Merry Christmas, everyone!  The three of us have had a very relaxing two days at home curled up, mostly in jammies and enjoying each other's company.  We opted not to stress through Christmas Eve and Christmas day due to our crazy work schedules - but we are so very glad we chose this cozy Christmas at home.  We will get to spend a longer period of time at home with family here soon, and we are very excited about that! Sarah is growing faster than I ever dreamed she would, and this is one of those things I just couldn't see when we were in the hospital with our little 2lb baby girl.  We are so very glad for all the love and support of everyone throughout this year and can't wait to see what the next year holds.  Be watching for some exciting things to come in the Nally household in the days to come! Christmas Decor changes a bit when you have a little one!

My how time flies!  Six months can change so much. 11/27/11 I find myself thinking of this time of year fondly these days.  It was just a year ago that we knew for sure that we were expecting a little one.  I had a gut feeling at least a week before, but I couldn't confirm it until we got back from our Thanksgiving trip to Florida.  Oh how I wish we had known just a few days earlier so we could have shared the news in person - but alas... I wasn't about to jinx my happy little secret.  I don't think I will ever view Thanksgiving the same again.  We didn't realize that she would be here, in the flesh within just 6 short months from our discovery.   At this same time of year, we arrive at Sarah's six month "birthday" if you will.  It's so hard to believe my little one is already six months.  We had an excellent doctor's visit on Wednesday.  He said that she was developmentally right up there with a normal six month old, even thoug...

So, this is definitely a celebration post!  Hurray!  It's about time for a more upbeat mood in the Nally house. I went to my doctor last Wednesday, and honestly - it was just talking to someone and having someone tell me what I was doing for my child obviously wasn't working.  I mean, I KNEW we should start getting on a more specific schedule, but I was kind of waiting for it to naturally happen.  It definitely helps that she has a little boy that is just slightly younger than Sarah developmentally - so we're in the exact same boat with baby ages and such.  She and I worked through what was wrong with Sarah and what we could do to fix her schedule so she could be a happier baby... Honestly... probably a conversation my pediatrician should have had with me instead of my OB.  No matter, her getting a little stern with me and telling me that it was crazy how long I was letting her stay up - did the trick. We entered into what I like to call "nap time bootc...

Happy 5 months to my little girl!  Ok... so it was 4 days ago, but I definitely have been working hard this week - so Sarah and I are taking a slightly leisurely morning before the madness of my weekend kicks in!  It's the big Nutcracker casting reveal weekend, so I'm busy finalizing schedules and packet contents - making copies, stuffing, sorting... Making sure everything is as accurate and informative as possible.  WHEW!  All for almost 200 kids.  It's a big job.  But it's my big annual fall puzzle that I absolutely love. Sarah and I went to the doctor on Halloween morning.  She now weighs 11 pounds 4 ounces!  My BIG girl!  She started rolling over a week or so ago, completely out of the blue.  I set her down for tummy time and was so impressed with how well she was pushing up, that I grabbed the camera.  So glad I did!  Within 20 seconds of starting a video, she had completely rolled over for the first time.  She did ...

When Darkness Falls is a song by the duo Jenny & Tyler .  I was introduced to them through my father's radio show Soul2Soul .  If you haven't heard of either of these things, you need to!  The latest Jenny & Tyler album is on constant repeat in my car right now.  It's one of the few things that will help calm Sarah down in the car... Though sometimes it has to be blasted at top volume!  Luckily it calms me down too in those moments where she and I are both at wits end.  The only place I can find to listen to the song online for free is HERE .  So, sorry for the lack of video this time. While I've been struggling along with my Postpartum issues, I've been quite disconnected.  From family, from friends, from church... and from God really...  My heart is longing to be whole again and to not constantly feel under attack.  I'm continuing to seek treatment from medical professionals in addition to seeking God and His joy that we all ...

So, I've literally started and stopped writing this post for several weeks now.  Being the perfectionist I am, and the intensely private person I can be (though you may not think so...) it's been a difficult subject for me to broach. I feel compelled to share the full story of our little family - so here goes. Since coming back to work, life has been moving a break-neck speed.  Going here, going there, going everywhere!  Sarah's been a road warrior with me, and such a trooper!  The back and forth stresses us both out a little, but... for the time being - it is working.  On top of the craziness of my schedule, I've been battling Post-Partum Depression.  It's not a fun thing.  It's not something people talk about.  The doctor initially put me on some meds, which helped.  I even came off them for a while when Sarah came home.  But, once I started back to work - the dark cloud has come back with a vengeance.  I'm tired.  I'm...

I feel like I should now change the blog title, to Confessions of a Failed Supermom...  HA!  The last two weeks have been so incredibly humbling to me.  I just CAN'T be everything that I want to be.  It's just simply impossible.  To be everything I want to be, I must 1) be a fully committed full-time mom. AND 2) be a fully committed workaholic. A few weeks ago at work we did a DiSC assessment.  If you know anything about DiSC and want to know what my letter is, I'm actually at a dead tie between the S and C.  I was a little indignant at first, because I had always felt like I associated better with the I, but the more I struggle with it, the more I realize my personality really isn't that.  It may have been more so that way in college, but as I'm aging and settling into life, I'm definitely a STRONG C.  C's thrive on quality control and perfection.  My how that has been a huge issue for me these past few weeks. I can't tell...

We had a fabulous weekend with family, Sarah's dedication at church, and the church shower!  Instead of regaling you, I'm just going to show you! 8-12-12:  Sarah's dedication at church. 8-12-12: Beautiful decorations at the shower!  Thank you, everyone!!! 8-12-12:  Just SOME of the wonderful new outfits that have been recently added to Sarah's wardrobe. 8-11-12:  Meeting new family members!  Especially excited about having all five generations of Bechts together!  

We finally made it to our due date!  I must say, yesterday was a little rough on me, but we did  make it through!  It was our first time having to leave Sarah with a babysitter.  I'm sure it's always rough leaving your child for the first time - but my baby's less than 6lbs (we think!).  She's still so tiny and helpless.  She did great though, and I'm so proud of her. I officially started back to work full time this week.  I haven't talked much about our plans for the fall until it got here just in case something changed, but I am so very thankful for the fine folks at Nashville Ballet and working with me as we continue to transition.  Prior to my maternity leave, we were planning for me to be working full time during the days instead of the nights and weekends I was working.  This was going to allow me more time with Jim and Sarah together as a family.  We were SO excited, despite the need for full time daycare. In the midst of my r...

For a myriad of reasons, this past week has been difficult.  I'm definitely still dealing with the physical and emotional after effects of not only having a baby, but traumatically at that.  Don't get me wrong - I am SO thankful for how God has brought us through to this point.  His provision has been more than I could ever dream of.  When Sarah is crying uncontrollably in the middle of the night, it just surfaces every feeling of inadequacy and helplessness that I've felt through this whole experience. Luckily we're getting there.  Every day, it seems we learn a little more of Sarah's personality and needs.  I'm so glad I invested in the book, The Happiest Baby on the Block .  While I felt like I knew how to calm an unhappy baby, the principles in this book have been EXACTLY what Sarah needs to calm right down.  We live and breathe by the 5 S's he lays out.  If you're having trouble calming a baby, I highly recommend checking it out. ...

We had a doctor's visit on Monday and Sarah weighed in at 5lbs 1oz!  She's on track to be about 6lbs (if not a little more) by her due date!  We also had a quick blood test to see how she was doing and if she needed to continue on her iron supplement, and she passed!  When we finish up the bottle of vitamins she's on, we can move over to regular plain ole vitamins.  Yay!  She's sleeping a little better this week, too.  The last two nights in a row, she's had a 5 hour stretch of sleep.  Jim and I have been happy with that.  Though I must say it's a little disconcerting waking up and realizing how late it is.  She has been eating normally and happy in the mornings, so I'm not too concerned about it.  I'm not really willing to let her go past 5 hours right now, though since her belly is so little and she needs to eat. In other news, we're officially moving on from Preemie sized things!  She started leaking out of her preemie diapers...

I've always heard that having a child of your own quickly starts teaching you about the love that God has for us.  I would agree with that, and I would say that it on gets more distinct as you continue - and she's only been home a week!  When she's been crying uncontrollably, I find myself saying "I'm right here."  "I know you hurt." "I have your food right here."  "Stop crying, Momma's here."  "I know what you need."  "I need you to calm down, please."  How often is it that God is saying those exact same things to us, as we're screaming and crying and not REALLY listening?  There's a lot to chew on there, and I'm sure that will be another entry for another day. Earlier this week, we had one completely sleepless night.  She was crying out in pain from gas.  She was belching and tooting like you wouldn't believe and would cry out in pain right before doing so.  We've had nights like tha...

Well life is starting to settle into a routine around here.  Starting.  But life with an infant is never quite in a routine.  Luckily Sarah is still pretty firm on her every three hour feedings that the hospital put in place.  Every once in a while, she wants to eat after only two hours or occasionally will sleep for four hours.  We never let her go past four hours right now. We went to the pediatrician on Monday for our first routine check-up.  She was "perfect" as he said!  She weighed 4lbs 10oz and was 17.5 inches long.  We aren't on any type of quarantine situation with her at all.  We just need to limit the people who touch her and for few that get to hold her right away, we have to make sure their hands are clean!  We're going back to the doctor on Monday for another weight check-in just to make sure she's continuing to grow properly. We moved our eye appointment to Thursday morning so that it didn't conflict with Jim's work sc...

Wow!  It's been such a whirlwind start to our weekend!  We are so beyond THRILLED to say our sweet baby Sarah is home with us.  We no longer have to make multiple daily trips to the hospital nor do we have to handle her through holes in a plastic box.  We can cuddle and hold and feed and burp to our hearts content. Friday morning, we saw the nurse practitioner around 9 am or so.  She said that she looked great!  She did make an appointment for us to go visit a specialist to check her eye development.  Since she was born so early, she has a higher risk of eyesight issues.  We're praying and believing that there are no major issues found!  She has such beautiful and expressive eyes - I find it hard to believe that anything could be wrong with them.  I guess we'll find out on Tuesday. After our final session with the Lactation Consultant and working out a feeding plan for our little one, we waited until about 11:30-12ish until we were r...

Well, we're all dressed and busting to get out of the hospital.  The NICU currently has 9 babies in there.  I've been told that they normally only have 2-3 babies - so, they're a little busy!  Since Sarah is the most stable out of them all, we're last on the list...  It might be a while before we get out of here.  I'm itching to go home, put her in HER bed and piddle around in her room organizing with her actually there! Last night was a little longer than I expected.  I knew we'd be up about every 3 hours, but it was about an hour and half between starting the feeding, doing the feeding, pumping, diaper changing, getting her settled back down... and then it was time to go to sleep... for an hour and a half!  I only got about 2-2.5 hours of sleep last night with all the activity. We had bath lesson at 3 am last night.  With her being so small and her skin is so delicate, she only needs a water bath and only gets a soap bath every 2-3 days or u...

It's the guest post you've all been waiting for! Amanda is taking a break from the blog to allow her husband to fill you all in and give a few thoughts of my own. We are finally rooming in! We are spending one more night in the hospital and then going home sometime tomorrow morning. Sarah is in the room with us without any monitors or restrictions through the night. This is the last piece of the transition and is as much for us as it is for her. This is the time to make sure we know how to care for Sarah on our own throughout the night. It's hard to believe that Sarah has been here just over 6 weeks and we are finally getting our first night together. These past days and weeks have been a bittersweet journey of the joy of Sarah's arrival and the pangs constant separation. A couple times a day and every single night we've had to leave our precious baby girl in a plastic cage and in the care of strangers. Don't get me wrong, we've been so blessed to have ...

Well, yesterday when the doctor and nurse practioner made their rounds, I kept hearing the phrase "in preparation for discharge".  When I asked the nurses about it, they said it would most likely be Thursday night for us to "room in" and Friday we would be going HOME! Today, I spent the morning at the office trying to tie up some loose ends before I disappear off the work radar again for a while.  Later, when we were getting ready to leave the hospital, Jim asked some questions about what to expect for our evening rooming in on Thursday.  The nurse brought it to our attention that the doctor and nurse practitioner were talking about us actually rooming in tomorrow.  So.... I need to call first thing in the morning to confirm the plans, but it is looking like we'll be doing our rooming in TOMORROW night and we'd be going home Thursday morning-ish (or whenever we're comfortable to leave). Part of me is so, so very anxious to get her home, and another p...

Well, it's been an exciting 24 hours in the Nally household.  I'll start with the minorly frustrating, yet exciting news, that Sarah had another minor little "spell" yesterday when Jim was holding her after her bottle.  The nurse came over and was incredibly sad and said... "Well... it'll be at least another 5 days now..."  The babies have to be spell-free for at least 5 days before they'll let them come home to make sure they aren't going to do it when we come home.  It was a little sad to see her have another one of those spells, BUT the way the nurse said it, Jim and I both looked at each other like... There was a chance we'd be going home that soon??   The exciting part of that is, we're getting SO CLOSE to coming home!  The nurses and the doctors have all commented on how well she's doing and it gives us hope that we'll be under one roof in the very near future! We also went on "as indicated" feeds yesterday, so t...

Oh my goodness!  Apologies that I haven't updated in the past few days.  It has been an incredibly busy whirlwind.  Since Sarah has been eating more regularly, it means a lot more back and forth for us and a lot less time at home. 7-6-12: Trying out being swaddled for the whole day! Weight update:  Sarah was 4lbs 2oz on Wednesday and Thursday, and has been holding stead at 4lbs 5oz yesterday and today.  We just keep on growing! Feeding update:  She has been doing excellently on her feedings, taking almost all her bottles (I think there's only been one she hasn't finished!).  The nurse this morning said that she was going to talk to the doctor to issue a "as indicated" order for her bottles, as she is constantly asking for bottles, but it's not always an option for her at this point.  That would be so EXCITING!  That means, any time she wakes up at meal time and is asking for a bottle she could have one.... Which practically would be e...

Well... the exciting day has come!  We're officially FOUR POUNDS!  And that's not all, folks!  Oh no... We're also trying life without our oxygen cannula!  She's been doing SO well today off of it!  Only having dips in her oxygen level when she gets all wiggly, which is totally normal.  STILL not all you say?  She also was giving all the signs that she wanted a bottle this morning and so the nurse humored her and tried it out.  She ate 25mls of her 35ml bottle all by herself!  Today is such a happy day! She was a little too worn out and uninterested when we tried to nurse this afternoon, but as soon as she laid back in her bed she was wide awake and ready for action.  I'm looking forward to the day that they let her decide when she eats.  I feel like she's not always quite ready when the 3 hour mark rolls around and so it makes trying to make her eat really frustrating.  If I had gotten her up 30 minutes later, she would have...