Growing Little Girl!

We celebrated another milestone this week!  Little Payton graduated from her cradle in mom and dad's room to her crib in her own bedroom.  It kind of happened by accident.  I laid her in her bed while I ran to the kitchen to answer the phone.  When I got off the phone and went to get her, she was fast asleep.  She looked so peaceful that I hated to wake her.  I told Ryan that there was no way she would stay in there very long, so we decided to stay up a little later watching TV.  Finally, when it reached 11:00 and she was still sleeping, we decided to give it a try! Ryan and I decided to sleep in the guest room so that we were in the room right next to her. I was secretely hoping that she would wake up so that I would have a reason to go get her and bring her into our room, but she never did!  Good job Payton!  We are now going on night number 4!

Since my last post, Payton has also had her 2 month check-up. She now weighs 10 pounds 5 ounces and is 23 and 3/4 inches tall!  Along with this 2 month check-up also came her 2 month shots.  :(   I must say this was the HARDEST thing to watch!  The poor little girl had no idea what she was in for and cried like I have never heard her cry before.  It kind of gave Ryan and I a little glimpse of what it means to have tough love. lol!

I can't believe how fast time is flying by!  It does not seem like it has been 10 weeks since we brought little Payton home from the hospital.  I have SO enjoyed my time at home with her and am so thankful to have a career where I am able to take this much time off!  I can't imagine having to go back to work after 6-8 weeks.   I have posted some recent pictures of Miss Payton along with some recent pictures of her bedroom (since she is sleeping there now!! ).

Payton continues to add numerous blessings to our everday lives.  Thank you God for our healthy, beautiful, and growing little princess!!  Oh yeah, have I ever mentioned how much I love being her mommy?!!!!!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

I got to celebrate my first Mother's Day today!  How exciting!  Little Payton even remebered the day and showed her gratitude with the cutest card, some body lotion, and a sweet smelling candle.  (What a good daddy she has!)  I must say, now that I am a mother, I am even more appreciative of my own mommy and am so thankful not only for the great mother that she continues to be for me, but for the wonderful grandma that she is to Miss Payton!

Speaking of grandma, Payton got to experience her first sleep-over at grandma's house this week without mommy and daddy! Even though Ryan and I spent the whole night talking about little Payton, it was nice to have a night with 8 hours of consecutive sleep! (Aren't grandparents wonderful!?)

Payton and Mommy on Mother's Day

Payton is now 8 weeks old and smiling like crazy!  She can even say the word "oh."  She is getting better at holding her head up and is sleeping for 5-6 hours straight most nights now. We can't believe how much she is changing and growing every week.   Oh how I love being her mommy!!!!

First Easter- 6 Weeks Old!

Little Miss Payton celebrated her first Easter this weekend.  She also turned 6 weeks old this past Friday!  We cannot believe how fast she is changing.  She is now holding her head up pretty good and has started smiling!! I even made her chuckle a bit this week!  Too cute!  She is sleeping for about 4-5 hours every night now.  Occasionally, she will give us 6-7 hours of consistent sleep, and we are VERY grateful for that.  However, no matter how tired I am or how late in the night/early in the morning she gets me up, I can never wait to get my hands on her!!!!!  Here are some recent pictures of our little princess.

Payton is 1 Month Old Today!

Today is Payton's 1 month birthday!  She is changing so much!  She is now starting to make little cooing noises, and it is so cute!  We can also tell that she is getting taller.  Some of her sleepers with the feet out look like capris on her. lol!  Thank you God for our beautiful healthy little princess!

Payton on her 1 month birthday!

A Night at Home! :)

I love that the weather is getting nicer!  Ryan and I took Payton for her first walk around the neighborhood last night.  She loved it and stayed awake the entire time.  We then gave her her bath which was the first time she hasn't screamed through the entire thing.  The pictures make it look like she is enjoying it a bit!  I mean, what girl doesn't love a bubble bath?

Payton Elaine- 4 Weeks!

We can't believe our sweet little girl is almost a month old! It is scary how fast time flies.  We can already see changes in Payton when we look back at pictures from when she was first born.  At birth, she looked EXACTLY like her dad, (go figure! lol!) but now, we are starting to see a few more of my qualities.  Her hair is definitely lighter now, and we think she has my mouth.

Life with little Payton is starting to feel a little more like the new normal. Everyday has been a learning experience for all of us, and I am finally beginning to feel a little more confident in my mothering abilities. For example, I now feel comfortable venturing out of the house alone with her. I will never forget when she was one week old, and Ryan, Payton, and I made a trip to Babies R Us. Ryan stepped out for a moment to load something in the car while Payton and I stayed in the store. About that time, she started fussing. I was trying to get her out of her seat, quiet her down, and make a bottle all at the same time, quickly to learn that the bottle was not what she wanted at all. I started frantically searching for Ryan all over the store. Payton was still screaming; I was trying to soothe her by bouncing her up and down while digging through the diaper bag trying to locate my cell phone so that I could get a hold of Ryan. About that time, she spit up all over the place! By the time Ryan finally got to us, I looked at him with a terrified look and quickly said, "It's time to go!" I will never forget how overwhelmed I felt that day. I remember wondering if I would ever be able to go anywhere alone again or do anything by myself! It seemed like everything required at least two people. It's funny how things can change so quickly. Now, 3 weeks later, I look back on that day and laugh. I now am fairly certain that I usually know exactly what Miss Payton is wanting, can usually soothe her cry when she gets upset, and have learned to do a number of everday tasks one-handed. (Due to the fact that Payton is quite the little snuggle bunny and LOVES to be held!) We have learned so much about our Little Angel this past month and below is a list of her likes and dislikes.

LIKES
1) She loves laying in her crib and staring at her bear and lamb.
2) She loves to be held! This is why I usually get nothing done at home! lol!
3) She loves to sleep with her right arm up next to her face. This is so funny because every ultrasould picture we have of her, she has her right up right up next to face, just like she does now.
4) She loves to stretch and kick her legs!
5) She sometimes likes her pacifier.
6) She loves her car seat and going for car rides. This is good since we make quite a few trips to Fairfield!
DISLIKES
1) She does not like to lay in her bassinet.
2) She does not like to have her hair or face washed.
3) She does not like to be naked.
4) She does not like to lay on her tummy.
5) She does not like to sleep between 2:00 and 4:00 am!

Payton continues to add numerous blessings to our everyday lives! She now weighs 8 pounds 8 ounces and can finally fit into some of her clothes! (She was way too small before!) Below are some 4 week old pictures!

 Stretch!!

I love my seat!

I love to sleep on my right arm!

Mommy's Girl!

 Family Photo

The Birth of Payton Elaine Legg

So, this post is definitely way over due, but as some of you may know, as a new mommy, I am quickly learning that I don't have a lot of extra time on my hands. As I sit here at night watching my peaceful baby girl soundly sleep (which doesn't ever last very long), I can honestly say, I have never been more in love, challenged, excited, emotional, or exhausted in my entire life! It is so hard to fathom how much our lives have changed in the matter of 1 day, and at the same time, it is so hard to imagine how our lives used to be before Miss Payton Elaine Legg made her entrance into the world on Friday, March 11, 2011 at 2:26 pm. Below is the story of how little Payton made her debut.

Ryan and I made the decision with our doctor at our 39 week appointment that it was time to be induced! The induction was scheduled to begin around 8:00 pm on Thursday, March 10, with the hopes of a baby arriving sometime Friday evening. The induction process began with me taking a medication at different points throughout the night to get my body ready for labor and then to start pitocin, a drug that stimulates contractions, at 5:00 am on Friday morning. I must say, contrary to a lot of other birth stories, ours went pretty well as planned. I started out dilated 2 cm and felt mild contractions on and off throughout the night, but none strong enough to really get me anywhere. At 5:00 am, the nurse started me on pitocin which caused my contractions to become stronger and more frequent. By 7:00 Friday morning, I had made it to 3 cm and Dr. Brown broke my water. This really got the ball rolling! My doctor suspected that I would be ready for my epidural around noon and estimated that Payton would arrive sometime Friday evening. Little did she know, I would be completely dilated by noon and ready to start pushing!

Around 9:00 am I had made it to 4-5 cm and was more than ready for my epidural! During my two hours of hard contractions with no pain medication, I remember saying to my mom over and over again, "I don't know how you did this 3 times with no medication." She would kindly respond by saying, "I am just so glad that you don't have to." It was always my plan to have an epidural; I am a firm believer in modern medicine and was not about trying to play it tough. I just never thought about having to endure the pain of the contractions up until that point. I must say, I don't think I have ever felt pain quite like that and have never been so happy to see someone like I was to see my anesthesiologist!

I really think I had the perfect epidural. The pain of the contractions was completely gone, but I could still feel and move my legs. By noon, I had made it to 10 cm, but our nurse decided that since I was so comfortable, we might as well not start pushing just yet and let the contractions do the work. I was definitely ok with that!

At 1:00 pm, we decided to get this show on the road. I started pushing with our nurse around 1:00, Dr. Brown arrived around 2:15 ready for delivery, and Payton was born at 2:26! Words cannot express the flood of emotions felt by both Ryan and I as the doctor laid Payton on my chest and our eyes met for the first time. Ryan kept saying over and over, "Holly, she's really here; she's right there; she's here!" She came out so bright eyed, and we spent the next 15-20 minutes savoring every second of that magical, most precious moment when we instantly became a family of 3. We were completely oblivious to everything else that was going on and everyone else in the room.

Our experience at the Women's Hospital was truly wonderful. We had the best nurses, and after experiencing the care that they give to their patients on a daily basis, I now have an even greater respect for people who choose this as a career path. I will never forget my nurse Donna, who was with us all through labor and delivery. I think God must have had something to do with her being my nurse that day. She was the exact person I needed to help get me through this, and I cried like a baby when her shift was over. She got emotional as well, and we decided that she will be seeing me again in a couple years. :)

Now that Payton is here, the real journey begins! I know I have made some of the greatest memories of my entire life these first couple weeks at home. I have never been so thankful for great family and friends, especially my mom! Thankfully, she stayed with us the first week after Payton was born to make sure we had a clean house and cooked meals every day. By doing this, she enabled Ryan and I to spend every waking moment getting to know our sweet little girl and how to be the best parents for her. The gift of that time is the greatest, most precious gift we could have ever asked for!

As we begin this new chapter in our lives, I hope to never forget the advice given to me by one of my teacher friends, "What you do with your kids is far more important than what you do for them." We are so thankful to God for this amazing gift, and I hope to do my best to enjoy each and every moment. (Yes, this even means the 2 am feedings! haha!) Miss Payton- Thanks for making mommy and daddy the happiest parents on earth, and thanks for your patience, as we are learning right along with you each and every day! Below are some of our favorite pictures.