I think it's about time I come to grips with the fact that the next 3 months are going to go by very quickly. For that matter, the next 6 months are going to go by very quickly. Why, you might ask? Well, obviously you have the holidays but I also know quite a few pregnant ladies who are all due within weeks of one another. Already, this month has just flown away. To give you an idea of how fast this will be, here's a little timeline for you:
Two weekends ago: My cousin got married
Last Wednesday: Bella's first birthday
Last Saturday: Bella's first birthday party
Two big events in less than a week. Moving onto the future!
3 days from now: Halloween. Time to dress up and party hearty! Don't forget to hand out candy to the little ones.
4 weeks: Thanksgiving. Hooray for all that we've been given and the delicious stuffing and pies that come with this joyous holiday!
5 weeks: Hanukkah begins. A shout out to my few Jewish friends out there!
6 weeks: Miss Trisha is due with her first baby, a boy! Can you believe it? It's right around the corner!
7 weeks: Michelle's first baby, Evelyn, will celebrate her first birthday! Its already been a year since we had little newborns to take care of...now its time to bust out the 1 candle.
7-9 weeks: My sister is due with her second baby. There is a possibility that she is 2 weeks further along than her doctor originally thought, thus the 2 week span.
8 weeks: My niece (sister's first girl) will be 2 years old. Already to the terrible 2s :)
8 weeks and 2 days: Christmas. The biggest holiday for a lot of people I know. It is a great holiday to celebrate! For Christians, the greatest thing to celebrate happened on this day.
9 weeks and 2 days: New Year's Day. WHAT!?! Another year already....scary.
13 weeks: Heather's second baby boy will be 1!
14 weeks: My next baby is due. Trippy. Very trippy.
15 weeks: Angela H's first baby will be 1!
19 weeks: Kayla's baby is due. A first for her and her husband. A greatly anticipated first!
24 weeks: Heidi's baby is due. Another couple with a first. This one has been a long time coming :)!
All of this is going to happen in the next 6 months. I can hardly believe it. It feels like I just found out these girl's, and myself, were pregnant and now almost all of us are past the halfway point. INSANE! I've never felt that time was slipping away from me with my little girl, like many moms do, but now, it's happening.
With all of the holidays and events fast approaching, I know she'll be walking before I can realize it's happened. Once that happens, things are really gonna take off for her and I won't have a baby anymore, but a toddler. My life is never going to be the same again, for a wonderful reason of course. Even better, I'm going to get to say that many times in the next year and watch a lot of friends experience the same unique feeling!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
4 years
It's moments like these that I can see how much my life has changed. In the past 4 years, I've graduated college, gotten married, had a child, and conceived another. That's a considerable amount of things for a 24 year old. Not that this hasn't been done before, but its still weird to think about.
It seems all the more real right now because, today, Steve and I have been married for 3 years and 5 months and tomorrow is Arabella's first birthday. Getting married changed everything. I no longer lived under my parent's roof. I actually felt kind of responsible for the other person in my house, just as he now felt responsible for me. I had to consider getting a full time job to help bring in some money, if for no other reason than to save it. Now, not all of these things actually happened (ie: the job), but these were the things I realized shortly after we got married and the reality of the situation hit me. The great thing is that Steve and I make a very good pair. Neither of us are very intense people and the pain in the ass idiosyncrasies we do have are evened out by the other person. We just work.
Since before we got married, I had the baby bug. I had no clue how much it would change things. You can tell expectant mothers that things will be very different, but it means nothing until they actually experience it. After a year, its very apparent to me how true that is. No experience is the same with a child. Its fun to compare notes with other mommies and find out what their kiddo does and likes, but your child is unique and you'll always find differences. Because of that, your overall experience will be different from other mothers. I think, though, that we can all agree that everything that changes is well worth it!
Right now, it may not seem like it for me, in a very small way. Getting up at 4 am for a runny nose is not my idea of a good time, but if baby doesn't feel well, she's gonna get some comfort. So I did my duty of clearing her nose some and giving her a little medicine. Soon enough, the hope is that she'll realize she still needs another few hours of sleep and will go ahead and catch up on that, leaving me to do the same!
But again, its all worth it.
It seems all the more real right now because, today, Steve and I have been married for 3 years and 5 months and tomorrow is Arabella's first birthday. Getting married changed everything. I no longer lived under my parent's roof. I actually felt kind of responsible for the other person in my house, just as he now felt responsible for me. I had to consider getting a full time job to help bring in some money, if for no other reason than to save it. Now, not all of these things actually happened (ie: the job), but these were the things I realized shortly after we got married and the reality of the situation hit me. The great thing is that Steve and I make a very good pair. Neither of us are very intense people and the pain in the ass idiosyncrasies we do have are evened out by the other person. We just work.
Since before we got married, I had the baby bug. I had no clue how much it would change things. You can tell expectant mothers that things will be very different, but it means nothing until they actually experience it. After a year, its very apparent to me how true that is. No experience is the same with a child. Its fun to compare notes with other mommies and find out what their kiddo does and likes, but your child is unique and you'll always find differences. Because of that, your overall experience will be different from other mothers. I think, though, that we can all agree that everything that changes is well worth it!
Right now, it may not seem like it for me, in a very small way. Getting up at 4 am for a runny nose is not my idea of a good time, but if baby doesn't feel well, she's gonna get some comfort. So I did my duty of clearing her nose some and giving her a little medicine. Soon enough, the hope is that she'll realize she still needs another few hours of sleep and will go ahead and catch up on that, leaving me to do the same!
But again, its all worth it.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Our Big October Weekend!
Although it may seem like we had a long weekend going all over one side of Oklahoma, going to a wedding and visiting friends. However, it was far shorter than I would have liked.
Its been a very long time since I've seen much of my family and we got a chance to do so this weekend for my cousin, Aaron's, wedding. Its great when so many of us are able to get together! We didn't end up staying for the barbecue afterwards, which I know would have been fun, but at least we had a great time before the wedding and at the reception. Its weird to think that almost all of my cousins are married now. There's only two or three left that have yet to get hitched. It seems like it was just yesterday that Andy and Aaron were visiting us in Keller and we'd play in the backyard, making up games that we thought would be fun for the four of us. Now, they're both married. I'm married. Lynsie has an almost 2 year old and one more on the way. Time just flew right by.
The other super fun thing we got to do this weekend was see the Fowlingtons and Millingtons. I jump at the chance to see Michelle. I used to see her so often that its weird now that we may only see each other 2 times a year. Being as sweet as always, Michelle got some cupcakes for Bella's birthday this next week and we got together at her parent's house to visit and relax. We also thoroughly enjoyed watching Bella and Evelyn tear into their cupcakes. Then we witnessed the sugar rush it caused. And finally, the crash that happens after you ingest any amount of sugar when you aren't used to having sugar almost at all. Very amusing. The girls had lots of fun playing together, or next to each other. They both kind of had their own toys they would mess around with, then they would look at one another and investigate what the other was doing. I was surprised that they played so well together because its pretty common for babies around their age to just ignore each other and stick to their own toys.
The other activity we did this weekend was go to a pumpkin patch with the Fowlingtons and Millingtons. We got to see all of the animals and Michelle's sisters, Meredith and Madison, fed as many of the animals as they could. We also got some pictures of the girls in a big pile of pumpkins. Some of the pumpkins were far bigger than either of them. In a couple years here, that won't be the case and it is going to be weird looking back at those pictures and seeing how they fit so easily in a pile of the little pumpkins. We also got some delicious fudge (the pumpkin pie pecan is ridiculously delicious) and some peach barbecue sauce to try out. I love locally made goods because they always have something a little extra special about them. Can't wait to try that barbecue sauce!
I can't tell you how wonderful it is to get to see not only a great friend but another mom who gets to experience the same kind of things you are. Having kids changes everything and having someone to compare notes with makes it all the easier, if for no other reason than you can truly see that every experience is different but we all end up in the same place. Michelle has always been a calming presence for me anyway, but its so nice to experience things at the same time.
I'm going to end this post with a shout out to another (future) Millington, Trish! She's about to join us in the mom club here in December and I couldn't be more excited for her! I'm glad I got to see her and her adorable belly since we'll miss her baby shower. Only 7 more weeks!
Its been a very long time since I've seen much of my family and we got a chance to do so this weekend for my cousin, Aaron's, wedding. Its great when so many of us are able to get together! We didn't end up staying for the barbecue afterwards, which I know would have been fun, but at least we had a great time before the wedding and at the reception. Its weird to think that almost all of my cousins are married now. There's only two or three left that have yet to get hitched. It seems like it was just yesterday that Andy and Aaron were visiting us in Keller and we'd play in the backyard, making up games that we thought would be fun for the four of us. Now, they're both married. I'm married. Lynsie has an almost 2 year old and one more on the way. Time just flew right by.
The other super fun thing we got to do this weekend was see the Fowlingtons and Millingtons. I jump at the chance to see Michelle. I used to see her so often that its weird now that we may only see each other 2 times a year. Being as sweet as always, Michelle got some cupcakes for Bella's birthday this next week and we got together at her parent's house to visit and relax. We also thoroughly enjoyed watching Bella and Evelyn tear into their cupcakes. Then we witnessed the sugar rush it caused. And finally, the crash that happens after you ingest any amount of sugar when you aren't used to having sugar almost at all. Very amusing. The girls had lots of fun playing together, or next to each other. They both kind of had their own toys they would mess around with, then they would look at one another and investigate what the other was doing. I was surprised that they played so well together because its pretty common for babies around their age to just ignore each other and stick to their own toys.
The other activity we did this weekend was go to a pumpkin patch with the Fowlingtons and Millingtons. We got to see all of the animals and Michelle's sisters, Meredith and Madison, fed as many of the animals as they could. We also got some pictures of the girls in a big pile of pumpkins. Some of the pumpkins were far bigger than either of them. In a couple years here, that won't be the case and it is going to be weird looking back at those pictures and seeing how they fit so easily in a pile of the little pumpkins. We also got some delicious fudge (the pumpkin pie pecan is ridiculously delicious) and some peach barbecue sauce to try out. I love locally made goods because they always have something a little extra special about them. Can't wait to try that barbecue sauce!
I can't tell you how wonderful it is to get to see not only a great friend but another mom who gets to experience the same kind of things you are. Having kids changes everything and having someone to compare notes with makes it all the easier, if for no other reason than you can truly see that every experience is different but we all end up in the same place. Michelle has always been a calming presence for me anyway, but its so nice to experience things at the same time.
I'm going to end this post with a shout out to another (future) Millington, Trish! She's about to join us in the mom club here in December and I couldn't be more excited for her! I'm glad I got to see her and her adorable belly since we'll miss her baby shower. Only 7 more weeks!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Keep the baby warm!
I'm on a quest to find something that will keep Bella warm at night that she will actually put up with. Tonight's experiment is with footie pajamas. My problem with them is that they don't fit to her body very well. A onesie and pants fit much more closely to her body and allow her to move better than she can in a one piece anything. And let me tell you, even in her sleep, this kid moves.
For the first 15 minutes, she's been playing just fine. Good start. However, if anyone has any suggestions for other things I can try that don't involve anything loose, I'm game to hear them!
PS: Because she moves so much, I can just see her crumpling the blanket up due to her movement during sleep and then planting her face right in it....sounds like mommy's worst nightmare to me.
For the first 15 minutes, she's been playing just fine. Good start. However, if anyone has any suggestions for other things I can try that don't involve anything loose, I'm game to hear them!
PS: Because she moves so much, I can just see her crumpling the blanket up due to her movement during sleep and then planting her face right in it....sounds like mommy's worst nightmare to me.
Sigh, Controversial topic ahead.
Yesterday at church, we got the baby talk. Now, when it comes from church, 9 times out of 10 its all about how abortion and other such life altering procedures are wrong. Most church officials you come across are very conservative and that's just what they are going to believe. This little "chat" was no different.
First, our priest talked about abortion. Its fairly safe to say I'm against this as well. I know there are some extenuating circumstances and I understand that. If its done, I'm not going to judge you. But overall, I was adopted, so that's generally the way I say you should go.
That's not what annoys me though about the baby talk. What drives me crazy is all the talk about how surrogates are a sin and in vitro fertilization and other such procedures are a sin. Give me a break! I can't tell you how many parents there are out there who were unable to have children without these medical miracles. I believe that there are tons of great people out there who deserve the chance to have their own children if it is possible. These procedures make it possible! If I could not have children of my own, I would certainly consider in vitro. If I knew someone close to me who could not carry a pregnancy but still wanted a chance to have a child of their own genes, you bet I'd be willing to be a surrogate!
The priest also talked about extreme situations where parents choose the genes of their child so that they would look a certain way or be a certain gender and again how it is a sin. Sin or not, I do think this is a little crazy. I wouldn't want to choose the way my child will look or what gender they'll be. That's half the fun of having a baby! Who will the child look like? You get to watch your baby grow up to find out! As for the gender, I settled a long time before we started trying for kids that if I didn't have a girl naturally, eventually I would adopt. I wasn't going to go through some long genetic process to try and have a girl. There are loads of children all over the world waiting to be adopted, both born and unborn. Being adopted myself, it seemed like the logically solution. Now, we know I've already had a girl but I still love the idea of adopting.
Going to church, these are just some of the things you're going to hear about that you may not agree with. Many of my friends are definitely not conservative and I'm sure have experienced the same thing. None of this is going to change my spiritual beliefs, whether they align with the church or not. Whenever there's talk about something I don't necessarily agree with, I smile and stay attentive, because when they're preaching its what you do :).
First, our priest talked about abortion. Its fairly safe to say I'm against this as well. I know there are some extenuating circumstances and I understand that. If its done, I'm not going to judge you. But overall, I was adopted, so that's generally the way I say you should go.
That's not what annoys me though about the baby talk. What drives me crazy is all the talk about how surrogates are a sin and in vitro fertilization and other such procedures are a sin. Give me a break! I can't tell you how many parents there are out there who were unable to have children without these medical miracles. I believe that there are tons of great people out there who deserve the chance to have their own children if it is possible. These procedures make it possible! If I could not have children of my own, I would certainly consider in vitro. If I knew someone close to me who could not carry a pregnancy but still wanted a chance to have a child of their own genes, you bet I'd be willing to be a surrogate!
The priest also talked about extreme situations where parents choose the genes of their child so that they would look a certain way or be a certain gender and again how it is a sin. Sin or not, I do think this is a little crazy. I wouldn't want to choose the way my child will look or what gender they'll be. That's half the fun of having a baby! Who will the child look like? You get to watch your baby grow up to find out! As for the gender, I settled a long time before we started trying for kids that if I didn't have a girl naturally, eventually I would adopt. I wasn't going to go through some long genetic process to try and have a girl. There are loads of children all over the world waiting to be adopted, both born and unborn. Being adopted myself, it seemed like the logically solution. Now, we know I've already had a girl but I still love the idea of adopting.
Going to church, these are just some of the things you're going to hear about that you may not agree with. Many of my friends are definitely not conservative and I'm sure have experienced the same thing. None of this is going to change my spiritual beliefs, whether they align with the church or not. Whenever there's talk about something I don't necessarily agree with, I smile and stay attentive, because when they're preaching its what you do :).
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Do you remember coming home?
Watching baby shows always gets me thinking. Today, my thoughts are going towards coming home with your new baby. From what I can remember, Bella's homecoming was actually somewhat quiet. We were excited to take her home, don't get me wrong. I think that we were just so relieved that she was well enough to go home and tired from the first week of going back and forth from the hospital that it was a subdued excitement. Once we got home, I don't remember being scared or at a loss of what to do. It was as if we just did what we always did. Whenever Bella was unhappy, she'd be fed and changed then she fell back asleep and we resumed what we were doing. So many parents talk about the anticipation and being in awe of their little bundle that coming home becomes a bit of a shock, but I just don't remember that.
It makes me wonder how things will be this time around. Will we have another week of back and forth to the hospital when Jude is born? Will I be at a loss for what to do if he's perfectly healthy and stays in my room with me? Can I cope with having 2 kids to keep up with? I think of all of the questions floating around in my head, the last is what worries me the most. I can cope with the late nights, having Jude in my room right away, and I can even cope with another stint in the NICU. However, juggling 2 kids scares the crap out of me.
My biggest worry is that Bella is already accustomed to things being her way. With a little brother, that will start to change. The thing I keep reminding myself of is that newborns don't actually require that much attention. When you compare a toddler to a newborn, one is up all the time and active and the other sleeps 2/3 of the day and can't move very much. But when a newborn needs something, they need it right then. If Jude has to eat, Bella has to take a backseat for a little while so mommy can feed her brother. Bella is able to play on her own sometimes, but again, she loves attention and is used to things being her way.
Other than that, I honestly don't see what is so scary about bringing a newborn home. If I'm gonna be scared at all, it would be the moment your child is born. Whether you're in the hospital or at home, that baby is now your responsibility and yours alone. The hospital just makes sure that no one steals your kiddo, you actually get to take care of him/her. If I had to guess, for myself anyway, being in the NICU for the first week gave me a lot of time to work with nurses and talk about what it takes to take care of this baby. I also saw what it takes to take care of an infant with special needs. So many of the other children in the NICU had serious problems and it made me realize just how lucky we were that Bella was going to be just fine with little need for extra help. After all of that, coming home seemed pretty minuscule on the scare charts.
Now, after a month or so, all of that changed.....my doctor's nurse and I talk A LOT. I suppose it just took a while for my paranoia to kick back in :). I'll find out soon enough if that paranoia is going to stick around or if Jude will have a much more relaxed mommy. Here's hoping for the latter!
It makes me wonder how things will be this time around. Will we have another week of back and forth to the hospital when Jude is born? Will I be at a loss for what to do if he's perfectly healthy and stays in my room with me? Can I cope with having 2 kids to keep up with? I think of all of the questions floating around in my head, the last is what worries me the most. I can cope with the late nights, having Jude in my room right away, and I can even cope with another stint in the NICU. However, juggling 2 kids scares the crap out of me.
My biggest worry is that Bella is already accustomed to things being her way. With a little brother, that will start to change. The thing I keep reminding myself of is that newborns don't actually require that much attention. When you compare a toddler to a newborn, one is up all the time and active and the other sleeps 2/3 of the day and can't move very much. But when a newborn needs something, they need it right then. If Jude has to eat, Bella has to take a backseat for a little while so mommy can feed her brother. Bella is able to play on her own sometimes, but again, she loves attention and is used to things being her way.
Other than that, I honestly don't see what is so scary about bringing a newborn home. If I'm gonna be scared at all, it would be the moment your child is born. Whether you're in the hospital or at home, that baby is now your responsibility and yours alone. The hospital just makes sure that no one steals your kiddo, you actually get to take care of him/her. If I had to guess, for myself anyway, being in the NICU for the first week gave me a lot of time to work with nurses and talk about what it takes to take care of this baby. I also saw what it takes to take care of an infant with special needs. So many of the other children in the NICU had serious problems and it made me realize just how lucky we were that Bella was going to be just fine with little need for extra help. After all of that, coming home seemed pretty minuscule on the scare charts.
Now, after a month or so, all of that changed.....my doctor's nurse and I talk A LOT. I suppose it just took a while for my paranoia to kick back in :). I'll find out soon enough if that paranoia is going to stick around or if Jude will have a much more relaxed mommy. Here's hoping for the latter!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Possible hobby
Birthday photos are super fun to take. Bella was so playful during her photo shoot. She tried to attack the camera, multiple times. She gave our photographer tons of smiles. Bella just loves being the center of attention!
Only problem is that they cost so much money! I think that I should make photography a hobby of mine. An iPhone can only do so much. There's also the fact that I can get some really cool photo software to enhance my photos.
Some things are worth pouring money into, and I think that, over time, this will be one of those things!
Only problem is that they cost so much money! I think that I should make photography a hobby of mine. An iPhone can only do so much. There's also the fact that I can get some really cool photo software to enhance my photos.
Some things are worth pouring money into, and I think that, over time, this will be one of those things!
