4 Month Flooding

This weekend has been C R A Z Y. I'll start with Emory's appointment on Friday. It went great! She weighed 15 lbs 10 ounces (85 %ile) and was 25 1/8 inches long (75 %ile). Of course I had to plot her weight for length when I got back to my office, which fell 75-90th percentile. Dr. Holmes said she was proportional and looked great! We talked about starting foods sometime between now and 6 months, and I was glad Dr. Holmes sort of gave me the option on when I wanted to do that (of course, I'm a little weird about feeding since that's what I do all day!:)) She did say that we can give one more round of antibiotics if she gets another ear infection and after that we will have to discuss TUBES...but let's hope this 80 degree weather this week stays and that her ears stay CLEAR!

We also discussed the dreaded sleep issue. Emory has really been waking up more than she should lately and Dr. Holmes said now that her ears are clear and after we give a couple of days for her 4 month shots to wear off, it's time to let her cry. I had been expecting that and actually was very ready for it.

I was all set to start that process Saturday night. Friday night I wanted to give her another night since she had had her shots and she was really fussy from them. Saturday Em and I went to eat lunch with my sister, mom, and grandma. We went to Shoe Connection and my mom bought Em a few little hairbows and a couple of headbands that are so cute and so cheap! We ate at Panera Bread. So glad they opened up two of those in Central Arkansas! We used to eat there everytime we went to Branson, so when they opened them here, us girls got very excited! :)

I wanted to head home early instead of doing the usual shopping Saturday because I was planning on a girls night out dinner with some friends and then meeting the guys for bowling afterward. Mom was going to come stay the night and watch Em, so I wanted to rush home and get her freshly washed sheets on the guest bed and clean out the guest shower for her as well as give Emory an early bath so she would be all ready for her Gran. I called Andy to tell him we were on our way home and his response was "You may not want to come home."

Not exactly what I wanted to hear. He told me that a pipe had burst and the entire right side of our house was flooded (Emory's room, extra bath, guest bedroom, hallway, laundry room, and out into the garage). By the time I got there he had vacuumed up all the water but we quickly realized we would have to make an insurance claim. Ugh! Andy had to clean out all of the extra bedroom stuff and a restoration company came in to set up de-humidifiers and fans and used Mildewcide to make sure we prevent the floors and walls from molding.

Amazing how such a little hole can cause such a ruckus.

So now we are running the de-humidifiers 24 hours a day until Tuesday. That means Emory has to sleep in our room and the routine we had going is all jacked up! Last night was just awful. She must have been up every 1-2 hours. I know that some of it could have been her shots.

Let's hope tonight goes better and that hopefully the insurance adjuster will be out bright and early in the morning so we can get this show on the road. What a disaster! I do think, though, that we have been blessed SO much thus far so we really shouldn't complain.

On the up-side, I am off the next two days. I was hoping that I could use that time to spring clean and spend some quality time with my baby girl, but the spring cleaning is a little wrecked now. I guess that's the true lesson for us - God's plans are not our own! From something little like a pipe bursting to something big.

Romans 8:28

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

Couch Potato

So right now I feel like a semi-poor mother because my 4 month old is sitting in her bouncy seat watching Mickey Mouse Playhouse! Seriously, she has been SO fussy these past few days and this afternoon I just couldn't take it. I tried everything and finally put some Orajel on her gums. She seemed a little better but still randomly screaming and freaking out so I finally just turned on the t.v. and sat her in front of it! Voila! She is now kicking her legs and soaking it up! I really needed a minute to just sit down anyway. Sometimes I feel like all I do is work, come home and entertain this crazy little one, and squeeze in a little couch potato time at night to watch a show or two! I never imagined life with an infant would be this way, but I wouldn't trade it, either!

The weeks are literally flying back in a whir of busy-ness. Last Saturday my best friend Stephanie and I went to a wedding of a friend that we lived with in college. It was a beautiful wedding and reception!! I hate that I didn't get any pictures, but it was raining outside so my camera really wasn't on my mind when I was trying to scurry into the church. Steph and I didn't stay very long. Emory has double ear infections a g a i n so I wanted to get home semi-early in case she needed me.

Sunday afternoon we went to my parent's house to celebrate my sister's 30th birthday! Again...no pictures of this either (yet). I know! I'm such a bad picture taker. My husband takes more pictures than I do! I just never think about it!

It's almost Thursday but this week for some reason is really dragging by. I think it's because I'm very excited for Friday, which is Emory's 4 month checkup. I'm always really excited for her doctor visits (um...unless she's sick) because I love to hear how the doctor thinks she is doing and developing and I love to see how long she is and how much she weighs. She is getting to be so much fun, although it is still stressful sometimes!

I hope to post more this Friday if I have time to update on how Emory's appointment went. Here is a quick shot I took with my phone last Saturday when Emory fell asleep. Hopefully more to come! I promise I'll get better at this picture thing!

Nahum 1:7 NKJV
"The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him."

Well, the bright side is that I'm getting better at blogging now that I FINALLY have my laptop back from getting fixed. Once Andy finally sent it off (after weeks of carrying it in his truck), Best Buy got it back to us in about 2 weeks! So, I've been super excited not to have to work on my old, crummy, superslow, infected laptop anymore.

This weekend has been fabulous, but today things have been weighing heavy on my mind. Do you know those days when everything seems to hit you at once? It seems like everything I'm worried about tries to bother me all at once sometimes, and I can't shake the feeling. This morning I got up and got Emory and I ready for church. Andy decided to stay home because he has a huge project due Monday morning. On the way, Emory fell asleep and my mind just started drifting to different things that I've been worried about but always just push away. Usually these worries hit me one at a time on different occasions, but they all ran through my head over and over today, which was difficult.

First of all, I had a dream last night that was really weird. It was about an old friend who is no longer a friend to me. In the dream, I found out she was having a baby, and I wanted so badly to be there for her and reconnect with her. This morning the dream was really getting to me. Am I feeling bad about what happened between us? Does a part of me really want to reconnect with her? Is she still the same person that she was (which is ultimately why I decided to part ways), or is she more of a person that I could be friends with again?

I'm also worried about the future. Not my future necessarily, but a few people very close to me. One in particular is something that I feel I could help with if I had the nerve to say something to the person, to give advice to them, but I won't because I know it's not wanted and wouldn't be received well.

It just so happens that Bro. Jim was speaking today about giving advice. Isn't God humorous sometimes? Do we really accept advice the way God had intended us to? When we are failing, do we get defensive when a brother or sister comes to us and tries to help and offer their advice, like they are commanded to do? Instead of being grateful for them for saving us, we get defensive, mad, and upset and often blow up. This leads to us turning even more in the other direction ... all because of pride.

Anyway, after listening to the lecture, I decided on the way home that it was pretty pointless to worry about everything that had been crossing my mind on the way there and that I was commanded to not borrow worries from the future. That's basically not trusting that God will take care of us, anyway...but oh, so hard to think like that.

On to other news...I'm not quite ready to start the week yet. Emory's sleep patterns aren't what they used to be and she has been waking very frequently the past 2-3 weeks. She was only waking once at night, but for some reason all that has gone to pot. I am looking at trying to let her "cry it out" so I asked for advice from my fellow mom friends on Facebook. It seems like the general consensus says 45 minutes to an hour of crying is usually what it takes the first night. Sigh. Not really possible for a working mommy! So, I plan to try again this coming weekend. I originally started on Friday night but had a splitting headache all night long, so I just gave up. I couldn't bear letting her cry when my head was hurting so bad!

Highlights of the weekend:

Friday night Emory rolled over for the first time by herself! I was so proud of her!

Saturday morning Andy got up at 6:30 with Emory so I could sleep, brought me McDonald's HOTCAKES (my favorite) for breakfast (in BED), then went and did the dreaded Wal-Mart shopping while Emory and I went shopping and ate lunch with my mom, grandma, sister, and nephew! It was fabulous!

When I got home, we got some fun shots of Emory!

I then got to catch up on all my DVR'd shows that I missed this week - Private Practice, CSI, Law & Order, and Mercy. I LOVE having DVR, especially now that we have Emory and it's so hard to catch my favorite shows!

It's time for me to hit the sack. I hope everyone has a fabulous week and remember how blessed you are!

Matthew 6:34

"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

My Day

Yesterday was Show Us Your Life - What Is Your Typical Day? on Kelly's Korner Blog. I have just recently started reading her blog and thought I'd try out a Show Us Your Life post. I know I'm a day late but I did nothing but run, run, run yesterday (and Andy, Emory, and I fell asleep at 8:00 last night!) so here it is!

My day is c r a z y - and usually varies greatly whether I am traveling for work or if it's a night Andy is in class. On a normal day, I get up around 6 and get ready in a hurry so I can be dressed before Emory wakes up. After I'm ready, I'll get my breakfast and lunch ready and then wake Em up, get her dressed for the day, and feed her. If it's a Monday or Thursday I'll load her up and we'll head off to work together, but if it's a Tuesday or Wednesday my mother-in-law comes to our house to babysit for the day. On Fridays Andy takes her to my sister's house. I try to get to work by 7:15 or 7:30.

Work tasks vary greatly as well, but you can count on a busy day but usually lots of small breaks to chat with co-workers who just happen to be some of my good friends!

Around 3:30 I'll head home. Sometimes my mother-in-law has cooked us supper, which is such a great help since Andy and I both work and he's in grad school. I usually will play with Em for awhile when I get home. We try to work on her exercises, like tummy time or rolling over!

She'll start to get tired around 5 or 6 and take a small nap. Andy will come home and play with Em for awhile.

Andy and I will eat supper (if it's a night that his mom hasn't cooked, he'll come home from work and make us dinner). We'll watch some t.v. for a few minutes and give Em a bath and get her ready for bed. She usually is in her crib by 8 or 8:30, at which time I'll go take a shower (BEST part of my day - complete solitude!!) and get ready for bed. Andy and I will usually watch some t.v. before bed and around 10 I'll try to get in bed since Emory has been waking up every 2-3 hours lately because she's getting her first TOOTH in!

Life with an infant is SO much more hectic than I ever thought it would be! I didn't put in there anywhere about housework, but usually after dinner I'll clean up the kitchen and throughout the afternoon I'll usually have laundry going or something. I've always been OCD about housework but it's SO hard with a little one, and working full time on top of a baby is exhausting! So I've had to learn to let a few things go - which has been a very hard lesson for me, but necessary if I want to stay sane!

I don't have a lot of time to do personal things but I'm on the search for a new Bible study. I could really use something uplifting right now!

Overall, I LOVE my life - every bit of it, even though at times it is overwhelming and exhausting, and I try to cherish every moment that God has given me!

Exodus 20:6
"And showing mercy to thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."

Warrior.

Wow - once agan, it's been 2 weeks since my last blog post. It has been another insane 2 weeks, complete with a second round of antibiotics for Emory, a grueling stomach virus for Andy and I, a trip to the E.R., and a stressful struggle to continue nursing through everything that has happened.

I just can't go into everything that happened with the stomach virus, but it was BAD. I literally was lying in bed thinking that I was going to die. I have never been so sick in my life and the violent vomiting led to severe dehydration (again) which led to a trip to the E.R. (again) after I discovered that I was no longer producing milk for Emory. As we drove to the E.R. I thought to myself this is it, I won't be able to get it back...and was devestated.

After two bags of fluids and a day off of work on Monday to rest, I called the lactation nurse on Tuesday. She tried to make me feel better and said to not worry but trust the maternal process and wait for my milk to fully return and to continue nursing as much as possible. I did what she said and hoped that I wouldn't have to supplement with formula. On Tuesday evening Andy called on his way home and I was barely able to hold back the tears when I told him I didn't know if I'd have enough stored milk to make it until mine came back in full. He quickly told me it was OKAY and that I had been a "warrior." I don't think he realizes how much it meant when he called me that.

Being a mother has been the most challenging, scary, wonderful, beautiful, and stressful thing I have ever done, but nursing along with that has been extremely hard. I believe in nursing - the benefits and the fact that it is natural and the way God has intended - with everything in me, and therefore will continue to stick to it throughout this year until Emory is able to be switched to cow's milk.

I have a wonderful, supportive husband and wonderful, supportive family and friends that are backing me and I can't be more thankful! I hope you all know how much you mean to me and how helpful it is to hear encouraging words.

Emory is an active 3 1/2 month old now, and so sweet! In just three short weeks we will have her 4 month checkup. Here are some current facts:

Emory LOVES to chew on her hands and has hit the DROOLING phase where bibs are a must!

She also is using her hands so much more! Grabbing, holding, touching, and feeling everything!


She is getting used to the supercute headbands that I put on her that used to REALLY annoy her!

She is doing so much better holding her head up and looking at the world.

She weighs a little over 14 lbs now (I KNOW!) and is wearing 3-6 month clothes. She WAS sleeping through the night except for waking one time until she got sick, and we have been recovering since then and trying to get back to a normal sleep pattern! (What is normal anyway!?). She LOVES to screech and make noises. She loves to watch t.v., primarily Disney, kick her legs, and CHEW on everything. She also has finally given in and learned to sit in her Bumbo seat! She smiles a big smile and we are just in love with her.

I can't believe how fast time is flying!

Psalms 39:4

"LORD, make me know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am."