Back to Reality

It has been a busy week with my return to work, but we are slowly finding the balance between baby world and grown-up world. I’ve only gone through one box of Kleenex, much less than I expected. ;)  I think I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.  Here’s our week in pictures…

In her gator outfit for her friend Jackson’s birthday party while paying homage to Spiffer’s Greenbrook Gators!

We have conquered our first day of my going back to work with only Mama having a minor breakdown on Monday morning…Baby Girl was happy as a lark with her Grandma Jeanne and Geggy. John and HG bought me a very sweet “back-to-work” gift, a beautiful DY bracelet, although John gives HG all the credit for picking it out. ;)  On Tuesday, I asked John to drop her off for me at his mom’s so that I didn’t have to be responsible for the physical hand-over, and that arrangement worked MUCH better. On Thursday, I didn’t even cry as I said goodbye to her at home…maybe because I had all of Wednesday to cuddle with her and get my “fix.”  Here are some pics from Monday after we picked up HG. I literally didn’t put her down that night until I laid her in her crib for bedtime! Pathetic!

Doty invited us to come to a First Time Moms group, and we had a great time getting to visit with other moms and babies born in 2009. Caroline and Helen Grace got to capture their first picture together. The first time they met Caroline was asleep and HG was pitching a fit, but they were much more cooperative at this meeting! It was neat to look around the room and watch a 4-month old and 6-month old and get excited about all the new things to come- sitting up, attempting to talk, etc.  As much as I can’t wait for those fun stages, I have to admit that I loved sitting there, rocking and cuddling my baby who was content to be held. I think I will be a little sad when she’s ready to get out of my lap and run away from me to go play! :)

All tuckered out!

Helen Grace has become extremely alert and loves to smile and laugh. She’s trying out her voice a lot more now, and I love it when she surprises herself with the noise! She’s close to being able to hold a rattle. She will reach for it but hasn’t gotten the grasp part down yet. She weighs almost 12 pounds!

We are making our first day trip to Jackson, MS, on Saturday to introduce Helen Grace to my grandmama, GG, and to celebrate Adickes Thomas’ 3rd birthday (wow, she’s grown up fast!). Please pray that HG will sleep the whole way and be content. She can’t wait to see her aunties and visit with family!

Thank you, Bubba!

My sweet Bubba (my daddy’s mama) made this cutie patootie bubble for Helen Grace with a bunny rabbit on it, and I’m so happy that it finally fits her!

HG does this adorable little stretching thing when she wakes up, and she scrunches up her face. So cute! HG’s first time to ride on her daddy’s shoulders…for some reason, I don’t think this will be the last time either. At least she only weighs 10 pounds now. He better enjoy it while she’s itty bitty and not very heavy! (The cords are from the belt that we plug into her apnea machine at night.)

Family, Bumbo, Sleeping, and Dress-Up

Helen Grace enjoyed getting to meet her Aunt Sharon, Uncle Rod, and cousin Meredith while they were in town for Ryves’ white coat ceremony. While I wasn’t able to make it to Jackson to be a part of the celebration for his getting into med school, I have to brag on my little cousin…we are so proud of you, Dr. Fuzzball!!!

Helen Grace tried out her Bumbo seat for the first time this week. She likes it for the first few minutes, as her head bobs back and forth, but then she realizes she is sitting up on her own and she starts squealing. Very funny!  

  This child has barely been able to keep her eyes open this week….

All dressed up…we’re still working our way through all those cutie patootie outfits we have been given by our sweet friends and family!

 

And finally, good news on the work front…my boss is willing to work with me on a part-time schedule! HG will stay with Ms. Jeanne on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and I will be home with her on Wednesday and Friday so that Ms. Jeanne can work a few days too. I think this arrangement will be the best of both worlds for all of us! This is making the back-to-work adjustment a LOT easier to swallow.

Weaning Is Not For Sissies

Warning: Men, proceed at your own risk. This post is for ladies only, so if you read on and are grossed out, it’s completely your own fault- I warned you!

So I should have done some more research before weaning from breastfeeding. This process is painful!! If I had known it was going to be this bad, I might have considered breastfeeding until I had our next baby- and you know how much I hated pumping, so it must be bad! :) I’m only kind of kidding…although I did call my doctor to ask about the shot they used to give women to stop milk production, but they no longer do that for some reason.

For those of you that will be facing this in the near future, please learn from my mistakes and spend a little more time preparing than I did. Talk to your doctor, ask your lactation nurses lots of questions, and read up on breastfeeding, as well as weaning. I put that research off during my pregnancy because I was getting so overwhelmed, and when Helen Grace arrived a month early, I never got to pick up that breastfeeding book again…and I have paid the price!

Here are some tips I have learned:

• Gradually reduce feedings or pumpings. I thought that you were supposed to just stop for good, deal with the pain for a day, and your milk would dry up. Not so much. I have read that you need to reduce your feedings/pumpings by one time for a three day period and then reduce by one more for another three days, etc. I had been pumping 5-6 times a day, and I made it almost 20 hours before I had to give in and pump a little bit to ease the pain. The first two days that I weaned, I pumped twice a day to ease the pain and only pumped about 1/3 of what I would have done. The last two days, I have only pumped once a day, and I am finally feeling better. Be careful not to pump too much, or your body will continue to produce the milk.
• Find some green cabbage. I know it sounds crazy. John and my dad thought I had fallen off the looney wagon, but every article or website I read mentions how helpful they are. Keep the cabbage cold, and stuff the leaves in your bra. Only remove  them after they have wilted. The articles also say that the cabbage will stop your milk production, so they warn against using them until you are sure you are ready to stop. From my experience, I don’t feel like they were a miracle cure to stop production, but I also don’t have anything to compare it to. I will try anything, and at least the cold feels good! I wore them for a few days until I could no longer stand the smell.
• Ice packs will help a lot too. The cold will reduce the milk production.
• Hot showers help although this will cause your milk to express, so I worried about doing it too often and creating an increase in production.
• The full-dose birth control pills will reduce your milk production as well because of the estrogen in the pills. Your doctor will put you on the mini pill if you are still breastfeeding. The mini dose has only progesterone, not estrogen. Mine would not write the script for the full dose of pills until I was sure I wanted to stop breastfeeding. This caused a few days lag to get the script, fill it, and let the estrogen kick in. I wish I had known that the pills would help, and I would have pushed my doctor harder to get the script sooner.
• Tylenol is your friend. Take it as often as you can, and it will help with the inflammation and the achiness.
• If you notice hot, red splotches, try to pump more often. These also could be signs of breast infection- especially if they are feverish- and definitely something you want to avoid. If you have the splotches and start feeling like you have the flu, high tail it to the doctor’s office.
• Sports bra- enough said. Wear it all the time. It will be your best friend.
• And most importantly, mentally and physically give yourself enough time to calmly walk through this process. I thought it would just take a day or two and was trying to get ready for work this coming Monday, so I about had a STROKE when I realized it could take up to a week or two or even a month if you correctly follow the schedule for dropping feedings. I am on Day 4 now, and I finally feel comfortable enough to leave the house and not worry about smelling like cabbage, leaking (although I’m still wearing pads), or being in pain. There IS a light at the end of the tunnel, I promise!

And since I have thrown all this stressful stuff at you, the least I could do is leave you with a pic of my smiling princess. She is such a joy!

The Time Has Come

It’s been a great week at the Toohig house, but my time to return to work is quickly approaching. I am extremely grateful to have had 12 weeks at home, and now I’m trying to soak in every second with Helen Grace! We’ve been having lots of lunch dates with friends and family and making many appointments with various service professionals- lawn guys, bug man, carpenters, etc.- to get all of those tasks completed around the house that we’ve been meaning to do for months. You know I am a Virgo, and I have to get some of my to-do list done before I go back to work with a clear mind. At least I have finally finished my thank you notes! I am so embarrassed it has taken me almost three months!

Since I’ll be going back to work on the 17th, I am going to stop breastfeeding this week. I have very mixed feelings about quitting. I have never been in love with the whole process (you all know I despise feeling like a cow), but I hate to think that once I quit, I won’t be able to start back. I love knowing how good it is for HG, and being able to give her my milk makes me feel like a good mama. But I just don’t think that nursing in the office and storing milk in the fridge at work will go over so well with the guys! Plus, I do look forward to having a little more freedom and not constantly watching the clock, calculating the next time to pump. When I start feeling sad about quitting, I will just have to remind myself how nice it will be to sleep through the night without having to get up and pump.  If Helen Grace can sleep all night, why can’t I?!

One thing I have learned over the last two months is the importance of quality burp cloths- and you need a TON of them! My friend, Karen, gave me some of her stylish creations when HG was born, and I LOVE them. You must check out her website, CottonBelle Designs.

My cousin, Ryves, is beginning medical school this fall (praise the Lord!), and my family from Florida came to town for his white coat ceremony. Bubba, Uncle Rod, Aunt Sharon, and Meredith came over on Friday afternoon to meet Helen Grace, and we had such a good time! I love watching my family meet her for the first time. It’s amazing to think that this moment was the very beginning of Helen Grace’s lifelong relationship with them. Pictures coming soon!

Last night, I had a funny moment in the wee hours of the morning. I was sitting in the rocker in the nursery, feeding HG, and Rebel wanders in the room as usual. He’s never far away! Instead of sitting on the foot stool or on the floor like he usually does, he decided to hop into my lap and settled on my hip, kneading like crazy. There I was with a baby on one side  of my lap and a fat cat on the other. A few minutes later, Mocha joins us in the nursery and tries to hop up in my lap as well. Unfortunately, the chair had reached its occupancy load, and he was not welcome! He was not happy to be left out of the party! I guarantee you that he will race his brother upstairs tonight to make sure he gets the lap seat!

I’ve been brainstorming about how I felt about being pregnant and not being pregnant…

Things I loved about being pregnant:

• Feeling her move was the most amazing sensation I have ever experienced. I wish that would never end…although I did think twice about it when her heel would get stuck under my rib! ;)
• Having her with me all the time. I loved the bump!
• Seeing my doctor often and being able to get my questions answered on a regular basis.
• Getting sneak peeks at HG through ultrasounds
• Wearing elastic wastebands. Man, if it were cool to wear elastic wastebands in work pants, I might never go back to my normal clothes! Those pants were so much more comfortable!
• Having strong fingernails. I got spoiled by not breaking a nail for months.
• Having a great excuse to get a pedicure since I couldn’t reach my toes!

Things I love about not being pregnant:

• Not freaking out when I stumble. After so many months of being so cautious of my tummy, it’s odd to stumble and not panic about landing on your tummy. I can be my clumsy self again without worry!
• Sleeping on my tummy. I didn’t realize how much I missed that.
• Seeing Helen Grace and realizing that John and I are creating our own family and will one day have our own grandchildren and hopefully great-grandchildren. We can’t wait to see how God will bless our little family!
• Watching John and our family go crazy over her. It is stinking adorable!
• Drinking as many Cokes as I want to…and eating all the sugar I desire! And I look forward to taking any medicine I want as soon as I stop breastfeeding. Advil, here I come!

Here are some pics from our week…

Spif can’t get enough of her baby girl.Bubba and I went to Tupelo to have lunch with Helen, Carrie, and Ella Catherine, who is HG’s third cousin (if I am doing the math correctly).Helen Grace is finally recognizing us and smiling like crazy. It is so rewarding and makes me cry every time! Ms. Carole gave Helen Grace the cutest little ballerina dress, and while the outfit was way excessive for the occasion, I dolled her up for a lunch date with Ms. Jill. (I am realizing how quickly she is outgrowing her adorable outfits- so sad!) HG was a great sport about it. Maybe she will end up being a girly girl after all! If so, let’s hope she’ll still be good at soccer, for her Daddy’s sake.Enjoying a lunch with the girls.Pooped after a long day of being so cute- it’s exhausting!

Oh My, How You’ve Grown!

Our precious baby girl turned two months old on July 25th! Look how big she’s gotten! She’s almost twice as big as the hippo.

Compare this picture taken in early June when she was one week old to the next one….This picture was taken this week on her two month birthday. I’m smiling all the time now…and it’s not just gas!

 

We went to see Dr. Barrett today for her two month check up and four vaccines. Three were shots and one was given by oral drops. She now weighs 10 pounds, 3 ounces (70th percentile for an actual two month old versus her adjusted age of 6 weeks due to her being born early), and she is 21.5 inches long (50th percentile for a two month old). I was so scared about the shots, but she was such a big girl! Her daddy held her hands and she let out a big yelp and got all red right afterward, but then she calmed down and was alright. She has slept ALL afternoon, but a little squirt of Tylenol seems to help ease her pain and help her rest.

This picture was taken at her 2 week check up….…and this one is from her 2 month visit today. 

Helen Grace’s neck has gotten so strong, and she can balance like crazy. She’ll be sitting up in her Bumbo seat before we know it!   

We have finally gotten the hang of her sleep apnea monitor, and we haven’t had any alarms since the beginning.  Hooray! She is still sleeping about 6-8 hours a night, and every night or two, we’ll have to get up around 3 a.m. to put her paci back in her mouth. She has also started scooting around in the bed in the middle of the night, and when we go to get her up, she is completely sideways in her bed and has scooted out of her burrito. She’ll do the same thing when she and John are snoozing on the couch. She starts off one way and will shimmy until she is completely perpendicular.

 

Helen Grace is finally fitting in her shoes! Well, these shoes are for newborns up to 6 weeks old, but still, she fits in them! She kind of kicked her feet around when I first put them on her. I guess it would be a weird sensation if you’d never had anything on your feet before! I got so excited when I realized that they fit that I had a big photo shoot with her wearing them for the first time. Sorry for the cheese! Rebel and Mocha had to get involved too. Wouldn’t want to leave them out! After we got all dressed up, we went to see Bubba for lunch. (This outfit is the one my mom and dad gave us when we found out she was a girl. I’ve been waiting a LONG TIME to put it on her!)

Imagine my surprise when I found a package for Helen Grace in my mailbox from the national Delta Gamma president! It’s never to early to start rushing, right? Thanks, sweet Beth!

 

And, finally, here are some pics that I took during our bedtime routine this week. Rebel is constantly following Helen Grace around (except when she starts crying), and he’s always on the foot stool or at my feet when we are in the nursery.   

 

P.S. Neal, if you think this post is over the top, you should have seen the pics that John made me take out!