1.5 Years

1.5 years ago we welcomed a healthy 8lb 9oz 20 inch long perfect baby girl into this year. A year and a half ago. When you say it  like that I feel like she has been here forever. Trying to remember a time when she wasn't here is hard.

Bad mom moment happened for her doctor appointment. I was at work busy getting stuff finished for a meeting the next day. Get a text from the sitter, did you forget about Reagan's doctor appointment? Look at the clock 3:56. Her appointment was at 4. Thankfully they were still able to get her in. Our pediatrician's office just hired a CNP and that is who we saw this time. She was awesome. Love her!

She weighed in at 28.4lbs and was 33.5 inches long. Her head circumfrance was 18.5. She is healthy and no issues. We are so lucky and blessed!

Here are a few sneak peaks of her 18 month session. They are amazing and I am going to have such a hard time picking them!

 The rest can be viewed at the photographers site www.photographybyluann.com then click on view proofs.

A Day in the Life...Weekday

I've seen a few of these around the blogosphere and they were interesting. Interesting in that how very different our lives our but still center around family and our little ones. So I decided to jump on board, here is my week day edition.

3:53am- First alarm goes off for me so I can get my butt to the gym. I usually snooze this one at least twice

4:15- Second alarm goes off. I snooze this one once

4:25- Finally roll myself out of bed and get dressed, take my pre-workouts and have my spark ready to go with me

4:45-4:50- Out the door headed to the gym

5:00-6:00- M/W is spin/lift
                  T/TH- Toning/Cardio
                  Friday- Freaky Friday- meaning whatever J is in the mood for. Sometimes a lot of cardio,                    sometimes a lot of lifting, maybe more spin.

6:15ish- home and headed to the shower. Matt and Reagan are usually still asleep. Heck even Zoe isn't up yet.

6:45- out of the shower and make-up is done. Attempt to wake the sleepyheads. Sometimes it works other times I have to go back a few times.

7:00- Finish getting ready, pack my lunch, lay out clothes for Reagan, get her cereal and milk ready, keep Matt moving (because he sometimes gets sucked into Thomas the Train with Reagan).

7:20-7:30- Out the door to drop Reagan off at the sitters and head to work.

8:00-4:30- Daily Grind

4:50- Pick Reagan up and head home.

5:00- Figure out what Matt is doing and how late he will be. This answer will depend on the season and how busy he is in the shop. During spring planting, he won't get in till sometimes after 8 or 9. In the winter he is done by 6. Depending on his answer, I will either begin to make supper for all of us or just Reagan and I. His answer will also determine if I get an extra gym sesh in on Monday and Wednesday.

7:30- Supper is over and done, dishes cleaned up, laundry started, maybe some minor cleaning or maybe we go outside and play. Either way about this time a bath happens and PJ's are put on.

8:00-9:00- Little miss usually goes to bed anywhere between these times. If she is extra tired it will be earlier. If she is full of it, a little later.

9:00-10:00- TV time/reading/catching up on social media while Matt usually falls asleep on the floor.

10:00-10:30- Head to bed to do it all over again

Easter Fun

First off how can it be Easter, how can we seriously be halfway through April?

Anywhoo- this was Reagan's second Easter. She obviously doesn't get Easter or any holiday for that matter but the older she gets the more fun the holidays will be.

We started the day at 7:30 mass since Matt wanted to get home and farm. He had wheat to top dress and ground to work. #farmlife (I've been all about hashtags lately). So we drove 2 vehicles to church because I had intentions of stopping and seeing my mom, aunt and uncle before their church and that way they could see Reagan in her dress. Also I needed to run to Wal-Mart because the Easter bunny hadn't been to our house yet. And since Matt was farming the Easter bunny wasn't going to come till we went to my parents. I won't lie, it was nice not to have to fight the crowds and get candy on sale.

First Easter egg hunt

The best picture we got

Admiring her eggs

15 Months and Still Feeling Sleepy....

Friday we had Reagan's 15 month appointment. I feel weird saying I have a 15 month old. It just feels weird, like there is no way she can be that old yet. I also feel weird answering people still in months when they ask how old she is. I just never know if I'm one of those people who always count in months until they are 2 or do I just say she is a year? #firsttimemomprobs

She weighs 25lbs and is 32 1/4 inches tall. I'm not sure of the percentiles but I know she jumped up in the height so much so that the doctor remeasured her because he didn't believe it. My little girl is so tall! She has had a cough and runny nose but I've been contributing it to the fact that she has had some back teeth coming in and poor girl probably inherited my allergies. We've been doing Zyrtec which helps but the doctor gave us something else to try and so far it has been working. I can tell she is feeling better as well. I just hate seeing her miserable!

Speaking of miserable, I thought we had turned the page on the whole not sleeping thing, yea not so. She did good all week and then Thursday night the screaming, crying, throwing herself out of the crib started again. As much as I hated to do it, I put her in our bed and we all slept. Saturday night she spent part of the night in our bed and part in hers and Sunday the same. I just wish I knew what triggers the sudden change in mood. I don't want her to rely on getting to sleep in our bed but at the same time, I need sleep so I'm just rolling with it. Ugh so frustrating!

Please ignore the fact that my husband doesn't have a shirt on, but this is how they were when I came home from working out this morning. While it isn't an ideal situation, I do love the cuddles.

Bedtime...or Lack Thereof

Reagan has always been an excellent sleeper. We have been spoiled. I mean she was sleeping through the night at 7 weeks. As she got older we established a pretty good night time routine. She would get her bath, read then head to bed around 7:00 or 7:30 (this also allowed Matt and I to watch Wheel of Fortune & Jeopardy, nerdy much?). It was great, she would take her lamby and sippy cup and walk back to bed. Easy peasy.

Until the time change...

Now we have a child who refuses to go to bed. We've extended bed time till 8. No biggie right. Well, even at that it is a fight to get her to go to bed. I mean it is a screaming, crying fit. She cries and screams so hard she actually breaks out into a sweat. I let her cry for a bit but I can't stand it when she cries so hard she starts coughing and such.

When she does finally fall asleep she sleeps all night and I have to wake her up in the morning. Before when she would go to bed earlier she would wake up around 6:30 or so. It is easier to get ready in the morning without her being up but I also kind of like our mornings of breakfast and watching Super Why and Thomas the Train.

I'm not sure how to get her back into the habit of going to bed without a fight. Any suggestions?

One Year Pictures

I have so much to catch up on, including her birthday party!

For now though, I will leave you with her first year pictures.

www.photographybyluann.com View Proofs and enter your e-mail address. Enjoy!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

I knew this day would come eventually, I just didn't think it would get here as fast as it seemed too.

I now have a 1 year old. A 1 year old, seriously. No longer a baby, no longer do I need to count in months, she is 1.

What a year it has been, from having an unplanned c-section (you can reread all about that day here, here, and here) to jaundice to heart murmurs. To crawling, walking and running. From breastfeeding, formula, baby food and regular food. From having no teeth to getting her top ones in first. Diapers, wipes, explosions, and Matt wanting to potty train her. Boat rides, camping, fairs, babysitters, farming and swim lesson. This little girl has had an amazing first year. So on this day I forget the sleepless nights, the screaming, the messes and just remember the cuddly baby that we brought into this world, our new year's baby, our everything.

A Baby Changes Everything

Christmas Eve, already!! Seriously where did the year go?

I cannot wait for Reagan's first Christmas tomorrow. I know she won't know what is going on and she will have more fun with the paper and boxes but it is still something I will treasure forever. I've waited for this day when I get to have my own little family on Christmas morning.

I am a huge sucker for the traditional Christmas songs, Silent Night and The First Noel are my absolute favorites. However, the other day I had CMT on and this song came on. By the time it was over I was crying, tears streaming down my face. I don't get religious on this blog because I have my views and you all have yours and we may not agree and that is okay but this song, yea, wow.

It is true, a baby changes everything.



Here is our first family Christmas card. Some people will be getting theirs after Christmas but it is the thought that counts right?

Christmas2013

View the entire collection of cards.

Here in just a week I will also have a 1 year old. Yea more on that later.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Pictures and Bad Baby

There are way to many talented photographers in this area. Seriously, it makes it hard to choose who does what pictures and such. I love love love the photog who does Reagan's milestone ones. I probably have said it before but she did our wedding so she does hold a special place in my heart. I will continue to use her no doubt. But then, there is a young and super talented photographer who is going to be doing my brother's wedding next June. I've stalked her on facebook and have always liked her work. She offers a lot of mini sessions fairly cheap so I love using her for those! She is the one who did the mommy and me and her Halloween. When she offered a Christmas mini for $100 I jumped on it! Normally we don't do Christmas cards but when you have a little cutie you have to show her off! Those of you that are facebook friends with me have already seen them but for those of you who aren't (please feel free to add me!) here are my favorites from the session.

Reagan is such a chatter box these days.  Not everything is coherent but she does say some things very clearly beyond momma and dada. Puppy and kitty are favorites, along with Kate. Her newest one which she has picked up at the sitters is bad baby. When you ask her how she was at the sitter she answers bad baby. I promise she isn't a bad baby all the time (except when she took an ornament off J's tree and chucked it!) but to hear her say it is adorable.

Checking In

I feel like it has been forever since I have had an update on Reagan. Time just slips away because I now have an 8 month old, like seriously!

She has learned to pull herself up onto everything! The sitter said on Friday she came back to her standing up in the crib just smiling away. Reagan has added her fingerprints to the collection on the back door at the sitters as well. After seeing her standing up in her own crib we lowered it way down so now when she stands up in it she can't topple over.

We are babbling, talking and yelling and sometimes all at once. Baba is the favorite word followed by Mama (not being biased at all!). I still have not heard Dada (Matt says he has) though so I just told him we know who the favorite is!

We have 4 teeth coming in all at once. Poor girl has been a champ through it. There are times when she is fussier and doesn't know whether she wants held or to be left alone. At those times it is best to give her a cold chew toy, lambie (her favorite blanket), binks and put her in her crib.

She will take a few assisted steps but nothing major yet. Getting anything done around the house with her crawling everywhere is darn near impossible. When I am trying to get things done she spends time in baby jail (aka the play pen). She also manages to find everything that the sweeper or swiffer has missed and feels that it needs to go into her mouth.

She understands the word No but doesn't always like to abide by it. The first time you say no she smiles, the second time she giggles and by the 3rd time I have moved her away from the object and usually a tantrum ensues. Lord help me when her terrible 2's come along.

Hey new friend!

After swimming bottle with Aunt Nikki

Blueberries-1 Brutus-0

Um Mom please let me out

Feeding a Baby-Working Mama Style

**This is my post for the PAIL Bloggers monthly theme. 

The theme for August is Feeding Your Child**

There is a country song that has a line in it, "If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plan," and at first I never paid attention to that line but as time has gone on, it really hits home. I had a plan when it came to feeding my child, yet like so many other things (our journey to get pregnant!) it didn't work out how I wanted it too...

Even before I was pregnant, actually before I ever thought of becoming pregnant I knew that I was going to breastfeed and my hope and goal was to breastfeed exclusively. I would like to tell you that I did a ton of research on the benefits of breastfeeding for mom and baby but I didn't. My knowledge of breast is best came from something I knew about, my cows. When our cows calve we prefer to leave the babies with the mama's for at least 6 months because it is better for the calf and helps the mama breed back easier. In my eyes this was enough of a reason to know that I was going to breastfeed. Then as my pregnancy continued I learned of other benefits of breastfeeding, weight loss, quicker healing, cost, etc. Again, enough of a reason for me. 

The first bump in my breastfeeding road came when we had an unplanned c-section. Everything went smooth but I didn't get that immediate skin to skin like I had wanted. However, it didn't seem to bother Reagan since she had no issues latching. This made me excited, made me think that this breastfeeding thing was going to be a breeze! Then the jaundice issue arrived. Her pediatrician called it breastfeeding jaundice and suggested that we give her some formula. Not news to tell a new first time mama who had post partum hormones running rampant! Thankfully I was keeping her satisfied and she hardly took any formula. The only other hiccup we had was that she would not nurse underneath a blanket or nursing cover which made it difficult with all the doctor appointments so Reagan learned to switch back and forth from a bottle to breast with no issues. Again, we knew we were so lucky! 

Then I went back to work at 7 1/2 weeks and that is where the issues started. This is also the point that I wish I would have done some research on pumping and storing. As I went back to work my actual nursing sessions became less and less frequent and my supply fell off. I tried everything, oatmeal, mothers milk tea, power pumping, beer and nothing would make a lasting difference. I had told myself that if I had to supplement I would and I wouldn't get upset about it when I started shopping at the formula section of Wal-Mart. However, there was a piece of me that felt like I failed. I know there are tons of working moms who are able to exclusively pump/nurse and I would compare myself to them. I felt like well if they could why couldn't I? I even felt that green eyed jealousy monster towards the moms who were able to stay home longer with their new babes. Not right but I swear once you have been pregnant your hormones are never the same! Then after awhile I let it go, knew I was doing the best thing for Reagan but every once in awhile I will see someone talking about breastfeeding exclusively and it still stings.

Then we started on foods and I have been making her food for her, nothing fancy by any means. However, it does save money and it makes me feel like a good mom. The only things that I have been buying have been the gerber puff and yogurt melts but as soon as I get some time and a recipe I will be making those myself.

I'm still pumping but it is getting to the point I should hang it up. It takes me 3 days or so to get 6 oz so she isn't even getting a bottle a day anymore. I knew this day would come I just wish it would have came on my terms. Once again, I had a plan of nursing/supplementing till she was a year old and it just isn't going to happen. This move may be just as hard as moving Reagan to her crib from our room a few months ago. Pumping, no matter how little made me feel like I was doing something good, I was being a good mom. I also feel that if I quit pumping that I was just that, a quitter. I know crazy right!? So I tell myself, when the bag of storage bags is gone I'm done pumping...but we shall see.

Being a working mama and trying to breastfeed is hard but it is just as hard to be a mom and breastfeed period! Through all this though as long as baby is healthy, happy and growing then I'm doing my job just like every other mom.

Cardiology Appointment

Yesterday we saw the pediatric cardiologist for Reagan and her heart murmur. To say this mama was scared would have been a huge understatement. This appointment has been on my calender since her 2 month check-up 5 months ago (umm how is my child already 7 months old?). I really had no idea what was going to happen at this appointment, what tests if any would be run, how long it would last etc etc. The nurse called me Monday to inform me that they would be taking blood pressure from both arms and legs, an ekg and her pulsocs (?)  plus get her weight and height. She said that most babies end up having a few meltdowns when one or all of these thing occur so I needed to bring her favorite toy, a bottle and pacifier. Cue another moment of sheer panic. I did try to keep reminding myself that if her pediatrician thought there was a big issue we wouldn't have waited the 5 months and she would be such a growing girl.

We arrived to the hospital and went up to our appointment which was on the 2nd floor where L & D is and that made a little nostalgic! We were quickly taken back to our room where we got her completely naked and of course with my child she peed all over the bed! She was so happy though to be naked because here lately putting clothes on her has become a struggle! She weighs 18lbs and is 28 inches long. So in a month she has put on 10oz and grew and inch and a half. Then we had to do the blood pressure which started out fine but then the machine didn't want to read so we had to redo a couple and she was not a fan. The EKG was next and to see all those wires and such on your baby was just too much for me. I'm still surprised that I was able to keep it together.

The cardiologist came in and went over a bunch of stuff like what a murmur is, abnormal versus normal, her history, our history etc etc. Then he listened to her chest which she wanted nothing of anymore. She was tired of laying on the table and she just wanted me to hold her.

Turns out that baby girl actually has 2 heart murmurs. One is softer and I for the life of me I cannot remember the name of it but it is the kind that is gone by the time she is 2. The other one is called an innocent murmur. These kind have no bearing on anything and it is just something she will always have. We are doing an echo cardiogram (?) on Tuesday just to ensure that it is what he believes it to be. He will call us after we do that and talk to us. As long as that is good we don't have to go back and see him for 2 years. Phew, this mama can now breathe a lot easier knowing that Reagan is just fine.

Her First Fair...

We survived the fair! Taking Reagan out of her routine for 7 days straight made me a tad nervous especially since she has been teething (although we don't have any yet!). However, Reagan took it like a champ! She kept her same sleep schedule, loved all the stroller rides, loved all the sights and sounds and loved being around all the people who absolutely adored her. She was quite the attraction and a lot of people remember her from being the first baby of the new year. While I did have a lot of work to do we got some great family time in. Usually every night we would walk around just the 3 of us and call me crazy but I have always wanted to walk around the fair pushing a stroller with my little family.

Hanging with her new bff Zaine

Who needs a horse when you can ride a calf

Dairy Feeder day so we had to rock our dairy bib

Checking out the goats. Matt is now convinced that we need to have some goats.

Just being a rockstar

I let my food standards fly out the window last week so we are back at this week. I am going to start taking an exercise class 2x a week starting next week. Wish me luck!

6 Month Pictures and Farmers Market Goodies!

The fact that I have a 6 month old just blows my mind. Seriously, she is a half a year old and it seems like just yesterday Matt and I were bringing her home! She is growing and changing everyday it seems. She does get up on all fours like she wants to crawl but is only able to go backwards. She has lunged forward a few times so it won't be long before she will be all over the place. We still have no teeth but she is just working away at chewing. She can now sit all by herself for extended periods and hates to be on her back about as much as she used to hate tummy time. We have "conversations" and we are working on mama and dada, nothing yet. I have told Matt that if she says dada first that doesn't mean she is his favorite! She had her 6 month appointment Friday and she weighed 17.6lbs and is 26.5 inches long. For the past appointments she has been right at the 50th percentile but this time she jumped above it. Both the doctor and I were pleased with all the progress. He did still hear her heart murmur so we are still going to see the cardiologist on August 6th.

Saturday I had to work at noon due to wheat harvest but I was able to run into the farmers market in Tiffin and get some good produce. Matt and I planted a garden but the only thing that has been growing is the lettuce and sweet corn. Call me crazy but I have been making all of Reagan's baby food and frankly, it is really easy. So having a variety of fresh vegetables for her food was the main reason for the garden. Anyways since the garden isn't growing I've been relying on the farmers market for items and I got some yummy goodies! Peaches, blueberries, green beans, cherries and since our sweet corn isn't ripe I bought some sweet corn as well. So my goal this week is to make the cherries, peaches, green beans and sweet potatos for Reagan. She has ate everything so far (carrots, peas and squash) and loved it. We try a food for about a week before moving onto the next.

Since it's been a while I apologize for the picture overload!

The professional 6 month pictures. To view the rest go to www.photographybyluann.com and click on view images.

This picture finally happened after many many many attempts.

She loves going for walks!

Aunt Katie thought it would be fun to spike her hair after her bath.

First pony tail!

Aunt Katie was showing her the chickens, Reagan was intrigued!

  Also if you notice up in the corner I added an Instagram feed. I would love for you to follow me! My username is mefredritz.

Another Spin Around the Sun

This is a submission for PAIL Bloggers June Theme which focuses on looking back.

June 2012. What a whirlwind of a month. Matt and I were pregnant, we saw the test, had the betas and at the beginning of June saw our little peanut and heard the heartbeat. I remember lying on the table with tears in my eyes and Matt squeezing my hand as we looked at the screen. It was such an amazing sight and sound. After that appointment we said goodbye to Dr. S because we were moving on, back to my regular OB. It was sad to say goodbye because even though we had only spent 2 cycles with him he was the reason we were seeing and hearing that heartbeat. I was going to miss the nurses and their excitement for us. Don't get me wrong, I like my OB but to them I was just another pregnant lady, well until they saw my chart.

My favorite part of June was scheduling the appointment with my photographer to do a fun shoot announcing our pregnancy. L our photographer was so excited for us and loved the ideas I had.

My favorite picture and the way we told friends, family and of course facebook!

Looking back, I didn't know if we would be where we are today, with a little girl who is almost 6 months old. Who has started to have her own personality, is trying to crawl and growing up way to fast. When we started this journey in January of 2011 I had no idea that the things I know now existed. I knew people who had trouble conceiving but didn't know more than that. I didn't know about trigger shots, femera, HSG's, or heck what an RE could even do. The journey wasn't what I wanted but I think in a weird way it was what Matt and I needed to strengthen our marriage. I know so much more about myself and my body that I wouldn't take back.

While there are moments that I still look back at our journey, wondering how I made it through without falling apart, I prefer to look forward. I look forward to watching Reagan continue to grow and come into her own and what Matt and I's next venture is (actually more on that after tonight hopefully!!!).