Crib update

Just hanging out - right out of the tub!
What a cute little bunny!
This is from the mirror. One of Matney's favorite places to be is in front of the mirror. Add a sink full of water that she can kick her feet in and she is one happy baby!
Rings/links are her FAVORITE toy. We have to keep a couple all over the house and in the car so that they are always nearby.

Moving to the crib at night is going well! Can you believe it?!?!?

Sat and Sunday nights Matney slept until about 3:30am, woke up to eat and then went back to sleep until after 7am. What a big girl! She is going down without much of a fuss as long as her paci is nearby.

Napping is still the same - almost nonexistent! She fooled us this weekend and took a 40 minute nap in her crib on Sat. morning but she has not napped in there again. For that matter, she hasn't napped outside of the sling since then either. She just screams until you pick her up. I tried the "cry it out' method this morning because she was obviously tired. You can tell in the picture above that her eyes were hardly open. However, she never feel asleep and 3 minutes after I took the picture she started screaming. I waited 10 minutes and then went in and put the paci in her mouth. She spit it out and kept crying. I made it another 10 minutes and when she started the choking cry I took her out. ugh. We'll try again this afternoon!

Playdate

I have been meaning to get this up for a while. Almost 2 weeks ago Matney and I went to our first playgroup and met lots of new friends. If you remember, I ran into a girl from back home at Matney's 2 month appt. and she invited us. Most of the babies were all born that first week of March. It was really cool to watch them together and get advice from other moms at the same stage we are. Matney and I are hosting the playgroup here on Thursday so we'll have fun new pictures! These are from the first time.
Matney in at the top in pink with the pink paci. She is also the one screaming. Who is surprised? Not me!

I have been meaning to get this up for a while. Almost 2 weeks ago Matney and I went to our first playgroup and met lots of new friends. If you remember I ran into a girl from back home at our 2 month appointment and she invited us. Most of the babies were all born that first week in March so it is really cool to watch them all together and get advice from other moms at the same phase we are. Matney and I are hosting the group here on Thursday so we'll have new pictures to post then. These are pictures from the first time.

Groundhog Day!

Ok, seriously! I know all you girls (you know who you are!) are reading this and I need your help! I waited for you to have all the babies first so that you would tell me how to keep things like this from happening and you're all fired!!! And WHY does my child do this on the weekdays when her Daddy has gone back to work? I mean really!!! Help a mama out kid!
For the THIRD time in a week we've had an exploding diaper. This morning it was up the back to her armpits. GROSS. Is there some trick to keeping poop in a diaper that I don't know???? I've moved up to the size 2, I'm switching to Huggies, I fasten them much more tightly than I used to even though having them tight makes Matney spit up more. I'd much rather be covered in spit up than poop. I'm going through lots of bleach people which cannot be good for anyone!
HELP!!!!
Exploding poop does not bother my child in case anyone is concerned!

How do you define success???

This is Matney at 8pm last night...after she'd been awake since 7am with only a 25 minute nap at 9am. And she was still going strong when Jared got home a little while later. We finally got her into bed and she slept about 30 minutes before waking up screaming. I tried to let her cry it out and Jared made me go get her. Poor baby, she burped, spit up and I put her back down (feeling very guilty about not picking her up earlier. She was crying because something was wrong!).

Jared kicked me and the monitors out again so I moved back to her room. The extra bed in a baby's room is a wonderful thing!!! She was fussy, crying on and off for another 45 minutes. I would rub her head and talk to her but not pick her up. She finally went to sleep around 10pm, woke up at 2am, 4am and then got up for good about 6:30. I tried everything to keep her asleep until after 7am but she wasn't interested. Big eyes and lots of talking and smiles. We will try again tonight!!!

Just Miss M!

Just Miss Matney...and all the various items in her mouth! And an update on our first day after a night of crib sleep. Matney took 1, that is ONE singular, nap today for 25 minutes at 9am. Since then she has been awake. No nap, no dozing in and out, no nothing and it is 6:56pm. She isn't fussy, we've had a great day playing and seeing friends but this mama is WORN OUT!
I already know it but in case you didn't....we did NOT get a sleeper!

One of her new favorite things is to put her hand up my sleeve and gum it like crazy. The whole sleeve ends up soaking wet with drool. YUCK!
"If you don't give me a toy I will eat this dress!"

The well monitored move to the crib!

We have been waiting to move Matney to her crib until the Matneys came because we have a twin bed in Matney's room that someone would be sleeping in. That was my argument to Jared anyway and I have learned that with a lawyer in the house I need to have a good argument ready! I liked having her right next to my side of the bed but I agree that is was certainly time for her to move. So, last night was "THE NIGHT" and this is the set up beside my bed to monitor her all night long. The thing on the left is the sound and video monitor. You leave it on sound and then, if there is a noise or reason you need to see her, you just turn the screen on and there's the baby girl! So if she moves we know it!
The one on the right is the Angelcare movement monitor. It has a pad under her mattress and a unit in her bedroom. Each movement she makes (including breathing) is registered and if there is no movement for 15 seconds a beep sounds. If, after that beep, there is still no movement for 5 more seconds an alarm sounds in her room and ours. So if she doesn't move we know it!

Back to last night. We put her down around 8:30 and she didn't seem to notice she was in another room. I felt like a different person being able to read in bed before going to sleep! Matney woke up at 11:30, 3:15 and 7 to eat. Everything was normal except that, since she is right next to me, I normally can hold the paci in her mouth as she falls back to sleep. Last night she had to work it out and put herself back to sleep...and she thought she needed to spend 10 minutes talking to herself to do it! Not knowing if she was going to talk or scream I finally turned off the monitors in our room and moved into her room so that Jared didn't have to hear all the noise. In between her feedings I slept well knowing that she was safe in her crib.
All together I would call it an easy transition for everyone. Until we have a child who sleeps more than a few hours at a time it is still going to be long nights in the Heald house!

And special thanks to my technology loving Dad who made sure we had all the equipment necessary know this baby's every move!!!!

"'Cause we're movin' on up...to the two..."

This is how my morning started yesterday before 8am.... Can anyone guess what this is???
Oh, now you know what it is. Too bad smell doesn't come through a computer.
Yep, exploding diaper! YUCK! I smelled something and picked Matney up out of her Bumbo chair and that is what I put my hand into. GROSS. So, I got her as poop free as possible. Gagging. Got her naked and took her upstairs for a bath.

And this is how funny she thought it all was. I was not amused. Needless to say I will quit trying to use all the size 1-2 diapers we have and put them away for the next child. This cute little munchkin is moving onto the size 2!!!

Visit with cousin Cayden!

I am not good with all the second, third, twice removed family lineage that is common here in the South so I am not sure exactly what they are to one another but my cousin David's son, Cayden, came over yesterday to meet Matney. It was so cute! Cayden is 4 months older than Matney and it was fun to see how mobile he was and know what we have to look forward to soon! Matney doesn't seem so sure about this!
This is Cayden's mom Kelli. We both had our pictures taken with our babies after a discussion about how we're always the one taking the picture and not the one in it. See how big he is!
Hey Miss Matney!
My cousin Christina. Matney was fussy so I put her in the sling and she was a happy camper again!
This is for my cousin Jamie who is serving the Lord in the Pacific Rim. She's been gone over a year and a half and has not meet these precious babies. She finishes her two years of service in December and will be home just before Christmas!!!
Also, someone gave us a large sling for Jared to wear but it was too small for him so Kelli tried in it (she's MUCH taller than Jared or myself if you can't tell!) and Cayden seemed happy. Having free hands to a new mom is the greatest thing! Well, that and getting to take a long shower, go the bathroom alone and eating hot food not standing up!

JAMIE!!!! If you blow up the picture and still can't read the sign it says "Hi Aunt JJ! We can't wait until Dec. We love you!!!" It is so true, Jamie, we are all so excited to see you!

End of the Matneys visit :(

We were so sad to see the Matneys head back to Texas. It was such a great time to have them here with us. We laughed a lot, played a lot and ate a whole lot! Miss Matney certainly stole the hearts of her two Texas Aunts. I think I can say with certainty that they are IN LOVE with this little girl. After they left Jared and I bought tickets to fly to TX in Sept. so the countdown is on until we can see them again!
Thank you Sassy, Connie and Unk for all that you did for us while you were here. We love you guys and our doors are open to you anytime!! Just promise to stay longer next time! So sweet!
This is Matney's new toy to take the place of her caterpillar that you've seen her laying on in many pictures. The bar that held the toys on that bug was not secure and Matney had gotten strong enough to kick it off and send it flying...not too safe for her little head! Connie, Sassy and I headed to WalMart so that I could find her another one and this mack daddy mat is what we came home with. According to them it, with music and lights, was the only one good enough! Here are Jared and Connie putting it together.
The material is satin-like and about 2 minutes after we laid her on it the first time she figured out that she could scoot herself off. We'd move her back and she'd be off again in no time. She thought it was too funny!
Aunt Jess and Matney playing on the mat.
See the lights? Connie and Matney hung out on the mat at night. Who would have ever thought a play mat and a baby girl would capture so much attention?!?!?!

Exciting Week!

It has been an exciting week here at the Heald house! Matney has had lots of firsts this week and you are hearing ONE PROUD MAMA! Matney taking a nap on the couch. She slept 30 minutes all by herself.
Matney FOUND HER TOES!!! Is that not the cutest thing? I love it when babies grab their feet and have been anxiously waiting...and I got the first "catch" on camera. How incredible!
Mr. Matney meet Miss Matney.
I can put my entire fist in my mouth! Matney actually can fit both fists in at a time but it often causes her to gag. She hasn't figured out yet that it is her own hands causing the problem so she keep shoving them in and gagging again!
Proud parents!!! The other excitement for the week is Matney learning to "talk". It is the cutest sound...except at night. Now when we lay her down for bed she spends about 10 minutes with her feet in the air and talking pretty loudly to herself in the dark. She eventually falls asleep without any fussing so I'm not complaining.
And the most exciting. This morning I put Matney on her belly and she rolled over to her back...not once but 5 times in a row! We got it on video for anyone who comes over in the near future. We are so in love with this growing girl.

First trip to the Aquarium

We spent Thursday at the GA Aquarium and had a great time. It wasn't very crowded and we were able to take our time at each exhibit. Matney was SO well behaved. She was wide eyed for the first hour and a half taking everything in. Matney's first picture with a large cartoon creature. I am constantly amazed how I've changed since having a child. Three months ago I would have not run up to a large orange fish and pulled his tail fin for anything. Yesterday I grabbed that tail so that Matney could have her picture taken before he could "swim" away!
Family photo in front of the big tank. Jared was having a great time, can you tell?!?!?!
This is Matney's favorite fishy friend. He was hanging out right at the glass the entire time we were in the room. I guess even fish know a beautiful baby when they see one!
This is how Matney spent the last hour of her day at the aquarium. In the sling fast asleep.
Matney and Daddy taking a break to have lunch. There's that tutu again!

The Matneys are in GA!!!!

After months of waiting the Matneys have survived the drive from West Texas and are here in GA! We are having a blast and are going to be so sad when they leave! Connie, Wayne and Sandra Matney...with Stacey, Jared and Miss Matney! If you blow up the picture you'll see Matney's still kind of crazy hair and her super cute new outfit from Aunt Connie. Every girl needs a built-in tutu! I wonder if I can wash it each night so she can wear it every day!!! Aunt Connie bringing Matney to meet Aunt Sassy.
Jared and "Unc" hanging out on the couch. They are surrounded by girls!!!
Aunt Sassy with a passed out little baby!
Family picture of the Matneys with Miss Matney.

Happy Father's Day, Jared!

What an exciting day for our family! We had a great, relaxing day yesterday for Jared's first Father's Day. After church Jared went to the driving range to hit some golf balls. We played with Matney all afternoon and then our friends, the Harveys, came over. We all went for a walk and grilled burgers for dinner. Their daughter, Mylee, is 6 weeks older than Matney and it is exciting to see what Matney will be doing in just a few weeks.

Entertaining two little ones is hard work! Just about every toy we own was out on the floor (actually our fun zoo blanket made by "Monkey Kim"!) by the time we were ready to eat. They were a lot of fun. And, p.s. guys, Allison and I did spend time working on the timeline for our next babies. Maybe next Father's Day you can each have two little ones on the blanket!

Matney at 3 1/2 months

She is getting more difficult to photograph everyday because she is moving so much more. Those feet were really kicking!

Sleeping on her tummy...for the first time. She fell asleep on my chest and I slid her onto the couch to try and trick her. She didn't last long but it was a start. Normally, any time she is on her stomach, she screams immediately. Tough stuff! She has to learn to lift her head if she's ever going to roll over and crawl.