Moments with Maggie

I am a horrible blogger

2009-01-09T12:31:00.022-06:00

To anyone who is still reading this blog, I send out a most sincere apology. I'm fundamentally lazy. Plus, I was so busy enjoying all that time with Maggie, I didn't make the time to actually write about it. You didn't miss anything too major, but here's a quick recap in case you're still interested...

Maggie will be four months old on January 19th. She started sleeping in her own room, in her crib, at about 6 weeks. I know most moms usually have a hard time with this particular transition, but for me it was not a problem. Maggie is a very noisy sleeper... If you were to find yourself sleeping in the same room with her, you would hear her grunts and groans and then send yourself into a panic wondering how Maggie was replaced by a 70 year-old man. While all these noises did let me know that she was thankfully still alive and kicking in her little bassinet, they did not make for a very good sleeping environment for me. So into her room she went!

Once she moved in there, however, we discovered a new problem. It turns out that Maggie is quite the mover and shaker... I swear if you put her on a bicycle and she was able to hold her body in an upright position she would pedal away faster than you could run to catch her! Because of all this prodigious movement, she was having a hard time staying asleep at night. Her head might be sleeping soundly, but her "party body", as we like to call it, would start moving and wake her up at all hours of the night. I tried swaddling her with regular blankets and then those swaddle blankets, but it was all to no avail. I have a feeling she would somehow wriggle out if she was wrapped in duct tape. Someone told me about this thing called a 'Miracle Blanket', which is designed to comfort and keep babies from waking themselves with that startle reflex they have, because it sort of traps their arms. Well, I must say that blanket is definitely worthy of its name. As for how it works, picture a very tightly folded Maggie burrito and you'll have an idea. As a matter of fact, I went online (I don't think any stores sell them) yesterday trying to buy one in a bigger size since Maggie is about to outgrow the old one. But no such luck, they come in only one size and are supposed to last through 4 months of age. We have been putting her on her tummy for daytime naps and she sleeps really sound like that... I can't wait until I can put on her tummy at night so we won't have to worry about swaddling her anymore! But, thankfully, since the swaddling, she has been sleeping about 10 hours a night. Some nights there are exceptions, but overall, I think we're pretty lucky!

Let's see, what else can I divulge... Maggie spits up. A LOT. At one point, she also started crying a lot during her feedings and would sometimes refuse to eat. It actually wasn't so much crying as screaming like she was in horrible pain. After a long night in the emergency room, where they for some reason couldn't figure out what was wrong with her and why she wouldn't stop screaming, I called her pediatrician and he scheduled a reflux sonogram. They made her drink 4 ounces of glucose water and then waited to see what would happen. It's supposed to be a 10 minute test, but Maggie had 4 major spit-ups and 1 minor one within 5 minutes. Turns out she had some severe acid reflux. So they put her on liquid zantac, which she takes three times a day to neutralize the acid and heal her esophagus. She is still spitting up a TON, but now she seems to be pretty happy about it.

A little bit about Maggie's personality and habits... She definitely got mine and her dad's strong will. If she doesn't like something, she will let you know, and she doesn't go about it quietly. She also has a bit of a temper... which I'm pretty sure she also got from me and her dad. She's a happy baby, but she is also solemn a lot of the time. She gets a frown in her brown and stares at her surroundings like she's contemplating the ways of the world. Since it was the holiday season when she started this, we call it her "Grinch face." She is really starting to express herself these days... she laughs out loud a lot and is always 'talking' to herself or to us. She has also discovered this new high-pitched squeal and I think she does it just to hear herself, because each time she looks around amazed, like "who made that noise?!". She's usually happiest in the morning when she wakes up and right after her naps. She's usually crankiest right before a nap, which is how you know it's time for one! She is really starting to enjoy her jumper lately... We have to put phone books underneath it so she can touch the ground, but she likes it more each time she's in it. She is also really loving looking at herself and others in the mirrors around our house. They say that babies don't know that they're looking at themselves in the mirror until at least 2 years of age, but I don't know... It seems to me they kind of figure it out before then. She hates tummy time but we do it anyway. If she could just learn to maneuver her arms, she would already be crawling because her legs are moving a mile a minute and she's holding her head up really well. She also loves music. I put her on a blanket on the floor and play a classical CD and she will lay there for a long time listening and cooing. I think she may be starting to teethe because she is drooling A LOT and constantly shoving her hand in her mouth to chew on. Plus she's starting to get kind of fussy like she's hurting at times and I think that's why.

We got Maggie's ears pierced a couple of days after Christmas. It was sad... They had to do both ears separately because she was wiggling so much. At first she didn't cry, but then she suddenly realized she was in pain and started screaming. It was almost like her feelings were hurt more than anything else. I felt really guilty for a while because she was kind of fussy the rest of the day, but we gave her tylenol and she was fine the next morning when she woke. And so far, we haven't had any problems with them at all.

As for me... I had to go back to work on January 5th. Leaving her was really hard every morning this past week. My dad retired in November, so right now he is staying at my house taking care of her, which I know makes me hugely lucky and blessed. But it is still hard to go from being with her all day-everyday, to seeing her for only a few short hours before she goes to sleep each night. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I came home everyday this week during my lunch time to see her. Good thing I live about 10 minutes from my school or I wouldn't have been able to. My 7th graders have been pretty good about me coming back. Some of them seem glad to see me again and a lot of them ask about Maggie and want to see pictures of her. Dad has a web cam so he brings his laptop over each day and sets it up so I can watch her a little bit while I'm at work. It's pretty neat and sometimes I let my kids watch too. He also takes her for stroller rides around our neighborhood and plays the guitar and sings for her. He's even been reading to her! I think she is really enjoying staying with him.

David is the same as always... hunting season is almost over so he will be home a lot more on the weekends, which I'm ecstatic about. Taking care of a baby is much easier with 2 people around. Plus we'll get to spend a lot more time together. We bought a Wii and a bunch of games for Christmas so I'm sure we'll manage to find some time to play that. And if anyone knows of a store that isn't sold out of the Wii Fit, please let me know because I've been trying to find one for ages and haven't had any luck! Which makes me wonder how the heck our economy is in such a slump...? I mean, have you been to a mall lately?? There doesn't appear to be a shortage of shoppers or spending.

Well I think that about does it for this post. Until next time... Whenever that may be! Enjoy the new pics!

Wishing everyone lots of love and a very happy new year,

Steph

She still has to have her hands up by her face

She was a bumble bee for Halloween

Maggie has unfortunately inherited a combo of mine and

David's afro hair. Fortunately, I am well-skilled in the

hair department!

She LOVES bath time!

An example of Maggie's 'Grinch face'

Her new earrings!

Maggie is here!!!

2008-10-02T21:07:00.019-05:00

I know it has been entirely too long since my last post, but hopefully this one will be long enough and informative enough to make up for it!

First off, Miss Maggie Isabella Layton decided to finally join us at 2:16 in the afternoon on September 19th. She weighed 7 lbs 1 oz and she was 19 1/2 inches long. Having never been pregnant before, I was not one of those women who felt really "connected" to my baby during my pregnancy. I was happy to be pregnant and excited to meet my baby, but not knowing what to expect, that happiness and excitement was always mixed with not a little bit of fear and anxiety. I worried about things like whether I would connect with her once she was actually here, about what kind of mother I would be, about how I would handle the sleepless nights, about what I would do when she becomes a teenager and finds a boyfriend I absolutely cannot stand, about what it would feel like when she tells me she hates me for grounding her, etc., etc., etc. However, I am thrilled to report that the minute the doctor placed perfect little Maggie in my arms, I was immediately completely and irreversibly in love with her. It felt like she was meant to be there all along and in that moment I felt more happiness than I ever knew I could... the three of us were a perfect little family. And despite the sleepless nights and all the trial and error, that love has only grown stronger with each day I have spent getting to know her. Although I know I will still spend a lot of my time worrying about things which David thinks are "silly and pointless", at least now I know that all those worry wrinkles are totally worth it!

CAUTION: If you are wary of epidurals, you might just want to skip this next paragraph.

As for the labor and delivery... Everything went great with one exception. The anesthesiologist had a difficult time with my epidural. A lot of women were delivering that day and I think he was feeling a bit rushed; plus he had already been on duty for 24 hours when I came in, so he was probably tired. He had to stick me three times before he got it in right and apparently this increases your chances of certain side effects, such as a post-dural puncture headache, which is what I developed a couple of days after delivery. Basically it is the worst headache you will ever have, it goes away whenever you are lying flat on your back or stomach and it is caused by spinal fluid leaking out the hole in your back. To correct the problem, I had to have a blood patch, which is basically another epidural, in which blood was taken from my arm and injected into my spine to create a temporary clot until the spinal fluid can "re-fill" itself. Needless to say, because of how horribly my first epidural went, I was terrified to have another. But at the same time, I could not take care of my new baby while lying flat on my back, so it had to be done. This epidural went much better and after a couple of hours, my headache was gone. But they did make us stay an extra night in the hospital, so Maggie was released before I was! We went home Monday morning and all was well until Tuesday morning when I woke up with the same headache all over again. I had to go to the emergency room and have another blood patch, which is very rare... 99% of the time, one blood patch takes care of the problem. This anesthesiologist was awesome (I have his business card and I will be calling him in when I go to deliver my next baby!), my headache went away immediately this time and I was able to leave the hospital a couple of hours later with a very sore back, with a total of 5 holes in it. After a few days of prescribed bed-rest in which I was not even allowed to lift my baby, the soreness began to dissipate and I had a couple of good days where I felt something close to normal. But then new pains began to creep in... sharp pains that shot down the back of my legs and everyday it became more difficult to walk and even turn my head from side to side. Yesterday, just sitting still was painful, so I went to the doctor, who then sent me back to the ER to have an MRI to make sure that I did not have an infection from all the epidural sticks I had received. The scan showed that I had no infection in my spine, which was a huge relief considering I would have had to be admitted to the hospital for a long period of time to receive antibiotics intravenously. The doctors came to the decision that my pain was probably being caused by all the epidural sticks, which led to an inflammation in my spine, which then led to a pinched nerve effect. Ten hours after we arrived, they prescribed a steroid pack and a painkiller and sent me home. I started the steroids this morning, and tonight I am happy to report that I can move around a bit better and I no longer feel pain while sitting still. HOPEFULLY, the steroids will continue to work and I will be done with this whole epidural mess and can finally devote my time and energy to taking care of my new baby girl. If the steroids do not work, I will have to see a neurologist and have some nerve testing done.

I have to say a huge thank you to my mom, now known as Mimi, who helped us a ton last week and took off work and stayed with me this week during this whole mess. She cooked us dinner, did all the laundry, cleaned the house and helped me take care of Maggie. She even stayed over a few nights so I could get some rest. I honestly do not know what I would have done without her. My mother-in-law, AKA NaNaw, has also been a huge help to us over the past 2 weeks. She has cooked for us and bought us groceries and helped take care of Maggie, so we owe her a big thank you as well. We also want to thank all those that visited us in the hospital or at our house and brought flowers, food and gifts... We appreciate all your thoughtfulness!

Maggie is doing great by the way! She had her 2-week check-up this morning... She now weighs 7 lbs 5 oz and is 20 1/4 inches long. The doctor said she is very healthy and told us to keep up the good work. We are now working on establishing a daily routine and are hoping that she will start to sleep a bit more at night in between feedings. Last night she slept from 10 to 2:30 and then from 3 to 7:30, so that's progress! The pediatrician recommended that we not take Maggie out until her 2-month check-up, during which she will receive her immunizations. We may end up taking her out anyway, but her carrier will stay covered and David and I will be very strict about who will be allowed to touch her. So if we offend anyone by making them wash their hands or use hand sanitizer, we apologize in advance... We're normally not so picky, but she is our first baby and we would feel terrible if she were to get sick!

I will try to post more often now that Maggie is here and I FINALLY seem to be on the road to recovery. Until next time, enjoy some photos and a video of Maggie's first few days with us!

Lots of love,

Steph

She was able to hold onto her pacifier the day after she

was born even though it was bigger than she was!

Already a prodigy!

David became a PRO swaddler in the hospital... No matter

how hard we all tried, none could match his super-tight

swaddling skills! And while most babies are swaddled with

their arms down inside the blankets, Miss Maggie was

having none of it! She wants her hands up by her face at

all times, which is exactly what I did as a baby :0)

My favorite!

Maggie at 4 days old

Our dog, Lola, watching over Maggie

Still No Maggie!

2008-09-16T17:11:00.002-05:00

We are now rapidly approaching my due date, which is this Saturday, and still no Maggie! I keep waiting to walk to the bathroom one night around 2am and have my water break on the way, but no such luck. I had my weekly appointment on Monday morning and the doc says I'm still dialated to a one, so no progress was made over the last week... even after all my hard work this weekend with all those self-inducing methods you hear about... all of which are unsuitable for discussing on this blog, and still... NOTHING! The doctor said that if I have not had the baby by next Monday's appointment, she will induce labor on Thursday, September 25th. Oh and she said that Maggie's head is very low, so now I know why I am having so much trouble walking around.

Work is getting more tiresome each day, but on the bright side I seem to have become an organizational prodigy in getting everything ready for my substitute. I really should find some secretarial work somewhere... I enjoy organizing and scheduling way too much and I'm pretty darn good at if I do say so myself! I have decided that Friday will officially be my last day at work, even if I haven't had the baby yet. I only had to make it to the 19th to be off until January, and truthfully I've had about all I can stand at this point. The weekends are just not enough time for my body and mind to recoup these days, and each week I seem to get more and more worn out.

I have to say I'm not sure why everyone keeps doling out the same advice to "Get as much sleep as you can now, before the baby gets here!". They must have forgotten what those last few weeks of pregnancy are like. Who can get a good night's sleep when they are having to wake up and heave themselves out of bed every 30 minutes to go pee? Not me, that's for sure. Although I used to be a major night owl, these days I'm lucky if I can keep my eyes open past 10.

Well, that's all I've got for now! Until next time... When Maggie will probably still have us all anxiously awaiting her arrival...

Love,
Steph

Our Photos are In!

2008-09-10T21:02:00.007-05:00

Well, the photos we had taken a few weekends ago are now ready and Jackie, my new FAVORITE photographer, posted a few of them on her blog at http://www.killionphotography.com/ You can check them out below... Hope you like them! I have no idea how we are going to choose which ones to order since we love them all!

Not a whole lot else going on at the moment... As of this afternoon, I was dialated one whole centimeter, so who knows what could happen at this point. David and I aren't holding our breath though... If little Maggie is anything like her mom, she will be at least a week late!

Lots of love,
Steph

Three Weeks To Go!

2008-09-02T20:04:00.004-05:00

I guess it's been a while since my last update because I'm starting to get some complaints!

Well, we've got three weeks left to go now, but I must admit I am getting a little anxious considering that as of this weekend, four others who had my same due date have had their babies! So I spent Labor Day weekend marking things off of my 'Project Baby Preparation' to-do list.

As of right now, all baby laundry is done, folded or hung and neatly put away. All baby bottles, nipples, and unknown parts have been washed, sterilized and organized into their own labeled containers (yes, labeled... who knew there were so many different levels of nipples!) I have packed the diaper bag with anything I think Maggie may need while in the hospital, but many things she probably won't. I have also packed my overnight bag for the hospital, only I think I may need a 'two-week bag' instead of an 'overnight bag' considering I can only fit half of my things in it. (Speaking of... why do they even make a female overnight bag considering there isn't a female alive who can pack for just one night??) All of my 'subtle' hinting seems to have paid off as David has finally expertly assembled the baby swing. He also tried to hang my shelves above the changing table in the nursery, but as they were so poorly made that you could not even sit anything on them, they had to be taken down. So I am now on the hunt for new shelves... new shelves and a cute pair of book ends.

David and I had some photos taken on Saturday morning. We found a photographer in Keller whose business is just taking off and she is awesome! You can check out some of her work at http://www.killionphotography.com/. We did lots of belly shots to document the fact that my pregnant belly actually turned out to be pretty cute instead of the whale-like belly we all thought it would be. I'll be sure to let everyone know when the photos are available for online viewing and ordering in a couple of weeks. Hopefully they turn out nice!

I am also back at work now... the kids started back last Monday and I'm not exaggerating much when I say that it was the longest week in the entire history of the calendar. I don't think I have ever felt so completely and utterly exhausted. Not to mention that at the end of each day I could barely move. No doubt due to the trauma of the week, I developed a new pregnancy symptom, which I think may be even more unpleasant than having to wake up to pee five million times each night... THE DREADED CANKLES. Not only an unattractive condition, but also a very painful one, which is something I never knew. Multiply shin splints by 100 and you have a small idea of the throbbing pain of walking around, or even sitting, with cankles. And even worse, once they have appeared for the day, no amount of leg elevating or resting will alleviate them. You are stuck with them as they continue to grow bigger and bigger until you go to bed that night.

While I am super nervous about labor and delivery, and am also feeling completely incompetent in the motherhood department, I must say that I am ready to have little Maggie and no longer be pregnant. While this is a million times better than the first four months of morning sickness (Who are they kidding with that 'morning sickness' title anyway?? Someone should petition to get it renamed 'all-day sickness' so that mothers everywhere can know exactly what they're getting themselves into!), this is not the funnest stage of pregnancy. I'm pretty sure Maggie dropped last week and ever since I have felt pretty miserable. Although it is a nice change to not have constant, throat-searing heart burn, all the pressure I'm feeling in my lower body makes me wonder if my stomach needs it's own carrying-case as it seems to be having a hard time supporting it's own weight.

Well, I think I'll close on that note as I have probably done enough complaining for one night and it is getting close to my bedtime. Until next time (when Maggie may be with us)...

Love,
Steph

The Nursery

2008-08-09T21:17:00.008-05:00

Well, after a lot of hard work (not just mine!) and MAJOR decision making, the nursery is finally starting to look like what I had envisioned as the ideal little girl's room. We're still waiting on a few things... like the glider and ottoman, the canvas letters that spell 'Maggie', some knick-knacks and wall hangings and, of course, Maggie herself before the room is absolutely perfect. But it's definitely well on it's way and it's a huge relief to have it almost finished, especially since school is about to start back up. My goal is to have everything ready before then so I can focus only on work for those last five weeks before Maggie is born.

On another note, my brother Michael married my new sister-in-law Alexis this past weekend. The wedding was perfect, nearly as beautiful as she was, and a good time was had by all. I wish them every happiness as they start their new life together!

Love,

Stephanie

The wedding was at A&M, on-campus on the steps of

the admin building

My Uncle Robert officiated the ceremony

The happy bride and groom with my parents

My beautiful cousins Megan & Molly

My other brother Matt & his girlfriend Leslie

I am now an official blogger

2008-08-06T02:30:00.014-05:00

For those of you who aren't in the know, after 3 years of happily wedded bliss, David and I are expecting our first little bundle of joy. Her name is Maggie Isabella and she is expected to arrive sometime near September 20th. Right now we are busy making all the necessary preparations, like getting the nursery organized and putting together all the baby swings, bassinets, bouncers, strollers, etc. We are excited to welcome Maggie to the world and hope that this blog will come in handy for family and friends that want to keep up with her!

Stay tuned... More to come!

Lots of love,

Stephanie

P.S. Enjoy some of Maggie's first photos!

She must already be shy... she seemed determined

to cover her face with her hands the whole time :0)

Already trying to suck her thumb!

DEFINITELY a girl!