Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Limits

Yesterday I had the hardest mommy day yet. I think I just reached my limit. Between the lack of sleep, a baby who wouldn't nap which made him more fussy than normal, and the obscene amount of spit up my poor little guy had for some reason, I pretty much lost it. Scott came home from work to a wife who was sobbing uncontrollably. I'm grateful that he came home when he did (although I actually could have used him a solid 4 hours earlier) because he immediately grabbed Campbell from me without saying a word and took over for the rest of the evening. I'm grateful for an awesome husband who loves and takes care of me and Campbell.
Some days are just really, really hard. Yesterday wins the award....so far.
I ended my day soaking in a tub for an hour. And it was awesome.
Somehow Campbell knew he took me to my limits because he was so easy to nurse and put back down to sleep all night. Then he woke up looking like this....a precious little angel. And today has been one of the easiest yet. Funny the way that works.
We took Campbell to his one month check up today. Our little peanut now weighs 7 pounds,14 ounces (3rd percentile...still a tiny little guy) and is 21 inches long (17th percentile). The doctor warned us that we're about to get in a really fussy stage which is interesting because I've read about 3 different books that have all said the same thing. Apparently weeks 5-7 are tough because of a big growth spurt. I'm not looking forward to it but it's nice to know that it's normal so I won't wonder if there's something wrong with him.
I'm obsessed with this picture I got of Madison today! How cute is she?! A lot of people have asked how the girls are adjusting and they're just fine. Madison hardly notices a change but that's typical of my Madison. She's such a free spirit! Madison still really wants the WubbaNub and attempts to get it every single day.
Ivy has had a little harder time adjusting. She loves Campbell and gives him kisses a lot and she'll check on him when he's sleeping which is really sweet. The crying stresses her out though. She's always been really needy and I go out of my way (sometimes to where it makes life harder on me but they're important to me so it's worth it) to make her feel loved and not neglected. Obviously things have changed a little as far as how much attention I'm able to give her and if I think about it too hard it breaks my heart. But we still snuggle in bed and take naps together and I hold her every chance I get. She sits in the glider next to me while I rock Campbell and I rub her head at the same time. All in all, they're pretty good. I've always been glad they have one another but I'm especially glad for it now.
Okay time to go get in bed and snuggle with my girls!

Monday, April 28, 2014

Hugs

My weekend was nice! Saturday night Scott and I left Campbell with Mom and Grammy and had dinner at The Hive to celebrate my friend, Jaclyn's, birthday. It's the first time we've ever left Campbell but I wasn't worried since my Mom was keeping him. I wouldn't trust anyone else to watch him right now but I know he's in good hands with my Mom! It was nice to be out with friends but it wasn't the same as it used to be because I was so tired the whole time. I felt bad for doing it but Scott and I left early so we could get home and get in bed. When you know you have a long night ahead of you, you don't want to stay out late no matter how much fun you're having.
Campbell is starting to grab and hold onto things and I think it's so cute. Anytime I give him a bottle he wraps his hands around it and he holds his paci when he pulls it out of his mouth. He's starting to hug his Wubbanub and I think it's just the sweetest! He really likes his Wubbanub. I may have to get him another!

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Campbell | One Month

Campbell is one month old today! 
Weight: We're going for our one month check up on Tuesday but I'm going to guess between 7.5-8 pounds.

Height: Again, I'll update later! I have no clue how to guess this one!!

Sleep: Campbell has gotten himself in a pretty good routine of sleeping in 3 hour intervals.

Eat: We're exclusively breastfeeding. When Campbell was about 2 weeks old I started introducing bottles to him and he's always done great with them! I give him 1-2 bottles a day because sometimes I need a break!! Campbell typically eats about 3 ounces of milk when he has a bottle. He eats about 7 times a day.

Clothes: Campbell has moved up from preemie sized clothes to newborn! Most of his wardrobe is from Carters right now. He can wear 'up to 7 pounds' items from baby gap as long as they're separates like onsies and pants. Their 'up to 7 pounds' pajamas, rompers and one pieces are still way too big on him.

Diapers: Last week we switched from preemie diapers to newborn. We're big fans of Pampers around here. Huggies leak on us for some reason.

Likes: Bath time, cartoons, pacifiers--any kind will do, gripe water, riding in the car, sleeping on top of Mommy.

Dislikes: Diaper changes, getting out of the bath, getting clothes on/off.

Month One: Campbell still spends the majority of the day sleeping. He's most alert and happy in the morning. That's when we watch cartoons! He likes to be held and prefers to sleep in your arms. I'm trying not to get in a habit of that but a lot of the time we live with the "whatever helps us survive" philosophy around here. When he's not sleeping in our arms, he sleeps in his bouncer or rock-n-play. Campbell still sleeps in our room and probably will for another month or two OR until he starts sleeping through the night. We still aren't real sure who Campbell looks like! I guess time will tell. We love our sweet little boy and can't believe he's one month old!!

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Campbell's Newborn Portraits

Just thought I'd share some of my favorites from Campbell's newborn session! 

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Feel Good

Mom and Grammy got here yesterday and it's been so nice having them! The extra helping hands with Campbell has been awesome. If Mom wanted to move in for a few months I'd totally let her.
Ivy and Madison were so excited to see Gracie again! They've only been apart for a few weeks but you'd think it's been months the way they act when they see each other for the first time. The girls are all going to get their haircut tomorrow and they need it. They're looking a little shaggy.
We got to go view Campbell's newborn pictures this afternoon. OMG they are all so good!! Seriously, I love every single one. I have no idea how I'm going to pick which ones to put in my house. If anyone is looking for a good photographer, I highly recommend Bobbie Yocum. She's so talented and super sweet as well. I definitely want to work with her again in the future!
My little nugget sure is a sweet one! He's getting to where he really wants his Mommy and it kind of melts me. He could be crying and nobody can get him to stop but the second I take over he gets quiet instantly. It sure does make me feel good!

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Toes

Something crazy is happening around here. My little peanut slept for 5 hours last night! It's like, the best present a mother could receive. I don't know what's going on and I'm trying not to get too excited about it but I'm praying this is going to be a new trend. Campbell fell asleep at 10:15 and woke up at 3:00 and I was such a happy, pleasant Mommy while I was feeding him. Especially since he went right back to sleep at 3:45!!! I can totally live life like this....for now anyway. Dear Lord, please let this be our new thing.
Campbell was chillin in his rock-n-play yesterday watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Mickey is a fun new thing around here as of just a few days ago) and I thought his little feet looked too precious! Sometimes I think my heart may explode from his cuteness.
I think my tulips only have a few more days left in them and that makes me sad. I've enjoyed them so much!!
My Mom and Grammy (and Grace!) are currently on their way up to my house and I'm so looking forward to them visiting!! I could use some baby help around here and my Mom is THE BEST with babies/kids. I wish I was as good as she is and maybe I will be one day. She just knows exactly what to do. I've always loved watching her with Landon and now I love watching her with Campbell. Landon is obsessed with his Gamma and loves her so much and I know Campbell will feel the exact same way. I'm also so excited to see my Grammy. It's been way too long since I've seen her and she's going to be meeting Campbell for the first time. It's going to be a fun week!

Monday, April 21, 2014

Easter Weekend

We had a really fun and somewhat busy weekend! We stayed in on Friday night but all of us were in desperate need of getting out of the house so the five of us loaded up in the car and drove to Papa Murphy's to get a take-n-bake pizza! We also kind of just road around for a little bit for a change of scenery. It felt nice for us all to get out of the house together.
Scott and I stayed up kind of late Friday night to finish Season 2 of Scandal. OMG it's so good. I'm so ready to watch Season 3 but we can't because it's not out yet. Torture!! I'm obsessed with this show.
On Saturday night our friends, Craig & Jax, hosted an Easter dinner and it was so nice! I told Jax it was clear she had slaved in the kitchen for several days!! It was fun getting together with friends for the evening.
Life around here is getting a teeny bit easier. I'm getting adjusted to the new normal and learning how to live life with a newborn. At first I didn't want to leave the house and also didn't feel like I could. Now I'm learning how our new schedule works and also how to get organized and prepared for certain situations. For example, Jax told us to come over to her house at 6:15 Saturday night. I knew Campbell would need to eat around 6:00 so I had a bottle ready because he eats much faster that way. I texted Jax and told her we'd probably be 15 minutes late (which we were) but Campbell would have a full belly when we got there. Full belly = a happy/sleepy baby. Scott and I were able to enjoy our time with our friends and Campbell slept the entire time we were there. See! I'm getting the hang of it. I was proud of myself for thinking ahead instead of being an hour late to the party! Ha!
Last night/early this morning we all got in bed/to sleep around 11:30. Campbell woke up at 3:00 and we were up for an hour. Then he woke up again at 6:50 this morning. I felt like I got so much sleep! I don't have very high hopes for this to be a new thing but at least I got somewhat of a break for one night. This is his "I don't know why you think it's such a big deal to get up in the middle of the night" face. I could eat this face up!

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Easter 2014

We celebrated Easter at home this year. It's the first time I've never gone to church on Easter but with a brand new little baby, we didn't want to take him out of the house. We had a small little Easter lunch then I was able to take a long nap today! Even though we didn't go anywhere, we still put Campbell in a special Easter outfit! This was the outfit I bought for him to wear in the hospital but it swallowed him so he never got to wear it. Today was the perfect day to pull it out and it almost fits him perfectly! He looked so sweet in his little giraffe's so we had to get lots of pictures, of course!

We tried.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend and was able to share it with those you love most!

Friday, April 18, 2014

Sleepless

Happy Friday everyone! I don't know why I'm excited that it's the weekend, since all of my days are pretty much the same, but I am. Sorry I've been MIA for a few days. The last 2 days have been challenging. I'm hanging in there....since I have to.....but life is hard right now. I think I cry every day. I'm utterly exhausted and miss my sleep so, so bad. I hate nighttime and dread as it approaches. Campbell woke up around 4:30 one night this week and I think I had been asleep for maybe 30 minutes before that. As if on cue, the second he started making his hungry noises I sat up in bed and just balled my eyes out. I picked him up to feed him and tears poured out of my eyes the entire time. I wanted to get in my car and run away to a hotel. Having interrupted sleep night after night after night is miserable. If Campbell would learn to eat faster and go to sleep right when he's finished eating it would make all the difference. Sometimes I get lucky and he eats then falls back to sleep within 30 minutes but sometimes the whole process can take 2 hours.
This entire time I've had a bad attitude about it all but the Lord really convicted me yesterday and I had a change of heart. This is my life now and there's nothing I can do to change it. Gone are the days of a good night's rest so I shouldn't wishfully hope or think that maybe I'll get lucky one night and Campbell will sleep 5 hours because that's just not going to happen right now. I look at Campbell's sweet little face and remind myself that he can't help it. He's growing. He's hungry. He needs his Mommy to feed him and cuddle him and rock him to sleep no matter what time of the day it is. I was feeding him last night and even though I was so tired, I couldn't help but smile at him. He locks his little legs out every time he eats, which I love and think is so cute. His locked little legs looked extra cute in his new monster footed pj's that he was wearing for the first time. Then he gave me the biggest smile once he was finished eating like he knew I needed to see it. It made me happy that he was happy.
Yes I'm exhausted and yes I would give anything to be able to sleep for more than 2-3 consecutive hours. I will one day though! This won't be my life forever. For now, I'm going to embrace the sleepless nights as much as I can and cuddle my sweet baby who will never be this little again.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Growing

On Sunday I got out of the house for a little bit while Scott watched Campbell. I didn't have anywhere to go or anything to do but it was nice getting out for a little bit! I can't believe I haven't gone stir crazy being trapped in my house basically 24/7. I usually don't handle that so well but for some reason I don't mind it too bad. Probably because I'm too tired to care! I decided while I was out I'd do a little shopping to see if I could find tiny clothes for my little peanut at my favorite store for him--baby gap. 
Most everything they had was way too big but I found a couple of 'Up To 7 Pounds' items that looked pretty small so I purchased them and was excited to finally dress Campbell in some Gap clothes. He was all decked out in Baby Gap yesterday and I thought he looked so cute!!!
Last night Scott and I were putting Campbell in his pajamas and they were too tight! Scott's Mom got us 2 Carters preemie pajamas right when Campbell was born and they've always fit so perfect but now they're too little. It made me happy and also a little (maybe a lot) sad. I can't believe he's starting to outgrow some of his clothes. I swear it happened over night!
Scott and I have a serious addiction problem when we get started on a new television series. Our new show is Scandal and when Scott gets home from work we spend the rest of our day watching episode after episode on Netflix. Do y'all watch Scandal? It's my new favorite show. If you aren't watching, start now.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Tulips & Toys

We had a great weekend! It mostly consisted of sleeping in until noon and watching numerous episodes of Scandal on Netflix. My tulips also began to bloom this weekend! I spent 4 hours in October planting them. It made my back hurt so bad but I knew it would be worth it and it was. They're so beautiful and I'm so proud of them! This is the first time I've ever planted tulip bulbs. I know tulips don't last long but I think I'm going to have to do it every year from now on. They're my favorite flowers and I love looking at them through my window!
Things with my little man are going well! I think we're on our way to outgrowing our preemie diapers so that's exciting! Over the weekend I decided that I'm tired of waking him up every 3-4 hours to eat. From now on, he eats when he wakes up. We're going with the "never wake a sleeping baby" rule. Sometimes he wakes up on his own every 3 hours but sometimes he sleeps for 5 hours. I feel like my new rule is making me more sane!
Our new fishy pj's and blue hat from Zutano came in the mail over the weekend!

Campbell's paci's are about the same size as his face and it cracks me up! Speaking of his sweet face, on Friday night Campbell smiled the biggest smile! It was the most precious thing I've ever seen. Scott and I couldn't stop talking about how sweet his big smile was. I can't wait for him to start doing that more often!
The girls got to play outside and go for walks a lot this weekend. Of course that means they had to get a bath because they get so smelly when they go outside a lot. I made it up to them by running to PetSmart and getting them a new toy. Madison, of course, loves it. She hasn't stopped playing with it since! My little toy inspector....

Friday, April 11, 2014

Due Date

Today is Campbell's due date! The little nugget arrived a tiny bit early at 37 weeks and 5 days. I always had a feeling he would come early but I thought it would be more like week 38 instead of 37. I'm glad he decided to make his debut when he did because I sure was anxious to meet him!
I had so much fun doing my bumpdates every Friday. I love looking back and reading them. Every Friday (sometimes Thursdays) I had Scott take a bump pic of me. I always knew that in the end, I would want to do a little collage to show my progression. The 16 week bump pic will always stand out to me because I remember being so frustrated that I didn't have a bump to show yet! A week later it finally started to pop out.
I have to admit that sometimes I miss my bump! At first I was scared of getting one. I wasn't sure what to expect and I was worried I would hate it but I ended up loving it!
Since I spent so many weeks blogging about my bump and the changes I went through every week during my pregnancy, I thought I'd share a little bit about myself postpartum.

How I'm Feeling: I feel better every day. Recovery has been hard! Way harder than I thought it would be. I try to take it easy as often as I can but some days I still have to take medicine for the pain.

Weight Loss: I ended up gaining 19 pounds with Campbell. The first morning I was home from the hospital (2 days post delivery) I was curious to see how much weight I had lost so I hopped on the scale and was negative 11 pounds. I weighed again one week post delivery and was down 17 pounds. Now I'm half a pound shy of my pre-pregnancy weight. Those first 17 fell off super fast but now it's slowed down a lot. I wasn't at my ideal weight when I first found out I was pregnant so I'd still like to lose quite a few more pounds before I'm satisfied. Maybe 7 or so.

Clothes: I'm back in my pre-pregnancy jeans! I pulled them out on Monday to see if they would fit and they slipped right on. It feels good to get them back!

Changes in Me: I may be back (basically) to my pre-pregnancy weight but my body looks nothing like it did before. My tummy is fairly flat but it is so soft and has zero muscle tone to it. I was so disturbed by my stomach the first few days after delivery but every day it got significantly smaller. I'm really looking forward to getting back to the gym. I could definitely use some pilates classes before swimsuit season gets here.

My Thoughts On It All: I loved, loved being pregnant. The entire experience was so amazing to me. I miss feeling Campbell kicking and I miss my bump! I also loved labor and delivery. It was such an incredible day! I'm lucky because L&D went so smoothly (and quickly) for me which I feel like I deserved since I had such a rough pregnancy!!! I definitely look forward to, and hope that I'm blessed with, being able to experience pregnancy again. Until next time....

What's In A Date

Today's date will always be very significant for me. Two years ago today, I had to say goodbye to my precious Holly. We spent 15 1/2 amazing years together. She was (and always will be) the best Christmas gift I could have ever received. I got her when I was just 12 years old. She watched me as I grew from a little girl to an adult. My love for Holly is different than any love I've ever had for anyone or anything. I always say we shared the same soul. Saying goodbye to her was the hardest thing I've ever been through. My heart literally felt broken and I've never quite been the same since. Not a day goes by that I don't think about my little doodlebug. I miss her so much. Some people may not agree but I know without a doubt that my little girl is in Heaven and one day we will be reunited again. There's something that happened to me almost a year ago that reassured me that Holly is, in fact, up there looking down on me.
You see, today is Campbell's due date! I don't know about you but I just don't think that is a coincidence. Out of all 365 days of the year, the Lord chose the day of Holly's passing to be the due date of my first baby. Kind of amazing isn't it?
This day will always be special to me. It's a little bittersweet but mostly a great reminder that Holly is looking after me and continues to show her love for me, even from afar.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Out For A Stroll

Today I've been playing catch-up on sleep. I didn't even shower until 3:00 because I stayed in bed, in my pajamas, and slept when the little man did. I definitely feel better but I'm already dreading tonight. I used to love crawling in bed and turning in for the evening. One of these days I'll get the luxury of sleeping again but right now that seems SO far away!!!! I just love sleep so much. Sigh....
When Scott got home from work I took off for a little bit and went to Target and Fresh Market. It felt so good to be out! I took my sweet precious time and it was lovely. I was only gone for an hour and a half but I missed my baby boy while I was out! When I got back, Scott and I took Campbell and the girls for a walk around the neighborhood. It's such a beautiful day and we haven't used Campbell's stroller yet so today felt like the perfect day to do that. The girls and Campbell enjoyed their walk very much! So did I. It felt good to get out in the sunshine.
We may have to make evening walks a part of our daily routine. This weather is way too nice to stay cooped up indoors!

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Week Two

Today was Scott's first full day back to work so the little man and I were on our own all day. It wasn't bad at all. I caught up on some stuff around the house and spent a lot of time shopping on the internet. I ordered a couple of preemie outfits for Campbell. I know he'll probably only be in them for another 2-3 weeks but I'm tired of seeing him in the same few things over and over! I didn't get an opportunity to take a nap today so I'm pretty sleepy. I'll definitely be in bed (and hopefully asleep) by 8:30. Bedtime comes early for me these days!
I spend a lot of time on my phone these days googling all things baby. After reading different sites and message boards, I've decided that I have a really good baby. I hate to even say that because I don't want to jinx anything! Campbell hardly ever cries, he sleeps a ton, and when he's awake he's always happy. Obviously I've never had a baby before so all newborns may be that way and it could change, but for now it sure is nice.
When Scott got home we gave bath time with Campbell another shot. I was dreading it but Scott suggested we submerge him in the water more than we did last time. Campbell LOVED it this time!!! It was hilarious. He was so, so happy and almost fell asleep. It made me so happy that he loved it so much. Now I can look forward to his baths instead of dread them.
These little nuggets have adjusted so well to their new little brother! Madison hardly notices a change and Ivy is very protective. Just as I predicted! I miss my mornings with just my girls though. Before Campbell arrived, I would wake up and give the girls their morning massages before we got our day started. I've still got my snugglers but unfortunately the massages don't happen as often anymore. They don't make me feel bad about it though! Sweet girls.
Campbell is 2 weeks old today! Time is already flying by!

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Weigh-In's and Bottles

Today was a big day for us! Campbell and I made our first outing together without Scott. I was a touch nervous about it simply because getting him in his car seat is so hard to me. He's just so small right now and I'm always worried I'm squishing him and he can't breath. We managed though and it ended up being A-OK!
Our little adventure was to the pediatrician's office. Campbell is totally fine but I called yesterday to see if I could pop by just to weigh him. Since he's such a tiny little nugget, and dropped from 6.6 to 5.10, I wanted to make sure he was putting on weight. I'm happy to report that he's up to 6.3 now! It's such a relief to me. I figured he had to be gaining but his clothes don't seem to be getting any more snug on him so I just wanted to make sure. I'm so glad they let me pop by and they didn't make me feel like a paranoid Momma at all!
If you come to our house at some point during the day, this is most likely what you'll see! 
So I keep bottles in the refrigerator for just in case moments. I've only used them 3 times because everything you read says to avoid giving a breastfed baby a bottle until they're at least a month old. Sometimes you've just gotta do what you have to though. Scott and I got in bed at 8:30 last night and I drifted off to sleep not long after. Around 11:00 I heard Scott in the kitchen making a bottle so I could keep sleeping (my hero) so I set my alarm for 2:00 so I could wake Campbell up for his next feeding. Apparently I'm ridiculously sleep deprived (duh) because I woke up with my phone in my hand and when I looked at the time it said 4:00. Apparently I turned my alarm off and didn't even know it. #MomFail. I flew out of bed to check on Campbell and he was sleeping so soundly and peacefully. I felt a little bad that I went so long without feeding him but I got more than 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep so that was kind of awesome.
Speaking of Campbell, we've gone through 3 wardrobe changes today thanks to a leaky diaper and some spit-up. I know I'm biased but good heavens he's a cutie. I could just eat him up!

Monday, April 7, 2014

Newborns & Bath Time

Today Scott and I took Campbell to get his newborn pictures made! We arrived at the studio at 10:00 and didn't pull out of there until 3:00!! The photographer said Campbell was one of the most relaxed babies she's ever worked with (made me so proud) so she just kept taking photos of him since he was being so cooperative. I can't wait to see them! I have no idea what they're going to look like because Scott and I stayed in the waiting room almost the entire time. At the very end we were able to pop in there to watch and Campbell was cuteness overload!
He really was so, so good. She was able to maneuver him any which way and he totally didn't care. She told us that he was actually too relaxed to be able to do certain poses which really tickled me and Scott. I told her when we got there that he was a deep sleeper. Let's all cross our fingers that he remains that way!!
Campbell's cord fell off Saturday morning so we gave him his first real bath yesterday. He did not appreciate it. Like, at all. I was really hoping that he would love the warm water but he did not. His screaming really stressed me out and raised my blood pressure to its full potential. And I was terrified the entire time that he was going to slip all the way into the water. I love a sweet smelling baby but I'm not sure if I'm going to be up for that again for a while!!

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Second Saturday

Happy Saturday! Life with Campbell sure is sweet. We're starting to get a little routine figured out around here which is making things much easier. Most nights go really good and I'm perfectly fine waking Campbell up to eat and don't mind being up. I just turn the TV on and watch a movie or something. Some nights, however, I'm so tired that I want to cry. Scott somehow instinctively knows the nights where I'm struggling and always wakes up, keeps me company, then takes over when he can. Normally something keeping me awake at night would be really irritating and make me grouchy in the morning but not my sweet little baby! No matter how tired I am, I don't mind doing it for him!! He's starting to become really alert, especially after he eats, and I love it---even at 4 in the morning. Watching him take in the world and see new things for the first time is so sweet. He can take all the time he needs for that!
Here's Campbell in his new Kickee Pants that his Daddy went out and bought for him! I really like him in dark colors. I was so excited about putting him in this and he wore it just long enough for me to get a couple of pictures before he spit up all over it and I had to change him. That's happened to us twice now and it's such a bummer!!!
I love this picture of my girls! Aren't they sweet?! I love that they always snuggle up together. I told them today that we're going to spend a long time playing in the backyard this afternoon. They deserve it! We've all been trapped in the house for a long time now and could use some sunshine.
Here's our other new outfit and hat!! I could kind of die. We'll probably be wearing this a lot for the next few weeks. Newborn hats are so hard to find and this one fits perfect for anyone who's in the market for some. It's from Zutano and they have a bunch of colors online. Scott and I plan on ordering a couple more today.
Enjoy your weekend everyone!!!