We Have a House, Starting a Home

We own a home!!!!

So I know I haven’t talked about the fact that we were even house hunting but I’m happy to report that we were and now we are officially homeowners as of today April 20th! I was getting a bit leery of talking too much about the house hunting since I feel like it’s filled with too many ups and downs when offers are made and lost and all that craziness.
Jonathan and I were on pretty opposite spectrums walking into homes. I didn’t’ mind the fixer-uppers, he was more interested in the newer construction and then we walked into our house. It’s an older home with lots of already done upgrades. It’s in a great location, close to everything and as we walked through it, it felt like us. We both loved the house and LOVED the backyard. Then I pretty much stayed as mum as possible after that in fear of losing this place. I mean, mentally I had moved all our furniture in and it would have been such a headache to pack that all up and move it back to storage. You know how it goes.
But now we have keys in hand and bedrooms to paint. And I have a nursery to plan! Hope Sofia is ok with some more pink in her life. Stay tuned for decorating before and after pictures and possibly some expletives about unpacking. Apologies in advance.

Life Recap: Sofie's shower/Meet the Baby

Life Recap: Sofie's 1/2 Year-aversary

March 30, 2012
The Big ½ Year Monthaversary
Oh my, Sofia is 6 months already! The time has flown by and this was the day, after 2 weeks back at work that made me weepy and teary at work. I started out the morning with a very snuggly baby who was nursing for her first feed of the day. I woke her up a few minutes earlier than she normally wakes up so she was still a bit sleepy.
She fell back to sleep while nursing and when I went to get out of bed to continue getting ready for work she fussed a little and grabbed my shirt like she was asking me to stay just a little longer. So of course, I did. I watched her sleep and thought that this was probably the easiest that nursing has ever been, she was content and it was pain free. I just wanted to stay curled up, right there with her. She looked so comfy and I could have watched her for hours but the countdown to my departure time was ticking away in the back of my head. I slid away from her slowly and filled in the space where I had been with a pillow so she still felt like she had something to hold on to.
Insert waterworks here. I looked down at her holding the blanket in place of my shirt and it hit me that there were probably tons of these little moments I’d miss now that I was back at work. I finished getting ready and just when I needed it most she started stirring and woke up from her morning cat nap, just in time for me to leave. But she gave me a few minutes of giggles and smiles and “asked” for her paci (meaning she gave me some quiet fussing) and just like that she fell back to sleep. I took it as her saying she is still happy even if Mommy goes to work. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.
As for the lingering “eye” appointments…we are done! No more retinopathy, now they will just check her for possible glasses as preemies have a bigger chance at needing glasses at a young age. She’s doing fantastic.
We didn’t have a well baby visit on the 6 month mark but the guesstimate is 9.5lbs!

Life Recap-- Back to Work!

Ok, so obviously, it's been a while since I've posted. Life has been amazingly crazy! So, bare with me as I info dump...

Now that I’m back at work and it’s been a little over a month, here is the rundown of how that’s been going. Let’s start from the beginning.

What I Expected:
Insane amounts of tears, some bathroom sobbing and a complete inability to concentrate on anything besides getting home to my baby.

What I Got:
A feeling of accomplishment coming home at the end of the day and knowing that not only would I now be a contributing member of the household but also a huge appreciation for every giggle, tear and smile that Sofia gives.

Why This Was Shocking
I have wanted to be a stay at home Mom my whole life. When I thought about myself with children I always pictured being at home doing laundry, cooking and living life around their cute, adorable, finicky schedule. Don’t get me wrong, I adore every second that I spent at home with Sofia but there was something nice about getting up in the morning and getting dressed for a purpose. Preparing for a schedule that didn’t revolve around a diaper change and bottle was surprisingly…nice. Oh, and let’s not forget, the paycheck. That’s one hell of an incentive!
Now that it’s been a little over a month, I’m still hanging in there. I finally had my day-o-meltdown when Sofie turned 6 months old. I cried while nursing her before work, cried on my way to work…it was an all around emotional day but I feel that my current decision to be back at work is actually what’s best for our family. It provides us with an extra level of financial cushion, it keeps Mommy sane and since we were able to find affordable child care, financially it still makes sense. Maybe after future (very far from now, future) babies the time away vs. incoming cash ratio may no longer make good fiscal sense. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

2 months adjusted!

This week we hit the 2 month mark...adjusted that is and a little over 5 months actual. I can't believe I have an almost 6 month old baby! I also can't believe that she is cooing and giggling more each day just like any other 2 month old. We've come a long way from that 1lb9oz fragile little peanut back in the NICU.

She remains feisty as ever with a little attitude that comes out especially during exams she's not a fan of. Complete with swatting, grimacing and a little back "talking". But she's a super cuddler at the same time and loves to listen to new sounds. She thinks "oohhhs" and "ooo's", "bababa's" an "mamama's" are really funny sounds. So, she likes to give you a smile and an "angoo" back to let you know she thinks you are so silly.

As of yesterday's appointment she is weighing in at a whopping 8lbs11oz!  And today she read along with her first book of nursery rhythms. We also started putting our team together for the March of Dimes walk April 28th. We already have a few people who are helping us toward reaching our fundraising goal and we want to give a big THANK YOU as we get new donations and walkers to join our team. Today we want to thank Tessa, Sofie's long distant Auntie from NC, my Aunt Cindy and Melissa for helping us take our Steps 4 Sofia. We love you guys and Sofie sends her hugs, kisses and smiles as thanks!

Steps 4 Sofia- - March of Dimes

We have our site for Steps 4 Sofia  our team name for the March of Dimes walk in Orlando in April! We would love for anyone who is interested to join our walk.

I want to start out by thanking Trisha and April, two of my best friends, for their donations! You ladies are amazing and we cant thank you enough for your support not only now but throughout our journey. It means the world to us that you are helping us give back in honor of our little miracle!

Love you both!

5 months/7 weeks --Time flies when you're growing strong

My tiny baby girl is 5 months old! And she is weighing in under the 9lb mark. There are a ton of babies who start where we are and yet Sofia has worked so hard to get to this point and I'm immensely proud of her. At 7weeks the social smiles are I'm full affect and she's mastering the art of flirting which includes the side glance with full smile! She's got me hooked for sure. As for Daddy? Oh, you better believe he's wrapped around that teensy finger.
Aside from the smiles it seems this week her tummy has been giving her some problems. It's been about 7 days since she been able have a dirty diaper, which being on breast milk isn't a concern, and seems to be getting increasingly uncomfortable. That's were the concern comes into play. At times during the day she's been woken out of sleep with her tummy pains and only seems comfortable, I use that term loosely, while being held. It's so difficult to see her squirm in discomfort and literally whimper and whine during the gas and tummy pains. My normally content baby spent the majority of yesterday crying, complete with real baby tears! It's heartbreaking. We go in to the pediatrician for a weight check tomorrow hopefully, I can get some info to help her.

On another note, Sofia has been putting herself to bed at 9pm for about a week and half. She always stirs to eat no matter when the last bottle was. This week we've added reading a book to her bedtime routine. She been consistently sleeping a 5-6hr stretch for about 3 weeks for the first half of her night, that was extended to a glorious 7hrs last night...the night I went to bed late...sigh! I should have know this would happen, doesn't everyone sleep better after a reading of Goodnight Moon?