What a difference 7 months makes

So, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Grayson Parker yesterday. He was just born on Friday and he's beautiful. Nick had a rough MLK day at home (I had to work) and when I came home, Jenna had been fussy and was hungry. As I was feeding her, it struck me how much changes in 7 months.



Holding Grayson, I had flash backs. It's hard to imagine her being that small again. The memories are bittersweet as it was one of the most difficult times I've ever been through. I know that sounds rather dramatic, but when you're right in the middle of it, it's hard. The crying, the hot flashes when the crying begins, trying to figure out supply and latch, bearing through the latch because you know it's going to hurt, trying to unlatch only to relatch because it's wrong... it's all one big guessing game. Up until she started smiling I had little to know what I was doing was right and good for her. I had an oversupply so I was feeding her too much, then, once I backed off on feeding her I always second guessed whether she was really done, or if she just needed to pacify. It was challenging.



Now that we're in the 'throws' of teething, it's hard. It's still hard, but in a different way. I've seen my happy, well rested baby. I've seen her smile and giggle and to see her go from crying to laughing to crying and screaming and it's challenging. I've come to the conclusion that motherhood (and parenthood for that matter) is nothing but a series of guesses. You guess what to do next, whether it's right to sleep train (for them AND for you), when to feed, when not to feed, when to introduce solids, when to ramp up solids, etc. It's a challenge. But, watching her feed yesterday, it's all worth it. All I need is to see her snuggle up and be content if only for a few moments to know that I'm doing all that I can for her. Our series of guesses has gotten us this far, she's thriving, she's doing well. Her teeth are coming through (visual evidence below) and she's a happy child.

I'm currently listening to the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States. The change that we as a country have finally accepted makes my heart go flutter. And I feel cheesy stating the obvious, but I'm going to do it anyway: I have high hopes for my daughter. I have high hopes for her future. It's difficult with the country going through a recession, but knowing and trying to envision all that is out there for her gives me hope. I'm so excited to watch her grow up with the obstacles in front of her, knowing the series of guesses I will continue to make, no doubtedly for the rest of her life (or, at least until she's a teenager) will be so she can live the best life possible. The impact is tremendous and after seeing the change that has taken place in 7 months (ok, one day shy of 7 months) is amazing.

1 day shy of 7 months.

I've been absent

I've not had time to blog lately. Well, not adequate time. No time to upload photos (I've got a couple good ones, too), no time to rest, no time to post.

As I've noted, Jenna's been fussy. The top tooth is coming in s l o w l y as it's half way through (took about a week to get from barely pointing through to half way through). She hasn't been sleeping well since Christmas, and, the two weeks before Christmas she was ill twice. So, roughly six weeks worth of poor sleep has really worn on all 3 of us. But, I feel like we're on the mend. YAY! We're currently reducing the night time feedings down to what they *used* to be at 1-2 per night. I think with the illness/travel/teething/chaos she just got used to being held and comforted at night and her sleeping habits took a nosedive.

The other reason I've been missing. I've decided I spend way too much time on my computer at work to come home and spend some more time starring at a screen. So, I'm limiting my computer use at home. That, and, I've started back on FlyLady and my house is slowly but surely getting back into shape. This month is all about reestablishing my daily habits (little more than that) of unloading the dishwasher in the morning, starting a load of laundry, making the bed and swishing and swiping my bathrooms. If I have time for my other 'task' for the day, so be it. If I choose to knit instead, that's ok too.

Jenna's been making leaps and bounds in terms of developmental milestones. One of the reasons I started this blog was to actually *remember* to write these down, and now I feel like I've already missed so much to document. But, as of right now, she can currently roll (both ways! Finally!) scoot around on her belly (360 degrees) sort of crawls backwards and now she's doing the sitting -> 3 point 'stance' rocking as though she's going to crawl. Nick predicts she's going to be crawling by her 7 month birthday (in 8 short days). Most of these little milestones happened over the weekend, but they're all very exciting, none-the-less. Oh! And she's standing... we got her a musical table (still haven't posted on Christmas, due to not uploading pictures) and originally Santa put the legs on the table only to realize that when the box says "removable legs" they only mean that if you don't put the legs on first... meaning, the 'table top' can be used on the floor and then the legs can be ADDED. Once they're on, they don't come off. Nick and Poppie both tried very hard to get them off and they just don't. Well, Christmas morning, it seems as though it would be forever for her to stand and use the table.. so we just kind of held her up to it. Now, she stands at the table, hits at the different 'stuff' and dances to the music. The trombone is her favorite :) (note to self! Must get video!)

8 days shy of 7 months...

She cut her first tooth!

Ladies and Gents...

Please let it be known that Jenna has officially cut her first tooth on December 26th. Although we were all placing bets on her upper right center tooth, she decided to fool us all and cut the lower right center tooth first. That thing is razor sharp and since it poked through, I've decided to stop letting her use my fingers as her favorite teething toy.

We've had a bad week of sleep and I'm putting the blame squarely on teething. She was up every 45 minutes to an hour and a half for 4 out of the last 7 nights. To say I'm running on empty is a bit of an understatement. We'll see how long this lasts. (1 year, 15 years?)

I'd love to share a picture of it with you but she doesn't let us peek at her lower chompers, hence why we didn't see it coming.

Christmas updates coming as soon as I have a minute to connect my camera(s) to my computer.