Some more October pictures :)

Our camera deperately needs a charging so I can get some new pictures! We were just noticing today that Eva is growing out of her changing table already! :) Thank goodness we got it for $10, so its not a big deal. I was just realizing that we furnished Eva's room for $60. We paid $10 for the changing table and $50 for the rocker. Izzy gave us the crib for a baby present and one of the Baileys neighbors gave us the dresser.

This past Friday, Eva and I went to a rummage sale and it was so fun! Crazy, cold, but fun. Izzy came along to help out with Eva. We got several pairs of jeans for $1 each, a bag of clothes for Eva for $7, some CDs and DVDs for $1 each, set of the Bobbsey Twins books for 50 cents each, a jewelry box for Eva for $3, and the list goes on. All in all, it was well worth our time. :)

Little Miss is rolling all over the place. She just won't stop for anything. :) Since we are doing baby led weaning, we have started introducing a couple of foods for her to play with. At this point, it is about learning and not really about nutrition. I know she is ready for more solids, so we are introducing them as fast as we can while we still watch for allergies.

She is not eating as much as I would like during the day because of her teeth, so she is waking up a lot to eat. It doesn't really bother me because they are basically a dream feed and I can study while holding her. :) I could numb her gums up or give her Tylenol during the day, but I'm really reluctant to stick medicine or drugs in a body that is not my own.

Pray for me that I can continue to be a testimony to some ladies that I have been communicating with online. They are all Christians and it is a great encouragement to hear from other Christians that are like minded and open. I want to be a testimony to them like they have been to me.

I am currently working 4 days a week and I love having Wednesdays off, a nice break in the middle of the week. We've been staying busy with lots of play dates to get some interaction for Megan and Nicholas.

At the end of the month, I'll be hitting a kids consignment sale in our area for some more winter clothes for Eva. She still has lots of dresses and leggings to go with the dresses, but she really needs some pants and shirts for the days when it has been super cold. I'll also have my eye out for some hats and socks. She is still not fitting shoes, her feet are still too chubby. :)

Working my way through school has been really hard with everything else going on. Between work, school, my house, teething Eva, and Stephen, my life has been nothing less than one big race. Mom keeps reminding me to prioritize, but that is much easier said than done. When Stephen is home, I want to be with him. But since I just got home from work, I really need to make dinner. But I'm behind on school, so I need to do that. Ugh. Like I said, prioritizing is much easier said than done. This weekend has been good because I've gotten more done than normal. I'm only 2 chapters behind instead of 7. You still can't see my couch because of all the clean laundry, BUT my kitchen counters are showing. I have two laundry baskets full of clean laundry that IS folded and not put away, BUT I have a sleeping baby and a happy husband. I think I'm doing okay...for now. :)

Until next time...

News for September 2010

Well little miss has decided that she wants to start rolling and not stop. Until this week, she had rolled over precisely once from back to front. Now she won't stop. Tonight in fact, I found her face down on the mattress with her head in her hands. Its really scaring me, but hopefully she will figure out that the nose has to face out in order to breathe. :)

She is sitting up very well. She still gets distracted and then topples over but it gets a little better every day. She is still waking up once a night to feed, but it is around 4 which is about 9 hours after bed time. She sleeps 12-14 hours total at night now. We are down to 2 naps a day and since she has started the rolling over, we had to dump the swaddle cold turkey. She must have been ready for it because she seems to be sleeping okay with out it. When she gets distracted, she still needs it. However that typically happens when she is around other kids and I don't mind swaddling then because I typically hold her then.



We have LOTS of talking. Its so fun to hear her voice. The other day when Stephen and I were getting flu shots, she said "mama!" It was very exciting even though I know she has no idea what that means yet. Stephen keeps coaching her, honestly I think he was even more excited than I was.

Stephen's hours have been cut back at work, so I have had to work 4 days a week now. I am taking care of the sweetest little girl named Megan. She adores Eva and they get along so well. I am really happy for that and I am loving the job so far.

We attended another church and we LOVED it. We were able to spend the weekend with Ryan and Mary and go to church with them. It is always such a blessing to meet other Christians from all over the world.

We got Eva's 6 month pictures, the last ones until 9 months. We are planning on getting some family ones for 9 months. :)

Until next time...

First Smile, Back to Work, Slept Through the Night

We got our first smile from Evie on Saturday, April 17 at 6 weeks, 1 day. Pumpkin was singing I Have A Friend Named Jesus in Spanish to her while we were sitting on the couch together and she gave us a big toothless grin. Words cannot describe how proud and happy that little smile makes me every time!

On Sunday, the 18th, we made it down the Fredericksburg for the first time since she was born. She got to meet all her new friends and family and we got to see some more smiles. We didn't get home until late Sunday night, which made Monday morning come a little early.

On the Monday, I went back to work for two hours. It was a lot of fun and it wouldn't have even been that bad, except I was so tired. But Evie was in a good mood and blessed me with many smiles. Also the children I was with are 6 and 4, so they are pretty self sufficient, so that made it a lot easier.

Tuesday night, last night, Evie slept through the night! Sleeping through the night as defined by the pediatrician is 5 hours in a row and we made it to 5 1/2. She slept from 9pm-2:30am. While 2:30 is hardly morning, she fed from 2:30-3:15, slept from 3:15-5:30 (I think she was still hungry when she went back to sleep at 3:15) and then from 6-8:45. Dr. Ben said that during the last part of the night, the amount she sleeps will probably shorten, but I was just extremely happy with 5 1/2 hours! I remember going to sleep at 10:30 and thinking, "She went to sleep at 9, so she will probably be awake at midnight." And then when I went into the kitchen to get her bottle, I saw the time (2:30) on the microwave. I thought, "That must be the leftover time from the last time we used the microwave." So I pressed clear and nope! She really had slept that long!

Today, Wednesday, I think we are going to go out. I really need some tshirts. All my clothes are more dressy and I don't have as many occasions for that anymore. :) Until next time...

Lots of firsts for the Bailey family

This Sunday was our first time out to meeting. It was a gorgeous day, so we got to have meeting outside! Evie did great, slept through most of meeting and right at 3 hours (12noon), she was awake and ready to feed! She slept through lunch and part of the afternoon in my ring sling until her afternoon feeding at 2:30/3:00. Because of the rough night the night before, we napped together on the Mayers couch after her 2:30 feeding until her 5:30 feeding. We fed her at the restaurant for her 8:30 feeding and were home in time for the 11:30. Thankfully that night she went down nice and easy!

She's adapting well to the three hour schedule and it's wonderful to be able to plan the day. Of course, since she is a baby, we do make occasional deviations when she gets hungry a little sooner. These adjustments normally happen in the late afternoon/early evening because that is her fussiest time of the day. However, she is occasionally sleeping four hours at night. Hopefully we will be able to keep this up!

In an effort not to be a paranoid first time mom, I waited out the weekend before making the appointment. Today Dr. Ben saw Evie and she has been diagnosed with silent reflux. If I had not had the experience with Nicholas, I probably would have chalked it up to colic, but she was in genuine pain during a lot of the feedings. It's no fun to try to feed your baby and for them to be arching their back and neck in pain. So as of today, she is on Maalox and Zantac. Hopefully she will be back to her normal happy self in a couple of days or a week.

Today was also the first day I got some errands done with her along. I fed her at 9am before leaving for her 9:30 appointment. After her appointment (we were early?!), we dropped off her prescription for Zantac off at CVS (thank heaven for the drive-thru!), we did some returns at Target, strolled around for a while, picked up two more different kinds of bottles to try (Dr. Browns and BornFree), and then we were back to CVS just in time to pick up the prescription. She woke up right as I was signing for her prescription (it was noon, so it had been exactly 3 hours since she had eaten last), so I fed her in the CVS parking lot in the van. She went right back to sleep and slept until 3. Just finished her feeding and she is back to sleep, cuddling with me.

I'm getting excited about returning to work. She will be 5 weeks on Friday, so I am definitely looking that direction. I can't wait to see N interact with Evie. :)

This weekend we are doing family pictures with Mary S. She did Eva's newborn pictures and this time it will be the Linder family (Mom and Dad, Elliot, Nate & MJ, Pumpkin, Evie, & myself). Can't wait for a fun time!

Any Day Now

Today I am 38 weeks, 5 days pregnant! We are expecting and anxiously awaiting the new addition to our family, little Miss Evie. As exhausted as I know we will be, I can't wait to finally hold my little girl and see Pumpkin's face when he gets to hold his baby for the first time.

Yesterday, at my doctor's appointment, the doctor found that I am 80-90% effaced, but not dilated yet. He did say that my bump is "all baby." And despite my horrible genes (thanks, Mom :-)), he thinks I will be able to skip the c-section. Evie is head down and ready to go. She likes to push her little buns up under my ribs. I'm really going to miss that when she's out of here. Hopefully we will see some progress in the next couple of days.

Evie's room is all done and I have been too tired to even think about nesting anymore. Thankfully Pumpkin has been the wonderful husband that I know he is and has really stepped up to the plate the last couple of weeks. The dinner dishes, the bathroom, and the vacuuming would go completely undone if it weren't for him.

We have had a lot of company, at least more than I expected to be having in the last couple of weeks. We were able to have Ryan, Mary, & Madi over for a night of lots of laughs, as usual. We also have had Nate & MJ over several times. And if Evie decides to delay her arrival, then hopefully we will be seeing James & Briana next week. Briana is due 2 weeks after I am, so it's always fun to get together and compare bumps and pregnancy symptoms.

I am still working, hoping to continue this until I go into labor. I keep having dreams that my boss ends up having to take me to work, so hopefully this Thursday will be the day? It's been good for me to keep working. It gets me out of the house and I love see my little Nicky.

And for the last item on the agenda, the snow is melting! Dulles, about 3 miles from our house, has had 79.5 inches of snow this year. Just a little much, especially for Northern Virginia. And although I am happy about the snow melting, getting down the hill into the door is becoming quite the hazard, even more so than the ice was. Spring is coming!