Just Amazing

Well I felt the need to make a little post. Since hearing of katd GREAT news it totally made me reflect on what we just went through in the last 2 months and how incredible God is and how life works out! As I read Katd posts, it totally brought me back to how things happened for us.

I can't believe DD is 2 months old already! What a whirlwind, I feel like Feb and March didn't even really exsist, especially February! My life changed in an instant and I couldn't be happier about it. Sure it has been probably the most stressful and most exhausting time in my life, but it has also been the most incredible. I am a parent!!!!! I have a beautiful daughter! WOW! Part of me still can't believe it!

Being a parent is the hardest and best thing I have ever done. The infant stage is very challenging, sleep deprivation is the worst! Plus DD has a little colic in the evenings which wears on you incredibly.......but look at my beautiful daughter! I am so looking forward to her growing and changing and being more interactive.

The weather is finally starting to get nice here, and it makes such a difference to have the sun shinning and to be able to go out for a walk!

Katd I know you will read this at some point and I just want you to know how happy and excited for you I am. You are about to endure the greatest and most challenging adventure of your life! I can't wait to keep reading all about it.

Here is a picture of DD from Saturday getting ready to go for a walk. She had her 2 mo shots on Friday so that made her quite tired and little cranky for a few days but I think we are getting better today.

I survived!

Well I survived DH's business trip where he was gone for 2 nights. DD and I did great!...plus I had a little help during the day from her grandmas. I was so happy to see DH yesterday, taking care of a baby all by yourself, especially when she gets up ever 4 hours at night is tough! But we did it.

DD is getting so big. She is over 11lbs now and finally healthy, she had a cold for a while which was not fun. She goes in next Friday for her 2 month appointment! I can't believe it. She is giving us a few smiles but not a lot yet so hopefully in the next couple of days she will really start smiling.

Well that is it , I just wanted to give a quick post. Happy St Patty's Day everyone! DH's mom is coming this afternoon and we are going out with friends for a bit so I am really excited!

Here is a picture I took last Saturday, it is by far my favorite so far!

Exhausted!

When they say babies don't come with an instruction manual man are they right! Now don't get me wrong I am not complaining and even though I am exhausted I wouldn't have it any other way.

It appears DD has established a fussy time along with maybe a reaction to the milk based formula. I had a great day with her yesterday at home, she ate pretty well, slept great and wasn't cranky...then at about 5:30 it was as though you flipped a switch and she was a different kid. So fussy and spit up everything she ate, would take a few sips and then wail! She has been spitting up more lately so I had called the doc last week and they said if it persisted for a week then switch to soy formula. Well it has been less then a week but I don't want a repeat of last night.........so DH went and bought the soy formula this morning and she had her best bottle since yesterday afternoon. She still spit up a little but not as much adn did not cry in agony during the whole bottle. It says on teh container for the formula it is proven to reduce fussiness and gasiness within 3 days....lets hope it takes a little less then that.

So since DH and I got so little sleep last night, i broke down and called for reinforcements :), my mom is going to come over later this morning and help me out so I can take a nap. I felt so bad for DD last night she seemed so very uncomfortable and we couldnt seem to make her happy. In addition to the formula problems she is also really stuffed up, which she has been for a couple weeks and it will come and go, I am also wondering if that is related to the milk because in one of my books it says a milk reaction could cause stuffiness. We will see how the Soy goes the next few days.

Just when you think you have the little bundles figured out, NOPE. Oh well, this too shall pass and it is all worth it. She is going to be 6 weeks tomorrow already! So depending on who you talk to she could start sleeping through the night or at least longer any time now but what I really can't wait for is her first REAL smile! Hopefully this week or next week we will get to see it! I could really use a toothless, gummy smile today :)

4 weeks already!!

Well, I can't believe it, DD is 4 weeks already!!!! Time sure flies!!! Everything is going really well. I was sick earlier this week with a sinus infection which made things interesting. Luckily DH stayed home Mon and Tues otherwise I don't know what I would have done!

I am getting used to the getting up in the middle of the night i guess. I hope she starts going longer then every 3 hours soon, but I guess she will when she is ready and no sooner.

I heard from teh birthfamily via e-mail the other day which was nice. It was the first I had heard from her since before we left Texas. I really can't explain the feelings I have for this couple....I will forever be grateful to them for giving me something, I could never give myself, the gift of being a mommy! I really wish them all teh best and hope that life gives them some breaks and good things come their way. I want to remain in contact with them which is something that 1 month ago, I never would have thought! THis process of semi-open adoption is truely a gift and a blessing and now that I have been through it I can't imagine it any other way!!

You see I am adopted myself.....only my adoption was completey closed (as were most at that time) All i have is a biece of paper that gives a description of what the birth parents looked like, their interests and a brief medical history. It is interesting because before I went through this experience, I never cared to track them down, but a part of me feels differently now. The only feelings I had about it growing up is I would have liked to see a picture of them. Well now a part of me wants to try to track them down to say thank you!

My DD is so blessed to be able to know exactly where she came from, and know that her parents met and got to know her birthparents, and we can tell her without a hesitation how much they love her and want the best for her. We have so many pictures of all of us together, which I am sure DD will love to look at. It really is an awesome experience and so much better then closed adoption (in my opinion) We have to go back to TX at the 6 month mark for the finalization and I hope that we will all be able to go and we can meet up with the birth family so they can see how well she is doing. I hope that they will always be a part of our lives, (to an extent of course) i have so much love and admiration for them, I will forever be a changed person because of them!!!

Here is a picture i took last week I think, isn'tDD the cutest!!

Happy to be Home!!!

Well we have been home for a few days now and are settling in. It is so nice to be sleeping in our own bed (although dd still prefers her carseat to the pack and play bassinet!) I am definately exhausted, but it is so worth it! I have yet to figure out this sleep when she sleeps thing, even though I am exhausted, I have so much stuff to do, I don't want to waste time sleeping. And it seems like when i do lay down I cant fall asleep anyway and just think about all the stuff I need to do.

Since everything happened so fast, we still don't have her nursery set up or anything, we have the walls done but then we started redoing the spare room so all that furniture is now in the baby's room, and we don't have a crib or changing table or dresser or anything, so it has been a bit cluttered trying to get organized. Hopefully dh will make some progress on the spare room this weekend so we can get it put back together and start getting dd room organized! So for now we have the pack in play in our room and dh bought a 3 drawer plastic container that we have in our room with some of her clothes and blankets etc. We definatley have more stuff in this house and we haven't even had our shower yet! So far we have a bouncy seat and a swing. I can't even imagine what this house is gonna look like after the shower.

Instead of a traditional shower we are just having an open house. I am not a big fan of showers so I think the open house will be good. It is next sat the 17th so we have bit to get ready for that, hopefully that spare room will at least be primed so we can get the furniture back in it.

It is starting to sink in that I am a mommy and that is my full time job! I am still going to try to work in my dad's office a few hours a week, but for the most part will be at home and am SOOOOOO excited. I can't imagine it any other way.

We took dd to the peditrician here today and that went great. The doctor was really nice and dd is up to 8lbs!!! she put on a 1lb in a week!!!! The doctor said she looks great and couldn't find anything wrong with her!!!!!!!!! We are just so blessed. I swear the last 2 weeks have been an absolute dream come true.

For those still waiting, DON'T GIVE UP!!!!!!!!!!!! Your child WILL find you and as soon as you see him/her you will know they are meant to be yours!!!!! And we are proof that it can happen ANYTIME!!!

We are Coming Home!!!!

Well we got clearance this morning so we are on the last flight out tonight!!! We are beyond excited, cold weather here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Doing well, but ready to come home

Everything is still going great. We took DD to the doctor on Thursday, she was up to 7 lbs and the doctor said she is really strong and healthy. Her cord fell off also on Thursday so that was nice to have that gone. She had her first bath in the sink on Thursday too since her cord fell off. She seemed to like it once she was in it. She really is so mellow, nothing really seems to bother her, except a hungry stomach (or when teh doctor is trying to look in her ears or poked her foot!)

We did get registered and that was SOOO much fun! We have an open house/shower schedule for Feb 17th. I am not a big fan of showers so I liked the open house idea a whole lot better.

We were hoping to get the clearance to come home on Friday but no luck. So we are stuck for the weekend and are hoping we hear on Monday and can go home on Tuesday. The first week we were here it was fine, nice to get to know one another with peace and quiet but now we are starting to go a little stir crazy, sick of the hotel and really wanting our own bed! I guess we are thankful for the weather here since they are having record lows in MI and it has been in the 50's and 60's here!

We met another adoptive couple here in teh hotel whose daughter was born 2 days before ours and they just got to go home today. It was nice we went out to dinner with them yesterday. I love the adoption community, it is just filled with amazing, caring, wonderful people!!!

I am going to go ahead and post a picture of dd. We think she is just the cutest!