Pinterest 101

Alright, so I decided to jump on the Pinterest bandwagon...for no good reason at all {I guess all the "cool" kids are doing it =)}.  

I've only logged in once and am COMPLETELY CLUELESS!  Do they make a Pinterest for Dummies book?  If so, I NEED IT!  I have no idea how I'm following other "pinners" and how others are following me (or why they're following me, for that matter).  

It seems as though everyone that is on Pinterest loves it.  And, I think I would too...if I knew what the heck I was doing!  Maybe it's better that I not know about this crazy little obsession...I mean, it's not like I have tons of extra time or anything =)  However, it looks like there are so many adorable things there.  I love, love, love DIY projects, trying new recipes and Pinterest looks like it might be a great resource for said projects, yes?! 

 I'm sure I will get the hang of it soon and my obsession for Pinterest will evolve.  For now, let's just hope I can remember my password to log in ;)

A whole lot of RANDOMNESS!

{I apologize in advance for the randomness of this post...}

Daycare

Well, so far daycare is going just fine.  Dafney seems to enjoy her time there and is even doing pretty good with the bottle.  She isn't quite sucking on the bottle, but she chomps on it and eats that way...whatever works!  

Her mama on the other hand is still having a hard time dropping her off each morning.  It's tough.  I think part of the reason why I struggle so much with this is because she's completely exhausted when we get home, so we only have a couple hours to spend together each night.  That's pretty drastic since I used to spend the whole day with her.  It's something we are all adjusting to.  

Work

I'm back at work (sense the enthusiasm...NOT).  I think part of the reason I was sad that my maternity leave was over was because I knew I was heading back to a job I'm not happy at.  I have a couple good friends that certainly make this place tolerable, but I feel like I'm in a dead end job.  I feel like I'm as far as I can get here and I don't like that.  I want to better myself, but it feels completely impossible.  

The one thing that keeps me here is the benefits.  They are beyond amazing.  In an ideal world, I would love to work 3 - 10 hour days (because if you work 30 hours you still get your benefits).  That way I would still be getting out of the house and having some adult interaction, I'd be making money and {most importantly} I'd get to spend time with my sweet baby girl!

Sleep

I don't know what happened....Dafney started sleeping through the night around 7 weeks.  It was amazing...she would sleep for 8-10 hours at a time, which meant that I was sleeping 8-10 hours a night.  It was awesome.  

But, she's starting to move a ton in her sleep.  I'm not sure if it's because she's getting to that "mobile" stage, or if it's because we're not swaddling her anymore.  Regardless, she moves a ton at night (the other night when I went to get her, she was facing the other direction in her crib) and it wakes her up which of course, wakes me up.  I'm going to try swaddling her with a thin blanket tonight (we used to use the sleep sack swaddle outfits, but I haven't been able to find a bigger size {I know they make them, they just never seem to be in stock}) to see if that helps her sleep better.  

She's waking up twice a night which makes for a very tired mama.  It wouldn't be such a big deal if I weren't working, but since I actually have to be somewhat alert and awake throughout the day, it's sort of a problem.  But, I've been trying to put a positive spin on these nighttime rendezvouses we've been having - even though I'd like to get  a full night's sleep, I enjoy getting to spend a little time with Dafney...even if I'm only half awake! 

Easter

Can you believe it's EASTER in a week and a half?!  Where does the time go?  Now that we have a little one, Easter has a whole new meaning!  We went shopping for an Easter basket and all sorts of {baby friendly} goodies to fill it with.  

We're even going to be those parents and have Dafney color some Easter eggs - which really means that we'll take Dafney's hands and color the eggs all while snapping a ton few photos!  

Speaking of creepy Easter bunnies, oh wait, we weren't, well we should...we brought the babe to see the Easter bunny and boy is it CREEPY!  We thought this would be the time to bring her to see it since next year she'll probably cry and scream when we attempt to set her on it's lap...and rightfully so, the bunny's gotten scary looking over the years.  Check it out: {note, if the bunny's ears can't fit into the picture, then it's TOO BIG}

Weekends

Now that Dafney is going to daycare during the week, I realize how precious our time together is, especially on the weekends!  I'm sure this will eventually change, but I want to spend every second with her.  

It got me thinking about weekends and how differently I look at them now than I used to.  

When I was in my 20's, a weekend meant hanging out with friends, hitting up the bar scene, catching up on sleep; basically doing anything you wanted.  Then, once I got married, I could still do pretty much anything I wanted, but that "I", became a "we".  Still, the weekends were for us to catch up with friends, hang out and relax.  Then during that first trimester of pregnancy, weekends were for nothing more than catching up on sleep!  Seriously, I couldn't get enough.  Thankfully, that stage only lasted 14 or so weeks.  

And, then weekends meant all things BABY!  I think BABY was the ONLY thing on my mind.  Everything from registering, preparing, shopping, reading about and thinking about baby.  While I was on maternity leave, weekends meant that I'd have my Husband around to help out...it meant a break, even if only for an hour or so.  But, now that I'm back at work, weekends bring on a whole new meaning!  It's time.  Time I have to watch my daughter smile.  Time to have "conversations" with her.  Time to play and read books.  Time to hold her in my arms.  Time to simply spend with my sweet little baby!  I didn't realize how precious time was until now.  

Yes, the laundry may not get done, or the dishes sit for a while, or the vacuuming and dusting are put off for another time, but it doesn't even matter.  I've learned how important time is.  I'm so thankful for my weekends and the TIME I get to spend with Dafney...it really is precious!

Dafney

I can NOT believe our baby girl is 15 WEEKS old TODAY!  Seriously, where does the time go?!  She is at such a fun age right now.  I swear, she changes constantly and is doing something new daily.  

She's learning how to really use her voice.  We have the greatest "conversations"!  She's also starting to grab things and tries to put everything in her mouth.  She's also recently discovered her thumbs and tries to stick her whole hand in her mouth.  And, she's starting to giggle.  It is the BEST sound in the world.  It melts my heart every time!    

She's getting so close to rolling over...so much are the days when we could leave her on the couch or changing table for a quick second.  I have a feeling she's going to move non-stop pretty soon.  It's so much fun to watch her grow and learn new things.  She completely amazes me! 

Not the best picture, but I still think she's CUTE!

Proud Mama

I will end this post showing off some recent pictures of Dafney!  Yep, I'm that Mom!!  

Newest Twins Fan

 All SMILES =)

Hollywood?!

Hanging outside!

Conversing with Mommy!

 Little Gopher fan!!

Happy Tuesday!

Daycare = Sad Mama

Well, yesterday was the second day (FIRST FULL DAY) for Dafney to be at daycare.  

It breaks my heart.  

On Monday, we took her there for a few hours.  I was off, but wanted to ease myself her in with a half day.  We dropped her off at 7:30am and I left without shedding a tear...probably because I cried so much the day/night before, but once I dropped my Husband off at work, I immediately started crying (I don't like to cry in front of others...call me crazy).  

I felt heartbroken and completely guilty for dropping my baby girl off into someone else's care.  It left me with the worst feeling.  I knew the people I left her with were good people, but they weren't ME.  I continue to feel like she needs her Mama (or maybe it's more like her Mama needs her baby).  I'm sad to miss her smiley face and our morning "conversations".  I miss her falling asleep in my arms and her little face staring up at me when I'm feeding her.  I even miss her messy diapers!  Bottom line...I'm sad!  

I couldn't get there fast enough to pick her up on Monday.  I don't think I set her down for the rest of the day.  Tuesday's drop off was even harder because I knew she'd have to be there ALL.DAY.LONG.  

Thankfully I work close and walked there on my lunch break to spend some time with her.  What really is hard is seeing how little time I get to spend with her everyday.  By the time I picked her up and we got home it was 4:30pm which meant I only had a few hours with her (in between walking the dog, making dinner, cleaning up and getting ready for the next day)...SO HARD!  This daycare thing is really tough and I don't know when / if it will get easier, but one thing is for sure, I CHERISH my time with my baby girl SO much!  

I have so much more to write, but I'm heading out to see my baby!  Now that I'm back at work, hopefully I'll find a little more time to blog (as if I don't have enough to do at work).   

Mind Dump Monday

I apologize in advance for the randomness of this blog.  It's been a while and I have a lot on my mind!

• First, I'm sure you've all heard about the horrible tornadoes that affected tons of people in Kentucky, Alabama and Indiana.  My heart goes out to all of these people.  I was reading in my People magazine the heart-wrenching story of those that were lucky enough to survive.  It's completely heart-breaking and totally devastating.  Thankfully, there are so many good people in the world that have not only helped out with the clean-up, but have also donated money to those that lost everything.  A fellow blogger, Stephanie had a dear friend whose family lost everything and she decided to do something awesome and help raise money for her friend.  Check out her blog to see the different ways you can give to help out her friend and all those in need!

• Where does the time go?  Can you believe my sweet baby girl is going to be 3 MONTHS OLD, tomorrow?!?  It feels like just yesterday we brought her home from the Hospital.  I've enjoyed every smile, fussy spell, snuggle, diaper blowout, cooing sound and everything else that comes with having a sweet little angel! 

LOVE these SMILES!!

Looking SO big!

• Now that she's 3 months old, that means my maternity leave is coming to an end (major tears).  I'm having such a hard time wrapping my head around leaving her in someone else's care 5 days a week for 8-9 hours.  It breaks my heart even though I know it needs to be done.  Part of me feels completely guilty for having someone else watch her all day, every day.  Part of me is sad to miss her smiles and probably some "firsts".  And part of me is scared to leave her.  Since she's been born, I haven't left her for more than 3 hours.  I worry that something will happen, or that they'll get frustrated with her and shake her (okay, just so you know, I'm sending my daughter to a good daycare and this is just my own weird worry), and my biggest fear is that she won't eat and will fuss all day long.  She doesn't take a bottle (see next bullet point) well and I worry she'll starve at daycare.  Thankfully the place we're sending her now (we're on a wait list at another place that we're totally in LOVE with) is only a 10 minute walk from my work so I can go see her at lunchtime to feed her and get some much needed snuggle time with her.  I just want the very best for her and I want her to have a positive daycare experience.  Hopefully I'll be able to walk out the door without too many tears next Tuesday (but I'm planning not to wear any mascara that day just in case). 

• Bottle feeding...this topic deserves a bullet point all to itself.  I have to say, my daughter has been an amazing baby; she doesn't fuss much, she took to breastfeeding with absolutely no problem which made it so easy for me, she started sleeping through the night around 7 weeks old and of course, she's absolutely adorable =)  But, the one thing she HATES is a bottle.  She doesn't want anything to do with the bottle.  She screams and screams to the point that she starts having trouble breathing (which even makes Momma want to cry).  We've tried 5 different bottles/nipples, my Husband has tried holding her in different positions, we've tried different times of the day and nothing seems to work.  I worry that she's going to make it so difficult at daycare that we're going to get kicked out.  I don't know what else to do.  Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated! 

Well, it's time for me to go snuggle with my baby!  Hope everyone is having a GREAT start to their week!