Addison Update

Hey all. Addison is doing great. I just haven't had a lot of time lately to post anything. She is such a happy baby. She is sleeping well and eating great. We've been weighing her at home and she's topping out at a little over 11 pounds now! She's taking about one bottle a day of pumped milk now, which is so nice because Kevin can help me feed her if I have something else that needs to get done (like cooking dinner!). And I've figured out that on weekend nights, that one bottle a day looks really great around 2:30am! :) Some of her loves are taking baths, tummy time with Daddy, her Baby Einstein play mat, taking naps in Mommy's lap, and riding in the car. Kevin and I actually went out for the first time without her Saturday night. We went and had a nice dinner date while Mamaw and Pops (my parents) and Aunt Kaila came and stayed with her. We were gone all of 15 minutes before I broke down and called to check on her. They said she did great the whole time we were gone (all 3 hours of it!), and slept the majority of the night.

Here are a few pictures from the last week and a half...

I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!!!

Best Baby Products

One of my friends is getting ready to have a baby in a few weeks. I ran into her the other night at the Parkview game and she was asking me about some of the "baby things" I use that I really like or that help me out the most. That got me thinking about ALL of the things I use on a daily basis with Addison... feeding things, entertaining things, changing things, bathing things, etc. etc. etc... and what I truly couldn't live without.

So, here are Krista's Official Cannot Live Without Baby Things:

# 3 - The Boppy - this pillow gets lugged all over the house... it is wonderful for nursing, lounging, sitting her in on the floor for 2.5 seconds so I can get something done quickly, helping to hold her so your other hand can eat, change channels, use the computer, hold the phone - you get the idea...

#2 - The Miracle Blanket - for the first few nights we had Addison home, she was not a good sleeper. And try as we might, we just couldn't get the regular receiving blankets to swaddle her like the nurses in the hospital could. Then I remembered we had The Miracle Blanket. It looks pretty cruel - I mean it is essentially a baby straight jacket - but we used it about 4 nights in, and that was the first night she slept for 2 4-hour stretches... and she has done the same every night since... It truly is a MIRACLE!

#1 - The Graco Sweet Peace Soothing Center - OH MY GOODNESS!! My child LOVES this swing. It sways at 6 different speeds in 3 different directions, it plays COUNTLESS songs both classical and lively, it has many different white noise options (Addison's favorite is the heartbeat sound), you can plug your own iPod into it to play your music, and the seat pops off so you can snap your Graco carseat straight into it so you can transfer a sleeping child from the car to the swing without having to get her out of the seat. This thing is AMAZING, and by far Addison's most used baby thing.

So... Moms weigh in... what are YOUR favorite cannot live without baby things?!

An Addison Divided

I know it has been a week since my last post, but Addison has kept me pretty busy this week. Last night we took her to her first live football game. Parkview was playing in the first round of the playoffs at home and we really wanted to go see them (and Mommy really didn't care WHERE we went as long as she got out of the house!). So we bundled up the little one and headed out to the Big Orange Jungle. She did so great. She fell asleep in the car on the way there and didn't wake up until we got home. It was great that she slept through the game and wasn't fussy, but we paid for it at 2:00 am when she was wide awake and wanting to play. Oh well... it's the weekend, right?! Here is Addison at her first game.

Today is also a big day. It's the UGA/Auburn game! I swear our family isn't as football crazed as we sound (OK, maybe we are a little), but that's what we do in the fall in the south!! Addison has inherited her Mommy's love for the Dawgs, but on the UGA/Auburn gameday we have to be respectful to our family members who made poor choices and went to that OTHER school. Aunt Kim, Aunt Shannon, Uncle Todd, and Cousin Allison were all Tigers, or War Eagles, or whatever they decide to be at any given time. So to be fair, our little Addison is divided today... she's sporting her Georgia onesie and her Auburn booties... that way she's a winner no matter what the outcome of the game is! :)

"Oh, I'm so confused..."

GO DAWGS!!!

We tried really hard to have Addison with us before kickoff of the UGA/UF game last week, but she was born just after it was over... we actually watched the horrible game in the L&D room... SO, today is her first UGA gameday! We are trying to teach her how to call the dawgs already, but she isn't picking it up as quickly as we thought she would... oh well... I think she is adorable anyway! :)

Touchdown GEORGIA!

Addison's First Outing

Last night Addison had her first outing (other than the dr.'s office)... Mommy, Daddy, Mamaw, Pops, Abuelita, and Uncle Todd took her to our favorite Mexican restaurant - El Ranchero. She did so great... she slept the whole time we were in there. Not a peep!

"Her" first tortilla chip!

My new obsession...

Had I been told just a week ago that I would become obsessed with poop, I would have laughed and said that was crazy. I would never be that mom. Lesson learned - never say never... I have turned into that mom. I mean not just keeping up with how many times she poops a day, but also the color, the consistency, the texture, the smell, how much, how little... my life is now literally poop.

Well today we went to the pediatrician for Addison's jaundice recheck. The dr. said she looks great and her jaundice is getting better. But, the real news of the day is the little chunkster has gained 11 ounces in 3 days. She is now 9lbs 2.5 ounces! So, I reassured myself - the nervous, poop-obsessed, first-time mommy- that she was indeed getting enough to eat, and her poops are just fine... So, just to prove to me that she's OK and normal, my sweet little angel of a child pooped for me when we got home... and not just any ol' run-of-the-mill poop, but a fill the diaper, shoot out the top, smear all the way up the back, need a bath immediately poop.

So I did what any nervous, poop-obsessed, first-time mommy would do... I smiled, said that I had asked for it, and went and gave the little booger a bath and a clean diaper. Here's the picture only a mother could love... my sweet little pooper! :)

My Whole World

All of the sudden my heart is on the outside of my body... I never imagined this kind of love existed.

Rock The Vote!

Addison says "don't forget to vote today!"

Addison Reese is Here!!!

Addison made it by her eviction date!!! She came into the world at 7:36 pm on Saturday, November 1st. She weighed in at 8lbs 14 oz and was 20.5 inches long. She has a head full of dark hair, dark blue eyes, and the cutest little pouty lips I have ever seen. My scheduled induction was for Monday morning, but Friday afternoon I got knocked over at school by a student coming through a door, so they sent me on over to the hospital for observation overnight. Since we were already there, they went ahead and started the pitocin drip at 6:00 am on Saturday. "We" started pushing at 6:00 pm. Unfortunately after about an hour of pushing they determined she was "sunny-side-up" and not receptive to being turned, so they had to use a little vacuum suction to help her out... and out she came about 30 minutes later. So far, she is a very happy baby. She loves being cuddled close and hates having her diaper changed. She is eating well, and is SO strong already.

We are home and settled and taking in each minute of her. I already feel like the days are going by too fast. I want to hold on to each passing second. We are pretty much eating, sleeping, changing diapers, and repeating the pattern.

HERE are some pictures of little Addison that a mom of one of my players took at the hospital. I have a bazillion more on my camera, and some our families have taken and sent to us, but I haven't gotten around to uploading and saving them yet.

I will post more a little later.