Thankful

This past week was Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for in our home this year. Stewart and I are approaching our 1 year anniversary and have a healthy 2 month old baby girl.  We are beyond thankful and blessed this Thanksgiving. Our home has change dramatically and our first year of marriage has been blessed beyond measure. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

The pictures are a few of  her newborn pictures. 

She was about 3 weeks old when we took them.

World Prematurity Day

So I missed it by a day but yesterday was World Prematurity Day. When we got pregnant I never thought we would be dealing with a premature baby. Our doctors did not initially think Allie would make it in the womb past 32 weeks. We were thrilled when she hit 2 lbs then 3lbs and finally 4 lbs. We were blessed and had many prayers answered and she ended up being born via C-Section at 35 weeks 6 days weighing a HUGE 6lbs 1 oz. Due to her being premature she had respiratory problems and problems regulating her temperature. We spend 1 week in the Huntsville Hospital NICU. The NICU is nothing like I expected. It is oddly very calming. The nurses and doctors in the NICU were great. I can no emphasis enough how great Allie's care in the NICU was. The nurses knew her by name, the lactation consultant would check on her during her shift, and they all worked extremely hard to get her the best care and get her home as soon as possible. They didn't even act put out by me sitting at her crib reading or staring at her for hours on end. When you are in the NICU you get to know the other babies and the other parents. I am blessed to have met wonderful parents while there. I feel for each baby and family there. The NICU is a tough place to be. Even though you don't have the morning feedings and the 24/7 care of bringing a baby home the back and forth to the hospital and the emotional and mental aspect will wear you out. The Huntsville Hospital NICU is now my charity of choice. I can no emphasis enough what the equipment and facilities there do. Thankfully Allie had everything she needed in our back door. Since HH is the regional NICU there were parents driving hours each way so their baby could receive the best care. On World Prematurity Day...Get Informed and Give.

The Best View

The view from my desk...

Things I've Learned

(Some) Things I've Learned In My First 6 Weeks As A Mommy

1) "Sleep Like A Baby" is just a saying. No one should want to sleep like a baby. At least not normally OUR baby. Dont get me wrong, she sleeps great sometimes, but her longest stretch of sleep ever was 4 hours 45 minutes. It is normally more along the lines of less than 3. If everyone slept like a baby we would all look like...well me. Tired.

2) Gowns are easier than footed pj's at 3 in the morning when the mom who has been sleeping like a baby is trying to change a diaper with her eyes closed.

3) There is a difference in diapers. Everyone always said this but I thought...come on a diaper is a diaper. Nope not true. For us, pampers newborns have worked better for Allie than Huggies. I like the design more, they absorb a TON, they are taller in the back (and bigger all over), and her skin doesnt look as red after wearing them.

4) You cant be totally brand loyal. I am a very brand loyal person but with baby items all things are created different. I love pampers newborn diapers but their wipes arent my favorite. Yep. There is a difference in wipes too. I have to admit when it comes to wipes Im a Huggies mom.

5) Putting a baby in their bed (awake but sleepy) works great most of the time. When it doesnt work is when mom changes the 3 am diaper with her eyes closed and proceeds to swaddle the baby and rock her until she is sleepy again. 3 hours later mom wakes up in rocking position with baby ready to eat again.

6) 3 hours (time between feedings) flies by. See mock schedule:

6:00 Baby cries

6:05 Baby is eating

6:30 Baby is finished

6:30-6:40 Burp baby, change diaper, swaddle

6:40 baby spits up everywhere

6:50 outfit changed...uh oh wet diaper. change diaper again, reswaddle

7:05 begin to rock baby so she isnt wide awake

7:30 baby is asleep

7:35 baby is in bed, mom in bed

9:00 baby is hungry...mom/dad gets up to start the process over with 1.5 hours of sleep (assuming you sleep as soon as you lay down) add pumping after feeding in there and you might as well stay up

7) Everyone you meet (stranger or not/ men and women) wants to know how old the baby is and are you breastfeeding..odd to me

8) People take pictures of your baby even if you dont know them....again odd

9) Yep I am one of those "new moms" I swore I wouldnt be...

Does she poop too much?

Has she not pooped enough?

Is she sleeping normal?

Does she have colic?

Should she be crying this much?

etc etc etc

I've also figured out things about Allie along the way:

She loves baths

She has different cries : hungry, hurting, tired, bored, etc

Her best smiles come after she eats (and normally when shes tired)

She loves to look around and has started to check out lights and noises

And a picture because blogs are more fun with pictures

Sweet Daddy Kisses

Sweet Baby Feet

Catching up in Pictures...

I am back at work now (which I like and it helps that Allie can come with me!..Yeah for a good work environment and boss (Go Dad/ Grandaddy!)) My computer at home was always too slow to blog from. It took FOREVER. I tried many times and would give up. Things should be easier to keep up with now that I am on my work computer...oh how I missed using a fast computer and yeah for a husband that keeos it cleaned up and fast.

Here is a photo dump of everything we have been up to. Allie has grown soo much. Hope you enjoy!

Allies first (real/submerged) bath.

 She loves the water. She wants the water deep and up to her head.

Arms Up= Deep Sleep

Out and About

Hanging out with Gracie

A visit from my college bff- Ann. She came all the way from Georgia to meet Allie

My first Halloween.

Allie was a ladybug for Halloween. In her black onesie and tights I felt like she was a little bank robber. She liked her costume for MOST of the night, but toward the end she just wanted to be held without the tutu and wings.

Visiting Grandmama and Grandaddy

Stewart and his parents (Grandmama and Poppa)

4 Generations Strong

End of the day she just wanted to snooze on her Gran

One Month Old

Allie is One Month Old

Allie weighs 7lbs 8 ounces 

She is wearing newborn diapers and preemie and newborn clothes

She eats 2-3 ounces every 3 hours but has slept up to 5 hours during the night at times

Allie's Likes:

bathtime/water

her swing

her bouncer chair

riding in the car

Allie dislikes newborn hats and socks. If you put either on her she will wiggle and squirm until they arent on. She will even push her hat up with her hands to get it off. Allie still likes to have her hands by her face. No matter how tight we swaddle her she can almost always get her hands out. You know she is in a deep sleep when her hands are above her head.

 She is over all a very content baby and toward the end of the month has started to be more awake during the day. She is growing fast and we love her more and more each day.