Income and exhaustion go hand in hand!

A few weeks ago, I went back to work at the restaurant I had worked at since I was 16 up until a month before I had Adelyn. I had taken 8 months off. I had always intended on going back much sooner, that was until of course, we discovered that Adelyn was 100% Mommy's breastfeeding buddy. (That's a whooole 'nother story. I'm starting to think her nursing obsession has little to do with nourishment and everything to do with comfort and being Mommy's little sidekick) So instead of hopping back into the restaurant business, we have been living humbly yet comfortably on Richard's salary alone. Well, our very small company opened a new store at a new location just 10 minutes away from my house, and with this opening (which was a rough one, I might add) I had the bright idea of going back to work. I would only work no more than 4 hours, as Adelyn would protest if she had to wait a minute longer. Richard would keep her entertained and feed her jar food while I'm away. It's been a few weeks now, and I must say that I am seriously enjoying it. I'm a very young mom. I'm 21. This social interaction alone is doing wonders for my self-confidence, me and Rich do very little socializing in the last year. I'm only working about 20 hours a week but boy, my body is definitely feeling every minute of it. Although I consider going to work my "break" from baby, as soon as I walk in the door, Richard voluntarily relinquishes all responsibility from Adelyn and on I go to nurse, nurse, nurse and chase her all over the house. I am one tired mommy these days.

As for my angel baby,

She is incredible. She has had no problem with being away from me. Daddy has a special way with her. So I guess with nursing, it's out of sight, out of mind.

She was, however, driving mommy absolutely NUTS the last week or so because she was refusing to sleep and fussing 24/7 - but come to find out, her second tooth was cutting through.

She is just 8 months yesterday, and she is blowing me away with how brilliant she is. She claps her hands (upon command), waves bye-bye, gives high-fives, points at things with her index finger, and says: mama, dada, num-num, bye (only sometimes), and baaah (for ball). At her 6 month check up our Ped. told us that she was 1-2 months advanced and I am ashamed to say that I think I had very little to do with it! We do use "Your Baby Can Read." She loves the video, but mostly for the music and the pictures of kids. In other words, my 8 month old still can't read, ha!! It's just a cute video and one I don't mind watching during the day because I at least know that it is educational.

We're still nursing like mad and I don't see an end in sight. Hmph. We'll get there when we get there, I suppose!

The One (Half) Toothed Wonder

Today we experienced a milestone. The tooth. The tooth I thought we would be expecting months ago finally made its debut, but this time, without all the fuss. (Turns out all that fussing a few months ago was just because... well, I have a somewhat fussy baby :-P) I assume it just popped up overnight. Granted, I'm not digging my fingers around in her little gums everyday. Tonight I was feeding her some sweet potato from my finger and felt a little sharp bump. Alas! The tooth. I'm wondering how long it will be before it fully emerges?? ....and how much will she suffer before it is mature ??

On a different note, the last week has been pretty much hell for me (as far as sleeping arrangements go.) We just moved into a new condo and got rid of our old furniture but we're still shopping for a new recliner. The recliner/rocker plays a key role in our bedtime routine, but since we've been here, we've just been winging it. She is too big now to nurse sitting up. It is uncomfortable for me to sit up, stick straight on the couch with her squirming around so we have been doing the side-lying position all the time. Even in the daytime usually, we'll just flop on the bed and feed. I don't like this arrangement either because we end up both falling asleep there. Before we moved I was doing sooo good about getting into better sleep habits with her. (By that I mean not letting her fall asleep on the boob, making sure she stays in her own bed all night, helping her sleep longer stretches at night) But I feel that all of our progress has been lost. It can't all be because of our lack of recliner, can it? I don't know. Something here feels off. Maybe it is just because she's just not a good sleeper and never has been. Or maybe it's because nursing is getting kind of old to be honest. I feel a little bit, (OK, a lot bit) trapped by being her only source of milk. And her nighttime escapades have taken their toll on my sleep for far too long.

All of this to say, with last night came relief. I don't know how or why or what got into that little booger, but she slept from about 1am (Yes, I know, wayyyyy too late for a 7 month old to be up and galavanting the living room) to 12 pm this afternoon without waking up one single time to nurse! It was an absolute miracle. I just put her down for the night and I am hoping for a repeat. Or at least a good 6 hour stretch!!! The last few days she has begun to crawl and maybe it is wearing her out more during the day. Hmmm.

Anyhow, til next time,
The webb tribe :)

Meet the Webbs

Hi! My name is Andrea and I am the mother of a beautiful, brilliant, and extraordinary 7 month old baby girl named Adelyn. I am a little late starting this, I know, but I debated for a long time whether or not to start a vlog instead. I opted for this route because I don't have to get dressed to do it. :)

Adelyn's Dada happens to be the man of my dreams. My husband Richard and I have been married for a year, together for 4, and have been relishing in the simple pleasures of parenthood since December. We live in the panhandle of Florida and enjoy being 10 minutes from the beach and taking our dog to Dog Beach. (No oil in our bays!) Paisley is a Pitbull-Rottweiller mix, and as fierce as she sounds, she is just the sappiest, most obedient lap dog you will ever know. And with almost as much personality as her sister Adelyn.

I decided to start a blog to document the little happenings in our daily lives. I am so bad about sitting down and scrapbooking, but I am online a lot so I figure updating a blog would be a more accurate and interesting record.

Richard is pursuing his Master's degree currently in ultimate pursuit of a flight slot in the Marine Corps. I have one more year 'til I can claim an Undergraduate degree for my own. I have been a stay-at-home mommy since Adelyn was born, but just this past week I have picked up a few shifts at the restaurant that I had worked at since I was 16. I don't think I'll ever outgrow it. :)

Adelyn is a 100% breastfed baby, and yes, all on the breast. No bottles. We waited the 4 weeks that the hospital suggests as to prevent nipple confusion. Well, by that point she was hooked on the real thing and refused anything else. Just the last couple months have we been able to introduce the pacifier. Sippy cups and bottles are toys to her, nothing more. We are still working on it, but it has been the biggest struggle for me personally on our journey. I'm sure we'll talk much more about boobies henceforth.

All our Love,

The Webb Tribe