June: 4 months

JLC is 4 months old!

She's so much fun! 

The best thing that happened this month was she learned how to laugh (14 weeks). The first time she laughed, she was naked on her changing table and I was blowing raspberries on her tummy. Out of nowhere, she just started giggling which then turned into full blown laughter. I think Paul and I died and went to heaven right then and there. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen/heard and such a special moment for us to experience together. 

I also went back to work this month. Going back to work was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do. The first week was filled with lots of tears (for me, not her) and I still cry sometimes on Sunday nights, but it's getting easier and becoming more of a routine. I just keep telling myself it's only a matter of weeks until summer break. This month, my mom came down from Boulder each week to stay with us and take care of June. It makes it a little easier knowing that June is in good hands and spending the day with someone who loves her so much. Paul's mom is going to stay with us next month. We are so thankful for our moms. I just hate leaving her every day!

June is now "talking" all the time and she is ALWAYS moving! She's still a squirmy worm. 

She learned how to grab things at the beginning of the month and hasn't stopped since. She grabs everything and puts everything in her mouth. Her new favorite thing to do is shove her blankets and clothes in her mouth. Silly girl.

She also discovered her feet this month and loves to stare at/grab them, especially when she's wearing jammies with animals on the feet.

June is still a great night sleeper. She sleeps about 10 hours at night and would probably sleep longer, but I have to wake her up in the morning to feed her before work. Naps are iffy. Some days she'll take a few good naps and some days she doesn't nap at all.

She still loves her baths. We try to get her in the bath every night around 7:30. She loves to splash around and this month she became very interested in the cup I use to wash her hair.

June attended her very first college football game this month. Well, technically it was the CSU-P spring scrimmage, not a real game.

She was unimpressed.

We also took her to the Royal Gorge this month.

June still doesn't enjoy tummy time, but she's tolerating it a little more lately. She's only rolled over  4 times; I don't think she's totally sure how to do it yet.

She likes her changing table and being nakey. She likes to lay on her play mat and look at/reach for the hanging toys. And she loves to be propped up where she can see what's going on. She doesn't want to miss out on a thing!

 We fall more in love with her every day. I can't wait to see what next month holds!

4 MONTH STATS:

weight: ? I'll update after her 4 month appointment

height: 

diapers: size 2

clothes: 3-6 and 6 month, but can still squeeze into some 3 month stuff

eyes: blue

hair: sometimes I think it looks brown and sometimes it looks reddish??

nicknames: June Bug, Miss June, JLC, June Buggy, Stink Bug, Baby Bug

June: 3 Months

Last week JLC turned 3 months old!

This month has been so much fun. I feel like her little personality really started to come out. 

She is now making faces on her own rather than just copying ours. The one she makes most often is what we call her "serious" face where she scrunches her eyebrows together. She's constantly looking around and surveying her surroundings with a semi-skeptical look. 

She's smiling every day now which is still my favorite thing in the world to see. Nothing better than that big, toothless grin!

She's cooing all the time too. She loves to look at herself in the mirror on her play mat and "talk" to herself. 

June is never still. She is always moving. We call her our "squirmy worm." 

She is a very happy baby, but she knows what she wants and will let us know if we're not giving it to her! She's been doing this thing in the last week or so where she cries every time we eat. It's like she knows we're eating and she wants to eat too. little stinker :) 

She is consistently sleeping through the night. Her longest stretch was a little over 11 hours (I had to check to make sure she was breathing!), but her average is about 10 hours. I am one lucky mama!

June likes to watch TV-especially March Madness basketball. A few weeks ago when a bunch of games were on, she was mesmerized by the screen. Grandpa Bob kept standing in her view of the TV and she would cry every time he got in her way. 

She also LOVES taking a bath. She smiles and coos and splashes all around. We give her a bath every night and I'm convinced its her favorite part of the day. She outgrew the newborn insert for the bathtub at the beginning of the month.

She still hates tummy time and she's not a fan of going to church.

This month was full of firsts:

First college basketball game.

First time meeting Aunt Sara and Uncle Jeff.

First Easter.

And 

JLC rolled over from her stomach to her back for the first time this month (at 12 weeks)!!! Coincidentally, the day she rolled over was my first day back at work so I missed it :(

Broke my heart.

June truly is the light of our lives. How is it possible she's only been here for 3 months, but it feels like she's been here forever? The love we feel for her is overflowing :)

3 MONTH STATS:

weight: 12 lbs. 3 oz. (50th percentile)

height: ? she doesn't go back to the pediatrician for another month

diapers: size 1

clothes: 0-3 and 3 months, but they're getting a little snug in the length

eyes: blue

hair: brown

nicknames: June Bug, Miss June, June Buggy, Weezy

June's First Easter

We had a very nice, low-key Easter. My parents came down to Pueblo on Sunday morning. We went to Mass, took a long walk, and had a delicious Easter dinner courtesy of my mom. 

Here we are before Mass. It was a gorgeous day-75 degrees and sunny!

June wore the Easter dress and shoes her Great Grammy gave her.

The Easter bunny left June a basket with a swimsuit, cover up, sunglasses, bunny ears and some candy. She shared her candy with me and Paul :)

June with her "Hammy."

This little bunny had a great first Easter!

A Natural and Healthy Pregnancy

A few weeks ago, Katie Moore contacted me about posting one of her articles on my blog. Katie writes about motherhood, pregnancy, health and fitness. I told her I would be glad to publish her article, so here it is...

A Natural and Healthy Pregnancy

Being pregnant was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I felt better than I ever had before and loved the sweet anticipation of having a baby. People would tell me that I was positively glowing and I couldn't argue!  When I finally held my daughter in my arms, I knew that I had received my greatest gift.  Looking back, I truly believe that my pregnancy went so well because I chose a natural, healthy approach as soon as I found out I was expecting. I incorporated a well-rounded diet, regular exercise, and organic products to ensure that I was giving my baby and my body the best. I've continued with this philosophy since and it has been a benefit for my entire family!

Organic Eating

When it comes to eating, I opted for organic foods, fresh produce, products that were not treated with chemicals or hormones.  I also did my best to cut out processed foods.  I didn't want my baby to be exposed to additives and artificial ingredients. It can be more expensive and less convenient to choose such a path, but the potential rewards outweigh the costs. I also found that I could keep my expenses down when I went to the local co-op, visited area farm stands, and became a coupon queen! I began to experiment with cookbooks at home and my husband said everything tasted better. As an added plus, he started to trim down as we tossed the junk from the cabinets.

Exercise and Staying Fit

Exercise was essential, something I've kept up ever since. I needed to be healthy and strong for my baby, setting a good example.  I didn't go with anything intense, but made sure I was active for at least thirty minutes a day. My husband and I went on walks every morning or after work. Some days we would change it up with a bike ride. I've become a big fan of yoga and found a great DVD that I continue to use. Yoga was really helpful in teaching me breathing techniques and helping me to relax when I was in labor. I still think of it as an escape from stress. By eating well and exercising, I gave my best to my baby and my body.

Natural Products

After taking a look at my every day household products I found that many ingredients were NOT okay for me to use while I was pregnant.  Chemicals and bleach were dangerous and I needed to find other ways of cleaning the house.  I found alternatives such as white vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice would not only disinfect, but also make the house smell great! 

As with anything, make sure to double check with your doctor before making any drastic changes.  I was fortunate to have a doctor who educated me about all pregnancy related topics, from burping to cord blood banking!  Keep these tips in mind while planning your healthy pregnancy.

Katie Moore has written and submitted this article. Katie is an active blogger who discusses the topics of, motherhood, children, fitness, health and all other things Mommy. She enjoys writing, blogging, and meeting new people! To connect with Katie contact her via her blog, Moore From Katie or her twitter, @moorekm26

June: 2 Months

June is 2 months old!

Time is flying by.

Part of me feels like she was just born and part of me feels like she's been here forever.

This month she has become much more alert and interactive.

She started cooing a few weeks ago. It's so cute! We love to hear her "talk" and talk back to her.

She is becoming more expressive too. One of my favorite things to do is stare at her and make different faces and then watch her try to copy them.

June smiled for the first time a few weeks ago (7 weeks old). It absolutely melted my heart! Her smiles are still pretty elusive, but when she gives us one, it's the best thing in the whole world.

She loves to eat. My mom calls her a "chow hound." She eats every 3-4 hours, but from about 5:00pm-9:00pm she likes to cluster feed, sometimes eating every hour. We gave her a 5oz. bottle of pumped milk and she chugged it in 10 minutes. And then she wanted more! She gets this really intense look on her face when she eats. It cracks me up.

June is a great sleeper. She has been sleeping through the night (7-9 hours) for a few weeks now. Paul says she takes after her mama-loves to eat and sleep :)

Unfortunately, her naps aren't as good. Most days she wants to be held and jiggled/rocked to sleep and the second  I put her down, she wakes up. Sometimes she even cries if I'm only holding her with one arm. This definitely makes it hard to get anything done during the day, but I'm trying to soak up all this cuddle time with my baby while she's still little. She will take a good nap if we're out and about and she falls asleep in her carseat. I've even had to wake her up a few times to feed her.

She spent her first night away from home this month. We went up to Boulder to visit my parents and she did great!

She also started sucking on her hands this month. I wonder if she will be a thumbsucker.

June likes to lay on her play mat and look at all of the hanging toys. (Please note her hand in this pic. She does this a lot-puts her thumb in between her pointer and middle fingers)

She also likes being on her changing table and likes baths, but doesn't like it when we take her out of the bath. She does not like her swing and she HATES tummy time! And she can go either way with the pacifier and carrier/wrap-sometimes she likes them, sometimes she hates them.

She is a pretty mild-mannered baby, but she definitely knows what she wants and will let you know if she doesn't like something! And just when I think I have her figured out, she flips the switch on me.

She keeps us on our toes, but we absolutely love life with this little lady.

I can't wait to see what the next month holds :)


2 MONTH STATS:

weight: 11 lbs. 2 oz. (50th percentile)

height: 23 1/4 inches (75th percentile)

diapers: size 1 (at 7 weeks)

clothes: 0-3 and 3 months

eyes: blue

hair: brown

nicknames: June Bug

June's Birth Story

Two weeks ago today, I gave birth to our baby girl. Gosh, I can't believe it's only been two weeks. It seems like she's been here forever. It's a day I will remember for the rest of my life, but I want to document it here before I forget all of the little details. 

The night before I started having contractions-we had no idea this would be our last photo as a family of two

On January 1st at 5:45am, I woke up to what felt like stomach cramps. I thought to myself, "Am I having contractions??" I was a little skeptical because my due date was still a week away and I hadn't experienced any other "symptoms." (I don't know what I was expecting. I guess I thought I would feel an urge to clean the house like everyone talks about, or at least be dilated a centimeter or two?? haha)

I got back in bed and tried to go back to sleep but I was too excited/nervous. After about 30 minutes I decided I should start timing the contractions. They were ranging anywhere from 12-6 minutes apart. 

At 8:00am they became more regular and closer together so I woke Paul up. I got in the shower, put makeup on and finished packing my bag because I thought we would be heading to the hospital soon (in my childbirth class they said to go to the hospital when your contractions were 5 minutes apart). We called our parents to let them know what was going on. And then, wouldn't you know it, the contractions slowed down a bit. Now they were anywhere from 20-8 minutes apart. So Paul and I went for a walk to see if that would speed things up. It didn't. 

At 1:00pm we went to a going away party for one of Paul's coworkers. We decided to go to the party since we were just sitting around waiting for my contractions to speed up. I continued to time them and after an hour or so at the party, they got closer together. Now they were consistently 5 minutes apart. I told one of my friends at the party that I was having contractions. She told me to be careful because when she went into labor with her second baby she progressed so quickly that by the time she got to the hospital it was too late for her to get an epidural. 

Just to let you all know, THAT IS MY WORST FEAR IN LIFE!

Paul and I promptly left the party, stopped by our house to grab our bags (and take a few last minute pics) and went straight to the hospital. 

At 3:00pm we got to the hospital. The nurses hooked me up to the monitor and checked to see if I was dilated. I was 100% effaced, but only dilated 1.5. They called the on-call doctor and she told them to check me again in an hour and send me home if I hadn't progressed. The nurses had me walk up and down the halls of the labor and delivery floor in hopes of getting my water to break. No such luck. An hour later I was still at a 1.5 so they sent me home. I asked them how I would know when to come back. They told me to come back if my water broke or my contractions were so bad I couldn't walk or talk through them. 

Ugh.

At 6:00pm we went home. My parents were there waiting for us.  At that point I was so discouraged. And my contractions were becoming more and more painful. I started to cry and told Paul I couldn't go through this all night. He looked at me like, "I don't think you have a choice" haha. He suggested I take a hot shower which actually helped a little, but a few hours later I was in complete agony. I told Paul we had to go back to the hospital and this time I was going to MAKE them admit me and give me drugs for the pain :)

At 1:00am we went back to the hospital. I wish I had a picture of us leaving for the hospital for the second time. It would have been a very different picture from the one above. I looked like a hot mess with tears streaming down my face, my makeup smeared, and my hair all tangled and matted. I guess I know for next time: if you're feeling good enough to fix your hair and makeup, it's too early to go to the hospital!

When we got to the hospital they checked me and this time I was dilated to 5 centimeters. I immediately worried that there wouldn't be enough time for me to get an epidural. The nurses said they had to get my lab work back and then they could order the epidural, but it would take at least 30 minutes. I was in so much pain that I started throwing up, so they gave me some pain medication while I waited. And let me tell you, that pain medication messed me up! I felt like I was the most wasted I've ever been in my life. Apparently I told Paul I was so tired that I felt like I was going to stop breathing and I asked him to keep an eye on me!?

I have to say, Paul was so good to me throughout the whole process. He stayed so calm and really encouraged me. I don't think I would have survived without him.

Around 2:00am I was dilated to 6.5. The anesthesiologist came and gave me the epidural which made me get sick again. The nurse gave me some anti-nausea medication and once that kicked in, life was grand! I even dozed off for a little while. I progressed to 8 centimeters pretty quickly, but then I got stuck at 8. 

The baby's heart rate kept dropping and they had to give me oxygen. 

At 7:00am I was still at 8 centimeters so they gave me Pitocin to help things along. And then the epidural started to wear off. NOOOO! I asked the nurses if they could give me some more juice. They had the anesthesiologist come back and give me another injection which was great because I couldn't feel a thing...but it was also a problem because I really couldn't feel ANYTHING from my waist down. 

At 9:30am I was finally dilated to 10 and it was time to push! I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to   since I couldn't feel anything. Paul and the nurses had to hold my legs up for me, but after 45 minutes of pushing, out she came and I immediately saw she was a GIRL! Before the doctor could even say anything I shouted, "It's a girl!!!" I was completely shocked. I was so sure I was having a boy. It was the best surprise of my life.

When Paul came into the waiting room to get my parents, my mom said she had never seen such a big smile on his face. Melt my heart! 

Giving birth was a truly amazing experience. 

I am so thankful for a healthy pregnancy and delivery without complications, and most of all, our healthy baby girl-things I prayed for constantly.

We are very blessed!

10 on 10 :: January 2013

10 on 10: Take ten pictures on the tenth day of the month to find the life and beauty among the ordinary things of your day...

My goal for 2013 is to participate in 10 on 10 each month.

Today, June Louise is 8 days old. Here's a glimpse of my day with our baby.

Good morning sleepy head! June woke up around 10:00am this morning.

The boppy pillow. I love this thing. I've used it every time I've fed her since we came home from the hospital.

After I fed her, she spit up all over herself and me! So I gave her a bath.

Snoozin. This girl loves to eat and sleep. She has to sleep elevated in her bouncer seat because of all the spitting up. While she slept, I showered :)

I realized I hadn't left the house since Monday and I was feeling a little stir crazy. So we went to visit daddy at his office for the first time.

Then a quick trip to the post office and Sonic for a Coke.

Stretching out on the floor. I love it when she's awake and happy!

I assembled my new breast pump and tried it out for the first time. Success. 

When Paul came home, he gave June her first bottle and enjoyed some snuggle time.

My sister gave me this book and I love it! Lots of good info. 

There you have it, our day in a nutshell :)