My 8 Month Old Baby Girl

My little girl is 8 months old!! She turned 8 months on Thanksgiving day. We had wonderful holidays and are so excited for her first Christmas. She claps her hands all the time now, especially when I say "clap your hands!" She loves to play the 'Pacifier Game' where I take her pacifier and she takes it back and I say "OOH!" She just bursts out laughing. We're working on getting her to use the sippy cup, and she hold it really well she just needs to get used to the spout. I feel like she's grown so much. She'll rock back and forth when she's on her hands and knees (hopefully that means crawling is next!) She can now say "ma-ma" which is extremely cute, now her vocabulary is "da-da, ba-ba, and ma-ma." She's not showing any signs of getting any teeth, but I didn't get my teeth until I was like 16 months old. Ryan will not let me put shoes on her, which I absolutely know will hurt her when she HAS to wear them but isn't used to them. He thinks its torture to make her wear shoes if she doesn't HAVE to. She sits up and can even get onto her belly sometimes from the sitting position. She rolls all over the place and loves to take off her socks. She is over her "waking up at night" phase and eats all her jarfood although we still have some difficulty with the bottles. She still cries when it's time to wash her hair at bathtime, but that's something that she'll get over. That's all for this month! Have a Merry Christmas!

Lucky (or maybe unlucky) Seven

Isabella is now 7 months old. She weighs about 19 pounds (what a big girl!) and is slowly but surely getting more active. She's pretty lazy and expects everything to be done for her. Her first day of physical therapy is in two days and she'll continue to go every Monday from then on. As far as her physical therapy evaluation, the doctors seem to think she's fine, just that she has weak upper body strength and that she arches her back constantly, which is not good. I'm hoping that with time and work she will get to where she needs to be. She has been starting to try to clap her hands, which is really cute. She can also sit up now for a pretty long period of time. She was a little bumble bee for Halloween and just oh-so-cute. But, Ryan of course says she was a yellow jacket (gotta have school pride). Unfortunately, we've been having horrible nights because for some reason she wakes up in the middle of the night screaming crying and stays up for hours. It's really starting to wear me out. We really have no idea what it is, since it's so out of character for her. The doctors first thought it was constipation and are now saying reflux. We started her reflux medicine today but she's already woken up twice. It's really hard for me to see my baby struggling with something that I can't figure out. I hope the reflux medicine starts working or she's going to have to continue going to the doctor and being crabby from lack of sleep. She also has been refusing her bottles, which is REALLY frustrating because that's nutrition that is so crucial for her to have. Although this is a trying time, we're working through it day by day and doing the best we can.

A Half a Year Old!

Isabella is 6 months old, and in only 9 days she'll be 7 months! She weighs 17.5 pounds and is 28.5 inches long, according to the doctor, that's extremely tall. She's not sitting up, or even attempting to, so the doctor is having us take her to a physical therapist to see what's going on. Whether it's low muscle tone (since she HATES tummy time) or something more serious (I'm praying it's not). She says "da-da" allllll day long, it's the cutest thing I've ever heard. She smiles a lot and is so well behaved. She sleeps through the night and takes two naps a day. She's also teething, but most of the time she's a real champ about it. Of course, she has her days when her gums are swollen and she just wants to fuss it out. She loves any toy that makes noise when she shakes it, and she goes crazy shaking it as hard as she can. She'll even play in her jumper now, but she won't jump (another thing that worries me. Babies LOVE to jump!) We're really excited for all the upcoming holidays; Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas. I can't wait to share them with her, although she doesn't understand, I do and that's all that matters ;) Some mornings when I go to get her out of bed, she's managed to get her head where her feet go and vice versa. I have no idea how she does it. She's growing so fast, she barely wears her clothes for very long. She still ADORES her daddy and lights up when she see's him, but she also breaks into a smile whenever I smile at her, which makes me feel really good! I'm hoping things go well as far as her physical milestones and that she's just, as her doctor put it, "strong willed."

5 Months After Birth

Little Isabella is 5 months old today! She is the happiest, most content baby I could have asked for. She really handles tummy time like a champ now and is practicing at rolling over. She's added fruits to her diet and she can't get enough of them, and of course, prefers them 10 times more than the vegetables. She laughs out loud all the time now and it's just so darn cute when she does. Summer is over and school has started back up so on the days I have school a nanny comes and takes care of her. So far it has been going really well. The nanny keeps her on her schedule and Isabella seems to really like her. She's been biting her gums together lately as if she's chewing, I'm not sure if that's a sign of teething or not, but she always chews on her finger instead of sucking on it. She's in size 3 diapers (such a big girl!) and we've started stacking up her 6-9 month clothes that she'll definitely be in next month. She currently loves to blow spit bubbles, which proves to be a problem when she's eating her fruits/vegetables. Right now, she's only eating babyfood once a day but as she gets older we'll increase it. She has become a pro at eating off the spoon and makes minimal messes considering her age. Although I miss her like crazy when I'm at school, I know it's what's best for her in the long run. Ryan and I are more than half way to our degrees and I'm really excited about that. I'm especially proud of him considering his classes are so hard I'd die if I had to take them. That's all for this month! Who knows, she might be sitting up and attempting to crawl by the next update :)

Could four months have gone by already?

Isabella is growing so fast, I can barely keep up! She's 26 1/4th inches long & weighs 15.4 pounds! The doctors said she's the size of a 6 month old and extremely tall. She's still putting her fingers, any anything she can get her hands on, in her mouth all the time. She sleeps 12 hours at night (which we love!) She started eating baby oatmeal and babyfood about 2 weeks ago and it's so fun to watch her explore all the new tastes. I go back to school next week and I'm really, really sad about leaving her. She hasn't rolled over yet, but she can roll from her back to her side so we know it's probably coming soon. She's started to lose some hair on the back and the sides from rubbing her head when she's laying down, but the doctors said it will grow back once she starts sitting up. She still hates tummy time, but we still make her do it several times a day. She actually laughs out loud so much now. It's the absolute cutest thing I have ever heard. Sometimes when I laugh REALLY hard it makes her laugh out loud too and it just melts my heart. Of course, no one can make her laugh as much as her daddy. She adores him so much. She's wearing 3-6 month clothes but I'm pretty sure she'll be in 6-9 month clothes very soon. Her eyes are still green, so we're curious to see whether or not they will stay that way. I'm so in love with her, she's probably the most well-behaved baby I've ever seen. (and I'm totally not biased!)

Three Months & Counting.

My little girl is already three months old. She's a cooing, happy, smiley baby. She's learning new things everyday and adores her daddy like crazy. She loves to be anywhere near him. She gets so excited when he plays his guitar for her or dances with her around the house. We haven't weighed her since her 2 month visit, where she was 11.2 pounds but I'm pretty sure she's 12 by now. She's almost too big for her 0-3 months clothes, which is kind of sad because she didn't get to wear them very long.

She sleeps through the night and never really cries unless she has gas or is over-stimulated. We have been calling her all sorts of nicknames, but the two that stick the most are "Baby Boompkin" and "Izzy bizzy bella" we're trying really hard to just say "Isabella" so she'll learn her actual name, but it's kind of hard because she gets so giggly when we call her those nicknames.

Sometimes, if she's feeling really playful, she'll actually swat at her toys and try to grab them when she's in her bouncer. Her hair has grown longer, which I didn't even notice until I looked back at her pictures from even just a month ago. She has also recently found her hands and therefore ALWAYS has them in her mouth.

Ryan and I are crazy about her and are so excited about watching her grow.

Baby Bella

My little girl is already two months old and growing like a weed! She is 11.2 pounds and 22.5 inches long. She's exactly in the 50th percentile for height and weight. She is very calm and quiet during the day. The only time she cries is in the evening for about an hour around the same time every day, I suppose it's just to let out some energy. She has the absolute cutest smiles and I looooove when she treats me to one :)
Ryan is wonderful with her. He likes to lay her on his belly and watch her wiggle her way up to his chin. She just started making the most adorable cooing sounds that just melt my heart. She sleeps pretty much the whole night and does it in her crib, it makes me sad that she's not in her bassinet in my room anymore but I'm so proud of her for being so well-behaved.

I have finally been given the green light to start working out and have been slowly getting back in the gym. Although I'm convinced it takes a year to fully recover from the stress your body suffers during pregnancy and birth. Everything is wonderful and I'm so happy. The only thing that worries me at this point is my return to school in the fall and having to find a nanny to leave Isabella with. Hopefully everything will work out.

An Update.

So just a little update about mommyhood and life in general. I love everything about being a mom, even the hard parts that make me feel helpless. I wouldn't change it for the world and although people say it all the time, the love you have for your child really is indescribable and nothing else can compare to that kind of love. I think one of my favorite things is when Ryan is holding Isabella and he doesn't know I'm around and he sings to her or gives her kisses. There's nothing more manly than that and it makes me love him even more. As for Isabella, she's trying to hold her head up and she's staying awake more during the day. She's getting better at handling bath-time and absolutely LOVES having her hair washed. Her eyes roll in the back of her head when Ryan massages the shampoo in her hair. She's still wearing mittens because even though I cut her nails, she somehow continues to scratch herself. In only 5 days she will be a month old and it definitely doesn't feel like it's been almost a whole month since she was born. Ryan has two more weeks of school left and then he'll be in summer school until June 18th and then he gets a little break until August, which he desperately needs. We're going to attempt to go to the beach with my family in July, although I'm pretty sure I won't be wearing a bikini this year unless I miraculously lose my baby weight by July. I guess that about wraps it up for now, I'll try to keep things up-to-date.

Isabella Grace is Here!

Isabella Grace Miville was born on March 25, 2010 at 11:52 PM. She weighed 8 pounds and was 20.5 inches long. My labor progressed very fast and lasted for about 5 hours. I pushed for 15 minutes and she was here. She came two weeks early and had a full head of hair :) She's 10 days old now and I can still barely believe she's mine. It's truly amazing how instantly and fiercely you love your baby the moment it's born. She sleeps A LOT. She's probably only awake about 4 to 5 hours a day, although I'm sure that will change. Ryan is great with her, he's taking to fatherhood very well. He looks at her with such amazement sometimes and I definitely understand what he's feeling because I do it too. I'm so excited to see what the next couple of months will bring. Right now we're just taking it easy and recuperating while we adapt to this crazy new life. She has her first doctor's appointment on Tuesday so that will be the first time we take her out of the house. So, that's life as of now; crazy, new, hectic and different, but I'm loving every second of it.

Life Changing Moments.

My life is definitely in a whirlwind right now. I'm 36 weeks and 4 days pregnant with our first baby, a little girl :) who should be here any day now. We've decided to name her Isabella Grace Miville. Although it's pretty scary to be having a baby and taking such a big step in my marriage, I think everything will work out okay. My marriage is strong and Ryan and I love each other enough to do whatever it takes to make it work. He's doing great in school and I'm very proud of him. I think the most important thing to me when I found out I was pregnant was to not disrupt my education and I'm still in school and so is Ryan and we're not going to be leaving anytime soon which I'm extremely happy about. I value education unconditionally and am fully relying on it to make our lives even more wonderful one day. There's really nothing else new to report. I'm ready for this little girl to be here so I can start being a mother and stop being so pregnant and uncomfortable. Of course I worry about a million little things everyday, but that's to be expected; I've ALWAYS been a worrier. Hopefully the next time I have something to blog about it will be the birth of Isabella :)

Pondering

Lately I've been feeling pretty alone. I know I have Ryan, but lets face it, he's still a man and a man can't always give me the feedback in a conversation that I need. I feel like there is no one I can just call out of the blue when things are going crazy and I need to be talked down that very minute. I've never been too social and do enjoy spending time at home where I'm most comfortable, but I'd still like to make some friends here in Atlanta. It's just hard because with the hand I've been dealt lately I don't have the time to make friends and therefore don't have that "go to" person. I think everyone has those moments where they're so outdone they think they must be losing their minds and just need someone to tell them everything is okay. Things have been rough lately and although I keep telling myself it will get better, it will work itself out, time heals all wounds, I don't know how much I really believe those things right now. I guess that's enough for now, I just needed to vent and since I have no one I can vent to, blogging is the next best thing.