SLEEP was WHAT we needed!!!

I hesistate to post this to prematurely because it has only been 3 days and I hope its not just a treat, but a trend.......but.....so far, SLEEP seems to be the magic medicine for both Addy and mom and dad!!! 

We had Addy's 2 month check up Wednesday and as we were talking to Dr. Simmons about Addy's fussiness and suspected colic, he asked us how much she was sleeping.  (His son apparantly had similar symptoms at Addy's age) We shared with him about how the ONLY way she would sleep was on us and that really the only decent sleep she was getting was at night from like 8 pm to around 3 am.  The rest of the time she was restless and during the day only sleeping in 20-30 minute chunks! This of course is not super normal for a newborn who is "supposed" to sleep ALL the time...or at least this was my expectation....It was correct, but this is not how Addy slept.  He gave us some tips on how to get her to sleep better and in her crib--Praise Jesus!!  We love her more than anything, but she is getting big and therefore uncomfortable (10 lbs 1.5 ounces to be exact & 23 inches--long and lean baby were Dr. Simmons exact words)!!!  She was not getting good sleep and nor were we, but the second we would lay her in her crib she would cry about 10 minutes later...and in order to get sleep, we let her sleep on us.  :) 

His tips along with some great coaching from my friend Jen has really helped her a ton.  She is much much more content (or at least she has been so far) and feeds better and is SLEEPING, well at least at night (and in her crib--for a while I thought I had bought her crib for no reason--ha!!).  Her naps are still a bit of a challenge--but she is getting better. 

We have had to let her cry a bit so that she could learn to self soothe, which kills me since I have soothed and held her and prevented most crying for the first 2 months of her life non-stop, but for her health and our sanity...we tried it.  She really adjusted well to it truthfully and only 3 days in generally only cries around 5-10 minutes before falling asleep on her own.  At night she has been crying none the last 2 nights!!!  The method was a lot gentler than some that I have read about because it allows her to cry for a bit, and then be loved on  and held by mom and dad after 10 minutes if still crying, then 15, and so on!!  She never made it past 25 minutes before falling asleep--thank God--I am not sure I would have had the strength to let her. Needless to say this process has truly been the hardest thing I have ever done...in fact I think on Thursday I cried more than she did!!! But things are improving for sure. 

(Disclaimer:  I have no problem at all with those who co-sleep with their babies--in fact, I am thankful for that sweet time we had with Addy during her first few weeks--that turned into first 2 months :).  It just started to not work out for all of us--Addy included and so we had to do what worked for us...but for some...co-sleeping even longer works great...and it is so great and healthy for the babies security and even health!! It is also precious bonding time. We just had to make a change for Addy's health because well, sleep is pretty important for us all) 

Anyways...if you read this...please PRAY that this continues!  God has been so faithful to help us through this hard, but also amazing time.  We are thankful for a baby that seems to be a lot happier and content, which probably means even healthier!! (We would still be thankful even if she was still super fussy and cranky, but of course it is nicer when she is happier).

I am not sure I could post this blog without including my favorite sleeping picture of Addy!! :) Love you all!!!

The First 8 Weeks!! How time STANDS STILL and FLYS BY at the same time

It is hard to believe that Darrick and I welcomed a new life into this world almost 8 weeks ago.  Addy will be 8 weeks old on Saturday.  I can hardly believe it.  Here are a couple pics of her since the last time we posted.

Darrick and Addy in the Nursery

Trying to get a big/little sister pic--neither one would cooperate. ;) Ha!!!

Momma and her angel!!

Here are a few pics from the informal photo shoot that Sarah Barrow did for us one afternoon!!! She is super talented.  She is 1 month old in these pics.



Look at that booty!! Precious!



I love when she smiles and sleeps

So precious!

I was hoping to post this blog weeks ago, but I have learned that you only can do so much and well....blogging had not made it into the priority list, but I have been thinking about this blog for so long and so I thought i would reflect on the last 8 weeks by sharing how time can STAND STILL and also FLY BY at the very same time. 

I always like to end on the positive, so we will start with the harder one. 

HOW TIME STANDS STILL WITH A NEWBORN:

• When you spend your entire day walking and bouncing your baby because when you sit down, she starts screaming--symptom of colic we think
• When at night you are exhausted and the only way your sweet baby will sleep is on your chest
• When you have fed her all you have and she still seems hungry--thank God for expressed and stored milk!!
• When her pacifier falls out every 5 seconds--duct tape anyone
• When at 5 weeks you finally decide that your baby probably has colic!
• When you drive anywhere--she for some reason hates her car seat and SCREAMS the entire time!!
• When she unloads and massive diaper everytime she rides in the car seat :)

HOW TIME FLYS BY:

• When you see her smile at you for the first time (especially after saying the phrase: Do you love your momma?)
• When you see your husband soothe her and love her and kiss her and hold her!
• When you see her sleeping soundly on your husbands chest!
• When your sweet but sometimes crazy dog Lily kisses her on the hand or head when she is crying uncontrollably--and she stops
• When you remove her from her carseat after a drive and she immediately stops crying and melts in your arms. 
• When you watch her sleep and your see her smile
• When she starts to coo and talk to you
• When she recognizes you and follows you with her eyes wherever you go
• When she immediately calms at your touch
• Bathtime--she loves it, loves it, loves it now-it's a fun time every night for us to see her so relaxed

Those are just a few!!  Raising a baby is so amazing, but also so so so incredibly hard at times, but for sure all of the good totally outweighs the bad.  She is such a precious gift to us.  Before we know it she will be walking, and then running, and then running from us, and then hopefully running back to us. 

We pray daily for our precious gift.  She is so beautiful, but truly we pray that her beauty on the inside would be the most important, that she would be a girl that loves and seeks Christ in all aspects of her life. 

We thank God daily for this gift, even in the midst of all the fussing and all the crying...we love our precious Addison Grace Seaton.  Here are a few more pics from Sarah's photoshoot! Enjoy!!

Our Sleeping Beauty (Sarah made her headband...so so cute)

Addy and Daddy's Hand

Her massive feet, let's hope she grows into them. ;)

It's amazing how much you can love someone!!!

There are so many more, but I will save that for another post!!!  Les and D

Our Snow Angel Blizzard 2011!!!

After being home for a week with Addy, we got a lot more quality home time (2 weeks worth pretty much) with the blizzard of 2011!!!  One week we got about 6 inches of snow which is a lot for this area normally, but that was nothing in comparison to the 2 feet of snow (literally 24 inches) that we got the next week.  It was a record amount for sure.  The snow was over our retaining wall in our front yard.

Here are a few pics. 

It is hard to tell, but we have 2 feet of snow!!

Lily looked like a horse galloping through the snow.  It was over her head.  She loved it...every moment. :)


Darrick thought it would be fun to make snow angels with Addy, so he did...check it out!!

I will end this blog with a precious picture of Darrick and Addy!!!

Blizzard 2011: Thanks for the fun memories and for keeping my husband stuck at home during the early weeks of Addy's life!! :)  What a blessing. 

Our Precious Addition--Addison Grace Seaton

Our New Family!!!

Darrick and I proudly (and painfully I might add) welcomed our little girl Addison (Addy) Grace Seaton into this world on Saturday January 22nd, at 12:49 pm!!!  After 38 hours of labor, she finally came.  I had an emergency C-Section (that turned out to not be much of an emergency--oh well) so I did not get to hold her until about an hour after I had her.  Here is the picture of our first meeting.

She weighed a whopping 8 pounds 5 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.  Here are a couple of pictures!



Notice the Caddo Heart on her forehead




I love how she sleeps!!



We had tons of visitors at the hospital!  I would love to add a picture of you all, but that would be a ton of pics.  I will at least include some of family. ;)



Darrick and his Dad Bill



Darrick's mom Marsha



 

My mom and dad--Charley and Terrye



Leaving the hospital was a bit scary to say the least, but we were also ready to be home.  Here are a few going home pics. ;)

It is crazy to think that we have had her for two weeks now.  Oh how time flies.  Our first week was a bit of a rollercoaster with us both figuring out how to get her to sleep and eat, but with the help of my incredible husband Darrick (and he has been amazing to say the least) we have managed!  The first week was hard because I was starving her...not purposely of course, but I just did not have much to give the poor child.  She lost 17 ounces in a matter of 4 days--gripes!  With the help of our doctor though, we were able to put on 18 ounces in a matter of  days after that!!  The doctor was actually in shock that she gained that much weight!  That was our only homework from the doctor and we got and A++++.  She is perfectly healthly now and no longer starving! 

The next project will be to learn how to get her to sleep on her own.  Currently the only way or place she will sleep is on our chest!  She loves the comfort and the warmth I guess.  I know you can't spoil them this early, and we love love love holding her, but we are getting to the point where we are ready for her to sleep on her own!  Any tips are welcomed.  I will say I am not emotionally ready for her to "Cry It Out" yet, so that suggestion will  have to wait.

We have also been a little stir crazy.  We have pretty much been confined to our house for the last two weeks.  The first with just staying home to attend to her needs, and the second with a massive snow storm! :)  I finally can drive again, so I pray this week that the weather is nice to me.

One thing it has done so far is strengthen our marriage.  It has been teamwork for sure.  In fact it has made me fall even more in love with Darrick.  He loves her so much.  He loves to hold her and care for her and he has been the most amazing servant to me through it all!  Here are a few pics of them together.



Doesn't this just melt your heart





 Maybe now that we have her we will do a better job of actually adding to our family blog!!  That is my hope.

Signing off with one of my favorite new pics of Addy!!