4 Months Old

Isabelle is 4 months old today!  The time is just flying by and I want to remember every single moment.  Caring for her has become much, much easier because she sleeps better and her gas problems have subsided.  She probably has gas once a week and it goes away pretty shortly afterwards.  We went to her four-month appointment yesterday and our pediatrician recommended that we hold off giving her any food like rice cereal until she is closer to 6 months old due to her being born 7 weeks early.  The doctor was afraid her motor/coordination skills are not advanced enough.  I agreed because Belle just started holding her head up the past few days, and I want her stable enough to sit in a high chair before I start feeding her food.  The doctor also noticed that Belle's head is a little flat on the backside (probably because she is always laying down on her back or being held), so she wants us to make sure Belle is turning her head alot, looking around, and basically working on her head control skills.  This means we are going to have to start treating the little one like a baby instead of a newborn, and not holding her quite so often.  It is a little bittersweet for me because I love cuddling with her.  She's already growing up, *tear*!  At least all her baby toys like the swing, bouncy seat, and jumper will get used more often now.  Here's a recap of what's been going on with her lately:

-Belle, you weighed 12 pounds and 2.4 ounces at your four-month check up.  This puts you in the 19th percentile for your weight!

-You are wearing 3-6 month size clothes now, and Mommy is having too much fun buying you new outfits!  I notice that some clothes fit you in length, but are too wide.  You are still wearing size 1 diapers although they are becoming a bit snug.  Pampers swaddlers fit the best and Pampers sensitive wipes seem to be easier on your skin.

-Tummy time is still upsets you more often than not, but we have noticed in the past week or so that you are getting much better at  holding your head up.  Daddy has been practicing with you by making you stand up and hold your head upright, and you are getting better at it.

-You have started to roll from side to side when we put you on your back.  Yay (my mom) thought you were about to roll over once and even texted me a photo while I was at work.  You kick your legs with such purpose now that I call it "back crawling."  I can place you in the middle of the bed, and you will be near the edge before I know it.  This is just the beginning of you becoming mobile!

-You sleep great in your crib, and usually only wake up once at night.  We put you to bed around 10 p.m., you wake up around 2 a.m. to drink a bottle and have a quick diaper change, and usually you sleep the rest of the night until 5:30-6:00 a.m.  There have been two times that you have slept straight through the night.  Although you aren't sleeping all night consistently yet, Mommy doesn't really mind all that much getting up to feed you because it is so peaceful with just me and you in the nursery. 

-Since you might roll over soon we put you in a sleep sack now instead of a swaddle blanket so you will be able to use your arms to move and breathe in case you end up on your tummy at night.  It only took you three days to get used to having your arms out!  I was afraid it was going to take much longer because you used to love to be swaddled.  Another instance of you growing up, *tear* again!

-You are definitely able to recognize who your parents and grandparents are, and usually cry now when someone else is holding you. 

-It is also getting easier to take you places because you are awake alot more during the day.  You stayed for the first time in the church nursery this month and did just fine.  This past month we have taken you on several walks around the neighborhood in your stroller, out to restaurants, over to visit friends and family, and even my favorite, shopping :-)

-I think you are starting to enjoy bathtime more.  You look very relaxed when we bathe you, and you love staring at your reflection in the mirror. 

-I'm looking forward to you being able to sit up soon and play with toys.  You aren't quite able to hold things in your hands yet, but I know it will happen before I know it.

-You drink the regular Enfamil infant formula and take usually 7-8  5oz bottles a day.  We are weaning you off Zantac because you don't act like you have acid reflux.  We stopped giving you gripe water as well, so gas drops are is the only supplement that we give you regularly.  It has become more difficult to burp you,and I'm not sure why.  You are not constipated anymore and only need pear juice every one in awhile.  You usually go #2 every other day. 

Belle you make our lives better and we love having you in it each and every day!

 More wiggly by the minute

 Me and Lyndsey with our babies, Isabelle & Graham, no longer in the Baby Bump Club, now official mommies!

Before I Forget

This is a completely random post, but I wanted to jot a few things down before I forget.  We go to Belle's 4 month check up today, so I'll let everyone know how it goes!  Our daughter has been so funny lately.  Some days she is all about Mommy, and other days she only has eyes for Daddy.  For example, on Sunday when she was laying down and doing the usual aerobics, she would only look at me.  As soon as I walked away Belle would turn her head and follow me with her eyes while I left the room.  Then, on Monday night she only cared about Daddy.  Sean put his face really close to her and she literally swatted and tried to grab at his beard with her sweet little hand for at least 25 minutes.  Also, I'm sure she knows who we are now because this Easter weekend when members of our extended family wanted to hold her she cried every single time.  We used to be able to pass her off to anyone, but that was before she was aware of what was going on.  Now only me, Sean, and the grandparents are able to hold her.  We are going to have to work on that for sure!  This may be TMI, so if poop scares you stop reading now.  This morning I got Belle out of her crib to change her and dress her for the day.  She was her usual happy self and was cooing and kicking away.  I always put a clean diaper under her before I take off the old one.  Well, today just as I got done with the baby wipes and was about to put the new diaper on it happened.  She pooped with so much force that the diaper could not catch it and it went everywhere!  I'm talking the changing pad, the changing table, the dresser beside the changing table, and even the carpet!  It shocked me so much that I even woke Sean up to see what had just occurred (and to help me clean up :-).  Belle was so happy with herself that it made us both laugh.  She immediately started smiling and blowing bubbles.  So this is our life now, quality family time at 5:30 in the morning!

Belle and her Daddy, she is holding her head up now!

Easter Photos

I took Belle to get her 3 month/Easter photos taken this past weekend.  The wonderful Courtney Yarberry was the photographer, and she is one talented woman.  As kids we went to the same babysitter, Omega Milam.  She was a wonderful Christian lady and I considered her like another grandma.  She was the first to teach me about the love of Jesus.  I think she is smiling at us from heaven now that we have our own happy families!  This is Sean's second time to be out of town for training, and thank goodness it is easier this go around.  I feel more confident taking care of the baby by myself.  Easter is this weekend and more than ever I realize that everything is because of Him.  I have felt absolutely no arthritis pain the entire time I've been alone with Belle.  What a blessing it is for me to be able to wake up in the middle of night with her, and have the strength to pick her up and care for her properly.  I thank God every day for this, it may not seem like alot to others, but it is everything to me.  Happy Easter and rejoice because he has Risen!

Belle at 3 1/2 months old. I had that tutu specially made for her.  Oh did I mention she hates headbands, hats, and basically anything that is on her head so the flower went on the top instead.

My blessing

Time to Lose the Pounds

Hello,

I have decided it is finally time to get serious about losing these pregnancy pounds.  I didn't want to put alot of pressure on myself to lose the baby weight right away because I knew it would be too much stress at once.  While on maternity leave I focused on her, and the first month back at work I was just trying to make it through the day.  Belle is 3 1/2 months old and I'm finally getting into a routine.  I'm getting more rest because she is a much better sleeper now.  I should have time now to workout consistently again which is something I have missed.  I enjoy exercising so that isn't a problem, it is watching what I eat that gives me trouble.  My friend and I have committed to losing weight together and it will be helpful to have an accountability partner.  As the weather gets warmer and the shorts and bathing suits (eeekk!) are about to come out of the closet, I know I won't be happy with how I look unless I lose weight  I wasn't in best shape before I got pregnant, so I also want to lose some weight beyond what I gained with Belle. 

Here are the stats:

*I gained 25 pounds while pregnant.  (I only carried her until 7 1/2 months, imagine if I went the entire 9 months!)

*While I was breastfeeding I was able to lose about 12 pounds, but I gained some of it back once I stopped, so I have only lost 8 pounds total. 

*Therefore, I have 17 pounds to lose to get to my pre-prenancy weight.  This will be my first goal.

*I also want to lose an additional 35 pounds to get to the weight I was when I got married almost 5 years ago!  I was pleased with the way I looked at that size.  People are telling you the truth when they say marriage will make you fat and happy :-)  This will be my second goal.

The Plan: 
*I am going to use Weight Watchers online to keep track of my food intake.  Weight Watchers gives you an allotted number of points to use for the week, and if you do not exceed those points you should be able to lose weight.  I desperately need the help because I am not good with portion control or eating healthy!

*There is a very nice gym at work, and the best time for me to exercise is during my lunch break.  If I wait to workout at home it will probably not get done because I'm busy with the baby.  My goal is to exercise 4 times a week for 30 minutes.  I will start out doing light cardio and some weights.  Once I build my endurance again I will extend my workout sessions.

*I would like to lose about 1-2 pounds a week.  I want to lose the weight slowly so I can keep it off.  I am a bridesmaid in a wedding in June, and I would like to be at my pre-pregnancy weight by then.

It is also important to me to be healthy so I can take care of Belle.  So here's to becoming a hot mama!

3 Months Old and My Return to Blogging

I know I've been gone from blogging for months now, but I've been really busy!  Since my last post I have returned to work after maternity leave, Sean has started training for his new job, and Belle is already three months old!  I have missed blogging about Belle's first few months of life, but to be honest it was probably a good thing because the transition into parenting was tough.  She was more difficult to take care of because of being being born 7 weeks early.  We had to feed her consistently every 2 to 3 hours so she would gain weight quickly.  Also, the newborn stage lasted a long time because she was a premie, so all she did was eat, sleep, and pee/poop.  We also had major colic issues when she was two months old.  I remember one weekend me and Sean got a total of maybe five hours of sleep between the two of us!  That was the same weekend of my 2 a.m. Walgreens run to beg the pharmacist for advice.  We learned about gripe water and gas drops, what a lifesaver!  A few weeks later, her first emergency room visit was fortunately not a big deal.  We noticed she had a hernia and wanted to get it checked out over the weekend.  It was funny because when we were in the waiting room I mentioned to Sean that all the people there had carseats, obviously we weren't the only nervous, new parents!

Adjusting to going back to work after eight weeks of maternity leave was a very difficult time for me.  I experienced the typical "mommy guilt," and I still wish I could stay home with her.  Belle stays with both grandmothers during the weekdays so I know that she is in the best care possible.  Now that we are used to the daily routine it is much better.  She is finally used to her all-formula diet, and her gas issues only occassionally cause her problems.  Belle was never a good breastfeeder because she was a premie and could not latch well.  I pumped for her while I was home on maternity leave, but I had to stop when I went back to work.  She never really co-slept with us because I was always afraid of SIDS.  For awhile she slept in her bassinet beside our bed, but she made so many noises that I could not sleep.  We moved her to the nursery and we use the baby monitor at night.  It also helped when Sean and I would switch off on night duty in the beginning because one of us could sleep in the guest room with the monitor and the other one could sleep in our bedroom without any noise to wake us up.  Now that she sleeps for 4 to 5 hours at a time at night instead of 2 to 3 hours, we can both sleep in our comfortable, king size bed.  She was sleeping in her bassinet until just last week.  Our girl grew too long for the bassinet and it is hard to believe she was once a 3 lb, 9 oz premie!

Now that she is three months old her little personality is shining through.  She loves to play and her favorite time of day is early in the morning (6 a.m.!)  I can't resist sticking around later than I should before going to work to kiss and play with her when she is so happy.  Today we got two big smiles out of her while she was on her changing pad doing her aerobics (i.e. lying there kicking her legs like crazy).  As soon as Sean got the video camera out she stopped, go figure.  This is my absolute favorite time of day because I get to see her so awake and happy!

3 months old on 3/12/12: What a big girl in blue jeans!

She has outgrown her bassinet and now sleeps in her crib as of 3/9/12 and loves it!

Here are a few things I want to write down before I forget:

-Belle, when we last weighed you a few weeks ago, you were 10 lbs, 1.5 oz.  I'm pretty sure that you are closer to 11 lbs now!

-In the past two weeks you have really enjoyed playing.  Your favorite thing to do is to lay down on your changing pad and kick your legs like crazy.  You also enjoy laying on your activity mat and looking at the toys and mirror.  Last Sunday I was able to leave you there for almost an hour while you entertained yourself.  You will sit in your swing, but only for ten minutes at a time before you get upset/bored.  I haven't tried to use the Bumbo seat yet because you can't hold your head up very well.  We are working on head and neck control by doing 5 to 10 minutes of tummy time every day.  Sometimes you do well at tummy time and hold your head up and look around and other days you just lie there.  It is so cute seeing you kick your legs like you're swimming.  I can see that in a few short months you will be sitting up and crawling for sure!  Lights, ceiling fans, and your mobile in your crib are your favorite things to look at and they keep your undivided attention. 

-You definitely recognize the sound of our voices.  Whenever mommy and daddy talk to you, you turn your head and look at us.  You smile on a daily basis now when we talk in our animated voices, and Grandma swears that you giggled yesterday!  We can tell you want to laugh out loud, but the sound just won't come out quite yet.  You will open your mouth really wide when daddy tickles your knees!  You make a few cooing noises, but haven't started consistent babbling yet. 

-One of the funniest things that Belle does is pout.  When her mouth begins to frown and her bottom lip sticks out we will talk to her in sweet voices to get her to stop before the crying begins.  Sean says he can already tell she is going to be a handful when she gets older.

-Having a regular nightly routine is easier said than done.  We try to give you a bath every other day, but sometimes you are so tired you nap all evening long.  This usually happens when she doesn't nap well during the day or has a fussy day due to gas or constipation.  You are very grumpy when we wake you up before you are ready, and it takes you a long time to calm down. 

-You are not the best sleeper yet, but we're getting there.  Hopefully when she is four months old and can have rice cereal she will sleep through the night!  We usually give you the nighttime bottle around 9:30-10:00 pm.  You usually sleep for 4 to 5 hours at night before we have to give you your "dream feed."  The dream feed is between 2:00-3:30 a.m., and we feed you quickly and try to get you to go right back to sleep.  Then you sleep another 2 to 3 hours before waking up around 5:30-6:00 a.m.  We are working on not feeding you very much at night and calming you down when you wake up with a pacifer or rocking you instead.  Whenever you wake up in the morning you are in the best mood!  You are an early bird (like your mom, unlike your dad) and this is your favorite time of the day.  Yesterday your daddy found you in your crib wide awake at 6 a.m. just staring at the ceiling fan, you didn't even cry to get our attention so we had no idea you were even up!

-You drink the regular Enfamil infant formula and take usually 6-7, 4 oz bottles a day.  We give you Zantac for acid reflux, gas drops, and gripe water.  I'm not sure which medications work, but your colic has subsided so I'm not willing to stop it just yet.

-We tried to give you Gentlease and Prosobee formulas to see if that would help with the gas, but you hated the taste.  So apparently you like the taste of milk for sure!

-You have always been a bottle drinker and we have tried every bottle out there.  Now we have invested in Dr. Brown's bottles and you are doing great on them.

-Sometimes the formula makes you constipated so we give you an ounce of pear juice to help.  You usually only poop once every other day, but when you go it is a big one!

-Monday through Thursday you stay with your Grandma (Sean's mom).  She has a complete nursery set up for you and you feel right at home.  On Fridays you stay with Yay (my mom) and you have just as much fun over there.  You are so blessed to have both of your grandmothers watching you while mommy and daddy go to work.  When we move in September because of daddy's new job you will have to go to daycare.  I am dreading having to do this, but hopefully you will be able to play and have fun with the other babies because you will be 9 months old by then. 

-We usually drop you off around 7 am and pick you up around 4:30 pm.  My second happiest time of day is when I get to see your sweet face in the afternoon after a long day at work!

-Our evenings usually go like this:  Pick Belle up, make dinner and do chores, watch television, play with Belle, do tummy time, give her a bath, feed her, and put her to bed. 

-Because the work week is so hectic we really do cherish our weekends together.  We sleep in a little later, play together, go out to eat, run errands, and go to church.  Now we know the best times to take her places.  She has to be awake when we put her in the car seat because this little one is very cranky when she is woken up.  Also, she cannot be out and about for a long time, but hopefully that will change as she gets older.  She has not been in the church nursery yet, but I think next week will be a good time to start since she is 3 months old now.

-These past few months have been a learning experience for sure.  Our lives are completely different now.  Sleepless nights, being busy constantly, and staying tired all the time are the norm.  I have become an expert at one-handed eating because Belle always wants to be held right when we sit down for dinner :-)  We used to be social butterflies.  We had date nights, participated in numerous activities, spent time with friends, and went out to eat all the time. Now we stay home for the most part and enjoy the little things in life alot more.  God has blessed us with a healthy and happy daughter, and we are so grateful to have this precious time with her.

Belle's Birth Story

Hello,

I've finally returned to blogging after some very wonderful and hectic weeks learning how to be a mommy.  First, I want to write down Belle's incredible birth story so we'll never forget how it happened.  I left off with my last post waiting patiently in the hospital on mandatory bedrest because my water broke early.  My OB wanted to wait to induce labor until after I was 34 weeks along which would have been December 15th.  Instead, Isabelle decided that five days of bedrest was long enough, and she arrived on her own time on December 12, 2011 at 4:15 p.m.  Here's the story:

On Sunday night (December 11th) Sean had already left the hospital to sleep after spending the day with me.  I tried to relax by watching television, but I noticed that my lower back was hurting.  I just assumed it was due to sleeping for days in the uncomfortable hospital bed.  At around 10 p.m. the pain was keeping me from sleeping, so I asked the nurse for some Tylenlol and a heating pad.  After about two hours the pain was getting worse and not better.  The nurse decided to hook me up to the monitor to check the baby's heart rate.  She also gave me a button to push whenever I felt the pain increase.  I had never felt contractions before so I wasn't sure if this was what I was experiencing, and I was confused because all the pain was in my back and not my abdomen.  I called and woke Sean up at about 1:30 a.m., and he said he would come first thing in the morning.  I was in early labor all night long and could not sleep.  Apparently, the medication they were giving me to stop my labor for all those days could not supersede nature.  Our sweet girl had a mind of her own and was ready to arrive!

Sean arrived at the hospital at 7:30 a.m. and ate breakfast while I watched.  Actually, I snuck some food even though the nurse did not want me to eat anything until I saw the doctor.  My OB came by around 9:00 a.m. and confirmed I was having contractions.  She ordered Pictocin and said I could have my epidural at any time.  We were moved from the high-risk pregnancy unit to a labor and delivery room.  Now, this is where it gets interesting.

We had decided long ago to not have anyone else in the delivery room except for me and Sean.  What we hadn't discussed was if we were going to let our parents and others wait in the waiting room while I was in labor.  Everyone had been calling us daily since I had been in the hospital to see how I was doing so it was going to be very difficult to keep it a secret.  Ultimately, we decided we didn't even want anyone there, even in the waiting room so we basically lied to anyone who called/texted us that day.  For instance, my mom called at noon and asked how I was doing.  I was in the middle of a contraction so I braced my hands on the side of the bed and said, "Fine, everything is good, bye!"  We also had to ask our visitors to keep the delivery a secret from our families for the time being.  A friend from work stopped by and I had Sean meet her in the lobby to tell her what was going on.  Then, our pastor from church came by for a surprise visit and he was re-directed to labor and delivery.  When he came in he realized what was going on, told us he was praying for us, and left within five minutes.  Also, Sean's aunt and my best friend's mom both work at Baptist.  They had visited me regularly while I had been in the hospital.  Both discovered that afternoon that we had moved rooms and we made them promise to not tell the grandparents until we were ready.

Now back to the actual labor story.  I was trying to not have the epidural until the last possible moment because I wanted to be able to stand up and move around during the contractions.  The contractions were bearable as long as I tried to focus on something else during the pain.  At noon I was 3-4 centimeters and the pain was getting worse.  A nurse from the NICU came by to explain what would happen once Belle was born, and I could barely focus on what she was saying because my contractions were so painful.  I would have to ask her to stop talking and grip the bedrails until it passed.  I went ahead and said I wanted the epidural and fortunately the anesthesiologist was nearby.  I was in so much pain from the contractions that the thought of a needle in my spine didn't faze me.  I didn't feel any pain, just a cold stinging.  After a few minutes the epidural began to work, and I felt my legs and feet go numb.  Fortunately, that was when we had our surprise visitors stop by and I was able to talk to them.  Sean and I were starting to relax that afternoon and I was looking forward to getting a nap in before I had to push.  Instead, about an hour after my epidural, I noticed it began to wear off.  I was slightly numb, and when the contractions came I could feel the pain especially on my right side.  I requested to see the doctor.  A different anesthesiologist came by and asked me if I wanted a second epidural.  I went against my instinct and said okay.  Now looking back, I should have just declined because apparently they do not work very well on me.  It was almost 3:00 p.m. by the time he was able to administer the second epidural, and I had progressed so quickly that there wasn't enough time for the epidural to take full effect.  The nurse called for my OB to come at 3:50 and she arrived ten minutes later.  Those were the longest ten minutes of my life because I had started to feel the urge to push.  The nurse told me I couldn't push until my doctor arrived, and it took everything I had to keep myself from pushing.

Well, at 4:00 p.m. my OB arrived, prepped everything and had me start pushing.  The first round of pushing I wasn't sure how to do it.  I pushed but I wasn't focused and exhausted myself quickly.  By the second round of pushing I knew what to do.  I think I only had to push 6 or 7 rounds before her head was out.  Sean was by my side the entire time and I'm pretty sure I bruised his hand.  The last round of pushing was the biggest relief because her body finally came out.  Sean said I pushed so hard she shot out like a rocket!  Belle was born at 4:15 p.m.  She was 3 pounds 9 ounces and 15 3/4 inches when she was born.  He wasn't able to cut the cord because it was wrapped around the baby's neck.  My OB cut the cord quickly and she immediately started crying!  That was the most joyous noise to my ears!  They took her over to the side of the room to clean her up and get her hooked her up to monitors due to her premature status.  My husband was so sweet and started crying.  He also was able to film her with our camera while my doctor completed my stitches and delivered the placenta.  I was not able to hold her, but they did bring her over to me so I could see her for a moment before they took her to the NICU.  To be honest, I was so exhausted from the labor that it didn't matter that much to me.  I knew she was in excellent hands and that we would see her soon.

After she was taken to NICU and my OB had left, we started calling the grandparents.  It was fun calling them and telling them to come to the hospital right away because Isabelle had been born.  They all pretty much said, "What, the baby's been born?"  "Okay, we'll be there right away!"  My dad was so excited that he ended up being late to the hospital because he rear-ended someone on the freeway!  He said the traffic ticket was worth it!  Sean's parents handled the news pretty well and were just excited to see Belle.  My mom was a little upset with me since I lied to her on the phone earlier.  Fortunately, she got over that pretty quickly once she got to go see her sweet granddaughter.  We had family visitors all evening long, and Sean had to take them two at a time to see her in the NICU.  I was the last to see her, and they took me by her bed on the way up to the recovery room.  I had not cried the entire day, but as soon as I got to see her sweet face I burst into tears!  It was the best moment ever sitting there holding her hand with Sean by my side.  Ultimately, Sean and I were happy about our decision to go through the labor and delivery by ourselves.  It was never stressed about having family waiting on us for hours, and it was special knowing only me and Sean shared the experience of bringing our daughter into the world.  We became a family in an instant, and I don't regret a thing.

I was taken up to the recovery room and finally allowed myself to relax.  Obviously I had never been pregnant before, I had never given birth before, and I had never had to recover from a birth before.  I was bleeding quite a bit, but I thought it was normal.  My nurse on the recovery floor helped me to the restroom before I tried to go to sleep.  She also noticed I was bleeding alot and was passing huge blood clots.  I was bleeding so much that by midnight she became concerned and contacted the doctor on call.  At 1:30 a.m. the doctor arrived to examine me.  This was the most painful experience, much more painful than childbirth.  I was already sore and torn from the delivery that it made the examination unbearable.  I immediately started crying due to pain.  Sean later said he was so upset because he thought it lasted longer than it needed to.  The doctor determined I had some type of laceration that had not been stitched and had me taken down to the operation room.  I was relieved and thought it would be a simple fix with a few stitches.  This was not the case.  As soon as we arrived back downstairs two anesthesiologists began asking me all kinds of questions about my medical history.  Then, several nurses came in to prep me.  I knew this was major surgery when I was being wheeled into the stark white operating room.  The doctor asked me if I wanted an epidural or to be put under.  This time I knew exactly what I wanted, "Put me under!" because I was afraid the epidural would not work.  In the meantime, they scared Sean pretty badly while he was waiting on me.  They told him it could be an easy fix or it could be so severe that I could lose my uterus!  He was upset and called my mom and his mom to tell them what was going on.  Fortunately, it was an "easy fix" and they repaired a blood vessel that ruptured while I was pushing.  The surgery only took a half hour, and we still found a little humor in the whole situation.  Apparently, when I woke up from the anesthesia I was pretty violent.  So violent that I tried to pull the breathing tube out and scratched one of the nurses all over her arm.  Sean told me all of this while I was in the recovery room waking up.  The nurse that I had scratched was still in the room checking my vitals.  I was still pretty drugged and I said groggily, "Did I scratch you?"  She said, "Yes, but that's okay it happens all the time."  Then I said in my drugged state with no sympathy in my voice, "Sorry."  and turned my held and fell back asleep!  Sean told me later her arm looked like a cat attacked her, and she was definitely annoyed.  He said it was all he could do to not laugh out loud!

I stayed in the hospital an additional two days to recover.  It took me about four days to feel back to normal after giving birth.  While I was there the lactation consultant helped me express milk so we could give Belle some clostrum.  We visited her several times a day, and I was comforted knowing she was just downstairs.  It was so hard leaving her in the hospital while I went home.  By the grace of God, she was born healthy and never required any oxygen or assistance while in the NICU.  She had an ECHO and we confirmed that she had no congenital heart defects.  I will have to put up a second post about the first two weeks of her life, and how we finally were able to bring her home.
  

 Right after Belle was born

 Isn't she beautiful

 The first time I got to hold her and I was definitely crying.

A proud daddy:  the first time Sean got to hold her.

Until I Get More Time...

Hi Everyone,


So sorry that I haven't posted to the blog in awhile, but I have an excellent excuse!  Isabelle Catherine was born on December 12, 2011 at 4:15 p.m.  Our sweet baby was 7 weeks early at 33 weeks and 5 days, and she spent two weeks in the NICU.  Sean and I finally have her home and she is thriving!  Here is a link to some photos of Belle until I have time to return and write about the most eventful time in our lives.                                 

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100119122549457.2382453.20604483&type=1&l=2c10be8173