Rooting for the Devils!

Hard to believe it's already December and we're in the midst of the holiday season!  This year has really flown by, ESPECIALLY the last three months.  Being back at work has been pretty hard, not only emotionally but in every way possible.  It's extremely difficult to be away from Addyson so much, I really feel like my time with her is so limited now, which I hate because she's changing on a daily basis.  It's also so exhausting because we're still getting up for at least one feeding in the middle of the night and I have to start getting ready for work around 5:30am and don't get home until around 5:30pm...makes for a tiring week.  Unfortunately the plan to work from home part-time fell through but I do at least get every other Friday off of work, so that's something.  I'll take what I can get! 

Brian's job is going well.  He's enjoying the position, although every job has it's downfalls.  He exceeded his goals for last quarter and I am so proud of him!  He continues to learn more about the IT industry and, although I know he misses parts about being a golf professional, this career path allows him to utilize his people skills and constantly network, something in which he is truly gifted.  I think my favorite part is that we have weekends off together and get lots of family time, something that never would have been possible if he stayed in the golf industry. 

I thank God every day for blessing me with such an amazing husband.  Brian is so hands-on with Addy and helps in every way he can, I truly don't know what I'd do without him!  It melts my heart to see him with Addy.  I didn't think it was possible, but seeing him as a daddy makes me love him even more.  Our incredible family that has really been a huge help as well.  My aunts, my mom and my sister Sarah are appreciated more than they will ever know.  Since I've been back to work, they have been watching her during the week.  My mom takes every Wednesday and Thursdays are "Auntie Thursdays" with Auntie Sarah.  Up until Tuesday she was with a nanny every Monday and Tuesday, one of the other mommies I met in our childbirth preparation class that offered to help me out when we had our reunion with all the babies just before I went back to work.  Unfortunately she told me she could no longer handle both her baby and Addy this last Monday but thankfully my Auntie Amy is able to take over and again family comes to the rescue.

Thanksgiving

Our poor baby girl has had some pretty bad bouts of colic since she was born.  We thought at first it was just because she scratched her eyeball, then again thought it was just acid reflux.  But when all those were "cured" we had to face the realization that she was still having a lot of tummy pain and it was indeed colic, whatever that means anyway.  This would be the reason the nanny could no longer deal with two babies, which I totally don't blame her for at all.  When Addy is having a bad day, you basically have to stand and bounce with her 24/7 to make her tummy feel better.  I took her to a homeopathic doctor a few weeks ago and she gave us "Colic Calm" which is a charcoal based all-natural medication that helps to bind the gas bubbles so they can pass through her system without causing discomfort.  It really does work miracles.  Within a minute of giving it to her during her rough times, she immediately calms down.  After speaking with the nanny on Monday, I did a lot of research and have come to the conclusion that it may very well be a dairy intolerance.  Thus I have cut out all dairy products from my diet...not an easy task, let me tell you.  You would never believe how many products have dairy in them.  Non-dairy creamer for instance?  Oh yeah, it has dairy in it!  Even taco seasoning, italian dressing, deli meats...the list goes on.  I'm on day three and she's been getting better and better each day so it's definitely worth it but man, I hope she grows out of it soon!  I miss my cheese! :)

12 weeks old!

Brian and I took my brother, Justus, out for his 18th birthday a few weeks ago.  Bought tickets to the TechN9ne concert, had a limo take us around Seattle, the whole sha-bang.  My cousin and a few others joined us and Brian and I brought alcohol in the limo for those above age to drink on the way to dinner and the concert.  We came to the unfortunate realization that we can no longer party like 21 year old rock stars...  It being the first time out in a while (almost 11 months for me!), our tolerance was definitely not what it used to be.  Let's just say that Brian and I didn't even make it to the concert and our night ended with a mildly embarrassing show of Brian getting sick out the limo door right in front of the line of people waiting to get into the concert.  Definitely not one of our finer moments but boy did we have a good time in the limo! :)  Lesson learned, we are officially old...  When did that happen?? 

The night she found her feet :)

Lucky for us, we have the most incredible daughter and can't get enough of her, so that definitely makes up for the fact that we just can't 'hang' anymore. :)  Addyson is getting so big!  She's able to hold her head up steadily now and loves to sit up and look out at everything that's going on around her.  She definitely has her father's social personality and doesn't like to miss out on anything! :)  She's 'talking' more and more each day and has the biggest smile.  And she just discovered her feet a few nights ago, staring at them like she just couldn't believe they were attached to her!  I could go on and on about how dang cute she is, she is just the light of our lives!  She brings so much joy to all of us and we can't wait to see her grow each day!

How Time Flies



1 month old



Hard to believe that our little girl is already 2 months old today!  Oh how time flies, especially when you want it to slow down.  Addyson is growing with leaps and bounds on a daily basis, both in size (especially those chubby cheeks!) and in intellect.  She outgrew newborn clothes and diapers weeks ago and is quickly doing the same with many of her 0-3 month sizes.  We joke that she has chinS..yes, that's plural.  She actually rolled over not once, not twice, but THREE times in one day when she was only 5 weeks old.  Hasn't done it since then though but she has started to stand when I hold her on my lap. 



2 month picture



I'm sure we are biased, but Brian and I are convinced that she is much smarter than most babies her age.  She loves playing on her activity mat and our new favorite thing is watching her mimic our little coos and aahs - our hearts melt each and every time!  She is all smiles during play time, with grins that light up her whole face and make us giggle with joy.  There is nothing that gives me more pleasure than getting her to smile and hear her try to formulate the sounds I'm making at her.  She's even given us a few giggles!  One of her more laughable expressions is when she puckers up her lips like she's going to give you a kiss.  She likes to do this when she's full - it's her way of telling me, "No more mom, I'm done!"  It's the most amazing thing to watch her grow each day and see her become more and more interactive.  It truly is the best and most fulfilling thing in the world! :)



The Pucker Lip





Unfortunately Addyson has acid reflux and has been on perscription antacid for the last few weeks.  This seems to have helped her sleep because she was at one point waking up every 5 to 10 minutes from choking on acid in her throat but it's created another monster - constipation.  So now her reflux is better but she needs help passing gas and only poops once a day or once every few days if she's lucky.  I lay her on my lap and help her "ride her bicycle" and this helps quite a bit.  But watch out when she finally does have a bowel movement...



I officially had my first big scare with Addyson a few weeks ago.  When leaving my friend's house, I missed a step when going down the porch stairs and flew head-first down the remainder of them.  I was carrying Addy in her car seat and it landed on it's side and I landed on top of it.  I was immediately hysterical thinking I may have hurt her.  She was fine, other than having a little scare, but I have never felt so bad in my life.  I have now joined the ranks of mothers that have had their babies fall off the bed or couch or dropped them or had some other accident happen that you irrationally blame yourself for. 



Speaking of feeling guilty, I had the horrible duty of going back to work this week.  I ALMOST made it a full day the first day before leaving and going to pick up my baby girl.  I have never wanted to quit so badly in my life, just so I can stay at home with her.  I miss her so much during the day.  It definitely makes me sad that I can't be with her all the time, I just feel like I'm missing out on such precious time that I can never get back.  Thankfully she gets to spend one day a week with my mom (Mima) and one day a week with Auntie Sarah - there really is no better care giver than family and for this I am so thankful. 



We are slowly but surely becoming more adept at knowing what she wants and learning all the ins and outs of parenthood as we go along.  There are definitely days that are more tiring than others but Brian and I have never been happier and wouldn't change it for the world.  Our little monster has taken over our hearts completely and we can't wait to see what she does next!

Introducing Addyson Kinsale Jones!

Almost four weeks ago, I awoke at 1:00am to my water breaking and the journey began.  Twenty-four hours of labor and a c-section later, Brian and I welcomed our beautiful daughter, Addyson Kinsale Jones, into the world at 6:26am on September 5th - fittingly enough on Labor Day.  I won't go into the painful details of labor, for most of you women can relate to the fact that I'd prefer to forget the finer details of those 24 hours so that I continue to want more children.  But let's just say it was an experience unlike any other that blessed us with the most amazing miracle you can imagine and changed our lives forever.

The past few weeks have been filled with poopy diapers, late night feedings, hardly any sleep and countless learning experiences.  Nursing in itself was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, waiting for milk to come in and watching Addy lose weight and energy.  We ended up having to use formula supplements for a short time to ensure she was getting enough nutrition.  Thankfully that is behind us and we're now just trying to get comfortable with a feeding schedule.  We know she's getting enough to eat now - I think her cheeks are getting plumper by the day!

It's so amazing to watch her grow each day, not just physically but mentally as well.  The first few weeks, she didn't do much more than eat, sleep and poop.  Now she's starting to get more and more of a personality.  Watching her try her hardest to talk and form sounds is the cutest thing I have ever seen.  We could literally just sit and watch her for hours, it's that fascinating.  I'm sure we're just a bit biased but she seems to be much more mentally and physically developed than she should be at this age.  Even at two weeks old she would lay on her activity mat and stare up and around at all the toys dangling above her.  She's been lifting her head up since week one!  Very strong little girl, and that goes for her personality as well.  We can already tell that she knows what she wants and is not afraid to let us know it!

Her favorite thing at this point is bathtime.  The second she is laying in the warm water she gets completely blissed out, lying peacefully and taking it all in.  Sometimes she gets a little TOO comfortable though...she decided it was a nice warm place to poop in the other day in her baby tub.  Then again just yesterday when she was taking a bath in the big girl tub with mommy - poor thing, I'm sure I scared her when I screeched out loud as she covered me in poo.  Definitely her least favorite thing is getting her clothes and diaper changed.  She must be like her mommy and HATES being cold because she screams to high heaven the second she hits the changing table.  I think she knows what's coming.  She has also taking a huge liking to peeing all over herself and the table the second we take the dirty diaper away.  It's become a race to get a new one under her rump before the faucet turns on.  She wins most of the time...  But that's definitely better than the few times she has decided to show us her pooping power and launched projectile stool all over the changing table, myself and the carpet.  Pretty impressive actually.  All just memories we are already laughing at and hope to never forget.  Every moment with her is cherished and it's already going by too fast!