Sweet Girl

Smiley girl!

Love those chubby cheeks and cute belly

Her look of wonderment and discovery, so heartwarming!

Hey! It's a smile!

Suspicious of the new toys hanging on her bouncy chair.

She gave me a "what's this all about?!" look when I first put it on :)

First Days Back

So angry, but so strong!

Happy mom, happy baby :)

This week has been pretty eventful for all of us! I started back at work on Monday, and Julia had her first day in daycare. The decision to go back to work was very difficult and one that Tom and I made with much consideration. Unlike most jobs, mine is not one that I can just put in 2-weeks notice and walk away from. Ultimately, it wasn't a decision made for financial reasons, but one that was based on the commitment I made to serve, and everything I have done in the last almost 10 years to work towards being an officer. As long as Julia is happy and working doesn't take away from our life as a family, but rather enhances it, I'll continue to serve. It was really difficult leaving for work on Monday, but knowing that she's going to be well taken care of made it a little bit easier. Since I work such long shifts, Tom has to take her and pick her up everyday, and I was a little worried about how things would go for him. Monday went as smooth as possible (Tom described it as "magical"!!), but Tuesday was a little rough. I get to visit her on my lunch breaks to feed her, and I am so thankful for that. When I went to get her on Monday, the ladies said she had been sleeping all morning, but when I started talking with them she woke up and looked around for me! That felt so neat, that she recognized my voice and was looking for me. It's great to have those special moments with her :). On Tuesday, she was only there for a couple hours in the morning, since we had our last group "prenatal" appointment. This was the reunion with all the new parents and babies. It was so awesome to see all the babies together, and to see everyone as parents! It was really weird to see everyone not pregnant too. Our midwife got a few really good group pictures, which I'll of course post once I get them. It was really neat because two of the babies have parents in Tom's unit, so we got a photo of all the "services babies." We went around and shared our birth stories, and not only was Julia the first one born of the group, I think she also had the least traumatic birth. Everyone in our group either was induced or had a c-section, so I felt very blessed that besides getting an epidural, my birth experience was very "normal".

Before the appointment, Tom and I met with a lactation consultant because she's had trouble latching on, and also because of how fussy she is at night. The lady gave us some really good advice (which I started using last night, and it's been working!!). With the fussiness, she suggested cutting out dairy and some other foods, like nuts and maybe wheat, and see how she does with that. I think it's definitely dairy that bothers her because I drink a lot of milk and LOVE to eat ice cream :(. It's going to be tough not having those if it is what's bothering her, but it'll be so worth it! It breaks our hearts when she's so upset and nothing we try seems to work. I'll keep you all updated on how she does with that!

Moby Wrap

Tom and I received a front/back carry pack thing for Julia, and we've used it a few times, but all the straps are really cumbersome and hard to adjust if we try to share it. I decided to try out a Moby wrap, which is a little intimidating since it's basically just a really long piece of fabric. It came in the mail today, and wow, what a lifesaver!! It's not too difficult to put on, and once I put Julia in it, she fell asleep right away, which is very unusual considering she just ate. We think she has colic because after she eats she's very fussy and will scream and get red head-to-toe (she'll also stand up! I have a really great photo I need to post of her standing on Tom's lap during one of these crying fits). Last night, for example, she cried for at least two hours straight after I fed her, and then it was difficult to nurse her once she got hungry again since she was so upset. This wrap claims to help colicky babies, and so far so good! I'll post some photos later :). Right now...I'm going to get some much needed chores done since she's asleep and cozy!

Happy Easter!

Sleepyhead!

She didn't want to wake up for photos...

Ready for Mass!

Happy Easter everyone!! Here are a couple photos of our Jules in her beautiful Easter dress, a gift from Gramma and Grandpa Bryant :). We wish we could be celebrating this blessed day with our families, but we are thinking about you all and you are in our prayers!

Beautiful Blankets

So in love with my daughter :)

Quilt from Gramma Bryant

I love how brillant the colors are! You're so talented Mom :)

Quilt from Great Aunt Chris

I love the Peter Rabbit fabric!

Beautiful blankie made by Uncle Patrick's girlfriend, Jordan

We are so lucky to have many talented women in our family! Julia has already received a number of handmade blankets (none from her Mom yet though...maybe when I have more time!). I thought it'd be fun to take some photos of her and her blankets. Also, Great-Grandma Negron made Julia the yellow blanket she is on in the previous post! Thank you to everyone!! Tom took the some photos of Julia and me tonight, too, since we have a lot of him with her but not me :). Enjoy the photos!

Julia Update

One of her favorite places to sleep (the other is mommy!)

She loves being on the floor!

She discovered her hands and that they can go in her mouth, mmm...

Loving bath time :)

Holding her head up, so strong!

Our Julia is certainly stealing our hearts these days! She's so beautiful and so amazing to us :). She figured out how to suck on her hands, and spends a lot more time awake, during the day even, and is doing a wonderful job holding her head up! When we burp her, she usually holds her head up and holds onto our shirt collars (or my hair...) for support. Tom and I are always impressed with how strong she is. She even has stood up on our laps a few times when she's been really upset. Every day she gets bigger and stronger and seems to notice more of the world around her! As far as her sleeping goes, she's slept for about 5-6 hours straight the last couple nights, but she's very fussy in the evening and doesn't fall asleep until about midnight or 1am. Hopefully she'll start to fall alseep earlier at night, especially when mommy has to go back to work!

Julia also had an ear appointment the other day, but the doctor we saw was not very helpful. She tested both her ears again and looked in them. She said her left ear responded beautifully, but got nothing from her right ear. After she said that, she said, "well, she has her left ear, so that's good enough for me! You all can go about your lives now..." Tom and I looked at each other for a moment, not really sure what to say, and then Tom finally asked her, so what exacly does that mean? It took some more questions to finally get out of her that either there's still fluid or something in her ear from birth, or maybe her ear canal is too small for the equipment, or she actually does have hearing loss. The doctor finally said that we could bring her back when she's a little older and her ears are a little bit bigger. It was a very frustrating visit, to say the least, but in the meantime, we're just going to watch her to she if she seems to respond to different noises and sounds.