Back to work

Today was my first day back at work in 7 weeks. As I reflect on my day I realize how spoiled I've been while being off. Leah and I have slept a lot during the day since she loves to be awake at night. We've played, gone shopping, gone to moms house and spent time with her and had some wonderful days with my hubby! Yes its been great but now back to reality. Today was a good day and I do love my job but I love being at home with my daughter more. I never thought I would say that. I am very thankful to have a job and love the people I work with but I missed Leah terribly! The upside is that I don't have to put her in daycare. I am lucky enough to have several people to take care of her. And Jerrod is getting ready to be laid off for 3 weeks and he will be keeping Leah during that time. What more could I ask for- a husband that is looking forward to spending 3 weeks with his child! I am truly blessed! I know this week will be hard but I know it will get easier! And hopefully unlike last night, Leah will sleep a little instead of staying up half the night!

My many loves about Leah

As I sit and look at my daughter while she sleeps it makes me think of all the things I love about her.
I love:
her baby breath
how she wads up when I hold her
how she loves to sleep on me
how she poops in a clean diaper just after being changed
how she looks like me somedays and like her daddy other days
how tiny her nostrils are
the noises she makes when she sleeps
how she laughs in her sleep
when she smiles at me
that she has her daddy's eyelashes
how she smacks her lips after a bottle
her chubby cheeks
kissing her face off
how she likes to fist pump like the dorks on Jersey Shore
how she raises up her hands just like my grandmother did
how she grunts for no reason
she still has blue eyes
she has her daddy's trademark "Tolley Toe"
how she loves to stay awake at night like me
how she crosses her ankles just like she did while I was pregnant
how she has bowed legs like her Auntie L and Pap
how pretty she looks in pink!
These are just a few things I think about daily but the main thing is, I just love my daughter!

Our first family pics

Our first experience at Penney's having our pictures made went great! Leah did pretty good but in some got a little bit fussy. Here's a look at them, Enjoy!

A look back

My list of what I loved about pregnancy

1. NAPS!!!

2. When it came to eating, I was catered to. Whatever I thought I wanted I got!

3. Only gaining 20 pounds!

4. The excitement of everyone around me!

5. Knowing the baby was a girl!

6. Hearing her heartbeat!

7. Not being "so huge" in the dead heat of summer!

8. Presents!

9. Eating sweets and not feeling guilty!

10. Not having "that time of the month" for 9 whole months!

What I hated about pregnancy

1. Puking my guts out the whole time!

2. Heartburn! I had it some before I got pregnant but not as bad as it got!

3. Not being able to eat Italian food :( No pizza, spaghetti, garlic. And it's my favorite! I could eat pasta every day! I also couldn't eat hamburger AT ALL!

4. My feet and ankles swelling.

5. Placenta previa- look it up if you don't know what it is- it's a little personal.

6. Hormones making you feel like you were on an emotional roller coaster!

7. Not getting to go to NFS's Dollywood Day and ride roller coasters.

8. Not going to any Tennessee Football games because I was too tired to even try.

9. Being short of breath after walking alot

10. People telling me not to do things because I was pregnant! Like vacuum, use household cleaners, not climbing in chairs, not carrying heavy things, etc. Seriously people I was pregnant not disabled!


My Cravings while Pregnant

Some have asked me if I had any weird cravings during my pregnancy. As I thought about them there were alot more that I realized. Alot of stuff I eat on a regular basis but not in the frequency that I have been. Here's a list of what I can remember:

Grape Soda- in the beginning of my pregnancy I loved it!
Lemonade and Hot Tea- it was very soothing when I was puking all the time!
Chicken- red meat did not set very well!
Hot Dogs- I know you're not supposed to eat alot of processed meat while pregnant but they were so good! I promise I didn't over do it!
Jersey Mike's Chicken salad- I ate that for lunch so much I foundered myself and can't bring myself to eat it now!
Red Pig's Turkey salad- ask anyone that I work with- I ate this every Tuesday for lunch! And I still love it!
Chick Fil A's Chicken sandwiches- I have NEVER eaten the sandwiches from Chick Fil A, always the nuggets or strips and now I'm hooked on them!
Apple and or Cherry Pie from McDs- Jerrod being on 2nd shift and coming home at 11:00pm, he always brought them to me!
Ice Cream- I have always had sensitive teeth and haven't been able to eat alot of cold things but I wore out some BlueBell Ice Cream!
Sprite and Gatorade- very easy on my stomach!
Rye Bread- I ate 3-4 pieces of toast with butter on it when I would come home from work!
Cracker Barrell- MMMMMMM! Need I say more?!
Ice- again with the sensitive teeth thing but I couldn't get enough and still can't! It's amazing what pregnancy will change your body!

6 week check up

On Tuesday this week, Leah had her 6 week check up. She weighed in at a whoping 9 pounds 14 ounces, 21 3/4 inches long and her head is 15 inches! She's a little piggy! She is in the 50 percentile range for her age.
On Wednesday I had my 6 week check up and all is well! I have lost quite a bit of weight and couldn't be happier! I weigh less now than I did when I first got pregnant! I have to admit, I'm pretty proud of myself!

Life with Leah

Well its been over a month since our precious little girl was born. I’m just a little bit behind in my posts. Our first night home was very interesting. Tennessee was playing Kentucky so we put Leah in her crib to sleep while we watched the game. Looking back it was so funny because we were extremely quiet. We were terrified of waking her up! That night was so challenging. She did not want to eat and all she did was cry. I had done so well with breast feeding at the hospital and I was so excited about it working for her but she was not having it. Jerrod suggested that we give her some formula that we had a sample of. I was so disappointed, I really wanted her to breast feed but we gave her the formula anyway. From what I can remember she cried A LOT that night. And NEVER SAY NEVER! I have always said, “I will never put my child in the bed with us.” Well that first night I was at my wits end with the crying and Leah wound up in the bed with us and has continued to sleep with us despite several attempts to put her in her crib.
The following Monday we had to take her to the pediatrician because of her billirubin being a little bit too high in the hospital before we left. We saw Dr Berry and LOVED him! He talked to us about her being jaundiced and how she needed as much fluid as possible. They took her blood to check her billirubin and said they would call that afternoon with her results. We went home and fell asleep. I had 2 messages from Dr Berry when we got up stating how important it was for us to call him. I was devastated, there was something wrong with my baby! As I cried and tried to pull myself together I called him back. He told me that her billirubin was too high, he had ordered a billi blanket and a person from home health would be bringing it to us. He also said we would have to come back the next day for another check up. The nurse from home health brought the billi blanket shortly after that and showed us how to use it. Leah looked like a little glow worm on it! We went back to the doctor on Tuesday and her levels were still too high so we continued the blanket. On Wednesday we had to go back again and her levels were still too high but coming down. On Thursday I had to go back to the doctor for a 1 week check up after delivery. On Friday we went back to the pediatrician and saw Dr Wireman. She was fantastic! They called that afternoon and her levels had come down to normal and we could discontinue the blanket! Needless to say our first week was rough! Leah also lost a little bit of weight during that time too but is rapidly gaining it back. Thankfully my mom came over every day to give me a break so I could keep my sanity! She made dinner several nights but we also had some very kind people who made us dinner and brought it to us also! By the end of week 2 I finally gave up pumping. She also has her days and nights mixed up and we’re still working to get that issue taken care of.
Every year around the first of December my family has a progressive dinner. We have appetizers at my uncles, dinner at my moms and dessert at my aunts. We have things to eat that we only have this one time of year and it is always fabulous! This was Leah’s first big outing and it was so much fun and very tiring at the same time. Getting a newborn ready is a lot more work than I ever imagined.
On the Friday that it snowed so badly I had gone to the office to show Leah off. It hadn’t begun to snow until left. I had some shopping to do and it would have to be nasty outside the one day I decided to take Leah with me! Oh well we ventured on out to Target, Pier 1 and Books a Million. When I came out of Books a Million the snow was really coming down so I decided to go on home. Mom was going to come and get Leah and me to go to her house. Due to the snow it took us a little bit longer to get from Johnson City to Erwin but we made it with no problems. I really did not want to be at home by myself in case our power went out. I knew if mom and daddy’s power went out we could stay there because they have gas logs in their den. Jerrod got off work early and took some people home that couldn’t drive their cars in the snow. He came back to get Leah and I and mom and daddy’s power had just gone out so we decided to go on home. We got home around midnight and 30 minutes later our power went out! We bundled up in the bed and hoped it would come back on. It never did. We woke up the next morning and boy was it cold in the house! So we piled up again and headed to mom and daddy’s. We stayed with them on Saturday night and mom kept Leah upstairs with her to give us a break so we could get some sleep. Needless to say we needed that sleep! It was great to sleep for 8 hours uninterrupted! We didn’t get power again until Sunday afternoon!
Christmas had rolled around the corner before too long and we had a blast. On Wednesday our office has breakfast with Santa for all the employees’ kids. I took Leah and she had her picture made with Santa for her first Christmas! We spent Christmas Eve with Jerrod’s parents and both of his brothers and their families. We had Frogmore Stew complete with crab legs! It was so good! On Christmas morning we went to mom and daddy’s for breakfast and Santa. And yes I am 28 years old (almost 29) and I still get gifts from Santa! Then we went to Jerrod’s Mamaw’s, then to my Uncles house and then back to mom and daddy’s for more presents! It was one fun filled day! We had a great first Christmas with Leah!
On Sunday, I took Leah to church for the first time. Since Jerrod is working on Sundays right now it was a bit of a challenge getting myself and Leah ready but I did it and even made it to church early (which is funny because Jerrod and I never are on time on Sunday mornings!). She did so well and I was so glad to finally go back since it had been a month! Then that afternoon we went to Rogersville to have Christmas with my daddy’s family. Needless to say, I’m glad the holidays are over! As much as I enjoyed them I’m glad to be getting back on a regular schedule and enjoy my time with Leah before I go back to work!