monster playdate.

A while back, I posted about a shower that I threw for a former co-worker of mine. The clinic that KT and I worked at at the time, was going through a little baby boom while we were employed there. I posted a picture of five of us that were all pregnant and at that shower.

Three of us got together the other night with another former co-worker and her baby for one big 'ol play date.

My friend, Ashley, and her son were visiting from Texas and we wanted to get all the babies together while she was in town. It's so crazy that all of us used to work together and now have babies around the same age. It was so good to spend some time with Ashley and catch up with the other girls, who live around here, but we just don't have the time to hang out that we used to!




All of us- KT & T-bear (7 months), Emma & Mollie (6 months), BG (4 months)and myself, and Ashley & Colton (3.5 months).
I love how my child clearly knows how to work the camera. Obviously she never has pictures taken of herself...

We tried to get a picture of the babies all lined up. Not so easy.






Of course, somehow BG got hit in the face (have you seen those cheeks?! They're everywhere!) and melted down, leading to a chain reaction of melt downs. My child people.

We managed to get a good one of BG & T-bear. T-bear has a little crush on Miss Girl.. Shh...

KT & T-bear.


Ashley & BG- she couldn't wait to hold BG. I think the chubby baby thighs just drew her in.

Colton & I


After KT & Emma left with their kiddos, Ashley and I sat around and caught up some while the kiddos ate. Ashley battles with PCOS and had a hard time getting her little man here. We've seen each other through a lot of heartache to get our babies and it was so nice to sit there with our little babies and see how far we've come. Then we swapped horror labor stories and both gave our reasons on why we only want one! Good laughs there.

It's crazy to hang out with these girls and see how much everyone's lives have changed. I had a great time growing up with them, but honestly? I like this stage of our lives so much more. I can't imagine a better Friday night than hanging out with good friends and amazing babies....

baby dedication.

Yesterday we had baby dedication at the church, and Baby Girl was one of four little girls that was dedicated.

For any that don't know, Mr. Perfect and I are Southern Baptists. I know, I know. But try not to label us with all your typical "bible beating, super judgmental, uber strict" labels that Southern Baptists usually come with. We're not those people and fortunately we don't go to that type of church. Oh, and we can have fun too. Shattering stereotypes left and right here folks.

Our church believes that baptism must be one's conscious choice. Therefore, babies do not get baptized in our church. They get dedicated. Meaning, they are a gift from God given to their parents to raise. But we dedicate them back to God and vow to raise them to know and love Him. Just a little insight into our way of doing things.

My parents and brother both managed to come down for the weekend and all stayed with us. So on Sunday morning, Baby Girl and I got up and ate pretty early and then I hopped in the shower while she hung out with Pops and Uncle Marine. We had decided not to go to Sunday School that morning since we had some out of town friends meeting us at the house to go to church, so about nine a.m., BG melted down. Normally she would have slept at church during Sunday School, so keeping her out might not have been the best option.

Hind sight=20/20.


After getting her calmed down and Daddy got her dressed, we headed up to church.

We had some pictures to take beforehand, so we gathered our family (my parents, grandparents, Aunt P, and Uncle Marine) and went and did the smiling thing with Pastor. BG did awesome. Smiled and laughed and was her normal, adorable self.

I took BG to the nursery for the rest of the sermon. I was supposed to sneak out and get her during the invitation and then sneak back on. So I go pick her up and am walking back up the aisle during the invitation (also know as the quietest moment ever), and BG lets out this squeal of delight about halfway down the aisle.

I. Was. Mortified.

I booked it back to the back of the church where I waited until people were headed up to the pulpit and then we tried again.

During the rest of the invitation and on into the announcements, BG thought it was her job to entertain any and all people around us. I caught the eye of one of the other baby's dads and he was rolling laughing. Everyone around her was smiling at her, which just encourages her. Even Sophie couldn't make her stop laughing and cooing!

Finally we got to the dedication and BG was called up front.

She was a ham. She laughed, she cooed, she kicked and danced. I could hardly hold on to her. Clearly my child doesn't have a shy bone in her body. Pastor even remarked over how happy and outgoing she was.

Understatement.

The whole congregation was laughing at her, which just made her dance more! She is such a people person! We prayed over her and she received her certificate of dedication and a Bible. It was then time to move to the side and let the other three (younger, quieter) babies be dedicated.

BG smiled at the new set of people she was now standing in front of for a few minutes and then I felt her go limp.



Clearly the activity of the morning caught up with her because she slept through the rest of the dedication, pictures after, and getting loaded into the car to go eat. Baby was tired!

We went to a local bar-b-que place for lunch where BG got to hang out with the friends and family who came down for her big day. She also got to open some gifts and sit in the high chair for the first time since her parents forgot the infant car seat.

Good job Mom and Dad.

BG & Uncle Charleston- Dad's best friend since childhood.

Opening gifts... she's not spoiled at all!






BG chillin' out in a high chair for the first time. Yea.. she didn't love it. But seeing her sitting there at the table with us like such a big girl almost made me cry. She is getting too big way too fast!


We finally made it home where we took a few more pictures and hung out with friends for a while. Mr. Perfect and I are so, so thankful that we have such amazing family and friends in our lives, and that will now be in our daughter's life. We are so glad that so many thought it was important to come and stand up and say that they will be a part in making sure that she grows to know and love Jesus and to help make sure that she is raised living for Him. It was such a perfect, perfect day.

doctor update.

A couple of weeks ago, Mr. Perfect and I got a call from our specialist saying we had results in on some tests they had ran following Baby Girl's birth.

Per Dr. O's (our specialist) suggestion, we agreed to having BG's placenta reviewed by a pathologist to see if we could answer any lingering questions regarding my fertility issues. Dr. O was hoping that we could see how the placenta handled the pregnancy and if it would answer some remaining questions on the past miscarriages and also hopefully give us some insight to future pregnancies that we may consider.

The results were basically what we expected.

Apparently the placenta was small compared to BG's birth weight. First example of a not completely healthy one. Second, it had some areas that had started to go necrotic. That would explain why BG had stopped growing in utero and was also my worst fear. Thankfully our docs monitored her so well that that did not become an issue. The placenta showed that it was very obviously "handled with medication". A good clue to show us that this protocol would probably be needed in future pregnancies. Super fun.

There was one area that showed a problem between where BG's blood came in contact with mine. Basically (and this is high science stuff so I'm trying to explain it best I can being as how I had to have "regular people" explain it to me), it showed an area where BG had either tried to reject the nutrition that placenta was sending her, or there is a possibility that it shows where BG has picked up some malformations from me. Meaning, there is a possibility that she can have the same blood flow, cardiovascular issues I have. My issues show in my reproductive organs. We wouldn't know where hers would show.

It's all such complicated, medical jargon. Our specialist is a leading researcher in this field, so he gives us a lot of theories and possibilities. There is a possibility that she will never have an issue. There's a possibility she could have reproductive issues. There's a possibility that she could carry some of the same gene mutations I have.

I can't worry about all that right now. I'm sure that by the time all this would come in to play with her, the medical field will be ten times more advanced and she may have no issues at all. She will know my history so perhaps that will help. As of right now, she's a perfectly healthy four month old. I'm not worrying about things that can't be dealt with right now.

As for me. I still had some elevated cardiovascular levels that came back during pregnancy. I am supposed to go get a a complete work up to see where my levels are now. It's possible that the stress of the pregnancy elevated some levels and they may be normal now. That's what we're hoping for. If they are still elevated, I may be sent to a cardiologist for some work ups. Once again, all this just ties in with my blood flow system and how it basically sucks. I have started up one of my supplements because the minute after I had her and quit my meds, my headaches came back full force. So now I'm trying to control those with the supplement. I haven't started back up on the Metformin yet, as Dr. O wants to know my levels first. Other than the one supplement, I am medication free at the moment. And it feels great.

As for future pregnancies. Honestly, we are kind of closed off to any right now. Mr. Perfect and I joke a lot about how we're never doing this again, but I can't tell how much of that we are serious about it. I will say that as of right now, it is not in the cards. For me personally, (I can't speak for him as his thoughts aren't my story to tell) I am not looking forward to the protocol again. I can't even begin to imagine feeling the way I did while pregnant with BG running around. I don't think it would be fair to her to not be able to pick her up because I'm so sore and bruised from shots. To not be able to spend time with her because the meds have me so exhausted and sick that I can't see straight. Ugh. It makes me sad to even think about.

Then there is this. As devastating as our miscarriages were prior to BG, I think that going through one post her would be ten times worse. For some reason, now that I've met her and see what I have with her, losing the chance to have that again would be horrible.

Does that make sense?

Probably not. But it does to me. It's like I know now what we would be missing. Crazy I know, but that's the way my mind works.

So all that to say, plan for now is for BG to be our one and only. It's just so much to go through.

Then I think how bad I want her to have siblings. Or I see pictures of little babies on Twitter and I get a big 'ol case of the baby fever. We shall see.

Never say never.

I'm just glad we have some answers. And I'm super, super glad that all this worked and we have our girl.

wordless wednesday

an audition.

It's no secret that schools in the South kind of, well suck. Not every teacher, not every class, but in general, the level of education in the South is not so great. The numbers don't lie.

Unfortunately in my town, they are really, really bad. Most people move to the outlying counties and put their kids in school there. That's what my parents did.

However, Mr. Perfect and I aren't planning on moving outside of the city unless it's out of state, so looks like the little one will be private schooling it come her time.

Which is fine with me. I love the uniforms.

Shallow, yes, but oh so cute.

My friend, KP, has made the same decision for her little one. Well, she had anyway. Then she found out about a magnet school in our town.

She now has the bright idea that our girls will go there. They just have to display an artistic tendency.

Oh brother.

While I can play a mean saxophone, that would be the last of the artistic gene. Mr. Perfect and I are more "bookish". Well he's technological and I'm bookish. If those are words. Point being, we are not the creative, artsy type.

The other night while BG and I were hanging out with KP and Kathryn, we noticed the funniest thing ever. Kathryn has a fascination with playing the keyboard. She was pounding away on the keyboard and every time she would get going, we would hear BG start wailing. She was totally singing!


So maybe there is hope. Or maybe these girls will start their own band and we won't have to worry about any of this.

Kidding.

Kind of.

20 weeks

It seems like every week is such a big week milestone wise now.

BG turned 20 weeks on Saturday. On Friday, she started reaching out and grabbing faces. Our lips, nose, eyes; they are no longer safe.

Neither is Mr. Perfect's goatee. His poor face.

She's a rolling over machine. Not only that, but she has now learned how to push down with her feet and get her little butt in the air.

We really need to get to the baby proofing..

And yes. I realize that onesie is too small, but she's had it a week people. I can't keep her in clothes!

This week she has also decided that she's too big to sit down anymore. She stands all the time. Lucky for her, Nonny and Pops got her a walker while they were down last week. She kind of loves it.

She is at such a fun age. She "talks" all the time, has just started giving "sugar" (huge, open mouth wet kisses- they're great!), loves to play, and spends most of the day laughing.

She is seriously the best thing ever.

So Long Turstal!

A couple weeks ago, our friends packed up and moved back home to Ohio.

I personally was not okay with it, but since no one asked me..

Whatever.

Before they left, Turstal and her son came over to say good-bye to Baby Girl and I.

I really hate when people move.

But.. I wish them all the best. I'm just really going to miss having way too many a margarita every now and then with my girl. Sigh...

moving on up.

When we went to Baby Girl's four month appointment, we were given a schedule on how to introduce solids and juices into her diet.

At first we were to start with two tablespoons of rice cereal at dinner and about three tablespoons of juice diluted with water about two hours before dinner.

I was kind of on the fence about adding solids in already. I just don't feel like she personally needs them. I know that its okay to let babies live on formula/b*reastmilk alone until they're about six months old. I know that most of the time people do start introducing solids at about four months, but there are studies saying that's good as well as bad. I don't judge. Do whats best for your child I say.

Mr. Perfect and I let her have some rice cereal for the first time on the fourth. At first she really didn't get it, but eventually I think she got the hang of it enough to at least swallow a bit of food.




Our general consensus that night, was she just didn't seem completely ready for the food. She pushed out more than she got, it didn't seem to make her any more satisfied, and she already was sleeping good, so no change there. We just didn't feel she was quite there yet, so we decided solid wise, to stick with formula for the time being.

The next day, we tried the juice thing. Our pediatrician wants us to juice in a sippy cup, not a bottle.

My child sees the sippy cup as yet one more toy.

She did not get it. She banged it on the tray, threw it on the table, and got really frustrated when she'd tip it back and get nothing out. I'd show you the video, but it's really just three minutes of me staring at the cup to see if anything was coming out.

It wasn't.

So a bust on the juice as well.

Then last Wednesday, we decided to give the juice another try.

It went ten times better. She literally sucked down her cup of juice and was looking for more. I don't know if it was the difference in sippy cups or what, but she was hooked.

Now she gets juice about 4:30 every afternoon. Two hours before dinner.


I'm thinking of adding a juice in the morning too. I've completely veered off my pediatrician's schedule. Just going by what I feel she needs.

Which led me back into the world of rice cereal.

This past week, BG has fought us tooth and nail at bedtime. I can't figure it out. She has been such a great sleeper for so long, that this is throwing me for a loop. So I thought maybe she was still hungry or not satisfied enough or something.

So I brought the cereal back out last night...


It went great.. until you took it away from her.


I tried it again tonight. I guess we're officially "on rice cereal" now. Tonight she loved it. I personally understand the love of food completely, so who am I to deny her?!



Although I do have to wonder... what the heck happened to my baby?!? Who is this big girl eating from a spoon?!