Bexleigh 4 Months

This girl is 4 months!

Me & Mommy

Me and Daddy

Fun times with my cousins!

Everything goes in my mouth :)

Big girl with Uncle Billy & Daddy

Trying to sit more :)

Ok. So clearly I'm not getting the "On top of it- Blogger of the year" award.

So here goes it. Bexleigh is growing at super sonic rates (we've discussed this before) and it is just nearly impossible to keep up with this child! lol This past month has been a FUN one! She had her 4 month check up and all was well- she weighed in at 12lbs 15oz, was 24.5 inches long and got a bit ol' thumbs up from the lady Doc. Well, sort of. Ya see, we had to see a different doctor this time since the another blizzard was due to hit our town about 2pm on the day of her appointment. SO, I called the peds office and asked if our doc could get her in earlier, since Brian would have to start his Plow-a-palooza again once the storm came. Well, our doc was unavailable, but there was another doc who was. We'll just call her Doctor "Shame on you guys." Let me exxxxxplain.

Ok, so after letting us know that Bex was doing great, she sat our child on the crunchy white paper and let go of her ( in a loving way- she's not a monster doctor-lol) and Bexleigh did the usual slump forward with her forehead touching her piggys. "Oh, Mommy's gonna have to work on your sitting." uhhh, ok. Next up, Doc holds Bex upright under the arm pits and she dangles her feet onto the crunchy white paper and tries to get Bex to stand up on her little chubby feet. What Doc does not know is that she is not a big fan of the standing game yet. Clearly, Doc realizes this when Bexleigh's rubber-band legs give out on her as she tries to make her "stand." "Oh, Mommy's going to have to work on your standing." REALLY? ALL MOMMY'S FAULT?!? DAD is sitting right here in the chair!? I mean, Bexleigh was 4 months. She totally should have been able to do the first 8 counts of The Nutcracker by now, right? I mean, that's what all the other 4 month-ers Ms Doctor has seen thus far can do. Ugh, whatever. Thank goodness all my friends who have kids made me feel MUCH better when I told them of this silly little visit. Silly Doctor, Standing & Sitting is for Kids. NOT BAYBEES!

Ok moving on. NOW, Bexleigh is enjoying a little bit of standing here and there but wants NOTHING to do with that sitting biddnesss. She arches her back so strongly when you try to make her sit. I think she might walk before she sits. lol Ms. Doctor will be proud. We got her some jumpy toys and have been trying to sit her in her Bumbo chair a few times a day to get her on board for sitting. Ever since Bexleigh's 3 month picture appointment, she has been a pro at tummy time- Way to go Big Girl! She is starting to babble a little more and has THE cutest little voice in the whole wide world! She's gumming things a lot more now and really chewing on her bink & her toys. We have had several play dates with our cousins, friends and their kids- it is one of our most favorite things to do! We also gave Bex her 1st and 2nd attempt at Rice Cereal, just for a taste. She was kinda weirded out by it. We shall try again more regularly at 6 months.

We had her first Valentine's Day and unfortunately due to our lovely weather it was spent inside, with an hour and a half of Daddy's time. He plowed for several days straight and took a break to come home and have dinner with his girls :) We loved him for it!

The next month has a few things coming up for Bexleigh! We are taking her to Columbus for her 1st "official" trip away from home. I am so excited to see how she does! She also gets to see her NY Auntie Holly and meet Matt for the first time! SO fun :)

Bexleigh 3 Months

I think someone turned Bexleigh's 'growing clock' to supersonic speed mode. What the heck?! Why is she 3 months already? Didn't she just come out? My little Squishy is growing up so fast :(

Well, as expected, I'm getting much grief from my peeps that I'm not blogging enough. I sorry. Izzz hard. :( I will say that hopefully in another few months, Bexleigh will be a little more self-sufficient allowing me to have some "extra" time to blog. I mean, at the rate she's growing, she'll probably be able to dress herself, change her own diaper, AND climb up on my lap when she's hungry by then.

Ok, on to my entry.

This past month has been filled with lots of new and exciting "firsts." Bexleigh had her 1st Christmas, her 1st New Years, AND her 1st Rose Bowl.

Christmas was extra special this year because now we were a family of THREE! We decided to venture out and take Bex to the Christmas Eve Church service, and although I almost had 2 anxiety attacks --because O M G someone might breathe on her--I'm very glad we went. She did awesome for the most part. She did get a little hungry halfway through the service, who doesn't?!? So I ventured into the restroom and fed her in the handicapped stall, which I LATER found out from my good friend that they have NURSING ROOMS! That would have been great to know before I fed her on the porcelain throne-lol. The message was awesome as usual and we were so happy she could be a part of our family tradition. Next up, was Christmas eve with my Dad's side of the family. We had a great time watching my niece & nephews tear into their gifts and play. I can't believe how big they are getting! Afterwards, we headed to Brian's aunt & uncle's to visit with some of the family and good family-friends. Alot of them got to meet Bexleigh for the first time-so fun! :) We then headed home to hopefully get a good night's sleep because Santa was coming in the morning at Grandma's house.

Santa was extra good to me because he let me get a full 6 hours of sleep that night for the 1st time ever! Whoo hoo! We woke up around 7am and got Bex into her "1st Christmas" attire and off to NeeNee's house we went. My mom had the house looking like the holidays, just as I remembered as a little kid. Now Bexleigh will get to enjoy that each year!

This year things went a little different, of course. It wasn't all about us anymore...it was now about Bexleigh! As soon as we got there I was hoping that she would be ready to eat, since she didn't feel like it when we first woke up. She didn't. She just wanted to sleep some more. So now I was left feeling like I was going to exploooooode. So off to my milking station I went--as I said this Christmas went way different from past years! LOL So now that Bexleigh was taking a snooze, we began opening presents for us, as well as for her. She got lots of new clothes (something she DID NOT NEED GRANDMA:) and some of the cutest learning toys I've ever seen. I think we had more fun playing with those!! Brian and I got a new camera--like paparazzi style! It's so fun and most importantly I can now capture those cute shots that my other camera kept missing! Best Christmas present EVA! ;) After Christmas with my mom, we came back to our house to do Christmas with Brian's Dad & brother. Bexleigh was extra sleepy still, so she snuggled the whole time with her Uncle Billy. It's always fun doing Christmas at our house, and we're looking forward to making that a "must" in the years to come since Bex will be older and will want to be home to play on Christmas Day.

Another fun 1st was NYE, which also happens to be Brian's birthday! We had pizza & cake and played games all night. I surprised myself and actually stayed up until 1 a.m. and it wasn't because I had a crying baby that wouldn't go to sleep! New Years Day was spent relaxing at home and watching the Buckeyes pull out at win in the Rose Bowl! GO BUCKS!

This past week I started back to work, and the best part about it is Bexleigh gets to come with me! I'm starting her young! hehe It actually went pretty good. She has plenty to do while I work, thanks to Grandpa Bill setting my office up better than a daycare! It's the bomb!

(***ok many weeks later, because I STANK at this whole blogging business-lol***)

So now here we are nearing the last few days of her 3rd month and I can't believe how much she has changed already. Some of the fun things this month brought us are, she can totally track us and anyone now. She no longer looks like "Igore" from Young Frankenstein when she looks at you. She is OBSESSED with her newest toy; her hands. She loves eating them, and sticking almost her whole fist in her mouth. Miss Slobber-puss is her newest nickname. Which also brings another "newby"... teething. Not-so-fun-for-any-of-us! Poor Bex, she's my lil drama queen already :*( I sure hope they give her a break, cuz this is gonna be a loooooong road ahead of us if not! Bexleigh had her 3 month pictures done recently and she is just the cutest lil girl in the whole wide world. duh. She broke her dad & my wallet for sure! Oh well, they are only this size once, and pictures are priceless! The last new thing that happened this month was our little pumpkin rolled over. LIKE REALLY ROLLED OVER! She was playing on her new Rainforest gym and I had her on her tummy (which she's MUCH better at) and we were just watching her as usual, and the all of a sudden...she was on her back?!? HOW did she get there? Brian and I cheered for her like she had just won the national championship for rolling over. Proud parents we are.

I think I have covered everything that I needed to. Sorry if this seems a bit all over the place. I will TRY to be much better next month! ;) I REALLY PROMISE (HOLLY!)

Happy 2010, Readers.

Love,

Brian , Jenn & Bexleigh

Bexleigh 2 Months

Where O' Where has the time gone!?! I guess I really wasn't aware when I said I would try to keep up with this blog and not let it get out from under my feet! WELL IT'S HARDER THAN I THOUGHT PEOPLE! LOL Especially since my lovely baby girl only likes to nap for a hot minute!

Well, I better do some serious catching up...so here it goes.

Bexleigh turned 2 months, twice. You see, it's very very very confusing to have a child. The doctor likes to go by the number of weeks a child is-- makes total sense, right? 4 weeks would naturally equal 1 month. BUT, there's always the "she was born on the 12th, so wouldn't she be a new month older every 12th?" Oi vey. So anyways, she's officially 2 months old no matter how you wanna count your chickens. This past month has been really fun. Bexleigh is now smiling and making strong eye contact with humans (I'm making her sound like an alien or something!) She is starting to recognize her toys and loves to read books, especially with her Daddy. We had her 2 month well-baby check up last week and she is growing wonderfully. The Doc says she is doing great and would see us at her 4 month check-up. She is up to 10lbs 8oz and 22.25 inches long! I can't believe I'm toting a 10 pounder around! Sheesh, my arms are gonna be smokin' HAWWWT! She is currently wearing 0-3 months clothes and some of her newborn outfits still fit her, but not for long. I must say, I'm quite proud of myself-- she wore EVERY SINGLE newborn outfit she owned! Now, this next set may be difficult. She has a TON of clothes, that's why I'm getting a head start now! lol "Bex, I'm sorry you feel like you're wearing a parachute...we must get through all these clothes!"

The holidays are approaching rather quickly and I'm super excited to celebrate Bexleigh's 1st Christmas! Even though she's so tiny she won't even know what's going on, it will still be very fun for us :~) She does have her very own, pink Christmas tree in her room and it is so adorable! Bexleigh loves looking at lights, especially Christmas tree lights!

Another new obsession is Bexleigh's Whale Tub. She LOVES to take baths in it! It has a little seat in there, or a "butt stopper" as I like to refer to it as, that she can just hang out and kick her legs and splash up a storm. It's so cute! She smiles and "talks" and just has a good ol' time in there.

As far as her sleeping, we're still working on that one. She will not sleep longer than 20mins-45mins during her naps in her bed during the day. Maybe that's all she wants/needs, maybe not- I don't know. At night, I attempted to get her in her pack n play through the night and that is still a disaster. She will only sleep for about an hour to two hour stints if she's in that thing through the night, which = a very tired Mommy. When she sleeps with me (yes, I said it and I'm not afraid to admit it so BACK OFF! LOL ) we get the best sleep E-V-E-R. She will usually stay asleep for about 5 hours for the first stretch (PTL!) and then about 3 hours for the next. I know, I know, "She's gonna be in your bed until she's 10!" Hey, if it means I can get some decent shut eye....BRING IT ON! No, but seriously, this is what is working for the time being. I'm working on transitioning her into a place of her own, but it'll happen when it's time. I take full blame for "spoiling" her when she was so brand new. What can I say... I love me some Bexleigh! :)~

Well, I hear Miss Princess stirring, so I better wrap it up. I will see you in another month with lots of new happenings from the Holidays. SO, MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS & HAPPY NEW YEAR To ALL our wonderful Readers :)

Bexleigh 1 Month

Wow! As if I thought I didn't have sufficient time to blog BEFORE baby arrived! I don't even know where to begin. This past month has not only flown by, but it has been the start of a very special new life for us. Our baby girl is already a month old! She is doing wonderful and we couldn't be more in love with her. She is still eating wonderfully and making MANY poopy and wet diapers. It is UNREAL how many diapers we go through in a day. She poops on me at least once a week, and when I say poops on me, I ain't kiddin'. I would also like to mention that she has the most "manly" gas ever and it's hysterical that such a small, delicate girl could produce such a sound and smell.

At her 1 month doctor's appointment she weighed in at 9lbs and almost 21 inches! She's a growing girl!!! We've been working on her tummy time trying to help her get a strong neck so she's not all bobble-headish on us. Tummy time is not her favorite though. She absolutely hates it and would rather chew on nails than to try to push her head up for us. Rolling over may happen soon though. She is a very strong girl once she gets all fired up from being on her tummy.

This past weekend was an absolutely FUN-shocking-surprise of a weekend! My BFFs from college came to visit and I had NO idea. Friday night I was just getting ready to put Bexleigh and myself to bed until Brian got home from a football game. My Mom and Bobby had been shopping and wanted to stop by and drop off something they got for Bexleigh. When they arrived, we were chatting for a bit and all of a sudden my two girls popped out of my kitchen! I was in such shock that I didn't know what to say or do, so I busted into tears of happiness! I couldn't believe that they were standing in my living room! I had just talked to Holly that day and she assured me, once again, that her and Jenny D would likely be coming in January to meet Bexleigh since that was the soonest they'd be "free." We all had an amazing weekend together and it will definitely be a weekend I'll remember forever. It meant the world to me to have them here while Bexleigh is still very new.

Coming up this month...

We have our Alabama family coming to meet Bexleigh for Thanksgiving and we couldn't be more excited to see them!!! The next few months hold a lot of "1st's" for miss Bex and we're looking forward to that.

See you for Month # 2 readers!

XOXO

Brian, Jenn & Bexleigh :)

Someone decided to come EARLY!!!

Hi Readers!! It's ME, THE MOM!!!!!!!

I cannot believe I'm getting to write this post, already! (Squeeeeeaaaallll!)

Well, I guess sometimes you just get what you wish for! I celebrated my birthday, on Thursday, October 8th and when I blew out my candles I said, "I want Bexleigh to come out for my birthday present!" My family said, "Oh, Jenn, she'll come out when she's ready." Yeah, yeah, yeah, but I could still wish, right? Well little did I know that she was going to be my present, just a little belated that's all. Brian surprised me with a 90 minute spa pedicure, which was heavenly, in hopes that it might get the ball rolling. At least that's what the word on the street is- pedicures can trigger labor to start. We were willing to try it :)

That weekend, my birthday weekend (who doesn't celebrate ALL week?!?), was pretty normal, we had dinner and movie plans with friends on Friday night, and Saturday night we had a surprise 50th birthday party to attend for Bobby. Saturday during the day we took a nice long walk, which included 2 giant hills that my big ol butt climbed up and down trying to let gravity take place. Like I said, we were willing to try anything. Saturday night was great but went home a little early because I felt like I was coming down with a sinus cold or something.....swell. Sunday we woke up and I was feeling back to normal (AMEN!) so we headed to church. After church, we had plans to head to canton to purchase a new Microwave. You see, I had this brilliant idea that if I got rid of our old microwave, the one Brian has had since his bachelor days, that it would push us to get new kitchen appliances sooner. Wellllll, that was 2 years ago. Still no new appliances, still no microwave. So we're at Best Buy, we pick out our microwave, and as we're wandering around the store we remembered that we needed to get a new DVD player since the one we've been using is mine from college and only shows the colors blue and yellow. We're looking at the different players, and decided to go with a Blue-Ray since, helloooo, DVD players are sooo 2008 and we want to be hip parents. lol Now that we got all that we needed to, we checked out and made our way to Value City Furniture to browse ottomans, and then to the mall to browse...whatever we could browse. After walking around the mall for about an hour, I decided I was now exhausted and we headed for home. I napped in the car the entire way home because I knew that once we got there it was "operation microwave install, blue ray player install, no-sitting-down-until-everything-is-done" was underway. The microwave was easy- set on counter top, plug in...Check! Blue ray player-not so much. Brian had to crawl up in the ceiling to fish the wires into our media closet because we HAD TO HAVE our tv hanging above the fireplace making it oh-so difficult to ever unplug or change any wires EVER. After several hours of 9 months pregnant ME climbing up and down the step ladder about 436 times, and Brian coming down out of the ceiling looking like he took an insulation bath, we got the job done and now can watch movies in their "normal" color schemes. Now that our two big tasks were complete, it was time to finally sit down on the couch and prop the feet up. We ate dinner and just relaxed the whole rest of the evening until we went to bed at 10pm, for what we thought was going to be just another normal night of sleep, or in my case, sleep, pee, sleep, pee, sleep, pee, sleep, pee....you get the point.

Somewhere around 11:30pm I got up for my first potty break, and then returned to bed. I must have fell back to sleep right away, because around 11:45pm I woke up out of a dead sleep, soaked. I was certain I had a dream that I was peeing and actually pee'd the bed. I woke up Brian telling him that I pee'd my pants and that he needed to get me a change of clothes. He was out of it and thoroughly confused. After changing, I climbed back into bed and laid there thinking how weird that was. While laying there thinking, it happened AGAIN! So off to the bathroom I ran. This time there was a little pink when I wiped, so AH HAH- could this really be that my water broke and I was not 5 years old, peeing the bed again?!? Brian grabbed the phone and I called my doctor. After explaining to him all the details he said it definitely sounded like my water broke and suggested we head to the hospital. I told Brian and he and I both couldn't believe that it was actually happening! YIKES! GRAB THE BAG, GET DRESSED, FEED THE CATS, OMG THE CATS! Those were just a few of the things that were flying out of our mouths. I called my mom and let her know that we were heading up to the hospital and for her to get ready and head up too, since she was going to be in the room with us. I sent out a text to my Dad and Brian's dad, and a few other family members, and we were on our way.

We arrived at the ER around 12:30am and when we walked in there was a line of sick people in front of me. All I wanted to do was hold my breath- it is a miracle that I've stayed healthy this whole time and was not about to screw it up now! LUCKILY, an ambulance guy was bringing someone in a wheelchair in, and noticed me and my belly standing in this check-in line and asked if I needed a wheelchair. Not knowing what I needed myself, he assured me that they were going to wheel me up anyways so he came to my rescue and pushed me away from all the sicklings to the other side of the room and checked me in! What a nice guy!

A nurse came down to fetch me and took me up to triage. Now, at this point I was feeling pretty good. I could tell I was still leaking, but I wasn't feeling any contractions just yet. When we got up to triage, they put us in our temporary room so they could monitor me and the baby. As soon as I got into the bed, I started having some mild cramps. The doctor came in to "check" me and I told him of these cramps and he said, "Oh, those are contractions." Well, don't I feel stupid. I wasn't sure what they were actually going to feel like. Turns out, they really do feel like "period cramps." So he checked me out and I was at 1-2cm dilated and my contractions were not really regular yet. I got hooked up to an IV, which was the WORST part of the whole process, and off to my delivery/stay room we went. I had the sweetest nurse ever, even though she was tiny and crashed my bed into just about every corner and wall all the way up to my room- LOL. Once we were in my room, it was on. My contractions were starting to get a little more uncomfortable, but I was still doing good just breathing through them. I decided to wait a little longer before asking for the BIG E. A little bit of time passed by and when my nurse came back in she said "Oh, honey, You don't look like you did when you came in. Why don't you just get your epidural now so you're not soooo miserable. It's not like you get a Crown or anything at the end?" She was hilarious and exactly what I needed at that point. She confirmed that I was about 3 cm and I said go ahead with the epidural. My contractions were happening right on top of one another so I couldn't really get a resting break. I received my epidural around 4:45am and after about 20 minutes I fell asleep for a little snoozing siesta. When I woke up, I had told Brian and my mom that I was having crazy dreams that people were throwing soccer balls at my head, the way they do in Wii Fit. LOL Not sure on the time frame exactly, but when I woke up sometime around 5-6am the nurse checked me again and I was at 8cm already! We couldn't believe it was going so fast and smooth. The nurse asked me how my big contractions were feeling, and I couldn't feel anything! Whoo haa! A short time after that, somewhere around 6:30ish am, I was checked one more time by my favorite nurse before she was off the clock at 7am. I was fully dilated and she was just in shock that it was my first baby and I was going so fast. Apparently, there was a girl next door to me, also having her first baby due October 31st, who was going just as fast as me...it must be rare for first timers to go this way. So after checking me, she said she was done for the day, and my new nurse would be coming to help me start pushing. WHAT!?! It's time for that already?

My new nurse came in, and she said that the doctor had given her the Okay to have me start pushing. I didn't see my doctor, so I was a little nervous about pushing. What if Bexleigh popped out on the floor because my doctor wasn't in there yet? (Found out later, they're literally only in there for like 5 seconds to catch the baby and THATS IT!) So, I start to learn how to push. My nurse had to tell me when I was having a contraction because I couldn't feel anything. Let the games begin. I pushed for about an hour and a half when they finally said that the next push should get her out! Wow. What an overwhelming feeling that was. I couldn't believe that I found out I was pregnant, blinked twice, and now we were about to meet our baby girl for the first time. So exciting, yet scary at the same time. In walked my doctor and she could tell I was ready to go. I started pushing my last series of pushes and there she was at 9:33am on October 12; the most beautiful little girl in the whole wide world. Her eyes were open and she was just so confused at what just happened to her snugly warm, dark home. She let out a cry and they put her on my chest and I was instantly in love. Brian cut the umbilical cord and they whisked her to the bin next to me to start assessing her. It was like a dream, a really really good dream. She was finally here, out, and safe. Everything turned out wonderful for her and we were just so thankful to be blessed with the most perfect child for us. We couldn't believe that we got to keep her!! After putting me back together, they handed her to me and it was the beginning of me never letting her go. We had several family and friends come to visit us in the hospital for our 2 1/2 day stay and that made us feel so special.

To sum everything up, my labor and delivery experience was the most amazing process ever. It was nothing like I had thought it was going to be. I was envisioning a very scary, painful, head-spinning, curse words flying, horrible experience, and thankfully I didn't go through any of that.

Brian was the absolute best support person in the world for me and I would have never been able to do it without him there by my side. My mom was our videographer and she captured some really cool memories for us.

Our first week home, Bexleigh had a little bit of jaundice so we had to have her in a Wallaby blanket for an entire weekend, which seemed like forever. She was a trooper, but I felt so sorry for her in that thing. However, it helped and she was able to get off of it this past Monday- hooray! She is the most precious child and is honestly really good for us. She is a good eater and pooper and we just can't get enough kisses in. She has her days and nights mixed up right now, but we're not stressing about it too much. I mean, she's supposed to still be cooking anyways, so we're just babying her for the time being :)

I'm looking forward to keeping you all updated with our new little family that we love so much. We appreciate everyones love, prayers, & support through the whole pregnancy and birth!!

Stay tuned for the journey of Miss Bexleigh & the joys of parenthood.

Love, Brian, Jenn & Bexleigh

37 weeks- Finally in "Full Term" mode

Hey Readers~

It's me...the Michelin Tire guy :) I'm currently 37 weeks today and that is considered full term from here on out. Basically, if Bexleigh decided to come from now on, she should be fully developed and safe! I'm doing well- just still battling some pelvic pain and mild swelling in my hands. We had an appointment on Friday and Doc says I'm still measuring on target and her heartbeat sounds like she's very happy. Her head is down and she is ready to roll. He did not "check" me yet, which I had thought we were going to do that day. I did have a little high blood pressure, but after sitting for a little bit, it went down to normal. The nurse thought it may have been a little hot in the rooms- which they do keep it at sauna levels in there...sheeesh! Next week I will get checked to see if anything is progressing, unless peanut decides to come before then (CROSSING MY FINGERS TIGHT!) I'm having a few contractions here and there, but they're just the mild ones. I'm still very confused at what the"real" ones are going to feel like, though all my already-been-pregnant friends tell me I'LL KNOW!!!

We are VERY ready for her to get here! Her room is done, car seat base installed, & our hospital bag is packed. I know she'll come when she's ready, but I'm just hoping and praying that it's soon. My 28th birthday was this past week and my lovely husband got me a 90 minute spa pedicure. So far, that has had no impact on getting the ball rollin'. Dangit! We are planning a nice long walk today since it's semi-nice outside, and I'm going to Zumba on Monday night. If I can't walk her out, I'll CHA CHA her out! :) I have also been eating lots of spicy foods, which really isn't much different from the rest of my pregnancy, or my life in general. What can I say, I LOVE ME SOME SPICE! We'll see...I know it's up to her, but we sure are anxious to meet her!!

LOVE YOU BEXLEIGH and hope to meet you SOON :) Just please go gentle on your debut into the world. Mommy is a giant baby herself ;)

37 weeks