First Play Date

Maya had her first play date yesterday!  Technically, her friends were napping 90% of the time we were there and Maya doesn't exactly 'play' anyways, but mommy had fun and appreciated the outing!

She wore her first bow clip to our play date...pretty cute :)

Before Maya was born, my friends Jess, Lacie and I had gotten into a nice little pattern of getting together every week for lunch.  Their girls would play and we got to catch up!  Today was the first time I was able to get back together with them and it was so fun to bring Maya along.

Lauren, Lillian and Maya

I love this picture of the girls and it makes me excited for all the play dates in our future.  I'm sure we'll look back on this picture one day and laugh at how little they all were.  I hope they find friendship in each other that is as special as the one I've found in their mommies!

Paul and Tina get married!

My little brother is married!!  Crazy...he has a wife and wears a ring on his left hand.  Tina is his perfect match and I couldn't be more excited for them both!

The wedding was two weekends ago at Cinnabar Hills.  It's a beautiful golf course and an amazing venue for a wedding (in fact, it was my suggestion over a year ago that they look into this venue...yes, you're welcome).  The ceremony was beautiful, food was yummy, music was awesome...everything was perfect!  Including my baby girl!

Brad and I were so anxious about the day.  After a total fail at the rehearsal dinner the night before, we had decided that Maya would stay home with dad and a bottle for the morning Vietnamese ceremony (which was awesome and I'm so thankful I was able to be a witness to such a beautiful tradition) and we'd only bring her to the traditional american wedding that afternoon.  Even so, we fully expected that dad would have to take Maya home early.  Much to our surprise and delight, she did awesome and we were able to stay to the very end! 

my hubby picked out his shirt and tie so we could coordinate...pretty cute!

Not the best picture...maybe Heather got a better one!

*I can't believe I don't have a picture with Tina...terrible since she's the bride and the title of this post has her name in it!

Maya Photo-shoot with Heather

I FINALLY had "newborn" pics taken of Maya.  You're supposed to have them taken between 7-14 days so they're nice and "mold-able", but I just didn't set it up in time.  Instead, our pics were taken when little missy was 6 weeks old.  We had such an awesome experience with Heather for our maternity pics, I knew for sure I wanted her to capture this special time with Maya.  As expected, the pictures turned out amazing!  I LOVE them and I'm so excited to share them with all of you!  I've attached a link to the slideshow so you can see them all and a few individual pics of my favorites...
http://smilebox.com/playEmail/4d6a4d344d6a55774f444e384e5455794e6a4d304e7a593d0d0a&sb=1

Grammy's here!

Brad's mom has come to town to visit with us and help with Maya.  I'm so excited to have her here!  It's not only great to have the help, but it's so fun to see Maya bond with her Grammy.

For the last few weeks, we've been dealing with Maya's fussiness, which we've been trying to convince ourselves is "normal".  It's been really difficult not knowing what's causing her to be so upset all the time and emotionally wearing as we go through all the options (hungry?  diaper?  tired?) and still have a crying baby.  For a while we just assumed she had some gas issues and were giving her Mylicon, but it seemed like there was more to the problem.  As new parents it's so hard to know what's "normal" and what to do.
When Grammy got here, she helped confirm that her fussiness was not "normal" and that we should take some further action.  Yesterday, we called and got an appointment with the pediatrician.  We had done some research online and the doctor confirmed our worries...our baby has acid reflux :(  It's good to finally have a cause for the fussiness, but now we're trying to find the right solution.  The doctor prescribed Zantac, which seems to help for the first couple hours after we give it to her, but then she goes back to fussy.  We read some mixed reviews online and I don't love the idea of giving my 5 week old medication, but I think we'll give it some more time to see if it'll help.  We also read out an all natural option called Colic Calm.  People who didn't have success with Zantac, seem to love this product and I love that it's all natural.  Hopefully she'll find some relief with one of the options!

In the meantime, we're loving our time with Grammy :)

Mama's first escape

Last weekend was my future sister-in-law's wedding shower.  Leading up to the day, I struggled to decide what to do with the Maya...take her along or leave her at home.  I knew there would be a lot of people who would love to see her, so part of me definitely wanted to bring her with me, but I decided that it would be better to leave her home.  With so many people there (and the venue was a senior living community), I didn't want her to catch any bugs.  I also knew I'd be very preoccupied and unable to focus on the shower guests and activities.  Finally, I was excited at the thought of getting out of the house for a little "alone" time.
Of course, leaving her home would be impossible if not for one key point- she needed to take a bottle!  Our doctor had advised that we should introduce the bottle between 3 and 6 weeks.  Before 3 weeks could cause nipple confusion and after 6 weeks would be too late and she would have a hard time learning the new skill.  With the shower the day after her 4 week "birthday", we knew we needed to introduce the bottle that week.  The first attempt didn't go very well, but try #2 and 3 were great!  She finally figured it out and I experienced a major mental relief to see her take the bottle from Brad.  I saw some freedom and flexibility in the future and I was ecstatic!  Not that I don't enjoy nursing my baby, but having the option of Brad taking over a feeding every now and then was a very exciting thought!  Not only does it give me some freedom, but we both like the idea that Brad could partake in the bonding by feeding her as well.
Here's my girl taking the bottle for the first time!  She's getting so big (really...she weighed 9lbs 4 oz at her dr appointment yesterday)!

The shower was wonderful and it was great to spend some time with my family.  I'm so excited for my brother, Paul and Tina!  The wedding is around the corner and I cannot wait for them to make it official!

3 weeks in...

I'm 3 weeks old today! 3/5/11

As I expected, I haven't had much time for blogging.  Even now, I'm watching the clock, knowing she'll be waking up soon to eat!  Not that I mind...she's definitely the priority these days and even though this "mom thing" is more challenging than I expected, I wouldn't trade it for anything!

The last three weeks have been incredible.  We're loving our new addition and it's been awesome to be home with Brad and transition as a family.  Our "transition" has definitely had its highs and lows.  These first few weeks have been harder than I expected.  I have a whole new appreciation for moms.  Little sleep combined with a crying baby that can't communicate what's wrong can be very wearing.  As a new mom, I so badly want to soothe her and make it "all better".  It breaks my heart when I'm unable to do so.  Fortunately, I have a great support system and through talking with other mommy friends and family, I've learned that her fussiness these first few weeks is not only ok, but totally normal.  Now I'm just crossing my fingers that she's not colicky...apparently that would officially start this week!  The more time that passes, the more we're able to figure out what might be the problem and how to fix it.  We have our bag of tricks depending on the situation and can rotate through our options until we find something that works. Unfortunately, there are times when nothing seems to work and it's then that we've learned to lean on each other for support and sanity.

I also have a new appreciation for this guy!

I'm not sure what I'd do without my hubby these days.  I always knew he'd be a good dad, but I had no idea how awesome he'd be until she entered our world.  From the first moment he held her, it was obvious he would be amazing.  There was nothing awkward about it...he held her like a pro and talked to her with so much love and adornment.  Once we got home, he became my rock.  When I was an emotional mess, he stayed strong and positive, reminding me that it was all ok and I was doing a great job, even though I sometimes felt like a total failure.  I have a whole new appreciation for him and love him more than ever before.  I'm so blessed God put him in my life.  I can't imagine doing this without him.

We love our little girl so much!  I can't wait for the next few weeks to see her grow and change.  Here's a few pics of our first few weeks...

First trip to the park- 2/22

I love my Papa

First Dr. Appointment- 2/23

Out to watch cousin Dante's baseball game

Maya loves some naked time

We finally found a paci she likes- Mamm!

The newest Slynger is here...

Maya Bette

2/12/11, 1:50pm

7lbs 9oz, 19 inches

Maya Bette finally made her debut on Saturday, February 12th.  After 17 intense hours of drug free labor, a slippery little being was placed on my chest and my life couldn't have felt more perfect.  She is absolutely amazing and we are so IN LOVE!