2016

10 Goals for 2016!

1) Quit "bad mouthing" Eli. He is a terror sometimes but he is almost 3. He is learning life and it is hard. I have a tendency to refer to him as a difficult child and talk about his negative qualities and I don't want to do that anymore. I want to work with him and help him grow and love every minute watching him figure it all out. 

2) "Love" my husband more. A rough pregnancy and a newborn haven't left a lot of time for lovin' but my husband is a good man and he deserves my attention.

3) Get more done. By this I mean to be more productive with my time...not add more to my plate. I want to keep my life simpler by just saying no to extra events I really don't want to do and saying yes to offered help. I want to use the time I do have at home and at work being productive.

4) Get into weight lifting. I hurt...I'm sore all over... Having a child is rough on the body and so is being a mother. I don't want to hurt and I want to have the energy and strength to play with my kids and be there for them.

5) Complete some 5ks. I always put this on my list but I want to run some races. Casio is important too and I feel cool when i run a race even if I suck. 

6) Spend more time with God. I want to pray more and read more and if love to start a devotional and join a bible study but in general...spend more time with God. 

7) Be more organized. My car, house, job...everything. 

8) Pay off some debt. We don't have a lot but we want none. 

9) Eat at home more. Healthy, non healthy...at this point who cares. We just need to eat at home more. 

10) Random act of kindness. Once a month or more I want to do a random act of kindness. I want Eli to see it some as well and understand that it feels good to do nice things for people.  

I always make a list of ten things and typically accomplish like 3 but hey, that's 3 more things I did better this year and the year before!

Happy Nee Year! 

Danielle 

1/116

2 Weeks Down

We made it through two weeks! Well...almost, tomorrow will be Noelle's two week birthday and she and I will be spending the day at the Birdstore. I hate to jump right back into work but it's Christmas time and we knew it was coming. We had a staff meeting last night and I went back a few days before just to check on things. Noelle is feeding so much better now. She had gained over a half a pound since her last weigh in when they were a little concerned. That was fantastic news. So far we've only had like 2 rough nights and maybe 3-4 rough days. The days were mostly because Eli was acting out and I feel so bad for him but at the same time he's driving me a little nuts. Yesterday I took him to the playground with Noelle and we had a good time. He laughed a lot and i played with him some. It was nice to just enjoy him for a while like I used to all the time. He has a cold which doesn't help. The school called today to say he bit a child. That doesn't happen often but again, I hate it because aside from me not wanting my child to be a mean bully...I also don't want him to have had a bad day at school since it's one of his only places to get away from Noelle. It hurts my heart to see him struggle and watch the rougher side of his personality emerge so much with this new transition. He is great with Noelle though and I know times will get easier. They say the first two weeks are the hardest with a new baby so I can hope we have a slightly easier next week and an even easier following week. 

Danielle

12/18/15

Lactation Consultant

Thursday I saw a lactation consultant and she was very helpful. Noelle had pretty much munched both my nipples off and I didn't have much hope for the LC. She gave me some great tips which helped Noelle feed without hurting me and lots of support. As of today, Sunday, we are still struggling with a good latch and then we both get frustrated but she is doing much better and with the help of some medicine I am too. As a matter of fact it's almost been 24 hours sine I have pumped and I'm hoping to squeeze a pump session in tonight to build storage but I'm hoping we have turned a corner and she won't be given a bottle until we leave her to be watched by someone. I've been praying hard for help from God with this to give me patience, healing, and health for Noelle. I'm just so nervous we will go to her check up Wed and she will have lost weight. Other than nursing there have been little struggles. She is such a sweet beautiful baby that seems to not have her days and nights confused, though I know that could change at any time. She is 1 week 1 day old today and I just want to stare at her and hold her all day everyday. She is truly a blessing and I thank God for my family. 

Danielle 

12/13/15

Day 4

It's day 4 with our sweet little Noelle. Really day 3 since she was born at 5:15pm on the 5th. Breastfeeding her has been way more challenging and painful than I remembered with Eli. My nipples are on fire and have sores on them, my milk came in yesterday and my boobs are swollen and very painful to the touch. Noelle doesn't seem to be emptying my boobs and she hasn't had a poop in 24 hours. She's so content and easy so far so I have a hard time thinking she's starving. I'm also torn between pumping to help build supply and empty boobs or wanting to reserve it all for her. I just started using a nipple shield and while there is still some pain it is manageable where it wasn't before. 

I know it's only day four but we are having a hard time balancing Noelle and Eli as well. Eli is acting out some but mostly j think it's that mark has been his primary care taker these last few days and neither one is used to that. Noelle is just the sweetest best thing and I'ce been glued to her since she's come home. It's hard not to be when I know this time passes so fast and I'm just so in love with her. She is so beautiful. I know all of this will get easier I just need to keep reminding myself of that. 

Danielle

12/9/15