Christmas 2010 - one I'll never forget.

these are { a few } of my favorite things...

Christmas tree shopping with Santa's little helper...

Cozy twinkling evenings with snuggles a plenty...

This sweet little elf babe with a cute reindeer tushie...

 

The tiniest of dancers with perfect ballet slippers...

And I can't forget...my tummy time helper and diaper bum sniffer...

May your holiday season be filled with all of your favorite things.

 

xoxo, Jackie

1 month

Oh my heart...one month with my little girl.  I have replayed the moment I first laid eyes on her over and over again in my mind today. It's hard to believe that 4 weeks have come and gone.  I already find myself looking back on the blissful moments where my heart would skip a beat when our eyes would meet, and also the really hard moments where I felt like bursting into tears for the tenth time that day.  The business of motherhood is no joke, but we are finding our way.  And this little one, she has STOLEN my heart.  Look, she even learned how to hold up one pinky finger for her 1st month birthday photo.  She's brilliant I tell you.

She also learned how to tell me "STOP taking photos mom." 

Learning as we go...xoxo.

this photoshoot business is for the birds

not diggin my attempt at capturing her cuteness :)

a season of { firsts }

Delaney Ann is 3 weeks today.  It's amazing how quickly the days can fly by when each one is filled with a whole new world of "firsts" for our little girl.

Her journey has begun, and our lives are so much richer because of it. 

First Family Photo

First babysitting watch from Lambeau

  

First Packer Game in Uncle Korey's jersey...

Cheering hard and snuggling with her Aunt Ren

First serious chat with Bapa...something to do with an upcoming fly fishing lesson??

First bath...and firm grip on her favorite tata (pacifier)

First of many, many funny faces

The first of many poses with Mimi (I think she has her eyes)!

First "playdate" with a couple new friends

First smooch from Lambeau (with many attempts made daily)

First family outing to the park...hence the extreme over-bundling by mom 

First time cooking in the kitchen together...and all we had to show for it was some store bought cornbread mix. Let's be honest though people, at this point it was monumental to even step foot back in the kitchen :).

First meeting with Grandma and Grandpa Reiss...

...quickly followed by her Aunt Kenzie!

First Apple Cup! 

Watching it all go down with Dad...we thought for sure Delaney would be the good luck charm the Cougs needed this year - ahhh wishful thinking.

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Our celebration of firsts continues to roll on.  For example, today alone we patted ourselves on the back for making it through the first day at home without Daddy.  Jake is back to work after a heavenly 2+ weeks of paternity leave, and I celebrated with a 28 second shower while Delaney napped in her crib for the very first time. SERIOUS accomplishment. 

Our next big first...venturing out this weekend to pick up the perfect tree for our *First Christmas* together. 

Many more photos (and I promise some food) to come!

my delaney

I have sat down to the same unfinished blog post for the past 6 days.  There are SO many things I want to recap from the past 2 weeks but the words continue to escape me.  Nothing does it justice.  Every sentence I record falls short of the memories in my mind and the newly found love that has taken over my world.  I so badly want to remember all the details before they become too cloudy from the emotional roller coaster that is motherhood.  But I need to remember every little detail that led me to that moment.  The moment that literally changed my life, when her little body was placed directly on mine the second she entered this world.

It all started on Monday, November 15th, my due date.  That morning I was scheduled for a 40-week non stress test and regular OB exam.  I still was not dilating at all, however the non stress test indicated that fetal movement had decreased, sending us immediately in for an ultrasound. The ultrasound further confirmed that her movement / reaction was down - along with my amniotic fluid. It didn't take long for my doctor to decide that Jake and I would be heading to the hospital right after the appointment for induction.

It was happening.  No more wondering, no more questioning her arrival...we were going to the hospital and I was finally going to meet my baby girl.  The next hour was a blur - rushing home to tell my family the news, grabbing our bags and sneaking in one last snuggle with Lambeau (which instantly brought on a flood of tears).  The drive to the hospital was filled with calls and texts to our family and friends, followed by anxiously settling in to our labor and delivery room.

My induction began right after this photo was taken, and the following 48 hours were the most intense, challenging, and at times most terrifying of my life.  My body fought and fought and fought against the induction process.  After one night of cervidil, and 30 hours of a pitocin drip I still was not dilating.  My OB wasn't on call, so there was an endless stream of new doctors and nurses trying to explain to me what was going on.  All I knew was there wasn't an option for pain relief until I started dilating, as it would most likely stall the entire process.  I only remember bits and pieces of Tuesday, trying so hard to remain calm but at the same time completely falling apart when the pain took over.  I have never needed my husband more, and he has never been more supportive, more loving and more protective of my well being.  I made it through that day because of him. 

Around 1am on Wednesday I was finally given an epidural (I think I convinced the nurses to feel sorry enough for me).  The relief was unbelievable, but the impact on our baby only brought on more stress and further fears.  Her little body had been fighting so hard and the pitocin fueled contractions coupled with the epidural were starting to take a toll.  I just knew we were heading for a c-section, especially when at 4am a team of O.R. nurses ran in the room with oxygen for me and an internal fetal heart rate monitor for baby.  Despite all of this I still wasn't dilating beyond 2 cm.  Around this time I found out that my doctor would be coming in around 7am that morning to help determine our next steps.  Seeing her instantly put me at ease and having her in charge gave me so much confidence that everything was going to be OK - no matter what direction we ended up taking. 

Day 3 in Labor + Delivery

It was just around this time that something else took over.  I know it wasn't me, since every last ounce of fight had long ago left my body.  Somehow it just happened - I went from 2cm to 3cm in a half an hour, then up to 8cm one hour later, and finally 10cm only 20 minutes later. I like to think it was my baby girl.  She made her mind up that it was time, and did all the hard work for her mama. Jake and I were over the moon with excitement and relief - we finally knew everything was going to be OK.  Our baby was a fighter and was on her way.

Delaney Ann (after her Aunt Jennifer Ann) was born November 17, 2010 at 11:28am.  She weighed 7lbs and 13 oz, and measured 19.5 inches long. 

She is my daughter, and is everything I could have ever dreamed of.

Since I'll only continue to fumble over my words, here are a few more pictures of our first days together...

I'll let her sweet face sum up our joy.





xoxo, jackie