Thanksgiving this year was nice and relaxing; exactly what I was hoping for. My dad, Sue, and sisters drove from Colorado to stay with us for the week. It was their first time meeting Mallory and it was really fun to see my dad as a grandpa. I think it's still surreal for him to think that he's a grandpa now, but I know he loves that he is. It was very helpful to have them here for the week so I was able to have some time to myself. Sue slid right into her grandma role and was loving on Mallory as well. I'm so thankful that my family loves having a new baby around.
So not only was I able to have others around to take over Mallory duty, I also didn't have to worry about preparing Thanksgiving dinner. Normally I love playing party planner and host, but I'm still getting used to being Mallory's mommy and didn't have the energy. Luckily Sue and Jamie took over and prepared a fabulous feast for us to enjoy. Jamie brought the famous Honey Baked Ham and Sue whipped up some very delicious sides. We definitely had plenty of food and had no problem devouring it.
Before chowing down on the Thanksgiving grub, my dad and I participated in Folsom's Turkey Trot run that morning. Though we didn't have to face any rain, we braved some really cold temperatures. Personally I love running when it's cold and couldn't have asked for better weather. I was really happy to have my dad running the race with me - his first time doing a race. We ended up getting separated pretty much as soon as we started. In previous years I've ran the 10K, but only had time to train my body to run the 5K this year. I was able to keep a 9:00 minute mile pace and finish in 27:55 - probably one of my personal bests for a 5K. My dad finished at a great pace and shocked even himself. I'm very proud of him and hope it's not his last race.
At the end of the day I was smiling to myself, recapping all of the recent things that have occurred in my life that I am truly thankful for. God has blessed me personally as well as Jody and I as a couple. Though Mallory is a tough baby, we still are very fortunate to have her in our lives. This might sound weird to some, but a part of me is glad I struggled a bit to get Mallory here because it makes me realize how much of a blessing children really are. I have been able to dodge layoffs and instead receive a promotion at a job I really love. I am healthy. I have a roof over my head. I have the best family and friends. These are just a few of the things that I am thankful for.
Though we've had it since receiving it at my baby shower, we pulled out the Baby Einstein Gym earlier this week for Mallory to have something else in the house to entertain her. We put it in her room since there's carpet up there so it's softer for her to lay on. It's also starting to get pretty crowded with baby items down in the family room and I don't feel like tripping over more things. She definitely loves the flashing lights and music and becomes fixed on them for awhile. She'll look around at the other items hanging from the bars but doesn't like them as much yet. It's fun to see her smile, talk and move around having a good old time. Unfortunately she's still young enough that she gets bored with it quickly, but the more we put her on it the more she likes it. I'm expecting based on the Einstein name of the product that our baby grows up to be a smarty pants; if not I'll be thoroughly disappointed and feel like I got jipped. :P
The family arrived from Colorado yesterday afternoon and brought a box full of books with them. Rebekah wasted no time and started reading a couple of them to Mallory. Her face was adorable and it looked like she was listening intently. It's never too early to start learning.
Fussy baby? Just turn on the vacuum and problem solved. She loves it.
I love that leg warmers are in style for babies and kids. I totally remember when I was a kid I loved leg warmers. So when a friend of mine turned me to Baby Legs online, I just had to get some. Luckily I found out that Goore's here in Sacramento carries them so I didn't have to wait for them to be shipped. I bought these adorable moo-cow ones for her newborn photos that she had taken last week. They're perfect for days like today where it was almost 80° so wearing pants wasn't necessary. And of course she looks freakin' adorable in them!
Mallory is one month old today. She has her check up appointment this Friday and she's due to get her first round of immunization shots; not looking forward to that part. Though she's been a handful this first month, she's as cute as can be so it helps make the difficult times a tiny bit easier. We love our Miss Mallory!
You'll notice that I haven't been blogging as much as usual and even when I do, the posts have been somewhat short in length. Now obviously most would realize that once baby comes into the picture priorities shift and blogging gets put to the side sometimes. But that's not the only reason. No, the biggest reason why I haven't been blogging as much is because my baby has colic. Which means that for the most part I no longer have much free time. And when I do get breaks, I have to decide between all the other things that I've been having to put off and blogging isn't very high on the to-do list lately.
I remember when Mallory hit two weeks old, I felt as if those two weeks had been two years. I was emotionally and physically exhausted. I probably cried more in those two weeks than I have all year combined. I was definitely not enjoying becoming a parent. I knew going in to parenthood it wasn't supposed to be easy, but I honestly didn't think it was going to be as hard as it was for Jody and I. We had more than one moment where we thought that something had to be wrong with Mallory and even contacted the doctor just to make sure one of those times. Then Mallory turned three weeks old and instead of the progress towards good days ahead that we saw, things got a little harder. That's when colic decided to rear its ugly head and possess our child. Do they have exorcists to get rid of the demon called colic? No? Well, they should.
There's no sugar-coating it, the past week has been taxing. When we first realized she had colic, I wondered if we were being punished for doing something wrong. Was me having to deal with a difficult labor and delivery and then the breast feeding trouble and then the hellish first two weeks not enough? Now we have colic to face? I know that God never gives us more than we can handle, but good grief. The majority of colicky babies are so until at least three months, sometimes up to four or six. Booooo.
We still have good moments, but never an entire good day. A friend of mine turned me to Dr. Harvey Karp's book The Happiest Baby On The Block where I learned about The 5 S's. We use all of them when Mallory has her episodes and honestly, they help big time. Not all of the time, but most times we are able to console her even if it is only for a brief moment. She definitely wants to be held a lot more often which has made my to-do list a little harder to get to. My arms are getting a good workout though, that's for sure. Feeding her can be a chore and sometimes lasts for up to an hour because she gets so worked up that we have to pause multiple times so she stops choking down air. She'll start screaming out of nowhere as if though someone just pinched her even if we're in the middle of having a fun time. As a mom, it's heartbreaking to hear my little girl crying so furiously and there's nothing that I can do to make it stop. Researchers say that colic isn't painful for babies but it sure looks like she's in pain sometimes.
Thankfully Jody and I have had each others help this past month, but starting tomorrow he goes back to work and I'm on my own. No more being relieved in the morning so I can go sleep for a few hours. No more having someone to watch her while I go take a shower and get ready to feel like a normal person. No more being able to go run a couple errands while he supervises. No more taking turns dealing with the colicky moments. But hey, I knew this moment would come. I know I'll get the hang of things and have a routine soon enough. I'm sure that I'll have my days of pure frustration and shed some tears alongside Mallory, but now that I've had a week to get a taste of the demon called colic, I no longer dread each day. One day at a time.
We went grocery shopping to pick up a few things yesterday and I was wishing I had brought my Moby Wrap because Mallory didn't want to be in her car seat so I had to walk around with her unable to use both of my hands. So this morning when she wanted to be held and I needed to do some things around the house, I gave it a try. The verdict: I'm loving my Moby Wrap and the ability to have my hands free!
...especially when she's sleeping...or just not crying in general.
