Made it to six weeks!

Everyone I talked to said, 'Just wait until six weeks, things get so much easier!'. So since Isabella has been born I have been waiting for that six week mark thinking I will be doing so much better. Well it is here and I can definitely say things have gotten better. I wouldn't say necessarily right at six weeks it happened, but I think it is just by the time you get here you have learned SO much and gotten in to more of a groove, even if you haven't gotten more sleep. =)

So Bella is doing great and I will post pictures below. She already seems like she has grown SO much and I just love her to pieces. We are on a pretty good schedule. She is more alert and awake now so I don't have as much time to myself or to nap, but she is also getting more interactive and has actually smiled a few times! I tell you when that little toothless mouth opens up wide and you know she is actually smiling at you, it is the happiest moment. Still haven't really gotten the nursing down so I have decided to give it two more weeks and after that I may just go to pumping and giving her a bottle full time. It isn't ideal, but the frustration that the nursing causes me is just so taxing. I had these grand designs on the bonding experience of nursing and it just has not been at all what I expected. But I know how good it is for her so I will try as long as I can to not switch to formula.

So in news other than baby news, although there isn't much of it, last weekend we went to Galveston for my cousin David's wedding. He married an adorable girl named Mary and we had a great time just getting out of town. My parents rented a beach house that we all stayed in and we had a great time just relaxing. They had bicycles there and I haven't ridden a bike in, I swear, 15 years or something. It was so fun, I really want to get a bike. What great exercise! And speaking of exercise, I have slowly started ramping up on exercise and trying to eat better. I have about 15 pounds that I would like to lose, although I am only like 6 or 7 away from my pre-pregnancy weight. I just think my pre-pregnancy weight was too high. =)

Last night Jason was a sweetheart and watched Bella while I went out to eat and to a movie with Jessica and Gaby. I haven't had a girls night out in a long time and it was so nice to catch up. We went to eat at Gloria's on Greenville, which I haven't been to since they redid it. It looks great! The bar and patio are way bigger which is nice and we sat out on the patio and the weather was GREAT. Then we went to see Up, which I highly recommend. Pixar always does such a great job with their movies.

Jason's parents are in town this weekend to visit the little one and I think we are going out to eat at our favorite place. Houston's! I love it.

Here are some new pics of Isabella as promised...

I just think this is so cute. I walked in and saw them both sprawled out...

This is my cousin and his new wife. I know it isn't Bella, but just thought I would share. =)

Here is my sister with Isabella at their wedding.

I don't know what it says about me as a mother, but I think this is so cute...

Tried to wake her up by doing some tummy time, which she usually hates. Nope, she just kept snoozing...

Love this pic. Jason said it looks like she should have a tiny Corona in that hand...

Hello out there!

Hello outside world! My little angel is now four weeks old and I cannot believe it. Tomorrow is officially one month. The last month has been kind of a blur. I live in increments of three hours for the most part, some times less during the day, sometimes more at night (if I am lucky), but I pretty much live on a cycle of feed her, play with her, put her down for a nap then figure out what I can accomplish in the next 1-2 hours before she wakes up to eat again. It is hard and the nursing is still a challenge, but I feel like we are both starting to get the hang of it a little more at least.

The bright side of having nursing issue is I had to give her a bottle sooner than I would have planned to, but that means I have more freedom to go do things now if I need to leave a bottle with whoever is watching her. So Jason and I have actually gotten to go out to eat and to a movie twice in the last couple of weeks. If you know me, you know I LOVE movies, so that was a huge treat. First we went to see Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, which was terrible, but still nice to get out. Then last Saturday when Jason's parents were here we went to dinner and a movie for my birthday (which was actually Monday and completely uneventful). We went to this place called Bene Bene. We are always on the look out for good Italian food, but usually are disappointed with the fare we find. This place got good reviews online and was close so we decided to try it. I think this is probably the best meal I have had in a LONG time. It was pretty authentic and had a great atmosphere. We started with this salad with cherry tomatoes, avacado, kalamata olives and mozzarella balls in a champagne vinaigrette, then I had a Chilean Seabass with a lemon caper dressing on it. SO delicious. We also split a bottle of some Chianti which I wish I could remember the name of.

After dinner we went to see Star Trek. Now I have never seen a single Star Trek movie or episode on TV, but I LOVED it. I seriously think everyone should see it and would like it. It is funny, interesting, action packed, well cast, etc. I really enjoyed it and I love Zachary Quinto anyway from Heroes so I was excited to see him.

Tuesday night I got to go meet some of my friends out at Cru, this wine bar in Plano, for my birthday dinner. It has been a while since I have really gotten to spend any quality time with them so it was really nice to get to catch up on my gossip. =)

This has been my first week by myself with Isabella for the whole week. I thought my mom was going to be able to come again for a couple of days, but it turns out she has things to do OTHER than take care of me. I know, not fair. =) It hasn't been too bad, but it is definitely a lot easier when there is someone else around to help. Especially now that she is getting more alert and is awake more, I find myself trying to figure out what to do with her since she can't really play or anything. I spend a lot of time just talking to her and asking her rhetorical questions. Sometimes we dance to this Coldplay lullaby CD that my friend Courtney bought her. Sometimes I just put her in her bouncy seat that she, thankfully, loves. So far she hates her swing, but we are going to work on that.

I have my first doctors appointment tomorrow with my OB since she was born. It is funny how you start to miss your OB when you have been seeing her every week for a month or two before. Next Wednesday I am going to Tyler. I haven't been home in forever it seems like! I am really excited about it and then we will leave Friday from there to go to Galveston for my cousins wedding. My parents rented a beach house for the long weekend so we will stay for a four day weekend. Should be nice and relaxing!

Taking a breather

Good morning everyone. I finally have a few minutes to check email and blog a bit. Isabella is threatening to wake from her nap but I am hoping it will pass. =)

So motherhood is great and Isabella is amazing, but it is HARD. People tell you the first few weeks are hard, but this is seriously the hardest thing I have ever done. Nursing is still not going great so that adds to the frustration for sure, but we are working on it! Jason's mom came for a few days last week to help and my mom is back for a few days now. It is SO much easier when there is someone else around. Just to be able to hand her off to someone so I can shower or whatever is so nice. I had my first taste of being home alone with her for two days last week and it was definitely trying. I think one thing I am doing wrong is just not sleeping during the day like I should. I have never been much of a napper and I don't do well with just sitting around, so when she is sleeping I always feel like I should be doing something. But I am trying to just make myself take long naps, even when I don't feel super tired. I think that has helped in the last couple of days, because today I feel pretty good.

We are working on getting Bella on a better schedule. She is starting to do better about going right to sleep at night, but she usually has a couple of nap times where she really fights going to sleep and sometimes doesn't sleep at all until her next feeding. The hardest thing is trying to find answers or solutions to problems in any book or online. I read so much before she was born about what to do to get them to sleep well and nurse well and all this other stuff, but you find one opinion about how to do things and you will find ten other books saying the exact opposite. Wake her every three hours/never wake a sleeping baby. Let them cry it out/rush to their side the minute they start fussing. Rock them to sleep/put them in bed before they fall asleep. Who knows? I am just trying different things right now to see which works best for us. If any of you moms out there have any advice feel free to pass it along!