Ashworth Alcove

Well, this isn't a post for everyone. But if you are, have, or will breastfeed - or if you just like to read about tatas - then get comfy. Even before I was pregnant, I always knew I would breastfeed. It just makes sense. What I didn't know, was exactly how much work it really is. Violet latched on straight out of the gate. In fact, we hadn't even been wheeled out of the operating room yet and she was already sucking away. She knew exactly what to do and had no problem doing it. When she wanted to nurse she would root around on whatever she could get to - arms, shoulder, her Daddy's hairy nipple. We call that move the woodpecker. These days she's smartened up and knows the precise location. She'll open her mouth and wiggle her head back and forth like a wee little bird. Most babies are born knowing how to nurse and they really want to. It's comforting. For this reason, I just can't imagine saying no to breastfeeding just because you don't want...

Dear Violet, Your 8 week checkup was yesterday. 13lb. 8oz. - 90% 24.5 in. - 90% You were actually 9 weeks, so I'm blaming the 90% on that. Dr. Morris reported that you were perfect. She thinks your eyes are going to stay blue. Your Daddy is doubtful. I'm on the fence. I was full of dread as I loaded you in the car to go, because you had to get your first round of immunizations. You did better than I thought you would. You received three injections and only cried for about 30 seconds once they were finished. Once we got in the car to leave you fell asleep, so we went to Babies R Us to get you a treat. Clothes (as if you need any), hair bows, and cool packs for your legs. You thanked me with a catastrophic poop explosion right before we checked out. You were really grumpy last night and didn't feel well, but you're sleeping like a log today. I'm proud of you and I can't believe you're growing so fast. Love, Mama

Whew. The first month of having a baby is what I like to call the survival month. By golly did it come and go, along with the second month. And I survived! I'm even showering every day again now. I'm telling you, the things we come to brag about sure do change once you become a mother. Like the fact that I got five hours of consecutive sleep a few nights ago. Five hours . Cheers, high fives, and dosey-does all around! As far as recovery goes, I was feeling pretty good around 2 weeks post labor and delivery. Then at around 4 weeks I started feeling truly normal again. C-sections are hell. Truly. I'm really lucky in that I lost all (that's right, all ) of my baby weight in about 3 weeks. I didn't even try. Even though I'm back to my original weight, my body just doesn't look the same. It's like things have moved and rearranged. And I'm pretty sure I have someone else's stomach. Life is leveling back out again. There's noth...

I thought I would share the story of Violet's birth while it's still fresh in my mind (and while she's sleeping). My last blog post was made on my due date and I was still waiting for a sign that she would be coming soon. A few days later on Thursday, May 9 I started having real contractions. They didn't hurt (yet), but they sure did keep me up all night that night. So the next day was Friday and the contractions were still persisting. They had grown more frequent, but still weren't very painful - just a powerful tightening sensation. I started timing them and they were 4-5 minutes apart, so we decided to go into the hospital to let them monitor me and see what was going on. We left disappointed. The contractions were happening, but I wasn't progressing. I was still just 1 cm dilated. My mom, dad and sister decided to come down to Fort Rucker that night. After all, it was the weekend. Friday night was another sleepless night and by Saturday morning my cont...

The early bird... Comes before her due date. Violet's due date is today , which is really hard to believe. For whatever reason, I thought she would be here by now. But I've already learned one thing about this child... She is out to prove everybody wrong. Everyone thought she was a boy. Nope. Everyone thought she would come in April. Nope. Everyone thinks she's going to be smallish. I should probably be worried. So, more waiting and wondering. At my doctor's appointment on Tuesday nothing had changed since last week. Still 70% thinned. Still 1 cm dilated. However, Violet is still hanging out really really low. So low, in fact, that doing anything at all is really difficult these days. Tuesday, April 30 I was having terrible lower back pain last night. And the pressure in my pelvis made it nearly impossible for me to walk or sit/stand. After consulting the doula and a nurse at the birthing center, we decided to go in for some monitoring to make sure it was...

Waiting. Wondering. Walking. That's how the last week has been for me. I'm trying to be patient and savor the last few days I have before things get crazy, but I end up spending all of my time wondering what little Violet will be like. The aches and weird cramps I described in last week's post have prevailed. The good news is Violet has dropped significantly. After being monitored for a bit, it was confirmed that the menstrual feeling cramps are indeed contractions. They're just mini ones. And really irregular. Poop . At my doctor's appointment on Tuesday I was 70% thinned and 1 cm dilated. So even if they're mini, these contractions have been doing something over the last week. I'll take whatever I can get. Ben and I went to an air show last weekend. It was fun to see the old airplanes. However, I was a little bummed that I couldn't go on a helicopter ride. The full moon came and went last night. Along with the date of my crazed and pr...

With no time to go, the nursery is finally complete! The basics have been taken care of for a few weeks, but there were a few finishing touches I had to complete before I felt it was blog worthy. So here's a little tour of our nursery, with notes along the way... Tah dah! One accent wall painted light blue. Yes, we realize we're having a girl. We decided to forgo the traditional sea of pink so commonly found in little girl's nurseries. Instead, we went for a lovely mixture of delicate colors and patterns, focusing on light blue and eggplant purple. The glider was given to us by a friend of Ben's who no longer needed it. So thankful I am! The corner shelf was salvaged from my mom and dad's house. A fresh coat of white paint and it became the perfect piece to display Violet's trinkets. The crib was the only large item we purchased new. We decided to go with the traditional old-fashioned look. We also refrained from the traditional bedding sets. I li...