Yesterday and Today

Well, yesterday started out as a normal Tuesday. We got up and went to Breastfeeding group. We got home about 12:30 and I went upstairs to put Hayley to nap. I rocked her a bit and she fell right to sleep. I tipped her into my bed like I usually do and she immediately began to scream. I am not sure if something spooked her or what, but this certainly isn't normal. She then screamed bloody murder for 45 minutes straight. There was no consoling her. I rocked her, I tried the swing. I tried to sit, lie, stand, sway, swaddle, nurse. She quieted when I sang to her, but then when I sat down again to try to get her to sleep she began to scream again. I called my mother and she suggested I lie her in the crib for as long as I can take it to get her to calm down. I put her in the crib and she howled non stop for 15 minutes. I couldn't take it anymore and I went in and picked her up. She quieted immediately and fell asleep in my arms in about 1 minute. She slept on me for about 10 minutes and I went and put her in her crib. She slept for 20 minutes and then woke up. I got her right away and got her back to sleep in my arms and then did the tip into my bed. She laid there and stayed for 2 1/2 hours. She had cried herself to complete exhaustion. Dave was in Albany yesterday so I was stuck home all by myself having to take care of it, and at about 6ish I talked to Sarah and she asked me over. So off we went, across the street in the rain, I walked in to the house and hugged Sarah and cried. Well, it just felt so good to cry. Then I felt better and was ready to move on to the next day. She went down to bed last night pretty well, but woke up at 11:00. She wanted to nurse, which hasn't happened at that hour since she was a month old, but I fed her and she didn't want to go back to sleep. She was up until 1 am. The up again at 4, ate, up again at 7, ate, and up for good. I have been trying all the things people have been suggesting to me and it is getting so frustrating. She was such a good sleeper and I feel like we are just going backwards. Now I start work on Monday and I have no schedule and it's going to be even harder for me to get up at night when I know I have to get up for work the next day.

This morning we had our trial at Kiddie World. We got there at 9:30 and I sat with her for an hour in the room to get a feel of what it was like. I left her there alone at 10:30, and she was asleep to return in an hour. So I went and had coffee with Cara and came back at 11:30. Cariann her teacher said she slept for 20 minutes and then played a bit, bit she fussed some, too. I think she's teething. I know it's young, but she has all the symptoms. Maybe that's why the sleeping thing has been such a problem. Who knows. But the visit was nice and I still am happy for the place we chose for her. I think it will be great.

And yes, today is another day and I will try again to get her to nap well and sleep well at night. I may try putting her on her tummy to sleep tonight and see how she likes it. Right now she is asleep in her swing and looks so peaceful. Man, no matter how tired she makes me, I still love her so much - more than anything - and am so happy to have her here.

Chelsea's Wedding

Well, Chelsea's wedding was last weekend, and I was very stressed about the weekend in general. So much to do to travel with a baby. The pack and play, a suitcase for her, and one for us. Plus my dress, Dave's suit, etc. I had to run out the day before and find a dress for the rehearsal dinner since nothing dressy in my closet fits me still. Boobs too big. We stayed at a hotel with a full kitchen and a separate bedroom, which was nice because Hayley went to sleep in the bedroom and could close the door and not have to tiptoe around everywhere. Of course, she wouldn't sleep in the pack and play so she slept on our bed. When we got back to the hotel, we had to figure out how to finagle her, Dave, and me in that small Queen sized bed. I think Hayley is the only one who actually slept well over the weekend. The hardest part for me was leaving her all day on Friday through the night. I think we were apart for about 13 hours - the longest ever. I thought about her just about every second of the day. But aside from all of that, Chels looked beautiful and the wedding was great. She had so many details that were very cool, she did a great job planning it. Being in the wedding, I took like 4 pictures total I think, so this is what I managed to swipe from other people's pics that were emailed to me.

Me, Chels, and Erin
Me and ErinChels' favor for the wedding was a photo booth. You could go in and take six pictures at a time. Dave and I did it but I don't have a scanner, so I just have this one from Laura. This is me, Laura, Sanna, Nicole, and Erin. Yes, it was very crowded in there. I think it is hysterical.Here is a pic of all the Portland High class of 97 that represented at the wedding. Erin, Laura, Dominick, Chels, me, and Nicole. Very cool.A close up of Chelsea's dress - gorgeous. I loved it.

Who's this hottie? My husband called me a MILF. I took it as a huge compliment! Well, now that that test is over, I guess I am ready to start work on Monday. One week from today. I am cherishing every moment I have with her this week that I possibly can.

Hayley and Miles Photo Session

On Wednesday, I was running around crazy trying to get ready for Chelsea's wedding (which was last weekend and I will write about maybe tomorrow when I get time to upload my pics), Cara came over and watched Hayley and played with the babies. It was so hot in the house and so she had a little naked baby photo session. I know there's a lot of pictures but they are all so cute I couldn't eliminate any of them.

As a follow up to my last blog, Hayley's sleeping habits have not improved. I am so frustrated. I feel like I am getting up every 5 minutes to sooth her and give her back the pacifier. At least the swaddle blanket is keeping her from waking herself up, but she really struggles getting to sleep. I am open to any suggestions any mom's have that are reading this. It is just so disappointing that she was sleeping so well and now she seems to be going backwards. She hardly naps during the day, and night is disruptive. Oh and yeah, I'm exhausted.

Apple Picking, the Patriots, and a Swaddle Blanket

Every Friday Hayley and I go apple picking at Lyman Orchards with Sarah and the boys. This week Hayley turned around in the Bjorn for the first time which was very exciting - so we decided to capture it in a picture. Hayley is clearly as excited as me! The boots she has on really tops off this outfit! Then we always go back to the market and get a hot apple cider and a donut. Yum!! What do I do with all these apples you ask? Well, I have made a huge apple pie, 2 batches of apple crisp, and 3 huge batches of THE BEST homemade applesause (if I do say so myself). This Friday I will be at Chelsea's wedding, so the Leone's with have to pick without the May's. I will certainly miss my hot apple cider.
Hayley is representing New England this week with her little cheerleading dress. You can't see it in this picture, but the onesie underneath is a turtleneck and it has the Pat's emblem on it - just like the pros wear! So cute.

It was a rough week for us at night. Hayley has been up 4-5 times each night not wanting to eat, but just restless and fussing. On Thursday night she cried for 2 hours straight and this was the first time she had ever cried that long with out us being able to console her. On Saturday I think I hit my limit and my mom came and gave me some time away and watched Hayley and I went and got a swaddle blanket at Babies R Us. It is our 1 year anniversary on the 19th, so Dave and I got Sarah to baby-sit and we went out to dinner to celebrate. I of course was so worried that she was going to cry for her. Sarah is a pro at the swaddle blanket and she slept the best she has ever slept! I have also come to the conclusion that she was overtired and have started to work out a better sleeping schedule for her during the day. Let's hope that things go just as well tonight. I am keeping my finger crossed!

Ferrier or Feiring?

For Christmas of 2006, I started sending out Christmas cards of Dave, me, and the dogs. I didn't have my cousin Kate's address because I knew she had recently moved, so I went to whitepages.com and looked up Kate and Mark Ferrier in Maryland and got a hit. I proceeded to send them a Christmas card to that address. When Dave and I were sending out wedding invitations, I again sent Kate and Mark's to that address. About 2 weeks later I got a call from Kate claiming she had not received her invitation, so I confirmed the address I had and she told me that was the wrong address, and gave me the correct one. So I sent her a new invitation and she emailed me to say she got it, but their last name was Feiring, not Ferrier! About a week later I received an RSVP for our wedding back with a note saying, "Hello Dave and Carolyn. Thank you very much for the invitation to your wedding. We have been racking our brains and can not seem to remember how we know you! We even received a Christmas card from you last year (cute couple). Can you please help us remember how we know you? Sincerely, Mark and Karen Ferrier." They included their email and business card. I was so embarrassed! I of course emailed them apologizing and explaining my error. It turns out they are very nice people and we even got a Christmas card from THEM last year! We sent them a birth announcement of Hayley and got this T-Shirt back from them! It is so cute on her! So thank you to our pen pals whom we have never met, here she is:

Here are a couple other cute pics of Hayley this week, too.

The Other Baby

Dave took this picture of Josie the other day on his Blackberry! Awwww!

Hayley Update

Well, Hayley is just the awesomest (real word?) baby ever. She is just so so happy and she smiles ALL THE TIME. She has started to realize now that people react to her making noises, so she responds with a big smile. She squeals with delight and laughs and coos. She smiles when you smile at her and laughs when you laugh. Ever since she was born, she hated her carseat. I had my dad make me some CD's of children's music for her and I got them in the mail last week. I popped in Raffi and she squeals and yells and I swear she is singing along. Being musical is hereditary. She just loves music and it calms her. I now can ride in the car without worrying she is going to lose her pacifier - I just blast Raffi and she sings along. It is so awesome! I weighed her today at my breastfeeding group and she weighs 14 pounds 13 ounces!!! Holy Cow! She's so big! I love it. She is the sweetest cutest ever! Have I said that already?

Since she's been so darn cute lately, here are some pics of her cuteness. This is a new outfit I got for her and she looks so cute!
On Sunday, Dave wanted her to cheer on the Sox so we put her in this: (Of course, this happened to be the one game they lost in the series)

Oops - this one slipped in out of order - BIG yawn!

Look at that face! To die for!
We also went out to dinner with our friends Cara and Steve. I met Cara at breastfeeding group and her son is Miles. He is one week younger then Hayley, and they are both big babies. They are the same length and he is just a big less then her in weight. Well, when they showed up at our house before dinner on Sunday, Miles was wearing the exact same outfit as Hayley - I swear - we did not talk first. Pure coincidence! We tried to take a picture of them, but Miles was just not having it, but Hayley looking at Miles' screaming is priceless!
Well, the time is getting closer to when I am going to have to go back to work! :( I am not looking forward to leaving her at all, but I am looking forward to getting back in the saddle of my job again. I miss my coworkers the most I think. No, I miss the money the most, then my coworkers second. I truly cherish every day I have with Hayley because I don't want to miss a single thing with her growing! Well, she's awake, so this blogging session is over. More soon!

A Couple New Pictures

Here are a couple new pictures of Hayley I took. She looks so cute in her overalls!

First Night Out

Dave and I went out on a date last night and left Hayley for the first time. Sarah and Angelo across the street took care of her and did a fantastic job. As you can see, they all had a great time together.