Wow, so it really has been a while. I ought to do a better job at maintaining my spot here, but the truth is, I don't really feel like the day-to-day happenings in our little lives are all that noteworthy. But I suppose you're all due an update. So here'goes...
This is my first post from our new spot in sunny California. We've been here about a week and a half, and so far things are going...okay? We've unpacked everything in our new home and are excited to be settling into this new community and exploring our neighborhood. It's a crazy place, at any time you may see either turkeys or Peacocks (and Peahens). They wander freely, chillin' in driveways and front yards, calling out to each other incessantly throughout the neighborhood. The first few evenings here, I wondered to myself why those kids' parents let them stay in the park so late, and why they were making such ridiculous and repetitive noises. TURNS OUT those weren't kids at all. It's crazy!
I've been job hunting pretty aggressively since the end of March with exactly zero luck, and it's starting to get a bit discouraging. I suppose I can't say zero luck. I did secure an interview in Oakland with a nice-sounding company for a job that would have been very stressful and didn't pay very well. I declined on that one. And my email inbox fills up daily with messages assuring me that insurance sales is the career I am destined for. I'm not sure how true that is, and I'm starting to get a sneaking suspicion that they send these emails to everyone. With no other options, I'm beginning to consider it...
Peanut is growing far too quickly for her own good, and given her ability to pull herself up onto anything semi-stable (coupled with a complete lack of balance), her beautiful little face is now marked up more often than not. She sleeps less during the day, but I'm still getting two naps and 12 hours at night out of her, which is nice for mommy's sanity (and job search). She says all sorts of little words (ga, ma, da, ba) and sometimes combines these into bigger words, but still does not comprehend any meaning behind the words, near as I can tell. She just as readily says "ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma" when looking at Jeff as she does at me.
I've been researching things for us to do with her here, since she's so eager to climb things these days. So far no luck, although I did hear today about a local water park that has an area especially for babies. I'm excited to check that out. I've also heard a bit about gymnastics facilities that offer open time for smaller kiddos.
I suppose that's really all the updating I can do right now. There's more to tell, but I'm sure it would just bore most of you anyway. I'll really try to be better about updating, especially since I'm farther from family than I was before.
Cheerio!
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
An Adventure!!!!
We finally went on an adventure worth writing about!!
This is a re-write from a letter I wrote to my non-interneting grandma, so pardon my rambling while I sort through things. Like most of you, we enjoyed a long President's Day weekend, and like every other human (and a few dogs) in Oregon, we were out at the coast.
It. Was. Beautiful.
We went to Brookings, OR for the long weekend. With the boredom setting in, we've been dying to get out of dodge. Jeff's Dad has a friend who owns a house over there and invited us to come stay. Wowzer! It was beautiful!! It was in the 70’s every day and almost no wind. Poor Jeff wanted to surf while we were over there, but it was never really windy enough, there was hardly any surf. But we did do some other fun things! Our good friends Matt and Amy were exploring the coast on their way up to Seattle, before they ship out for Japan on Thursday. We got to enjoy dinner and breakfast with them, and while neither was long enough, we were thankful at one last chance to spend time togther and say goodbye. I had no idea when I said "see you later" it would only be three weeks until we saw them again. The Air Force has given us such an incredible extended family, I can't believe how many wonderful people we can count as our friends.
We took Caleigh to the beach for the first time and dipped her tiny toes into the ocean. She’s quite the water baby so she enjoyed it, even if the water was chilly. It was so warm outside I don’t think she minded. One day while we were over on the coast, we drove down to Crescent City, California to visit and go to the Redwood Forest. It was so neat! We visited an attraction called the Mystery of Trees (I am all about this touristy kind of stuff), where we paid $30 to hike through some of the forest and take a sky tram up to a lookout. It was so beautiful. You could see huge trees for miles, and then the ocean in the distance. Couldn’t believe the weather, especially for the Oregon coast. Brookings has a pretty good gig though,
they've got that extra warm river due to the Chetco River down there. Gorgeous!
Caleigh finished her second week of swimming lessons last week, so we’re halfway through with those. They’re only half an hour, and really all we do is sing a few songs and then splash around in the water, but the teacher gives her toys to chew on, and she loves just being in the water. She’s the youngest of the four kids in her class, but by far the best behaved. She’s such a laid-back baby, nothing really bothers her. The teacher always wants to hold her and swish her around because she can't believe how chill my baby is. She gets it from her mama. (Not. She totally gets it from her Dad.)
I can’t believe how fast she’s growing. She now fully uses rolling over as a mode of transportation, and has started to kind of army-crawl on her knees and elbows. I'm learning quickly not to leave her alone with anything I don't want her investigating, because she'll wriggle her way right over to it and pull and yank until she gets what she wants. We’re planning another trip to Corvallis next weekend so Jeff and I can run a race, we're trying to get back into doing this kind of thing. And Corvallis comes with a convenient baby sitter. It’s another long weekend for Jeff, and we're looking forward to it!
That wraps up our weekend and this post, and the Peanut girl is now up from her nap and grunting for my attention in the other room. Better hop on over there and get her fed.
Take care my friends!! <3
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Joy To the Fishies In the Deep Blue Sea
Admit it: you've been eagerly awaiting today's post because you're curious about what kind of SPECIAL ADVENTURE Peanut and I went on today. Amiright? Well let's not keep you waiting any longer!
Today was Miss Caleigh Marie's first SWIM LESSON!!!!! Although at this point, the term "lesson" is pretty much a misnomer, since she's not learning much of anything except that the world contains very large bathtubs into which she is occasionally placed by her mother. She's one of four littles in the "Parent and Tot" session, and by far the quietest. This could have something to do with the fact that she's not yet technically learned to speak and mostly just grunts and squeals. She's also the smallest, as the other three children are of walking and talking age. She did great though! She served as a model for the teacher to demonstrate how to hold kiddos in the water, and happily splashed around and reached for a small pink ball she was offered. There are eight lessons total in this session, so we'll go twice a week for the month of February.
I'm already looking forward to Thursday's "lesson," mostly just to have the opportunity to get her back in the water again. It's quite the workout to get myself AND a non-walking, non-sitting baby dressed for swimming, and then re-dressed in our clothes afterwards. I walked out of the gym today exhausted more from the swimming adventure than from my workout beforehand. Times like these, another set of hands would come in great. I find myself needing to use the bathroom, but with nothing to do with the baby, I end up holding it for so long I forget I even have to go. Something tells me this is a trait you develop in motherhood; forcing your urges to the back of your mind in order to focus on your kids.
The other nice thing about having a tot in swimming lessons: the exhaustion for baby. Peanut fell asleep in the car on the way home and slept for another hour and half after we got home, and then took another long nap in the afternoon. I expect her to sleep well tonight too. Not because she physically worked much, but it was, I imagine, quite stimulating and interesting for her.
I suppose that's about all I have for today. Given my sabbatical, I'm going to try and update more frequently, although I'm not sure how often there'll be news to report. It's up to the baby, I guess, to provide good blog material.
Until next time my friends!!
P.S. Since I was a first-time mom at our very first lesson (and alone) I didn't take any pictures today. So instead, I leave you with these generic photos of babies swimming, so you can maybe imagine what Peanut looked like today. If I get a chance (and a spare brain cell) I'll try and remember to take pictures on Thursday. =)
Today was Miss Caleigh Marie's first SWIM LESSON!!!!! Although at this point, the term "lesson" is pretty much a misnomer, since she's not learning much of anything except that the world contains very large bathtubs into which she is occasionally placed by her mother. She's one of four littles in the "Parent and Tot" session, and by far the quietest. This could have something to do with the fact that she's not yet technically learned to speak and mostly just grunts and squeals. She's also the smallest, as the other three children are of walking and talking age. She did great though! She served as a model for the teacher to demonstrate how to hold kiddos in the water, and happily splashed around and reached for a small pink ball she was offered. There are eight lessons total in this session, so we'll go twice a week for the month of February.
I'm already looking forward to Thursday's "lesson," mostly just to have the opportunity to get her back in the water again. It's quite the workout to get myself AND a non-walking, non-sitting baby dressed for swimming, and then re-dressed in our clothes afterwards. I walked out of the gym today exhausted more from the swimming adventure than from my workout beforehand. Times like these, another set of hands would come in great. I find myself needing to use the bathroom, but with nothing to do with the baby, I end up holding it for so long I forget I even have to go. Something tells me this is a trait you develop in motherhood; forcing your urges to the back of your mind in order to focus on your kids.
The other nice thing about having a tot in swimming lessons: the exhaustion for baby. Peanut fell asleep in the car on the way home and slept for another hour and half after we got home, and then took another long nap in the afternoon. I expect her to sleep well tonight too. Not because she physically worked much, but it was, I imagine, quite stimulating and interesting for her.
I suppose that's about all I have for today. Given my sabbatical, I'm going to try and update more frequently, although I'm not sure how often there'll be news to report. It's up to the baby, I guess, to provide good blog material.
Until next time my friends!!
P.S. Since I was a first-time mom at our very first lesson (and alone) I didn't take any pictures today. So instead, I leave you with these generic photos of babies swimming, so you can maybe imagine what Peanut looked like today. If I get a chance (and a spare brain cell) I'll try and remember to take pictures on Thursday. =)
Monday, February 2, 2015
Six Months In
It's been brought to my attention more than a few times in the past few months that I seem to have taken a hiatus from my blog.
What can I say? The people demand my return, and I am obligated to satisfy these demands.
Today is an appropriate day to return from my blog sabbatical, as the not-so-tiny-anymore Peanut girl had her six-month checkup with her awesome pediatrician this afternoon.
But first, let me catch you up on what you missed in the past few months:
OCTOBER HIGHLIGHTS:
-Visited the local eye doctor for the first time, and he promptly referred us to the specialist on the other side of the mountains. Awesome. First available appointment with her? October 31. As it turns out, our insurance referral didn't come in by then, and we rescheduled to December 31. Don't you love insurance companies?
-Stayed for the first time with a stranger. I began leaving Caleigh with the fantastic Ms. M at the YMCA Child Watch so I could work out. At first she mostly just slept in her car seat the entire time I was gone. These days, she loves to snuggle with Ms. M and play with all the neato toys she doesn't have at home.
-I ran my first race since delivering Peanut. It was a 5K in Eugene and while I huffed and puffed my way through, I made it. Now I'm eyeing the Corvallis half-marathon in April.
-Visited a super cute little pumpkin patch to pick out Caleigh's first pumpkin. She slept most of the time, but Daddy and I took plenty of commemorative photos anyway.
-Celebrated Peanut's three-month birthday with some news about Daddy that changed our plans. This may or may not be a contributing factor to my blog sabbatical.
-First Halloween! Caleigh went as Peanut Butter and her very best friend Millie went as Strawberry Jelly. They were too cute. There was also glitter. Everywhere. There still is.
NOVEMBER HIGHLIGHTS:
-Began rolling over front to back! Go baby girl go!
-Plenty of road trips to and from Corvallis so Jeff and I could attend OSU Football games. She's a great road tripper!
-Thanksgiving trip to Vegas to visit Mimi and Grandpa, and meet Uncle Neil, Auntie Julie, Uncle Brad, Auntie Steph and cousin Easton! He loved hanging out with her, once he decided he'd call her Caleigh and not "that girl." We also met up with our good friends from Sheppard who currently live in Phoenix-what a treat!
-Trip to Vegas meant baby's first plane ride! The trip down was a little rough, probably due to the late timing of our flight. She did great on the way home though!
DECEMBER HIGHLIGHTS:
-More rolling over! She's practicing and getting better!
-She's started to show interest in grown-up food, particularly when we're out eating. She fusses unless she can sit in someone's lap and really be part of the meal. You can probably imagine how fun this is for Jeff and I.
-A visit to Corvallis for Christmas. Caleigh got to see her Auntie Bethany for the first time since she was born, and everyone got plenty of baby snuggles. She also got lots of neat new toys to play with!
-Finally visited the pediatric ophthalmologist on the other side of the mountains. She pretty much told us the baby has poor eye sight, but not so poor that anything needs to be done about it just yet. She'd like to see Caleigh again when she's 11 months old.
JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS:
-Happy New Year! Caleigh had an uneventful night while Jeff and I entertained his b-course class for NYE festivities. We all had a great time.
-First fever! Lots of rest and a little Tylenol and she was back to normal in no time.
-Daddy's 30th Birthday! We had a quiet celebration at home, and then visited Sunriver (it's a local little resort town - Google it, you won't regret it) for some relaxation with my parents. Jeff and my dad had the opportunity to ski, while the ladies hung out at home. There was no snow in Sunriver, but we still all had a great time.
-While in Sunriver we discovered...TEETH! The two middle teeth on the bottom have cut through and are now visible. And more than that, you can FEEL them. Sharp little buggers, they are.
-We also started Peanut on some solid (pureed) foods and so far, she enjoys them! She's still not quite sure what to do with her tongue, and if the feeder isn't using the spoon to hold her tongue down, she has quite a time keeping the food in her mouth. But she flails her arms and grunts until the colorful stick with goo on the end comes back towards her mouth. Can't wait until she really gets the hang of it.
-Visited the Lava Beds National Park for some "caving" and hiking. Jeff and I weren't super keen on the caving, except in the very well-lit one, but the hiking was beautiful. We're lucky to live in such an awe-inspiring part of the country.
-Six months old. It has been half a year since we met out beautiful daughter, and every single day has been beyond what we expected. Of course we've had our challenges, but Jeff and I are settling into parenthood well and are really starting to feel like we've got the hang of it, and we can handle whatever this tiny person cooks up for us. (Like the "code brown" we woke up to the other day - up her back to her armpits. Definitely a two-person job.)
So you're pretty much all caught up now. We watched the Super Bowl last night, and hope Caleigh is more enthused about her next one. Obviously the wrong team won, but it was definitely a good game.
So far this month, we've moved up a diaper size, and had our six-month check up with the pediatrician. She's still very perfect, and has maintained her height/weight track on her growth charts, maintaining her spot in the 70-75th percentiles. I cooked up a little chart with her stats for comparison:
I can't believe she's more than two feet tall, and fast-approaching 20 pounds. Every day I ask her to stop growing.
I don't think she's listening.
So that about wraps it up for now, I've probably gone on too long as it is. I've got another adventure cooked up for tomorrow, but you'll have to wait to hear about that another time.
Cheers!
What can I say? The people demand my return, and I am obligated to satisfy these demands.
Today is an appropriate day to return from my blog sabbatical, as the not-so-tiny-anymore Peanut girl had her six-month checkup with her awesome pediatrician this afternoon.
But first, let me catch you up on what you missed in the past few months:
OCTOBER HIGHLIGHTS:
-Visited the local eye doctor for the first time, and he promptly referred us to the specialist on the other side of the mountains. Awesome. First available appointment with her? October 31. As it turns out, our insurance referral didn't come in by then, and we rescheduled to December 31. Don't you love insurance companies?
-Stayed for the first time with a stranger. I began leaving Caleigh with the fantastic Ms. M at the YMCA Child Watch so I could work out. At first she mostly just slept in her car seat the entire time I was gone. These days, she loves to snuggle with Ms. M and play with all the neato toys she doesn't have at home.
-I ran my first race since delivering Peanut. It was a 5K in Eugene and while I huffed and puffed my way through, I made it. Now I'm eyeing the Corvallis half-marathon in April.
-Visited a super cute little pumpkin patch to pick out Caleigh's first pumpkin. She slept most of the time, but Daddy and I took plenty of commemorative photos anyway.
-Celebrated Peanut's three-month birthday with some news about Daddy that changed our plans. This may or may not be a contributing factor to my blog sabbatical.
-First Halloween! Caleigh went as Peanut Butter and her very best friend Millie went as Strawberry Jelly. They were too cute. There was also glitter. Everywhere. There still is.
NOVEMBER HIGHLIGHTS:
-Began rolling over front to back! Go baby girl go!
-Plenty of road trips to and from Corvallis so Jeff and I could attend OSU Football games. She's a great road tripper!
-Thanksgiving trip to Vegas to visit Mimi and Grandpa, and meet Uncle Neil, Auntie Julie, Uncle Brad, Auntie Steph and cousin Easton! He loved hanging out with her, once he decided he'd call her Caleigh and not "that girl." We also met up with our good friends from Sheppard who currently live in Phoenix-what a treat!
-Trip to Vegas meant baby's first plane ride! The trip down was a little rough, probably due to the late timing of our flight. She did great on the way home though!
DECEMBER HIGHLIGHTS:
-More rolling over! She's practicing and getting better!
-She's started to show interest in grown-up food, particularly when we're out eating. She fusses unless she can sit in someone's lap and really be part of the meal. You can probably imagine how fun this is for Jeff and I.
-A visit to Corvallis for Christmas. Caleigh got to see her Auntie Bethany for the first time since she was born, and everyone got plenty of baby snuggles. She also got lots of neat new toys to play with!
-Finally visited the pediatric ophthalmologist on the other side of the mountains. She pretty much told us the baby has poor eye sight, but not so poor that anything needs to be done about it just yet. She'd like to see Caleigh again when she's 11 months old.
JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS:
-Happy New Year! Caleigh had an uneventful night while Jeff and I entertained his b-course class for NYE festivities. We all had a great time.
-First fever! Lots of rest and a little Tylenol and she was back to normal in no time.
-Daddy's 30th Birthday! We had a quiet celebration at home, and then visited Sunriver (it's a local little resort town - Google it, you won't regret it) for some relaxation with my parents. Jeff and my dad had the opportunity to ski, while the ladies hung out at home. There was no snow in Sunriver, but we still all had a great time.
-While in Sunriver we discovered...TEETH! The two middle teeth on the bottom have cut through and are now visible. And more than that, you can FEEL them. Sharp little buggers, they are.
-We also started Peanut on some solid (pureed) foods and so far, she enjoys them! She's still not quite sure what to do with her tongue, and if the feeder isn't using the spoon to hold her tongue down, she has quite a time keeping the food in her mouth. But she flails her arms and grunts until the colorful stick with goo on the end comes back towards her mouth. Can't wait until she really gets the hang of it.
-Visited the Lava Beds National Park for some "caving" and hiking. Jeff and I weren't super keen on the caving, except in the very well-lit one, but the hiking was beautiful. We're lucky to live in such an awe-inspiring part of the country.
-Six months old. It has been half a year since we met out beautiful daughter, and every single day has been beyond what we expected. Of course we've had our challenges, but Jeff and I are settling into parenthood well and are really starting to feel like we've got the hang of it, and we can handle whatever this tiny person cooks up for us. (Like the "code brown" we woke up to the other day - up her back to her armpits. Definitely a two-person job.)
So you're pretty much all caught up now. We watched the Super Bowl last night, and hope Caleigh is more enthused about her next one. Obviously the wrong team won, but it was definitely a good game.
So far this month, we've moved up a diaper size, and had our six-month check up with the pediatrician. She's still very perfect, and has maintained her height/weight track on her growth charts, maintaining her spot in the 70-75th percentiles. I cooked up a little chart with her stats for comparison:
I don't think she's listening.
So that about wraps it up for now, I've probably gone on too long as it is. I've got another adventure cooked up for tomorrow, but you'll have to wait to hear about that another time.
Cheers!
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
2 Months: Stats, Shots & Smiles
This past Sunday, our little nugget officially reached the two-month mark of her short little life. My, how time flies. Jeff and I grow more smitten with her every single day, as she reaches new milestones and grows more and more into the person she will become.
We visited with our amazing pediatrician on Monday, and she assured me, again, that Caleigh is absolutely perfect. (DUH!) Here are her updated stats:
In comparison, here's where she was at her very first appointment, four days old:
Talk about growth!!! This kid has gotten huge!! I can't get over the improvement in her weight. I remember vividly, the second or third night we were home, I called the nurse line convinced Caleigh wasn't getting anything to eat and was starving to death. I bawled in Jeff's arms because I felt like a terrible mother, not being able to feed my baby. What a difference two months makes! This kid clearly isn't starving, and it's showing in her round little body and chubby face. She's developed those adorable little baby rolls in her arms and legs, and has acquired an additional chin.
Monday's visit wasn't just to check on Caleigh's growth stats, it was also an opportunity for immunizations. She received one at the hospital before we were released, but the nurse had taken her out of the room and brought her back sleeping, so I have no idea how much she freaked out then. This time was a totally different story. I had the "pleasure" of holding my tiny girl while she got stuck with big needles THREE TIMES. I'd been able to get her to sleep while we were waiting for the nurse to return with the shots, so she didn't react too bad to the first one. She noticed it, but with her paci securely in her mouth, she handled it pretty well.
I wish I could say the same for the next two, wowzer.
The second one saw the paci come flying out of her mouth and my daughter wailing like I had never seen before. Full-on mouth wide open, eyes scrunched tight, in the most pain she has ever experienced in her little life. My heart broke in two. And then she got stuck again, and I think that one hurt a little more, because she looked at me, tortured, and wailed and wailed and wailed. My poor little baby girl. My heart broke some more. I was crushed. I am already dreading having to take her back again and again and again, and especially when the time comes that she'll know what is about to happen and can tell me how much it hurts. My heart will break some more I think.
So after the shots, I managed to get her clothes back on, calmed down and back in her car seat. She fell asleep in the car on the way home, but I gave her some infant Tylenol when we got home just in case. She napped in the afternoon and seemed fine the rest of the night, so I'm thankful for no adverse side effects. Minus my still-broken heart, of course. Maybe next time Daddy will have to take her.
We also received a referral for a local eye doctor because our pediatrician (at my inquiry) suspects Caleigh might have one or both crossed eyes. We haven't made the follow-up appointment for that yet, so I'm not sure if she actually has crossed eyes or not. We'll find out more in the next few weeks.
Finally, the two-month mark has brought us something super exciting: SMILES!! Jeff and I are definitely learning what things we can do to help bring on smiles (tummy tickles, excited faces) and do them as much as we can. It is another level of parenting when your child smiles at you. Didn't think I could love her little face any more, and then she SMILES at me and it's like
She's too much cute for one baby. We're looking forward to continuing to watch her grow and change. It seems like every day she learns something new, or shows us some more of her sweet personality.
That's probably about all for my update, so here's some more recent pictures of our angel:
We visited with our amazing pediatrician on Monday, and she assured me, again, that Caleigh is absolutely perfect. (DUH!) Here are her updated stats:
Length: 23 inches (73rd percentile)
Weight: 12 lbs, 5 oz (73rd percentile)
Head: 15.7 inches (92nd percentile)
Length:19.25 inches (34th percentile)
Weight: 5 lbs, 15.5 oz (8th percentile)
Head: 13.8 inches (75th percentile)
Talk about growth!!! This kid has gotten huge!! I can't get over the improvement in her weight. I remember vividly, the second or third night we were home, I called the nurse line convinced Caleigh wasn't getting anything to eat and was starving to death. I bawled in Jeff's arms because I felt like a terrible mother, not being able to feed my baby. What a difference two months makes! This kid clearly isn't starving, and it's showing in her round little body and chubby face. She's developed those adorable little baby rolls in her arms and legs, and has acquired an additional chin.
Monday's visit wasn't just to check on Caleigh's growth stats, it was also an opportunity for immunizations. She received one at the hospital before we were released, but the nurse had taken her out of the room and brought her back sleeping, so I have no idea how much she freaked out then. This time was a totally different story. I had the "pleasure" of holding my tiny girl while she got stuck with big needles THREE TIMES. I'd been able to get her to sleep while we were waiting for the nurse to return with the shots, so she didn't react too bad to the first one. She noticed it, but with her paci securely in her mouth, she handled it pretty well.
I wish I could say the same for the next two, wowzer.
The second one saw the paci come flying out of her mouth and my daughter wailing like I had never seen before. Full-on mouth wide open, eyes scrunched tight, in the most pain she has ever experienced in her little life. My heart broke in two. And then she got stuck again, and I think that one hurt a little more, because she looked at me, tortured, and wailed and wailed and wailed. My poor little baby girl. My heart broke some more. I was crushed. I am already dreading having to take her back again and again and again, and especially when the time comes that she'll know what is about to happen and can tell me how much it hurts. My heart will break some more I think.
So after the shots, I managed to get her clothes back on, calmed down and back in her car seat. She fell asleep in the car on the way home, but I gave her some infant Tylenol when we got home just in case. She napped in the afternoon and seemed fine the rest of the night, so I'm thankful for no adverse side effects. Minus my still-broken heart, of course. Maybe next time Daddy will have to take her.
We also received a referral for a local eye doctor because our pediatrician (at my inquiry) suspects Caleigh might have one or both crossed eyes. We haven't made the follow-up appointment for that yet, so I'm not sure if she actually has crossed eyes or not. We'll find out more in the next few weeks.
Finally, the two-month mark has brought us something super exciting: SMILES!! Jeff and I are definitely learning what things we can do to help bring on smiles (tummy tickles, excited faces) and do them as much as we can. It is another level of parenting when your child smiles at you. Didn't think I could love her little face any more, and then she SMILES at me and it's like
OH. MY. GOODNESS.
She's too much cute for one baby. We're looking forward to continuing to watch her grow and change. It seems like every day she learns something new, or shows us some more of her sweet personality.
That's probably about all for my update, so here's some more recent pictures of our angel:
 |
| Napping with daddy. My loves. <3 |
 |
| Smile! |
 |
| So much change in just 31 days! |
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| Outtake from our 2-month photo shoot. |
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| Outtake from our 2-month photo shoot. |
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| Outtake from our 2-month photo shoot. |
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| Beaver believer!! |
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Two Months!
I have pretty severely neglected my blog - sorry friends! I keep telling myself I'll be better about updating, and then I procrastinate for a couple months and feel even MORE guilty for not updating more!
Anyway, here's what we've been up to lately:
Right after my last post, the three of us joined the other students and instructors here at Kingsley for the annual 173d Ops Group camping trip. With a three-week-old baby, we didn't camp, but we did visit for the day. It was a great time! It rained a little bit, but once it passed, we hung around the fire and enjoyed ourselves. Caleigh did great, she didn't fuss much at all and was happy to be passed around and held.
For the long Labor Day weekend, Jeff had arranged a hunting trip with his dad in Eastern Oregon, so Caleigh and I ventured back to Corvallis to visit with friends and family. Caleigh met her great-grandmas, and both were immediately smitten with her. It's a crazy thing to think about your own grandmother holding your daughter, and thinking about how different things will be for each generation. We hung out a bit with some of my friends, and had a nice relaxing weekend at home. We probably won't go back until Christmas, so it was nice to make the trip!
In early September, we "celebrated" my thirtieth birthday. Okay, everyone else celebrated, I pouted in a corner, hehe. Jeff planned a great barbecue and invited all of our friends, and even took care of the baby so I could have a beer or two. We had a great time! Caleigh especially. She's pretty happy as long as someone is feeding and snuggling her. Lucky for us (I think?) she's not terribly partial to who it is that is feeding and snuggling her. For the week or so leading up to the party, we started introducing one bottle of breast milk each evening so she'd be able to have bottles during the party. I think Jeff enjoyed getting the chance to feed her, and be even more involved in taking care of our little nugget. Since then we've given her bottle intermittently, when we're out and about and breast feeding her isn't really feasible. She doesn't seem to mind a bit!
The next week after my birthday, I got to visit my doctor for my six-week "post-op" appointment. This is just the check-up to make sure everything looks good and I've recovered well from delivery. She said everything seems just fine and my body has healed well. Good news! Things feel pretty much back to normal, which is incredible considering what your body goes through to grow and then deliver a baby.
As Caleigh approaches her two-month birthday, it feels like we notice her changing every single day. She holds her head up better than ever, and she has great focus on objects and faces. She will turn her head towards familiar noises, like mom or dad's voice or her car seat toy. Just this past weekend, she started deliberately smiling at Jeff and I. It's the sweetest thing to watch this little girl just grin at her daddy. They are the cutest. We have our two-month checkup with the pediatrician on Monday, and I expect her to tell us that Peanut is a happy, healthy baby girl. She's gained great weight, and I won't be surprised if she's 12 or 13 pounds by the time we visit. This appointment is also her first big round of vaccinations, which means lots of pokes for my poor tiny girl. Hopefully she handles it like a champ, otherwise mommy's heart just might break.
I'll try and remember to update more after our doctor's appointment next week. Until then, here are more snap shots of our little bug:
Anyway, here's what we've been up to lately:
Right after my last post, the three of us joined the other students and instructors here at Kingsley for the annual 173d Ops Group camping trip. With a three-week-old baby, we didn't camp, but we did visit for the day. It was a great time! It rained a little bit, but once it passed, we hung around the fire and enjoyed ourselves. Caleigh did great, she didn't fuss much at all and was happy to be passed around and held.
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| Caleigh with great-grandma June. |
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| Shelby's 30th Birthday celebration! |
The next week after my birthday, I got to visit my doctor for my six-week "post-op" appointment. This is just the check-up to make sure everything looks good and I've recovered well from delivery. She said everything seems just fine and my body has healed well. Good news! Things feel pretty much back to normal, which is incredible considering what your body goes through to grow and then deliver a baby.
As Caleigh approaches her two-month birthday, it feels like we notice her changing every single day. She holds her head up better than ever, and she has great focus on objects and faces. She will turn her head towards familiar noises, like mom or dad's voice or her car seat toy. Just this past weekend, she started deliberately smiling at Jeff and I. It's the sweetest thing to watch this little girl just grin at her daddy. They are the cutest. We have our two-month checkup with the pediatrician on Monday, and I expect her to tell us that Peanut is a happy, healthy baby girl. She's gained great weight, and I won't be surprised if she's 12 or 13 pounds by the time we visit. This appointment is also her first big round of vaccinations, which means lots of pokes for my poor tiny girl. Hopefully she handles it like a champ, otherwise mommy's heart just might break.
I'll try and remember to update more after our doctor's appointment next week. Until then, here are more snap shots of our little bug:
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| Hanging out at a b-course graduation. Can't wait for daddy's! |
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| "Milk drunk." |
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| Fashionista! |
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| Sleepy baby girl. |
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| I love bath time! |
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| Snuggles with Grammie. |
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| First bottle! Yum! |
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| Just having some thinks. |
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| Game day! Go Beavs! |
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| All dressed up! |
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Van Orsow, Party of Three
Apologies for my long hiatus, as you can imagine, I've been a little busy.
First things first...WE HAD A BABY!!!
Peanut is finally here, and Jeff and I are elated. Every single day we look at this little wonder with amazement. We MADE that. This sweet, beautiful, precious thing is here in our arms and we MADE her. It's surreal and crazy and awesome at the same time.
Since I've been gone so long, I obviously have quite a bit to catch you up on. It's been more than three weeks since Caleigh was born (and more than that since I made my last post) and if I tried to write down everything that's happened since then, we'd be here for the next few weeks. So I'll give you the brief overview.
MONDAY, JULY 28TH
I was admitted to the hospital on Sunday the 27th in the evening, and given Cervidil, a medication that prepares your cervix for induction/labor. After a restless night of attempting to sleep on a terrible hospital bed, my 5:00 am wake up call came pretty early. I was allowed to shower and have breakfast before we got things stated, which I appreciated. Nice to feel clean and freshly showered since I knew it would be a while. Around 7:15 Monday morning the doctors started Pitocin, a medication that mimics oxytocin, the chemical naturally produced by your brain that starts labor. I started feeling contractions almost immediately, although they were reasonably bearable. Having heard horror stories about how much worse contractions are when you're given Pitocin, I requested an epidural almost immediately after my Pitocin was started. Lesson to the future mommies interested in epidurals: they are administered by an anesthesiologist who may (or may not) be available when requested. In my case, it wasn't until 10:30 that the anesthesiologist arrived, and by then I was beyond ready to not be in pain anymore. After the excruciating process of having my water broken (I don't think it's this bad for everyone, Caleigh was a special case) and the increasing pain of the contractions, I was nearing a breaking point by the time I was given the epidural.
The good news? Once the IV is hooked up, the medication starts and you feel better almost instantly. Huge sigh of relief. As my lower body started to go numb, I relaxed and was able to nod off for little periods of time. Thank goodness.
Fast-forward about eight hours, I'd dilated only three of four centimeters and Caleigh wasn't moving down into the birth canal like she was supposed to. At 7:00 pm, after increasing the amount of Pitocin I was getting, our doctor informed us she'd be back in a half hour to check our progress. If we hadn't made significant change, we'd likely be headed for a cesarean delivery. Our nurses started to scrub down and prepare themselves and me for the surgery. Although I knew this was a possibility, the reality of having major surgery was overwhelming and I cried a bit thinking about it, trying to prepare myself. When the doc came back at 7:30, she checked me again, and despite minimal progress decided they'd increase the Pitocin once more and give me about 30 more minutes, then it was REALLY time for a c-section. This little baby did not seem to want to come out.
When 8:00 finally rolled around and our AMAZING doctor checked us once again, she decided things had moved along enough that we could start pushing. Wait, what? I'd been mentally preparing myself to deliver this baby via c-section, and now I'm being told it's time to start pushing? Wowzer. That threw me for a loop, for sure, although I was glad to be able to at least attempt avoiding the surgery.
So I pushed. And pushed. And pushed. And in a room full of doctors and nurses, a random high school student (don't ask...or do - another time), with the love of my life helping me every step of the way, we managed to bring this beautiful little miracle into the world. It didn't take long to discover why she'd been so shy, poor Caleigh had her umbilical cord wrapped around her little neck THREE times. Active little wiggler had really gotten herself caught up in my tummy!!
The nurses took her to the warmer to check her, under Jeff's watchful eye, while the doc finished up with me. The look on his face was priceless. There is something about dads and their daughters that is innately precious, especially when that man is your husband and that girl is your daughter. My heart was already so full of love for Jeff and the little life that the two of us shared, and it's darn-near exploded with the love I feel for our daughter and this new reality we're growing in to.
Those first couple of days at the hospital were rough, more because someone is ALWAYS in your room checking on mama or baby, so nobody gets much sleep even if they wanted to. Being at home has been easier, and we've been blessed with so much help and support from our families, friends, and even perfect strangers in our squadron. We've got nights of not much sleep, and nights where we feel a little more rested, but every single minute looking at her sweet face is completely worth it.
Here's more good news: she's really cute! I've talked all along about how you were all just going to have to lie to us if she was ugly, because Jeff and I wouldn't know the difference. But, at least as far as we can tell (and unless you're all EXCEPTIONAL liars) she is actually, legitimately adorable. We are so proud.
I think I'll leave it at that for today's update, but I'll try and be back more often with other random updates and tidbits. Not to leave you wanting, here are some sweet pics of our cute girl:
First things first...WE HAD A BABY!!!
Peanut is finally here, and Jeff and I are elated. Every single day we look at this little wonder with amazement. We MADE that. This sweet, beautiful, precious thing is here in our arms and we MADE her. It's surreal and crazy and awesome at the same time.
Since I've been gone so long, I obviously have quite a bit to catch you up on. It's been more than three weeks since Caleigh was born (and more than that since I made my last post) and if I tried to write down everything that's happened since then, we'd be here for the next few weeks. So I'll give you the brief overview.
MONDAY, JULY 28TH
I was admitted to the hospital on Sunday the 27th in the evening, and given Cervidil, a medication that prepares your cervix for induction/labor. After a restless night of attempting to sleep on a terrible hospital bed, my 5:00 am wake up call came pretty early. I was allowed to shower and have breakfast before we got things stated, which I appreciated. Nice to feel clean and freshly showered since I knew it would be a while. Around 7:15 Monday morning the doctors started Pitocin, a medication that mimics oxytocin, the chemical naturally produced by your brain that starts labor. I started feeling contractions almost immediately, although they were reasonably bearable. Having heard horror stories about how much worse contractions are when you're given Pitocin, I requested an epidural almost immediately after my Pitocin was started. Lesson to the future mommies interested in epidurals: they are administered by an anesthesiologist who may (or may not) be available when requested. In my case, it wasn't until 10:30 that the anesthesiologist arrived, and by then I was beyond ready to not be in pain anymore. After the excruciating process of having my water broken (I don't think it's this bad for everyone, Caleigh was a special case) and the increasing pain of the contractions, I was nearing a breaking point by the time I was given the epidural.
The good news? Once the IV is hooked up, the medication starts and you feel better almost instantly. Huge sigh of relief. As my lower body started to go numb, I relaxed and was able to nod off for little periods of time. Thank goodness.
Fast-forward about eight hours, I'd dilated only three of four centimeters and Caleigh wasn't moving down into the birth canal like she was supposed to. At 7:00 pm, after increasing the amount of Pitocin I was getting, our doctor informed us she'd be back in a half hour to check our progress. If we hadn't made significant change, we'd likely be headed for a cesarean delivery. Our nurses started to scrub down and prepare themselves and me for the surgery. Although I knew this was a possibility, the reality of having major surgery was overwhelming and I cried a bit thinking about it, trying to prepare myself. When the doc came back at 7:30, she checked me again, and despite minimal progress decided they'd increase the Pitocin once more and give me about 30 more minutes, then it was REALLY time for a c-section. This little baby did not seem to want to come out.
When 8:00 finally rolled around and our AMAZING doctor checked us once again, she decided things had moved along enough that we could start pushing. Wait, what? I'd been mentally preparing myself to deliver this baby via c-section, and now I'm being told it's time to start pushing? Wowzer. That threw me for a loop, for sure, although I was glad to be able to at least attempt avoiding the surgery.
So I pushed. And pushed. And pushed. And in a room full of doctors and nurses, a random high school student (don't ask...or do - another time), with the love of my life helping me every step of the way, we managed to bring this beautiful little miracle into the world. It didn't take long to discover why she'd been so shy, poor Caleigh had her umbilical cord wrapped around her little neck THREE times. Active little wiggler had really gotten herself caught up in my tummy!!
The nurses took her to the warmer to check her, under Jeff's watchful eye, while the doc finished up with me. The look on his face was priceless. There is something about dads and their daughters that is innately precious, especially when that man is your husband and that girl is your daughter. My heart was already so full of love for Jeff and the little life that the two of us shared, and it's darn-near exploded with the love I feel for our daughter and this new reality we're growing in to.
Those first couple of days at the hospital were rough, more because someone is ALWAYS in your room checking on mama or baby, so nobody gets much sleep even if they wanted to. Being at home has been easier, and we've been blessed with so much help and support from our families, friends, and even perfect strangers in our squadron. We've got nights of not much sleep, and nights where we feel a little more rested, but every single minute looking at her sweet face is completely worth it.
Here's more good news: she's really cute! I've talked all along about how you were all just going to have to lie to us if she was ugly, because Jeff and I wouldn't know the difference. But, at least as far as we can tell (and unless you're all EXCEPTIONAL liars) she is actually, legitimately adorable. We are so proud.
I think I'll leave it at that for today's update, but I'll try and be back more often with other random updates and tidbits. Not to leave you wanting, here are some sweet pics of our cute girl:
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Caleigh Marie
Monday, July 28th, 2014
9:33 pm
6 pounds 7.5 ounces
19.5 inches long
Absolutely perfect
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