New Discovery

Andrina has discovered her little feet! And she's super cute doing it too!

Getting Better?

Andrina's congestion does not seem as be as it was a few days ago. She does not seem to be sneezing as much as before either. I hope she is getting better. Tom and I are feeling a little bit better ourselves. I hope we are all getting over this cold. Soon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving at our house with my parents, sisters and my sister April's husband and daughter. Here's some pictures of Andrina's first Thanksgiving:

Andrina with Grandpa

Andrina with Mommy
I am so very thankful for my happy, healthy, and beautiful baby daughter.

Andrina with her cousin Anne and their Grandma and Grandpa (and there's Auntie April in the background too!)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Colds

Our whole household has a cold-including baby Andrina. Our beautiful little baby sneezed on both Tom and myself a few days ago and now we are feeling those nasty effects of having a cold. Andrina has a cold too (obviously) but she seems to be doing so much better than we are. We are all congested but Tom and I are the most cranky and out-of-sorts from it. Andrina is still as happy as ever, the only difference is she is a little bit more sleepy than usual. I'm glad she does not seem too distressed by it.

I personally am feeling miserable. Colds suck. I'm tired of sneezing and not being able to breathe. "Achoo".

Decisions, Decisions

I can't decide which of these pictures I like best:

So Beautiful

I just had to post these pictures. Andrina is sooooooooo beautiful! OMG, she is just the most gorgeous little baby ever! I am sooooooooooooooo in love with her! How could anyone not be in love with her? And she has the sweetest, happiest personality too AND she's so easy to care for! I really won the ultimate baby lottery with her!

Andrina being able to tolerate and enjoy tummy time now!

Getting ready for bed after her bath tonight.

Goodnight My Love. I can't wait to do it all again tomorrow!

-Mommy

Front to Back Rollover

Andrina completed her first front-to-back rollover today. Yea, Mommy is so proud of you! I just wish I had the video camera running. Also, since yesterday, she is doing so much better with tummy time. Andrina is finally beginning to tolerate it and will let us prop her up on her forearms and she will pull herself up on them too and push her chest off of the floor.

4 Months Old!

Andrina is 4 months old today! Happy Birthday My Sweet Wonderful Baby! Your stats are:
12 lbs 9 ozs and 24 inches long! I love you!

Bed Time

I wanted to post this a few days ago but I had a difficult time uploading the pictures into my computer. Here's Andrina all ready for bed, Mommy too! Please pardon my very ugly jammies, although they are perfect for those times when she spits up on me!

Terrible Toys

It was on the news again last night, more toy recalls. I have to officially say that I am sickened by all of the dangerous toys that have made their way into American homes. I am so angry at "Corporate America" and our elected officials who have their heads so far up the corporations butts that they can't get out with out a proctologist! I cannot believe that this was allowed to happen. The safety of our nation's children and babies is not as important as profits made by cheaply manufacturing toys in another country where their safety regulations are substandard.

Personally, I have looked at all of Andrina's toys and all of them were made in China. This is really disgusting to me that they may be dangerous, even if they were not recalled. It is even scarier to me now since my baby recently "discovered" her hands and will soon start putting everything in her mouth. It's time to start buying American made toys. However, this sounds simple but with the cheap manufacturing costs in other countries and the tax breaks the corporations get to not make their products in the USA, it may be difficult to find high-quality, reasonably priced, American made toys.

My Not-So-Secret Love Affair

When I was pregnant, even before I was pregnant, I knew I would love my baby. When I was pregnant, I would rub my belly and imagine what my baby would be like. Would he or she be easy going? Have a difficult temperament and be often cranky, hard to soothe? Smart? Cute? Average? Be intellectual? Artistic? Athletic? Have medical problems? Every day I would rub my belly and talk to my baby. Let my baby know that no matter who he or she was, I would always love and care for him or her. That no matter what happened, I would be there and go through it with my little "bun".

When Andrina was born and placed on my chest, I wrapped my arms around her and all I could think and say was "my baby". My pregnancy seemed to last forever and I waited so long for her to arrive that when she did arrive, it almost did not seem real. Looking back on her birth, I think my saying "my baby" was my mind integrating all the anticipation that within a moment became a reality. "My baby" was finally here. She no longer was the potential to be a baby, she really was "my baby".

I gave birth to Andrina at 9:29 in the evening and I kept her with me until 1:00 am. At 1:00 I started to feel tired and decided it would be best to go to sleep and get some rest, so I reluctantly sent Andrina to the nursery to get a real sponge bath and to sleep and for me to sleep as well. Sleep did not happen for me. All I could think of was Andrina. Was she bathed yet? Did she want to nurse again? Was she warm and cozy? Was she crying? If she was crying, was she being cuddled and soothed? Was she asleep? What was she experiencing in her new environment? I gave up on sleep at 3am and pressed the call button for the nurse and asked for my baby. She said they would bring her to me soon. I only lasted 10 minutes before I got up and slowly made my way to the nursery. Sore, bruised, and bleeding, it seemed to take forever to get there. And of course, when I got there, a nurse was bringing Andrina out of the nursery to me. So I walked with them back to my room. Andrina woke up and I brought her into bed with me, nursed her as best as I could (she might have gotten a drop or two) and then snuggled up with her in my hospital bed. I just laid there as Andrina quietly went to sleep. I kept looking at her, holding her hands, kissing her, feeling her warmth and smelling her new baby smell. I was so happy that she was healthy and beautiful and looked forward to hearing from the pediatrician the next day to confirm what I already knew; that Andrina was healthy. And that she could go home soon. Around 4:30 am I finally began to fall asleep.

Today Andrina is 3 and 1/2 months old and, I'm not exaggerating, every time I look at her I get a rush. The sight of her automatically brings a smile to my face and many times, tears in my eyes. I knew I would love her. I didn't know just how all consuming that love would feel. Seeing her happy, seeing her smile and laugh, watching her play, grow and develop is truly the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. And I have not lived a boring life. Maybe a mostly quiet life (I hate drama) but I have been fortunate to see and experience much. But my love for my baby girl is so overwhelming that I wonder how I ever once survived without her. I love being her mom. I love holding her, cuddling her, kissing her, talking with her, playing with her, making her smile and laugh, watching her develop. I am completely, totally, utterly, and hopelessly in love with her.