Lilypie Fourth Birthday tickers Lilypie Second Birthday tickers Lilypie First Birthday tickers

Monday, December 29, 2008

What a great Christmas holiday!

We had the best Christmas holiday ever! Brad, Peyton, and I went down to DeFuniak Springs, Florida the weekend before Christmas to visit Brad's parents and his brother and his family. We did an early Christmas Saturday night and everyone opened presents. Peyton got some adorable toys and lots of baby einstein videos. I am definitely looking forward to using those to help entertain her since she has a rather short attention span! Mama C and Grand Jack (Brad's parents) were super excited about seeing Peyton and had a great time with her. Peyton loved playing with her grandparents and her cousins Hayden and Alaina. I think Alaina is ready for Peyton to start crawling and walking around so she can have a playmate!

I had to work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (Christmas eve) nights, but I was able to spend Christmas morning and day with Brad and Peyton. We all went over to my parents house for the day and opened presents and drank mimosas with them and my brother. My sister and her little girl Evans came from Oxford, MS later that day and we had a fabulous Christmas dinner. Fried turkey is truly heavenly (although probably not the healthiest)! My parents gave Peyton fantastic toys including an octopus that squeeks when you squeeze his legs and this huge dinosaur that you can put the baby in and it is filled with balls (I can't describe it well - it is a minature form of those playpens that you see at McDonalds or Chickfila, with those balls and you can jump in....) Anyways, Santa sure was good to Peyton! Brad gave my mom and me the best gifts ever. He gave each of us a picture frame that has several small frames within the large one, so that you can put several pictures like a collage. He put the most perfect pictures of Peyton for me and for my mom he included pictures of the dogs, her parents, Peyton, and my sister and I. My mom and I both burst into tears when we opened them. Truly perfect gift.
Brad also got me an incredible video camera which is going to be fantastic to use as Peyton grows older. This was also the first time Brad and I actually spent the entire Christmas day together. Usually he travels out of town for the day to see his family and I spend the day with mine. This time we were able to enjoy the holiday together and with a little one too! It truly was one of my favorite Christmases ever, despite it being 65ish degrees outside.

Anyways, that is a brief update for now. I will post pictures soon. Peyton turned 4 months old on the 27th! She has her 4 month check up on January 6th and I am curious to see how much my little chunky money weighs! I know that two weeks ago when she had to go in for a check up since I had a contagious form a pneumonia (I had exposed her to it before realizing that I had it, but she was healthy and still has not gotten sick, thanks to her daddy's immune system!) that she weighed 14 pounds!!! She doubled her birth weight in under four months! Babies aren't really supposed to do that until 6 months. But oh well, she loves to eat and she is healthy!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Quite inconsistent...
















I am not doing the best job with keeping this blog updated, my apologies.










Peyton is doing absolutely fantastic. She will be four months on December 27th, I just cannot believe it! She has been sleeping through the night consistently since she was 8 weeks old. We are truly blessed to have such a good sleeper! She is still growing at a rapid rate and now weighs 14 pounds meaning she has just about doubled her birth weight, something she is supposed to do closer to 6 months of age. What can I say, she loves to eat! She has her official four month check up in January and will be receiving her secound round of vaccinations (although I am a bit nervous now due to poor Frances' reaction to the shots). Brad and I think Peyton is starting to teeth a little bit. She is rubbing her jaws together and trying to put anything and everything in her mouth. We are seriously dreading teething but I am going to stock up on Tylenol, Motrin, and those refrigerated teething toys (although she is not a fan of them at the moment).










Two weeks ago we purchased an exersaucer and a swing that goes in the doorway. The exersaucer is the baby einstein model and she seems to enjoy it to some degree. I am honestly a little surprise on how little came with the model (there are hooks on the crossbars to hang your own toys though), but she likes the spinning frog and the music. She is still a little small for the swing and we are a bit reluctant to put her in it before we put padding in the doorway since she can easily swing into it and bump her head quite nicely. We have some serious baby-proofing to do around the house in the very near future. Peyton hasn't rolled over quite yet and that is my fault - I don't put her on her belly enough. When I do put Peyton on her belly on the playmat, a very short amount of time passes before she starts screaming. We need to enjoy the bit of free time we have before she starts crawling and we won't be able to take our eyes off of her but for extremely short periods of time. However, I think Ranger will definitely help out with this. He is absolutely dying for Peyton to start crawling and walking so she can play with him. Ranger has some australian shepherd in him, so he will be good at herding her around the house.










Let's see, what else. Peyton is doing extremely well on the similac sensitive for gasiness and fussiness (lactose free), although she does require Mylicon for some feeds. We just started using the Playtex nurser bottles with the drop-ins and they are a blessing! I highly recommend them, especially for babies who have colic and gasiness. And the clean up is much quicker since you throw away the drop-ins after the feeds. So nice!










I have been paying close attention to Peyton's hearing skills by shaking toys behind each ear and seeing if she turns toward the noise. It was at six months of age when my parents realized I had hearing loss and I have been wearing hearing aids since I was 8 months old. We aren't sure if I was born with a hearing loss or if it occurred after birth. I spoke with the pediatrician about Peyton's hearing and my experience with hearing loss and she instantly decided that we should schedule a hearing test for Peyton when she is six months old. I was very impressed and relieved by the pediatrician's quick response regarding this issue. I think Peyton will not have a problem with hearing loss, but it is always better to be on the safe side.










Alright, I think I rambled quite a bit. I will try harder to update this blog more often but working full time and taking care of a little one definitely keeps Brad and me busy!















Thursday, November 6, 2008

Whoops

I had written a long entry the other day but it never posted on the website. So I will try to rewrite it as best as I can.

I went back to work last week. Last week and this week I am doing day shift, and then starting next week I am working night shift. Brad and I are so blessed that we have family that lives right down the road to help us with taking care of Peyton. Right now, I drop Peyton off at my parents' house before I go to work and Brad picks her up on his way home from work. When I go to nights, things will get tricky but it actually should work out very nicely. Brad will take care of her while I am at work and I will take care of her while he is at work. Thankfully I only work three days a week, that definitely helps so much. Work is going well. It was quite a shock the first day. Since I work in an intensive care unit, alarms are always going off, nurses and doctors are always running around, and something always needs to be done. I work in the neonatal ICU and the majority of the babies are premature and tiny. It was such a switch coming home to Peyton, who now weighs a very healthy 12 pounds, after work where I am taking care of babies who weigh 2 to 3 pounds. It also makes me very appreciative that Brad and I have such a healthy little girl.

Peyton is doing great. She is 10 weeks old, or two and half months. I can't believe how fast time has passed. As I mentioned before, she weighs 12 pounds now and is 23 inches long (both in 75th percentile). She went in for her two month check-up on Tuesday and the pediatrician says she looks great. Peyton also got four shots, two in each leg! The nurse that gave her the shots was so quick and gentle. Peyton only cried once and the nurse said that that was probably the least she has seen a baby cry after so many shots. Peyton is a tough girl! She is cooing and 'talking' so much nowadays. She loves playing with her daddy. Brad has made it where Peyton doesn't even cry during diaper changes; she is too busy playing to complain about having her diaper changed. Definitely makes diaper changes much more pleasant, except for the big poopy ones!

Ranger and Jackson are still doing great with Peyton. Ranger desperately wants to play with her but understands that she is still too young. When she starts crawling, he is going to have so much fun with her! Jackson pretty much hangs back most of the time. He comes over to sniff her from time to time. Other than that, he waits patiently (sometimes not so patiently) for playtime with Brad. The dogs definitely don't get as much attention as they are used to, but they are handling it well.

Ok, she is crying. It's time to eat. I will post more later!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

On Tuesday night, Peyton slept from 11:30 p.m to 8:30 a.m.!!! Absolutely incredible, especially for a seven week old baby. I was skeptical that it would happen again last night and I was right. She only slept from midnight to 4 a.m. - not good at all. I have been trying to get Brad to practice feeding her and putting her down at night because I go back to work in a week and half and I will be doing night shift, thus meaning Brad will be taking care of Peyton on his own at nights (only three nights a week though). I think he is having a difficult time with it and gets frustrated easily. However, he needs to keep practicing so they both will be able to sleep through the night.

Peyton and I went for a walk in her spiffy stroller this afternoon. There are two things she really likes: walks and baths. Today the weather was perfect and she was awake for most of the walk, looking around at the surroundings. I am sure she can't see much past the stroller, but she is cute when she looks like she is observing what's going on around her. I have also become extremely protective of Peyton. I don't like to walk on the sidewalks since they are incredibly bumpy and I'm afraid I am going to give Peyton her first concussion. So, I end up walking on the street, but only because the streets in our neighborhood or where I walk are extremely wide so there is plenty of room for cars to pass. Yet, some cars still come very close to us and at high speeds. That really just makes me mad. I think I might start taking a carton of eggs with me on our walks and hurl eggs at those cars who come too close to us while they are speeding. Maybe that will get the point across. What do you think?

Well she just ate and she is in her swing now looking around the room and following the dogs with her eyes as they walk around. Since she is content, I guess I will go clean up the house. It is amazing how much I have to clean on a daily basis. I wish Brad would help clean up more often. Maybe one day. We shall see.

Ok, talk later!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Visit with Mama C and Gran Jack

Brad's parents, Jack and Carolyn, came up to visit this past weekend. This was the first time they have seen Peyton since she was born, and they were amazed at how big she has gotten! As soon as they walked in the front door, they immediately dropped everything and picked Peyton up to play. Peyton was an angel and practiced her smiling all weekend; she smiled whenever Mama C spoke to her and when Gran Jack made his funny noises. Jack and Carolyn gave Brad and me a much needed break, and we were able to get out of the house and run some errands. It truly is amazing how hard it is to get ready with a newborn. It takes me at least two hours to get her and myself ready and out of the house to run errands. I have to make sure she is fed, has a clean diaper, has a clean outfit on, and make sure the diaper bag is filled with emergency items - extra bottles, diapers, wipes, outfits, burp clothes, pacifiers, and so on. Peyton seems to know when I am about to take a shower. She picks that exact moment as I am about to step into the shower to start screaming and crying, wanting to be held. You never realize or appreciate the luxury of having time to take a shower before kids. I definitely learned the hard way. Anyways, it was great to see Jack and Carolyn and I think they had a blast visiting with their granddaughter.





Peyton is still growing. I think babies have growth spurts at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months. Well, it seems as if Peyton has had a growth spurt since she left the hospital. I can almost promise you she now weighs 11 pounds, most likely close to 12 pounds. She definitely is a porker!!! Brad and I are hoping she will grow up to be a soccer player like us, but we may have to settle for the first female linebacker ever (Roll Tide!) (apologies to Brad's family). A good friend of mine, also a fellow moma, has reassured me that Peyton will slim down once she is mobile, which I have a feeling won't be too long from now. She can hold her head up on her own for long periods of time and has been able to do so for several weeks now. She is incredibly strong and incredibly feisty/wiggly. She goes back to the doctors on November 4th for her two month visit and to get more vaccinations. She is getting a total of four shots!!! Definitely will be giving her Tylenol beforehand, poor thing.





I have attached more recent pictures of Peyton. I still haven't downloaded the ones from this past weekend but I will do that soon. Hope you enjoy them!




Holding the bottle all by herself!


Sweet as an angel when sleeping...





Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Introduction!

I finally have found time to start a much needed blog that revolves around our precious daughter, Peyton! I hope friends and family will be able to view this blog and be continuously updated on our evolving lives as parents. Most likely there will be entries that make you wonder if we still have some sanity within us, but hopefully those will be limited!

Just a brief introduction to our family. Brad and I met during the summer of 2004 as we played on the same indoor soccer team. Although we had games every week, our conversations were limited. Then out of the blue, Brad invited me out to have a drink to celebrate my 24th birthday after one of our late night games. That night, after a year of barely talking, we spent 5 hours conversing about anything and everything. We both knew then that we had found something incredibly special. We have been together ever since! During our years together, we have rescued two wonderful dogs, Ranger and Jackson. Ranger, who will be three years old in November, is an Australian shepherd mix who loves to snuggle and visit with humans! Jackson, a German shepherd/lab mix, is our massive guardian of the house. He just turned two years old and weighs 100 pounds! We plan to rescue several more dogs in the near future and encourage anyone and everyone to do so as well. It truly is a rewarding experience.

Brad and I recently bought a fabulous house in Homewood, Alabama and hurried to get the house, especially the nursery, ready in time for Peyton's arrival. She finally made her dramatic entry into this world (after 26 hours of labor, she very stubbornly refused to come out and caused her mom to have a c-section!) on August 27th at 6:43 p.m. She weighed 7 lbs and 4 oz and had a headful of red hair! She was proud and determined to let the world know that she had a set of perfectly healthy lungs; she cried for hours and hours and I started to wonder if I had made a huge mistake.

Peyton is six weeks old today and weighs a very healthy 10 pounds! She jumped from 25% to 75% in weight in a matter of four weeks; she definitely loves to eat!! For a few weeks, Peyton and I struggled with her feedings. She would cry for hours after each feeding and have bellyaches. The doctor confirmed what I had already suspected - Peyton is lactose intolerant. We finally found a formula that she tolerates very well (Similac Sensitive (for gasiness and fussiness, lactose-free)). I am going to try to reintroduce breast milk back into her diet in a few weeks since she is older and hopefully will tolerate it better. We shall see how that goes.

Ok, that is enough for now!