Month Four...

Hey Guys!
I wanted to make this post last week, but things have been pretty crazy lately. Alden Just celebrated his 5th month on Earth, and so as always, I like to do a recap for the month prior. That way we have a whole month of memories to share.

Let's get started shall we?

The time is flying by so fast! It seems like as soon as I make one of these posts, he's already into the next month of life. Alden never ceases to amaze me these days. He's learned how to fake cough now so he's been doing that a lot. I mean A LOT. It's so freaking adorable though. What is even more adorable is the fact that he laughs about it! I'm telling you guys.. this kid is going to be voted class clown in his yearbook some day.

We now have a foot/hand/whatever the heck he can get in his mouth chewer. This boy tries to shove his whole hand in his mouth and then proceed to slobber all over the place. If I put a bib on him he just shoves that into his mouth as well, so we just let him be a slobber sack.

We generally place Alden in his swing when he is awake and we need to get things done. I started noticing though that he seemed to get frustrated because he can't move around or see things (by things I mean the dogs) as well. We went to the store and bought him an exersaucer. He LOVES it. It has made my life so much easier. Especially when Chris is not home and I need to cook or clean. He sits in it and plays and watches the dogs roam about. Saydee can also come up and give him kisses which is adores. He loves that dog and she loves him.

I've been slowly trying to transition Alden into sleeping in his crib. I always try and put him in there when he falls asleep during the day on the weekends. As long as he is happy, awake or not, I leave him in there. The second he starts crying and sounding stressed, not just fussy, I take him out. I have the mind set that if I can show him that his crib is a good thing, even if it takes a while to totally transition.. then it will be worth it. Call me crazy, but this is my parenting choice.

We also had our first ER trip. To make a long story short, My in-laws noticed a strange bump that appeared to be under the skin. I called his Dr. thinking they would just tell me to monitor it for a few days but they said he needed to go to Children's ASAP. I was so upset that here I was trying to brush it off as nothing when the Dr. said he needed to get looked at. Thankfully he was totally fine. It was just his head growing faster on one side and is a totally normal thing. The Doctors couldn't really even tell unless he was in the light a certain way, so its not like he was walking around looking lopsided. Still, I'm glad we spent the time there just to be on the safe side.

Well, that's it for this post. Picture time!

 Alden looks SO thrilled to be getting mommy love. :)

 My little draft pick dreaming about sports.

 So fresh and so clean!

Being lazy in bed with my little man.

Thank you guys for reading! :)

5 Things I've Learned Since Becoming A Mom

Hey guys!

Mother's day is in just a few days so I thought I would a do a special post. I decided to post about things I've learned since becoming a mom. Obviously there are WAY more than 5 things I've learned, but since Alden will officially be 5 months old next week I thought I'd stick with that. Plus, I don't want to bore you with my ramblings! Let's get started shall we?

YOU WILL WORRY LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER WORRIED BEFORE

I'm not sure how many people know this about me, but I tend to be a worry wort. I'm a super paranoid person and if you combine that with a wild imagination you can think up some pretty awful situations. When I call or text someone and they do not answer or respond right away but they normally do, I panic. I immediately fear the worst and it SUCKS! It has only gotten worse since Alden has come into my life. I remember the first time I left Alden alone with Chris to go grocery shopping. I casually called him just to ask if I needed to buy more of an item and he didn't pick up. At first I let it go, but after about 5 minutes I went into a panic mode. I started chain calling and texting him. I was ready to leave my basket sitting there loaded full of food and rush home. Thankfully he answered and was just busy changing/feeding Alden.

It's not just about worrying about his well-being when he is not with me either. I often find myself hovering over him at night making sure he is breathing. Babies breathe so quietly its scary. I also panic when I'm driving and he is asleep and hasn't changed head positions in a while. I am always so tempted to pull over or to wake him up just to be sure he is OK. I knew I would worry about him, but I never imagined it would be THIS bad.

THREE [SPOILED] DOGS AND A BABY MAKES FOR CHAOS

I knew that life was going to be much different once Alden arrived. Our dogs were our babies and we treated them as such. Yes it was really annoying when someone would walk by and the dogs would have a freak out. Now when I finally get Alden to take a dang nap and one of the dogs so much as squeaks a toy I almost lose my mind! Saydee is such a great dog but when she wants something she starts this shrill bark that could make your ear drums explode.

When we first got home from the hospital and I was so overwhelmed by being a new mom, I found myself getting so frustrated with them. It wasn't their fault, they were just living their normal life, but it was very hard on me.

Now after 5 months We've adjusted nicely. There is still chaos daily though. I have to make sure none of them try and steal Alden's toys, or lick him on his face, or step on him (Sunny issue). It is generally total chaos with the dogs in the mix, but I still love them, and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I'm very excited for Alden to grow up with his puppies!

YOUR SLEEP ROUTINE CHANGES CONSTANTLY

 I've never been a nap person but I do love sleep. I truly learned to appreciate sleep during my pregnancy because good sleep doesn't happen often, so when it does it is SO very appreciated!

The first few days of Alden being born I slept for maybe an hour a day. I was so excited/scared to have him that I wanted to constantly be awake. Then by the time I got so tired I couldn't fight it anymore, He started waking up every 2 hours to eat. I was exhausted and I even tried to nap with no success. It just wasn't for me.

Then he finally started sleeping 3 hours in a row instead of 2. That one extra hour of sleep felt like 8 hours. I remember waking up so refreshed. Then he went back to every 2 hours.

Lately he has been on a 4-5 hour stretch.. however on the random nights when his schedule is off it makes me feel like I am DYING to have to wake up and feed him!

Just when my body accepts a certain amount of consecutive sleep hours, Alden decides to do something totally different!

YOU LOVE THEM SO MUCH IT FEELS LIKE YOUR HEART COULD EXPLODE

I absolutely love Chris. I love him so much more now because Alden is half him. With that being said, the love that I have for Alden makes my love for Chris look like the Christmas clearance section at Target when everything is 90% off (Empty). As women we get the first connection to our baby because we have to carry them inside of us. We have to go through all sorts of changes and pain just to get them into this world. Once they are here though, it is totally worth it. As if you don't love them enough at birth.. then they start smiling for things other than gas. Then they start laughing at the things that you do. I remember the first time Alden laughed it made my heart so happy. I love that little man so much that there aren't enough words in all the languages to describe it!

IT IS THE BEST/WORST/MOST AMAZING/MOST STRESSFUL JOB YOU WILL EVER HAVE

The first time I was totally alone with Alden after we had come home from the hospital, I remember bawling my eyes out. I know my hormones were insane at the time but I was so completely terrified to be on my own with him. Then he ate and fell asleep on my chest and all was right with the world. When he started cluster feeding and I would go almost an entire day without eating I would sit there and think.. how am I going to do this everyday?

When I've had a long horrible day at work, the only thing I want to do is get home as quick as possible. Then I find myself sitting in traffic, with a baby screaming in the backseat and I get so stressed out. When I end up pulling over to feed/change/hold him and he smiles as soon as he sees me.. It makes everything OK.

I know that some days are going to be easy, and other days are going to be so hard.  I also know that it won't just stop as he gets older. There will always be bad moments, but I have hope that the good will always outweigh the bad!

These are just a few of the things that I have learned along my mommy journey. I am so grateful that I get to be Alden's mom. I will never be able to thank God enough for blessing me and entrusting me with his precious little life. Just in the first 5 months of him being born, I have cried, I have sobbed, I have been frustrated, I have been stressed. But it is 100% worth it because for all the times I have felt any of the previously listed things, I have felt joy, peace, happiness and love so much more!
Alden already has such an amazing personality. I love getting to watch him grow and learn new things. Being a mom is by far the GREATEST thing I will ever do in my life.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Thanks for reading!!!