My First Mother's Day

Summer & Mommy
My little doll
Still sleeping...
Melody, Granny, Summer & Pepaw
Summer & Sandra

Yesterday, Summer and I went to my Aunt Sandra's house to spend Mother's Day with family. Clint came too after he got off of work. We had a really good time visiting with everyone. Summer was passed around and around and around all day long. Everyone was admiring my precious little baby all day. She was really good...of course she was asleep most of the time.

One funny thing did happen. I was changing her diaper and my Aunt Melody said something about her peeing. I was like, "She's not going to pee." Then she had to go and prove me wrong. She peed all over the mat I had her on (which did not soak up the pee...I think it must be waterproof...LOL). I guess I should've put a lap pad on top of it first, but I'll know next time. The pee went all the way up her back, so I had to change her clothes. When I got home, I changed her diaper and she did it again. Thankfully the lap pad on my changing table soaked it all up!

Last night I got a little emotional on Clint. He gave me a card from Summer that was really sweet. It was really a birthday card for a mom, but he had crossed out the word birthday and wrote 1st Mother's Day. He said he couldn't find a Mother's Day card he liked, but I think he just found the birthday card aisle first...LOL. Then we started talking about Summer, and how sometimes you never really know what you want until you get it. It made me happy because I can see how much he loves Summer and how much she means to him. I know exactly how he feels. He told me he is happy that he will have her to love him when he gets old. We are so lucky to have her in our lives. She is truly a gift from God.

Hiccups!

I must say I never expected a baby to get the hiccups so much.  Summer has them at least 4 or 5 times a day...maybe even more.  I haven't been counting to see how many times it really is.  Sometimes she wakes up with them; sometimes she goes to sleep with them.  I can remember the last time she had them while I was still pregnant.  I woke up Thursday morning (May 4) around 5:00 with her hiccupping.  I told Clint to feel my belly because it might be the last time she had the hiccups while she was still in me....and it was.  Now she has the hiccups every time I turn around.  The other day she had them, and I started feeding her.  Clint told me not to feed her until they went away because he was scared it might hurt her.  But, I fed her anyway and they went away while she was eating.  He made it a point to ask the pediatrician about it when we went on Thursday.  The pediatrician said it was okay and would not hurt her.  He didn't seem surprised when we told him she was hiccuping all the time, so it must be normal for babies. 

Summer's 1st Doctor Visit

7lb. 6 oz.
Two cuties
She's crying!
Now she's not.
Look at her hair!
Summer had her first doctor visit on Thursday morning (5 days old). She weighed 7 lb. 6 oz. It seemed like Dr. Wood expected she would weigh less, but he was happy she weighed what she did. He said everything looked good. I weight myself while I was there to see how much weight I lost after giving birth to Summer. I weighed 136 which is only 5 pounds more than I weighed when I found out I was pregnant--YEAH! Back to Summer...the doctor said she was a little yellow, but it wasn't anything he was worried about. We have to go back in two weeks to for another check-up then again when she is 2 months old. Clint got Summer dressed and undressed for the doctor while I worked the video camera. I got some good pictures of him holding Summer while we were waiting for the doctor to see us. After the doctor had checked her out, Clint was putting on her onesie and she let something rip...LOL. It was really loud and even the doctor and nurse in the hall said they heard it. Clint threw her onesie down and acted like he didn't hear anything...I don't think he wanted to change the diaper. :) I had to send Clint out to the car for the diaper bag so we could change her diaper before we left. After we got her dressed, we headed to Home Depot and the bank so Clint could get some errands out of the way. I fed Summer in the back seat of the car while we were waiting and then we headed home. Enjoy the pics of Daddy and Summer!

It's Getting Better Everyday

I just finished giving Summer her 2nd bath. I put her footprints in her baby book, but I have not done her handprints yet. I don't know if I am going to use the same ink pad as I did for her feet (I got it from the hospital) because it is hard to get the ink off after you are done. She even has some on her legs from where she was kicking her feet a little...oh well. I guess eventually it will wear off. This bath was easier than the first because I did it while she was asleep. So, no crying at all--YEAH!!!

She is so adorable it is hard to take my eyes off of her for fear that I will miss something. I know I have to savor every moment because she is going to grow so fast. It is crazy how much you can love someone in so little time. I never imagined it would feel like this. Being a mom is so wonderful. It is kind of weird because instead of calling my husband Clint, I call him Daddy. He hasn't said anything about it...I wonder if he even notices. I'll have to ask him.

Last night was our best night yet. She slept at least 2 hours between each feeding and almost three and a half hours once. I put her in the bed at 5:15 a.m., and she did not get up until about 8:30 or so. :) I am also getting used to getting up with her so that makes it a lot easier too. The first few nights were pretty rough, and I started doubting myself. But, I am getting the hang of it now. Well, I best be getting back to her before I miss out on something.....

The Journey Begins

I'm not sure where to begin.  We brought Summer home on Monday.  Everything has been great...except some of the nightly feedings...LOL  We gave her a lotion bath on Tuesday which was not too bad.  She did cry, but she did not scream the whole time.  I will probably give her another bath this evening.  She is sleeping a lot, but not as much as she did in the hospital.  Two nights ago, I had two 1 hour long feedings which was not fun at all. The next morning I called my mom and she said it is time to give her a pacifier because she is just using my boob as the pacifier.  So, yesterday we tried the pacifier.   She is still getting used to it, but it is working.  When I was looking at buying a pacifier, I was thinking they were kind of expensive.  But now, I think I would pay $100 for one.  It is my new best friend.  I was really hesitant to give her one at first because I just wasn't ready to go there.  My mom assured me that it was better than letting her find her thumb.  She reminded me that I can take the pacifier away, but not the thumb.  Other than that, nursing is going pretty good.  

Summer is so precious!!!  I love it when she opens her eyes so I can look at them while I talk to her.  Those are the best times right now.  Well, she just fell asleep so I'm going to hop in the shower while I can.

Another Carseat Ordeal

We left the hospital yesterday around 1:00 p.m.  Before we could leave, the nurse had to check the carseat and walk us to the car.  This was not a good experience.  First she made me take out the head support because it was ????.  Then she commented that it didn't look fire resistant anyways.  So, she told me to put a receiving blanket around the baby's head.  This did nothing in the way of support...and it wasn't anymore fire resistant than the head support I had bought.  So, I was getting pretty upset.  Then we had to adjust the straps to fit Summer's body.  This was understandable and not a big deal.  But, she had started getting an attitude with us and I was not getting any happier either.  We get to the car, and she doesn't like the way the base is in the car.  So, we have to take it out so she can adjust the part that helps level out the carseat so the baby won't be leaning forward.  Well, she just changes it to completely the wrong way and tells us that it won't work with our car.  She then proceeds to tell us we need to go straight home because the baby's head is going to be leaning forward and I will need to sit by her (like I wasn't going to anyway???).  Then she says we need to go to Wal-Mart and buy one of those pool noodle floats and cut it into three pieces and put it under the carseat so Summer won't be leaning forward.  Oh my!!! I was pretty mad at this point because I knew the base was right in the first place and she is the one that readjusted it to where Summer's head was leaning forward.  By the time we got out of the parking lot, I was very upset.  I had to call my friend Selena to vent.  I asked her if she had left the same hospital with the head support in the carseat and she said she had.  I already knew that though I just wanted confirmation as to how crazy this nurse was.  It was she that was endangering my baby....not me.  So, we stopped at a restaurant, J Alexanders, to eat with our friends Jeff and Laurie.  I took the head support in with me and placed it back in the carseat where it belonged.  At our next stop, I took out the base and readjusted it to where Summer's head was in a safe postition and not leaning forward.  I told Clint that they need to drug test that woman because she had no idea what she was talking about.  I just couldn't get over how rude she was and then how she had messed the whole carseat up endangering my baby.  Not only that, but because I had to fix the carseat I had installed correctly in the first place, my back was killing me (and still is today).  Thanks a lot nurse!!!!  I had to call my mom and tell her the story.  She thought I should call the hospital and report the lady.  I eventually calmed down, but I'm not sure I will ever get completely over it.  Maybe when my back stops hurting me........

MY LABOR & DELIVERY

We went the hospital early on Saturday morning. We stopped at Hardees on the way for my first and last meal of the day. I'm glad we did because they would not let me eat anything (except Popsicles or jello) for the rest of the day. We got to the hospital and the nurse (Lisa) checked us in. She got the IV started about 8:30 and then the pitocin at 8:50. She checked me and I was still only 2 centimeters dilated and about 60% effaced. I labored all day, but was not in much pain until after they broke my water. Then the real pain started. I didn't want to get an epidural because I heard it can slow down dilation. So, I got some pain medication, "the loopy drug." I had two doses of it over 2 hours. I could still feel the contractions, but I didn't care because the top part of my body was feeling good (aka loopy). They checked me around 5:00, and I was only 3.5 centimeters dilated. So, I decided to go ahead and get the epidural around 6:00. I was in major pain before they finally got it started and was cursing that IV bag they had to get completely in me before they could start the epidural. My contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and off the chart. I could hardly sit still long enough for them to get the needle in my back because I was in so much pain. After they got it in, I felt immediate relief. I told the anesthesiologist that I know why women really like them after they get their epidurals...LOL Anyway, by 7:00 I was 7.5 centimeters dilated. By 9:00 I was fully dilated and ready to push. The nurse informed me that it was time to start pushing and my friends Selena and Amy left the room. I was only going to have Clint and my mom in the room for the delivery, but the next thing I knew I was pushing. So, my sister and Teresa got to stay for the whole thing too. I pushed for about 45-50 minutes and at 9:55 p.m. Summer was out and on my belly. I don't want to skip over the part about how hard pushing is...WOW! I thought it would be easy with the epidural, but it wasn't. By the time we could see her head, I was feeling a lot of pressure and a little pain. At this point, Clint started tearing up and becoming emotional. It was so sweet to see his reaction to her. They got the mirror out so I could see the top of her hairy head. I couldn't watch the whole time though because it didn't look to me like I was making much progress with every push. Everyone was telling me how great I was doing, but I just couldn't see it. So, I closed my eyes while I pushed. My epidural wore off immediately after delivery, and I had to get a local anesthetic before the doctor could finish sewing me up (OUCH!!!). Anyway, Summer's head was out for a good 2-3 minutes before the rest of her body. She wasn't crying or anything and I asked the doctor why (all the while freaking out inside). He said she was still breathing like she had been for the last 9 months (through the umbilical cord). I was relieved and a few pushes later she was all the way out. I had them put her on my belly immediately so we could have that bonding moment. I rubbed her hand and looked at her. My eyes teared up and I was filled with a joy that is indescribable. I highly recommend this. It is much better than them taking your baby to the other side of the room for a while before you actually get to look her over which is what they did next. I was left there to be sewn up and birth the placenta. Clint was so awesome throughout the whole day. He rubbed my leg while he counted during the pushing stage. This was nice because it helped take my mind off the pain I was in. He also stayed by my side a few minutes after she was born and then asked if he could go over to where she was. I thought that was really thoughtful of him to ask and not just desert me. Of course, I wanted him to go see her so I told him to go on. He came back to watch the placenta come out. All in all, she was worth every ounce of pain. She left me with a few painful reminders which have still not gone away...LOL.