Chunky Butt

We took Natalie to the doctor yesterday...she has a cold. My poor baby. The medicine they gave her seemed to help her sleep well at least. She is gaining some weight. Chad and I have been a little concerned about her maybe not getting enough to eat, because the Benadryl I took the other day dried my supply some, but she is gaining weight and doing great, so that made us feel a little better. She weighs 8lbs 15oz!!! She is in the 50th percentile for weight, and the 90th percentile for height, which is now 22in!!! My little girl is getting big!! It's hard to think that some babies are born this big...and bigger!!
Last night we reached a milestone...her first bath without throwing a fit! Chad gave her a bath, and instead of hearing the screams as she went in the water, there was silence...the WHOLE TIME! She loved it, and Chad was loving the fact that she was loving it...as was I. Bath time used to break my heart almost every night, because she acted like we were doing something horrible to her. But now she likes bath time...at least I hope. We will see if she continues to like it again tonight. (crossing my fingers)

Booger Baby

Well, it's happened, and I feel like a horrible mom...Natalie is sick. She started with somewhat of a stuffy nose last night and when she woke up crying to eat a few minutes ago, she was mostly breathing through her mouth because her nose was so runny! My poor baby. She has this different cry...it sounds so sad. I think she's saying "bad mommy" for obviously not taking care of her as well as I should be. Right? Because if I did, she wouldn't be sick...at least that is how I feel. It breaks my heart to hear her little nose every time she tries to breathe. I sat there and suctioned out as much as I could...it's pretty bad. I hope that she gets better soon. I don't want her to feel bad...ever. I know, I can't keep her in a bubble, although sometimes I really wish I could. I used to make fun of those mothers, you know, the germaphobes that don't want anyone or anything that hasn't basically bleached and sanitized their whole bodies around their baby??? Yeah, that's me...guilty. My poor child...she has a crazy mother.

I guess I will go back to bed now...Daddy is taking care of his little girl, and as much as I want to rip her out of his arms and take her into mine, I know he wants to take care of her as much as I do...so I am going to go back to bed. Maybe not back to sleep...but at least back to bed.

If you're reading this, say a little prayer for my baby to better and for all those boogers to go away. Thanks!

“The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank”

I just got home from a delicious steak dinner with my two brothers-in-law and Natalie. She was pretty well behaved at dinner...only a couple of crying episodes, but because she was hungry. Once I fed her she was great. I love her.
I have been thinking a lot this week about the last topic at our small group. One of the questions "Crazy Love" asks is 'What would be the first thing you would say to the Lord as you were standing before his throne?' Right away, the words 'thank you' came to my head. I have so much to be thankful for. My life has made a complete 180 in the past 5 or so years...I have made a complete 180. I have an amazing family, great friends, and have been blessed with a wonderful husband who loves me and loves God, and the most beautiful little girl that will grow up to know God and all that he has and will continue to bless her with. I am healthy for the most part, I am happy, and I am alive. Not just living, but truly ALIVE. So yes, the one most important thing I would have to say to our wonderful God as I stood before him would definitely be THANK YOU. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for this wonderful life you have given me, and thank you for loving me like only You can.
My 'thank you' would be followed by 'I'm sorry'. I'm sorry for taking it for granted so many times. I'm sorry for being selfish, and sometimes vain, and for forgetting that my life is not really mine. I'm sorry for trying to take a few turns in the opposite direction you were leading. I'm sorry for maybe not loving you enough.
So there it is....that is what I would say. What would you say?

It's time for me to try to clean up a little around the house (yes, at 10:30pm). Natalie is sleeping...for a little while at least...so I am going to take advantage of that and maybe get something done around here. I hate seeing my house in such a mess.

Signing out,

Moooooooooo

That is what I feel like...a cow. In every sense of the word. We've had a pretty hard time getting Natalie to sleep at night....but when we do get her to sleep, she sleeps through the night....most of the time. So I don't wake her up to eat, but since I am breastfeeding, I still have to get up and pump. I have to admit, I haven't been doing it lately, and it is really necessary to keep up my milk supply, so I am going to try harder to wake up even when she is sound asleep.
It is really important to both Chad and I to breastfeed Natalie rather than giver her formula because of all the benefits it has for her. So for as long as the good Lord gives me milk...or until she can talk (whichever comes first) Mommy's milk will be the only thing on the menu. That is, until I start introducing solids. :o)

So back to the cow thing...it's so amazing how God built women to be such "natural providers" for their children, but really, I feel like a cow. I've never milked a cow before, and I'm sure that cows aren't necessarily milked with pumps, but if I had and if they were, I'm sure this is what it would feel/look like. I have lost most of my pregnancy weight, but still haven't managed to lose all of it, so I decided to start weight watchers tomorrow and try to fit in some exercise during the day even if that means just taking a walk in the park with Natalie on most days. I really want to get back down to the size I was before (and smaller). I am going to set my goal to lose 10 lbs this month. Then I will set another goal for the next month, so wish me luck.

I am clocking back out for another 3 hours...back to dreamland I go.

"The worst feature of a new baby is its mother's singing”

This is sooo true...Chad is a lucky man that he works most of the day and doesn't have to be here to listen to me almost break windows while I'm singing to our daughter. I could do it forever though. I sometimes wonder if it hurts her ears as much as it hurts everyone else's, but then I look down and see her sleeping so peacefully and realize that all that matters to her is that she hears my voice and that I am close to her. I fed her and put her down for a nap. This is the time where everyone says I should also sleep, but I always sit there and stare at her for a few minutes after she falls asleep and somehow the sleepiness goes away and I am filled with this wonderful feeling. Being a mom has already exhausted me to no end and it's only been 6 weeks, but I wouldn't change it for the world. It is the most rewarding job I've had in my life...
She started smiling this week. Really smiling. She was smiling the first week she was born, but I don't think she knew what was going on around her. Now she smiles sometimes when I talk to her and play with her. It melts my heart to see that smile. It's already got me hooked and it's contagious. She smiles, and both Chad and I smile...
He is great with her...and with me...sometimes I think I don't deserve how great he is to me. I can be a little difficult to deal with. I am trying to get better...I am. But for now, he still puts up with me and is great with us. Watching him hold Natalie and talk to her is probably as equally amazing as just watching her, if not more. He gets this look on his face that I have never seen. It somewhat resembles the look he had on his face as I was walking down the isle to him, but different. He loves her...It shows in his eyes how much he loves her. It's amazing to watch them...amazing.



I am going to get something to eat before she wakes up again...maybe I will have some more to write later. I am sure that now I will keep my promise to write more...I have so much to share about Natalie that I don't want to keep inside.

Truly Blessed,

My last apology...

Wow, it's been a while since I have posted anything...I am sorry, once more. So much is new in my life...I gave birth to a beautiful little princess on December 9, 2009. Natalie Andrea Carroll weighed 6lbs, 8oz and was 19.5 inches long. She was 6 weeks old yesterday and I am loving every day with her. I could sit here and stare at her all day...she is so amazingly beautiful. God is so great....
I was registered for school this semester, and was planning on just taking 6 hours, but one of my classes got canceled last minute and there was no space available in any of the other classes. Soooo, I decided to just take the semester off, even though that is not really what I wanted to do. The good thing is that at least I will be able to stay home with my little angel and won't miss any of the "firsts". It also gives me some time to blog everyday hopefully. I think this will be a good way to document Natalie's first "coo" and first giggle, first word...I can't wait. Being a wife in itself was great, and now being a mommy is an even greater feeling. I thank God everyday for the family he has blessed me with. My husband and my daughter are my life and my heart, and everyday I wake up I thank God for allowing me another day with them.
Chad and I joined a small group at our church and met some wonderful people who I hope will be in our lives for a long time. In our group we are reading a book called "Crazy Love". I have only read two chapters, but so far this book is amazing and it really makes you think about life, yourself and God in a completely different way. I highly recommend it so far.

Well, mommy duty calls...Natalie is hungry. I will write more a little later.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Sorry...lol

Well, well, well...here I am...almost 2 months later. I am just going to have to keep apologizing for my negligence. Sorry....lol

A lot has happened since the last time I blogged. I started (and finished) summer school. I didn't do as well as I wanted (A,B,B), but according to people who have taken those classes regular term, that is good for summer term. I am registered for 14 hours for the fall so far. I may be adding some more classes to that for 18 hours. The original plan was 17, so that is not bad. I hope it goes well.

Something really great and important happened the day before my last blog that I don't think I wrote about. Chad was baptized as a follower of Jesus Christ. He has made such a spiritual turn around in his life in just the 5 years that I have known him. His heart is truly calling out for God to come into his life and do those great things that only He can do. I have faith that there are so many great things ahead of us and that God has great plans for us.

On July 16th, which was Chad's birthday, we had an ultrasound to see if we could find out the sex of the baby.....and we found out we are having a little GIRL!!! We are so excited. I have already gotten gifts from family and friends for the little princess and I am in the process of getting her nursery ready which she will be sharing with her big sister, Bailey. I will post pictures when it's all done. I am so excited to be having a little girl. I wanted a little girl so badly (I would have been just as happy with a little boy, but I wanted my little princess!! lol). I can't wait to meet her. I am now just over 19 weeks and we will have another ultrasound on Aug. 11th. I can't wait to see her again! She is so active! During the last 2 ultrasounds it was a little difficult to get any good pictures of her because she would not sit still! It's great that she is so active, I just wish that I could actually feel all of that movement. She only weighs 9oz right now, so all I can really feel is little flutters when she is swimming around. I can't wait to be able to feel her kick and also for daddy to feel her as well.

Another exciting thing going on is that we are taking another little vacation in a few days. Chad and I are taking the kids to New Orleans for a night and then going to Destin, FL for some BEACH TIME! I have never been, so I am excited. We also decided last night to take my mother in law with us since she was in TN the last week we had the kids and she has not seen them in 3 weeks. It is going to be great! I can't wait.

There is something else pretty major going on right now, but I don't want to go into detail about it. Those of you close to me know what it is, and those who don't, I am sending out a little unspoken prayer request. I believe in the power of prayer and that God can do amazing things, so I am asking that you keep Chad, the kids and I in your prayers that everything will happen the way it should and the way that God wants it to. Although there are other people involved, God has total control and it is all in His hands. I am at peace knowing that...

Well, I think that may be all...or at least all I can think of for now. I hope that everyone is having a great week and continue to have a great weekend as well!!

Love,

Monica