Paisley Ann || 1 Month

One month. One stinking month.

Seriously...who's in charge of time here because I'm going to need for someone to stop the clock. 

Today our sweet angel turned, well you guessed it, one month old. When people tell you time flies when you have kids, it could not be more true. 

Here's what's been going on in the past month of our Paisley girl's little life:

• Weight: 7 lbs. 6 oz.
• Height/length: 19ish inches (since our last doctor's appointment)
• Eating: Exclusively being breastfed/bottle fed breast milk every 2-4 hours depending on the day. 3 hours seems to be the sweet spot, except for days when she goes through growth spurts and wants to do nothing but cluster feed. While I question my want to wear a shirt on those days, I know it's important for her growth so I just sit back, relax and let sister nurse all she wants to.
• She has a super sweet demeanor and (knock on wood) only cries when she's wet, hungry or wants her momma. Yes, I know I carried her for 10 months, but it still amazes me that she instantly knows when I have her in my arms. And it makes me feel super wanted/needed/loved. :)
• Likes: eating, sleeping, pooping...the norm for a 1 month old right?! She also enjoys being in the car, stroller or when I wear her in my Baby K'Tan wrap and loves being read to or when we sing to her. She just looks around everywhere! It's the cutest thing ever! I adore her curiosity! She also seems to really enjoy her baths (for the most part). As long as we keep the room semi-dark and really warm with a space heater, she just lets us take our time. I'm thankful for that because I can't imagine bathing a screaming, squirmy babe! Talk about stressing a momma out! 
• Dislikes: Tummy time...sister HATES tummy time. She also HATES having a wet diaper. I swear the child starts wailing on me before pee even touches the diaper. I'm okay with it though because I'm hoping that prevents diaper rash. 
• She sleeps a LOT and is awake for maybe 6 hours total out of the day. At night we get at least one good 4-5 hour stretch and then the rest of the time she wakes us up every 3 hours on the dot (no lie) to be fed. At night she sleeps in her swing and during the day she naps in her Rock n' Play. I'm still too big of a wuss to put her flat on her back so for now, these spots seem to be working well for us.
• Though she despises tummy time, she is really getting some strength in her neck. I swear she's been lifting her head like a pro since she came out of the womb. Even the nurses in the hospital agreed she was really strong for her size!
• This month our tiny peanut went from 5 lbs 8 oz to 7 lbs 6 oz so after multiple "weight checks" at the pediatrician, we are so happy and relieved to be on the positive side of the weight gaining debacle! If one more person told me "She's so tiny!", I'm pretty sure I was going to have a serious meltdown!
• On the weight note, she's finally fitting in more of her newborn clothes! Hallelujah! For the first 3 weeks, poor girl only had like 5 outfits and 2 sleepers that truly fit her without hanging off of her like a ragamuffin.  Oh and some of her smaller headbands really fit her now, too! 
• Milestones: She's been smiling here and there in her sleep and I swear she consciously smiled at me this morning when I was changing her to take these pictures!  There really is nothing sweeter than a tiny baby smile, especially one that's followed by a sweet little giggle! 

I've been saying this since August 21 and I'm sure I'll say it for the rest of her life but I still cannot believe she's ours, and we're her's, and we get to keep her forever and ever. I'm so thankful she's a patient baby because Beau and I sure are having to figure out this whole parenting thing as we go! She's the best snuggle bug in the whole wide world and her smell...oh my gosh...the new baby smell is SO euphoric, especially when it's your very own!

Paisley has already grown and changed SO much in just one short month and I thank God every day for putting this little blessing in our lives. She's already taught us so much about life and love and we seem to fall more and more in love with her every single day! ...Even the days that consist of 4 hours of sleep ((max)) followed by cluster feeding all day long. :) 

Though I'm SO anxious to see what kind of personality she'll have, who she'll start to look like,  and how sassy she'll become, I'm really trying my best to absorb every second of my time with her right now. Like they say, she'll never be as small as she is today, so I'm off to soak up some snuggles.

I'm hoping I can get it together (emotionally, mainly) and write out her birth story soon. The thought of putting it all into words brings back so many crazy feelings of happiness and an overwhelming sense of joy that I just know my keyboard will be covered in tears the day I decide to sit down and write it. :) One day, my friends, one day...

Help Baby Addison!

Hi friends! I know it's been a hot minute since I've posted anything, which is completely out of the norm for me so in case anyone was concerned, all is well on the Howard homefront and we are adjusting well to our newest little addition! :) Paisley has been more alert these days so its been a lot of fun getting to know her tiny personality and learning what all of her little noises make! :) Lets just say her loudest scream = wet diaper. ;)

I had to take some time this morning to post about a sweet new momma's story that really hit home for me. Being a new mom too, I immediately felt compelled to share her story in hopes that you'll pass it along also.

Stephanie, from The Vintage Modern Wife, had her sweet baby girl, Addison, 3 weeks ago and her precious little blessing has been in the hospital ever since. Since birth, Addison has been in the NICU and has undergone two surgeries - PDA Ligation and SCT Removal, and she has another operation in her near future. This week, Stephanie and her husband received the news that Addison will not only need another surgery, but they will need to transport her to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston (they live in Waco, TX), leaving Stephanie and daddy, Mathew, incredibly nervous not only about the procedure, but about the expenses involved with traveling to Houston for an extended amount of time, finances, taking off work, etc...

Needless to say, this is a very emotional and trying time for Stephanie, her husband, their families and of course, baby Addison.

While Beau and I have our own plans of helping out this sweet family, I wanted to let you all know you can help them out too, if you so find it in your hearts.

Stephanie's family members have set up an account that you can donate to that will help cover their traveling expenses, time off work, meals, medical expenses and everything else that comes with their baby girl's time in the hospital. Please go here to view their site and know that any penny, nickel, dime and prayer means the world to them. As you can imagine, any little bit helps!

Here is the direct link to their Go Fund Me account if you'd like to share it in a blog post or on any other social media site: http://www.gofundme.com/ejsdf0

If you can, please share their story and lets help their little family out in this time of need. I average about 3,000 pageviews per day here so if everyone who reads this donates $5, we could help them raise $15,000! I hope you skip your morning Starbucks and put that $5 towards this precious little girl. It's the least we can do!

Due Date

September 8, 2014 was my original due date but as it turns out, Paisley had other plans! 'Tis true! Our sweet Paisley Ann was born on Thursday, August 21 @ 12:22 pm! She came into this world weighing 6 pounds 2 ounces and 18 inches long and we have been completely and utterly smitten with her ever since! She's everything we could have imagined, and more! The doctor actually told us "She's perfect!" and, obviously, we agree! She's happy (when she has a full belly and clean diaper) and she's healthy and she's ever so patient with us as we try to figure out this whole "parenting" thing, which is all we can ask for! All I can say is God is good. So so good! And we are so thankful for this little blessing to call our own! While my days are filled with lots of snuggles, tons of nursing and a few naps in between and maybe a meal or two, we're slowly but surely trying to figure out what our new "normal" looks like with this sweet angel. Though things are definitely different around here, I wouldn't trade any of it for the world! I hope to be back soon to write about her birth story (for my memory, mainly) and in case you're interested in reading about it! Overall, labor and delivery was absolutely wonderful thanks to my supportive family, husband and a team of nurses who made this needle-phobic, hormonal pregnant chick at ease as I birthed a real life human being. Sure-the contractions hurt like hell (and no I have NOT forgotten that pain!) and the first few days of breastfeeding made me feel more defeated than any championship softball game I've ever played in, but when I look down at my baby, our baby, our daughter, I can say with 1000% certainty it was all worth it! Every sleepless night, every tear of frustration, every blowout diaper...worth every. single. second. From the bottom of our hearts, I want you to know Beau and I appreciate ALL of your comments and emails asking about me and our little girl and I want you to know not a single one has gone unnoticed!  However, there's a new boss in the Howard household so we're spending majority of our time over the next several weeks soaking up these precious moments with our Paisley girl (& Oakley, too!). I hope you understand!  Until next time...