Evie: Three Months
She:
Is really starting to engage people now- smiling, cooing, gurgling, and making so many different faces and reactions. It provides us with an endless supply of laughs and entertainment. She is so expressive! We are convinced she will be talking within a few weeks. Hehe.
Can hold her head up now, and sit up with some help. We are definitely using the Bumbo!
Has started to roll over with help too– no more leaving her on the couch for a minute without looking!
Has become completely obsessed with her hands as of late. She can almost stick her entire fist in her mouth. Not sure if this is a good thing.
Took her first road trip with my parents and me to Virginia Beach for grad school! She was a trooper, and did really well. We brought her bassinet, but she mostly slept with me in the hotel bed. My parents got an adjoining room, and watched her in the mornings while I was in class. And she got to see the ocean for the first time! Not sure she actually realized it, but still…
I:
Am adjusting to working part-time. It’s getting easier, but I must admit, pumping and making sure I have enough milk for her has been a challenge. I just really don’t like pumping, but I know I have to if she is going to get nourished the way I want her to be. Next time I have a baby, I am going to remind myself to pump and freeze like a CHAMP before I go back to work so I have a stockpile.
Have only one semester left of grad school, which is SO exciting. It’s been an interesting balancing act with work, school, and the babe, but just knowing that I am so close to finishing keeps me going. Can’t wait to enjoy the latter part of the summer with NO homework! What will I do with my time?
Am SO grateful to have both my parents and Matt’s parents here in town. The Grandmas rotate with watching her while I am at work, and I could not think of a better set up next to me being with her. They both absolutely love being with her, and can’t wait to push me out the door to work so they can have quality time! We are so blessed.
Am trying to balance some quality time with Matt- we try to go on date nights every few weeks if we can, even if we have to take the babe with us. So far she has been really great out and about! I’m sure that will change when she becomes mobile.
Am still in awe that I have this little precious life in my world. I can’t imagine life without her. She has brought so much joy to our family already.
Evie: Two Months
I can’t believe Evie is already 2 and a half months old!
She:
Literally looks bigger every time I turn around! It’s crazy that some of the pajamas she had when she was a newborn don’t even fit anymore. I’m already giving clothes away!
Is becoming more and more alert and aware- she laughs in response to things now, and makes squealing noises in an effort to laugh out loud. It is so precious. She gets really excited when we talk to her, and kicks her legs, and coos and “talks” back. The noises she makes are pretty hilarious.
Is impossible to catch on video, because every time she is doing something cute and I stick my iPhone near her face, she gets really quiet and just stares intently at the phone. So much for candid camera 
Weighs 10.5 pounds now. Again, just amazed at how this little one is growing so fast. I’m really going to have to get back in the gym so that I can bulk up for when she doubles her weight within the year.
Loves being in the Moby Wrap. She sleeps so soundly when she is right next to me- it’s wonderful. She breathes so deeply and even snores a little.
Just received a new rocker seat, and absolutely loves the toys that hang from it. I think she could talk to them for hours. She also has a serious crush on our ceiling fan. They chat all the time.
Is starting to get better head and neck control- it’s so cute seeing her look around and engage with her environment.
I:
Am getting more sleep these days, which is wonderful!
Started a new part-time job with Nashville Public Radio last week. I am so blessed to have my family and Matt’s family here in town, so the Grandmas are watching her. My first day away from her was tough, but thankfully I really enjoy my new job and they are super flexible and understanding that I am a new mom. I’m really excited about being a part of the WPLN team!
Didn’t know how I would feel about going back to work, but I am actually grateful for some “adult” time out of the house. It also makes a big difference to know that it’s only three days per week and I can spend most of my time with Evie. I used to dread commuting, but now it is a nice little “me” time where I can just pray or listen to a podcast. Or, let’s be real: jam out to some REALLY loud music.
Am finally getting the hang of pumping at work. At first it was a little awkward, but now things are going very smoothly thanks to the help of a few of my coworkers! (They secured a nice private spot for me)
Feel like I am finally out of the “newborn haze” and am getting the hang of this. Of course, I know as soon as that happens something new will come up. I’m just so happy to have her in my life!
New Hilary Barnett Coaching Website!
The new Hilary Barnett Coaching website is now live and ready to receive visitors! Please take a look!
www.hilarybarnettcoaching.com
Confessions of A New Mom.
Waiting for Dad to get out of work. (the car was parked, I promise)
As with most things in life, there is only so much advice someone can offer- you just have to experience it for yourself to truly understand. I find that it is this way with motherhood. No matter how many women in my life told me what it was like- the good, the bad and the ugly, I just didn’t get it until I experienced it myself. So here I am, on the other side of pregnancy and childbirth. I am now a bonafide “mommy”. And how does it feel? To be honest, wonderful. And terrifying. And exhausting. And indescribably beautiful.
Let’s just say it’s a game changer.
Never in my life did I think something could push me so far to the end of myself. Never did I think I could love someone so much that demanded so much from me. I didn’t know how much I had to give, until she came into the world and opened up the depths of my capacity for love, patience, and sleeplessness. There were at least a handful of nights where I sobbed, and sobbed. Literally feeling that I could simply not survive another moment without sleep. (let’s make note here, that I am one of those who NEEDS my sleep. Definitely not one of those moms who “just loves” those 4am feedings). There were nights when I resented her for needing me so much. Nights when I just wanted my solitude back, for one moment. Nights when I felt things that were the furthest from motherly love, and mornings full of guilt for those feelings.
But in the morning… she would smile. She would look up at me. And every moment of sleeplessness wouldn’t matter anymore. It was as though there was a cosmic “reset” button on every moment. My heart would just overflow with love all over again. I would remember how much I prayed for her, pleaded with God for her, the tears I cried in the night, just wishing for her to come into my life. I would remember that I am her world, that she needs me, and only me right now. And that makes me feel so special.
Babies have a way of forcing you to live in the moment. And I need that. There is no planning, no checklist, no measurement of efficiency and productivity. You just have now. This moment, this opportunity to be with them, love them, hold them, be their security, their protection. I have had to let go of my need for a perfectly clean house, a completed task list, and a sense of worldly achievement. For now, none of that matters. God has given me a gift, and I would be a fool to not stop and completely relish each moment, to the best of my ability. Because as every mother has told me, “they grow up so fast”. But I guess I’ll have to wait and experience that too. For now, I will just hold her, and smother her with kisses at every possible chance. Because that’s what you do with a gift- you cherish it.
