I'm late...12 weeks!

Do you know what 12 weeks means? Other than my daughter weighs 12 pounds 4 ounces and I'm dying to hear her giggle? It means that maternity leave is over and I sadly went back to work on Friday. Boo!

Luckily Mike had a short day at work and Courtney didn't need to stay with her babysitter the entire day. Today is day two without her and I do really hate it. I want to feed her, I want to play with her, I want to cuddle her when she cries and rock her to sleep.

I want to know how people decide to give up their income to stay home full time and raise their family? Does the husband make enough that you don't ever have to worry about finances? How do you make that decision? Mike and I had always said that I would be a working mom. This decision was made because we were unwilling to give up my salary and it would allow us to have a few extras (vacations anyone?). But now that I am an experienced working mom with my whole 2 days of experience (enter sarcasm here), is the money really worth having someone else care for your child more than half of your week? What if you don't even really like your job and you do it just because of the money?

When I was younger I always told people I wanted to be a stay at home mom. My mom stayed home and I loved it. No we didn't go on family vacations yearly, but how often does a family with two working parents get to vacation anyway?

Can you tell what's been on my mind lately? But really, who wouldn't miss this face?

Courtney cooing!

I only caught just a little on video. The second she sees the camera she just stares at it and doesn't do anything. Enjoy!

Lets talk pregnancy weight!

Because talking about the ridiculous weight I gained while pregnant with Court will be just so much fun. At the beginning of my pregnancy I was commited to sticking to the 25-35 pounds recommended by my doctor, and at the beginning I was doing well. I believe by week 20 I was up only 9 pounds. I was proud and confident that I'd be able to stay in the range. But something happened and the weight kept creeping and creeping. Could it have something to do with the pound of See's candy I ate at Christmas? After week 30, Mike wasn't able to come anywhere near the scale at the doctors office and no lie, when I was having my NSTs done at the hospital and the nurse would ask me what my weight was, I would either whisper it to her or ask Mike to leave the room (hello, when he met me I was probaby 115). I was horrified. At my 39 week appointment, 5 days before I went into labor, I weighed in at a whopping 188 pounds. ::shoot me now:: I thought I would never in my life be pushing 190 pounds. I'm 5'4" for crying out loud. That is so not OK. I had gained 42 pounds. God bless the nurses at the hospital. Because I was borderline hypertensive, I had a ridiculous amount of swelling, and they reminded me the weight I was gaining was mostly water.

Please notice how disgustingly swollen my hand is in this photo:


From what I remember, by 1 week postpartum I was down 20 pounds and by 2 weeks postpartum I was down 30 pounds. Amazing! At 6 weeks, I joined Weight Watchers and have lost an additional 6 pounds. Because I am exclusively breastfeeding, I am only supposed to lose 1 pound a week as to not compromise my milk supply.

I have some goals I have set for myself and I will not be sharing them on my blog. With a newborn, plans need to be flexible and I don't want to feel like I'm letting anyone down if some of my plans change. But so far I am proud of how I have been doing.

And because I have the cutest little girl, I'll include a recent photo. I have been experimenting with my new camera. Here is Court napping in her crib.

Two month stats!

Courtney had her two month appointment on Wednesday and I didn't go alone. Mike was luckily off work so he was able to come along. I was so nervous about her shots. She received two shots in her left leg and one in her right. She also received an oral vaccine. She screamed as I assumed she would and I cried as I assumed I would. She nursed, stopped crying and went to sleep. That was it. Not too bad, but I still feel horrible that she got stabbed in both legs.

Here are her two month stats:

- Weight: 11 pounds 4 ounces (70%)
- Height: 24 inches (92%)
- Head circumference: 37.7 cms (27%)

Two months old!

It's been almost a month since I last posted. Life has been crazy with a newborn (is she still a newborn at 2 months or is she an infant? Or are they the same thing?) Courtney has been growing like crazy. She no longer fits into her newborn clothes (she's to long), she's been smiling since six weeks, and the last time she was weighed she weighed in at 10 pounds 4 ounces. Quite the weight gain for a baby who lost 10% of her weight the first week she was born. We have her two month appointment on Wednesday which I'm not looking forward to. Can we say shots? :(

She is nursing like a champ and I'd like to give myself a high five for sticking with it. Nursing is not easy and at times I think "It would be so much easier if I just gave her a bottle," but I'm glad I haven't. I'm praying that I'll be able to keep up with her through pumping once I go back to work at the end of the month.

I am also happy to say that Courtney slept through the night last night for the first time. She goes to bed at 8:30pm and she got up at 6am. Of ocurse there were a few times she would wimper and as long as I put the fire (what we call the pacifier) back in her mouth she would go back to sleep. Although she slept through the night, I didn't. Every few hours I was up checking on her since she hadn't woken me up to eat.

Guess what I got? A new camera. I have been wanting this camera for so long and finally we went down to Costco to get it. We got the Canon Rebel T1i. I am so excited. I can't wait to really learn how to use it. Poor Courtney though, I look like the paparazzi.

That's about it for now. I'll update you after Court's 2 month appointment on Wednesday. Plus, Mike's parents come to visit for a week on Tuesday. Yay for visitors.

Here are a few photos with the new camera and Court's 2 month photo shoot this morning.