Baby Quilts

My mom and I made a tummy time quilt during her stay here, and by "my mom and I," I really mean I picked out the fabric and design and she made it!! I love it and Mia loves to play on it!! Here is a quick look at how we made it! Thanks mom!!

Days of Summer

Well, I can't even believe it, but for me summer is officially over which means it's time to go back to work. It's crazy to think that I already had Mia, spent ten wonderful weeks with her, and have to actually go back to reality! Time really does fly by when you've got a baby! I'm happy to say that Mia is lucky enough to be babysat this year by her Lollie (Brian's mom) and her Nonnie (Sharon... Brian's Step-mom). They could not love her more so I know she is in great hands, but it didn't make going back that first day any better! I boohooed all the way to work and was so worried that she would miss me throughout the day and be sad, but when it was time to pick her up, she was so enthralled with watching her cousin Collin, that she didn't even notice we were there! That made the rest of the week easier! Not to mention, this baby has been so exhausted from playing all day that she is actually pretty much sleeping through the night! Yaaaay!! I wish there was some way for me to stay home and enjoy every moment with Mia, but you know we've got to live that luxurious life and have things like electricity and hot water, so for now, this mama has to work!

Well, here are her weekly photos for the past seven weeks!

Week 5

 Week 6

Week 7

 Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Two Months

Well.... our baby is officially two months old!! I can't believe how quickly she is growing and changing. In the past 3 weeks alone, she has started to smile in response to people and sometimes just because she sees you, started wanting to be in the stand up position, and started to like her mobiles and toys more. We've also had some major diaper blowouts lately, which we hadn't really had problems with before. I should probably invest in some Pampers stock because we are flying through them!!! Lucky for me, her daddy is the pro at changing poopy diapers and I don't have to do too much diaper duty! Mia has even begun giggling a little bit, but as luck would have it, she clams up the second a camera comes out, so hopefully we'll be getting some recordings of that soon enough! Mia still is waking up two to three times a night to eat and because she wants to sleep with us, but hopefully she will start sleeping through the night longer soon since I'll be back at work in two weeks. We went today for her two month shots and that was pretty tough! As expected, she was NOT happy to get her shots and cried for about ten minutes inconsolably afterward. She even cried her first real tear.... which was devastating for me, but we made it through! She's just been zonked out since we've been home. Good thing she can't speak yet, because this would have been a good time to ask mommy and daddy for a pony!! (I think this child may end up being a little spoiled...) We look forward to all of the new things she will do this month and are anxious about going back to work.  I know it will all be ok, but its still hard to think about.

Here are her two month photos!

Mia Gets Wiard

Well, after many long weeks of waiting, my parents, (the Wiard's) finally got to visit from Chicago!! I am so excited that they got to come down and enjoy some Mia time of their own! My dad stayed about a week and my mom will be staying until school starts. Our time has been filled with lots of good food, shopping, and tons of baby time!! I am so glad they got to see Mia at this stage of life, but their visits are always bittersweet when they end. I wish we did not live so far away, but I am thankful they could come down and am equally thankful that Mia has Brian's family here to love on her all the time!

Also... Mia has officially began smiling at people in response to play! Today, she even started smiling at me when I walked into the room just because she was happy to see me! What an awesome feeling!

One Month Photos

Well, I am definitely late in posting these (and these pics might have been taken around week six, but I'm trying here), and our baby is growing like a weed! I can't believe how fast she is growing and changing from week to week! In one quick month, she learned to sleep in her pack and play finally, lift her head from side to side, follow objects with her eyes and many other feats which are exciting to new parents! I have learned so much in just a short amount of time. For example... I love my vacuum, which has saved me from hours of a screaming baby late at night! That machine was worth every penny and is like baby crack! (Yes, I know that's an eloquent way to put it!) We've learned that we CAN survive on almost no sleep and we've learned to work as a great team! Brian is so helpful with her. I can not even begin to count how many poopy diapers he has changed while I get ready to feed her! She is so alert as we go into her second month and even cracks some smiles!

We can not wait to chronicle all of her other milestones as she learns and grows into a little girl!
Here are some photos of her at one month!

Pinterest Photo Ideas

Here are the beginning photos to a project I am trying thanks to Pinterest. I plan to take her photo every week for the first year and then put them into a photo book after her first birthday.

Week One

Week Two

 Week Two Again

 Week Three

Week Four

 

One Month

Well, it's hard to believe but my sweet baby is one month old! It is crazy how a seven pound person can change your life in such a short time, but our lives are forever changed!! In four weeks that seem to have flown by, Mia has grown so much. She has this cute little personality of her own and a scream that can make your ears ring! It seems like forever ago that I was up all night, too scared to sleep because I thought something bad would happen to her (darn hormones) and we haven't made any late night phone calls to the lactation consultants at the hospital nursery in a few weeks. Yes, my husband actually knows that number by heart! Breastfeeding has been somewhat of a challenge for me, and I could not have done it without the wonderful consultants' help and willingness to answer phone calls from people who aren't even staying in the hospital any longer!
We have learned that even newborns have their own likes and dislikes. For example, this child does not want to sleep in her own bed, which resulted in many nights taking turns sleeping in the recliner with her. Let me tell you, it is not the most ideal sleeping situation, but when you are seeing double because of sleep deprivation, you'll take what you can get! I am proud to say that last night our baby slept in her pack and play after each feeding and we got to sleep in our own bed together! Over the past month, we have really tried to establish some sort of routine and FINALLY, we have something that resembles one.... most of the time. We are finally getting into the groove of things and thanks to a dear friend letting me borrow her breast pump, getting out and going places has become much much easier! I am amazed daily by this sweet baby and am so thankful that God has put her in our lives. Its awesome how he put just the right little angel into our lives and we could not be more smitten with her! Hopefully, we will continue to gain confidence as parents and establish a successful routine before we go back to work at the end of August, but in the meantime, we are going to enjoy every minute we get to spend with her!

Mia's Room

So, I am finally getting around to posting more photos of Mia's room. We had a really good time getting her room together, and even though it's not quite finished, we are very pleased with it! First off, I spent many hours on pinterest and the internet searching for rooms I liked for inspiration. Somehow, we decided on just girly and pink mostly. After finding bedding I liked from Babies R Us (Thanks mom and dad!!), the rest just fell into place. We got a steal on our crib thanks to my friend Jodi, who bought three when she was pregnant, and received our cute dresser from Mia's Nonnie (Sharon).

The bookshelf on the floor was actually made by Steve (Brian's dad) when he was in school and we refinished it in white. Brian built the wall shelves and the standup shelf with all the items on it! Bookshelves were a must for her room as Mia has two scholastic obsessed teachers for parents!

Finally, we made her name out of wood and scrapbook paper and the hairbow holder and bird art were things I found on pinterest and simply replicated!! We love her little room and I sure hope this child ends up liking pink!

Back to the Beginning

Let me start off this post by taking you all back to last year! Last year, we decided we wanted to have a baby, so after months of planning and discussing, we agreed to start trying last July. After much prayer and patience, we finally got our wish in October!

Then our adventure in pregnancy really began! Over the next few months, we experienced many of the ups and downs that come with raging hormones, many doctor's visits, and an expanding waistline. Overall, I was blessed to have a healthy pregnancy, but we did have some spotting early into it that gave us quite a scare and had to repeat some glucose tests that all turned out okay! In no time at all, I quickly went from this.....

To this.....

 20 weeks

 

And finally onto this........

Needless to say, I got very BIG while pregnant, but that can be expected right? As I said, I was blessed with a healthy pregnancy and despite any small scares along the way, things went as smoothly as possible. Time really seemed to fly by once we found out we were having a baby girl!!!
As I look back on my pregnancy, I am thankful that it went so well, and hopeful that any pregnancies in the future will be just as normal!

Come one come all!!

Welcome to the Mitchell family's first official blog!!

 I am creating this blog to allow friends and family access to our daily lives now that Mia is here. Since we live so far away from many of you, hopefully this will allow you to see Mia as she grows and changes! I do not consider myself a writer in any way shape or form, so please bear with me and I hope you enjoy!