5 months

Olivia Grace is five months old today!

We ended up at the doctor today to make sure the low grade fever and fussiness that has been hanging around for the past 2 weeks wasn't something other than teething (#firsttimemom). Doctor confirmed she is fine, just that darn tooth giving her such a hard time. Poor girl. At the doctor, she weighed in at 13 lbs 5.5 oz, all the way up in the 14th percentile.

Olivia loves to roll over, stand up (with help of course), chew on fingers and grab for objects. Countless people have referred to her as a "wiggle worm" because she does not like to sit still for very long. She has discovered her toes and reaches for them whenever she is in the sitting position.

She has eaten oatmeal cereal, sweet potatoes and bananas, and bananas definitely seem to be her favorite so far. She loves to reach for the spoon and bottle to feed herself, but can't quite master getting it in her mouth at the right angle.

She has become a much better car passenger, and finally doesn't scream every time we go somewhere. In fact, she usually falls asleep! Her hair has started to grow pretty long. It is thin and blonde and so, so soft.

I am enjoying spending every day at home with her and watching her grow. She grows and changes so fast, and I feel so lucky to be able to have this time at home with her. I feel like she is developing such a fun little personality and I love watching how she expresses herself.

I can't believe how quickly time has passed, but I'm loving watching Livi hit all of these fun, new milestones!

Reaching for those feet

Refusing to smile...

Hands in her mouth... All the time!

"Mom, I can feed myself"

What's up Wednesday

Here is Whats Up in our life these days...

- We just got back from our trips to NY and GA. Olivia got to meet her Great Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and visit with some good friends. It was so much fun, but we sure did miss Daddy!

- Our girl has her first tooth! I have had a sneaking suspicion she was teething, but she is still so young. One tooth finally popped through last week, and another one is waiting to come through any day now. Poor girl has been in some pain, and very clingy to mommy, so hopefully that second tooth makes it's appearance very soon!

- We are looking forward to more visits with friends over the next couple of weekends. My Washington girls will be here tomorrow and my MOH is coming for the weekend. Then next weekend, Olivia gets to visit with her friend Sasha, who was born 13 days before her! And finally, my brother and his fiancé will be here the first weekend in August to visit. I. Can't. Wait.

- I have decided to join Weight Watchers to help lose the rest of my baby weight. Wish me luck!

- I am still in awe of my baby every day. When I wake her up in the morning, I am greeted with her sweet, sleepy smile and I still can not believe she is ours. I wonder if this feeling will ever go away?

- We scheduled Olivia's 6 month photo shoot (6 months?!) for August and I am already excited for them!

- Speaking of August, I have no idea how I am going to manage to go back to work. It's going to be absolutely awful. Livi is at such a fun age and I feel like she is doing something new every day. I will be so sad to miss out on all of my extra time with her. But, for now, I will enjoy the remaining month we have together!

4 months

Wow, I haven't posted since Olivia turned 3 months old, and now she is almost 4 and a half months! She is getting to be such a big girl!

We had her four month check up with Dr. Barry last week. She is up to 12 lbs 1.5 oz (9th percentile) and 24 in long (25th percentile), so she is still pretty petite! Dr gave us permission to start spoon feedings, so we started with some oatmeal cereal yesterday. She did OK with it, but I didn't expect much because I'm sure it tastes pretty bland.

She is now rolling over from her back to her tummy, and sometimes from her tummy to her back. Most of the time, though, she rolls onto her tummy and cries for us to roll her back over. It's a fun game we play in our house these days. She is so close to sitting up on her own, and has once or twice, but only for a few seconds.

She still puts absolutely everything she gets her hands on her in mouth, and gets frustrated when she can't get something into her mouth just right. She likes to spend time outside, watching people and in her jumparoo.

Olivia is generally a pretty happy baby. She does a lot of smiling and laughing, especially when she sees daddy. She loves that man and it's quite heart-warming to see her light up when she spots him in the room. She usually gets fussy around 8 each night, when she should be sleeping but wants to fight it. She is a good sleeper though, so we are thankful for that.

We have had a busy month. Olivia has been in the pool for the first time, been to her first parade, and is getting ready to make two big road trips! First we are going to NY so she can meet her great grandma and grandpa, and lots of other family members. Then, we are road tripping it to GA with some friends to visit two of our favorite girls (and one precious little baby-in-the-tummy!). I will do my best to update again soon!

First time eating cereal in her high chair!

3 months

Livi turned three months old on Wednesday. She has changed a lot since just last month! She no longer spends most of her day sleeping and/or crying. She is awake and alert most of the day, minus a few cat naps.  She interacts with people and her surroundings. She swats at toys hanging above her, follows moving things and , my personal favorite, turns her head to the sound of my voice! Every day when I come home from work, I bend down to talk to her and she moves her head until she sees me, then flashes a big smile. Sure makes my heart happy.

She is still eating all breast milk (yay me!) and must be going through a growth  spurt because she has been downing milk left and right! We haven't been to the doctor since her two month check up, so I am not sure of her weight, although I'm pretty sure she is close to 11 pounds now. She is still in her 0-3 month clothes, but is going to be too long for her sleepers very soon!

Speaking of sleep, she usually sleeps about 4-5 hrs before waking up for her nighttime feeding. She is pretty good about eating and falling right back asleep, so it typically isn't too painful. Just this week, she has started to roll herself from her back to her side to sleep, which makes me very nervous!

She has discovered her hands, and almost constantly has them in her mouth. She even puts her whole fist in there sometimes. She drools a lot and makes a mess. She also loves to grab our fingers and pull them up to her mouth. She sits in her Bumbo seat for a few minutes at a time, all by herself! She also loves to put weight on her legs and "stand up".  She does not like being cradled like a newborn very much, unless she is sleepy. She much prefers to be turned around and watching what is going on around her.

Olivia loves bath time! She loves being sprinkled with water, and often opens her mouth when we squirt it near her face or shoulders. She smiles and laughs and giggles the whole time. After bath time when we are drying her off and getting her ready for bed, she just talks and coos and kicks her sweet long legs. It is another one of my favorite times with her.

A few pics from the day of her big 3 month birthday!

Mothers Day

A Mother's Day letter...

My sweet Olivia,

My perfect little girl. I am forever grateful that I will celebrate my first mothers day as your mother. My love for you is like nothing I have ever experienced. When I look at you, I am overwhelmed by the amount of joy and pure happiness I feel. 

You see, my girl, everyone always told me I would love you more than words can explain. That it would feel like you were literally a part of me. Like I wasn't whole without you. And I had no idea how very true that is.

You are my sidekick. We spent the first 10 weeks of your life together, all day, every day. And, even though I won't always be there all day, every day, I will always be there. I will always be here to hold you when you're upset and feed you when you're hungry and snuggle you, well, just because.

My precious girl, you are the best snuggler. In the morning, when I pick you up, you place your head right on my chest, like that is exactly where you want to be. And when I finally get home from work after a long day, you snuggle up against me because you know that's exactly what I need. And before bed, when you rock with your dad in his favorite chair, you lay on your side with your paci, giving him a turn to have some of your sweet, sweet snuggles. We both love them so. 

I'm not sure you will ever fully understand how much joy you have brought me, until one day, you have a child of your own. You have made our family complete and I am so thankful God chose me to be your mother. What a wonderful blessing you have been!

So, on my first Mother's Day, I am not hoping for flowers, or jewelry, or time away.  I want only to soak in my time with you. I want to snuggle you and feed you and change your dirty diapers and pick out your clothes and play with you until I see that big, toothless smile. I want to always remember these times, because I know they go by entirely too fast.

I love you, my perfect girl, and I always, always will.

Love,

Mommy 

We made it!

My first day back to work is over and I'm home with my girl, who is currently taking a post-dinner nap, as we speak!

I have to admit, putting her to bed last night and leaving the house this morning was tough. The drive to work was tough and walking into the school building was especially tough.

But, once the kids started rolling in around 8:30, and I saw those big smiles and heard the "Mrs. Hayes you're back!" screams, and saw kids literally running down the hall to hug me, I remembered why I was there in the first place. Those kids need me.

And yes, my daughter needs me, but those kids at school need me too. They need their sense of normalcy back. They need my rules and expectations and sometimes crazy mood swings (hey, I have been pregnant all school year!)

And I realized, this morning, that I need those kids too.

Because, unfortunately, the harsh reality is that I am now, and probably always will be, a working mother. And I need those kids. I need their hugs and their crazy stories and their funny looks. I need them to keep my mind off missing my baby. And that, they did.

Not only were the kids wonderful, but I was welcomed back with open arms today by my co-workers, who hugged me and told me I would be ok. My sweet daughter (who must have used her dad's debit card) sent me beautiful flowers. And I even had a parent throw me a surprise baby shower at lunch time, including gifts, pizza & donuts!

So, if I had to go back to work, I'd say this was the best way possible :)

Thursday

Normally a day of the week I look forward, as it is just one day away from my favorite day of the week! This Thursday, however, I am not so excited about. This Thursday, I will return to work full time.

And yes, I know I only have a few weeks before summer. And yes, I know I get the whole summer off with my baby. And yes, I know that I am lucky to have had 10 weeks to spend at home, just the two of us. But, none of that makes this any easier.

See, since Livi was born, we have spent every single day together. I haven't been away from her for more than 2 hours.  And now, I will be gone all.day.long.  I know people do this all the time, and I know we will get through it, but I sure am going to miss this in the mornings...

And this in the afternoons...

So, if everyone could just say a tiny little prayer, it sure would be appreciated :)

Two months and Easter

This past weekend was a big one for Livi. She turned two months old and celebrated her first Easter! So this post will certainly include some of my favorite pictures from the weekend.

I honestly can not believe she is already two months old but I love to see the way she changes each day. She loves to focus on toys, ceiling fans & lights.  She has started to smile when you play with her and it is the BEST. She has started making some cooing noises while playing too.

She is growing and changing so much and I often find myself snuggling her close and praying I never forget what it feels like. Everyone tells you "Oh it goes so fast!" and I am finding that to be so true. I want to be sure I cherish every age and stage, even during those late nights. I must say, however, that she has become a pretty good sleeper. She usually sleeps about 5 hours, wakes up for 1 feeding and goes right back to sleep until late morning. She has even slept through the whole night a few times! We moved her to her crib about 2 weeks ago, and I think it was harder for me than it was her. I may or may not watch her on the monitor every single night before bed :)

We had her two month check up today. Olivia was up to 9 lbs 9 oz, still only in the 8th percentile but growing! She has grown 2 inches since last month, which put her in the 59% for length. Looks like we have a long, skinny girl on our hands! She had to get three shots, which she was not happy about and neither was I :)

Easter was great. Olivia got a bunch of goodies from the Easter Bunny, from Grammy and from MaJune. She also made her church debut, and slept the entire time! We spent the afternoon with both sides of the family and had a great time!

One month

** I just realized I didn't ever post this update, so it is way late!**

My baby turned one month old on Friday! I can not believe it has been a whole month already! She had her one month check up yesterday and she was up to a whopping 8 lbs 0.5 oz and 21 inches long! My little peanut is growing strong and I am so proud of her. She is still wearing newborn size clothes, but will be too big for them very soon!

Olivia loves to eat, play on her play mat and snuggle. We have tried out tummy time, and she only likes it for a few minutes. She also loves to look at the ceiling fan and anything hanging up high. She is starting to focus on things better without going cross-eyed as much. She has also started giving us real smiles!

She is still as beautiful as ever and I love her more every day!

Random updates

There has been a lot going on in the Hayes Household the past few weeks. Here are a few highlights:

- We are adjusting to life as a family of 3. And learning how to function on very little sleep. We have ventured out into the real world a few times, with some short trips to Target and Babies R Us. Olivia and I even met my mom for lunch and made our first trip to the grocery store alone. I felt like I needed 10 hands, but was glad to have overcome that first mommy-daughter outing :)

- I have been overwhelmed at the amount of love Olivia has gotten in these 3 short weeks. We have had so many people visit, bring meals, send sweet messages and gifts and it amazes me how many wonderful friends and family we have. We are so, so lucky and thankful.

- Friday our baby girl will be 1 month old. ALREADY?! How is that possible?

- Recovery from the c-section has gone pretty smoothly. It no longer hurts to get up and down, or walk around, and the incision seems to have healed nicely. I still can't carry anything heavier than the baby for 2 more weeks, but at least I have my driving privileges back!

- Olivia already has her first gig as flower girl- MY BABY BROTHER IS GETTING MARRIED! Mark asked Rachel to marry him on February 22 (the same day D & I got engaged!) and she said yes. We couldn't be happier for them both! They are tying the knot sometime in Summer 2015, so I guess I have 1 year to get my pre-baby body back...

- My amazing husband, D, is an even better daddy. I could sit and watch them together all.day.long. It is the absolute sweetest thing ever. It honestly makes my heart melt every single time.

- We decided to have newborn photos done for Olivia, and I am so glad we did. I never ended up doing maternity pictures, but I knew I wanted newborn pictures. We decided to use SJK Photography and we are so pleased with how the pictures turned out! She came to our home for the shoot, and it made the pictures that much more real and personal. I have looked at them every day since we got the CD :) Here are a few of my favorites...

She is here!

Olivia Grace is here!

She was born Friday February 21, 2014 at 5:06 PM. She weighed in at 6 lbs 15 oz and measured 20" long.

We had a scheduled c-section for Monday February 24th at 6:30 am. I went to the hospital for my  anesthesiology  appointment on Friday at 10:00 am. When I got there, my blood pressure was a little high, but I figured it was my nerves. So the nurse agreed to complete the paperwork and retake my blood pressure before sending me on my way.

Well, that didn't happen. My BP was still up, so the nurse put in a call to Dr. Johnson , who was the on call doctor that day. After talking with Dr. Johnson, we decided it was best to go ahead with the c-section that day, instead of risk sending me home over the weekend. And, not long after, I was admitted to labor and delivery, where I sat for 5 hours waiting for surgery.

D left work immediately to get to the hospital, along with my mom and dad and both of his parents. Around 4:45, D dressed in his suit for the OR, they put me in a wheelchair, and  we headed down the hall. This was it. No turning back now. I had a mild panic attack but knew that I would soon be meeting my girl. And it would all be worth it.

They sat me up on the operating table, and started the spinal in my back (which barely hurt at all actually!). I felt myself getting numb, and they laid my down on the table. The screen was placed in front of my face and Dustin was called into the room. He came and sat by my side and I have never been so happy to see him.

I felt some pushing and pulling, but nothing I thought much of. Next thing I knew, the anesthesiologist told D to stand up and look over the sheet. I heard a "Woah" come from him, which caused a slight panic, but then I realized, he was seeing our girl! She was already out. I had barely felt a thing and I swear it had only been 10 minutes!

D went over to where the nurses had her, cut the cord, and they brought her over so I could see her. It was so surreal. She was ours. She is what I have been feeling in my stomach for the past months. She is actually a little person, and not just an alien floating in my stomach. I was instantly in love.

Recovery was awkward. I had no feeling for about 2 hours, but was finally transferred to our room when I could bend my legs. Our parents came in to see her.  She was beautiful.

She is beautiful. I can't stop staring at her. I want to hold her all the time. D is smitten. He looks at her with a look I have never seen from him. It all sounds so corny, but it is so amazingly true.

And all of a sudden, every uncomfortable night, and back pain, and pound gained, and pimple, and swollen body part no longer matters. Our girl is here and we are officially a family of three.

And it can't get better than that.

My Valentine

My forever valentine. My hubby. My best friend. My partner-in-crime. My D.

You have shown me, and continue to show me, what love is. And even though it looks different this year than in years past, I am forever thankful for the way you have shown your love through the past year as our lives together have changed. True love this year has been:

- celebrating the first time we heard our baby's heartbeat
- painting a nursery 3 different shades of grey until we found the perfect one.
- delivering more bottles of water and snacks to the couch/bed than I can count.
- making me laugh during hormonal pregnant lady meltdowns.
- constantly reminding me that I am pregnant, not fat.
- spending free time putting together baby furniture, toys, etc.
- staying in on Saturday nights with take out and Redbox.
- picking up and extra box of Kraft Mac and cheese because we are about to be snowed in.
- late night runs to Sheets for Mountain Dew.

I am thankful for you today and every day. Next year, we will both have a new Valentine to shower with love!

Love you always.
XOXOXO

37 weeks & randoms

A few important randoms...


* We found out at my 37 week appointment yesterday that baby girl is breech. I pretty much knew, but the ultrasound confirmed it. Because of baby's size and position, combined with my strangely shaped uterus, we decided to schedule a c-section. Looks like we will be meeting our girl on February 24th! I have mixed feelings about going under the knife, but there is not much else we can do at this point, and it isn't so bad knowing the day we get to meet her. And for those who aren't counting the days, February 24th is only 12 days from now!

* The cradle that we have been waiting for since July finally made its way to NC and in our house! When my mom was pregnant with me, my grandpa hand made a beautiful cradle for me to sleep in as a baby. It was used with each of my cousins as well. Since I am the oldest grandchild and the first to have a baby, it was important to me to have Olivia sleep in the cradle as well. So, this past weekend, my mom and dad rented a minivan and drove all the way to NY and picked it up for us! And now, we have the sheets on and it is ready for use again after 20ish years! So, so special.

* Speaking of special, we are also using the blanket that my grandma made for me when I was born in the nursery. In fact, it is what I planned the whole nursery color scheme around. So, we have two very important and meaningful hand-me-downs ready for use with our girl!

*One of my best friends and old college roommate, Lauren, and her husband had their little girl on Saturday! She was not due until February 22nd, but I guess she could not wait to meet her mom & daddy. She is absolutely precious, and that means our turn is next! 

* After calling my insurance company this morning, I found out that breast bumps are 100% covered as of January 2014. Wahoo! This saves us a good chunk of change so I am glad I finally got a chance to call and talk to someone about it. 

* We got a good amount of snow here today, which meant a snow day from school. Normally, I would be sick of the snow and not excited about adding school days on at later dates, but it sure does feel good to get some things done around the house and take some time to relax. 

* We have had two absolutely amazing baby showers. I can not say enough thanks to the family and friends that pitched in to help with the showers or brought/sent gifts for our little girl. She is so loved already and we are so lucky to have such awesome people in our lives! 

Almost done!

28 days.

4 weeks.

1 month.

That's how long we have until we meet our girl!

I am officially 36 weeks pregnant today. The baby is the size of a watermelon now and could decide to make her appearance anytime in the next month. It has been the longest, fastest 9 months of my life. Really though, the days have dragged at times but it is hard to believe that it has been 36 weeks already.

We pretty much have everything done in the nursery. D installed the car seat. Hospital bags are  packed. Lamaze classes are almost finished. Hospital tour is scheduled for this week. Weekly doctor appointments start this week. We are about as ready as we will be for this whole parenting thing!

I am so anxious to meet her. To hold her. To kiss her. To see what color her eyes are. To see what color her hair is. Will she look like me? Will she look like D? I'm sure she will be perfect. And beautiful.

I can't wait to see D get to finally hold his girl. I have been bonding with her for 36 weeks now, holding her inside and feeling her every move. And while D has felt some of it, he has had nowhere near the experience I have.  It is his turn. I can't wait to see her wrap him around her fingers. He is going to be such a great daddy.

A lot is going through my mind right now, and honestly, I have my fears about the whole labor and delivery process, but it all goes away when I think about meeting her.

My life in numbers...

14-days since I have had to be at work. Only this weekend left, and it is back to work on Monday. I am so thankful for this time off work to rest.

8- weeks until our baby girl's due date! We sure have a lot to get done before then!

28- days left in hunting season. Which means that, starting in February, I will have my husband back on Saturdays. Pretty excited about that.

6- days since I said goodbye to two of my favorite girls as they started a new chapter of their lives in Georgia. I miss them and am already counting the days until their return!

7- days until my MOH is here from NJ for a weekend visit!

22-smiling faces I get to see bright and early Monday morning.

8- days until my first baby shower, thrown by my mom, grandma, MOH and family friend, Linda. I am so looking forward to it!

3- bottles of Tums I have gone through since being pregnant. I have a feeling there will be more before it is all said and done.

11- weeks is how old my puppy niece is now! Such a cute little pup.



So many exciting things coming up for us in the next few weeks/months... Praying everything goes smoothly!