Monday, September 29, 2008

Mary Joyce is 1!!!



Well, today is Mary Joyce's Birthday. I have mixed feelings about this. I'm happy that she is flourishing into the sweet and very active young girl, but at the same time I'm heartbroken that she's becoming a toddler. It seems like everyday she has something new for me. I do love the fact that she will come running to me now and give me a great big hug and kiss.


She has started mimicking words. You say to her "Mary Joyce" and it sounds like she will say "Joyce" back at you. It maybe more like "Oyce" but you get the pic. She can also say ROLL TIDE. OK again, I say "Roll Tide" and she will come back with "OOO III" so we know exactly what she is saying. And shei s fanatic about dogs. Anytime she sees a dog she will yell "DOG" and point and keep on yellinguntil A) The dog is gone or B) you take her to see the dog. Do not set her down or she will freak out on you, but she still loves dogs :)


I still want to think back on what I was doing last year at this time. I had just received my first dose of pain meds and was drifting off to sleep. My labor was long and hard, but ohh so worth it. I now can't imagine my life without my angel, and beleive that she makes me a better person, so if you see Mary Joyce today wish her a wonderful Happy Birthday!!!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Where has the time gone?

Wow it has been almost 2 months since my last post. I have been very very busy with work and home life. I have decided to take the time to post :)

OK this past weekend we had Mary Joyce's 1st Birthday Party. It was a Pooh Girl Party and ohh so sweet. We had the normal drama, and I almost didn't get everything done in time. Ok I DIDN'T Get everything done that I wanted to and was a little upset about it not going off perfectly, but I think it was a pretty good party anyways. Next year will be better! I will put up some pictures from her party when I get the time to download them.

Another note, we take Mary Joyce to the ENT on Thursday. She has had the same ear infection since she was 10 months. Since it won't go away her pediatrician has reccomended us to this doctor. I will hopefully have more info on Thursday, but its leaning toward us getting tubes put in. I know this is not major surgery, but when it happens to your child it is always Serious. LOL.

Here are some pictures from her 1 year photo shoot. The last one really sums up our day :)



















Monday, August 4, 2008

New Pics

It was brought to my attention this weekend that no one will be able to tell that my baby looks like her nana unless I put some pics up of those two together, so I've found some older ones...Will have to get some updated ones up a little later, but hope you enjoy!! Also, Adding one of Mary Joyce and her Aunt Amy!







Thursday, July 31, 2008

Unbelievable

I was at work the other day and I saw a pregnant woman walk outside and light up a cigarette. I was thinking to myself that is the most selfish thing a mother can do. The only thing she was doing was satisfying HER needs not her babies. She is depriving her baby of oxygen and setting the little one up for withdrawals when he/she is born. Here is some info I received from whyquit.com. Please read and forward to ANYONE you think is smoking while pregnant and beg them to stop!!



It is no longer a question of whether or not the unborn will be harmed by nicotine use during pregnancy, but of the degree, number, types, noticeability and lifetime impact of the harms actually inflicted. At a minimum, nicotine will cause the developing brain to grow millions of extra acetylcholine receptors in the cortex, striatum, and cerebellum regions ( 1995, 1999 ). At a minimum, it will unnaturally regulate the pre-birth flow of more than 200 neurochemicals within the unborn's mind and body, including dopamine, serotonin and adrenaline.
But more important than scientific and Canadian government assertions that nicotine is more addictive than heroin or cocaine, or that your new-born's first challenge in life will be enduring nicotine withdrawal and chemical detox alone, nicotine is not only a teratogen but very likely a neuroteratogen inflicting lasting damage upon their nervous system ( 1991); ( 1998 - free full text study).
Pregnant women would be wise to reflect upon just how amazingly toxic nicotine is. Drop for drop it is more lethal than strychnine or diamondback rattlesnake venom, and three times deadlier than arsenic. Just 2-3 drops on the skin (40-60mg) will kill a 160 pound human. The average smoker puts 1 mg of nicotine into their bloodstream with each cigarette. If the entire 1 mg was put on the skin of a 1 pound rat, the rat would die.
The problem isn't just smoked nicotine. On Januuary 8, 2006, Professor Theodore Slotkin, a leading nicotine research toxicologist at Duke University Medical Center, stated:
"There is abundant evidence that the major problem for fetal development is exposure to nicotine rather than other components of cigarette smoke."
"NRT, especially by transdermal patch, delivers more nicotine to the fetus than smoking does." According to Dr. Slotkin, a recent study found that the brains of fetal mice wound up with 2.5 times higher nicotine concentrations than found in the mother's blood when a slow continuous nicotine feed, as would be the case with the nicotine patch.
"There are only two studies of the effectiveness of NRT in pregnancy, and both show that it doesn't work. Counseling works better. Pregnant smokers who cannot quit spontaneously tend to smoke on top of the use of NRT, worsening the fetal effects."



Although you have probably long dreamed of someday ending your brain's chemical addiction upon nicotine, the sudden news of pregnancy and deep concern for the growing life inside can make it seem like you're being forced to quit. It can leave the " junkie mind" feeling deprived of someday quitting on its own terms. Instead of embracing the opportunity to live your own long held dream of quitting, far too many mothers-to-be quit only for the baby. Sadly, roughly half of all who quit during pregnancy relapse to smoking nicotine within hours, days or weeks of giving birth.
Instead of beginning a wonderful nicotine-free life together, these new babies have an actively feeding drug addict for a mother. Instead of being greeted by sweet smelling kisses, these babies bond their love with sensing the arrival of the nasty smells and odors of the over 4,000 chemicals that were just sucked into their mother's mouth and deposited upon her face, hands and clothing. Forced to either breathe lingering clouds of toxins or watch their mother depart at least hourly to tend and care for her addiction, when it comes to fresh air or love these new babies live a constantly interrupted life.
Your selection of your primary quitting motivation, and keeping it adequately fueled, is critical to permanent nicotine dependency recovery. Quitting for your unborn child all but assures nicotine relapse once you convince yourself that the greatest dangers have passed. By quitting for you, and allowing your baby to inherit the fruits of your decision, you set the stage to permanently arrest your dependency. Keep in mind that after giving birth most new mothers experience a brief period of minor sadness that may last up three weeks. What are the odds of you getting through this brief period without experiencing relapse if you failed to develop your own personal core recovery motivations and have no dreams or desires of your own to muster and rely upon?
It is normal to feel like you are being asked to make a tremendous sacrifice by quitting. You are but for a reason vastly different than dependency denial permits you to think. While it is normal for you to have falsely convinced yourself that you smoke because you like smoking, love smoking, to calm you when stressed, or for flavor or taste, the truth is, these are not the reasons you smoke. You smoke because you are a true drug addict in every sense, because nicotine has de-sensitized your brain, and the rising tide of anxieties can tend to hurt when you don’t smoke.
The truth is that the real quitting took place on the day that nicotine took command of your mind and thinking. You’re not giving up anything of value. Even the neurochemicals that nicotine controlled, each already belonged to you! You are coming home to an amazing sense of calm during crisis, to a clean, fresh and healthy you that your new baby will inherit, love and enjoy.



Nicotine's half-life inside both of you is about two hours. Within a maximum of 72 hours after last administering nicotine your blood serum and body will be 100% nicotine free and chemical withdrawal will have peaked in intensity and have started to gradually decline. But just one puff of nicotine and you will again face up to 72 hours of initial detox anxieties, a back to back energy draining feat which few have the endurance to complete. None of us are stronger than nicotine but then we don't need to be as it's only a chemical with an I.Q. of zero. Knowledge is power!
No crave episode triggered by encountering a conditioned nicotine feeding cue (times, places, activities and emotions during which you've created the subconscious expectation of smoking nicotine) will last longer than 3 minutes but be sure and look at a clock as time distortion during recovery is normal and minutes can seem like hours. The most craves encountered by the average quitter on the most challenging day of recovery is six (6) on day three. By day ten the average quitter is down to just 1.4 crave episodes per day.



Can you handle 18 minutes of substantial anxiety (6 craves x 3 minutes)? Without a doubt! We all can. But what if you are not normal and have somehow established twice as may conditioned subconscious feeding cues as the average nicotine addict? Could you handle 12 crave episodes and up to 36 minutes of panic type anxiety on your most challenging day of your temporary period of re-adjustment called quitting? Absolutely!
Would you want your baby to eventually endure withdrawal alone as its welcome into the world? Click upon and read the following links guide about how to navigate the first 72 hours of recovery. Once you realize that you can minimize many of the symptoms often experienced when quitting (such as wild blood sugar swings and caffeine overdose ) and calm lots of needless fears (by understanding the emotional sense of loss, abandoning the concept of quitting forever and knowing the law of addiction ), you may find that recovery is far easier than you ever thought possible. Knowledge and support are key to substantially enhancing our odds of reclaiming control of our mind, health and life expectancy. The gift of life can flow both ways if you'll only allow yourself to dream of being "you" again!



If you are looking for a website capable of guiding you in breaking nicotine's amazing grip upon your mind, health and life expectancy then you're in right place! If instead, you’re searching for a website to reassure you that smoking or nicotine use is safe for you, your unborn baby, or your breastfeeding baby -- like some sites do -- then you probably need read no further. Those other sites are exactly right. Statistically, although substantially increased, the odds are still in your favor that neither smoking nor nicotine will kill your unborn baby but should death be the test? Fetal or infant nicotine addiction is not safe - in any form of delivery - and neither are the over 4,000 chemicals inhaled with each and every puff.
This link shows how each puff of nicotine gradually damages and impairs blood flow. If your baby is relying exclusively upon the contents of your blood to grow and properly develop, is it really any wonder that the below listed risks are being felt by babies whose blood is filled with large quantities of carbon monoxide and nicotine? There is always a price to pay. The only question is how much will it cost your child?
If you should find WhyQuit, Joel's Library, Freedom and/or AskJoel helpful in breaking nicotine's grip please be sure and tell your OB/GYN or family physician as they are likely searching desperately for effective recovery tools to help other smoking patients.

Women who smoke during pregnancy are subjecting theirpregnancy and unborn baby to increased risk of ...
Autism - 07/02
Asthma - 01/04
Stillbirth - 04/04
Clubfoot - 08/02
Wheezing - 12/03
Birth defects - 11/05
Hyperactivity - 04/04
Ear infections - 02/02
Premature birth - 02/02
Low-birthweight - 01/04
Hearing damage - 07/06
Fewer brain cells - 08/04
Immunodeficiency - 06/05
Middle ear disease - 08/99
Ectopic pregnancy - 02/02
Tourette's syndrome - 06/06
Colic or excessive crying - 08/01
Nicotine withdrawal at birth - 06/03
Obesity and type II diabetes - 12/05
Abnormal lung development - 01/02
Deficits in visuospatial memory - 12/05
40% higher chance of infant mortality - 12/03
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) - 09/02
Optic nerve hypoplasia and visual impairment - 06/02
Placental abruption and placenta previa - 10/01 11/96
Oral clefts in the lip and/or palate - 07/04 01/02 02/00
Alterations in medial temporal lobe brain function - 12/05
50% greater chance of mental retardation (I.Q. less than 70) - 04/96
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) - 07/04 07/03 04/02
Increased lifetime testosterone levels for your unborn daughter - 06/03
Increased risk of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis for your daughter - 01/05
Diminished future fertility (fewer eggs) for your unborn daughter - 04/99
160% increase in the risk of your child having behavioral problems - 07/98
Diminished sperm count/smaller testies for your unborn son - 01/04 05/03
Brain damage to serotonin neurons and possible lifetime depression 09/01
Average of $704 in extra neonatal costs per smoking mother - 10/04 04/02
Average childhood inpatient hospital costs of $900 over first 5 years - 03/05

To see whole article please go to http://whyquit.com/whyquit/LinksBirth.html


Wednesday, July 23, 2008

My Angel

Its time for an update on My Angel :) She will be 10 months next tuesday. I can't believe it either! She is growing up into an independent, stubborn, fiesty little girl. Wonder who she gets that from? The stubborness has to be from Aaron!

This week she has started walking all over the place. Crawling is still how she gets around the fastest, but she walks clear across a room now. She has also started pointing at everything. When I walk into her room in the mornings when she wakes up she looks up at me and points. It is too funny. Its like she is telling me what she wants sometimes. She has also been sick this past week. She wasn't acting too sick but she had a cough so I went ahead and took her to the doctor. It turns out she had a sinus infection and double ear infection. My poor baby. She is now on an antibiotic which in turn has given her a bad diaper rash. She just can't win. She has never had a diaper rash until now!

Well since Mary Joyce was sick this made me sick. I had to go to the doctor on Sat because of my bad cough. They said I just had an upper respiratory infection due to my allergies. And if you live around here you know that the air quality this past weekend was HORRIBLE! Since Mary Joyce has been sick she hasn't been sleeping good thus I haven't been sleeping good! I didn't get hardly any sleep Sat night and Sunday night I was so tired, but she still didn't sleep good. Aaron said he would stay up with her Monday night so I could get some rest since he was off work. Well Guess what folks? She slept all night Monday night! LOL. It cracked me up, but last night she did wake up just long enough to get her a bottle around 3 am. Thank goodness aaron was there for that!

Monday, July 14, 2008

OK. So I finally am uploading some new pics :)


This is what happens when Aaron feeds Mary Joyce. I don't know who gets more food..Her Face, the high Chair, or actually her belly...

Here are some pics from 4th of July


And Finally THE BEACH!!












Thursday, July 10, 2008

If I could live One Day Over

This was a question asked on a website so here is my response:

Thats a tough question.......If I can live one day over again what day would it be? I had to ponder this.
We build character based on our previous trials and tribulations both good and bad. I am in a wonderful place in my life with my husband and our beautiful daughter. I asked myself if I hadn't lived my life the same would I have my family now? How can I know. One day differently could put me on a different path. Then I had to ask myself would I want to change my present and past life? Granted I have done some things I'm not proud of, but we live and we learn. A saying keeps coming to my mind...What doesnt' kill us makes us stronger and I beleive fully in this.
The life that I have lived has made me the strong, independent, caring, compassionate, loving, headstrong, self sufficient person I am today. I have the most beautiful daugher and loving husband. I have wonderful family and friends who all love me and Iove them, and I have a career I am very proud of. I am finally in a place in my life where I am excited each day. Of course there are somedays I just want to crawl back into bed, but thats normal.
So my answer...If I had one more day to live over I wouldn't take it. I am enjoying my life today!

Monday, July 7, 2008

First Steps and a few others

Well as you can already see..I didn't get the pics up from the beach. Mary Joyce has been keeping me busy. But I do have some wonderful news! She has taken her First steps!! Saturday, Aaron and I were playing with her on the bed and she was holding onto the headboard. She looked at the pillow and then took two steps toward the pillow before falling down. I was thinking hmm...I must be seeing things.

Aaron went to work later that evening and so the baby and I packed up and went to Grandmothers for a little visit. She was holding onto the couch and my mom held out her arms for her to come to her and she took two steps again! She wouldn't do it for the rest of the night, but at least I have witnesses this time!!

Aaron was disappointed he didnt' see this, but yesturday she took one step for him also. She isn't taking off or anything, but it is the start!! Soon my little munchkin will be running around our little house and terrorizing me.

One more first for my angel. She bit me yesturday. Not just a nip she clamped down this time. She was laying across my chest and I was patting her diaper so she would go to sleep. She was chewing on my shirt because she is teething. Well she found the underside of my arm and CHOMP.....I had to fight the reflex of doing everything possible to get her off my arm, and laid her down in my lap as I yelled OUCH!! She laughed. I am serious. She started laughing at my pain. If this laughing keeps up I might have to do somethign about it because this morning there is a bruise where she bit me. My little angel is turning into a vampire.

I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th! Ours was awesome because not only did we get to spend time with family but we got to go to the river! Mary Joyce was a little fussy at first because she didn't like her life vest, but then after a bit she went to sleep. When she woke up, she and I got at the back of the boat and watched the water as aaron made some waves for his aunt to jump on her seadool :) All around it was an eventful weekend!!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

The Beginning of A Beautiful Friendship!!

Ok. So this is my first blog. I've been reading other people's blogs but never have had my own. Now it is time. I thought this could be easy for out of state family and friends to be able to view updated pics of Mary Joyce and just get an over all status of our life!

I guess we will get to the important stuff first...
Mary Joyce is now 9 months old! Can you beleive it? I can't! She is my angel and I love her with every inch of my being. She is a fiesty little bugger! She beats up on one particular boy at daycare. I get a report at least once a week where she has done this. She is something else. She has 5 teeth completely through and 2 more on the way. We went to the doctor this past week for her 9 month checkup and she weighs 18 lbs 6 oz and is 27 1/2 inches long. She is soo big now compared to when she was born. She can say mama, dada, nana, papa, and byebye...Sometimes she says them at the perfect moment and I swear she meant to say it. The other day my mom aka Grandmother, was holding her and she looked at me and blurted out BYE! It was heartbreaking that she wanted me to leave. Here is a pic of her from Mother's Day. I know its been a while since I have updated a picture

This past weekend Mary Joyce speant the night with aaron's mom and dad (Nana and Grandaddy). Aaron took me out for my birthday. We went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. The steak there is Delicious! I was fine with this until we got home and were all alone in the house. I didn't think it would bother me this much. I started crying. I was almost to the point where I wanted Aaron to go get her!! But I refrained because I knew that she needed to be away from me.

Aaron and I are doing good. He is a Prototype technician at BASF and I am a Quality Assurance Engineer at Mentor Graphics. We still live in our little house in Elkmont which I hope we get to upgrade next year into our dream home! We have one dog Gabriel and the greatest family and friends anyone could ever ask for.

Hopefully a new blog will come soon because I want to update with pics from the beach!!