10 Months and 12 Weeks

10 Months

Hadley Ann

You are 10 months old and getting closer and closer to the big one year! I can't believe how much faster time seems to move when you bring a baby into the world. And before too long there will be two babies in this little family. Many things have happened this month and I will try and recap the important ones!

~Weight 18#

~ Crawling most places but the walking has begun

~Taking a few steps ( 5 is the current record)

~Moved up to a big girl carseat, and you HATE it!

~ You are continuing to try new foods and love french fries and most table foods. 

~You are getting more and more of a personality everyday and it is so fun to see you have an opinion and play with you.

~ You have become fond of the church nursery which is such a relief unless of course mom is in the nursery and holding another baby, then the jealousy comes out.

~You have started giving kisses back which just lights up mom and dad. 

We love you baby girl and can't wait to see what is next in your little life!

Here are a few pictures of my big little girl!

Not sure why this is sideways but I couldn't figure out how to change it. ha

Sweet smiles!

The "scary" pillow!

 On a totally different note, Baby number 2 has been cooking for 12 weeks!

12 weeks with Hadley

12 weeks with baby #2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 12 Weeks

Size of baby: The size of a Plum

Total Weight Gain/Loss: ~3# been throwing up quite a bit

Maternity Clothes: I do wear maternity pants because they are just WAY more comfortable. I can still fit in some regular pants but I prefer the stretchy ones!

Gender: Don't know yet. However, I do want a girl and have a feeling it might be. But of course daddy wants a boy.

Movement: Not sure. I have the feeling a lot but I felt it before I was far enough along to feel anything so I think it is mostly my imagination. ha

Sleep: Not good. I've started having nightmares which makes it hard to sleep on nights when Joe is working.

What I miss: Not feeling sick, and the healthy kick I had started that has gone out the window with being so sick.

Cravings: Mashed Potatoes

Symptoms: Nausea, throwing up, headaches, nightmares and exhaustion.

Best Moment this week: Getting through the first trimester! Out of the danger zone and praying the nausea and vomiting gets a little better.

9 Months

Hadley Ann

9 Months Old! Wow, can't believe one year is approaching so quickly! Sweet baby  girl, you've now been outside of Mama's belly longer than you were in! It just completely shocks me every time I think of all the changes happening and how quickly you are growing. I used to want you to stay small and stop changing so much but I am ready for the next step, the walking!!! And it is very quickly approaching. But lets take a step back and see what you were up to this past month.

~17.9 # (19%)

~27 5/8 in (64%) Getting Longer and Leaner

~Crawling EVERYWHERE

~ You are pulling yourself up on anything you can

~walking around furniture and with hands but you are too scared to let go although I'm sure it won't be long at all.

~you've started saying the syllables dadadada but not in reference to your daddy yet

~You are quite the bully in the church nursery, as in you take other kids toys but we are working on the concept of sharing

~ You switched over to all formula this month and are doing just fine

~You get to experience new foods almost everyday and you are LOVING it!

~You went on your first camping trip and did pretty well with everything except taking naps

~You were able to experience your first trip to the condo with Mama's family and you loved spending time with your cousins who doted over you the entire time.

~You are a water bug and love the water

~You giggle more and more and it just lights up the world

We love you more and more sweet girl and can't wait to see what you will do or say next! Enjoy these next few months baby! It's getting harder and harder to take pictures with you in one spot, you just can't seem to stop moving!

Won't be an only child for long! We are expecting an unexpected surprise!

8 Months

Hadley Ann Struska

Wow, you are 8 months old today! You are 2/3 of the way to being a year old. It's unbelievable how much more you notice time going by when you have a little baby. And you also notice the slightest changes in that little person. You have reached so many milestones this past month you seem to be turning into a toddler quickly. 

Brazilian Bath

 ~Weight16lbs

~Size 2 Diapers

~Mostly 3-6 month clothes but also some 6-9 month

~The biggest thing you did this month was go out of the country. We had a 3 hour flight to Washington and then a 9 hour flight to Brazil and back. And you did spectacular. I still can't believe how well you traveled. You were so good and slept most of the flights. You had so much fun meeting your cousins and aunt and uncle. 

~You also managed to master crawling while we were gone, even though you weren't allowed to be down much because of the floors

 ~You have started pulling yourself up on EVERYTHING you can. You even take steps with your walking toy. I tried to get a video but you were very stubborn and stopped every time I tried.

~You continue to try new foods and eat fairly well. You had your first french fry and more ice cream than any baby should consume while you were in Brazil. 

~You are now able to entertain yourself for awhile by yourself with a bucket full of toys. 

~You have started being much more vocal but no actual words yet.

~You still love your paci and are really starting to bond with your bottle.

~You love swimming.

As you can see she is very active and has no interest in sitting there for a picture or two.

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~You like the people you know well and are pretty shy around the ones you don't know.

~You love to laugh and are turning into such a sweet little girl with a hint of stubbornness and attitude. 

Me and daddy were just talking about how much we LOVE our little family and how we can't remember what it was like before you, nor do we want to. We love you to the end of the earth and back!

7 Months

Hadley Ann

7 Months

Each month seems to go by twice as fast as the last and you seem to change twice as much each month. My love for you changes too sweet girl, it grows more and more each day which I can't seem to figure out because I love you with my whole heart! You are such a sweet little thing who LOVES your mamma. I've been trying really hard to enjoy every moment I have with you, even the moments at 2am. I hate being at work and missing out on parts of your life so I try to take advantage of every moment. That and I seem to be the only one who can comfort you in the middle of the night.

~15.5LBS

~size 2 diapers

~mostly 3-6 and 6-9 month clothes, however some 0-3 still fit and most 6-9 are still big. 

~you are almost crawling. You are able to get up on your hands and knees and rock. We've caught you crawling a few inches but nothing consistent yet. I know you will get the hang of it in no time.

~You still roll all over the place to get where you want to go

~you've started standing a lot more with help. You will even hold onto furniture and stand there. 

 

~You got to add two more states to your ongoing list. You visited Houston, TX and got to meet some of mommy's dear friends, and you went to Topeka, Kansas to see your cousin Candyce graduate 8th grade.  This month you will be able to add another country to your list. Hadley you are becoming quite the little traveler. (we are just praying you do well on the 8 hour flight to Brazil)

~You developed your first AND second ear infection this month. Not really a milestone to be proud of but that is life. You didn't develop a fever but you pulled at your ears and were a little bit more fussy with the first one. 

~You have started reaching out your hands when you want to be picked up.

Love You Sweet Hadley Ann

New Mom

I have read Kelly's Korner for quite awhile and linked up to her 'Show Us Your Life' one other time but I really like this topic so I thought I'd link up again. This week SUYL is all about new moms, which I find very appropriate for the week before Mother's Day. Last year I celebrated my "first" Mothers Day with a sweet baby girl living inside of me that I was already the mother of, but this year I get to actually celebrate being a mom of a sweet baby I am able to hold and love on. 

I've wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember. I ALWAYS loved holding the babies and being in the nursery at church and as soon I was allowed to I started babysitting. I probably would have paid the parents to let me babysit instead of being paid if I had to, but of course I didn't tell them that. I became an aunt when I was in high school and I just adored my niece. I would show her picture off to anyone that would look. I went to nursing school to be a nurse and maybe eventually a midwife. My dream is work in pediatrics or the OB, which is proving to be a lot more difficult to get into than I thought it would be.

I got married in June of 2009 and from day one I secretly hoped I'd get pregnant even though we had talked about waiting for at least a year. God knew that waiting that one year wasn't quite enough time and in March of 2011 I found out I was expecting. I was in absolute shock. I figured because I longed to be a mom so much that I would probably struggle with getting pregnant and that I would have to wait a long time, but that wasn't the case and sweet baby Hadley was born on November 1, 2011 plunging me into motherhood. I had always thought I had somewhat of an  idea what being a mom was from babysitting and living with my niece and nephew. I also thought I knew what it was to love someone unconditionally despite what people told me, I thought I knew. I HAD NO CLUE! haha Mother hood is the hardest job I've done (even harder than nursing school at times) but it is also the most rewarding. I never could have imagined the amount of love a baby could bring. 

When Joe and I were dating and talking about the future I remember him telling me that he would want me to stay at home with our kids if it were possible because that is how he was raised. At that time I thought he was completely crazy. I was NOT going to stay at home. I went to school for 4 years and worked hard to earn my nursing degree, there was no way I was going to give all that up just to stay at home. Well little did I know how much I would LOVE to stay home with my baby. Unfortunately at this point we can't afford that but hopefully someday. 

I have learned so much in these short 6 months that I had no clue about before like babies, sleeping, breastfeeding, immunizations, and mostly how selfish I was before. Now, I am still selfish and will probably always struggle with that but there are some things I've had to give up whether I wanted to or not, like sleep, clean clothes, peace and quiet, a clean house but of course like any normal mom I wouldn't trade any of it for my sweet baby girl. I try really hard at night when she is fussing and all I want to do is go to sleep to pray for her and to thanks God for giving my the opportunity to raise her. I try so hard not to ever take that task for granite because I know not every "mom" gets the opportunity to have a baby. 

This Mother's Day as I thank God for the opportunity to be a mom and to celebrate I also thank him for the wonderful Mother and Grandma's. I've learned everything I know from them. I miss my Grandma's like crazy and I wish they were still here to see me as a mom. I also thank God for an awesome Mother in Law who raised my husband to be be who he is. Thanks Mom's!!!!

6 Months

Hadley Ann
6 Months
Half Way to One Year!!!!!!
Baby girl you are growing at the speed of light and while I'm excited for each 
new stage it saddens me every time you leave a baby stage!!! So far this month 
has probably been the one with the most changes. Let's see what you've been up 
to. 
-growing of course
-14.5lbs (31%)
-25.75in (64%)
- size 2 diapers
- 0-3 and 3-6 clothes. You are still tall n skinny so pants get short before 
they even fit your waist. 
- you are rolling ALL OVER (you may not be crawling yet but you sure get around)
- sitting up all by yourself
- you've really started grabbing at things and playing with your toys. 
- you are totally a momma's girl and have major stranger anxiety
-you are finally getting the hang of eating food. Sweet Potatoes are your 
favorite. 
- you LOVE yogurt melts and puffs and even though you are technically too young 
for them, you do very well eating them. 
- you always sleep with your taggie blanket
- you still love your paci but you go back and forth between your hands, paci, 
feet, and anything else close enough to chew on. 
- speaking of you have officially discovered your feet and you are a big fan!
- you are talking more and more developing your personality and showing us your 
attitude.