Back to work

I did really well yesterday. Nana and Pawpaw watched Mia, so I knew she was in good hands for my first day back. Plus they live very close to work and I knew I would go see her at lunch. 

It took me about a half hour at work before I was completely submerged in a project. It seems I was missed terribly while I was out and things need my immediate attention. As the day went on I found myself excited about work again, and feeling that surge of adrenaline I get when I'm troubleshooting and problem-solving. By the time I went to Dad's for lunch I told Mike how nice it was to be needed for my analytical skills again. So, while I missed Mia very much, I have actually enjoyed being back so far, something I really didn't anticipate. Of course she hit another "developmental milestone" within hours of me going back to work - she reached up and grabbed a toy fish! Fortunately she did it again when I got there for lunch, so I wasn't too sad. She's also laughing a lot more now, especially when her cousin Emie smiles at her and shows Mia her new braces. Mia loves hanging out with Emie.

My First Mother's Day

Last Mother's Day was a sad one for Missy and me. We had both been trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant and it was wearing us down. We went to church that day with Mom, and at one point in the ceremony they had the moms stand. They said a prayer for all the moms, grandmothers and great-grandmothers, for the love they bestow on their children, and for the guidance and support they are always ready to provide. Afterward they said a special prayer for all the women sitting there wishing they were mothers but were not. It was then that my sister and I began to cry. For as long as I can remember, being a mother was the one thing we both knew we wanted in our lives. As I sat there, I prayed that Missy and I would be blessed with children, because like our own mother, we have so much love to share. As God would have it, Missy and I were both pregnant before the end of the month. 

This Mother's Day, my very first, was one of the most special days of my life. Since I was a little girl, I wondered what it would feel like to actually be a mom. I wondered what my child would look like, how my life would change, what thoughts I would have as I looked at my child. On Mother's Day I marveled that the day is finally here when all my prayers and questions have been answered. My child looks like every joyful and beautiful feeling I've ever had in my soul. My life feels as though it's completely full and it has changed so that my goal each day is to elicit that beautiful smile from my daughter. My thoughts as I look at Mia make my heart swell and bring tears of happiness and love to my eyes. I cried repeatedly throughout the day as I looked at her, overwhelmed with the blessing of my little Mia. I spent most of the day holding her, looking at her, and silently thanking God over and over that I have her in my life. 

Of course my Mother's Day was completely orchestrated by another incredible blessing God has given me - my handsome, thoughtful, generous husband Mike. That little girl would not be possible without the love we have for each other. When I look at Mia I see Mike, and it amazes me that God blessed us with a tangible manifestation of our love. As I have said here before, we both marvel at how together we created such an incredible little being, and it has brought us closer in so many ways that we never would have known without her. 

Mike started the day by allowing me to sleep until 10:00 a.m. - a luxurious present itself! He presented me with a card and bouquet of tulips from Mia. Then he gave me a card with a photo of Mia on the front. It was one of those talking cards, and he recorded a sweet message to me on it. He also got me a really cool and very beautiful turquoise bracelet. He spent the day catering to my every wish, and I really felt like a queen for the day.

We went to brunch to celebrate the day with Mike's mom. Mia still wasn't feeling well, so we went home afterward and her temperature spiked to 100. We continued to monitor it, and I spent most of the day holding her while she slept. By late afternoon her fever broke and was back down to 98.7, but she still needed her rest. Mike got us chinese take-out and some movies (Lars and the Real Girl and Juno, both of which I highly recommend), and we just chilled the rest of the night. Well, until I had to get my clothes ready for work the next day, that is...

Still not feeling well

On Friday Mike took Mia and me to see the progress on the store. The space is now enclosed so we can see just how huge it is. I was pretty shocked, and wondered how we'll fill it. But the guys have a great plan and I'm sure it will look full once the office, restrooms and fitting rooms are complete, and once we have the lounge and register area complete. We're hoping to open June 14.

Friday evening was Girls Night and we went to a Mexican restaurant. It was a very small group, with Kim, Margo and Melissa being the only ones who could make it this month. I took Mia and she was a little angel the entire dinner. It was nice hanging with the girls, although our conversations are now almost entirely focused on babies. Kim has a two year old and a five month old. Melissa is pregnant, and Margo is trying to get pregnant soon. Even as recently as two years ago, most of our conversations focused on "boys," and prior to that it was partying. In our mid-thirties we're finally maturing!

On Saturday Mia and I went to visit Granny and Grampy. They watched her while I went shopping. Mia hadn't seemed to feel well all day, and was sleeping much more than usual. I took her temperature that morning and it was 99. Before I left Mom's I took it again. The temp got to 99 and stopped. As I waited for the digital thermometer to beep, signaling that 99 was in fact her temp, it changed to 99.1. Very quickly it jumped to 99.2, 99.3, 99.4, 99.5...and then out came poop, all over the thermometer! So let that be a lesson to all my fellow mommies - poop can alter your babies rectal temperature.  ;-) 

Except for sleeping more than usual, Mia was acting normally, so I met Amy for dinner last night. Mia slept the entire time, and I started to worry about her. On my way home I called the triage line at the pediatrician's office. The nurse told me it sounded like she's fighting off an infection and to be on the look-out for a temp of 100.4, vomiting or diarrhea, decreased wet diapers and not being able to rouse her. Mike was at a cook-out and came home. We watched her carefully the entire night and I slept with her in our bed. She slept through until 7 this morning, got up and ate, then went back to bed until 10. She's been up more today than yesterday, but we decided to take it easy today to let her rest.

Hanging with Cara

On Thursday SP had surgery on his shoulder so I went up to Cincy to watch Cara. Since Mia had been sick the previous evening, I was worried about her and didn't sleep well. When Mia got up to eat at 3:30 a.m., I just stayed up and left for Cincy at about 5:30. Although I hated to leave Mia, it was so nice to spend time with my niece. She is just adorable and I love watching her smile. She has the most beautiful, long eyelashes that she uses to flirt her way into your heart. She's just precious and I'm so glad we had a day together. It was also nice to hang out with Missy. Even though I wasn't there long, I still got to just hang out in her kitchen, chatting as though we were still neighbors. I sure miss that and I miss her. SP's surgery went well and he was his usual funny-guy self, even afterward. 

Mia's first vomit

Last Wednesday Mia was sick for the first time. Mike and I had trouble burping her all morning, but other than that she didn't appear to be feeling badly. Then, all of a sudden, she began vomiting. It was awful. At first I just thought she'd spit up, because I didn't hear her. Then it kept coming, and she was gagging just like adults do. It scared the crap out of me because there was so much of it that it was pooling around her mouth and nose. I grabbed her, quickly using her blanket and my shirt to wipe her off. She continued retching so I ran to the bathroom and held her over the sink. All I kept saying was, "You're okay. Mommy's got you." I said that over and over, as I prayed she really was okay. When she stopped I just cuddled her as she cried. When she finally calmed down I went to change her clothes in her room and she started gagging again. I got her to the sink just in time for her to be sick again. It was just awful watching her little 12 pound body writhe in pain. After that we sat for awhile to be sure it was all gone. It wasn't. She was sick one last time. There really wasn't much left to that one, so afterward I cleaned and changed her. I called the doctor and they had us come in within the hour. The doctor said she must have been exposed to a bug, and we basically just needed to monitor her. She didn't have a fever and we fed her before we left the office so the doctor could see how she reacted. But all was well. We took her home and she did just fine the rest of the night.

11 Weeks Old

Miss Mia continues to wrap our hearts around her little finger. Mike and I will do just about anything to elicit a smile from her. We talk to her, make goofy faces, do weird things with our tongues, sing to her, tickle her...we will do anything to make our girl happy! Mia's latest feats include trying to mimic us when we "motorboat" with our mouths. She's taken to blowing spit bubbles, so the motorboat is not a stretch from that. I've also been putting her feet in her hands to teach her that they're hers and are attached to her body. On Monday she grabbed one of her feet on her own. Maybe it was a fluke, but I was excited nonetheless! 

Yesterday our leadership team at work had an all-day retreat. I thought it wise of me to attend, so I was away from Mia all day. Mike spent the day with her and he reported that she laughed while I was gone! I was so disappointed to have missed it. I am struggling so much with going back to work for just that reason. I don't want to miss all her "firsts". I want to be there for all of them, not hearing about them from someone else. It just really sucks. I do enjoy my job and my co-workers, but Mia has my heart. I'd rather be with her any day.

When I go back to work on Monday, Mike will become Mr. Mom. He will keep her through the end of May and we'll start daycare June 2. At least I won't have to deal with the double stress on Monday of going back to work and leaving her at a strange place. 

I wish I had a picture of our girl on her 11 week birthday, but who knows when we'll get another camera. We're trying to locate our warranty on the one I broke so we can try to get it fixed. In the meantime I'm going nuts not being able to capture all her cute moments. 

Derby Weekend

We had a busy weekend, starting last Thursday when we went to Cincinnati. Mike, Freddy, Mia and I had lunch at our favorite German restaurant with SP, Missy and Cara. Then we went to Ike@, where Missy and I acted like children while our babies slept in their strollers. 

On Friday Mike and I celebrated our 5-year anniversary! I can't believe it's already been 5 years since Jenn introduced us at Willow Lake, "This is Mike. He has asthma." For our anniversary, Mike gave me two cards and a beautiful necklace and earrings that went perfectly with my Oaks outfit. That morning, we went to an Oaks brunch with Jenn and Freddy while Mia spent the day with Mamaw Carol. The brunch was fun and the day started off well, but went downhill very rapidly once the rain set in. Mike and I ended up catching a ride home with Matt...in his jeep with the sides off! We were completely soaked, but that didn't stop us from stopping by the Gatti's buffet and chowing down! The most unfortunate event of the day was that I dropped and broke our camera. I'm not sure if it can be fixed, but you know I've been using that camera almost daily since Mia was born. We'll need to fix that quickly!

On Saturday we attended a Derby brunch at the Rexroats', then picked up Mia. We went to Jenn and Freddy's neighbors' for the afternoon, then came home and crashed. Yesterday we cleaned house and grilled out.