Saturday, August 13, 2011

Another First. This post is short on words, but long on fun!

It seems there is a new "Hadley First" every day lately!
This little video captured today's first.  It was amazing, and I was more excited than a five year old at Christmas time. 
She is so awesome, and I love her so much. 

Babies have no snooze button

I can't tell you how many times, half asleep, I have hit the button on the top of our baby monitor because I thought it was like the snooze button on the alarm clock. Of course, what that button really does is turn on the picture monitor to show me Hadley, doing her thing.
Her "thing" used to be sleeping until 8 or 9am, but when I went back to work, we started waking her up around 7am. This worked fine for a few days, but lately she seems to be rebelling against our schedule by waking up at 2, 3, 4, 5...urgh!
Of course, I can't stay mad at this smiling face for too long.

She's reached some great milestones in the past couple of weeks.  She rolled over on her three-month "birthday", she has been reaching for and grasping things, and she's been "standing" while we hold her for a while now, too.  So, since it's Saturday and I have some time, I thought I would try the jumperoo.  Judging by this picture, she's still not quite ready for it.  :-)

 A facebook friend recommended using phone books, which I can't wait to try when she wakes up from her nap (thanks, Nina).  In the meantime, she is plenty occupied with the fun stuff on the top of the jumperoo.  So proud of the little peanut!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Babies have personality long before they can talk

So what do I think of Hadley's personality?  I think that she is sweet, silly, and stubborn like her Mommy.  What do you expect?  We're both Taurus (Tauruses?  Taurans?  You get the picture.). 





Lamenting to a Blog? Am I crazy?

So, we are just under two weeks into the “back-to-work-and-daycare-for-Hadley” routine.
Everyone told me this was going to be tough, and I believed them- I did. However, I think that no amount of warning could’ve prepared me for this. I just really miss my little peanut. To go from being with her 24/7, to only having her, awake, for a couple hours each day, has been a hugely difficult adjustment for me (I am actually crying while writing this- hormones don’t end with the pregnancy, I am telling you).
Anyway, I am trying to make do by visiting her on my lunch hour a couple times per week, and of course, just really taking in and enjoying those waking moments that I do have with her.
I feel like a big whiner sometimes talking about this, because she really is doing great at the daycare. If she is doing so well, and it’s good for her to be in that social environment, then I should just suck it up and deal with it, right? <sigh>
On the up-side, I do admit that I am getting used to the routine. I just wish that I didn’t have to get used to seeing my daughter for only a couple hours each day.
So, I am trying to focus on the positive aspects that so many good people have reminded me of:
• I am setting a good example for her- Mommy can have a career and still love her daughter.
• It is good for her to be in a social setting- she will grow into a well-adjusted adult.
• It is good for me too- we all need some daily adult conversations.
• I am contributing financially to the family, which puts less stress on my loving husband.
• There are many more reasons why this is a good thing, right?
I wonder if I would have an easier time with this if it weren’t costing us so much money to “suck-it-up-and-deal-with-it”…or maybe if I actually LIKED my job…but I digress…

My next blog update will be more upbeat, I promise! Here is a cute picture of my girl on her way in to the daycare. She is doing fine. She is doing fine. She is doing fine.
(I just need to keep reminding myself of that)

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Hadley's Birth- Mother's Day Indeed!

Hadley was born on May 8th, 2011 at 5:48pm.  Weighing in at 7 lbs 2 oz, and 20 inches long. 
Our little Peanut.  Hadley Bear.  The Mad Hadder.  Sweet Girl. 
The best first mother's day a girl could ask for. 
Here's our first family picture.  Even after a sleepless night before, and laboring all day long, you could not wipe that smile off my face.  Alas, you can't wipe the dark circles from under my eyes, either...

My Letter to Hadley, before she was born (Thanks Caren, for making me write this)





Dear Hadley Elizabeth,
Your Dad and I are so excited to meet you! We’ve been wishing and hoping for a very long time that you would grace us all with your presence, and I know that you will be worth that wait.
I love you already, even before I have seen your face or heard your cry. I love you more than I ever thought possible for such a little being.
We’re in this together for years of fun, laughter, tears and joy. Please come soon- your family is so excited to meet you!
Love,
Mom

Welcome to my blog. I can't promise it'll be interesting! :-)

...but since you're here, I will try to keep you entertained.  I thought I would start blogging as an alternative to Facebook, figuring that I shouldn't assume that everyone on my friends list actually WANTS to see a bazillion pictures of my daughter.  So if you're reading this, I assume that you DO.
I'll be posting lots of photos, random stories, recipes and just general "Jill" thoughts.  Maybe John will even post a few things. 
Sweet!