2 months old!!

Has it really been 2 months already?!?! Time is flying and the 2nd month kept us very busy!!! We had a lot of accomplishments and milestones this month.....

First things first....Addy's 2 month check up with her Pediatrician. We were excited to see that our "big" girl weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce and she was 21 3/4 inches tall. She has finally made it off the "preemie" growth chart. Compared to other babies her age who were born at "term" she is in the 3rd percentile for weight and 25th percentile in height. On the preemie chart she was 25% for weight and 75% for height. We are excited to finally be out of newborn clothing :) and onto 0-3 months. Doctor said that she was absolutely perfect, except for one small thing that we need to work on. Dr. Lanman mentioned that Addy's left side of her head is becoming flatter than the right side. It seems that when Addy is on her back she is always turning her head to the left. They think she might have some muscle tightness/pain on the right side, which is why she is prefers the left. We have an appointment with a physical therapist next week for an evaluation and then we will know more! Hopefully this will help and prevent having to wear a "helmet" to re-shape her head down the road! Some pictures from her 2 month check up....

At just 5 weeks old we left our baby girl for an entire night!!! I had considered having my mom come and watch Addy so that Rodney and I could have a date night, but my mom begged and pleaded for her to come stay the night. Although I was really not ready for it, all I could think about was getting a night alone with my husband and a full 8 hours (or more) of uninterrupted sleep :) So, we packed her up and about 5:00 she was off with my mom and sister for a slumber party. Rodney and I enjoyed a nice dinner at Outback and then came straight home (even though I begged for him to run by my mom's so we could check on Addy :) I did not get the wonderful nights sleep that I had dreamed about, I guess my body had gotten used to waking up at 3am :( I did enjoy a wonderful date night with my sweet husband though!!

At 6 weeks old Addison made her first road trip to West Texas! She did awesome!!!! One the way there we stopped at the Dairy Queen in Jacksboro for a diaper change and a feeding and we were back on the road again for another 4 hours. She didn't make a peep until the last 10 minutes of the whole trip, which is totally acceptable since she was about an hour past her normal feeding time. She did just as great on the way home, only crying for the last 15-20 minutes! We had a great trip and Addy got to meet lots of her West Texas Family! While we were in Petersburg she got to experience another first.....her very first SNOW!! Even though we weren't able to go out and play it was nice to be able to put her cute little cap on and take a family picture :) My mother-in-law was wonderful and took care of Addy's night feedings for all 4 nights that we were there!! It was great to be able to catch up on our sleep! We even got to get in the hot tub and enjoy a glass of wine (or two, or three :)

Another big accomplishment in Addy's second month was moving to her crib!!! At 7 weeks we decided it was time (really about 5 weeks we were ready to move her, but with the sleepovers and road trips we thought it might be best to wait and not ruin any progress we might make with a change in her sleeping environment)  She did awesome....on her first night she slept for two 5 hour stretches!! And mommy only spent about 30 minutes staring at the video monitor before she went to sleep :)

We also had a wonderful baby shower at my new school and Addison got to attend! My shower had been planned for our first day back from Christmas break, but since she decided to come early it had to be postponed. We got more wonderful gifts and she got to meet all of my new co-workers.

We spent one afternoon at my old school so that she could meet the Weaver gang and I had so much fun visiting with all of my old co-workers, seeing all of my former students, and of course showing off our beautiful daughter!

We had many lunch dates this month with Daddy, Nana, Aunt B, Jolene, Ryan and Jennifer, and I am sure a few others!

Addy has changed so much in the last month......She is more alert than before and has really started to focus on people and objects. She loves the lights on her play mat and really loves the mobile over her crib. She has just recently started cooing in the last week or so, she will lay on her mat or in her crib and coo for hours. Just a couple of days ago she started blowing bubbles :) She has gotten really strong with her head and neck. Her favorite place to do tummy time is still on your tummy by far! We have also started spending time in the Bumbo

One Month Old!

I can't believe our baby girl is already one month old! In some ways it seems like time is just flying by, and in other ways it feels like she's been here a lot longer :) The first week we spent lots of time at the pediatrician's office. We were there everyday for a whole week monitoring Addy's bilirubin levels and when she was one week old they decided to admit her to Children's Hospital for Phototherapy. It was definitely a long night trying to make sure our little wiggle worm kept her goggles on, but we were glad to only be there one night!!

We were so very lucky that my mother-in-law was able to stay with us for two weeks after she was born. I don't think we would have survived if she hadn't. Rodney went back to work on January 3rd, so Cherise was able to take night shifts and drive us to Addy's doctor appointments(since I couldn't drive for a week). She also cooked, cleaned, did laundry and helped keep us company so we didn't go stir crazy :)

Our little diva had her days and nights mixed up and would sleep all day long(barely waking for feedings) and did not want to sleep at night. Correction, she would only sleep when being rocked or held. The second you tried to lay her in her bed she would start screaming. Miraculously at 2 weeks old she figured it out and started sleeping much better. She will now go 4 and 5 hour stretches at night and for the most part sleeps good from 9pm to 9am. We have gotten into a good night time routine of bath, diaper, swaddle, feeding, and then cuddle time for about 15 minutes and then putting her to sleep in the pack and play in our room. We are going to try and transition her at 6-8 weeks to her crib in her room!

She is wide awake at 9am and will normally lay in her swing or nap nanny while I shower and get ready for the day. Our most difficult time of the day is usually late afternoon or early evening when she likes to scream her head off for no apparent reason for 3 hours. You will think that you have finally gotten her calmed down and asleep and then she will start screaming all of the sudden. We are hoping this gets better soon :)

She is very strong with her neck and head and loves to do her tummy time on your tummy :) She also loves her play mat and swing(but it doesn't help when she is already mad and fussy). She loves meal time and goes after her bottle like a mad woman! She also loves riding in the car and going for walks, it puts her to sleep pretty quickly. I have yet to get in the car and drive when I can't get her to calm down, but I'm sure it won't be long! She is starting to be awake a lot more during the day, so I have found myself not being able to get near as much done as I used to! The days fly by, except for when she is fussy and then it seems like daddy can't get home soon enough!

She was not a fan of bath time at all. But for her last bath I actually put her little tub in our bathtub so I could fill it as much as I could with warm water, and viola she didn't even cry once! She actually looked very relaxed and like she was about to go to sleep right there in the tub!

Can't wait to see what this next month holds! We already love her so much and can't believe how quickly she is growing. I texted Rodney a picture of her the other morning and he wrote back "She already looks so much older than she did yesterday!" Here are a few pictures....I definitely need to get better about taking more pictures!!

Addison Faith- 12/29/11

Warning...this may get a little long!!!

The last post I made was about being put on bed rest. I spent much of the next week ordering my mom and Rodney around with things that needed to be done. My mom and I worked in the nursery(I watched) and I sent Rodney to BuyBuy Baby and Target for last minute things for me and Addison. I actually wasn't too bored since Christmas fell during that time and we had lots of company. I went to the doctor a week later for my follow up and was shocked to see that my blood pressure was even higher than the time before. The first reading was 164/100 I believe. (It probably didn't help that Rodney had agreed to take me to lunch before my appt after lots of pleading). They took it again after lying down for about 10 minutes and it was down to 140/85. The doctor decided to up my appointments to twice a week and I was supposed to go back two days later.

On the way home from the doctor I told Rodney that we should probably go ahead and get my bag packed that night and have it ready just in case. We of course got busy and were both tired so I told him we would just do it the next day. We got in bed about 10:00 and I was drifting off to sleep when I felt a small gush. I got up and went to the bathroom and then called out to Rodney "Honey, I think maybe my water just broke". His response was "You think? I think you would KNOW if your water had broken". So I got back in bed and then a couple minutes later I felt another small gush. My dear husband told me I should just call the doctor in the morning. He didn't understand that if it was indeed my water breaking we needed to get to the hospital ASAP because you have to deliver within 24 hours of your water breaking to avoid infections.  I of course immediately get the Ipad and google "how do you know if your water has broken??" After searching the internet I decided it was time to call the on-call doctor. She called me back within minutes and felt that it was indeed my water breaking and we should head to the hospital. Holy Moly!!!

Of course, we had decided not to pack the bag so we were running around like crazy people throwing things into suitcases. Luckily I had already made a list of things that I needed for the hospital so that saved a little bit of time. Within 10 minutes we were out the door and on our way to the hospital. I called my mom (who had flown out to Kansas City that morning). Told her not to panic, but that we were on our way to the hospital cause my water had broken. She started crying and freaking out. I told her to book the first flight out the next morning and she would be fine. I mean most people are in labor for 18-24 hours anyway, right??? Rodney called his parents and they got their stuff packed and got on the road.

Arrived at the hospital and the nurse confirmed that my water had indeed broken and that I was 2cm dilated and 75% effaced (which is exactly what I was at my doctor's appt that afternoon) We got set up in our L & D room and my sister and Dad arrived shortly after. We told them to go home and get some sleep as it could be a very long time before she arrived, but they insisted on staying and decided to go sleep in their car!!

I went through some painful contractions and MANY trips to the bathroom (like every 20 minutes). I think that the water breaking and not having a catheter was the worst part of the entire thing!! After about 2 hours of contractions (about 5am) I decided I had had enough and asked for my epidural. It was just in the nick of time because they decided to start the pitocin to speed up my contractions immediately after.

I was good to go once I had my epidural! I still had some slight pain and feeling of contractions, but we discovered it was because I laid on one side for too long. I would start to feel it after about an hour of being on one side and so I switched sides every hour and that helped a whole bunch! Rodney's parents made it to the hospital about 6 or 7 that morning and then my mom got there about 8:30 or 9:00.

When they checked me before the epidural at 5am I was dilated to a 2 1/2 or 3. At 8 am I was dilated to a 7 and the nurse predicted 3-4 more hours from that point. I got checked again at 10:30 and was at a 10 and ready to push!!! The doctor came down and after about 30 minutes of pushing through about 8 contractions Miss Addison Faith arrived at 11:08 am. She weighed in at 5 pounds 6 ounces and was 18 3/4 inches long. She was absolutely beautiful and we were in LOVE immediately!!

So as far as Labor and Delivery goes it doesn't get much easier than that! Thankfully everyone made it to the hospital in time, and for only being in labor for 12 hours we cut it very close! It is funny because my water broke sometime between 11:05 and 11:15pm. And she was born at 11:08 am almost 12 hours exactly. I hope that my next pregnancy and labor go just as smoothly!

Addison was sent to the NICUNICU and after not having any Apnea episodes she was released to the regular nursery and was able to room in with us for our last night at the hospital. She slept all night long other than for her feedings! We all went home on New Year's Eve day!!!

Here are some pictures from the big day!!

Our last picture as a family of 2....

 Ready to push.....

 First picture of our beautiful baby girl!

 Daddy cutting the cord...

First time to hold her...

I spoke too soon :(

You know how I was bragging about how great I felt and this was such an easy pregnancy??? Well I guess I jinxed myself because that same day I went in for my check up and ended up getting put in the hospital. I got to the doc and they took my blood pressure and said that it was 152/90, definitely high, but they thought they'd try again with me lying down in a few minutes. Doc checked it again lying and it wasn't quite as high, but still considered to be too high. They brought the wheelchair down to the office and immediately wheeled me up to the high risk OB floor of the hospital.

They ended up doing blood work, a 24 hour urine collection and a sonogram to check everything. Sonogram showed everything looked good and Addy measured in at 5 pounds 4 ounces(42nd percentile) so that was a relief! After about 2 hours of being in bed my blood pressure returned to normal and was good at every reading for the rest of my time there. My blood work came back and showed no protien in the urine which, showed that it hadn't progressed into preeclampsia!We were released to go home late that night!

I am officially on bed rest and found out that once I get to 37 or 38 weeks they will induce me, since I will be full term and she should be ready! I'm not gonna lie, I am a little freaked out to know that she will be here in 2-3 weeks instead of 5!! The nursery is nowhere near finished and I won't get to be in there to put the finishing touches on it :(

I had nothing prepared for my sub yet for my maternity leave because I assumed that I would have at least two weeks to get things in order for her after the break!

I am also kinda sad that Rodney and I will be spending our last few date nights together in bed :( I was hoping to get in a few dinner/movie nights before she arrived.

Okay, I am done venting!!! I know that I could be on bed rest for much longer than 2-3 weeks, or even worse be on bed rest in the hospital!! I am thankful that Addison is still healthy and this is just a small price to pay!!

So if I make it to 37 weeks that is January 6th and if I go to 38 weeks that is January 13th(Rodney's Birthday). It will be interesting to see when they decide to induce. Rodney thinks it would be pretty cool to share his birthday, but at least a day apart seems more ideal so they could both have their own special day. Oh, and the 13th falls on a Friday, not too sure how I feel about that!!!

Well, I have plenty of time on my hands these days, so maybe I will post more than once every two months :) We shall see!!!

Updates!

So it is 4 am and I have been up since 2 am and can't go back to sleep, so I figured I might as well update this blog that I seem so good at neglecting!

Pregnancy.....I am now 34 1/2 weeks pregnant and still feel great! I of course can't seem to sleep through the night and have the usual suspects.....back pain, heartburn, round ligament pain, BUT I feel so very blessed that those are my only issues so far! I know I still have 5 weeks to go, but I thought I would be feeling miserable at about 28-30 weeks, so I feel pretty lucky! We have had 3 wonderful showers (another post to come) and we are trying to get the nursery finished while I am on vacation for the next 2 weeks!

Work......So some of you may remember a little post that I wrote at the end of the school year last year. Here are my exact words...."


It is going to be interesting to see what happens next year, with all of the budget cuts happening. There were lots of unanswered questions at the end of the year. Are any teachers going to be cut? How many kids will we have in each class? Will I still get to teach Math and Science, or will they make me teach reading(scary!!!) Will I be moved to a different grade, or worse....a different school? For now I am just going to enjoy my summer and worry about all of that in August!!"


Well, little did I know that it would be the most eventful school year I have ever experienced! It all started with a facebook message in late July that we were getting a new principal.....UGH, that made me sick to my stomach. I absolutely LOVED our principal and knew that it would be hard to replace her! I went up to my school about a week before teachers had to be back to get a head start in my classroom. Said all my hello's to everyone there and then headed down to my room and my phone rang, it was the school secretary telling me that the new principal wanted to talk to me. She informed me that a 3rd grade section had been cut and that I would not be teaching 3rd grade this year, and that at the moment they didn't even have a spot for me at my school. After a couple of AGONIZING days they let me know that there was a 5th grade opening for Math, so I was excited to be able to stay at my school, but wasn't too excited about having to learn a new grade level while pregnant and being gone on maternity leave, and I had the added pressure of having to pass another certification test by March since I was only certified EC-4. So, I tried to suck it up (which I did a horrible job at) and got my classroom ready and taught the first week. Got an email the next Tuesday to come see my principal and she informed me that another 4th grade section had been closed in our building and that meant a teacher had to leave, and guess who it was.....yep Lucky me! 


Here is where I start to become a little ticked off, for many reasons....

1. We all knew from the beginning that numbers in 4th grade were VERY low and that section would probably be cut, was I given any warning that I might have to move....NOPE! So, I spend at least $100 decorating a 5th grade classroom and learn a week later that it was a waste of MY money. Not cool!!!
2. When I was told that my 3rd grade section was cut, I immediately told them that I would LOVE to go back to Kindergarten( not because I love it, but because I have taught it before and that definitely makes for a less stressful year, plus I wouldn't have the added stress of having to pass a certification test) In the end, they still moved me to 5th grade and then turn around and hire a brand new teacher and put her in Kindergarten. Talk about a slap in the face. I was pissed. 
3. GISD has a very crappy rule when it comes to displacing teachers. When there is a grade level cut and a teacher has to move to a different school they look at the grade level that is cut and look at the teachers in that grade level, along with the grade level above and below. Out of those teachers they take the one with the least amount of years in the district and then they are the one that has to move. So, in reality I had been at my school for 6 years and with the district for 7, but the brand new Kindergarten teacher that had just been hired got to stay and I had to be the one to go. Totally not FAIR!
4. Moving a teacher 2 weeks into the year isn't right for the teacher, and especially isn't right for the kids. They have a pretty good idea of numbers and could have made that decision before school started. but of course didn't!


Soooooo......At the end of the 2nd week of school I packed yet another classroom and moved to a new school(thankfully one that was about the same distance from my house as my old one, I would have been really mad if I was 45 minutes from school instead of 20-25). I was put in a Kindergarten classroom and was basically a new section that had been added at the last minute. There were 3 sections and all 3 teachers had about 26-27 kids in their rooms, talk about a nightmare(again poor planning GISD


So, it was definitely a difficult month or two with all of the changes and moves, and I am so glad to finally be settled at my new school, which everyone has been wonderful at. They made me feel at home from the very beginning, so that is an added bonus. I have a great class (for the most part) and feel very lucky to work with a great team! 


I was invited to my old school's Christmas party and attended last week, and let's just say that maybe I dodged a bullet. The mood is definitely different with the new principal and it definitely isn't the same family type feeling with a relaxed atmosphere. I know that everything happens for a reason, but I still don't like the way that things were handled from my school's end and even the district's. But, I am thankful to have a job :)