Sleep Training

Last Friday night, Josh and I decided that we needed to start getting Harper Grace to sleep in her big girl bed (AKA her crib). She hasn't been sleeping with us, but in our room in her rock n play sleeper.
There are a couple of reasons we have decided it is time for her to sleep in her room. 1) She has her own room now (we are no longer living with my inlaws) 2) She hasn't been sleeping through the night which might be because she hears us come to bed and hears us moving around 3) she's 4 months old now... not an adult, but old enough that she should be sleeping in her own room.

All day I would tear up at the thought of my baby girl having to sleep in her own room, in her own bed, all ALONE. Stressed me out. So, that evening she got her bath, then her massage, then her bedtime story and then I nursed her to sleep, just like we do every night. We had the sound machine on, swaddled her so that she would still feel secure, and had a night light on. I kissed her cheek, whispered goodnight and put her down gently. I paused for a moment to watch my sweet girl sleep and snuck out of the room. I no sooner got the door shut and she started screaming. The method I decided to use was to let her cry for 5 minutes then go in her room, pick her up and soothe her and then put her back down. THREE HOURS LATER she was still screaming as loud and as strong as she did when we started and I had been crying for three hours and we finally decided to call it quits.

As soon as I got her our of her crib I went to sit on the couch. We were both so exhausted we both fell asleep in no time. When I woke up it was about 6am. Josh had gone to bed and left H and I asleep on the couch. I guess he figured we had both had a long night and didn't want to disturb us. I decided to wait until we spoke with her doctor to decide how to get her to sleep in her own bed.

You want me to sleep WHERE?!

 

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is probably one of my most favorite holidays. I love the scary decorations and all the costumes and the fact that it is a fall holiday. And now, I love it because we get to dress Harper Grace up and take her trick-or-treating. It's like reliving my childhood.

This year, of course, she wasn't walking up to people saying trick-or-treat, and she wasn't able to eat her candy (More for mom and dad!), but it was so fun to dress her up and take her trick-or-treating.

We took her to church to do trunk-or-treat. We figured that she would probably get bored with it and there is really no need to walk door to door with a 3 month old to trick-or-treat. She LOVED watching all of the people, and was probably wondering why everyone was dressed so weird. I helped her hold her pumpkin candy bag and said trick-or-treat for her, and she would flash a sweet smile for everyone when they would talk to her.


During the day, she wore her "My First Halloween" onesie and super cute halloween bow, which I am trying to decide how to get away with that bow year round. She got a lot of attention in her cute little out fit.

For trick-or-treat, she was the cutest little pumpkin and had her matching pumpkin candy bag. The tights with this halloween outfit are the cutest things ever. Again, trying to figureout a way for her to wear them again and again.

 

 
 Trunk or treat time.

After Trunk-or-Treat in the church eating dinner. Shortly after this picture she was sound asleep in mommy's arms. (She looks like a different baby here. She is growing so fast.)

 

After trunk-or-treat, and a cat nap, it was time to come home and check out the loot, and open the 'First Halloween' gifts...

 

After all the festivites, we had NO problem getting Harper Grace to sleep for the night. I hope she enjoyed herself as much as we did.

The Great Pumpkin

After the pumpkin patch, lunch, and a so so nap, we decided to carve the $30 pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. But we didn't have a scary face in mind....

 

 

I saw this idea on pinterest and thought that it was the cutest thing I had ever seen!

 

Josh was afraid the pumpkin would be cold on her back so he left a new paper behind her to keep it off her skin.

 

At first she was curious...

 

Still checking it out...

 

"I don't think I like it..."

 

"Nope, don't like it..."

 

"Really y'all, I really don't like it!!!"

 

And being the terrible mama that I must be for doing this to my child, I LOVE these pictures. I love them more than I would have loved them with her smiling.

 

....And now she will probably be terrified of pumpkins for the rest of her life. I hope not.

Harper Grace Goes to the Pumpkin Patch

How exciting it is to have a baby and be able to relive some of my childhood memories. I used to LOVE going to the pumpkin patch. Seeing all the farm animals, playing in barns full of hay, hay rides, snacks, picking out the perfect pumpkin, face painting, I could go on forever! Needless to say, Harper Grace is way to young for MOST of that, but our trip to the pumpkin patch was just as fun as ever. (Please note that my child did not smile once for pictures. I'm assuming is was scensory overload).

 

This was her very first ride on a Tractor! Daddy had so much fun too.

 

 

Then it was time to ride the tractor with mommy.

 

We then took her into her first petting zoo. Her she is petting the rabbit. I was so afraid that she was going to pull the rabbits fur, but she did really good with just touching it.

 

This was my favorite part! This goat was so cute. I'm pretty sure Harper Grace coulding figure out what was going on.

 

Then the baby goat decided it wanted to taste Harper Graces overalls. And what you can't see is while Josh is taking the picture, a goat is nibbling his shorts. HAHA

 

This is the big scary alpaca.. its teeth were enormous and it attempted to nibble at Harper Grace. It looks like I am offering her to the alpaca.

 

And another goat. This ones eyes were really scary looking. And again, another animal trying to eat my child. haha.

 

I think we have a rodeo cowgirl! Her first time riding a 'bull'.

 

Sitting on the real tractor.

 

Josh and I loved these old tractors. I especially loved the old rusted one.

 

Bathroom break anyone?

 

And at the very end, when we were picking out the perfect pumpkin for Harper Graces first Halloween, she gave up and went to sleep.

 

We had a really great time at the Pumpkin Patch. I'm pretty sure that Josh and I had more fun then she did, but it'll be a great memory for us. We didn't go on a hay ride because it was so cool out. We didn't want to risk her getting sick. Maybe next year.

 

Happy Fall Y'all!!

 

Harper Graces Favorite things-3 months

Toys are becoming an all day everyday must have for us now and it is so much fun to watch her play!

Bright Starts Pretty in Pink Pull and Play Pig. You pull the pigs tail and it wiggles (vibrate) around. Harper Grace loves to feel the vibration from the pig, and also chew on her. The ears of the pig have a material in them that make a noise like a grocery bag.

Harper Grace loves to hold on to these. They are great for keeping her entertained for awhile. And chewing on of course.

Her carseat bar. When you press the cats nose it plays music and flashes. She loves to watch the light flash. I, however, do not like this toy so much. When you put it on the carseat it is RIGHT in her face. Almost to the point that it has to be unfortable for her to look at. So I let her enjoy it in her lap or in front of her during tummy time.

And she is still enjoying things from month 2 as well. (Wubbanub, moby wrap, swing, jungle gym play mat, and her rock n play sleeper).

3 Months old *October 2012*

 

3 Months Old

October 5, 2012

 

Height and Weight unknown, no doctors appointment until November. I am guessing she's about 14lbs now.

 

Nicknames:

Boo Boo, Tree Frog & Sugar Bear

 

New Things

Harper Grace is a pro at yelling. She is so loud it's unbelievable that, that tiny body can produce such loud noises. She is able to hold her head up while on her stomach and understands that if you don't put your face into the floor you can see people and toys, and that tummy time is actually fun.

 

Things I like:

Naps with mommy (in her moby wrap on me while I do other things), Bath time, playing on the floor, sitting in her Bumbo seat (with the newly installed safety straps from the recall), teething rings, play rings, eating her fists, chewing on mommys shoulder, and peek-a-boo.

 

Things I don't Like:

Being in the car (most of the time), laying on her back, being cradled like a baby (because we all know that she is now a big girl).

 

About me this month:

She is growing like a weed. Harper Grace is amazing me with how fast she is growing and learning. Her personality is amazing too. She is such a good baby. She wakes up once a night to eat then goes right back to sleep, she smiles ALL the time and is always so happy. I have a feeling she may be sitting, crawling, and walking sooner than later, because she is so curious.

Harper Graces Favorite Things - 2 Months Old

I thought that it would be neat to look back in this blog and see what Harper Grace's favortie things were month by month. So here is a list of the things she loving at two months old...

Her Wubbanubs. We keep the duck in her diaper bag for on the go, and the frog we use at nap time and bed time. She doesn't always take them but the help out occaisionally.

 Her Rock N Play Sleeper. This thing has been a life saver. She won't sleep in a pack n play and her crib is not put together (again due to the move), so this was the next best thing. It makes her feel like she is being cuddled but keeps her safe. I also like that she is sitting up a bit in this sleeper because the thought of her spitting up in her sleep still scares me.

Her 'Jungle Gym'. She loves looking at the colors. And she actually does her tummy time on this too. It has the mirror and ball at the end of it to encourage her to look up.

 We'll call this.. THE BABYSITTER. In my earlier post I mentioned that I hold Harper Grace a lot. Therefore, Harper Grace feels that when she is sleepy that she needs to be rocked to sleep and then held (the weird thing is, is that this is only during the day, at night she goes to sleep no problem), well, when I put her in the swing she fusses for a few minutes and then she is out like a light. I usually only put her in the swing when she is tired because she is spending most of her playtime on the floor. Love this thing!

 

And last but certainly not least, and probably HER most favorite thing. The Moby Wrap. She's a very happy baby in this thing. She naps like a champ and I am able to get a lot of stuff done! And why wouldn't she like it? It looks to cozy!

 

2 Months Old

 

2 Months old

Septmeber 5, 2012

 

Height: 24 inches (95%)

Weight: 11 lbs 14 oz (75%)

(Seems as though our H is tall and skinny)

 

Nicknames:

Boo Boo, Baby Girl, Sugar Bear, Frog,Tree Frog

 

New Things:

Smiles all the time

Talks .. a lot

Blows bubbles

 

Things I like:

My floor mat jungle gym

Trying to watch TV (but mommy won't allow it!)

Swinging

Napping in her moby wrap while mommy works

Playing with daddy and talking to him

Wubbanubs

 

Things I Don't Like:

Shots (Even though I think it hurt my feelings more than hers)

Being in the car for too long

 

This Month We:

I started working this month for a friend on their families farm. I am helping in the office and the best thing ever is that Harper Grace gets to go with me. I usually go in around 9am and leave between 1pm and 3pm depending on what all I have to do. Harper Grace is such a GREAT office mate. She sleeps (in her Moby) from 9:15am to about 1-1:30pm.

When we aren't at work, Harper Grace is spending a lot of time on the floor playing. I don't allow her to watch tv but I turn the Nick Jr or Disney channel on so that there is positive noise in the background. Can't go wrong with educational songs playing, right?

 

She is such a good baby. She only cries when she needs something, changed, or fed or is tired. She is a bit clingy to me but I'm almost positive that, that has something to do with me breastfeeding. Or so I am told.

 

One thing that I have learned about being on mom, is that I do A LOT of things that I said that I wouldn't do. Examples, She has a paci, no more like A LOT of paci's. Two of which are Wubbanubs (which are pretty neat), she mysteriously ends up in the bed with us in the middle of the night, I hold her a lot and sometimes tend to hog her from anyone else holding her, I baby talk to her. Not bad things that I am doing, just things that I said I'd never do. Oh well, we aren't planning on having anymore babies so I am going to enjoy every second with this little girl. And if she is spoiled and cries and wants her momma all the time, that's ok. At least she knows that she is loved!

 

Mommy and Daddy love you baby girl!

 

 

 

 

 

One Month Old

 

 

Harper Grace

Height: 21.5 Inches (75%)

Weight: 10 lbs (75%)

 

Nicknames so far: Sugar Bear, Boo Boo (NOT Honey Boo Boo), H, Frog

 

This past month has been amazing. Who would have thought that such a tiny person could change you life so much.

 

This month H has learned about tummy time, and that she hates it. Every time we put her on her stomach she screams! She does lift her head but not as much as she screams.

 

She smiles all the time! I LOVE that toothless grin so much. It is the most amazing thing to wake up every morning to a huge smile on such an innocent face.

 

She is also making more sounds. One of her favorites is ooo and aaa goo.

 

 





It's a Girl!! .. and We're Moving.. to Georgia

Harper Grace

Thursday July 5, 2012 11:33pm

8lb 12oz 20.1"

This tiny baby girl has been such a blessing to us. And she is such a good baby. She cries only when she is hungry, wet or tired. Her first night home from the hospital, she slept 4 hours straight. (which became a problem).

We were only in the hospital until Saturday at lunch time. When we got home we had a crew at our house. My mom and brother, Josh's mom and dad, and Harper Grace's God parents Andrew and Savannah. It was very helpful to have all of those people there with us. But they were also there because we would be moving that next week.

We had to be seen at the pediatricians office Monday morning to check Harper Grace's weight before making the move to Georgia. There wasn't great news. Harper Grace's weight had dropped from 8lb 12oz to 8lb even. The doctor was not happy. And baby girl was jaundice, which is normal but with her weight loss he was not happy. He had me nurse her and then weigh her again.. she only gained 1 oz. So we had to kill some time and come back to meet with the lactation consultant.

We decided to go to my work, with our four day old, to let people see her and let a select few people know that I would not be coming back because we were moving.

When we got back to the doctor to meet the lactation consultant we also got the results of her jaundice test. On a scale of 1 to 30 (30 being life threatening) Harper Grace was at 15. So pretty high. So she had me nurse Harper Grace and turns out not only had my milk not yet come in but we weren't latching deep enough. So it was back to the doctor on Tuesday. I was really sad that we had to go back to the doctor on Tuesday because that meant that Josh was moving to Georgia and I was going to have to stay in Virgnia until Harper Grace was healthy enough to travel. But obviously Harper Grace's health is the number one priority.

On Tuesday my mother in law took us to Harper Grace's appointment. They pricked her foot again to check her jaundice and then they weighed her. She was up to 8lb 2oz. Doesn't seem like much but when it comes to babys gaining weight, apparently that is good. So after nursing Harper Grace again with the lactation consultant, they weighed her again. She gained an additional 2oz. Good news for me! But still no traveling to Georgia. They wanted to see her again Thursday. So we headed back home.

Another thing that the lactation consultant told me that I did not know. Until a baby is 2 weeks old they do not make the 'rules'. One of the reasons that Harper Grace had jaundice so bad was because I was letting her sleep. Everyone has always said "never wake a sleeping baby". well, that's not the case with a new born. They need to eat every 1.5 to 2 hours. I was letting her sleep as long as she wanted. Sometimes up to 4 hours. Not good. So with this knowledge I made a point to wake her up every two hours.

Wednesday we spent the day getting the house ready and packing some more things. It was so sad to me to have to pack up her nursery. I had worked on it for months, making sure it was perfect, painting custom pictures for her room. I cried a lot packing up her room.

Thursday we packed up the car in hopes that we would be cleared and sent on our way to Georgia. I missed my husband and I'm sure her missed Harper Grace and I. They didn't check Harper Grace's jaundice level again, (Thank goodness because her poor heals looked like war zones), but the moment of truth was when they weighed her. Her weight was 8lb 8oz. YAY!! That was fabulous news!! The lactation consultant had my nurse Harper Grace again so that she could make sure that there was a good latch and that H was nursing well. Once the appointment was done, she gave us a clean bill of health and sent us on our way. FINALLY we were headed South.

We decided that on the way to Georgia we would stop in Johnson City, TN to not only visit Josh's grandmother and introduce her to Harper Grace, but also break up the trip for me and the baby. The doctor told me that i needed to stop every 1.5 to 2 hours to walk around and get baby out of the car and move her around since we were at higher risk for blood clots.

Every 1.5 to 2 hours came along very quickly. I felt like we were stopping all the time. On of our stops was at a McDonald's and we got out and got ice cream and walked around a little bit. When we got back in the car, I needed to change Harper Grace's diaper, so before I changed her I decided to mover her legs around and make sure that she had some movement before putting her back in her car seat. I took her diaper off and BOOM, she pooped on me and then in the middle of me laughing at her, she peed on me. It was official, i was a mom! Luckily my clothes were not too far away and I was able to change my shirt, that now had poop on it. I got her cleaned up and her diaper back on and it was on the road again.

In Tennessee, Harper Grace got to meet her great grandmother, her great aunt Melissa, her great uncle Phil, and second cousin Suzanne. It was a nice visit and a good idea to stop. We definitely needed the break in the trip.

The next morning we got up and headed out. I was so excited to be seeing Josh that day. I was really missing him and i was very emotional without him around. As we were headed out of Johnson City, I noticed that Harper Grace's eyes were goopy and red and watery. I panicked a little bit and decided to take her temperature. It was 99.1 and so I called the pediatrician in Roanoke. They said that she would need to be seen because she had a low grade fever. So I called and made her an appointment at an office in Georgia for 4:45pm.

Finally got to Georgia and saw Josh. I was very emotional when I saw him for some reason. We had a few minutes and then had to leave for the doctor. Turns out her eyes were watering and goopy because her tear ducts were clogged or not yet developed. So we were told that we needed to massage around her eyes to make sure her tear ducts opened up.

None the less, we had made it to Georgia, healthy baby and all. :O)

Labor and Delivery

My due date came and went and still no baby. Everyday after that I just knew that 'today is going to be the day'. But no.
Sunday 7/1/12- didn't feel good, but nothing
Monday 7/2/12- was tired, but still nothing
Tuesday 7/3/12- Felt fine, the only pain I had was my normal pelvic pain from baby Keown's head
Wednesday 7/4/12- was awful. I hurt all day, I would have braxton hicks like crazy and then I would have pain and I laid on the couch ALL day. I even went to bed at 7pm without dinner because I was hurting so bad.
Thursday 7/5/12- I woke up still in pain, and had discussed with my mom and Josh about whether or not I should go in to work. I had a doctors appointment at 9:30a that morning so I decided to just go in and then decide after my appointment about whether or not I would go back in. Josh decided to take me to work that morning and on the way to work at exactly 7:21am I had my first painful contraction so I started timing them. By the time 9:15am came along I was having uncomfortable contractions every 5-7 minutes.

When I got to the doctor, I had to have an NST before I saw the Nurse Practioner. I was in the room with one other pregnant lady, and we were all just chit chatting. The other woman made a comment that my contractions must be painful because they were really strong on the monitor. I told her that I was uncomfortable but not in pain. Next thing I know the NP is in the little NST room with us looking at my monitor and then looks at me and says "yep, we are going to go ahead and send you over!" umm... what? Over where?! Then that's when all the comotion started. They were sending me to the hospital to have a baby! I cried as soon as she told me that. There was instant panic. Can I do this? Am I ready for this?

So before I left the doctors office they did an ultrasound to check my fluid levels. (I thought that this was just protocol, but turns out the doctor on call didn't want me to be sent over because L & D was packed already so they were hoping my fluid levels were low. But no! And they sent me over anyway). After the ultrasound, they gave me an envelope to take with me and sent me on my way.

Josh and I pulled up to the ER and Josh walked me in. He had to move the car so that he wouldn't get towed and I signed in and they took me up to the 13th floor. I was taken to triage and told that the doctor would be with me soon. After checking my blood pressure and asking what seemed like a million questions, and then waiting for what seemed like forever, the doctor came in and I just prayed that he wasn't going to send me home. He decided to keep me there! We were having a baby soon!!

They then walked us to a room. Poor Josh (was carrying all of our bags and such (I definitely overpacked!) and I was responsible for myself.

When we got in the room we met our nurse Amanda C. (Little did I know that I would learn to love this woman). Again we played a million questions, Josh got comfy, they put in my IV and then we just waited. Amanda made sure that we had everything that we needed. Drinks, food (for Josh), blankets pillows, etc. Josh's parents got there about an hour or so after we got to a room. We didn't want a group of people there while we were in triage. We called everyone that we needed too, most importantly my mom so that she could make the trip up from Georgia.

At about 4:00pm I was 5cm and I was HURTING. So, at that point I got the epidural. I was terrified.The thought of someone sticking me in my back, plus all the possible side effects and then they tell me that some people get a headache that could last for 6 weeks... and the there was another contraction... and I thought... I can deal with a headache! After the epidural I felt better almost instantly. I did get a bit nauseous, and one of my eyes went blurry for a few minutes but Amanda lowered my head below my heart and I was fine. I think at that point I actually napped.

About 10 minutes after the epidural, the doctor came in to check me and break my water. Again I was a little nervous about this. But, I had Josh by my side and I knew that everything would be ok. I was expecting it to be painful but it wasn't at all. The rest of the afternoon/evening was pretty easy going. Josh's parents went to the house to let the dog out, then came back. Amanda made sure that Josh was eating because she didn't want him to pass out.

About 9:30p or 9:45p I was checked and had made it to 10cm. Amanda said that we would wait to push though because baby Keown was still really high. I immediately called my mom to see where she was.. no answer. So I called my brother Shawn... no answer. OH NO! I was a bit panicked! Then all of the sudden there was a knock at the door and in came mom and Shawn!! THANK GOODNESS. At 10:00pm Amanda came in and said that it was time to start pushing.

After everyone cleared the room, except Josh, my mom and his mom. I started pushing. Josh was such a trooper and was holding my leg and putting a cool rag on my head when it was time for me to rest. He made sure that when it was time for me to rest that I was taking deep breaths, and he even started watching the monitor and would tell me when another contraction was coming. He coached me thru labor so well. I also had on my other side Amanda. She was great. She not only counted for me but would encourage me to push harder. Then as I was pushing mom and Josh's mom were pushing with me in the peanut gallery. Everytime I would breathe i would hear them breathe! Not too long after I started pushing Amanda had me stop and rest while the doctor came in to set up and a load of nurses came in to care for baby Keown after he/she was born.

Then the pushing started again. Josh was there the whole time. He encouraged me the most. The look in his eyes as the baby got closer and closer will stay with me forever. It was a look of fear, yet excitement. Our baby was about to be here after 40 LONG weeks. And as baby was born I was ready to hear the doctor say what  baby was. In my head I just knew baby was a boy and even heard my brain say it's a b... then the doctor says It's a GIRL!! Josh cut the umbilical cord and I just cried. I couldn't do anything else but cry. I had so much joy in my heart and my world was perfect! I have the most wonderful husband in the world, and now we have a baby girl! The joy that I felt at that moment will stay alive in my heart forever. I will feel that joy through long nights, the temper tantrums and the teenage years. She is my baby girl and he is my wonderful husband... my cup runneth over.