Our life - feeding

This post was started Feb 1st 2012:

Our life has changed so much since Paisley has come. Not so much in our day to day living but in our outlook and priorities. I've sat down at the computer a couple of times to start blogging again but each time I can't think of anything to blog about. My life is consumed with the caring for and loving a toddler. She is the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen and I'm so proud to be her mommy.

So for now I will tell you about my baby girl and then maybe that will spur me into blogging about other things in the near future.

Paisley:

She was quite a handful at the beginning. She had/has a high palate and that made for craziness with feeding/nursing. At the hospital we ended up having to supplement because she could not feel my nipple on her palate to latch. We got a couple of successful latches and they sent me on home. At home, between Brad and I and Mom, we could not get that baby girl to take a full feeding. On her second day home we were headed off to the lactation consultant. We got some lessons on things to help and a breast shield so she could find something to latch onto. That breast shield saved our nursing life. She is 9 1/2 months old now and has been nursing without a shield for about 8 months. I'm so glad that we were able to get that figured out and that we have been able to nurse for as long as we have. She is distractable now and nursing sessions during the day are much shorter then they used to be when food was the most important thing, but we are still doing it. I hope we can continue through her first year.

She is eating so many solids I don't even think I could list them all. Pretty much anything we eat she eats with the exceptions of cow's milk, eggs and nuts. She loves finger foods and being able to feed herself. It's funny how she can gobble something right up one day and then decide she hates it the next.

Thats as far as I got but I figured I would post what was there. So here you go, it's been sitting in blogger as a draft for .....6 months. :)

Oh how I have ignored you.

I'm going to try and do better. Starting ......soon. :)

Paisley is here!

On April 15th, 2011 at 12:21 pm, Brad and I welcomed our first child into our lives.

Paisley Allison was born after 26ish hours of labor and 3 hours of pushing.
Stats:
Weight: 7 pounds 14 ounces
Length: 20 inches
Hair: dark brown
Eyes: dark brownish

This beautiful baby girl has turned our life upside down. I knew that I wanted to be a mom but I didn't know that in such a short time everything would feel so right, natural and normal. Just a few short months ago I could only imagine what my life would be with her, now I can't imagine what my life would be without her.
Thank you Lord for blessing us with this amazing life. I can only hope that we will be the best parents Paisley could have.

I love me some Kama photos!

We had a maternity session with Kama on Wednesday. By Thursday night she had already posted a variety of photos on her blog. She is AMAZING!!!! I love her and her work. Here is what we have so far and we are going to get a disk of all the (decent) shots that were taken. So excited to see the rest.

Weekly Update - 36 weeks

How far along: 36 weeks

Weekly Update - 35 weeks

How far along: 35 weeks

Total weight gain: Not sure, I have an ultrasound and my first internal next monday. We'll know then.

Maternity clothes: yes. Once in a while a non-maternity top makes it into the mix, but now often now.

Sleep: I get up about 4 times a night to pee and seem to be sleeping just as lightly as before.

Best moment of the week: My boss was off work this week so it made for a laid back week at work.

Movement: Slowing down. Just big rolls and squirms now, not the kicking and punching like before.

Gender: Girl, we're going to have Paige double check on Monday though.

Labor signs: None

Belly button: Still half and half or flat.

What I miss: Sleeping anyway I want to.

What I'm looking forward to: Maternity photos with Brook on Saturday. Hopefully it will be a decent tempature. We are working with a girl who is just building her portfolio, so she hasn't done many maternity shots.

Weekly wisdom: Take you acid reducer at night before you go to bed or you will just have to find it in the middle of the night to take it.

Milestones: No big ones this week. My labor and delivery gown is finished so we just have to wash it and put it in my bag. Which I started packing.

What's happening with the baby:

What's happening with you:

How are you feeling: This has been a sleepy week. I feel like I'm catching up. We have the nursery all moved around and mostly organized. I have started doing some of her laundry. We have also settled on a name. Her name will be Paisley Allison. Hurray for choosing a name. Now we don't have to disagree on it anymore.

Weekly Update - 34 weeks

How far along: 34 weeks

Total weight gain: +25 lbs, Paige doesn't think I'll reach 30 lbs before this little squish comes out.

Maternity clothes: Maternity clothes or workout stretchy stuff

Sleep: Varies per day. Most of the time pretty good. I woke up at 5am one day this week and thought about not going back to sleep.

Best moment of the week: Baby shower, it was so nice to see everyone and get to chat and catch up. We also scored an amazing changing table on Wednesday, so that was pretty great too.

Movement: Tons, my whole belly jiggles around with her now. Much more shifting, much less kicking and sharp movements.

Gender: GIRL

Labor signs: None, our OB said I may not have Braxton- Hicks and if not, it's no big deal at all.

Belly button in or out: It depends on the day and how she's positioned inside. Most of the time the top of my belly button sticks out and the bottom is still tucked in.

What I miss: Sleeping 8 hours straight, I know that's not coming back for years though.

What I'm looking forward to: Her mural being finished so that we can get her room moved around and situated.

Weekly wisdom: Take it as it comes and love every minute of it. It goes by too quickly.

Milestones: No big milestones this week that I can think of.

What's happening with the baby:

What's happening with you:

How are you feeling: This week has been a good week. We got the first load of baby laundry washed, folded, and mostly put away. We also scored an amazing changing table for really cheap. Once it's in it's "home" we will load that bad boy up with stuff too. I started packing my hospital bag and we also sent in my pre-registration form for the hospital. We need to pick up a few things from Babies R Us or somewhere to make us feel ready for this baby. The big thing is a monitor. Other then that we can get by with what we have. My hospital gown is almost finished too. Mom and I are making one so I don't have to wear their ugly ones.

I'm starting to get uncomfortable. She isn't in my ribs much but she does like to push on my hips. It's a funny feeling. My feet still swell at least a little most days. I also have some days where I have mild nausea. It's nothing bad, just a little annoying. Overall, I'm still feeling pretty good, just tired.

This weekend is Shaina's shower and then I have a photo shoot next weekend and the weekend after. This little squish will be well documented. :)