Well, we have begun the adventure down taste bud lane. So far, green beans and peas have been a delight to Lexi. She loves them. However, today we experimented with carrots and it was a bust. She hated them. I don't know if it was because she was in a bad mood or what the deal was. I think I might try again tomorrow when she is in a better mood. I can't believe she is nearly 5 months old. She definitely has developed quite the personality. She has a clear opinion on a lot of things in life these days.
Things Lexi Likes:
1. She LOVES Finding Nemo. We watch it at least once a day. Her favorite part is when Dory speaks whale. She always cracks up during that part. Regardless of what kind of mood she is in, Finding Nemo makes her happy.
2. She LOVES watching my mom cook. She likes the mixer especially.
3. She really likes oatmeal, green beans, and peas.
4. She LOVES baths. She spent an hour in the bath tonight just playing. Silly baby.
5. She LOVES when people sing to her.
6. She loves Elmo.
7. She loves her mama. She has started crying every time I leave to go to school. It breaks my heart.
8. She LOVES being outside.
9. She LOVES the cats. The cats love her too. She smiles at them and talks to them and then pulls their hair and ears. The cats love the attention.
10. She loves mornings. She is an early bird and she is in the best mood at the wee hours of the morning.
11. She loves throwing anything she can get her hands on to the floor.
12. She LOVES having books read to her.
13. She LOVES standing up. She's been doing it since she was 2 months old with my help of course. I swear this kid is going to skip crawling entirely because she has no desire for it. She just wants to stand up all the time. Seriously. It's weird. She gets mad if she sits too long because she just wants to stand up and see everything.
Things Lexi Dislikes:
1. She hates the sound of the ice dispenser and the blender.
2. She hates being still for too long which would include being in the car seat for long periods of time.
3. She apparently hates socks because it is her mission to kick them off as soon as they go on.
4. Going to bed late.
5. She hates any toy that is permanently fixed to something because she can't figure out how to get it off. It is very frustrating to her.
6. She hates sleeping. She takes maybe three 30 minute naps during the day because there is just no time for napping when there is so much world to experience.
Other achievements include being able to roll from her back to stomach and from stomach to back. She can also sit up by herself for short periods of time. She is talking more and more. It sounds like she says Hi sometimes and she says haha in a sarcastic tone a lot. I don't think she really knows what she is saying. She just likes the sound. She squeals and laughs a lot and talks really loud at times. She is actually constantly making some kind of noise. She can stand up holding onto me with all of her weight on her feet…of course she has been doing this for a while. Lexi can get up on her knees and hands for short periods of time, but hasn't figured out how to coordinate crawling. Her hand control is getting better and better everyday. She can put a baby spoon in her mouth by herself and can grab just about anything. She can turn the pages in books by herself. She can hold her bottle by herself too. I also introduced the sippy cup to her this past week. She hasn't quite gotten the hang of it, but she knows there is water in there and she wants to drink it-she just can't get it at an angle where the water will come out.
There are probably more that I can't think of. I really need to update this more. Good night.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Lexi's New Hat
Lexi's grandma crocheted her this adorable hat! Here is a youtube video that shows you how to do something similar to it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G3mvDeeOIA&feature=related
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Another Lexi?
Well I have some things I need take off my shoulders and stick into cyberspace. I have never been the amazing writer that my sister is so bear with me. These are the events and circumstances involving the birth of my Lexi. Let the crying commence.
Lexi was not planned. She was an accident, which is a nice word for mistake I suppose. Russ and I have had a roller coaster relationship for the past 6 years and we were in no situation for a baby. I basically freaked out and didn't really know what I was going to do. I was given advice from many people and it left me afraid and confused. But, from the moment I saw her on the sonogram-she looked like a bean with little arms that you could see moving-and saw her heart beating when I was 9 weeks along, I threw out all of my choices because I knew in that instant the only thing I wanted in this world was that little person. All fear and confusion left and I just knew what I had to do. I never planned on children. I was probably the least suited and least likely person to ever want/have a baby. But something miraculous happened in that moment where all selfishness left me and I really took in the weight of the miracle that had just fallen into my lap. Children are truly a gift. I had never understood this before. From that moment every thought I had involved planning on how to make the best life possible for this wonderful miracle.
Side note: Mistake-I think not. I believe nothing in our lives is truly a mistake. It is all meant to happen for a design we don't always understand and cannot always comprehend.
So everything was going fine in my pregnancy. I was healthy. The baby was healthy. Russ and I were trying to make us work for her which was going decently. No. That is a lie. It never went decently. I just pretended it was because I wanted so bad for it to be true because I couldn't go through with this alone. He did a lot of things a man should never do to a woman. Especially a pregnant woman. I won't go into detail. I actually felt more alone during that time than I ever have in my entire life.
So, fast forward to 3 weeks before Lexi was due. I went in to see my super awesome ob/gyn, Dr. C. Dr. C and I had become very close over my pregnancy for several reasons. (1)She was also pregnant and was in fact due 4 days after me. (2)We had both decided to name our daughters Lexi. (3)Dude. She is looking at my personal business on a monthly sometimes weekly basis. (4)I vented to her about all Russ related things and she really helped me through them since he never came with me. So at this appointment she noticed my blood pressure was getting a little high. Nothing too terribly bad, but she ordered me a healthy dose of bed rest for the next week. No problem. I did that and returned the next week so she could check me out to make sure my blood pressure was still ok. When I got to the doctor's office there was a bit of confusion going on. Dr. C's baby had come 2 weeks early and she had given birth that morning. Of course I was excited for her and the nurses reassured me that Lexi Grace and Dr. C were well, but they couldn't get me in for an appointment with any of the other doctors until the following week. So I went back home a little disappointed that Dr. C wouldn't be delivering me and frustrated that I couldn't get in to see a doctor.
I returned the next week on June 29 for my very last check up. As soon as I got there, my favorite nurse took Russ and I to the back examination room and sat us down with a very serious look on her face. She then told us some devastating news. Dr. C's baby had only lived for one day and then died. Tears swelled in my eyes. Lexi Grace had died. A precious, beautiful, innocent baby died. If Dr. C's baby can die, then my baby can die. "What if my baby doesn't make it?" kept swirling around in my head. The doctor came in and checked me over and took my blood pressure and announced that I had preeclampsia and I was to go to the hospital to be induced now. I had no time to think such negative things now. It was time for my Lexi to be born and my condition was critical.
As soon as I got to the hospital they were ready to prep me for delivery. I got there sometime around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. The nurse-who was an incredible and hilarious lady and who got me through the whole thing with a ton of laughter-told me there was no way I would have her tonight since most first time moms are in labor for 12+ hours. She barely gave me the inducing hormones and boom I was ready for my water to be broken. That was a painless procedure, but what happened after that were the most painful contractions. After enduring probably 3 minutes and 30 seconds of them, I was nice and ready for the epidural. Of course the epidural people didn't get there for an hour so I basically told everyone in the room how much I hated them for an hour, cursed Eve, and then went on a spill about how women who do this thing naturally are crazy. Finally the epidural people arrived and I was one happy camper. Before I knew it, it was time for me to begin the pushing. 1 hour of that hard work and my Lexi, 8lbs 3oz, had arrived. For the record: Total delivery time=5 hours. I did not poop on the table.
I was so lucky because my Lexi was as healthy as could be and she was the most beautiful and perfect thing I have ever laid eyes on-squished nose and all. In fact, she was released from the hospital before me. She was released after 2 days and I had to stay there for 4 days. The nurses were great though and let Lexi stay with me as long as Russ was there. I was incredibly sick and very thankful that Russ was there to take care of Lexi while I tried to recover. I couldn't have done it without him. I lost 30 pounds in water and baby while I was there to give you an idea of how swollen and sick I really was.
For the first few weeks of Lexi's life I would hold her and think about how I was given this beautiful blessing that I completely do not deserve. I could not wrap my head around the fact that Dr. C., a wonderful Christian lady, married to a loving husband, planned their beautiful Lexi Grace and their baby was taken from them without explanation and here I am with a beautiful girl that I feel completely unworthy of. I don't understand why certain things happen, but I will tell you this. To this day every time I look at my Lexi I see a bit of the other Lexi Grace in her and I hold her tight and appreciate every second that God is gifting me with of her amazing presence. I will never ever take my Lexi for granted. You never know how much time you have with the people you love. And Lexi is the greatest blessing I have ever been given in my life. Dr. C's Lexi Grace will never be forgotten.
Epilogue:
I have since been back to see Dr. C for my post-pregnancy check up. She returned to work after 6 weeks of being off and she seemed like she was dealing with things as best as anyone could. My blood pressure finally went back down to normal. Lexi is absolutely thriving. Did I mention that I am the most blessed momma on this planet? Russ is now in Oklahoma working. I am doing this whole raising a baby thing on my own (with the help of my in-laws, my momma, 2 awesome baby sitters, Ms. Debbie, and some awesome friends. Thank you all! You all make my life so much easier!) which is something I didn't really plan, but I am making it work. Oh and I'm also a full time student. I am determined to finish my degree so that I can get a really good job to support Lexi. My life is absolutely crazy, but I still absorb each and every moment with my precious baby girl. And when I get frustrated with my situation I stop and remember Lexi Grace and then I remember how incredibly blessed my life is.
Lexi was not planned. She was an accident, which is a nice word for mistake I suppose. Russ and I have had a roller coaster relationship for the past 6 years and we were in no situation for a baby. I basically freaked out and didn't really know what I was going to do. I was given advice from many people and it left me afraid and confused. But, from the moment I saw her on the sonogram-she looked like a bean with little arms that you could see moving-and saw her heart beating when I was 9 weeks along, I threw out all of my choices because I knew in that instant the only thing I wanted in this world was that little person. All fear and confusion left and I just knew what I had to do. I never planned on children. I was probably the least suited and least likely person to ever want/have a baby. But something miraculous happened in that moment where all selfishness left me and I really took in the weight of the miracle that had just fallen into my lap. Children are truly a gift. I had never understood this before. From that moment every thought I had involved planning on how to make the best life possible for this wonderful miracle.
Side note: Mistake-I think not. I believe nothing in our lives is truly a mistake. It is all meant to happen for a design we don't always understand and cannot always comprehend.
So everything was going fine in my pregnancy. I was healthy. The baby was healthy. Russ and I were trying to make us work for her which was going decently. No. That is a lie. It never went decently. I just pretended it was because I wanted so bad for it to be true because I couldn't go through with this alone. He did a lot of things a man should never do to a woman. Especially a pregnant woman. I won't go into detail. I actually felt more alone during that time than I ever have in my entire life.
So, fast forward to 3 weeks before Lexi was due. I went in to see my super awesome ob/gyn, Dr. C. Dr. C and I had become very close over my pregnancy for several reasons. (1)She was also pregnant and was in fact due 4 days after me. (2)We had both decided to name our daughters Lexi. (3)Dude. She is looking at my personal business on a monthly sometimes weekly basis. (4)I vented to her about all Russ related things and she really helped me through them since he never came with me. So at this appointment she noticed my blood pressure was getting a little high. Nothing too terribly bad, but she ordered me a healthy dose of bed rest for the next week. No problem. I did that and returned the next week so she could check me out to make sure my blood pressure was still ok. When I got to the doctor's office there was a bit of confusion going on. Dr. C's baby had come 2 weeks early and she had given birth that morning. Of course I was excited for her and the nurses reassured me that Lexi Grace and Dr. C were well, but they couldn't get me in for an appointment with any of the other doctors until the following week. So I went back home a little disappointed that Dr. C wouldn't be delivering me and frustrated that I couldn't get in to see a doctor.
I returned the next week on June 29 for my very last check up. As soon as I got there, my favorite nurse took Russ and I to the back examination room and sat us down with a very serious look on her face. She then told us some devastating news. Dr. C's baby had only lived for one day and then died. Tears swelled in my eyes. Lexi Grace had died. A precious, beautiful, innocent baby died. If Dr. C's baby can die, then my baby can die. "What if my baby doesn't make it?" kept swirling around in my head. The doctor came in and checked me over and took my blood pressure and announced that I had preeclampsia and I was to go to the hospital to be induced now. I had no time to think such negative things now. It was time for my Lexi to be born and my condition was critical.
As soon as I got to the hospital they were ready to prep me for delivery. I got there sometime around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. The nurse-who was an incredible and hilarious lady and who got me through the whole thing with a ton of laughter-told me there was no way I would have her tonight since most first time moms are in labor for 12+ hours. She barely gave me the inducing hormones and boom I was ready for my water to be broken. That was a painless procedure, but what happened after that were the most painful contractions. After enduring probably 3 minutes and 30 seconds of them, I was nice and ready for the epidural. Of course the epidural people didn't get there for an hour so I basically told everyone in the room how much I hated them for an hour, cursed Eve, and then went on a spill about how women who do this thing naturally are crazy. Finally the epidural people arrived and I was one happy camper. Before I knew it, it was time for me to begin the pushing. 1 hour of that hard work and my Lexi, 8lbs 3oz, had arrived. For the record: Total delivery time=5 hours. I did not poop on the table.
I was so lucky because my Lexi was as healthy as could be and she was the most beautiful and perfect thing I have ever laid eyes on-squished nose and all. In fact, she was released from the hospital before me. She was released after 2 days and I had to stay there for 4 days. The nurses were great though and let Lexi stay with me as long as Russ was there. I was incredibly sick and very thankful that Russ was there to take care of Lexi while I tried to recover. I couldn't have done it without him. I lost 30 pounds in water and baby while I was there to give you an idea of how swollen and sick I really was.
For the first few weeks of Lexi's life I would hold her and think about how I was given this beautiful blessing that I completely do not deserve. I could not wrap my head around the fact that Dr. C., a wonderful Christian lady, married to a loving husband, planned their beautiful Lexi Grace and their baby was taken from them without explanation and here I am with a beautiful girl that I feel completely unworthy of. I don't understand why certain things happen, but I will tell you this. To this day every time I look at my Lexi I see a bit of the other Lexi Grace in her and I hold her tight and appreciate every second that God is gifting me with of her amazing presence. I will never ever take my Lexi for granted. You never know how much time you have with the people you love. And Lexi is the greatest blessing I have ever been given in my life. Dr. C's Lexi Grace will never be forgotten.
Epilogue:
I have since been back to see Dr. C for my post-pregnancy check up. She returned to work after 6 weeks of being off and she seemed like she was dealing with things as best as anyone could. My blood pressure finally went back down to normal. Lexi is absolutely thriving. Did I mention that I am the most blessed momma on this planet? Russ is now in Oklahoma working. I am doing this whole raising a baby thing on my own (with the help of my in-laws, my momma, 2 awesome baby sitters, Ms. Debbie, and some awesome friends. Thank you all! You all make my life so much easier!) which is something I didn't really plan, but I am making it work. Oh and I'm also a full time student. I am determined to finish my degree so that I can get a really good job to support Lexi. My life is absolutely crazy, but I still absorb each and every moment with my precious baby girl. And when I get frustrated with my situation I stop and remember Lexi Grace and then I remember how incredibly blessed my life is.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Rolling
Alexis has become quite the pro at rolling over from her tummy to her back, but she has not quite figured out the reverse of that. I woke up this morning at 4:00 am to the strangest cry coming from her room-it sounded like she was talking in her sleep, but with a complaining voice. She normally doesn't wake up that early so it freaked me out and I jumped out of bed and ran into her room. There she was laying on her back in her crib. She must have rolled over in her sleep and then got stuck. So I turned her over on her stomach and she instantly fell back asleep and has remained that way. What a silly baby:)
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
12 Weeks Old
My how time is flying. I am the most blessed person on this planet to get to wake up to my beautiful baby girl everyday. She is really starting to smile a lot! She smiles at me when I talk to her. She smiles at her elephant-her favorite toy. She smiles at the microwave when she knows she is about to get food. She smiles randomly when a funny thought comes to mind. She smiles at grandma. Her smile is adorable. She has little dimples and sometimes she scrunches up her nose and sticks out her tongue when smiling. It makes all of my worries and troubles disappear and time vanishes and the world vanishes and it's just her and I.
This is what love is.
This is what love is.
Friday, September 9, 2011
10 Weeks Old
I switched Alexis over to soy formula today. It seems to have helped her acid reflux a lot! I did not have to give her any medicine all day! I think the poor baby is lactose intolerant. (We had her on Similac Sensitive before). Her pediatrician wanted to put her on Enfamil A.R. We tried that and it was a complete disaster. She screamed and cried for an entire day. That's when I had the suspicion that she might be lactose intolerant. The Similac sensitive has enzymes that help break down lactose so that it is easily digested, where as the Enfamil is cow's milk based with added rice. So soy is solving our problems! I was afraid of it because I have heard so many negative things about it, but I did my homework and found that it actually has some advantages over the cow's milk. Thank goodness they make these kinds of formulas now days!
A Piece of Knowledge I Have Gained:
One thing I have learned about being a mom is that everyone is giving you advice all the time and criticizing your parenting methods. I think the best thing you can do is take everything with a grain of salt and do what feels best for you and your baby. Mothers have instincts, so listen to them and follow them. You know your baby better than anyone else and every baby is different.
Lexi's New Developments This Week:
1. She has started this new thing in the bath tub where she wiggles her whole body and splashes most of the water out of the tub with her hands and feet. I have to have a stack of towels to dry off the kitchen after she is done. Her eyes get really big and she purses her lips with pure content when she is doing it. I have a front row seat in the splash zone, but I don't mind because I get about as much enjoyment as she does just watching her.
2. She is focusing really hard on her hand coordination. She keeps making her hands into fists and staring at them and occasionally she accidentally punches herself in the face. Today she kept reaching out for a rattle I was holding. She worked on getting that rattle for about an hour and she started getting really good at it.
3. Feet are cool. She loves her feet. She stares at them a lot these days and touches them with her hands. She tries to get them to her mouth but there is just a little too much belly in between:)
4. She is making more and more noises. If I mimic her sounds she repeats them back to me and we have a conversation in baby talk.
A Piece of Knowledge I Have Gained:
One thing I have learned about being a mom is that everyone is giving you advice all the time and criticizing your parenting methods. I think the best thing you can do is take everything with a grain of salt and do what feels best for you and your baby. Mothers have instincts, so listen to them and follow them. You know your baby better than anyone else and every baby is different.
Lexi's New Developments This Week:
1. She has started this new thing in the bath tub where she wiggles her whole body and splashes most of the water out of the tub with her hands and feet. I have to have a stack of towels to dry off the kitchen after she is done. Her eyes get really big and she purses her lips with pure content when she is doing it. I have a front row seat in the splash zone, but I don't mind because I get about as much enjoyment as she does just watching her.
2. She is focusing really hard on her hand coordination. She keeps making her hands into fists and staring at them and occasionally she accidentally punches herself in the face. Today she kept reaching out for a rattle I was holding. She worked on getting that rattle for about an hour and she started getting really good at it.
3. Feet are cool. She loves her feet. She stares at them a lot these days and touches them with her hands. She tries to get them to her mouth but there is just a little too much belly in between:)
4. She is making more and more noises. If I mimic her sounds she repeats them back to me and we have a conversation in baby talk.
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