Been a While

Well, I know its been a while since I've blogged, but we've had some busy days! Let's start with MC. I just don't know about this whole teething thing. She's woken up crying one to three times over the past few nights, but hasn't been fussy during the day anymore. When she wakes at night she starts REALLY crying and shoving everything in her mouth... hands, clothes, etc. She doesn't stop crying immediately when I put orajel on, but she does fall back asleep after a few minutes (the dilema lies in that we let her cry for 5-10 minutes before we even go in there just to make sure she's not dreaming and will go back to sleep on her own. Soooo, is she just tired from crying or does the orajel help?) And if she was teething, wouldn't she be crying during the day as well? Children are so complicated. I wish she had a little collar like that dog in "Up!" that would interpret what her cries meant and put them into sentences. For instance, she starts screaming and I hear "Hey! Lady with the long hair! My gums are killing me here - a little help please!" from her collar. I'm wondering if she's getting hungry through the night too. I mean, the kid is ALWAYS hungry. You should see the pediatricians eyes when we tell them how much she eats. She is eating 7oz every 4 hours and about 2TBS of baby food. Her nighttime bottle also has three scoops of rice in it. I dunno. I'm confused.

On a happier note, I DO know that she is LOVING baby food! She sits in her Bumbo and leans forward with her mouth open like a little bird when I feed her. Its really precious. So far we have introduced prunes, peas, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Her favorite so far was the carrots. She was all about some carrots.

As far as her little problem goes, its better. I dunno if its the veggies she's getting or what, but its a better consistency. Even when she does have, um, harder poops it doesnt seem to upset her or pain her like they have before. With that said, I do want to say thanks for all the comments on the issue and the suggestions. Most of them we had tried already, but its nice to know that even strangers are willing to help out a new mom :) If anyone who happens to BE a new mom reads this post, we tried the following to help with MC's problem - rectal temperature, Karo, juice, tummy/leg movement, suppositories, and different formula. Sadly these were all done to no avail, but hey, one of them might work for you.

Things on the homefront are going well too. Adam and I are slowly getting back into the swing of things and its getting better. I am going to be frank about this though - his coming home was not the fairytale either of us imagined. I had been debating about whether or not to bring this up, but I am all about using my experiences to help people, so maybe there are some other military wives that might benefit from what I am about to say...

First of all, don't think we weren't THRILLED to be back together again, but its almost like we had to learn how to live with each other all over again. That, and I think we both did a lot of changing while he was away. There have been times I have stepped back and looked at a situation and thought "this is not at all how we would've handled this before..." I'll admit its scary. In the very beginning I wondered if maybe we had changed TOO much; but things are getting better as I mentioned. Another thing that caused us some trouble was MC. I mean, I was the only person responsible for her for 3 and a half months. It was really difficult to suddenly let go and allow someone else to do things for her - even if it was my husband. I am very regimented and did things a certain way and now I was forced to hand over my daughter and watch Adam do things differently. I'm sure I didn't make the whole transition any easier on him. I got way too uptight about how things were supposed to be done when I should've rejoiced in the fact that he was here to do them at all!

I think the reason things are getting better is praying. I am not joking people. We bought a devotional for couples and we do it every night before we go to bed. It forced us to talk. It forced us to pray. It forced us to remember that God is the center of our relationship - he brought us together for a reason. He didn't promise things would be easy, but if we trust in Him, it will all work out. I tell ya, God has REALLY tested us the past month or two, but Adam and I both are trying to remember He will never give us more than we can handle. I hope you remember the same!

We are headed to Starkville this afternoon and will be meeting my mom there tomorrow for her to get MC for a few days. She and my dad are going to freak out when they see her (its been over a month!). She has grown so much and is doing so many new things, they aren't going to know what to do! It will also give Adam and I some alone time to spend together which is always needed when you have a baby! It seems like the most intamacy you get is when you bump into each other in the kitchen making a bottle! Anyway, looking forward to a few days in ole Starkvegas and, of course, to MC's baptism this weekend!!!! She will be wearing the gown I wore when I was baptized - and while its not the most extravagent or beautiful baptism gown I have ever seen, it was mine. It was worn when I met Christ for the first time and I think its beautiful that MC will be wearing it when she meets him too. Can't wait to post pics from it all!! Have a happy week everyone!