The Second Month

Tuesday, April 21, 2015


Happy Two Month Birthday Oaklyn Joy!
As I type this she is currently snoozing away in her swing 
Ha no wait, she literally just woke up after I finished typing that.
Silly girl. 

This month has been so much better than the first month on my end.
I'm so grateful for tomorrow's, because I sure needed quite a few that first month.
We now have a bond, that bond I was so excited for in motherhood
Oaklyn looks at me and I know that she knows me, she stares into my eyes and gives me the biggest smile, it makes me feel like the happiest mother in the world.
Some nights are longer than others, some days are harder than others, but I know that it's absolutely worth it and I finally understand why everyone kept telling me that.

She seems to grow more and more every single day. 
Shes starting to grow out of some of her newborn clothes and it breaks my heart every time I have to put another pair of pants or a onesie away, she'll never fit in them again. that's what I keep having to remember, that she'll never be this little ever again.

She started sleeping in her own crib, in her own room a little over a week ago. So far it's been successful and we've all been sleeping better around here even though it's now taking about four attempts just to get her to fall sleep. We sure love our stubborn little girl

She eats a full 4 ounces every single feeding. 
Oh yeah and I'm still pumping and I still hate it, but I'm also grateful she's getting the nutrition she needs.

We discovered that she loves to take showers little waterbug

She smiles so much now! she stares right at us and flashes the biggest cheesy grin

For the first few weeks of her life I wasn't able to set her down for more than five minutes without her screaming. Now as long as she's fed and all of her needs are met she will stay put for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. it's been much needed for this mama.

We have more of a routine down now, we understand each other, and we have a connection. Our days have become a little more predictable

She absolutely loves stretching, smiling, cooing, eating, and the water
She still super gassy but we find it hilarious and she's a champ at blowing out her diapers.

She's still a motion girl, thank goodness for swings! If I'm lucky, she'll take a good 2-3 hour nap in the middle of the day. I say "lucky" and pretend like I don't stare at her just waiting for her to wake up ;)

All of that luscious hair she has is still going strong and staying put! 
She wakes up with the funniest bed head most days :)

She LOVES to be snuggled in her blankie with her pacifiers for naps. 
She sleeps like a champ at night as long as she's swaddled and ticked away in her sleep sack.
She's also really good at breaking out of it ;)

She melts both of our hearts and we can't imagine life without her alreafyz
She is so fun and is the source of most of our smiles and laughs every day.
Sometimes, while she's sleeping, we'll lay in bed together just looking at pictures of her and laughing at all her funny faces. 
I'm loving watching her grow, but I'm also wishing time would slow down. 
Our tiny baby just keeps getting bigger and even though I'm loving watching her hit each milestone, I can't help but wish life had a pause button. 

Oaklyn Joy Moore, you are loved beyond measure by your mommy and daddy. Never forget it :)

All my love,
Aleigh Joy

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The Nursery

Wednesday, April 15, 2015
I spent quite a bit of time creating a dreamy girly nursery while I was pregnant.
It of course had to be budget friendly so I had to skip the extravagant things and settle for the things a toddler will one day probably destroy anyways.
I like how it turned out and I'm grateful that my husband put up with the constant demands to put something together (the dresser, book shelves, crib, etc...)
So, here are some less than good quality photos because my tiny baby had a meltdown pretty shortly after I started taking them ;)


















All my love,
Aleigh Joy

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Oaklyn Joy Moore: A Birth Story

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

I have read so many birth story blog posts over the years and I seriously cannot believe that I am actually now writing my own. Time truly flies. 
Especially since she's now a month old!

(disclaimer: this is really long and more for my personal memory but here it is! enjoy!)

We welcomed our beautiful little girl into the world Sunday February 22, 2015 at 10:54 am. She was five days late and weighed 7.8 pounds and was 19.5 inches long with TONS of fuzzy brown hair and truly perfect in every way. 

Saturday February 21st around 4:30 am I began feeling my first light contractions. They really weren't anything crazy but I knew they were contractions and I tried SO hard not to get my hopes up as I tried to fall back asleep. Hunter woke me up and asked if I wanted to go to the school with him to watch him throw around 10 am. I immediately said yes because I planned to walk around the field in attempts to get the contractions to speed up. I wasn't timing them but I knew they were getting closer. I texted both of our moms and let them know, but was still trying so hard not to get too excited because I had been let down too many times since I was now past my due date. Being that I was already four days late my doctor requested I go to the hospital for an NST to make sure little O was doing well. Before we left I decided to get a little more ready because I had this weird feeling that it was finally time to welcome our little girl into the family. As i stood there curling my hair, hunter timed my contractions. 3 1/2 minutes apart on the dot. And some were even just 3 minutes. Once we got to the hospital The nurse hooked me up to the monitors and left us alone for a bit. She came back and let us know everything looked good... Then she said "honey you're having contractions... And they're 3 minutes apart. Are you feeling them?" I let her know that I was in fact feeling them but they weren't hurting terribly. So she sent us home with tips to keep them going and the most encouraging words... "I wouldn't be surprised if I see you back here later tonight." We left the hospital both hungry and hopeful so we decided our last date together would be going to Costco to get all the samples we desired. Seriously, so many samples! I had to stop at every one of them and just breathe through the contractions. They were starting to get more painful, but not painful enough. 
We went home and I sat in a warm bath just trying to breathe but the combination of painful contractions and the reality of our little girl actually coming was overwhelming and my mind seemed to be racing. That was the last peaceful bath for a long long time ;) 
It was now around 5pm so I decided I should eat, but I was still nervous beyond compare. I must've walked into her room 100 times that night and just started bawling. I couldn't believe it was actually happening. We tried to watch a movie together to make the time go faster but I definitely wasn't paying attention because the contractions were now hurting enough that they were starting to take my breath away. I was so nervous that I would get sent home from the hospital if we went so I tried to do as much Laboring at home before we left. Around 10pm I couldn't take it anymore but I was still so nervous to leave. I told Hunter that it was time and we packed some last minute things in the hospital bag. Hunter then gave me a blessing and before we left we stood in the kitchen and just hugged just the two of us in our home for the last time. That was one of the sweetest moments in our marriage and I'll never forget it. Walking to the car was surreal to say the least. We drove to the hospital with a car seat in the back seat just waiting for our little girl. Even though I was five days late, I still was in shock that I was in labor. 
We walked into labor and delivery not really knowing what to expect, but reallyyy hoping we wouldn't get sent home. They checked me and I was only dilated to a three, which wasn't enough to be admitted. I sat there hooked up to the monitors for another hour hoping I would progress... Nothing. The nurse told me I could go walk the halls for another hour if I wanted but they still couldn't admit me. Hunter walked with me and let me squeeze his hand through the most pain I had ever felt in my life. My contractions were now two minutes apart and hurt like I didn't know was possible. Once an hour had passed I was praying constantly that I would be dilated more and that I would be able to get through the pain. The nurse came in... 3 1/2. I couldn't believe it. She told me they would be sending me home with pain medication and I could come back later and she went to go talk to the doctor to get me the medicine. I looked at Hunter with tears in my eyes "I can't go home, I'm in the most pain I have ever felt." I knew that our baby was coming and the thought of being sent home and not knowing when to come back terrified me. The nurse came back a few minutes later and told me the doctor said they could admit me and give me the epidural. I looked at her with wide eyes and almost shouted "yes! Let's do that!" She left the room and that's when reality really sank in. I couldn't help but cry because my contractions were making me miserable, I was SO scared of the epidural, I knew the only way this baby was coming out was for me to push her out, and I was suddenly feeling so unprepared to be a mom. Hunter came and sat by my side letting me squeeze his hand through each contraction and tried his best to keep me calm. I think we were both just shocked it was really happening. A new nurse came in with our hospital bracelets and taught me how to breathe through each contraction which surprisingly really helped. She said that the epidural was ordered and the anesthesiologist would be up any minute. When he walked through the door I was both incredibly relieved and terrified. They had hunter sit right in front of me holding my hands and distracting me from the fact that a strange man was sticking a huge needle in my spine. I tried so hard not to think about it and before I knew it, it was over and my pain level went WAY down. I don't care what anyone says, epidurals are the way to go! They hooked me up to my IV and at this point I really couldn't feel a thing. I looked at Hunter and said "okay, you can sleep now I feel great!" Which was relieving to both of us ha. I wish I could say that I slept well after that but I still had needles poking me and nurses coming in every hour. The first of many sleepless nights. Once I got the epidural and was able to relax I was finally beginning to dilate more. I kept staring at the clock wondering when our little girl would make her appearance. She sure took her sweet time but it all feels like a blur at the same time. Around 5am the nurse said I was finally to a 5. Suddenly I was then at a 7. Next thing I knew it was time to push around 9 am. I don't know why I was so nervous about pushing, that was probably the easiest part of labor for me. Each time a contraction came I was so motivated to push with all my might and just get her out. Until I felt some serious heartburn. That made pushing challenging because it turned into pushing and trying my best not to throw up. which is hard when you're using every thing in you to push a child out... still can't believe I did that. They wouldn't let me take a zantac and instead gave me the grossest little drink in the world. It was spicy, sweet, and sour all at once... so now I was trying not to throw that up. Around 10:30 the nurse called the doctor in and at that point I asolutely knew it was show time. At 10:54 am I heard the sweetest little cry in the entire world, it was my little Oaklyn. I looked at the doctor holding her up and instantly began crying. She was here and I loved her more than I knew possible. The nurses took her right away because she had lots of meconium that they needed to make sure wasn't in her lungs. I could only watch from the hospital bed as I saw my sassy little girl throwing punches at those nurses haha. Hunter was standing right by her telling me how beautiful she was. Once they cleaned her up we got to do skin to skin for the first time and my precious girl was hungry right from the start. She was practically sticking her whole fist in her mouth. Once her temperature went up they took her away with Hunter to do... whatever they did ha. 
We then got to the mother and baby room and they wheeled her in all clean and perfectly content with the cutest little bows in all of her dark hair. I looked at her and could not believe how perfect she was. And she was all ours :) the two days we stayed there everyone that came in kept telling us how beautiful and perfect she is. They said everyone on their floor was talking about her and all her hair :)
Oaklyn seriously is such a little joy to have in our lives. I have loved watching her and daddy bond together. It has truly made me fall even more in love with Hunter.
Having a baby is hard, and definitely a constant job. But, it is so wonderful and looking at her chubby little cheeks and snuggling her little self makes it all worth it.
I'm a mommy now! And I could not be more happy :)

All my love,
Aleigh Joy


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The First Month

Being that Oaklyn's two month birthday is coming quite quickly, I think it's about time to finish up this post and publish it...
(side note: this was mostly written when she actually turned a month old so just jump back in time...)

So... I've kept a baby alive for one whole month!
3 weeks ago, I truly didn't think I was going to survive ha.
But, I did. 
And I can say now that those first few weeks really are worth it.
Oaklyn slept from 10:45pm-5am last night without waking up. she then fell back asleep around 6 and slept til 8:45. 
I feel like a new woman today!
So here I am, not napping while she does but catching up on her first month of life.

On Tuesday February 24th we were released from the hospital.
I took my sweet time getting ready to leave because I was beyond nervous to take her home with us. 
I knew my mom was coming that night, but babies don't come with an instruction manual and I suddenly felt like I had no idea what I was doing.
Nursing was still super difficult and frustrating, she screamed every time we changed her diaper, and I was so sleep deprived I almost fell asleep every time I blinked.
We had everything packed, Oaklyn was in her going home outfit I had picked out forever ago, and we took our first family picture.
We put her in the car seat, said goodbye to the nurse, and the next thing I knew we were a family of three driving home for the first time.
We opened the front door and stuck her car seat on the counter and just looked at her...
"What do we do now?"
She was still sleeping when we took her out of the car seat so we stuck her in the crib and Hunter took a shower singing every sappy father daughter song he could think of.
Suddenly, I burst into tears. And I couldn't quite figure out why, but the only reason I could think of was that things were now different, much different and I don't do very well with change. 
I was tired and overwhelmed and I missed having my husband all to myself. 
Then Oaklyn started crying and it hit me, hard. 
Nothing would ever be the same. 
I had quite a few more emotional breakdowns that first week, my hormones were crazy!
Thank goodness my mom was there to take her from me when I needed a break, cook dinner, and help me still see daylight ha.
After baby hormones are insane.
The next week got a little easier. 
This time Hunter's parents were there and Oaklyn was getting a little more used to life. 
We did a whole lot of nothing but watch her sleep, which was exactly what I needed. 
When it came time for hunt's parents to leave the breakdowns started happening again. 
I had no idea what I was doing, and I was still SO tired. 
Oaklyn's little face warmed my heart but I have never had to rely so much on The Lord. 
I must have prayed every 10 minutes of every day for patience and strength to be able to give this baby the love and care she needs. 
Her constant need to be held made it impossible to get anything done.
I have never been more grateful for Hunter than I am now.
He has helped SO much. 
There were days that Oaklyn would be crying and I had no idea why but it was so heartbreaking to see her little face turn red and her eyes well with tears so I would just cry with her until she fell asleep in my arms. 
Around the fourth week of her life she began to have more regular sleep patterns and decided daytime naps are necessary.
Thank goodness.
I was able to get a few peaceful showers in and even ventured out of the house alone a few times.
Thankfully her umbilical cord finally came off and we were able to give her, her first real bath which she completely loved!
She began smiling SO much and developed an obsession with ceiling fans.
She started to become WAY more active and incredibly strong, even though she's not the biggest fan of tummy time.
She's a motion girl. She sleeps pretty good at night as long as she's swaddled up nice and tight, but during the day she HAS to be bounced, rocked, in the swing, in the stroller, wrapped on me as I'm walking, or moving in the car.
Nursing... oh nursing.
I was so adamant about doing everything in my power to nurse my baby. Well, she had other plans. So after several tries and failed attempts, I pump and bottle feed her breast milk because that is the only way she actually gets fed. I hate pumping, but I'm so glad I have the option.
It's crazy how much your life changes when you have a baby.
You can be so sleep deprived and your back can hurt so bad from rocking a baby all day, and yet their tiny everything's make you wish  you could go back to the first time you held them and do it all over.
I'm able to be home with Oaklyn all day every day and experience every new sound and facial expression she makes.
I'm there for every milestone and meltdown.
It can easily get pretty lonely, but I'm so glad I'm able to be her mother and watch her grow daily.
Hunter couldn't be any more proud or happy to be a father.
I love watching him with our daughter and I'm SO thankful for all of his help!
We may be a bit biased but we truly believe she is the prettiest little girl alive.
Hunter may be in for it during her teen years ;)
He hair grows longer daily and her eyes are getting bluer as well!
Her little features are adorable, and I'm so excited to watch her grow :)

I rambled quite a bit in this post.
But my mind is anything but organized these days.
So, here's to her one month post in efforts to remembering it all :)

All my love,
Aleigh Joy












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