Life after Baby :: Working

I've been back to work now for 8 weeks at the end of this week. What?

My baby will be 16 weeks old on Friday. Double what?

Time is moving so fast now that I'm back at work. I have so much to do at work that the days fly by and before I know it, I'm home again, settling down for the evening.

It's staying lighter later which is great for some things and bad for others. After returning home from work we have about 3 good hours until we lay the little one down and unwind for the night ourselves. Three hours isn't really enough but somehow, it is.

I love my half hour lunch breaks where I have just enough time to eat and write a blog post, or read some blogs, or catch up on perezhilton (less and less these days). I try to get these things done while Scarlett is napping at home, but her naps never last long enough for me to get anything done and our home computer is getting slower and slower. Not to mention, computer time falls behind cleaning time and laundry time.

But before I know it, she will be 6 months old and then she'll be crawling and then walking and then talking and then I'll wonder how she was ever so tiny. Tiny enough to fit neatly inside my body. I both dread and look forward to those days. It's a delicate balance I guess.

I'm thankful that I can work part time currently and spend a couple days a week caring for sweet Scarlett. I wouldn't trade that time for anything in the world. When she smiles at me (and she does so quite often), it melts my heart in a giant puddle of love.

So I guess since I can't slow time down.. I'll continue filling it with all the moments I hope to remember forever.

iPhone Photo Adventures v3

Left to Right and Top to Bottom

A birthday gift Alex recieved from his buddy Dan, love the BLL!

Tayden! Steph sent me this picture of the outfit we got her. She is the cutest strawberry ever!

Baby blue eyes staring me down.

Sitting on Daddy's lap when he got home from work.

Happy Birthday to Alex!

Peaceful sleeping baby.

A half smile for me.

Just chillin with our hood up, laying on our tummy.

Asleep after some hardcore activity mat time.

Tiny lips pursed while on the changing table.

Half death stare. Tired of the pictures I'm sure!

Samsung smart tv. More of a want. Saw it at Sears and snapped a pic to remember it.

I take all my photos with my iPhone and edit them using Instagram. Follow me! mbru15!

(Tid bit I just learned. To edit but not post to instagram, work in Airplane mode!)

Stay tuned for the upcoming iPhone Video Adventures!

That time I became a photo editor

Working with photoshop at work has given me lots of experience in editing.
So much so that I took on a challenge from my sister in law, Laurel, to edit some of her wedding photos. 

Below are the before and afters. Can you spot the differences?? :)

(The before's are on the right)

And I decided to throw in one that I did for work.

I really like working in Photoshop (and Photoshop Elements).
These sorts of projects present a challenge to me and it's fun to take them on and see what I can do!

I'm sharing this because I've added myself to The Usic and I will be offering these services on there soon!
Thought it would be a fun way to share a hobby with others!

Baby Praying Mantis

The other day, Alex found a Praying Mantis nest in the yard and took some pictures of the babies. He had to zoom in really close. It's crazy how small they start out!

Easter Pictures

Here are some pictures from Easter. Obviously super late but I finally got around to editing them! :)

Scarlett :: 3 Months!

Friday was Scarlett's 3 months of life anniversary! She is growing and changing daily and it's so exciting to watch!

Stats (approx)
Weight- 16 lbs (7 lbs 5 oz at birth)
Length- 25" (20.5" at birth)

Details 
Eating- She is still a little piglet in this category. She eats about 4oz give or take every 2 hours or so. It still feels like I'm nursing her all the time when I'm home but that's probably normal. She still spits up a decent amount, in fact this morning she projectiled 3 times in a row and basically emptied her tummy of everything she had just ate.. Tmi?

Sleeping- She takes her first nap about an hour after waking. How long this nap lasts is anyone's guess. As I type she has been sleeping for about 50 minutes and it's probably bc I have her sound sheep on. Her 2nd nap isn't as predictable but it's usually around noon. She takes a 3rd nap around 3 or 4 depending on the days activities and she takes a cat nap in the evening around 6 sometimes. We try to put her to bed at 8:30.. So we start the routine around 8. Sometimes she doesn't go down until 9.. It's not an exact science. She wakes twice to eat at night. This ranges from evening to evening. Her longest stretch ever is 5.5 hrs.

Activity/Skills- She constantly sucks on her hands. We just know she's going to be a 'taste everything' child. This will probably include dirt and maybe sand. I'll do my best to block it but no promises can be made. She loves laying on her activity mat in the morning watching the lights and listening to the music, that's usually when we have the radio on as well. On the mat is also where she does some talking and laughing. She'll lay there for a good 10 min by herself which lets me get things done around the house quick or make breakfast. She's in 3-6 month clothing now so there's lots of new fun outfits to wear. The changing table is her favorite place to be next to the bath, so changing her clothing is a good time! She really enjoys carrying on a conversation with cooing and it's the cutest thing to see. Her smiles and giggles melt my heart every time!

Enjoy her most recent pictures below! :)

Previous Posts:

1 Month

2 Months

Life after Baby :: Social Life

Quick nap at the Doutrich's

Now I know what it's like to have a dialed back social life. Admittedly though, prior to having Scarlett, I wasn't really the best at having a social life either but having a baby makes it far more difficult.

Sleeping at Iron Hill

I thought I would be the mom who didn't leave the house for 4 straight weeks. Granted, I still felt that way around week 2 when breastfeeding was still getting the best of me. Soon after that, we were invited to a super bowl party and wanted to go. By that point, being in the house was getting a little bit old. Watching the seasons of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice and Revenge were getting boring. Sure we had been out to go to the Doctor's offices but that wasn't fulfilling enough. So off to the super bowl party we went. We had a great time! Scarlett behaved so well (she slept through most of it). I felt far less self conscious about nursing her in someone elses house. I used my hooter hider thingy and it went well. Soon enough we would be traveling to the grocery store, Alex's parents, my parents, my grandma's houses, friends houses and it worked out fine. We were finally mobile, albeit she was riding with two parents in the car, more on that in the next Life after Baby post.

Sleeping at the McHenry's

I also thought I would be the mom who was paranoid about germs. Of course, if someone is sick or thinks they are sick, we refrain from having them hold her.. that's common sense. But we don't have people constantly washing their hands when they're around her. It's not like people are putting their germy hands into her actual mouth and she just recently started putting her own hands in her mouth which I'm sure are also germy (and lint filled, wha whaat?). This is going a little off topic from our social life so I'll get back to it.

Needless to say, we do less than we used to. Our weekends are a little more open but we like that time to relax as a family. Especially since we hit the sack around 9pm every night. But Scarlett seems to do well in all environments but is definitely the most comfortable at home. I think she's going to be a pretty laid back little girl which will be nice.

With all that said, if you haven't met Scarlett yet and you want to.. call us! We're usually free!