3 months

At 3 months, Daley girl is:
     -smiling a lot
     -telling us lots of stories about her adventures
     -eating like a champ
     -sleeping for 10 hours each night
     -giggling (this momma can't wait for them to be more frequent)
     -loving to sit up with our help
     -as cute as can be!

Stop to smell the diapers

Have you experienced those days of slight panic as your try and fit your baby into too small newborn diapers because somehow it might mean that she will stop growing up?  Well than you are crazy, because I have never felt that way...I am just writing this post of how I would imagine your panic as your baby grows up.  

I use the word panic in is least serious sense.  It isn't a fearful panic, but simply the realization that your (not my baby) is growing up and you really can't do anything to stop it.  You can only fool yourself into thinking that she still fits into newborns.  Her thighs are getting plumper, her belly is becoming rounder, and her cheeks are taking up more room on her beautiful little face.  She is grabbing toys, playing, interacting, kicking like she has been doing some squats in the weight room, and smiling as if the paparazzi is just around each corner.  She. is. growing. up. Your baby, not mine.

Then, after you can't justify using another newborn diaper, you go up to size ones.  You think to yourself, this is great, she just moved up to ones, I have cases of ones, obviously she will be a size one for a long time, if not indefinitely.  You forget the panic of moving out of newborns and fool yourself into thinking that you will have a size one baby and the world is your oyster.  

When you see me I see you returning a case of size one diapers because your baby moved into size two diapers before you could use all of the size ones, I won't mention how fast time goes and that your baby is growing up.  Don't worry, I'm sure she will be in size twos forever.  

And now, in all seriousness, I am thankful that my little girl is growing up.  She is healthy.  She is happy.  She loves to eat. She loves to smile.  She is loved by all that meet her.  She is a child of God.  She is a blessing! I will cherish each stage, each size of diaper, because they don't stop growing.  

A Mother's Intuition

When I was pregnant with Daley I heard a lot of advice on raising a little girl.  One piece of advice that was repeated time and time again was "trust your mother's intuition."  What every person failed to mention when they gave that advice is that you will most likely doubt your mother's intuition until you see the fruits of your labor...and sometimes those fruits will come in that instant, days later, weeks later, or even months later.  Instead, they simply said "trust your mother's intuition."

Case in point: bedtime.  Daley girl is a champion sleeper.  Since she was 5 weeks old she has slept at least 7 hours at night, often 8 and the occasional 9 hours.  I am so thankful for this!  So why mess with a good thing, right?  The only set back about her sleep habits is that she wasn't going down for the night until midnight.  She would be awake until midnight, dreadfully tired, but awake.  So, this is where my mother's intuition told me that she probably didn't want to be awake that late but her second wind was kicking in at some point during the evening.  This is also where the doubt came in, telling me 'why mess with a good thing, she is a good sleeper, just be thankful for that.'

Tyler and I moved forward with our plan to try and get her to bed earlier, desperately hoping that we weren't messing with a good thing.  No magic potions or sleep dances, just trying to create a calm bed time environment around 10:00pm.  It took about a week of her continuing to stare us right in the eyes from 10:00pm to midnight, and then we had three nights in a row of 11:30pm.  So, a week and a half later I was thankful for my mother's intuition.  The doubt left my mind and I felt like I did the right thing. Tonight, Daley girl is sleeping at 10:30.  

I know that they late nights aren't over, but I am a woman that trusts the Lord and has a great husband; my late nights are not spent alone. That makes me one grateful momma!  

One, two, buckle my shoe

How many of you thought I was pregnant with baby number 2 when you saw the title to this blog post...maybe you thought I was making an announcement with numbers similar to Mindi, but I assure you I am not making that announcement at this time.  Instead, I am catching up on Daley's month 1 update and right on time with her month 2 update.

 At 1 month Daley is:
 - trying to smile
 - sleeping 4 to six hours at night
 - taking 3 hour naps during the day
 - dirtying the diaper with ease
 - holding her head up with a little wobbling
 - such a sweet baby

At 2 months Daley is:
 - smiling big and proud of it
 - sleeping 6 to 9 hours at night (whoohoo)
 - taking 1 to 2 hour naps during the day
 - still dirtying the diaper with ease (she's a healthy girl)
 - holding her head up with only an occasional wobble
 - very active when she is awake
 - a fan of kicking her feet...hard
 - making great eye contact
 - grunting, her favorite form of communication
 - well loved by momma and papa

Each day is a blessing!

The Main Event

Recently, at work, I was a part of a team that was working very long hours.  Each night when I would head home the team would say "don't have that baby tonight."  Every Wednesday I had a doctors appointment, to which I would let my team know and also let them know that I was going to pack up my stuff so that if the doctor said I needed to rest at home I wouldn't have to come back for my computer, etc.

On Wednesday, September 5th, I headed home from work to pick Tyler up so we could head to my 38 week appointment at 3:15pm.  Two weeks prior, at my 36 week appointment, I was 3 cm dilated and the baby's head was far down. At my 37 week appointment I wasn't measured, and I really hadn't felt any real discomfort and was never really sure if I was having contractions or anything.  I was going to head back to work after my appointment, after getting ice cream with Tyler.

At the appointment on September 5th, the doctor asked me if I was ready for the baby to be here...to which I replied "she'll come when she's ready I suppose."  I laid back as the doctor proceeded to check me to see if I was progressing at all.  Right before the appointment Tyler and I made a bet, Tyler betting that I was still at a 3, and me saying that I was maybe a 4.  The doctor performed her exam..."Oh my, you are going to have this baby today.  You are 7 cm dilated.  Have you had any discomfort with these contractions?"

Ha, to be honest I thought that contractions were just my baby sticking her back and bottom out.  I never felt the beginning or the end of a contraction, but sometimes thought maybe I was having one because my stomach was tighter than normal.  Tyler and I looked at each other wide eyed and asked if we had time to go home and pack.  The doctor said yes of course and said she would meet us at the hospital in a little bit.

As we exited the doctors office I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that I was 7cm dilated and hadn't felt a thing. We called my mom so she could start driving from Oregon, and then proceeded to call the rest of the family members on my side and Tyler's side.  We then went to the credit union where my sister-in-law works and asked her if she was ready to meet her niece today.

Once we were home it started to sink in that we were going to meet our little girl that day.  I was hot and a little sweaty as I tried to pack for a hospital stay where I had no idea what I was going to feel like or what would be considered comfortable after giving birth.

We arrived at the hospital where the nurses asked me what my pain management plan was.  I said "Well, I am 7cm so aren't I out of options?"  They said that I still had time for an epidural, to which I explained that I wanted to just play it by ear.  Tyler and I walked the halls while the nurses waited for orders from my doctor.  They monitored the baby's heart beat and my contractions, to which I was still clueless that I was having contractions unless I looked at the monitor.  The nurse said that the doctor wanted to break my water. Once the doctor arrived she said "this will feel like a normal exam" and she wasn't kidding.  I had no idea that she had just broken my water until after she left and I sat up in bed...I started laughing as warm water went everywhere.  I couldn't stop laughing.  I asked if it was ever going to stop.  The time was 5:45pm.

Tyler and I got up to walk the halls more, but within the first lap I had to rest again the railing during contractions. I think we only made it two laps before I was having heavy contractions that were getting closer, so we headed back to the room.  It took me about two more contractions to figure out that I needed to sit on the bed with my legs on the floor.  Tyler sat facing me and I put my hands on his knees as I tried to relax through my contractions.  I 'rug burned' his knees from my grip, but he didn't say a word. The nurse checked me, I was 8 cm dilated. I had been told by friends that at 8cm I would want an epidural, but that if I could focus it wouldn't be too much longer.  Man were they right.  In my head I wanted these contractions to stop so badly, but I never said a word to anyone but Tyler about it.  I kept working through the contractions, gripping Tyler's knees tighter and tighter. I continued on without an epidural, I was going to do this naturally.  I don't have anything against epidurals and always thought I would have one.  Not this time, but I will still claim the 'let's play it by ear' method for future pregnancies. Shift change, we were introduced to our new nurse. I had the urge to push, Tyler let the nurse know. The nurse checked me, I was 9 cm dilated.  The time was 7:20.  She called the doctor to let her know that I was ready to push.

I spent the next hour and ten minutes pushing.  What a relief it was to push.  Contractions were hard work.  I was surprised by how exhausting the contractions were.  The doctor and nurse were absolutely perfect, they encouraged me in the exact way that I wanted to be encouraged. Tyler was amazing, giving me water and placing a cold wet washcloth on my forehead between each pushing session.  I was a hot, sweaty mess with blood shot eyes as I focused on pushing correctly in order to meet my little girl.  I prayed a couple of times between contractions, sometimes they were prayers with full sentences, sometimes I was just saying "come on baby girl" over and over again in my head.

The time was 8:37pm, about 3 hours after my water broke, and my little girl was placed on my chest.  I am teary eyes just typing about it.  She was beautiful, she had the biggest hands, I loved hearing her big healthy cry.  She didn't have a name yet, but I said "hi baby" over and over again.  Tyler cut the cord and then headed over with our baby girl and a nurse as she was cleaned up.  She weighed in at 8lbs 3oz, 21 inches long, blonde hair, blue eyes, and features of both mom and dad.  We were in love.

Over the next two hours Tyler and I took turns holding her.  I had the shakes pretty bad, I guess that is to be expected after going through labor and delivery.  It isn't something that your body does everyday, so a little bit of the shakes seems appropriate.  We discussed names for her, and of course chose a name that wasn't on our list until that same day.  Daley Jane Crow.  How perfect.

Tyler's middle name is Dale, and Daley is the female version of Dale.  I love that she is named after her papa.  Tyler's best friend, Todd, passed away in 2007, and his mothers name is Janie.  Since Todd passed away Janie also lost her husband.  The middle name of Jane is after Janie, a strong woman that loves that Lord and has endured the unthinkable.

We are blessed!

Adventure: Parenthood

Daley Jane - 13 Days           Clara Noelle - 27 Days

You'll have to excuse the awkward picture of these beautiful babes, thankfully there will be plenty more play dates to get some better poses.  Daley and Clara are exactly 2 weeks apart.  Clara's mom, Jessie, has been one of my dear friends for the past 6 years.  We have spent the last 6 years laughing together, and thankfully that isn't going to change.  We are going through this adventure called parenthood together, and I couldn't be more grateful to have Jessie as a fellow 'new momma' as we text each other silly questions about our daughters, breast feeding, diaper rash and sleepless nights.  Little do Daley and Clara know, but they are going to be good friends.  They can either chose to be good friends or Jessie and I are fully prepared to force them to be good friends.  Take your pick girls!

Jessie has a blog dedicated to her new adventure as a mom, you have to check it out at http://horneymomtellsall.blogspot.com/... yes, you read that right.  horney. mom. tells. all.  While you wipe that judgmental look off your face, you can start laughing because her last name is Horney. Who am I kidding, sure it is her last name, but that blog title would be totally appropriate even if her last name was Smith! :-)

Daley Jane

Miss Daley Jane has stolen our hearts and widened our smiles!

Today, September 16th, was my due date with Daley...instead she is 11 days old!

I am hoping to write about her birth story and the days that followed sometime this week.  Forgive me if I don't get around to it though, I have to sit and stare at my beautiful girl!  

getting closer

30 weeks

33 weeks

I am officially all belly.  You know you are in your third trimester when...

...men you don't know start to ask when you are due

...your ankle bones appear smaller (or is it that my ankles appear bigger)

...baby body parts poke and prod throughout the day

...rolling over becomes an Olympic sport

...sleeping is simply a way to pass the time between bathroom visits

...you day dream about your little ones personality and hair color

...you and your husband look at each other with wide eyes when you realize you will be 'mom and dad' soon

Can't wait to meet Little Miss Crow!  

Simply Splendid Strawberry Lemonade

There are no pictures for this post, because when I was creating this strawberry lemonade I had no idea what I was onto!  It is wonderful!  I poor myself a glass with one hand and pat myself on the back with the other.  Hey, when you are 7.5 month pregnant and longing to meet your little girl it is the simple things in life that keep me distracted.  So, I enjoy each glass with a smile...one hand on the glass and one hand on my belly...are you noticing a theme?

Simply Splendid Strawberry Lemonade

Ingredients:
2/3 cup lemon juice (I used the store bought kind, but juice from a fresh lemon would work great)
1 cup sugar
1 cup hot water (I just used hot tap water, no boiling for this girl)
10 strawberries
Ice and cold water to end up with 2 quarts of strawberry lemonade

1. Pour 1 cup hot water into your pitcher, add 1 cup sugar and stir until dissolved
2. Add 2/3 cup lemon juice
3. In a small bowl crush up 10 strawberries, then poor strawberry juice and 'pulp' into the pitcher
4. Add a little ice and enough cold water to end up with 2 quarts of strawberry lemonade

I had Tyler help me taste test and the recipe above is our desired sweetness, etc.  You can fool around with it and find what works for you!  YUM!

In the past couple of days I have typed up a cleaning schedule (found here), which I think I am going to love...I also typed up emergency numbers for friends and family that will watch my little love (one for the kitchen and one for the diaper bag)...I typed up the inventory in my pantry and made a to-do list of things we want to get done around the house before Little Miss Crow arrives.  I guess you could say I am nesting!

feel the love

On June 9th, I gathered with some dear friends to celebrate my little girl.  

Tyler and I are blessed to have the love and support of so many people! Thankful for all of you!

26 weeks - dressed up for the shower

emily, kt, me and little miss

kt and molly - threw me an amazing shower

yes, the italian sodas were that good, finger lickin' good

these ladies better be prepared to be my real live guides to surviving and laughing through parenthood

it was cold, apparently i hunch when I am cold...my cute momma

the ladies that came to love of me and my girl

babies on board

petra is amazing, she hosted and blessed my little girl with this beautiful quilt!

medium changes

                                                                         21 weeks

                                                                            24 weeks

26 weeks

i have grown a bit since week 19 and i feel little miss crow move everyday.  we watch her kick and wiggle at night and she makes us laugh when she gets extra zealous in her movements.  thankful for every move she makes because it reminds me she is growing big and strong and preparing to meet her momma and poppa.  i am looking forward to seeing what color her hair is, seeing tyler hold her for the first time, watching her personality develop, and greeting her each morning with a smile.

Ooh baby baby

Tyler and I set out to buy a blue onesie and a pink onesie the night before our 21 week ultrasound.  We had fun picking them out and reality sat in that we were going to get to know our baby even more in the next 24 hours! 

We had a great ultrasound with Dr. Hughes, and found out that our baby is healthy as can be.  What a blessing!  

Then we gave the ultrasound pictures to my friend, Katie, who wrapped them up as a present with the respective onesie that coordinates with the gender.  We really had no idea! 

We are thrilled to know that we are having a baby girl.  Thankful and blessed!

Small Changes

are you serious?

ex.cite.ed.

4.5 weeks

11 weeks

13 weeks

    

15 weeks

17 weeks

19 weeks

My belly is growing and the changes are starting to become noticeable. Sleeping is interrupted with changing from side to side after I wake up sore.  The heart beat is strong at each appointment and I love hearing it! Check back around May 9th for the gender reveal!

The Bump?

The bump...
...looks like I ate too much for lunch
...is there one day and gone the next
...will soon be here to stay for a while
...will soon have a mind of its own
...will show me a new love for elastic
...is home to the baby I love most

15 weeks and thankful!

At 12 weeks I am...

...not feeling queasy!
...on week 2 of my 6 weeks of travel for work (don't worry, I get to go home every weekend)
...trying to recover from a day procedure (not baby related) without pain medicine other than tylenol, and not much of that either (call me crazy but the thought of my baby having a steady stream of pain meds just doesn't sound ideal)
...looking bloated to the point that people probably think "I thought she was a runner?"
...going home to visit my mom who wants to buy me maternity clothes...excited much?!
...so excited that my sweet and strong husband is building us a closet in hopes of getting organized before baby's arrival
...thinking about names and then deciding it will be easier when we know the gender...probably not
...loving chocolate milk
...head over heels in love with this baby
...loving every prayer that Tyler sends up for our baby
...and to end with the silliest thing of all, I saw baby shampoo and wanted to buy a bottle and sleep with it...really?

At 12 weeks I am thankful, excited, and blessed!

Simp

A simp is a baby crow.

Now I will have stories to post on my blog about my growing belly, the gender reveal, the labor story, and the moment that I see Tyler holding our baby.

I am blessed.