My Baby Girl!!

It is amazing how alert Taylor is. I haven't been around a 2 week old infant in over 5 years and to me it is just amazing how she will look you straight in your face and follow your voice if you are walking around the room.

Today, I had fun with her and tested out her hearing as well. I downloaded several ring-tones onto my cell phone and I played the ones that ring the most. She was facing one way and I had the cell phone on the other side of her and started going through the ones that ring the most and she turned her head and looked straight at the cell phone. I played the one that rings when her daddy calls or sends a text message (It had no affect on her). I guess she is used to hearing that one, as I used to play it to my stomach over and over again.

She's been a pretty good girl today. Hasn't really fussed at me too much!! LOL!!! But I feel that tomorrow she is going to pick it right up. My mom said she needs a red dress for her pics, I don't know if I want to go all "Christmasy" for her 1st pics. Is Christmasy even a word??? :-)

Did I mention that she's put on over a pound in the two weeks she's been here? If not, then yeah...she's putting on weight. If I did, excuse me...I'm a dingbat right now.

Spending so much time with Taylor and doing all this mother/daughter bonding...makes me want to have another one!!! :-) Okay...I'm joking and then I'm not joking!!! I would love to have another one, but that would have to be put off until I get my health issues under control. I don't want to have that "worry" that something will go wrong during the pregnancy. I want to have a "Worry Free Pregnancy", which is why I'm/We're going to wait until she is at least 1 year old and I have "normal" paps. Plus, my mom threatened my life if I have another baby during the school year!! LOL!! So the timing has to be perfect, plus, I want to enjoy the summer. I want to live life as a "Hot Skinny Chick". More about that later!!

1st Doctor's Visit

Taylor had her very 1st doctors visit today. It was an adventure, as when we got there, some system was down, so they could not verify everyone that was on an HMO (thank god we only have 24 more days of being on an HMO). We sat there and sat there and it wasn't until some other woman started to fuss that anything got done. I was called up to the desk and asked to sign some papers, so I did and we got sent right to the triage room, where Taylor got her head measured, temp taken and then we went to a room and she got weighed. This was what we were most concerned about, rather or not she gained weight at a good rate. Miss Taylor is now 6 pounds, 8 ounces. Up from her birth weight of 5 pounds and 3 ounces.

We sat in the room for about 5 minutes before Dr I S came into the room and looked over Taylor's chart and she saw the huge jump in her weight and was like "OMG, this baby loves to eat!!". She sure does. The combo of nursing/formula is working like a pro. She has gained 1 pound and 5 ounces (I hope I did the math right) in her 2 weeks of being on this earth.

Dr I.S had to leave out the room for something, but told me to get Taylor undressed and have her on the table. Taylor, being a baby...took this opportunity to do a #2. I waited until she was finished and changed her, then Dr I.S came into the room and examined Taylor. Taylor chose this time to be fully alert and it just amazed the Dr. She played with Taylor and examined her, Taylor was good for a minute, until the Dr wanted to look down her throat. This Doc is known for damn near choking kids with that tongue thingy. She checked Taylor's belly button and everything else. We have to take her back in 4 weeks for her next shot.

Taylor is knocked out as usual. Will post more later and will post a pic as well. I need to go and eat my Strawberry Sundae from Crap-Donalds!!!

Afternoon Post

Taylor woke up and I immediately gave her a nice warm bath and had a bottle waiting for her. The bath was funny and I wish I had done it when someone else was here so they could have taped it. Taylor hit that water and was shocked at first, then she was like "Oh...this is cool!". But like the true little diva that she is, she through several fits and turned as red as can be. But surprisingly, she let me wash her hair and get all the nooks and crannies and I wrapped her up in her Winnie The Pooh hooded towel and took her to the bedroom. I laid her down on the bed and got the lotion, so her skin could be nice and moisturized...and guess what she did? Yes...she pulled a straight boy move and peed all over one side of the bed (Not my side though!!). Me and J couldn't help but to laugh. I got Taylor all nice and dressed and fed her and she was out like a light again!!

She fell asleep in her fave position...right on my chest. i was burping her and had her head right over my heart and she was soon off into la-la land. She loves to lay in that position, that is the one that gets her to sleep quicker than anything. She was so deep in sleep, that I was able to put her down on the bed and go about my business. Which included making sure she can go to the doctor tommorrow, she can go and I'll have an update as to how much weight she has gained. Her face is definately getting chubbier. Her upper legs seem to be filling out a bit. I still think she's going to be a Radio City Rockette or Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader or something...that girl can kick like no other!! If not those two things, then a Pro Soccer Player or something else cool!!!

I will talk to you later, have to go and do some schoolwork and tend to the little lady.

Tummy Troubles!!!

We are currently going through tummy troubles right now!! We only seem to have bottles with multiple holes in the nipples, so that makes for a "Too Fast" flow and Taylor takes in too much formula and air at the same time, which causes too much air to go in her little belly and causes gas. She is just so fussy right now. We can't seem to find any bottles around here with flow perfect for a newborn. We are going to be searching for something that will work for her for the times where she is not nursing. She has a few bottles that work, but we would like to have a larger selection.

She is sleeping right now, but it's probably going to be a very long day. I didn't feel right taking her out this morning for our little errand with her being so fussy, so I had to call and reschedule it. We have a doctors visit for her in the morning, so maybe they will be able to suggest something. Maybe a change in formula is in order or something. I don't know. We'll see what's going on tomorrow. When she wakes up, I'm going to give her a nice warm bath and nurse her again just to put her at comfort.

Last night, history was made. We elected our first African American president. Anyone who knows me, will know that I belong to the Republican Party. Yes, an African American woman who lives in the Englewood area of Chicago is a member of the Republican Party. I so was voting for McCain, but then I sat back and listened to what he and Palin actually had to say and it wasn't much of anything. I gave my vote to Barack and he won and I felt so proud last night of him. I am raising 3 black males right now and last night proved to them that they can do anything they put their minds to and to not listen to the nay-sayers, haters, blockers and whatever else you want to call them. That they can do whatever it is within them to do. I personally instill this into them. Because so many people try to bring positive people down, sometimes within ones own family. Sometimes, you just have to cast people to the side and go on with your dreams and goals. You have to do what is best for you and yours, regardless of what others want you to do and what they say "isn't good" for you.

You have to do what is in your heart and in your mind. If you mess up, then you can say "My Mistake". That's why 2009 is going to be full of changes and surprises for me and my family. I'll keep you all updated.

Taylor's Opinion Counts!!!

I had to name this blog entry something cool. But it's official, me/Taylor and Taylor's big brother just got back from voting, we were all also suffering from Cabin Fever. So I took advantage of the 65 degree weather and our nice stroller and strolled some 6 blocks or so to my local voting place and I voted. I won't tell you who I voted for until the results are announced and CONFIRMED!!!

I just wrapped Miss Taylor up in some of her receiving blankets and a very special blanket I've been holding onto for a little over a year now and put her in that stroller and was gone on my way. I got about a block away from the polling place before I realized, I should have waited on a ride!!! I can be so hard-headed and stubborn at times, but when I'm determined to do something then I'm going to do it.

A very nice lady who was assisting at the polling place offered to watch Taylor and Jordan while I voted. You better believe, I had one eye on the machine and the other on her. But she was really nice and was a god-send. Actually, Taylor was more of a god-send as she did not wake up at all and is still knocked out. That air must have done her some good. We have to go back out tommorrow and sometime this weekend, I just want her to get used to being outside some before we lock ourselves in for the winter.

If you haven't voted already, this little video should inspire you to do so. I'm not sure if I'm doing this right, but here goes:

My God I'm So Freakin Tired!!!

Let's just say I am going on about an hours worth of sleep that I got this afternoon. I stayed up quite late last night and couldn't get to sleep at one point, so I just kept watching tv. Then the whole Daylight Savings thing kicked over and I got so confused....I still have not changed the clock in the bedroom. So it's reflecting 4:46 right now. Then Taylor was thrown off her schedule and did not wake up until about 5am and was up until about 7am, but then I had to get up to go to the grocery store, woke up too early as we ended up not going until later than normal. So I was up waiting to go to the grocery store and just when I started to nod off a bit, it was time to go. So we went and I actually felt kind of peppy. Like I didn't need any sleep. I came home and fed Taylor and later gave her a bath and changed her, as she was quite the stinky lady this morning.

Then about an hour after that, I started to crash. I got so tired that I was nodding on and off during the Bears game (they won). Then I just went to sleep. Only to be awaken by a phone call telling me that apparently I got some meat that belonged to my mother and she was coming to get it. Fine, i got the meat and handed it to her. Then I laid back down and got another phone call reminding me of some important business I have to take care of today, so I have to stay up at least until that duty is taken care of.

Now, I'm supposed to make two errands tommorrow and I don't know if they will get done at all. I highly doubt it. I am so not in the mood for going outside tommorrow now. I just want to catch up on my sleep. So maybe Tuesday, I will venture out with the two youngest rugrats and handle my business. For now, all I want to do is sleep.

Taylor seems to have grown on so many family members already. My two aunts (her two great aunts) have completely fell in love with her and have not even met her in person yet. They have seen pics and they are just so much in love. It's funny, because one aunt lives less than a 5 minute walk from where we are now and she's threatening to get her Yorkie and come over here and get Taylor. SURE!!!! One cry or one poopie diaper and she'll be right back here!! My aunt down south loves her and is prepared to show her off to an entire department down in Shelby County, Tennessee (I don't know which department, but she's getting ready to show all pics tommorrow). That reminded me that I have not been down there in so long, so maybe a trip down there is in the works. I don't know. It's not much to do down there and I'd only hang out with one person down there. We shall see. If I do that, then I can't take our family vacation. So I'm going to think very heavily.

That's it for right now. I need to get off this thing, it's making me sleepier. I need to adjust all clocks in this house or I'm going to be totally screwed in the morning.

Oh...and before I forget....I wanted to say a "Happy Birthday" to Miss Kaelyn. A very good friend of mine in California delivered her baby girl yesterday. I don't know how they are doing since I didn't get a text, but I'm guessing they are doing fine. Now Taylor has a friend to cut up with!! :-)

Hiccups, Back-Aches, Hot Water & More

Today was a late starting day. Taylor's normal 3 or 4 am wake up was pushed back and hour (her own doing) and she woke up a little after 5am. We did the normal of changing her diaper, feeding her (bottle) and Mommie/Daughter bonding time. She was up until a little after 6:30 am. We had a good time, it was quiet. No tv, just the light and us. We talked and talked (okay..I talked and she looked) about everything. She caught the hiccups and I felt bad because they were coming so quick. She didn't want to nurse last night, so I just gave her a bottle. She did the thing that I love the most and can't wait to get a picture of and that was lay on my chest and just look up at me while I talked to her. After awhile, I started to get sleepy and started nodding off, so I just put her down and went to sleep. She went to sleep quickly as I was rubbing her back. We didn't get out of the bed until a little after 10:30 am. Normally, I would have been up for 6 hours already, but not anymore!!! LOL!!

I also awoke to my all-time fave body pain...my lower back has started to act up again. Right in the same spot. I need to find out if I can see a Chiro, because I'm having those sharp lower back pains I'm known for. The ones that act up for a few days and then go away and then just pop back up.

Also, our hot water is back. I think I posted about that last night, not sure....but if I didn't...it's back. Really simple thing that even I could have done and I'm such a girly-girl...and this "Fix It" guy couldn't even figure it out.

If anyone out there knows a cure for newborns and hiccups, please let me know. Taylor gets these several times a day and they seem to just hurt so much..she doesn't cry or anything...but it just looks painful as heck. So if you know of anything, please email at: missteaus@yahoo.com or alwayshere42@yahoo.com