Monday, December 26, 2011

7 months and Christmas!

Sweet Zoey,
You are already 7 months old! Yeserday was Christmas and your 7 month birthday!You have had a cold since last week and I was afraid you wouldn't have fun on Christmas but I was wrong (thankfully). You got several new books and toys! When daddy went to wake you up for presents before Church you were face down in your bed with your legs sticking out of the rails! As soon as we sat you down beside the tree on Christmas morning you went for an unwrapped frog toy that makes noise and sings and then you didn't care about anything else for a while. You ended up with an activity center and a musical toy camera (I couldn't resist) and a little toy that plays about 20 different songs.
Two nights before Christmas, when I got home from work, you started saying "bug bug bug" and it sounded like you said "Ma ma ma" too but you were for sure saying "bug"! We will say it and you copy us! I will say, "Who is the besy baby?" and you will say "Bug bug bug" :)
As I said a minute ago, you have been sick. Last monday night you woke up in the night with a fever of 102.9 and you were so fussy! Your daddy and I gave you some tylenol and I held you all night. I stayed home from work with you for the next three days until you were fever free. You didn't sleep well for several nights and it just broke my heart. You have had a stuffy/runny nose but you have been seeping better the last couple of nights!
Your daddy is off work for the next week and I am so jealous that he gets to spend a whole week with you while I am stuck at work! It still breaks my heart to be away from you all week every week. I can't wait until I can stay home with you on a more regular basis!
I love you sweet girl!
Mommy

Friday, November 25, 2011

Six months old TODAY!

My sweet girl,
I can't believe you are SIX MONTHS OLD! My goodness how time flies.
You just started eating rice cereal this week (on the 23rd) and you did so well! You have been watching people eat with great fascination for about a month now and it has been so cute. You really seemed to know what you were doing and never got upset (except when we wouldn't let you feed yourself).
You have been sitting on your own so well for the last several weeks. You are trying to sit up when we lay you down and you are almost there!
You haven't started teething but I expect that soon. You have been really fussy the last several nights and not hardly sleeping for longer than an hour at a time. I am wondering if that is a sign that the teeth are coming.
Overall you are still a great baby. You smile and laugh a lot!
You have developed a really "nasty cough" that is always bad when you are wanting attention but it goes away when someone starts loving on you. Sometimes your daddy and I will be playing with you and we will "cough" and you will copy us.
You are slowly starting to reach for people, two weeks ago we were at lunch with Auntie and Granny Jordan and you reached right for Granny (she was thrilled)!
You think everything is a toy for you to play with and chew on! You reach for phones, coffee cups, the dogs, pretty much anything you can reach.
Your Mammie has been making caramel corn a lot here lately and you LOVE to watch the air popper pop that popcorn! You can hear it start up from the living room and your arms and legs start going! It is pretty fun to watch!
You have your 6 month checkup on Tuesday and your daddy and I have off the whole day to spend some time with you. I am really hoping you don't have to get shots this time because I hate seeing you so upset :(
You are such a sweet and beautiful girl! I enjoy every second I get to spend with you! I love you sweet baby girl! Happy half birthday!!
Mommy

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Monday, October 10, 2011

Playing

You found the toys hanging off of your car seat yesterday and it was so fun to watch you bat at them! I took a video of you with my phone and I have been watching it over and over :)
I love you sweet Zoey!


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Saturday, October 8, 2011

Having a baby changes everything

Having a baby doesn't just change the amount of sleep you get per night!

I truly thought I had an idea of what motherhood would be like while I was pregnant. I figured I wouldn't get as much sleep (boy was I right), I would change a lot of diapers (right again) and I knew I would love her more than anything(duh). But I wasn't expecting it to change ME!
Since Zoey was born I have changed what kind of music I listen to and the movies I watch. I never liked movies with bad language but now I am much more sensitive to it. Jokes and TV shows I thought were funny before just aren't funny anymore (sorry Family Guy). I am constantly thinking "is that the example I want to set for my daughter?".
As a nursing mom I think about what I eat and drink a lot more (this started during pregnancy). Picking snap peas and carrot sticks over potato chips with lunch and only having one cup of coffee a day is not how I use to roll. I still eat chocolate though (hey, I'm still a woman).
Going to the movies and eating out don't happen as much these days because 8:30 is bath and bed time. We go to early service at church now because Zoey does better if we can get her home and down for a nap by 10:30.
I rarely run errands after work any more because I'm ready to get home and see Zoey!
I spend less money and put more in savings so that maybe one day I can stay home (at least part time) with Zoey.
I try to keep the house a little cleaner and I usually do household chores late at night while the rest of the house is sleeping. I have to make sure we have clean bottles so I can take some to work to pump with and Zoey will have some to drink out of.
I feel a great need to get organized (I've never felt that way) and am trying hard to find ways to do it!
I also feel the urge to "journal" about the things that are going on in our lives so that one day Zoey can read all about it.
I'm one of those annoying people that talks about my child as much as I can... Get over it :-P
I see my husband in a whole new way after seeing what a great father he is (he truly is a natural).
Who knew that motherhood could change a person so much?



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Thursday, October 6, 2011

October 5th

Oh sweet Zoey, I truly love every minute I get to spend with you. I wish that I could spend every waking moment with you and see every smile and calm every meltdown. Hopefully one day soon I will be able to find something that will allow me to either work less hours or work from home.
It is so hard to leave you every morning! Some days are so hard I cry and other days I think "I can do this" and then I realize I left my pump bottles at home and I cry because I don't have it all together.
I hope I am a good mommy for you and that you always know how much I love you.
You are such an amazing little person! You keep trying to sit up and before we know it you are going to have a 6 pack with all the crunches you do!
You chew and drool on EVERYTHING! You will be holding my finger and before I know it it is in your mouth. If you are holding a blanket or toy it is almost defiantly in your mouth.
You think it is funny when I blow zerberts on your belly and when I hold you up like "Super Baby".
Sometimes you gurgle and I'll gurgle back at you... It's like our own secret language :)
I can't believe how fast Time has flown by! It feels like you were just born but at the same time it feels like forever ago since you were born.
You rolled over once about two weeks ago on our bed while I was turning on a movie. Your daddy said you did it again last night but I didn't get to see.
You've been sleeping a little better!! You have only been waking up once or twice the last few nights :)
You think Sammy and Lexi are soft and you reach out to touch them if they get close.


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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Four months old... My how time flies

I cannot believe it has been four months since you were born! You have grown so much over the last four months and it has been such a joy to watch you grow into your own neat little person!

You love baths and if we wait past 8:30 to give you a bath you get so cranky. As soon as you see the bubbles in the bath your face lights up and when you get in the water you grin so big!

You are very fascinated with the dogs (the feeling is mutual). They will sit on either side of your swing in the living room and if one of them come within your reach you try to touch them.

You can make it about halfway through church before you are ready to get up and move around or eat. I haven't heard many sermons since the spring.

You are a little cuddle bug when you are sleepy and you love to rock :)

You love music (it doesn't matter what kind) and when I sing and dance you laugh at me! I love your laugh and will pretty much do anything to hear it!

I have been back at work for two months now and it is so hard to be away from you all day (most days I cry on my way to work) but it helps knowing you are with family. My desk at work is COVERED in Zoey pictures :)

Thankfully you do t have to go to daycare. Memaw DeLoach keeps you on Mondays, Mammie keeps you on Tuesday's, aunt Kara keeps you on Wednesday's and Thursday's and granny Cooke keeps you on Fridays. I call whoever has you on every break I get so I can see how your day is going. Your Mammie even brought you up to my work a couple of times on my lunch break so you and I could cuddle :)

We took you for your four month checkup today and you have doubled in size since you were born!! You are up to 14 pounds 14oz! Dr. Jackson says you are perfect (your daddy and I already knew that)! You had to get two shots and that always breaks my heart. I hate seeing you cry like that! You slept a lot today after the shots but every time you were awake you were in a pretty good mood. Your dad and I took the day off from work so that we could spend the day with you.

You have had your first cold this week and it just breaks my heart to see you sick :( You have been coughing & sneezing a lot and have had a stuffy nose.

You aren't sleeping as well as you use to. For a while you were only waking up once a night to eat and now it's every 2 to 3 hours. We moved you into your room last week and I miss having you right next to my bed :( I have the video monitor setup on my night stand and I look at you all night.

It's almost midnight and I have to be up in 7 hours to get ready for work (and a few times between now and then to feed and love on you).

I love you sweet bug!
Mommy

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Friday, June 24, 2011

The last 6 weeks of pregnancy

The last 6 weeks of my pregnancy was a very long 6 weeks! The doctor told me about a month before my May 15th due date that he would be surprised if I made it all the way to my due date without going into labor. For all you doctors reading this... NEVER tell a pregnant woman that!
That whole month I ran around trying to get last minute things done in Zoey's room and get all her clothes and blankets washed. I got my hospital bag packed and a bag for Zoey bug. Once I was "ready" every single ligament pain or stomach rumble made me think I was about to be in labor. Every Friday I would leave work thinking "I might not be back on Monday" but, alas, I would wake up Monday morning still pregnant (and cranky) and head off to work where every person would make a comment like, "I can't believe you are still here!" or "you haven't had that baby yet?" to which I would smile and exchange pleasantries while in my mind I was lighting that person's hair on fire for making obvious observations or asking stupid questions. This got harder with each passing day.
By the time the weekend of my due date rolled around I was more than a little disappointed that I was still pregnant and not holding a sweet new baby! One of my friends was getting married on the 15th (Chris' birthday & my due date) and since I hadn't had my baby yet I was a bridesmaid! I felt like a huge blimp in my dress and it was pretty cold out for mid May (it was an outdoor wedding) but it was a pretty wedding on the steps of Old Main on the U of A campus!
I went to work the following Monday a little depressed that my due date had come and gone and Zoey was making me wait! I went to my doctors appointment on Tuesday and Dr. McAlister wanted me to schedule to be induced the following Tuesday but I wanted to wait and try to let her come on her own time. He agreed to let me wait and come in on the 24th for an ultrasound and a non-stress test.
I decided to schedule to take the whole day on the 24th off so I could try to sleep in before my 11:00 appointment and then go get my hair cut at 3:30 since I kept putting it off thinking I was about to go into labor at any second.
Chris took the morning off to go with me to the doctor and my appointment went well, I was still dilated to 3cm (for the 3rd week in a row). We decided that if Zoey wasn't here by Thursday the 26th that we would induce that morning at 5:30 (yikes).
I started feeling contractions while I was there and the nurse said she could see them on the monitor but didn't seem concerned.
We left the office and Chris headed off to work while I stayed at home and watched the weather (since it was suppose to get pretty bad that night with some nasty storms) and continued to have contractions. Around 3:00 my doctors office called and asked me to come back in and get back on the monitor. I told the nurse that would be fine and that I was still having some contractions. I called to cancel my hair appointment and headed to the doctors office.
Mom ended up going in with me and I stayed hooked up for almost an hour... Contractions were showing up every 7 or 8 minutes. Mom just knew I was in labor (I was starting to think so too) but the doctor didn't act concerned at all so I went home.
I got home around 4:30 and talked to Chris on the phone (he was getting off work). He had told a guy from church that he would come look at his A/C and wanted to make sure I was ok before he went. I told him that the contractions were about 7 min apart and weren't too bad so he went.
Jana (my mother in law) was making baked ziti for supper and offered to bring some by... By the time she got here (around 6:30 I think) I was hurting pretty badly. She decided to stay here with me until Chris got home (by this point he was on his way).
When Chris got home I told him to go ahead and shower and eat before we left.
We headed to the hospital around 8:30 and checked in at the ER. The wanted to monitor me for an hour before they would admit me. They put me in a gown and a bed and hooked me up to a monitor before checking to see how dilated I was (I was at 4cm).
By about 9:15 my water had broken and I was dilated to 5cm so they decided to go ahead and admit me and call a Labor and Delivery nurse (Super Angie).
Super Angie came and got me and by around 10:00 I was dilated to 8cm. I was begging for an epidural at this point but that wonderful man with the drugs was in a surgery. I started to panic thinking that I wasn't going to get an epidural in time with as fast as I was going but he made it! I got my epidural at about 9cm (I have no idea what time it was).
After I got the epidural they let my mom, dad, sisters, brother and nephew in for a few minutes. It was pretty stormy outside and at one point Super Angie had everyone but Chris and I get in the bathroom (gotta love tornado warnings).
At 11:00 it was time to clear out the room and start pushing... two and a half hours later Zoey was here!! She was face up so it took longer. She was born at 1:26 am on Wednesday, May 25th! She was 20 inches long and weighed 7 pounds 5 oz. With a full head of brown hair. I fell in love right away!
After they got Zoey and I cleaned up a little they let my family back in and by then my mom's sister had gotten there too! Everyone stayed until around 2:00 and then they went home while Zoey's nursery nurse (my friend, Megan's mom) helped me get ready to feed Zoey for the first time.
We had some amazing people taking care of us while we were in the hospital. The staff at Willow Creek is amazing and truly make the whole experience better!
Okay, it's almost 3:00 in the morning and I'm tired. Goodnight all :)


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Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Ultrasound day!

First off I have to make a correction... In my last post I said that the ultrasound was at 2:00 but it was really at 3:00 on January 18, 2011
I worked a half day that day and then met up with Chris at the doctors office for the ultrasound. We went back to the ultrasound room with the tech and Chris was going to video it with our little flip video but she wouldn't let him :(
From where Chris was sitting he could see the screen but I couldn't. He kept asking the lady questions and I could tell she was getting annoyed (had she never seen an excited dad in her line of work?), she kept telling him that she would answer all of his questions when she was done but she never did.
Once she was finished looking at everything she needed to look at she asked us if we wanted to know the sex of the baby and of corse we said yes. She moved her "wand" across my belly and said "Oh, that's a little girl." chris asked her if she was sure and she said, "I would be buying pink stuff."
A girl! No more wondering, we knew!!
The night before the ultrasound I had Chris go by the store and buy two balloons, one that said "it's a boy" and one that said "it's a girl" so that we could tell people in a fun way. Chris told me that he had plans for us that night after the ultrasound and wouldn't let me tell anybody anything about the ultrasound... That was hard!
When we left the doctors office we went by the hospital where Auntie works and I got to show her the pink "it's a girl" balloon!! It was so fun! Next we went to see Granny and show her the balloon and tell her the news. After that we went back to the doctors office so Chris could drive his truck home and I could drive the Saturn home. I still had no idea what was going on that night and didn't know why I couldn't even call my mother but Chris threatened to take my phone away so I behaved.
We didn't stay at home long, Chris said we had to stop by his parents church to help his mom move some tables and stuff. When we walked in tons of our friends and family were all there waiting on us! Chris had thrown a surprise party to reveal the sex of our baby (he still calls it "the sex party")!! I was shocked to see so many people gathered to share in the excitement. It was so much fun!!
Zoey, you have an awesome dad!!
After the party we called the friends that couldn't make it to the party and shared the news. We went to the hospital where my aunt Missy works and got to tell her. Then we went to the Verizon store where my friend Megan worked so we could tell her. All in all it was an awesome day :)

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Monday, June 13, 2011

Dream a little dream

When I was pregnant I had some pretty crazy dreams. I am going to post about three tonight... "The Jesus dream", "The ultrasound dream" and "The cartoon dream"

We will start with the Jesus dream... before we had the ultrasound I had a dream one night that we had the baby and it was a boy. We got him home from the hospital and I was loving on him and realized I wasn't holding 'just a baby boy' this baby boy was special because he was baby Jesus! I ran to Chris and said, "Chris, this is baby Jesus!" Chris looked at me like I was crazy and said, "I know"... That was when I woke up. I told my coworkers about the dream the next morning and my boss said, "wow, you think highly of yourself." funny lady :)

The next one is more detailed and a little longer...
A few days before our ultrasound I was really excited to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. I thought about it a lot and could not wait for January 18th to get here! One night right before the big day I had a dream that I overslept (our appointment was at 2:00) and missed it! I was franticly calling the clinic to see if I could come in anyway and they said if I could hurry they would try to fit me in. when I got there my sister, Erin and my aunt Kara were waiting on me. We headed back to an exam room and Erin said she would wait outside while Kara and I went in. When we walked in Kara said, "I can't wait to post on Facebook if it's a boy or a girl." and I said, "Listen, I'm already giving you the baby, can't I at least be the one to tell people if it's a boy or a girl?" she agreed. Once I got into my gown (which you don't really have to wear for an ultrasound) I got up on the exam table. Kara looked at me with a disgusted face and said, "Meagan your feet smell awful!" so I grabbed some alcohol prep pads and wiped them off. Once my smelly feet were clean the nurse walked in with two tubes of blood. I told her that I hadn't given q blood sample and she said, "No these are for you to drink to help with lightheadedness." Chris chose that moment to enter the exam room (where had he been and why did he let me miss my appointment to begin with?) and said, "Well if you are having that what am I having for dinner?"

Dream number three, "The cartoon dream"
Chris and I decided to go out to dinner someplace fancy. When we get there we walk in and look around to discover that everyone in the restaurant is a cartoon except for one table where our friends the Wilson's and their three boys were. They waved at us and acted like everything was absolutely normal. As we are eating out dinner another couple walk in and they too are real people, it is the bachelor and some girl that won't stop crying because she thinks she is about to be eliminated (I don't even watch the Bachelor).
So that is it for tonight. I hope you enjoyed this evenings look into the unconscious mind if a crazy pregnant woman :)

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Finding Out

Our dear sweet Zoey,
I can’t believe you are already 15 days old! It seems like it was just yesterday that your daddy and I found out I was pregnant with you.
We found out on October 1st after my boss sent me home from work because I was sick. I had been sick off and on for a few weeks and everyone started saying that I was pregnant (especially your Mammie) but I just wouldn’t listen! I left work that morning after my boss told me to go home and get some rest, she said “I think you are pregnant” and I just rolled my eyes and headed home. I called your Mammie on my way home and told her I was leaving sick and she said, “Meagan, you are pregnant!” I laughed at her and said that it was just a bug that wouldn’t go away (turns out it was my Zoey bug). I got home and Auntie called me and asked me to take a pregnancy test before I took any medicine “just in case” but I just got in bed and took a nap. When your daddy came home at lunch he patted my feet and said “I guess pregnancy just doesn’t agree with you”. At that point I had had enough of everyone saying that and decided to prove everyone wrong so I went to the bathroom and took a pregnancy test… SURPRISE!!! I was the one proven wrong that day! By the time we found out I was about 8 weeks pregnant. Your Mammie and Auntie were on their way to our house to bring me a baked potato and I couldn’t wait to tell them! When they got to the house Auntie didn’t want to get out of the car in case my “bug” was contagious and I was standing at the front door waving them in. Your Mammie finally saw the huge grin on my face and said “She isn’t sick, she’s pregnant! Look at her!!” We all jumped around the living room celebrating the big news and we spent the rest of the day telling everyone in the family!! Your Auntie Eesh (Erin) was the only person that was truly surprised (besides me). What an exciting day that was!