Three Months Old!!!

It's hard to believe, but my little Bebe is now three months old. It's been the most exciting month yet!

The biggset change is that I went back to work this month. I love my job, but it was still difficult leaving my daughter behind every day. Luckily we found an amazing babysitter to care for Bebe. Her new sitter, Kimberly, lives just a few minutes away from us. Kimberly has two adorable children of her own, Audrey (2 1/2) and Luke (3 1/2 mos). I am so grateful to have Kimberly and her family in our lives! Every day that I leave Aubrey with her, I know that Kimberly is giving Bebe love and attention. Bebe likes watching Kimberly's daughter run around their house, too. Bebe comes home tired and happy, which is priceless to me.

Aubrey's been a lot more active this month as well. She is very close to being able to roll over. Bebe has some serious core strength and can pull her legs to her chest and then roll from side to side. She still doesn't like doing tummy time, but we are working on that. Just a few weeks ago Aubrey discovered her toes, too. She hasn't quite brought them up to her mouth, but she does grab her feet and pull them to her chest. She does this a lot when on the changing table, so we spend a lot more time up there lately.

Bebe has also become much more vocal this month. She doesn't talk as much to me, but she chatters away to Ron whenever she gets the chance. We laugh at how serious she gets with her expressions while she is blabbering. I wish I knew what she is trying to tell us!

Bebe and I also got in our first argument just a few days ago. Bebe has begun to suck on her knuckles a lot, and I keep trying to get her to use the pacifier. I am hoping that it will be easier to break her from the pacifier than to stop her from sucking her fingers. In any case, I kept taking her fingers out of her mouth one morning and putting the pacifier in there. Bebe kept spitting out the pacifier and chewing on her knuckles again. After about five minutes of this, Bebe finally had enough. When I popped the pacifier in her mouth, Bebe spit it out and began to babble at me angrily. I was being scolded! It took everything I had not to kiss her face at that moment. I ended up arguing with her, explaining why I was pushing the pacifier on her instead of her fingers. It took another five minutes for me to win the battle. I'm in serious trouble when Bebe reaches her teen years!

Halloween was amazing this year. Ron was home so he set up the garage with lots of cool lights and lasers for the kids in the neighborhood. We didn't have a ton of trick or treaters, but we had a lot of fun. Bebe went trick or treating at her Aunt Donna and Uncle Randy's house. Aunt Donna had a Macy's bag for Bebe instead of candy--who hoooo! My mom and dad came over that evening and helped us with the garage light show, too. It was probably the most fun I have had on a Halloween, ever. Here is Bebe in her Halloween outfit. We also took Bebe to her first lunch at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor. For anyone who remembers, Farrell's was that awesome ice cream place when we were kids that was obnoxious, loud and fun. Unfortunately, Farrell's went out of business probably twenty years ago. The restaurant chain has been revamped and a new location just opened in Mission Viejo. Ron and I went on opening day. It was a lot of fun taking Bebe, and her Daddy gave her a small taste of his dessert. Something tells me our little girl is going to love ice cream!

Bebe also had her first sleep over experience this month. Ron had the flu a few weeks ago, and we rushed to get Aubrey out of the house while he had a fever. My parents kept her until Ron was healthy again. Thankfully, neither Bebe or I caught the flu. That Friday Bebe also stayed at my parents house, giving Ron and I our first night alone (other than when Ron had the flu). How did we spend our first night alone on our anniversary weekend? Sleeping. Yep, we are a wild couple!

My sweet angel is waking up, so I will leave you with a picture from her three month old photo shoot. Ron and I took her to the butterfly garden at Wagon Wheel Ranch and got some adorable pictures.

Aubrey is Two Months Old!!!

I'm two days late posting this, but I am now the proud Mommy of a big two-month old girl!

This last month has been much easier than the last. (I am jinxing myself here!) At around 6 weeks old things just got easier. It's like I woke up one morning and everything had worked itself out overnight. Aubrey is happier being set down for more than 2 minutes at a time, which makes it much easier to get some laundry done . . . or even to eat an actual meal rather than just another quick bowl of cereal. I have been lucky enough to take long, refreshing showers daily since Ron has been home. Aubrey is healthy, happy and loved. Our life as a family is good.

I had a moment early in the month where I realized that by not teaching Aubrey to tolerate being laid down while awake, she will never reach certain milestones like rolling over. Who needs to roll over if Mommy is holding you 24 hours a day? Aubrey and I discussed this, and came to an understanding. I get to put her down for short time periods during the day as long as I promised to have the dogs keep her company while I am distracted. Thankfully Josie and Trudie thought this was a good idea and they take their jobs seriously.

I keep trying to stop and soak in everything about where we are at this point. Aubrey's smell. Where each little chubby fold is on her arms and legs. How soft her hair feels. The sweet little sigh she always makes when I snuggle her close at bedtime. The feel of her laying next to me in the mornings when we fall asleep together for a few precious hours. How pink her little lips are. The sound of her almost giggle. I wish I could just bottle it all up for safe keeping.

I know now that what everyone said is right--that this time with Aubrey will fly by and she will be grown before I even realize it. For now I am going to enjoy having such a sweet, happy and adorable two month old little girl. Every day with her is a new adventure. I wake up in the mornings to the sweetest smile and most amazing laugh. I can't wait to see what this next month will bring us!

Sleeping through the night!!!

That's right, folks! Aubrey is officially sleeping through the night!

For the last four nights in a row, we have put Aubrey to bed at about 10 p.m. She doesn't wake up until 6:30 a.m.!!!! At first I thought it was a fluke, but hopefully four nights in a row isn't just a big tease.

To top it all off, Aubrey is also sleeping in her own bedroom at night. When the weather cooled off last week Ron did a bit of a happy-dance. Ron loves sleeping with the window wide open in the cold months, but couldn't do that with Aubrey sleeping in our bedroom. We decided to give it a try and put her in the crib two nights ago. She stayed asleep all night! We had a successful repeat last night, so I am thinking we made progress.

Although I am proud of my daughter for being so independent at night, I haven't slept nearly as well as she has these last few nights. The first night Aubrey slept 8 hours straight, I kept waking up wondering why Aubrey had not made a noise yet. Now that she is sleeping in her own bedroom, I find myself half awake most of the night listening to the baby monitor. When I can't hear her chattering in her sleep I end up in her bedroom checking to see if she is breathing. Luckily Aubrey is a bit of a chatterbox so I don't have to make those trips down the hallway very often.

Now excuse me while I go pout that my eight week old child is already growing up and moving out!

I Finally had my Gall-Bladder Removed!

Yes, it has been close to a year since the saga began, and yesterday it ended.

Last year Ron and I were married on 11/8/08. On 11/23/08 was had some minor stomach pains while out four-wheeling with Ron. Later that day I was riding the quad while my brother rode the dirt bike and somehow I managed to roll the quad. I was really bruised up and missing probably 85% of the skin on my back, upper arms, elbows and left thigh, but luckily no broken bones. On 11/24/08 I had a severe gall-bladder attack that landed me in the hospital until Thanksgiving.

Being in the hospital was miserable. In the emergency room they placed a nasal/gastric tube to help empty my stomach and give me some relief. It was incredibly painful! The tube sits on your sinuses and there just is no way to get comfortable with that thing in place. I became severely depressed instantly. After 3 days I was feeling good enough to demand that I be released AMA unless the Gastric Surgeon came to see me that day. (By this time I had been in the hospital 24 hours longer than I needed to be.) I was finally released that day, Thanksgiving, and came home to a Marie Callendar's Thanksgiving Feast. Hey, at least we had a family dinner. I was so disappointed though, because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I felt it had been ruined.

I was scheduled to have my gall-bladder removed at my regular hospital 12/10/08. On 12/5/08 the surgeons office called me to reschedule my surgery until my second trimester. WHAT? Ron and I had no idea, but somehow we had managed to get pregnant immediately after our wedding. Because the babies vital organs were all developing during the first trimester, surgery was not recommended at that time. After doing further research, I decided to decline surgery while pregnant due to the risks to the baby from the gas used in your abdomen during laporascopic procedures. (There was something like a 30% chance of causing miscarriage, which would be in the second trimester, which made me very uncomfortable.)

During the course of my pregnancy I stuck to a very low-fat diet to help reduce the chances of having another gall-bladder attack. Thankfully I only had two attacks, the last one being at 17 weeks. Coincidentally, when we were leaving the Urgent Care after being checked out from that last attack Ron and I were rear ended by a drunk driver. In May I was in a small boating accident on the Mississippi River while visiting Memphis. My cousin suggested wrapping me in bubble wrap at this point . . . not a bad idea.

I was horribly nervous going in for surgery yesterday. Don't get me wrong, I love my hospital (St. Joseph's in Orange) and my surgeon. While planning my surgery back in December, it never occured to me that having a baby at home would change how I felt about receiving a general anesthetic. I had a morbid reaction to my fears and spent a day labelling and making instructions for everything regarding Aubrey's care -- how to empty the diaper pails, wash her bottles, her laundry, etc.

My parents stayed with Aubrey while Ron took me in for the procedure. Things went smoothly, and we were home by dinnertime. Ron's Aunt Donna kept us company while in the hospital which was a huge help. I was glad that Ron didn't have to wait alone while I was in surgery.

I am glad I had my gall bladder removed, especially since my stupid low-fat diet became an issue once it was time to start breastfeeding. I can't wait to actually have something cheesy, like enchilladas! In the meantime, I have 4 tiny incisions on my abdomen that are right where I hold Aubrey. While feeding her this morning I received a few strong kicks against my tummy. I'm trying to let Ron catch a few minutes of extra sleep this morning, but I am definitely waking him up for her next meal.

I've decided that this is one time I will listen to my husband and try to relax. My usual idea of relaxing is, well . . . not relaxing at all. I don't sit still well. I got scolded last night for dirty spot off the front of the kitchen cupboard. Ron swears it will kill me to take an entire day off and relax, but I'm willing to give it a try.

Although I do have an afghan I started working on just sitting there calling to me . . . . It's still relaxing if I am at least sitting down, right?

We Have New Books!

Yesterday my Mom came over and brought with her three boxes of children's books. My parents had saved all of the books that Buddie and I grew up with. These books are now going to be loved again (hopefully) by my daughter.

It felt like Christmas morning as a child when I started poking through the boxes. Although my mom was a single parent for the first few years of my life, she splurged on some great book clubs for me. Every month a small box containing two new books would arrive. I had forgotten how much I loved some of these great stories!

In my opinion, the best book series was the collection by Stephen Cosgrove. He wrote Serendipty, the Muffin Muncher, Wheedle on the Needle and many more entertaining stories. My favorites are the Leo the Lop books. Leo was a bunny with particularly long lop-ears. The other bunnies made fun of Leo's useless long ears. I was obsessed with Leo when I was little. Years later, when we had a lop eared bunny, I was slightly disappointed that my parents didn't purchase a boy rabbit so we could name him Leo. (For the record, our super sweet lop was named Bessie. I forgave my parents for mistakenly purchasing another girl bunny because Bessie was truly a character.)

To anyone who is looking for good stories that just don't get old, I would recommend you check out Stephen Cosgrove's books. The stories are timeless, the artwork is beautiful, and each story has special message to children. The moral of Leo's story is "Normal is whatever you are."

And now, I'm off to read to Aubrey!

My New "Must Have" Items

In the course of my pregnancy I realized that everyone is an "expert" on pregnancy and child rearing. I received a ton of advice, both solicited and un-solicited.

After having been a mom for six whole weeks I have realized that no one really gives you enough advice.

My advice to new moms? Go for the useful things and don't buy so much of the "cute" stuff. I have tons and tons of beautiful outfits for my daughter. Everyday rompers and pajamas? I have just a few. See what I mean? I got all the pretty stuff and not so much of the useful things.

Here's my list for other moms-to-be of the useful things I just couldn't live without. From now on these are the items I will be giving my friends when they have children:

Gripe Water from Baby's Bliss
Aubrey has a really sensitive tummy, which she inherited from me. (I in turn inherited it from my mom, who got it from Nana. Thanks guys, thanks a lot.) We spent a 24 hour period dealing with a crying, painful baby when Aubrey became suddenly incredibly gassy. Ron discovered Gripe Water and it saved the day! We give it to Aubrey usually twice a day and it almost instantly relieves her.




Soy Baby Formula
No one, and I mean no one, told me that most babies are lactose intolerant. This made no sense to me initially. However, I am finding out that this is not an uncommon problem. Lucky for me Aubrey is lactose intolerant. While I was still breast feeding she became very fussy, almost inconsolable. After her pediatricians recommendation we finally tried a soy baby formula and within just a few hours we had our happy baby back. My advice to anyone expecting? Save yourself some stress and keep a can of this in your cupboard. If you are breastfeeding and your baby is lactose intolerant, the symptoms will never show up at a convenient time.







Playtex Bottles
During my pregnancy almost everyone recommended the Dr. Brown's bottles to me. I took their advice and purchased a few to keep on hand. The bottles are great, but they leak a bit when you first invert them. (It bugs me.) I had a few Playtex bottles on hand as well, and found out that I love them! My mom had used the Playtex bottles with my brother years ago, and Aubrey loves the newest incarnation of their product. The nipples are much easier for her to latch onto than the Dr. Brown's bottles. Because of this, Aubrey tends to eat a full 4 ounces or more per meal from the Playtex bottles, but will usually eat only 2 to 3 ounces per meal from the Dr. Brown's.




Nipple Shields
Yes, I am recommending Nipple Shields. Thankfully I have a friend who advised me to have these on hand in case I needed them. Breast feeding is not as easy as one would think it is, and these handy little creations make getting your baby to latch correctly a breeze. Although I breastfed for just a few weeks (which is another blog for another time) these things were crucial to my success.



The Baby Book by William Sears M.D. and Martha Sears R.N.
This is now my baby bible. I had not heard of this book until Aubrey was a few weeks old. I wish I had read it while pregnant, because it would have changed the way I looked at a lot of issues. This book takes a more common sense approach to baby raising than some of the other books I have read. The best part is that the Sears' recommend a style of parenting called "Attachment Parenting." Before I had Aubrey I did not know much about Attachment Parenting, but from what little I had read I knew I did not agree with a lot of it. Hah! Within just days of bringing Aubrey home I was an Attachment Parenting Mommy without even meaning to be! By following my heart and Aubrey's cues I am able to parent my daughter in a way that is emotionally and physically fulfilling for both of us. I particularly love "Baby Wearing." I spend most of my day holding Aubrey, so why not put her in a Moby Wrap and wear her! At least while using the wrap I will be able to get more done in the day besides memorizing every small detail about my child.

Aubrey is One Month Old!!!

Today was Aubrey's one month birthday! Its hard to believe that Ron and I are no longer parents of a newborn, but we can now say we have an infant daughter. Time is already flying past us at mach speed!

While it has been a bit of a blur, this last month has been amazing. I never realized how much I would love my daughter, or that my love for her would grow stronger with each day. I am constantly amazed that this perfect little being was only a month ago growing inside of me. I am in awe of her sweet face. Every day with Aubrey is a wonderful new adventure.

I don't believe I have gone through a period of post-partum depression as much as I have gone through new-baby exhaustion. The first few weeks I was in a bit of a fog adjusting to my new life. I enjoyed getting to know my daughter--learning her cues for when she is hungry, wants to snuggle, is dirty, etc. I've found that all the things I said I definitely wouldn't do as a parent . . . well, I'm doing them. On our first night home from the hospital I gave my inconsolable child a pacifier so that we could all finally get back to sleep. I never thought breastfeeding would be difficult, so it never occurred to me that I would be bottle-feeding my child formula. And worst of all? I vehemently opposed co-sleeping, siting how there are so many studies that prove this undermines a child's independence and self-confidence. Guess where Aubrey spends most of her nights now? You guessed it . . . sleeping snuggled up in her mother's arms.

I'm not as frantic about my house as I once was. There are days where I am lucky to just take a shower, let alone clean anything in the house. I used to become agitated and irritable if Ron tried to do something to help around the house, simply because I prefer to do it myself. I'm a bit of a control freak. I can admit it. I thought having a baby would make me more of a fanatic than ever before, but I was wrong. While our house is in no way filthy, I will happily put aside cleaning in order to spend time cuddling my child.

It surprises me just how much my life has changed, and all for the better. I wake up in the mornings to the most amazing smile. I enjoy Aubrey's awkward little hands smacking away at my face while she babbles at me to wake up. The smell of Aubrey's skin makes my heart ache with how special she is. I can sit in the rocker for hours without realizing how much time has gone by, simply because my little angel is asleep on my chest and I don't want to move her. I look at my child's face and I try to memorize each and every little detail about her.

It is amazing to me that Ron and I were blessed with a child, especially one who came so soon after our wedding. I see my husband in a different light now that he is a father. There is nothing more attractive than to see Ron nurturing our daughter. I love how small she looks when he is holding her. How she fits so perfectly on his chest with her head resting above his heart. How he so easily fell in love with his daughter immediately after her birth. I am looking forward to our life together as a family and can't wait to see how their relationship will grow in the coming years.

This last month has been filled with challenges but overrun with rewards as well. I am looking forward to Aubrey's second month of life and all that it has in store for our family.

My New Favorite Picture

I finally had the chance to go through pictures I had taken last Thursday when my brother, Laine and Dad were here visiting.

I found my new favorite picture:
I was pleasantly surprised with how much my brother loves his new niece. (I had always known he would love her, but I didn't expect him to be so gentle and caring with her so early.) Bud loves spending time cuddling with Aubrey, and on Thursday he snuggled with her while she was napping. I got a few great pictures of Bud, Aubrey and Trudie on the couch together--but this one is by far the best shot. It's an amazing feeling to see my little brother being such a wonderful uncle to my daughter. What a lucky little girl!

Home Alone

Well, not really alone. I have Aubrey, Trudie and Josie to keep me company. What I'm trying to get at is that Ron is gone. Again.

I'm used to Ron traveling for work, but its very different with a baby in the picture. In the past my most productive days were when Ron was out of town. I would take the opportunity to reorganize closets, clear out my To-Do box, work on some household repairs, etc. With Aubrey to care for, now I am lucky if I even take a daily shower.

Not that I'm complaining. I find that the days just fly by now, and I spend more than half the day just watching my child sleep. I still can't believe that she is ours. However, watching my daughter sleep does not help me to accomplish other things.

For instance, yesterday Buddie and Laine came to visit. Thank goodness! While Buddie and Laine played with and cared for Aubrey (well, lets face it, while Laine cared for Aubrey) I was able to get some carpet cleaning done, laundry, sort through old clothes, and actually baked a dessert. It was heaven! Without their help though, I would have been lucky to even use the restroom twice in 12 hours. This baby raising thing is not as easy as it is made out to be.

So while my to-do list grows, the dishes pile up in the sink, the garbage is waiting to be taken out, my dogs are doing the potty-dance by the front door, and I wear my pajama's all day long . . . my daughter is happy, healthy, loved and cared for. I'll just have to wait for Ron to come home before I can take a shower longer than 2 minutes.

Aubrey's First Road Trip!

My mom and I took Aubrey on her first road trip last week. Most of my family lives in central California, so it was easier to take Aubrey up there to visit than it would have been for everyone to drive down here. My Gramma was especially anxious to meet her first great-grandchild so this was a really important trip to make.

We left Wednesday after my mom was done with work. Luckily, we timed everything perfectly. Aubrey ate before we left and slept for most of the 3 1/2 hour drive up to Visalia. We went straight to my grandparent's house for the night.

In the course of the next 12 hours my grandmother schooled me on all the things I was doing wrong as a parent or just didn't know. For instance, I had no idea that holding a baby too much would make them deformed. Good thing my Gramma told me this! I also need to put Aubrey down to sleep rather than enjoy cuddling with her. My personal favorite was that Aubrey was fussy because my "milk is sour." Yep. Good times with my Gramma.

Before leaving my Gramma and Grampa's house, Aubrey suffered from her first serious upset stomach. I couldn't figure out why my little girl was crying so much, other than that she had really horrible gas that day. I was sitting on the bed getting ready to nurse her when the poor angel vomitted at least 8 ounces of milk. It was all over me, Aubrey and the bed. Luckily my mom was close by and she took care of Aubrey while I cleaned up. The best part was that immediately after being sick, my mom placed Aubrey in the sink filled with warm water. Aubrey was asleep in less than 30 seconds . . . so comfy that she looked like a fat man in a hot tub!
Before leaving town we stopped at my aunt and uncle's house to visit with a few more family members. Aubrey got to meet her Great-Grandpa Mazza, Aunt Nancy, Uncle Darrel, second cousins Missy and Jenny, and her third cousins Justin and Georgia.

Justin and Georgia were incredibly sweet with their new baby cousin. I am already looking forward to Aubrey being big enough to play with these two adorable kids!

My Daughter Talks In Her Sleep

I'm not kidding.

When she is awake Aubrey is peaceful and quiet. When she is sleeping during the day she makes these sweet, soft cooing noises.

At night this child grumbles like a lion!

Ron and I had a very restless night last night due to the conversation Aubrey was having in her sleep. I can't for the life of me figure out what a newborn would have to talk about for hours on end! If we had not been so tired it would have been funny.

Here is a video I shot of Aubrey "talking" in her sleep the other day. I apologize for the horrible quality . . . I had to catch this on my cell phone camera.

Our Daughter Has Arrived!

Aubrey Leigh Anderson made her debut on Saturday, August 15th 2009, 5:08 p.m. She was 7 pounds, 4 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long.

Ron and I found out Friday at 3pm that I would be induced the following morning. My OB decided to do so because Ron is scheduled to work out of town soon, and although my body was making progress I still was not going into labor naturally. We chose to induce so that Ron would have more time to be home with his family when we needed him the most.

Saturday morning we met my Mom at the hospital and waited for a room to open up. The hospital was BUSY with babies being born! We were finally in a room and the process began close to 8am. Let me begin by saying I am in love with the L & D nurses I had, Kim and Melissa. They were amazing! From the moment we walked into the delivery room they were like old friends. I don't think our delivery would have been as easy without their help.

Kim and Melissa began getting me set up and started the pitocin. It wasn't so bad, really. It started contractions quickly, but they weren't really painful at all. Shortly after 10am my OB came in and decided to break my water. I was already dilated to a 4 and almost completely effaced, so it was time to get the ball rolling. Unfortunately, breaking my water took my contractions to the max instantly! I was really unprepared for the abrupt change in my pain level. I immediately told my nurses I would need pain management after all. (I am a bit disappointed I didn't last through more than 2 serious contractions without crying for an epidural, but it was definitely the right choice for me.)

By this time my Dad, Buddie and Laine had joined us in the delivery room. Ron stayed with me while everyone else left the room and I had my epidural administered. I don't remember the name of the anesthesiologist who did my epidural, but he is a saint. From the time I asked for pain management to the time I had the epidural fully in place was probably less than 20 minutes. Ron was my rock and held me through the contractions as the doctor placed my line. I had been terrified all through my pregnancy of having an epidural, but let me say this . . . they are AMAZING! It immediately gave me relief and I was able to sit back and relax.

What I didn't realize was that those immediate, intense contractions took me from a 4 to a 10 almost instantly. Thank goodness my body was receptive to the medications and responded as it did. Within a few hours I was feeling what I would describe as pressure in the right side of my pelvis. We paged my nurses who came in and said it was time to push! Holy cow!

Buddie and Laine left us for the actual delivery, but my Mom and Dad stayed for the big show. I had my Dad sit at the head of my bed of course, because I was worried about how much would be out in the open for viewing. My mom and Ron took turns coaching me through each contraction and keeping me cool with a wet washcloth. I pushed for quite a while, which was unfortunate. I didn't realize in the beginning how I was not pushing effectively. It took a while to really get in the swing of things.

Finally my OB came in to deliver our baby. At that point, I was exhausted. I think shortly before he was called in, I had started to block out everything going on around me and just concentrate on pushing. I don't even know how long my OB was in the room before Aubrey was delivered. All I know is that at some point my OB started pushing on my stomach like he was squeezing out the last toothpaste from a tube. Aubrey was delivered and being held up for Ron to cut the cord before I even realized what was going on!

Ron cut the cord, which Aubrey came out holding onto, and then put her diaper on. The nurses handed her to me to put her against my chest and snuggle. This was the first chance I had to really look at our daughter and she was amazing! During my pregnancy I hoped for a little girl who looked like her father, and she really does! Aubrey has a thick head of dark, beautiful hair just like her father. Her fingers are a more feminine version of Ron's. She even inherited his mile-long eyelashes! Everything about our little girl is a dream come true.

Having my parents with us for the delivery was the best choice I could have made. My mom and dad were instantly in love with their granddaughter, and rightfully so! While I was being cleaned up and Ron was with me, my parents took tons of pictures and fussed over the baby. I was happy that our child was brought into the world with so many people eager to meet her in the delivery room. My Dad was like a moth to the flame with Aubrey -- he's going to be an amazing Papa.

All in all, I would have to say that my delivery was pretty easy. (Except the pushing, that part was definitely no bueno!) Its true when they say that you forget instantly what you have been through once you see your child for the first time. I had this instant, fierce bond with my daughter that I just can't describe. She is absolutely the most amazing thing I have ever done in my life . . . I am grateful to be given the chance to be a mom.

I'll be updating this later with pictures, and there is a lot more to tell! For now I am going to try snuggling my sleepy little girl back to sleep.

Down to the final stretch!!!

Ron and I are realizing quickly that our time as a "twosome" is drawing to a close. I'd like to think we are ready for this new phase in our lives, but let's face it, who is ever truly ready? And on an even more important note, who decided we were capable? This is definitely going to be interesting!

While my mood swings make me unpredictable at best, they also provide for hours of Ron's entertainment. I go between complete excitement over our daughter's impending arrival to total lunacy over the smallest of details. Just the other day I went on a wild cleaning spree, having suddenly decided that every corner of our house was unlivably filthy. (If you have been in our house you know this is not the case at all.)

I am innundated with daily phone calls and text messages from well-intentioned friends and family asking me if I have had the baby yet, if we are ready for her, etc. The answer is no on all accounts. No, I haven't given birth. No, we are probably not truly ready. No, her room is not done. No, there is still laundry to wash. Will I get it all done before she arrives? Definitely not. Does that bother me? Not at all.

I have decided to use this first post to show off our daughter's nursery, coming home outfit(s) and a few other items waiting for her. I've had so many people ask for pictures that its just easier to post them here than to continue emailing everyone individually.

Once the Boogie has made her debut, check back here for pictures and the official disclosure of her name. Nope, we still haven't picked a name. We figure at this point, what does it matter if we wait to pick one once we see her sweet little face? Now do you all understand how not-ready we truly are?

This is her super adorable hospital outfit. My Aunt Nancy sent this one as a potential coming home outfit. I figured it would be best for while we are in the hospital. I can't stand to think of the Boogie in some scratchy, bland hospital outfit. This one is incredibly soft and warm. (Since every time I have been in the hospital I have practically frozen to death.)


This is her actual "Coming Home" outfit. My mom found this one online at Grammie's Attic. Thanks to my Aunt Nancy for turning us onto this site! I have to admit, I can't control myself when I am shopping on this site . . . everything is so perfect for our little one! I was so excited when this arrived in the mail!
This was just a quick afghan I made for my parent's house. Since they have been getting set up to become first time grandparents it was a treat to send my mom home with something snuggly for our Boogie. This afghan I made for our daughter because it's kind of a tradition. Its the same pattern as the afghan my Gramma Rosie made for me when I was little. Mine was getting to be a bit fragile after so many years of use, so I decided the Boogie needed her own. It's so incredibly soft, perfect for cuddling!
Originally we were going with a vintage nursery rhyme theme in her bedroom. It ended up evolving, and now its a bit more birds and flowers. (At least, it will be when its done.) The expensive bedding set we picked out has now been forgotten, since we realized we wouldn't use any of the items to begin with!
The wall above her crib is just waiting for her name to be placed up there. The curio cabinet holds some precious hand-made booties and family mementos, as well as a few small family pictures. Her crib bumper and skirt should be arriving and in place in just a few more days.

The glider and ottoman have got to be my favorite things in the entire room. Seriously, everyone needs one of these. Its the most comfortable seat in the house! Ron is placing book shelves on the empty wall space and hanging up window coverings soon . . . we just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Don't laugh at my pathetic orchid on the nightstand . . . it likes it in there! This is her daybed, or as we call it, my Mom's bed. The bedding for this cute little thing will hopefully be here in another week or so. Above her bed we are putting some pictures of wildflowers we took while in Colorado last summer:

That's it for the tour!