The Meek Family: March 2010

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

6 & 7 weeks

Opps... looks like I have forgotten to post for a couple weeks. So let's play catch up. Clint has been gone the last couple of weeks for work and will be gone again next week. Although it's hard on all of us, I think it's hardest on him. I told him to be glad he was with the other field guys not just out on the road all by himself. Adult socialization... what's that?! He was all packed up before the morning session on the last day and left immediatly to get home. For those of you who know Clint, know this is a BIG deal!

Sadie is growing like a weed. I weighed her with me on our scale here at home last week and she came in between 8 1/2 to 9 lbs. I don't know how accurate the scale is since the number changes each time we get off and on but I'm guessing that's about right by the way she feels. We have her 2 month, yes you read that right, 2 month appointment next Friday so I will know for sure then. She has gotten much longer also. I had to put away a lot of her newborn stuff because she was too long for it. It's perfect around but she can't straighten out her legs so a lot had to go. The 0-3m stuff is HUGE on her so we have very few outfits she can wear out these days. We also started in on size 1 diapers. These also are HUGE! I have to fold them down quite aways but they hold much more and she was getting to the point we had to change her immediately or else there was trouble in the newborn size. She had is starting to smile more consistently. Her first smile was on her 6 weeks 'bday'. She is tracking and focusing well and starting to coo. She is very strong and has great head and neck control. She can turn from side to side and hold it up for long periods now. I love watching her grow and see her meet new milestones but it tugs at my heart a bit at the same time. My little girl is growing so fast! Here is a couple 6 week pictures.

I am getting back to my self. I have started working out and have 7lbs left to get back to where I started... and a whole lot of toning to do. I ordered Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred which arrived yesterday. Here's to hoping I stick with it and it does the trick. I went back to work this weekend. Booo!!! I missed Clint & Sadie so much but made it through with crying only once! I thought that was pretty good. I am getting ready to switch jobs. I will be going back to adult care and working days! After a lot of thought and prayer I decided that adults is where my heart is. Pediatrics is fun but it is too slow paced for me. I will be starting on a telemetry floor at the hospital about 15 minutes from here (30 minutes closer!) on April 19th.

Clint and I have been trying to find a childcare provider for Sadie. We are lucky that right now Clint can take her at night and our moms have/ will come down to help at first. It's nice for them to be able to come spend time with her... and us. We have a few options for who we could use but haven't made a decision yet. I have another lady to interview hopefully tomorrow. She lives directly behind the hospital so I am hoping it works out. It is so hard to find some one that we feel comfortable with. I never thought I would have this much trouble with going back to work. Things really change once they are here though.

We are learning a few new ways to do things to...

How we shop, clean house and go for walks...

How I get ready in the morning if she is awake and do some house work...

She falls fast asleep in this one!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Happy St Patricks Day!

Happy St Patricks Day & 5 weeks!

It's so hard to believe we are already to 5 weeks! That means I have to go back to work at the end of next week. I am excited to get back to work, to add that part of life to our routine. I am super bummed about leaving my little girl though... especially since I don't have a sitter yet. Thank goodness for grandmas who are willing to come stay with Sadie while I work the first couple of weeks!

I can't believe how much Sadie has grown over the last 5 weeks. She is still in newborn clothes and diapers but it is very obvious she is growing quickly. Her hands and feet seem so much bigger and she has some meet on her bones these days... not much but it seems like it compared to when she was born. She continues to be more alert and work on focusing on faces and objects and grasping things. She is a strong lil lady and loves to prove it by holding her head up more and more every day.

We had another big weekend last weekend. Sadie and I made our first road trip by ourselves to Iowa of course. It went well but we missed Daddy and all of his help and snuggles! I am pretty sure Daddy missed his girls quite a bit as well.

My sister, Megan, and Clint's sister, Jen, had a baby shower for Sadie. It was so perfect... a traditional tea with yummy food and extremely yummy cupcakes!!! Some of Clint's family was able to travel from IL/WI to meet Sadie which meant a lot to us. Many of my family members were also able to come as well as some close friends, most of which I worked with previously.

We stayed at Megan & Rob's house and cousin Miley was beside herself with the excitement of baby Sadie being there. She is a big help with Sadie and gives her lots of love. I have a feeling these two are going to get in to a lot of trouble as they grow up!

We had the opportunity to meet Ben this weekend. Ben is the son of my friend Lindsey. He was born 2 days after Sadie but is a little over 2lbs bigger then her. At this age 2lbs seems like 20! We enjoyed seeing them (and everyone that was able to make it to dinner).

I was able to take Sadie to meet my grandparents on my mom's side as well over the weekend. She also met a lot of friends! We skipped FMH & the hospital this time for fear we would never get back out the door but will stop in next time we are in town.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Happy 1 month Sadie!

Wow! Time is sure flying by. Sadie is 1 month old and is growing so quickly. She is right about 7 lbs 4oz I think with how I can weigh her at home. She can wear almost all her newborn clothes and is more alert every day! She is holding up her head and looking around. She turns to sound and can focus on our faces now. It is amazing to me how much they change in such a short amount of time.

Clint & I are truely enjoying being parents. We love seeing her do new things and showing her off to anyone who will give us the time of day! She is such a blessing to us. Yes there are times I hate getting up in the middle of the night and yes it kills me how much we spend on diapers and formula but I wouldn't change anything if it meant I didn't have my baby. I may be a bit biased but she is as perfect as babies come. I just love her so much!

We had the FMH Annual meeting last weekend. We were in Des Moines from Friday to Monday. It was great to see everyone, spend time with friends and family and get to introduce them Sadie but man was it exhausting! We were totally off our schedule... which we are now paying for big time. And I get to go back this weekend for a couple days. I am super excited for the shower and to see everyone but I am not looking forward to being off our schedule and running all over heck like a mad women trying to see everyone and do everything. Clint isn't coming with so I want to try to go up on Friday morning and come back Saturday night. We haven't really had an us weekend since we brought Sadie home so I want to try to get back and spend time together as a family. Clint will have to be gone her in a couple weeks for 3 weeks (home on weekends) and I go back to work at the end of the month so our free time is quickly running out. Man I wish I could have taken 12 weeks. Oh well, gotta provide a college education for this little lady!

Clint shaved his head at the annual meeting along with about 15 other guys. They all did this in support of a 13 year old daughter of one of Clint's co workers who was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma (cancer) last fall. She is undergoing very intense treatment right now. We are praying for her and her family for the best outcome. I don't know her personally but I read her blog and she is such an amazing young lady. She has a good head on her shoulders and a heart of gold. I pray she beats this beast.
FMH employees and family raised over $16,000 for this family in one night. It was amazing to see so many people's generosity and support. Even some of the top guys in the company took part even though they didn't want to shave their heads. It wasn't about them, it was about helping out another 'family' member. I am so proud of FMH employees and families!

I got the first swipe! Charlie (Clint's boss) took a turn to!

After shot

Part of the guys prior to shaving

Part of the guys after the shaving.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Readmitted...

booo!!! I was readmitted to the hospital on Feb 27th. They thought I had an infection in my uterus but after I was admitted they decided it was probably mastitis. Usually they don't admit for that but I had a fever of 102F+ for 3 days so they kept me until I could keep it under 100F. Unfortunately that took me until Monday to do so I had to spend 2 nights in the hospital getting fluids and antibiotics. I bawled my eyes out when Clint & Sadie left the first night... I cried the 2nd night just not as much. It was the hardest thing being away from my little girl especially since it was against my will. I am so thankful Clint was here and able to take care of her. It was probably a good trial run for when I go back to work. He is great with her so I knew I had nothing to worry about but still it was hard not being there for them.
To top things off this whole infection and being sick in general shot my milk supply. In the hospital I was lucky to get an ounce total. Now that I am home I can get 2.5-3 ounces every 3 hours but that is just not enough for Sadie so we have had to result to formula. Now the poor peanut is getting constipated and she makes faces and tries not to eat when she gets the formula. I keep pumping and drinking water and Mother's Milk tea to try to get my supply up but I am worried that Sadie may end up having to be a formula baby. That's hard for me. I really wanted to be able to provide her with the natural diet God intended her to have. I know everything happens for a reason but it is hard for me to not think I am letting her down. At least she is eating and I am getting some milk so she is not completely on formula. I will keep praying my supply goes up and I can switch her back to all breastmilk.