FOUR months

Let me just start by saying I have no clue how Stephen & I got so lucky because Jayden is the most perfect, most beautiful little girl! I totally sound like every mom out there about their own child..I know...I'm biased:) She really is something & keeps us on our toes. We have officially introduced baby foods, yay! She so far has tried squash, sweet potatoes, & green beans. Squash was not a big hit but she likes sweet potatoes & green beans seem to be the favorite so far. After we introduce all the vegetables then we will start with some fruits. I will say I dread giving her peas...I can't even stomach the smell of them. Maybe her Dad will feed her those instead of me:)
She still refuses to stay on her stomach for "tummy time". She rolls right to her back every time & gets mad if she can't. I read for tummy time you can also lay down with them on your chest because they still use the same muscles to raise up & look at you so that's what we do instead. She is now trying to master rolling from her back to her stomach but hasn't quite gotten there yet. She has discovered her feet & likes to grab them & play with them. I'm sure in no time they will be in her mouth as everything seems to find it's way there. She is also very vocal these days. Mostly when we put her in her bouncy seat, she just talks & talks...actually she yells, growls, & squeals. It's hilarious & we love it!
Update on her ears...we did see the ent on the 28th of nov & he scheduled her for tubes that Friday Dec 2nd. I was freaking out mostly due to the fact that while he was talking to me & Stephen about possibly doing tubes he said she was to little & needed to grow/gain some more due to the risks of being put to sleep. Then he went & talked to some anesthesiologists & said never mind we could do it that they said she would be fine....umm couldn't he have talked to them first before telling us it was too much of a risk? So yeah, I was freaked out. We had to be there at 5:45 & she couldn't eat past midnight...sounds fun right? She woke up about 4:30 that morning wanting to eat which she normally doesn't eat until 7 or 8am. So I thought great she's going to be screaming the entire time but she didn't. She wasn't taken back until 7:45 & she stayed awake until 7am & never cried. She was away from us for about 30min & yes I cried when they took her back..but not because I was scared but because I felt awful/guilty. She had just woken up  when they came & got her & she was with complete strangers so I just felt awful. I was worried she would be scared & upset. In the end everything went well & she ate when it was all done, took a long nap, & woke up one happy girl. By the way did you know they made hospital gowns in her size? I had no clue & when they brought it to me to put on her, I thought seriously are they trying to make me cry! It was the smallest gown ever! I wish we would have taken it home lol Back to the important stuff...they said that they found she had what they called "glue ear" where along with fluid she had a glue like consistency in her ears. So basically she could barely hear before. Due to that fact it took her a few days to get use to some noises, she was getting scared easily by everything it seemed. Most babies come home & get adjusted to everyday noises but she pretty much had them thrown at her at once so it took some time. She's adjusted & is doing great now.
I can't believe she will be 5months old on Christmas! I'm so excited for her 1st Christmas, even though I know she doesn't know whats going on it's still a special time. Speaking of Christmas my sister came over the other day & we did some Christmas themed pictures of Jayden & they turned out great. Here's some of those pics along with some other pics from 4months:)

THREE months

It's amazing how much babies change in such a short time. It's hard for me to remember her being so tiny when we first brought her home because she has definitely filled out since then. On Thursday (nov. 3rd) she rolled over for the 1st time! As soon as she realized she could roll over every time I put her back on her stomach she would roll straight to her back. That same day she had another appointment at Childrens to see if she still had fluid in her ears. She did so they decided not to retest as they would just get the same results as last time. We now have an appointment to see an ent on Nov. 28th. They will then decide what to do about the fluid...I'm (along with her doctor) predicting tubes. Don't get me wrong I want whats best for her but it still worries me sick to think of her being put to sleep. I know it's a routine thing to have tubes put in & it's "not a big deal" BUT when it's your little baby being put to sleep it is a big deal no matter what anyone tells you until you know they are fine.
She went to her doctor this past Monday for a routine checkup, she now (at 16wks) weighs 12lb 8oz & is 23 in long. He said she is doing just fine with her weight gain & growth...she just needed some time to catch up since she started out on the smaller size. He also said we could start introducing baby food (my mother in law will be thrilled lol) which we will do in the next few days. I'm sure she will like it a lot more than the cereal! On a funny note Stephen insist on trying everything that Jayden eats, so I know from him that baby cereal taste awful. He has tried her formula too & when I told him we could start on baby food soon he said he will be tasting that as well. He didn't look to happy though when I told him we would start with squash, haha!
Ok on a make mommy cry note...the other morning Jayden was on her changing table & was so talkative & happy that I decided to record her with our camcorder. I should probably mention that she loves & I mean loves her changing table! I don't know why but she would lay there for hours if we would let her & be perfectly content. Back to the point..while I was recording her she says what sounds like "momma"...I all but passed out from excitement! I knew noone would believe me without the hard evidence so when Stephen came home I showed it to him & he said it did sound like it but he didn't think she knew what she was saying...it just happen to sound like it. Now I'm not crazy & of course I knew she didn't know what she was saying BUT I didn't care because all I knew was it sounded like "momma" & I had it on tape! Well....I had stopped the tape right before she said it to show to my Mom later & forgot I had done that & sure enough I recorded over it! I seriously thought I was going to cry when I realized what I had done. Devasting, just devasting! I know it will happen again & hopefully I'll get it on camera next time. She has become so much more vocal in the last few weeks & it's the funniest thing. The other night she was (again) on her changing table babbling away while Stephen & I just watched & laughed...to the point where I almost burnt dinner. She's so entertaining these days that I forgot what I was suppose to be doing. Here's some pics from 3 months:)

She was a black cat for Halloween....this is the last pic I took in her costume b/c as you can tell she was getting mad! It's my favorite pic tho!

I should also mention that I have the pleasure of having a best friend who's an amazing photographer so she came & did some pics of me & Jayden outside. Here's some proofs from the shoot...you can check her FB page out at Rachel E-Photography!
Jayden looks just like her Daddy in the 1st one, especially with those gorgeous blue eyes!!

Jayden weeks 1-12...

Since I'm late on blogging I'll do a summary of weeks one through 12...well what I can remember atleast. When we brought Jayden home I thought she would never fit in any of her clothes because she was so tiny when she was born. We of course didn't buy any premie outfits & only a few newborn sizes since everyone said, " oh she won't even wear them." My sister went on the hunt for some premie clothes while we were in the hospital but there wasn't a huge selection. For the 1st few weeks of her life she rotated 10 onesies, my Mom & mother-in-law had each found a 5pk of onesies that actually fit her. She didn't start to fit into newborn clothes until she was almost 2 months old. It was a little sleeper & I was so excited I of course had to take a pic of this huge(to me) accomplishment!

Here's some more from her 1st 4wks:)

Jayden had an appointment that happened to be at 4weeks old, it was orginally to make sure her weight was progressing as it should. While there her doc said, "oh well she's 28 days old so we can go ahead with giving her a shot." ....wait what? I was not prepared & after they gave her the shot I picked her up & for the 1st time ever in her whole life she cried real tears. Real tears people! I started to cry all while being glad the nurse had already stepped out because I felt like an overprotective crazy mom for crying. She stopped crying after maybe a minute so it really wasn't that bad but in the moment it was horrible. Here's a pic (at 1month old) I took right before she got her shot & tell me she's not flippin' me off! Haha!

Her next appointment was at 2months old & I made sure to bring Stephen this time because I knew she would be getting another shot. At this appointment she weighed in at a whopping 10lbs! Yay! And she was 21 1/2 in long. She was finally starting to fill out & get some chubby little cheeks. When her doc came in he informed us that she would be getting 4 shots at that visit! I thought, "this should be illegal" Dramatic much? Nah! It was the same story as before, she cried & I cried...guess it will just happen every time. She was fine after a min or so just like the 1st time:) Here's some pics at 2months old.

Sat Night Fever pose?

I should also mention her problems with her ears...up to 2months old she failed 3 hearing test & we later found out this was due to fluid being in both her ears. They tested her nerves & they tested normal for hearing so that indicates the only reason she is showing mild hearing loss is due to the fluid. Luckily the fluid is not infected but it still needs to be gone & has not dried up on its on. As of now our next step is to schedule her to see an ENT & see how they want to treat it. Likely either with tubes or medication to try & dry it up. After all fluid is gone she will be retested once again for hearing in both ears. On another note...she has become so much more interactive in the last month! She smiles all the time, loves to be kissed on, & has gas worse than any baby I've ever seen lol Definitely not lady like in that department yet:) It's hilarious though! About 3 wks ago she discovered her hands & has been working on shoving them in her mouth ever since. It's the cutest thing ever! My Mom swears Jayden will be left handed (like her) b/c she chews on her left hand & reaches for things with her left also. We shall see! It appears that her blue eyes are here to stay:) Which makes her look even more like her Daddy if that's even possible. She started on some rice cereal at 12wks old & in the next few wks we will start on some baby foods. She is growing up on me so fast! Here's a pic at 3months old:)





Introducing Jayden Christine Daniel

I decided to start a blog as a way to document Jayden growing up, it's a way to be more in depth than just pictures. Really it's just for me to be able to remember it all as time flies by! I wish I would've started while pregnant but better late than never I guess. Here's where her birth story begins...I was induced Monday July 25, 2011 at St. Vincents. Stephen & I went in at 5am expecting Jayden to arrive maybe that afternoon/evening. They broke my water & for the very 1st time I felt contractions, I'm not a fan! The doctor ordered an ultrasound & discovered that Jayden had turned sideways & I would need to have a c-section....in the next 30minutes. Well that changed things, I was terrified to say the least. I had wanted to avoid a c-section at all costs, due to it being surgery but mainly due to the fact that I wanted to hold my baby asap after delivery & knew I wouldn't be able to with a c-section. Stephen was a nervous wreck, I think me being scared made him more nervous. He just wanted me to be happy & everything to be ok with me & the baby.
I will never forget the moment we heard our baby cry for the very first time...it's something that you can't explain in words. If you haven't experienced it then me trying to explain how amazing it is just wouldn't do it justice. She had (notice I said had ha!) the sweetest little cry we had ever heard! She was so tiny weighing in at 5lb 15oz & 18 3/4in long. I was estactic that I got to hold her sooner than I had expected, I held her while they wheeled us back to our room. Just like every new baby all you want to do is stare at them & that's exactly what I did. Not long after we were back in our room did family show up to meet our sweet Jayden. My Mom(nana), my sister Shannon, & Stephen's Mom(nanny) were the 1st to arrive & I don't think I got to hold Jayden again until that night when the last visitor had left lol My Mom was there everyday that we were in the hospital since Stephen had to work. She was such a huge help & I was glad to have her there for help/support. Made it a lot easier on me since I had a c-section & it took me forever to get in & out of bed. The nurses had me up & walking the same night I delivered though. I think that helped speed up the healing process but it still hurt like you know what! Here's some pics from the big day!

We were able to come home that Thursday & I was so excited to be out of that hospital room & be out in the sun again! She did great that 1st night home & has done really well with sleeping at night ever since. Currently she sleeps 9pm to 6am & sometimes she will wakeup for a feeding @ 3am. She is such a good baby, don't be fooled though she has one mighty big temper! Stephen says she looks just like him but acts just like her Momma! She just knows what she likes & doesn't like & isn't afraid to let us know, that's all lol Temper or not she is such a blessing & we absolutely adore her, she is loved by so many people & is one very special little girl. I'll end the "birth" portion of this blog here & pick up again later with our current 14 weeks old update.