Mastitis, moving, and bedtime

One thing I have learned about breast feeding is that it when your baby gets up less at night you need to ease your into feeding more less often. I developed a clogged milk duct that turned into mastitis. Let me tell you, I have not been that sick for a very long time! I woke up Wednesday morning feeling okay but a little bit more tired than usual. By the afternoon I felt like I needed a nap which was unusual. My left armpit area started to hurt but I thought it was a pulled muscle from packing. Then I went with Eden to get a pizza from Papa Murphy’s at 4 and was feeling a bit achy. By the time I got home I felt awful. I had a fever over 101, my body hurt so bad from the fever, and my left breast was killing me. I called my doctor and he said, “Congratulations! You must be breastfeeding and your baby isn’t eating as often.” Then he gave me some advice and drove over a prescription to Walgreen’s for me. I still didn’t feel great on Thursday but was feeling a lot better. Garrett was great and got my prescription and took care of Eden for me. I am again reminded of how blessed I am!

We are trying to get Eden on a bedtime schedule and tonight we had a successful night. I am sure that tomorrow will be awful considering that I just wrote that tonight went so well. She put herself to sleep within 10 minutes (this is the first night we have tried this) and didn’t even cry for a second. She is such a good baby and only gets a little fussy at night due to some gas that needs to come out.

I guess this leaves me with the topic of moving… Garrett and I purchased our first home! We really feel God’s hand in all this. We actually put in our offer the day I went into labor (three hours to be exact before Eden was born). It’s in an older neighborhood that is made up of older folks and a few young couples. The street as a whole is very nice but our little section has some bad yard keep up because of the older folks (their yards just have quite a few weeds growing). One of our neighbor’s houses is in need of some serious up-keep but he is a single dad who works as an orderly at the hospital so I can’t blame him. Garrett and I feel that this will be a great opportunity for us to share our faith through our home and through helping others in the neighborhood – not only to our neighbors but also to others. We have had a strong calling to open up our home and use it for Christ. I am very excited to see what God will do through it all. I will have to share pictures but our cord is packed up right now and I am too lazy to get it.

I feel truly blessed to have a home, an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, and a God who loves me. I am sure there will be trying times that come in these new adventures but with Christ by my side it will all work out.

You know you're a mom when...

You squeeze your baby’s diaper to see if they are wet.

You take a peek in the diaper to see if you can see if it is dirty.

You can feed and change your baby in the middle of the night without waking up.

You swear you hear a baby crying.

You talk to your baby in public – when they are asleep.

You wipe the spit-up off you and wear the same clothes the rest of the day.

You find your baby’s bodily noises hilarious.

You laugh at your baby when they make faces and can’t stop laughing.

You find yourself taking baby talk to other people when the baby is not around.

These are just a few of the things that have come to mind when I think of how I know I am a mom.

Eden is doing really well. She is usually asleep between 7 and 8 (sometimes 9 depending on how much she napped during the day). Then she sleeps for 5 to 6 hours, wakes up to eat, and then wakes up every 3 to 4 hours to eat. It has been much nicer to get more consecutive hours of sleeping. She is also a paci girl. She liked to suck on my finger to calm herself or when she was bored but I am not always around – so as of yesterday she took her paci! She doesn’t sleep with it, just sucks on it during little spurts throughout the day. Eden has also learned how to grasp and grasp hard. I have to be careful of anything I wear but that’s okay with me.

Now, here is a story I have for you:

Eden and I ran to Walmart to get some bathroom cleaner and a few other things. Eden had been really good but was starting to get fussy so I knew it was time to wrap things up fast, which I did. Well, I got behind this lady who took forever! Eden was screaming and the woman kept giving me dirty looks – what am I supposed to do with a screaming baby who needs to go home to sleep when you are taking forever with the cashier (she was arguing the total of her purchases and then went through everything item by item). I had unloaded my cart and was trying to calm Eden or I would have went to a different line. Here is the kicker – the old woman behind me came up and started trying to calm Eden herself! She started touching her feet and she even got real close. She kept saying how pretty Eden was and how she would never hurt a baby. I tried moving my cart forward a little so she might get the hint that it is not okay to touch my baby unless you ask and you are a stranger! I was in between Eden and this woman who kept trying to touch Eden and kept trying to have this long conversation with me (she asked about me breast feeding and stuff like that). I know she was probably lonely and I would have been more than happy to talk with her but please do not touch my child. I am not really protective about people holding and touching her at all but this was a complete stranger at Walmart. Plus, stores are dirty places and I always wash my hands before I get close to her face after shopping – I am not a germ freak or anything but who knows who touched the cart I was pushing. I just didn’t feel comfortable but I had no idea what to say to get her to stop touching her. Eden of course calmed down as soon as I put her in the car and she was asleep by the time we got home. I just want to know how to politely tell people to back off.

Well, I am off to play with my cooing baby girl:)

Eden is almost 4 weeks old! Here are just a few pictures from the past few weeks (we have over 600 since she has been born). She is growing so much and is such a joy! We are so thankful for this little blessing:) It is amazing how God created this little person and one day she will be all grown up!

Eden's latest likes are playing - she can grab things now and although she doesn't quite have good coordination she is getting there. She like to lick with her long tongue and we think it's funny when she licks her lips when she is hungry:) She does tummy time every day and some days she likes it and other days she screams the whole time. She has been a really good eater but I think I ate something that didn't agree with her because she seems to have a tummy ache. Other than that she is the most loved little girl and everyone adores her!

I just recently packed away my maternity clothes! My hips are finally back to normal size. I still have about 5 pounds left to lose but am not too worried about them. I am feeling great! The only complaint I have which is more funny than a complaint is that I spring leaks daily and have to change my shirt all the time. I feel like I have enough milk for 8 kids! It's also funny when I spray Eden in the face - I do feel bad but I can't help but laugh my head off:)

Well, I hope you enjoy the pictures and I apologize that I can't figure out how this blog thing works...