5 months and counting

**Tissue Alert** This might be a bit sappy...darn hormones are raging again!

Jaden is now 5 months old. I know I've said it before and I'll say it again, and I'll probably say it everyday for the rest of my life...I can not believe how fast she grows.

Seems like yesterday it was just the two of us.
Seems like yesterday I bought that pregnancy test along with a bottle of wine!
Seems like yesterday that I stood in the bathroom in disbelief, not knowing whether to cry or laugh...I did both!
Seems like yesterday that I had the greatest pregnancy :)
Seems like yesterday that we had to stop by Starbucks on the way to the hospital!
Seems like yesterday I was bouncing on my exercise ball trying to deal with the pain I was feeling during labor.
Seems like yesterday that this little munchkin came into the world with her head full of hair and sweet little face.

I really can't believe how fast time flies. I wonder why I thought I was so busy before. LOL!

Here are her stats up to her 4 mo appt.
Birth - 7.6 lbs & 18 in
2 mo - 11 lbs & 23.5 in
4 mo - 13.10 lbs & 25.5 in

4 month appt at her Dr's office

She's a healthy girl. And she's a happy girl :) I just love seeing her smiling face and giving her kisses all over. She's a lot of fun and loves to "talk", laugh, kick, etc. I suspect that she will start crawling pretty soon since she's scooting backwards now. I have a feeling that we might have our hands full. I'm already seeing a personality emerge...wonder who she's most like!?!?

She's sleeping pretty well at night. I worked with a lady on babycenter.com and she helped us tremendously with sleep training. I usually put Jaden down between 7-8pm and Benny gives her a "dreamfeed" around 12:30-1am and she sleeps through until 7:20am (sometimes she wakes around 5:30am but I can nurse her and she goes right back to sleep).

Right before bed I give her a partial bottle to top her off and we rock, I sing to her, and we say our prayers. That is one of my favorite times with her (ranks right up there with the mornings that she's in bed with me and Benny and giving her a bath :) One of the reasons I love this time so much is that it allows me to look around her room and see all the things that were given to us. I can pick any item in the room and know who gave it to us and that warms my heart. I also look at the green walls and the bear and bunny decor and I don't regret for a minute choosing that theme/color. It's such a sweet theme and the room is very calming. I just love it and I know Jaden will love it one day soon as well!

She found her thumb and is learning to self soothe.

Our first stroll in the new jogging stroller. I think she enjoyed it!

Until next time...

Much love,
Christy, Benny, and Jaden

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes!

Wow, so many changes in such a short time!

From Jaden's changing looks to her unpredictable sleep habits, from my feel good hormones to my hair falling out, things are changing quickly with the Jones girls (yes, Benny's had his fair share of changes as well!).

We go back to the Dr. in a week for Jaden's 4 month appt. I'm looking forward to seeing how much she's grown. Here are her stats so far:

Birth - 7.6 lbs & 18 in
2 mo - 11 lbs & 23.5 in

She was doing great with sleeping, but a couple of weeks ago she started waking up in the middle of the night again and wakes up at a different hour every day! Yesterday she was up at 5am. Today it's almost 7:30am and she's still asleep! I'm not complaining...it's giving me time to blog :) I do look forward to some consistency again though. Benny and I are now alternating our nights with who gets up with Jaden so we can attempt to get a longer stretch of sleep and be rested enough to make it to the gym in the evenings.

I have to admit that I've had a setback when it comes to the gym. I was doing the morning workout and I really enjoyed it because I got a great start to my day. I plan to at least get some stretching in during the morning hours and do my gym routine in the evening starting next week. Benny goes back to regular work hours next week so we'll be getting into a different routine (not that we've had one for a few weeks now!). I think we'll also try moving Jaden to her crib next week. So, stay tuned for some interesting blogs on how we are handling these changes.

I miss my feel good pregnancy hormones...pregnancy was an awesome time for me. Now I'm experiencing a lot of low back pain which I'm told is from my hips and ligaments trying to go back to normal (tightening back up from the stretching out they did in order to prepare for childbirth). And I'm losing my hair like crazy! Really, there is hair everywhere in our bathroom. I read that we lose around 100-125 strands a day normally, but while pregnant those wonderful hormones lock the hair in and around 12 weeks post-partum we start losing hair again, but at a rate of about 500 strands a day!!!

Here are some recent pictures of Jaden. She is constantly smiling and I'm starting to hear a few belly laughs every now and then. We have been blessed with a very happy baby!

Jaden likes to watch TV!

Life is crazy, life is busy, life is not the same as we once knew, but...

Anyone recognize that the blog title is another song reference?!?

Much love, Christy, Benny, and Jaden

I'm sick...ugh!!

So, I'm doing all the things to keep healthy and I get sick :( I was fine last weekend and then on Tuesday it hit me hard! I have a sinus infection and double ear infection...all without any warning signs.

I guess I've been running on adrenaline for the last 3 1/2 months and didn't realize that my body was at a breaking point. I honestly have been feeling very good since Jaden was born. A little tired (okay, a lot!!), but that's to be expected, right?

I've given myself permission to relax, skip the gym, chill out until I feel better (hopefully by Monday if not sooner). I know that the best way for me to recover is to eat healthy and sleep, and then I can hit the gym full force again.

I just started an 8-week fitness challenge last week and had to put that on the back burner until I get over this. I may have lost one week out of the eight, but I'll come back fighting hard to make up lost time. An extra couple hundred dollars is an extra incentive to run a little faster and that dough could be well spent around here!

So, send me some healthy vibes and wish me luck in kicking some booty (while losing my booty!) in the fitness challenge!

Are you a Superwoman?

Another song reference..."Superwoman" by Alicia Keys. If you haven't heard this song yet, you owe it to yourself to give it a listen.

I hear this song and it gets me thinking, moving, ready to take on the world! There have been times I've felt like Superwoman in the past, but nothing like I do these days. I'm busy from the time I get up until I lay my head down at night (just like many other Superwomen I know).

I check out my clothes before I walk out the door to make sure I'm spit-up free, I have calluses on my hands from carrying the car seat, and my body's not quite the same as it was before baby (but I'm working hard to change that!).

Still when I’m a mess
I still put on a vest
With an S on my chest
Oh yes
I’m a Superwoman

I'm a wife, mother, sister, daughter, granddaughter, friend, health coach as well as many, many more titles. I feel like Superwoman, but do I really want that hefty title too?!? There's so much to do in a day and I am trying to give up the feeling that I have to do it all. I will remember what they tell us before take off and to put on my oxygen mask first because I have to take care of me before I can take care of everyone else.

I don't have the gold cuffs to deflect bullets, so I have to stay strong in other ways. I will do the things that will keep me strong and healthy and give me the energy to take care of my precious family (eating healthy, exercise, and getting my rest).

Oh yes, I am a Superwoman!
And I gladly accept that title, too :)

You make me better!

I love music and you'll probably find that I refer to songs often. There's a song called "You Make Me Better" by Ne-Yo. Lately it's been playing in my head over and over. I think it's because I've become so disciplined with getting organized, having a tight schedule in the morning, and an evening routine. I've always wanted to be a morning person, but until Jaden came along, I was glued to my bed and couldn't hit snooze enough!!

With going back to work it's critical that we have a routine. I'm up at 5am to pump, at the gym by 5:50am, back home and in the shower by 6:45am and have Jaden up to nurse by 7:20am. She has to be finished by 7:45am so Daddy can take her to daycare. I've been a little late to work a few times and those are the times I couldn't drag myself out of bed to get to the gym. I had to listen to my body those days and give it the extra sleep time it needed. But I realize that I MUST get to bed on time (10:00-10:30pm) so that I follow the routine.


When we get home we have to wash bottles and pump parts, get our clothes ready for the next day, possibly give her a bath, and any other prep work that's needed for the next day. I'm a person that likes structure so it's working for us :) She definitely makes me better!

Jaden in her Super Seat.
Looks like she's dancing...she got it from her mama!!

I'm continuing to nurse her and that has to be one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life! I truly enjoy nursing her because it's our special time together, but it takes a lot of commitment to pull out that pump daily. I want to be able to nurse her for a year, but I'm going to break it down in 3 month goals and take it day by day.

She's now 3 months old and I can't believe how fast time is going by and how big she is getting. She's developing a little personality and smiling so much now. And what a "talker" she is...I think we're going to be in trouble when she really starts talking! She is sleeping close to 7 hrs a night and that's such a blessing. She's our little night owl and her Daddy has to put her to bed each night around 12:30.


Daycare is going well. I just love her daycare provider and have complete trust and confidence in her. I can honestly say that I don't worry about her at all while I'm at work. I know Jaden enjoys having the other children talk/play with her and she'll really enjoy it once she's old enough to play with them.

Work has been tough and it's mainly becuase I've had to jump back in in the middle of a lot of chaos.

I had a friend remind me that I just gave birth, I can do anything and that being a mother is empowering.
Wow, she is right about that! (Thanks Sandy!)

Mesmerized by the mobile and mirror.
She still keeps those little fists balled up!

Oh, how I love thee...

I had great intentions on keeping up with the blog, but my extra time is spent sleeping these days!

Jaden is 11 weeks old today. She's growing so fast and I can't believe how quickly my time at home with her has gone by. I have to go back to work Friday and I'm not looking forward to leaving her. I am completely comfortable with her daycare provider and I know it will be great for her to be around other children so it's for selfish reasons that I don't want to leave her each day. My heart has jumped out of my body and grown legs! I'm so in love with Jaden and I'm in awe at the little things she does that makes my heart melt.



Here are some of the things I love:

• seeing her wake up so happy, cooing and smiling
• hearing her breathe in my ear
• smelling her sweet breath
• seeing her smile and get calm when I sing to her (maybe she's really laughing at me!)
• seeing the cute expressions she makes when sleeping...I wonder what she's dreaming about
• seeing her sleep peacefully
• watching her with her daddy and him with her :)
• when she looks at me so sweetly when she's nursing

I could go on and on. I love how I love my life!!

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away.

Eat, Sleep, Poop...REPEAT

The title describes the first month and a half of Jaden's life. We're glad someone in the house has been getting some sleep!! I would say the first 3-4 weeks were the worst, but now we are starting to see some patterns forming. Around six weeks is the magical time when she started sleeping longer - 5 hours at a time which is considered a full night's sleep for a baby - not for me, I miss my 8 hr stretches...those were the days :)

Right now she goes to sleep from 11pm - 5am and again from 5:30am-7:30 am. But she likes to surprise us every now and then and change the schedule to be wide awake at 4am! Those are the rough nights!

Last week Jaden's Grandma Jones and Aunt Rhoda stayed with us for the week. It was a great visit for everyone. I enjoyed having a little free time to get out of the house each day and even enjoy my first post-partum massage...AHHHH!

Jaden will be 2 months old next week. I can't believe how fast time is flying by! She has changed so much. I can tell she is gaining weight, she is smiling, and she is starting to "talk" to us a lot! She wakes up in such a good mood each day and I love seeing her smiling face looking up to me waiting to be picked up.

Lots of love,
Christy, Benny, and Jaden