Shopping Saturday

So it has been forever since I blogged anything because unfortunately we had some major storms come through town the other day. One of the only trees we have in our front yard, decided that the wind was just too much for him and fell down.
That being said it fell slightly against the house and took out the phone box, ultimately cutting off our internet. It just happens that today I spending the day at my mothers and I got to use her internet instead... whew I missed you guys :)

Anyways...it's a little late but here's my Shopping Saturday post. I threw a shower for a dear friend of mine the other day and had the task of finding a keepsake for her and her little boy Hawkins. I desperately wanted to find a book with a Hawk as the main character, but to my frustration, one does not exist. (That tells me that I need to write one :))

But in lieu of the frustration I experienced...I did find an amazing keepsake that I have to share and have to get for my sweetness Caroline. It is a book called "My Very Own Name"
You have got to check this out!





http://www.iseeme.com/oriveownna.html

The site is called I See Me...and they personalize books for children. All I had to do was put in the child's name and VIOLA...they sent me the finished product within a week! It was beautiful and we decided to have everyone sign a page of it that came to the shower with their prayers for the sweet boy to come. I have to tell you, it was a tear jerker!

Anyways... I think every baby needs one. I mean what better way to learn their names :)

Have fun shopping :)!
Lindsey

Just a few thoughts...

I have a lot of little things swirling around in my head today. So instead of a normal post I am just going to blurt out these things...so they GET OUT! (I have to worn you: some are weird!)

1) Last night I woke up at 2:30am. Not because the little one got up, but just because I couldn't sleep. I guess something that I watched on the news caught up with me and had me thinking for a while. There is a new missing girl around here where I live and my mind was stuck on her. I don't know her, but my heart is broken for her. I pray that they find her...I pray for her mother. As a new mom, the thought of something happening to my sweetness rattles me to the core. I can only imagine the pain her mother feels right now. I hope they find her.

2) I think that I am as plain Jane as they come. I am not very out of the ordinary, but desperately want to be. I really want to be one of those moms who makes their own food, sews and is crafty. How do you become crafty if you don't have a crafty bone in your body?... I know, find someone who is and play it off like you did all the work yourself :)

3) Where does time go? I need it to slow down. I feel like everyday C is growing in a new way. Whether it is her personality or her actions, I feel like I want to press the pause button and hold her there for just a little while longer.

4) She is about to crawl any day now. She gets on her hands and knees and is rocking back and forth. I am so afraid that my husband is going to miss this momentous occasion. So I am constantly on video duty... hoping that I will get the action shot when it happens. It makes me think of the movie "Life as we know it" with Katherine Hiegle and Josh Duhamel. Their little girl is about to walk and Katherine Hiegle is upstairs and doesn't want to miss it... as the baby starts to get going Josh Duhamel pushes the baby over so she stops walking so that Katherine won't miss the first steps. HYSTERICAL! I won't do that for Chris...but it sure is funny.

5) Sleeping is going well. She is in her own crib and is sleeping from 8pm till about 5am where she then gets a bottle and in the bed with us. I love my snuggle time so much more now, and really I miss her so much during the night.

6) We are officially done breast feeding...and I am really sad. I wish I would have done it longer now...

7) Caroline is so funny. Her personality is coming out so much more now and I love it! She is really a sweet little girl, and I am not just saying that. Her little babble is soft, cute and adorable. She smiles at everyone and her eyes light up the room.

8) She says dadada and mommamaa but she doesn't really know what she is saying. A couple weeks ago,  she was up late and didn't want to go to bed, but I was pooped. Chris was taking her to stay up with her, and as he went to take her out of my arms he asked her "Do you love her?" and pointed to me...
Caroline looked at him and said "ahuh" and smiled...both Chris and I looked at each other and started laughing!
Chris asked her again and she looked at him again and said..."ahuh" We laughed!
Chris asked her one more time, and again she said "ahuh!" AMAZING!!!

I thought this time I would do it for him, so he could feel the pleasure I was feeling with her agreeing to love him too.
So I asked her "Caroline do you love him?" and pointed to her daddy.
She just stared at him and smiled! HA!!! Can't win them all :)
 She does love her mommy!

anyways... those are just my few thoughts for today!

Amused,
Lindsey

Sleeping Update

So last week I informed you all that starting Monday I was going to try the CIO method. (Cry it out) I happened to be gone all weekend, and per my last blog entry...we all know how Sunday and Monday turned out for me (A Terrible Day)

SO needless to say, we didn't get to start the sleeping project until Tuesday. I started with nap time.

Usually I will:
Rock her until she falls asleep
Then gently lay her in her bed
Hold her steady to make sure she's good
Gently take my hands off
Tip toe out of the room
Pray she doesn't wake up :)

This time I:
Rocked her till she was drowsy
Kissed her on the head
Laid her in the crib
Walked away
Prayed she would stop crying and fall asleep :)

I think it took about 20 minutes but she did fall asleep and slept for an hour and half!
I did the same thing that evening when it was bed time. Caroline's bedtime is 8pm and we give her a bath and then feed her a bottle while rocking her to sleep. This time we did the same thing but, when we put her down she cried for a little bit before conking out.

Although that evening was a little difficult.
She woke up at 12:30....where I went in there and sat next to the crib with my arm poked through the wholes and held her hand.
Again at 3:30...where I did the same thing as above.
And at 4:30...it was storming really bad outside and the thunder kept waking her up. I asked Chris to get up and get her to go back to sleep, and a few minutes later...he waltzed in holding the little sweetness, where she proceeded to sleep with us to 7:30am. :) I wasn't too upset, I misssed the little one.

Yesterday was a great day though. Nap went well like noted above, and then we were out and about most the day. She took a good late nap and was really happy all day.
When we put her down for the evening, Chris rocked her and laid her in the crib. About 9:30 there was a stir from her in her room, but quickly was quited.
We went to bed around 9:30am. At 4 am I herd her stir again...I got up to make her a bottle thinking she might be hungry. By the time I got done doing that (about 3 min or so) it was all quiet again in her room. I went back to bed.

6 AM! That's when she woke up!!! PUMPED I AM!!!
I don't know what this means exactly, because the sleep situation has always been different from day to day. But I can tell you this, I think we might be turning a corner :)

I will keep you updated as to what happens tonight, but I am pleased thus far. And it's nice to have some quiet time with my husband!

Rested,
Lindsey

A Terrible Day

SO yesterday was a terrible day. I am not even going to lie... I mean flat out terrible.

I went out of town this past weekend to Knoxville, TN to help my sister out with her catering business. I was gone Friday night, Saturday and got back Sunday afternoon. This is the longest that I have ever been away from the sweetness. She actually did fairly well, spending Friday night with my sweet husband and then Saturday night with her Nana. It wasn't until I returned home that things started to turn negative.

I realized very quickly that sweetness was making sure I wasn't planning on leaving again. At first the whimper when I would leave the room was cute...then a little frustrating and by last night...flat out exhausting. Yesterday she was in rare form. I mean there have been fussy moments in the past seven months, but nothing like the all out shrills that were coming from her yesterday. She wouldn't go down for a nap, she wouldn't sleep both Sunday night and last night and the only way that she would sleep is if I were holding her.

I promised you a couple weeks ago that I wouldn't take another moment for granted, but this was a little over the top. I couldn't even go to the bathroom without her letting me know she was not OK with that.

I love her, but last night (around 12:30am) I felt my self having a Brittney Spears moment. I was on the verge of a total meltdown right along with my daughter. I wanted to shave my head so that she could no longer pull another piece out of it. I wanted to scream and cry just like she was. I wanted to hand her off to my husband and go for a drive around the block...(remember...I promised honesty here).

But as tears began streaming down my face, sweet husband waltzed into the dark living room with a bright shining light of wisdom to share. He simply said, "This will pass." My eyes fill with water as I remember those words. This will pass. She will move out of this stage. Why in the world would I let myself get so overworked over a moment in time. Frustrated doesn't even begin to describe my state of mind. Exhausted to the umpteenth power was the least of my worries. I was done, with a capital D, and I let it get the best of me.

There are times I feel like the worst mom in the world. There a days that I am over it. But I should never let myself get so over done. I write this in hopes that if there is anyone else out there who has had similar moments, please know that you are not alone. Please know that this moment will pass. Please know that you are not a terrible mom, you are human.

Yesterday was a terrible day, but my wise husband was right. It passed. Today has been much better and I am so thankful. I asked the Lord for grace, mercy and forgiveness for my poor attitude and actions.

Humbled,

Lindsey

Updates

I thought that I would let you in on some updates here in the Campbell household and with Sweetness C.

1st things 1st... Our little girl gave us a big surprise yesterday, I found two more teeth! That's 6 total!!! She is only 7 months old and has 6 teeth! That's a lot!! We found her bottom two teeth on Christmas morning, then last month she finally got the top two. Then yesterday the two on either side of the top two I found peaking through... I am just shocked!

2nd... I have made the decision to wean C from breastfeeding. I know, I know. I have gone back and forth on this decision for sometime now. But we are going to be taking a trip here in about a month for our anniversary and I don't want to be pumping the whole time. I feel like I have given her a great start, I mean 7 months is a good while (I think). She also is eating more solids now, so she isn't needing as much milk either. And last but not least...I don't like to get bit. :( It's happened several times and it's does NOT feel good!

3rd... I think I might have been misleading a while back about Caroline's sleeping. I gave a post that she slept through the night. That was one night! HA! Since then, we have had good nights and bad nights. Especially with the teething thing, hasn't made for some sound sleeping night. She was getting in a good routine though, I mean she goes to bed at 8pm and would sleep till 4am or so. But here lately, she hasn't been doing nearly 5 hours or so without waking up. Naps also have been a whole other issue. It seems lately that she doesn't like to be put down. So I think that I am going to try the CIO (cry it out) method...for real. Please pray for me because I hate (HATE) to hear the little one cry. It absolutely kills me. But I gotta do something. So I think I am going to try starting this on Monday. I need a couple more nights of snuggle time :)

4th and finally... I blogged a while back about being an isolator. I want you to know that I am doing so much better! I have gone to a moms group on Wednesdays twice now, and I have made several play dates :) I am coming out of my shell everyone! YIPEE!

anyways I hope you enjoyed catching up...If you have any advice on any of the above, I would be happy to hear it :)

Peace OUT!
Lindsey

Moments of Bliss

I can tell you that since Caroline has come into our lives there have been moments of pure love, pure joy, pure happiness...but also pure fear and pure frustration. But, I don't know if the past couple days have been us just waking up on the right side of the bed or what, but I am standing on cloud nine. My little sweetness is pure bliss right now. She is fun, sooo fun actually. The little sounds that she makes and the personality she will have is starting to come out.

Yesterday we did a first with her. We took her to the zoo.

I can't explain what it feels like to watch her discover things for the first time. As we walked through the park she was the cutest people watcher ever. Everything and everyone got the stare. It's like she was trying to figure it all out.

We finally made our way to the elephants and as I sat her on the post to watch them pass by, I was overcome with emotion. I feel like at any moment everything is going to pass me by. I will wake up and she will be 18. That one day I am going to look back on these moments as if they were fragments of a big blurr. I want to take everything and hold them in my hand and never let go.

Soon after leaving the zoo, Chris and I had to head to our church to go to an orientation for Caroline's baby dedication. We had some homework to do before the orientaion...and one of the questions we were asked to answer was "Imagine the End. What do you want your child to become by the age of 18?"

THE END???? What do  you mean the end, we only just begun!!!

Again, it made me think...these moments are so precious. So I came home and just wanted to squeeze my little sweetness. I wanted to hold her and never let go. So that's what I have done.

Today has been full of little moments that I have framed in my mind.

One like: Caroline is so close to crawling as she gets in the position and starts to rock forward. I, trying to help her, begin to crawl around her on my hands and knees. She starts laughing. I start laughing. Then she nose dives trying to imitate.

One like: Caroline is sleepy, as I notice her rubbing her eyes. I turn towards her, as she gives me the sweetest smile in the world and lifts her arms for me to pick her up. I do, and it feels as though she clings to me...pleading for me to never let her go. I rock the sweet little bundle in my arms and place her ever so soundly in the crib.

These are just every day moments, that are but a breath in our life with C. I promise to her and to you, that I desire nothing more than to never take another for granted. As I answer the question "What do you want your child to become when she is 18?" I want her to love God first and love me as much as I love her. Hope that's not to much to ask :)

Blissful,
Lindsey

Shopping Saturday

"Better late then never" is my motto lately. So here is our shopping Saturday post for today.

To start off, for Christmas my sister got me the sweetest present. It is a stool that spells Caroline's name, in a puzzle format. Of course she can't use it yet, but I look forward to the day when I see her standing on her tiptoes trying to brush her teeth at the sink. Until then, she sits and plays with the letters for fun.

So here is the site where you can purchase them at. They are so cute for a shower gift that's unique or a fun thing for your own child.  Puzzle Name Stools

Secondly, there is another cute, Cute, CUTE site that has so many fun things for baby and kids. Love this featured product :)

Visit this site Lemonade Couture

Either way, this site has so many fun things for you to look at if you are just a window shopper like me.

Hope you enjoy this beautiful Saturday afternoon everyone,
Lindsey

Making It Work

OK, for those of us out there who are married...this one is for you.

Chris, the husband, and I have have been married for 5 years this June. I can't believe that it has been 5 years, yet some days it feels like we have been married forever :). He truly is my best friend, and I feel honored that I get to spend my life with him.

I also think that he is a precious father. Watching him interact with Caroline has to be the sweetest thing in the whole world.

That being said, we have had a couple of off days and I am reminded at how much work is involved in this whole marriage thing. After 5 years, it sometimes feels like second nature doing the wife thing. I mean, he moves...I move, that sort of thing. But since the little sweetness came along, we have really had to work at our time together. It's so easy to make her the center of our universe and letting everything revolve around her. But, man can I tell a difference when we do. We argue more...we speak less...and we tend to become more like roomates sharing household duties rather than husband and wife.  (I promised you I would be honest)

That's not the way it is suppose to be. Chris has and always will be second in my life, only second to God that is. Caroline rounds out at 3rd. That's the only way that we can make it work. God, Chris, Caroline.

Since I stay at home with her, I can be a little exhausted when he gets home from work. Sometimes I have dinner made, sometimes I don't. Sometimes, I need to hand off Caroline to him so that I can take a five minute breather. After he gets home we: eat dinner, play, feed the baby, bathe her, cuddle her, feed her again and rock her to sleep...we are left with little time to just be us. He might have fallen asleep already on the couch, or I have headed off to take my shower finally. And after several days of that, we are more irritable with each other because we haven't met the needs of the other person, only the needs of the baby. It truly is a vicious cycle.

That's why you need date nights, and sometimes date days. Time where the baby is with a sitter and the two of you go do something together. It has to be a PRIORITY!! Chris and I were really good about this the first 4 months or so, but have let it slide here recently. No wonder we have been off. He needs to know that he is still #2 in my life, and I in his.

There is no other way to get around the fact that Caroline needs us, hand and foot right now. And really we have a ball with her. We laugh most evenings at how funny she is and marvel at how in love with her we are. But as much as I am in love with her...I am even more in love with her daddy.

Sometimes the best thing we can do as parents is make sure that the child sees what love looks like as man and wife. And sometimes love looks like saying no to the child and yes to your spouse. I pray Caroline grows up to see a healthy picture of this between her daddy and I.

So my question for you is, how do you make it work?
Madly in love,
Lindsey

A Tie That Binds

There is something completely remarkable about all that happens when you have a baby. I mean your body changes, your emotions change, your hair changes and your relationships change. Of course my husband and I are stronger now for having a baby together, I am closer to my mom and certain friendships have flourished even more than before. Other relationships have become a little more difficult to maintain because my lack of time to invest. This makes me sad, but I believe that all relationships have a timeline...some just reach their end before others.

Then there are other relationships that have transpired simply because there now is a tie that binds us. Yesterday I got to go visit, a now dear friend of mine, who had a baby 6 weeks ago. This is the second time that I have gotten to go be with her since the day her life changed forever. Each time that I go, when I get in the car and look at the clock...I am amazed that it has been 3 hours!!! We were acquaintances before, but since she had the baby we automatically have become friends fast because of what we have in common.

It's about having someone who understands completely what you are going through. It's about someone who can talk about poopy diapers and spit up without cringing. It's someone that can understand sleep deprivation and the consequences of it. It's about someone who doesn't judge you for the decisions you make as a new mother to survive. It's about someone who can cry with you when things are just harder than you expected. It's about having someone who can understand the complete love you feel when you hold your baby. That is a serious tie that can bond you faster than super glue!

Like I have said before, I am a serious isolator. I am learning that a lot of moms are. But I am on a mission to do something about it! I want so badly for new moms out there to know that they are not alone. I am learning this lesson daily, so the least I can do is pass it along.

The other day, I made my first mom's group connection. I also put Caroline in the nursery for the first time ever!!! I fought back the tears when I walked away, leaving her in the hands of a smiling woman I had never met, reassuring me that things were going to be OK. As I slowly walked away (forcing myself to not turn around for fear that I would run back and get her) a sweet sister in Christ named Abby walked up, introduced herself and encouraged me that this was for the best. We walked to the room where about 40 other moms sat with their coffee and Bibles. The conversation was flowing, and to my surprise, it wasn't about their children. They were talking about life. They had becomes friends because they all had something in common. They were moms. They understood one another. And because of that tie, they could relax and be themselves.

I enjoyed the group so much, and got some great advice about sleeping and Caroline. As I slowly walked to the nursery (can't believing they didn't come get me because Caroline needed me) I held my breath until I saw my little sweetness through the window of the nursery. As i walked up, the woman holding Caroline said, "Is this your daughter?" My breath caught in my throat as I said, "Yes mam".
Her response:
"She is the best baby. She had such a good time and was so sweet!"
The tears began to roll. She needed the interaction too. As I reached for her, and she for me and we were reconnected, I realized that this journey is a beautiful one. I am so thankful that there are others out there who understand exactly what I am talking about.
For those that do, I am grateful for the tie that binds us all.

From one sister to the next,
Lindsey