Halloween

Today is Halloween and Marley is a pumpkin. She looks so cute in her costume. I will post some pictures when I take some.

I forgot to mention this since it happened, but Marley laughed last Wednesday (Oct. 22)! She was at home alone with me when she did it. I got kind of worried afterwards because as soon as she did it I thought it was sweet that I almost cried. So, when she saw me making a sad face she made a worried face. I really didn't her to think that she was doing something bad. Then, I debated whether or not I should tell Asa. I didn't know if he would be sad he missed it. But, I did tell him. Luckily he was not sad and got to hear her laugh on Tuesday. He was blowing raspberries on her tummy and talking to her. She laughed quite a bit, but as soon as I got the camera to videotape it, she stopped. The she did it again a couples times yesterday. She doesn't do it all the time and you have to work pretty hard to gt one, but it is so worth it! It makes me so happy!

I don't know what to be again. I liked the idea of Health Science, but now I am thinking that maybe Child and Family Development is an option too. I could work at a daycare... or start my own. It makes me a little sad to think that I will get to spend so much time with Marley, but with my next baby I will have to go back to work. This will make breastfeeding harder (though I will still do it) and it will mean I spend less time with them. I am so happy that I get to be with Marley all day, but I am sad for my future children. I know that women do it all the time, but they don't want to. What jobs will let you work from home? Maybe I will look into that...

I cannot believe Marley is almost three months already. Time really is flying by. Soon she will be rolling over, sitting up, and eating solids... I want a little more time...

12 weeks

Mimi came into town this last weekend! I got some really good pictures of Mimi and Marley together. She actually loved Mimi. Mimi knew how to calm her down and make her happy! It was really good to see her and I was so glad she came to see us. We are going to her house for Thanksgiving... that will be Marley's first road trip!! We also went to our first full swim meet. Aunt Emily did a great job! Asa also swam in the Alumni Relay. they lost, but he did a wonderful job! Marley got to see her Daddy swim!

We had our appointment with Dr. Tate on Monday for Marley's tongue. He wants to wait until she is 8 or 9 months old to clip it. Everything will be easier to see then. They will have to gas her to put her to sleep, then the procedure takes about 5 or 10 minutes. I am really nervous about giving her the gas because there is always a risk with that stuff. But, I want her to be able to talk clearly...

She had a really fussy spell Monday and Tuesday. I still don't know what was wrong, but she wouldn't sleep and just kept crying. I did let her sleep late both days. If I don't wake her, she will sleep until about 10:30 am! This morning I woke her up and brought her to work with me. So, hopefully today will be more of her regular schedule. It makes me so upset for her to cry like that. I try not to get frustrated because I know it makes her worse, but it makes me so sad! I cried last night because I just didn't know how to help her.

On Friday Carrie wanted to take some pictures of Marley, so we dressed her up and went to town. Carrie has a really nice camera (hopefully our's is coming int he next few days)! I didn't know I would be in the pictures... so that's why I don't look so good.

Mimi also brought Marley her first Halloween costume when she came. She is going to be a pumpkin! (That's what I call her, my pumpkin). So, we don't have anywhere to go for Halloween, but we will definitely take pictures in the costume.

11 weeks

Grandma Karen and Grandpa David came up this past weekend and hung out with Marley. They also brought Palina and Sophia with them. It was great to meet them. Sophia is a little over a year, so it was really fun to see how Marley would be in a year. Sophia was running around chasing Pompie, talking in her own little language, and pointing at everything. It got me really excited about the future. This weekend Mimi is coming to see Marley, too!

My sling finally came in yesterday, but I can't decide if it is still too small. I must be much bigger than I think I am... But Marley liked it for a little while. I hope it works out, because I really want to use it.

Scare on the Square is this weekend. That's a little festival type thing downtown for Halloween. We decided not to get Marley a costume since we can't find anything cute. I don't really want her to be a pink dog or a cow and those are the only choices around her. I might look into costumes I can make, but for now she will just wear a onesie with a picture of a pumpkin on it and some black pants. She will be cute in anything he wears, though.

Marley still hasn't reached for anything yet. Her hands find their way to her face more often and she can sucks on them. Supposedly that helps her realize they are her's. She also has not laughed yet. She makes a funny noise that sounds like a laugh without any vocal noise. So, maybe that's it and I have been waiting for nothing. But, I will still hold out for the real thing. She has also been crying a lot less and kind of adopted a schedule. Here is a sample of my day:

7:00 am - I wake up and take a shower and get ready for work

8:00 am - I wake up Marley and nurse her and talk to her until I have to go to work.

8:30 am - go to work

9:00 am - Marley gets a little fussy so I give her a pacifier and rock her to sleep at work.

11:00 am - Marley wakes up and wants to eat, so I nurse her. The we talk and play for a little while.

12:00 pm - Marley gets a little fussy again so she takes a nap.

2:00 pm - Marley wakes up and I feed her. She will usually stay up for more than an hour this time. I put her in the front carrier facing out, so that she can see everything.

4:00 pm - She goes back to sleep.

5:00 pm We go home. She usually wakes up in the transition. Then we nurse, talk, go on a walk in the stroller, take Kima to the dog park, or play on the activity mat.

6:30 pm - Marley goes back to sleep

7:30 pm - Marley wakes up and starts being fussy. She doesn't cry, she just acts whiny. I nurse her, swaddle her and hold her while she drifts in and out of sleep until about 9.

9:00 pm - We give Marley a bath and start trying to put her to bed. This involved nursing, rocking, and singing. She usually drifts off for good around 10.

3:00 am - She wakes up to nurse and then goes right back to sleep.

It is a pretty easy schedule. It gets a little off if we have to go somewhere in the evenings, but it's never too much to handle.

We go to Asa's dad's house every Sunday for lunch, but this week we went to the Arboretum for lunch. We walked through the trail and looked at all the plants. Marley slept through most of it, but at least she was there. Sunday morning we took some pictures while Kima was in the dog park and this is what we got. I was sticking my tongue out at her and does it back! If I stop, she will keep doing until I start again. She is so cute!!

The new sling!

Marley's New Favorite Thing

Is going on walks! The weather is nicer now, so I can put her in the stroller and walk around Windhill with her. She really loves it! She doesn't make a sound and it is really good to help calm her down in the evenings if she is upset. We have been trying to do it several times a day.

She can also get carried in the front carrier facing out! She has enough head control now to be bale to look at everything around us. So, this is really handy at work because I can get things done while I am "wearing" her.

Grandma Karen and Grandpa David are coming this Sunday!

Good News

Marley is sleeping right now, but I have good news to share! I am going to be able to keep Marley at the office next semester!! That is such a huge relief off my mind! I am so lucky and I am going to have to do something nice for Carrie!

Dr. Sokunbi wants us to meet with Dr. Tate about Marley's tongue (she's tongue-tied) to see what we should do about it. She is not having any problems with breastfeeding, but she may have problems in the future when it is time to talk. I don't want her to get behind with language development, but I also don't want to do something this serious when she may be just fine. Asa had his done when he was a few weeks old and he was fine, but Malachi had his done when he was 4 and he still has problems with his speech. So, I guess I will see what Dr. Tate says before I decide.

Our digital camera broke, so we had to buy a new camera. I ordered one on the internet and it is going to take a couple weeks for it to get here! What am I supposed to do until then when something cute happens?! I just carry the video camera around with me now, just in case. We bought a really nice camera, a Nikon D60... is was a lot of money, but we needed a camera and I wanted to get a nice one that would take great pictures and would last us a long time.

Here are some recent pictures:

2 months old

Marley went to her 2 month appointment on Monday. She now weighs in at 11 pounds and 7 ounces and is 22 inches long! She is growing so fast! We tried a new doctor, Dr. Sokunbi. I really liked her a lot and she seemed more attentive and concerned about things than Dr. Smith. Marley had to get three shots and, of course, she hated it. She cried for a while, but after I nursed her, she was fine. The hardest part for me was that she was just doing fine and then all the sudden they would poke her and she would look so scared. It made me so sad. I had read that if you could nurse her during or right after the shot that she would handle it a little better, but I couldn't because the doctor came in right after. We had to give her Tylenol every four hours for 24 hours to help her not get a fever. She actually didn't cry or anything when I gave it to her. She just kind of looked at me like "What is this?".

She has also started to really respond to me. For two months I feel like i have been forcing her to look at me, but now she actually interacts with me! She will stick out her tongue when I do it and coo at me when I do it. It is so fun to see her watch me and try to figure out how to do it. She has also started to be in a good mood more often, instead of just in the mornings. It makes my day every time I see her smile! She hasn't been able to reach for anything yet, but she is getting close. She has found her hands a few times and started to suck on them. That is supposed to help her figure out they are hers. I get more excited everyday for all the new things that are going to happen!

8 weeks old...

Marley is 8 weeks old today! I CANNOT believe that she has been around for that long already! The more days that go by and the more things that change, I get excited and sad at the same time. I'm excited with each new thing she can do, but I am sad that the time is going by so quickly. She can definitely follow things with her eyes if they are moved in front of her. She also smiles all the time. She tries to laugh, but nothing comes out. It's just kind of a squeak. She has gotten past her fussy stage and she spends a lot more time awake and happy (that means smiles all day long!). I still have not gotten my sling back and I am really upset about it! I really think that she will love it.

I had class last night, so Marley and Asa went on a daddy/daughter date to the park and Marble Slab. I am so happy he took her out places and she behaved for most of it! I know he is excited to be able to take her to play frisbee golf and I can't wait until she can run around after him! Now that she is awake more, I can tell how much she is changing. You can just watch her, especially when we are outside looking at the trees, and see that is learning. She studies everything so closely. She can't reach out and touch things deliberately yet, but she will soon.

Having Marley has inspired me to go into a new major! Instead of Psychology, I am changing my major to Health Science. For the first time I actually know what I want to do with a degree! I was going with Psychology just because I didn't know what else to do, but in Health Science I will be able to do a job I love. I am so fascinated with the process of having a baby and taking care of a baby, that I want to work in that field. I don't want to deliver the babies or anything, but I want to work in a support role. I would love to teach pregnant women about their babies, help with Prenatal classes, help women learn to breastfeed... things like that. I would have to do an internship at a local place and the thought of that just makes me smile. I can't believe I actually have a goal now! I have been going to school felt like I was working towards nothing. I went through the degree plan last night, and I will have to take 69 more hours. About 28 of the hours I have already taken will not count and that is a little frustrating, but at least I am going toward something I want now. I am taking two classes right now that will not count, but there isn't any way to drop them. So, I have to keep trying in them.. and try to enjoy them.

My remaining pregnancy weight has just started to bother me. I don't have anything to wear! I really want to start exercising and I need to start eating healthier. Now that it is much easier to get to the store with Marley, I will be able to buy more food. I need to start finding some, healthy, easy things I can cook at home. I watch food network all the time, but everything they make looks so complicated. I also need some snack foods that I can make in a couple minutes to eat while I'm feeding Marley or doing homework.. no more animal crackers. I want to lose about 50 pounds. That would bring me down to way below my pre-pregnancy weight, but I am not setting a time limit on it or anything. I would just like to eventually be there. So, I think Monday, October 6th, my plan will begin. Between now and then I will do some shopping, catch up on my homework, and find some recipes so that I will be ready to go. I need to do this for myself!