3 posts in one day?!

So I had a few more pictures I wanted to add.

She sure enjoys walks. Tonight we went early (6-ish). It was so stinking hot that we should have gone at 9, like we usually do. It is easier once the sun is down because we don't have to be so worried about blocking the sun from her eyes. Doesn't Jon look happy!

I asked Taelyn to smile for mommy so I could take a picture. This was the response I got. Like everything else she does, it made me laugh!

Yesterday, someone made the comment that they liked the crazy haired pictures of Taelyn that I had already posted. They said that it reminded them of Doc on Back to the Future. I had to add these pictures because...well...if you thought that hair was crazy, check this out!

There is that ever present tongue! By far her favorite body part.

My Working Mother Woes

So I go back to work tomorrow. I've been dreading it, but it came, none the less. I had been fearing the emotional difficulties that would come with going back to work. Up to this point, I've only been away from Taelyn for one to one and a half hours at a time. I don't know how I'm going to get through the 8.5!

On top of the emotional time factor, she won't be in day-care at the county building as I had planned. I went in in December to put my name on a list. Apparently that was not soon enough. Live and learn. I called two weeks after she was born and they said they were glad to know I was still interested, call back in a week or two. I called back two weeks later, and got the same response. After repeating this one more time, I was super frustrated. I called back the following week and asked more questions. They had one opening for July, and it was filled. I did find out that they take 8 infants at a time. At the age of 1, the infants are moved up to the toddler class. Right now, they are waiting for the kindergarten age kids to start school. At that point, everyone will be bumped up a class and the older infants will be able to move up, leaving openings in the infant room. When I called back to let them know I wanted them to keep me on the waiting list, they let me know that the parents of the July baby were not sure if they wanted the opening. That was one bright weekend of hope. When I called back on Tuesday, as I had been asked to do, they let me know that the opening was taken after all. All my hope was dashed! OK, so it wasn't that awful. For July, I'm only working two days a week. I found a lady in our ward who will watch her for the 10 days I will be working in July. I'm hoping that by that time, there is an opening at the county building. If not, we may have to get creative!

So, on top of the emotional difficulties caused by being away from Taelyn and the day-care hold up...we had an eating dilemma. First, I didn't start pumping until yesterday (that is a long story in and of itself-and I'll spare you the details). So I've been trying like mad to get enough for tomorrow. Almost there. Second, I forgot about the joys of trying to bottle feed. We had given her formula in a bottle on several occasions. She took it fine. Well, last night she won't have anything to do with formula. She pulled faces, and spit every drop of it back out. Jon decided to be sneaky and feed it to her in the syringe that we give her Gripe Water in. She loves her Gripe Water and it sure does help settle her tummy. She grinned when Jon put the end of the syringe in her mouth. Imagine her face when she was expecting one of her favorite things, and was given her least favorite. She was not happy with either of us. Despite the desperation we were feeling, it made us both laugh so hard it brought tears to our eyes. We then tried to feed her breast milk. Still nothing. She pulled faces when ever the nipple touched her tongue. She wouldn't even close her mouth around it. Today I went to The Lactation Station for help. The lady recommended a $14 bottle. I asked if they had any nipples shaped like her Nuk. In a manor I found to be quite snooty, she said "We don't carry that kind of nipple." I was willing to try anything, so I bought the $14 bottle and a new pacifier shaped like the bottle nipple. After 1/2 hour of wailing (her, not me) and more tears than my heart can handle (again, her-not me...well, mostly), I gave up. I could get her to take the new pacifier, but she still wanted nothing to do with a bottle. My mom suggested I get a Nuk nipple. Jon stopped by the grocery store on the way home. $4 later, we had success! She still doesn't care for bottle feeding, but she has taken 2 bottles now, and I am confident she isn't going to starve to death tomorrow. Nuk, I love you!

Taelyn's Baby Blessing

So Jon blessed little Taelyn yesterday. It was beautiful. Like everything I have experienced in the last two months, it didn't quite seem real. I still stop sometimes and think, "Oh my gosh! I'm a mother!" During the blessing, nothing I did could keep my eyes dry. I feel so blessed to have this precious little one and have the opportunity to teach her and watch her grow.

I'd like to thank all those who were able to come and enjoy it with us. We appreciate all the love and support.

Following church, we had a lunch for the family members who were able to stay. It sure was nice to see everyone. I'm grateful for the love and support that Jon's family shows me. I couldn't have married into a better family.

I was in such a rush yesterday that I didn't even get pictures of anything. I didn't get pictures at the lunch, let alone Taelyn in her blessing dress! We're going to go get them done next week. I'll post them then. For now, this is it.

I had wanted to make Taelyn's dress. I planned on making it while my mom was staying with us the first week after Taelyn was born. HAH! That was naive of me, wasn't it. Needless to say, my mom ended up doing all of the machine work that first week. She left all the hand work for me. I did the beading, sewed on extra flowers, stitched the hem, turn under and stitched the lining and added a few too many snaps down the back. It took more time than I anticipated, and I was lucky to get it all done during Taelyn's naps. Thanks, Mom, for the help. It sure did look beautiful on her.

Growing like a weed

So several weeks have passed since the last post, and more time than that since I added new pictures. It's time.

She is growing so much. From our crude weighing techniques (the difference between Jon on the scale with a naked Taelyn and Jon alone), she is nearly ten pounds. She has found her voice, has rolled over once, smiles when she recognizes mommy and daddy, and holds her head up on her own. She is growing up so fast. She also now cries to notify me of her displeasure of being neglected when I set her on my lap to trade sides when feeding her. That last one I could do without, but it does make me laugh.

Well, here are some more pictures. The first set is when I was deciding what to do with her hair for the baby blessing. I put gel in her hair with a flower that matches those on her dress. I'll add several of those, because I appreciate the faces she pulls.

Here is what usually happens when Jon comes home from work...

I'll give him credit, he does change her diaper first!

This next one is her favorite possition to sleep in. We usually put her to bed swaddled...but by morning, her arms are always up. Well, at least when I swaddle her. She always seems to get loose no matter how tight I swaddle her. Jon, on the other hand, is a pro.

Just a couple of sleeping pictures. You can't see it well, but yes, I painted her finger nails. Her toes match.

We have a small, pillow sized bean bag that some friends are letting us borrow. It is great! It allows us to jiggle her down into it, so that we can put her down without having to worry about her scooting away. This next set is some that I took today while she was on the bean bag. We had just gotten home from church and she was in an adorable dress that you can't see. I didn't think to change her when we got home, because clothes are clothes, right? Well, by the end of our nap, she had managed to explode out the back of her diaper. Next time, I'll get her out of the cute little outfits sooner.

Time flies when...

Wow! Time sure does fly. I'm not sure that I would say that it has all been 'fun'... but it sure has been an interesting experience.

So I assumed that I would blog a ton. I haven't had a chance to take pictures or send out thank you cards and birth announcements. I had no idea that I would be too physically and emotionally exhausted to do much of anything this last month.

This week we had our 1 month appointment. Taelyn got her Hep B shot and was weighed. When we went in for our 2 week appointment, she had dropped from her birth weight of 7 lbs 12 oz to 7 lbs 1 oz. On Tuesday, her weight was up to 8 lbs 11 oz. She looks like she has grown so much. I'm so glad she was as small as she was at birth. I think about Colton, Truck and Taryn who were all 8 and 9 pounders and I cringe. I think about Darla's first who weighed over 10 pounds... I can't imagine giving birth to her at this size, let alone larger!

After her Hep B shot, I hadn't thought to give her anything. She started being very fussy and lethargic. She is such an angel and her behavior was very uncharacteristic. It worried us. I called the doctor and they had me bring her back in yesterday. Dr Cox (our wonderful pediatrician) said everything looks fine. Talk about a scare. She is acting much better today.

Well, as far as having a baby goes, I only have one gripe. No one really talks about how difficult it is!! I only had one person mention it, my cousin Amy. When Amy had her first, I asked her how it was. Her response surprised me. She said, "It's SO hard! It's so much fun... BUT IT'S SO HARD!" I thought that was interesting. At the baby shower, the advice she gave me was "It gets better". I thought it can't really be that bad. I'm grateful for Amy's comments. They made me realize that I'm not awful for feeling so wholly overwhelmed this last month. I'm grateful for Darla, Nancy, Travis and Melissa, and random strangers that I get to have conversations with: for Emily, who I met while we were feeding our babies in the mothers lounge at a wedding reception; and for Stephanie, who is in the YW presidency in the 4th ward and I met while I was at the church Tuesday night waiting for Jon to do interviews.

I will admit one thing. I have a whole new outlook on motherhood. I can not express just how much more reverence I hold for the divine role of Motherhood. I find myself more in awe of all the amazing mothers around me. I am more grateful for my own mother and all that she has done and sacrificed for me and my siblings. I'm sure that as our little one grows, I will only continue to develop a greater appreciation for this new road I am traveling and for all those who have made the journey before me.