15 Weeks old
Ok, I’m going to confess something here. This actually happened about 3 weeks ago on April 23rd – my 3rd day back at work. I was at work during the week for the first time and was working with 3 new co-workers. I was talking with one during the kid’s lunch and she was asking me about my new baby. The conversation went something like this:
Co-worker: You just had a baby, right?
Me: Yes, I did!
Co-worker: What did you have?
Me: A girl. She’s wonderful!
Co-worker: How old is she?
Me: She’s 12 weeks old today.
Co-worker: Oh, how great. What’s her name?
Me: ……. (silence for about 10 seconds), uhh, uumm (nervous laughter)
Co-worker: You can’t remember her name?
Me: Ha, um no. It’s aahhh…. Haley (I finally spit out, after what felt like hours, but was probably more like 15 seconds).
I know it seems horrible and let me tell you, I was horrified and so embarrassed!! And I wasn’t going to write about it here because I didn’t want Haley reading this years from now and coming to me saying, ‘I can’t believe you forgot my name, Mom!” But, I have a few excuses for it…
1st- we didn’t know if we were having a boy or a girl until she was born, so we didn’t spend the last 9 months calling her by name.
2nd- We actually didn’t even pick a name until about a week before she was born! Again, not much time to get used to it.
3rd- I am constantly sleep deprived… (enough said)
4th- When I’m talking to her, I almost always use a cute nick-name (since that day, I’m very conscious about using her name throughout the day).
As embarrassing as that episode was, I felt like I needed to share it so that other moms out there would see that some of the things they did/do aren’t a big deal – you can always say to yourself, ‘at least I didn’t forget my baby’s name!’ or ‘Gosh, at least I’m not the only one who forgot my baby’s name – it must be a common thing.’ I hope that by divulging this I’m helping someone else. If not, then all of you are laughing at me and questioning my worth as a mother – oh well! I hope it’s the first one! On a positive note, this Friday at work someone else asked me Haley’s name and I responded very quickly – I was so proud of myself!
Wednesday we had our weekly walk with Hayden and Shawnna at the mall. It was great! The only bad part was it was pouring when we got home and Sean’s car was parked in the garage. We got a little wet, but we didn’t melt, so it was ok!
My mom came on Thursday evening and we had a nice night together. That night, Sean got up with Haley (thank you!) and then on Friday we both had to work and my mom watched Haley. It’s so hard going to work and leaving my sweet baby girl at home. But, it is easier knowing that she is being cared for by wonderful people. And it isn’t too bad once I’m at work. I was really busy Friday so that helped too. That night my friend Dawn came over and we had a little party. We ordered pizza and we all got to have fun talking, playing with Haley, and watching tv.
Saturday, Sean got up early and went to the junk yard to get some car parts and my mom and I hung out at home. My dad came down and we all went to lunch when Sean got home. It was yummy and then my mom and I went to Target and the boys took Haley home. We had a Mother’s Day celebration when we got back – my first Mother’s Day and my mom’s first Grandmother’s Day 🙂 and then my parents left.
Sunday was my first Mother’s Day! So exciting! Haley and Sean made me breakfast in bed and it was so delicious!! Scrambled eggs, pancakes, and bacon – yum! Later that day we headed out to the sporting goods store to get a canopy for the beach and then the plan was to go to the beach. Well, they didn’t have what we wanted. We were getting ready to leave and we thought we found the perfect tent on Sean’s phone, so we went back into the store real quick to see if they had it. They didn’t, so we were going to run to another store quickly… only when we got back to the car Sean couldn’t find his keys. So, we spent the next hour or so looking for them in the parking lot and going to all the stores in the complex and asking if anyone had turned in keys. We finally gave up and called our wonderful friend Dawn and she headed to our house to get my keys. We walked over to Publix because… we had left the diaper bag in the car! We piled diapers and formula and a bottle and water into the cart and went to get subs. I took Haley into the bathroom and changed her and as I’m coming out Sean calls my name and holds up our keys! They were in his pants the whole time! Oh well! He said he just wanted to make it a Mother’s Day we wouldn’t forget 🙂 And I don’t think we will! I was very proud of us though, because neither one of us got angry or upset. I called Dawn and she was just getting to our house, so we met her there and had a nice little visit! Even though we ended up not needing Dawn to rescue us, thank goodness she was willing to help us out! If we hadn’t found the keys, she would have definitely been our lifesaver!! Thank God for friends like her! After our visit I had a nap 🙂 I got up and we watched a movie, ‘Take me home tonight.’ My first Mother’s Day was really wonderful and we definitely won’t forget it! I’m so thankful for my loving husband who not only made my day the best ever, but for also helping to make me a mommy in the first place. And I’m so thankful for my beautiful, sweet little baby girl for making me a mommy. And last, I’m thankful for my own mom who was a great role model and mom and helped shape me into the mommy that I am today.
Today, our baby is 15 weeks old! She’s almost 4 months! Can’t believe it. It is so amazing how much babies change in so little time. 4 months isn’t that long, but she’s changed so much. It’s so miraculous. Since I noticed that Haley hasn’t been rolling onto her side anymore, the last couple of days I’ve been working with her and having her play on her side. It’s working well, because today she has started rolling onto her side again. Our biggest issue right now (as I see it!), is that, while she looks to both the right and left, she definitely favors her right side. So, as the nurse that I am, I’m concerned about something called torticollis. And if she does have it, it isn’t too bad – yet. Anyway, basically torticollis is when the neck muscles are tight on one side and the person can’t turn their head in both directions equally. Haley really favors looking to the right, probably because for a long time we’ve only fed her while holding her in our left arm so that when she looks at us it is to the right. We’ve started switching the arm with which we hold her with each feeding. I’m also trying to work with her each day to get her to turn her head to the left more. I will surely be mentioning it to the Dr. at the end of the month for our 4 month visit. In other news, Haley is still sucking/chewing on her fingers, but just today she’s started going with just the thumb a few times. We’ll see what she ends up with! Sean and I are both hoping for the thumb – probably because we both sucked our thumbs. That should cover everything for this week!
Before I sign off for the week, I would like to take this opportunity to say Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful moms in my life – my mom, my grandmothers, my aunts, my cousin, my mother-in-law, my grandmothers-in-law, my aunts-in-law, and all my mommy friends!! You all are great moms and deserve so much recognition. And a Happy Mother’s Day to all the future moms out there too 🙂 I know there’s some great women out there who are going to make terrific mommies one day!!
More next week!
# of pictures taken this week: 172
# of pictures taken on my phone this week: 5
# of videos taken this week: 12
# of ‘oh geesh’ moments: 2 (at least!)
# of rescues this week: 1 (almost!)
# of wonderful days celebrating mom: 2
Hanging out by the pool in my swimsuit
So happy to be outside!
My cool shades
Mother's Day snuggling
Mother's Day breakfast made by Sean & Haley
Passed out!
'Holding' my bottle
Mommy & baby
3 generations of girls 🙂 Mommy, Haley, & Gammy
Our little family
Happy Mother's Day!
Pretty baby
Pretty eyes
Sean, Haley, & Hogan
Hogan slurping on Sean
Hogan giving Haley kisses
Sweet baby girl
Cute baby butt 🙂
Another butt picture!