She is starting to actually like tummy time.  But only if we are playing with her.  

This dolly is one of her favorites as well.  And this picture is one of MY favorites...

She LOVES LOVES LOVES taking a bath now.  She just stares at herself in the mirror the whole time.

Or she watches the water fall onto her belly...

When she went through her growth spurt and was so fussy Lonnie would carry her around all evening long like this.  She absolutely loves it and she will stop crying immediately if you hold her like this.  

She has started drooling like crazy...

She is such a daddy's girl.  It is the cutest thing ever.  She just lights up when she sees him or hears him talking.  If I am feeding her then she stops eating and starts looking around if she hears him.  When he gets home in the afternoons and she sees him for the first time she starts smiling and wiggling all over the place.  He is so good with her...she is so lucky to have such a great daddy!

my loves

She has started trying so hard to sit up.  She doesn't really want to be laying on her back anymore.  When she is laying she starts doing crunches to try and sit up...so cute!

Sometimes I put her on the floor with a couple of toys.  I'll come back a little bit later and the toys are scattered all over the place and she is totally passed out.  She played so much she wore herself out!

She smiles all the time.  It makes my heart smile...

She has started to get a little bit of stranger anxiety the past few weeks.  When someone takes her from us or picks her up she is ok for about 30 seconds.  Then she starts wailing!  I hate it for the person holding her but she will usually stop after a minute or so.  Especially if Lonnie or I get in her face.  

We don't go anywhere without Jaffy the pink giraffe.  She is always in the car seat, swing, or bouncer with B.  

Mommy:  I am doing good.  This month has been a little overwhelming for me.  Since my mom is staying here because she broke her ankle and is non weight bearing for at least 3 more weeks I have been SUPER busy.  I enjoy having her here though.  I'm actually getting used to it and I'm not sure I want her to go!  She is able to do a little more for herself now so that helps me out a lot.  She and Blakely have totally bonded and that makes me very happy :)

Daddy:  Daddy is doing ok this month.  He has had a few health issues that are making him very tired.  He wants to go to bed early but once her sees her smiling face he has a hard time doing that!  

I love this little girl with my whole heart.  It is impossible to even put in to words.  I love being her mommy and I am so excited to watch her grow up.  

She is just so beautiful....

Busy Busy Busy

This week has just been unbelievably busy..like for real.  Between all the appointments, Christmas shopping, and Christmas parties, I am WORN OUT.  


I really wanted to get my "big announcement" post up this week but it is looking like it will have to be next week.  I just can't get the thing written!!!


Here is just a run down of what we have had going on this week...

Monday

Blakely's 2 month appointment at 930 am

I went Christmas shopping until my dentist appointment at 300 (I did run home to feed her twice)

Took her to Garvan Gardens to look a the lights Monday evening

more pics from this night later...

Tuesday

My dermatologist appointment at 845 am

I did more shopping until my eye appointment at 130 (again running home to feed her)

We had Christmas with my dad, Julie (his gf), my brother, my Uncle and his two girls on Tuesday night...there is one word to describe this event...dysfunctional

Christmas dress #1  :)

Wednesday

We tried to sleep in but I couldn't because I needed to clean the house.  Me and five other girls were having a progressive dinner party Wednesday night and I had done nothing to prepare.  The theme was Thai so I went to the store to get the stuff for my appetizer since I was the first house.  

I then went to get my yearly pap done.  I picked them up some cookies on my way there since I wasn't able to do that at my postpartum appointment.  I also got a little gift to give the nurse who is due in February.  

After that I came home and Lonnie and I both frantically got things ready for the dinner party.  I have to be honest here and say that he did all of the cooking and made the cocktail.  I just cleaned and took care of B.  

They all got here at 6 and we stayed at my house for about 45 minutes.  We had a limo to take us to all the other houses...It was awesome but I didn't get home until midnight.  My boobs hurt and the baby was very unhappy since she hadn't had the boob all night.  

yes, we wore tacky sweaters!

our pimpin' limo :)  We said we should call ourselves the Real Housewives of Hot Springs!

Today I have been trying to relax.  When I got up this morning I did all of the dishes...there was a TON of them from our frantic cooking and cocktail making.  I feel like I have a million things to do and more shopping to get done but I don't want to do any of it.  I just want to hang out with my sweet girl and my husband while he is off work.  I have been stressing about Christmas presents because I haven't really had time to get stuff for people.  Right now I am just saying screw it...surely they will understand???  I do have a newborn baby...

Right now my husband is at a meeting and my mother in law is at the grocery store doing my shopping for me.  I should be wrapping presents but instead I am blogging...quick style.  I think I might close my eyes....I am so tired.  We have another Christmas party tonight but I think I am going to skip it.  I am exhausted and I just want to go to bed.  I am sure everyone else is having a super busy week as well.  :)