Today

My friend Rhonda frequently does this on her blog and I always love reading it and hearing about her life.... so here I am doing it for you!

Outside my window my recycle bin is sitting, still full, because the recycle crew did not come pick it up on Thursday. Do I take it in and hope they come next week?

I am thankful for the extra sleep I got this morning while Ian was watching Hailey.

I am praying that somehow I will be ready for the craft fair by November.

I am thinking about needing more adult interaction and needing to get out of the house more often.

I am celebrating a month with our precious (but dramatic) Hailey!

From the kitchen there are dirty dishes on the counter that will have to be washed by hand because our dishwasher is broken.

I am wearing my pajamas... still

I am reading "The Power of Now" that was recommended to me by my sister but I haven't gotten past the first few pages because it is strange.

I am hoping that today is a good day with Hailey.

I am hearing nothing over the roar of this breast pump (the reason why I get so much computer time - I pump in front of it).

I am creating vinyl decor for the craft fair... well I am supposed to be.

Around the house and yard it is somewhat untidy as yesterday was not a 'good' day.

One of my favorite things is sleeping uninterrupted for more than 3 hrs straight.

A few plans for the rest of the week ... uh, go to church and that is about it. Oh right, I forgot. We are going to Calgary for Ian's cousin's wedding next Friday. Not a fan of the road trips with baby!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you of my entire world!

Blessing Day!

Just heading back to bed at 3 am after feeding and putting Hailey back to sleep. Thought I would post some pictures of our blessing weekend...

I'm a sucker!

This little face has already got me wrapped around her finger. No matter how frustrated, exhausted and distressed I get Hailey just melts my heart. Of course sometimes this only happens when I am looking back on those difficult moments as I look into my sweethearts sleeping face. Why is it that they seem so wonderful and perfect when they are sleeping?



Today Hailey is 3 weeks old and I can't believe I have survived! I know many of you are probably thinking... "it wasn't that difficult!" But then you probably had a sweet little baby who rarely cried and took to breastfeeding like a charm! I must say that I didn't expect to get a colicky baby... and I also didn't expect to have the struggles with breastfeeding that I am having. I blame the baby.... may sound bad but the troubles are all on her side. Hailey will rarely open her mouth wide enough (expect for her hands to enter to mouth) and likes to grind her gums on my nipples. Needless to say I have a very strong dislike for all things breastfeeding currently. I'm now deciding if pumping for the next 3 months outweighs all the other struggles!

I am grateful that Hailey is starting to sleep more during the night and to fuss less during the day. She is growing up already and has gained a whole pound (at least). She is so strong and loves to hold her head up and look around, she also squirms like crazy and can cover a good distance when she is angry. We get the occasional smile that I think is 'real' and love to look into her beautiful bright eyes!

We just love her to bits, even Mommy when she feels like she just can't take anymore.



Our little tummy sleeper is just like Mom!



I just love that little leg... and notice how her hands are always by her face!

Drama Queen

I have the most dramatic newborn in the history of the world! I can't believe the hysterics she gets into. Not even 5 min after she has woken up from her nap she is freaking out if food isn't in her mouth. I also get quite the attitude if I give her a soother instead of food. I bet you are thinking 'a newborn can't have attitude yet".... Oh MINE does! Her little pouts are already becoming well timed and she seems to have this innate sense of when she needs to flash that adorable smile of hers.

All I could think as I lay awake practically the whole night with her was "what have we created"! This little girl is definitely going to bring some adventure into our family and I am excited and terrified of what that might entail.

I can't wait till other people recognize this dramatic side of her and I don't feel so crazy for telling my 2 week old that she is 'being ridiculous and needs to chill'! The funny thing is that when I tell her this she stops her 'fake' crying and it turns into a 'but you still love me Mommy, right', whine!

Anyone want to take my baby today for a bit? I really might lose my mind!

2 Weeks

It is 5:30 in the morning and I can't believe that Hailey is still sleeping. Every second night she consistently sleeps from around 11:30 pm till about this time. I must say I am VERY grateful for that but it sure makes the second night difficult when she is awake for hours at a time.

In this past week our Hailey has become more colicky. It is really rough on Mommy to see her baby crying most of her waking moments. It breaks my heart that I can't seem to make it better. We have been trying numerous things - switching formulas, changing bottles, more breastmilk, ovol, gripe water.... it is not showing much difference. I'm on to cutting out formula entirely from her diet now that I seem to be making enough milk and that Hailey is somewhat getting the breastfeeding thing. And that somewhat is a very gracious description as last night seemed to be the first time she really breastfed!

Needless to say it has been an exhausting week. I am definitely looking forward to the company that is coming for the next few weekends. The help is very NEEDED right now. You know it must be bad too if I, Jennifer Isackson, am actually asking for help!

Here are some pictures.. not new ones though as I haven't taken a picture in quite a few days... cranky baby and exhausted Mommy don't make for good Kodak moments!

Thanks again to all for your love, advice and encouragement!

Hitting the wall...

I am definitely, officially, exhausted! I am feeling better now that it has almost been a week but I am not getting the sleep I need... nor am I taking advantage of Hailey's napping times. Silly me! I feel so good in the morning that I want to get up and shower and clean and be ready for the day then the afternoons get crazy and I don't have time to nap. I have currently been awake since 6 am and that was after a night of 'okay' sleep.

Anywho... I'm tired but that was to be expected. I need to make sure I nap and then I will be okay. I just wish Ian could be home all day, everyday then this would be so much simpler... right now I am just waiting for the weekend to get those extra hours my body is craving!!!!!

All you mom's out there rock! Especially those with more than one... how do you do it?!?

Here's a couple pictures (the only pictures) of me and Hailey... remember this is after 15 hours of labour, overnight. I was tired! The last pic is the realization that 'this is my baby girl'!

Due Date!

I got my donut pillow and can now sit down long enough to blog about our Hailey!

Today is supposed to be her due date and I must say how grateful I am that she came 4 days early! I just knew it... all you doubters!!! ;)

We are in heaven (the heaven that includes sleep deprivation and crying) and are loving it! Hailey is such a beauty and we just can't get enough of looking at her. Our teeny little girl (yay for small babies) decided on Wednesday August 19th that she was ready to join our family. I had a Dr. appoint that afternoon and was already 3 cm dialated. My fabulous Dr. helped speed the process along which sent me home at 3:30 in the afternoon with fairly regular (8min apart) contractions. These continued throughout the afternoon and evening... getting quite unbearable (the back pain at least) by 11:00 pm when we went in to the hospital (5 min apart at this point).

I was hoping for good news when we got there but found out I was still 3 cm.... curse it all! They gave me some morphine which thankfully took away the back pain so I could rest (as much as you can rest while in labour). Ian was lucky enough to get 3 hrs sleep at this point which he really needed to get through the whole night.

It was a NEW moon that night and I don't know how that affects anything, but the labour ward was CRAZY. So busy... we couldn't get a private room and had 2 roomates in and out during our short stay...(the first wasn't in active labour yet and sent home - the second we didn't see long enough as we went off to delivery). Due to the busyness of the night I was somewhat neglected and numerous pages to the nurse were ignored. The pain was worse and more morphine was given at 3:30 (when I was STILL 3 cm dialated) but this time it didn't do a thing!

I was left in my agony to endure the lovely back labour pains which became extremely intense after I had requested an epidural (which never ended up happening). As the nurses were admitting the second roomate I felt like I needed to push (5:30 am-ish) and voiced this out loud... the nurse poked her head around the corner looking paniced as I said my water broke and she realized I was 9.5 cm dialated and ready to push this thing out. It was a little hectic after that as buttons were being pressed, nurses running and dr.s called. They quickly wheeled me to delivery as I became frantic realizing I wasn't going to get my epidural..... a little laughing gas and a stern nurse brought me back to my senses and together with Ian my wonderful 'birth partner' we brought our daughter into the world (in less than 20 min of pushing).

We are thrilled... what a feeling it is to see your baby for the first time. Hailey Anne is healthy and strong... not to mention stubborn... I wonder who she got that from?!?

We are doing well... recovering and learning the ropes of being new parents. I just can't wait till the stitches heal so I can feel human again.

Thanks for all the love and well wishes. We look forward to introducing Hailey to you all.