Matt, Jack, and I had a wonderful Christmas! We went down to Oregon for the holiday! The weekend was full of laughter, family, and fun. Jack was beyond blessed with presents, he has so much family that loves him (not that presents= love, but you get what I'm saying)!

Port Gamble.& Poulsbo.

We spent last weekend exploring Port Gmable (One of my FAVORITE places in Washington), and Poulsbo (another awesome little place!) We drank mayan hot chocolate, ate carmel corn, and finished up the day at Tizsley Euro pub! I'm thankful that I can take Jack out for the day and he doesn't get fussy! Well, not yet at least ;)

a little late...

We were able to make it down to Oregon for the weekend! Jack had a great "1st" thanksgiving. We were able to spend time with family, and some close friends. unfortunately we didn't get to see everyone we wanted to, but hopefully we will for christmas :)

5 months have come and gone!

Jack is 5 months old today! I can't believe how quickly time has gone by. It is definitely bittersweet. I have enjoyed every minute I've been blessed to have with him. He has been such a blessing and a joy.

He is a very sweet boy, cuddly and he laughs SO MUCH! His favorite thing to laugh at is Riley. He just laughs and smiles and wants to talk to her all the time. I hope we catch him laughing at her on video, we haven't yet, but I'm sure we will soon!

Jack takes after Matt and I already. We like routine. No, we love routine, and Jack is no different. Is that normal for a baby? He has put himself on a very predictable schedule. He wakes up between 7-9, then naps every two hours for about 30+ minutes. Then we give him a bath between 7-7:30, and he is out by 8. then he usually sleep until 2-3 and then wakes up every 3 hours, and when he "wakes up" he doesn't even open his eyes, he is just waking up to eat. I'm hoping this lasts, I know it will probably change, but I would be one happy mama if he stayed on his self made schedule :)




look at how big (and bald) he is now!!!! I can't believe how much he looks like a little boy already and less like a baby! Happy 5 month birthday Jack, WE LOVE YOU!

I'm nervous about this post, but I thought is was time to share my news with the world. Please, don't judge me. It sounds disgusting, but I promise it's not!

In the past two weeks I have only washed my hair once. Okay, that's not entirely true. I've used shampoo only once.

A few months ago, actually right after having Jack, I came across a a blog called Sorta Crunchy. <--(this link will take you to the post I'm talking about.)


On her blog, I came found a post about no poo. What is no poo? No poo (no shampoo) is a collective term for methods of washing hair with no commercial shampoo.

The method I have been using is baking soda and apple cider vinegar. First, you make a paste out of the baking soda and water. Massage your head with the paste, let it sit a few minutes, then rinse it out. After rinsing out the paste, mix the acv with water I do a 1:3 ratio. I then dip my ends into the acv and then pour the rest over my scalp.

I know, it sounds gross and smelly, but I promise, after rinsing out the acv you can't smell it at all.

As a wife and mother, it is important to me to save my family money, as well as make our home a happy and healthy place. Commercial shampoo can be expensive, and it is full of harmful chemicals. I personally, have a very dry scalp and store bought shampoo just makes this problem worse (even "dandruff" shampoo doesn't help.)

The reason I first wanted to try a 'poo free lifestyle was because scented shampoo was making me sick! Since getting pregnant and having Jack scented lotions/shampoos/perfumes/and soaps (including laundry soap) make me really nauseous for some reason.

I'm really happy with this method thus far. I use it as often as needed, about 2-3x a week, and my hair feels nice and healthy. I didn't think it would work because my hair normally gets really oily but I haven't had any problems at all :)

The next "crunchy" venture I'm going to take is washing my face with oil! You can ready more about no 'poo ,and the oil cleansing method(washing face with oil) at SortaCrunchy!

co-sleeping.

People have a lot of bad things to say about co-sleeping. That its dangerous (you could roll over onto baby and can increase chances of sids), and can be habit forming (baby wont want to sleep in own bed.) Before having Jack I felt the same way, I didn't care if other people slept with their babies, but I wasn't going to because I was too afraid of squishing him. The first few days home were difficult. Jack started out sleeping in our room, but in his bassinet. Technically that is co-sleeping- being in arms reach, but I found that didn't really work for us. In my sleep I would try putting a pacifier in his mouth (not intentionally I was just dead tired). After about two nights I decided to just bring him into our bed. I was nervous, but I wanted sleep and I wanted my baby to feel safe. Well, every night I ended up just bringing Jack to bed with me. Since Matt was gone the company was nice and I slept every single night! Jack never truly woke up (he never woke me up crying, he would just be moving around because he was hungry I would wake up enough to feed him and fall right back asleep. Around the time Jack was 2-2.5 months old I started putting him in his crib for the first part of the night and then bring him to my bed around 3am.

Now Jack is 4 months old and guess what? He sleeps in his own crib! I still have been bringing him to our bed after his early morning feeding, but he has started whining and whimpering in his sleep if he is too close to me, and forget cuddling! Sleep has been hard for Matt and I because of his whining and whimpering. Well, a couple mornings ago, after Matt left for work, I realized, after scooting Jack over so he had his own space, that he just wanted to sleep alone!

So, last night was my first night of my experiment, I just fed Jack and put him back in his crib. To my surprise there was no whining in his sleep and he only woke up to feed twice (he is going through a growth spurt right now). also, a side note, I have done this before, but we preferred having him in our bed. We usually miss him after we put him to bed. In fact, I just put Jack to bed about two hours ago and Matt just asked me to go wake him up... (he asks me this every night, I always say no!)

All of this to say, for us, co-sleeping has been great for us. Rather than forming habits of needing to be with us, it has shown Jack that he can trust us and that his needs will be met, he feels safe being on his own because he knows we will be there to care for him when he needs it.

co-sleeping can be dangerous, but as long as you aren't drinking/on drugs or narcoleptic, it is a great way to bond with your baby!

What have we been up to? Well, We have moved back to Washington! It has been great. We love our apartment, and we love the area. We are really missing family though. Me especially. I can't complain though, it has been WONDERFUL having Matt back home.

Moving up here was a bit of a challenge though! at the end of September we gave our 30 day notice, but moved out the day we gave the the notice in hopes of pocketing a little bit of rent money. Matt had immediate orders and had to move right away to Washington. So, he went and stayed in the barracks, while Jack and I stayed at my dads! Matt came home on the weekends, but after a week and a half, he missed us and found out we could stay in hotel on base for free, for ten days (well. not free. We pay and then the Navy reimburses us).

On our way up to Washington I checked my phone and realized I had a missed call/ voice mail from a weird number. I listed to the message and it had turned out that I had won a contest! Matt entered us into a drawing through the Oregon college savings plan that he had heard about while listening to a beavers game. I had won tickets the the OSU vs. BYU game, AND tickets to the civil war! Not only that, but we were invited to a pre- civil war party where I will be entered into a drawing for $5,000 for school! I was excited, but Matt was REALLY excited ;)

okay, lets fast forward a little bit! We moved into our apartment last friday! We were supposed to move in the 19th, but the carpets weren't cleaned yet, and then they moved it to Thursday, but the carpet wasn't dry yet, so Friday was the day. It worked out just fine. We were a little stressed, but the wait was worth it :)

This week has been pretty stressful too. I got a phone call from our old apartments in Gresham saying that our apartment smelled of animal urine AS SOON AS YOU OPEN THE DOOR. and that there was so much damage to the carpet that they think they will have to replace the entire carpet and that it will cost us around $1000. Now, anyone who really knows me, knows that I'm a clean freak. My house is always in great shape, always clean. I vacuum every other day, and I especially clean up after Riley! My dad also came over a few times to shampoo our carpets while we lived there. So, I was very surprised to get this phone call, to say the least. I know Riley had an accident here and there, but definitely not enough to damage the carpet. She is house trained. Does any one have any advice for this situation?
In the grand scheme of life I know this is a small thing and I shouldn't let it stress me, but $1,000 is a lot of money!

I will keep you all updated on this situation :)

Jacks 4 month appointment.

This morning Jack had his 4 month appointment! We had to change doctors since we moved to Washington, but I found a great doctors office just 3 minutes from our house!

Jack is doing awesome, to say the least. He weighs 15.10lbs, is in the 50th percentile for weight, and is 25.5 inches long and in the 75th percentile for height. He is happy, healthy and just too cute:)

I'm also happy to say that I'm still exclusively breastfeeding and will do so until he is 6 months old, then we will add in solid foods. I was afraid for some reason that he wasn't gaining weight and I would have to start supplementing with formula, but he is thriving on breastmilk!

The American association of pediatrics recommends exclusively breastfeeding at least for the first six months, and I'm thankful it has worked out that way for us! Did you know that in America, only 14.8% of babies are exclusively breastfed at 6 months. Also, the center of disease control Is urging hospitals to be more breastfeeding friendly, only 4- 5% of hospitals in the US fully support breastfeeding! Anyways, that is a completely different posting that I will talk more about later. Also, I don't want to come off as thinking I'm superior, because I'm definitely not! Breastfeeding is just what's worked best for our family, and I'm happy to be doing what I thinks best for Jack :) breastfeedingdoesn't work for everyone, it can be stressful, and overwhelming, especially in the beginning and I think it's great that there is formula for those it doesn't work for!

Okay, that's enough about breastfeeding/formula for now, I will update on what we have been up to and post some recent pictures of Jack soon. Our internet hasn't been set up yet and I'm posting this from my phone, which isn't easy! Until then, happy fall!

Reasons I'm excited to move:

1. Our new apartment is super nice! They were built two years ago, have granite countertops/showers and all stainless steel appliances. Plus, there is no nasty moldy smell.

2. Trader Joe's/Costco are literally a 5 minute drive from our house!

3. Living local. It is soooo much easier to buy locally in silverdale! They started a food co-op since we left and we are excited to get involved with that.

4. Finally being together as a family! This one doesn't really need an explanation, but I'm so very excited to be with matt again. Jack changes so much each day, I can't wait until he can be a part of his daily life :)

Of course, I will miss my family and friends down here, but EVERYONE is welcome to come and visit!

Why does time go by so fast? Jack is already 3 1/2 months old now. He is grabbing toys and sticking them in his mouth, laughing, smiling and he even already has his first tooth coming in! Teething has been less than fun. He is grouchy(I don't blame him) and not sleeping as well. Normally, he sleeps through the night., but the last few nights he has been up every hour to two hours. It's so tiring, especially because I've had a head cold.

What makes things a little harder too, is that we are no longer in our apartment anymore, so Jack's schedule is all messed up! He isn't used to sleeping in his bassinet for naps , plus he is moving so much in his sleep! We are staying at my dads over the next few weeks until our apartment is ready, and hopefully that happens soon!

I'm so excited for this next phase of our life. To be done with the Navy, to be back in Oregon, and to be together as a family for GOOD!

It's been a few weeks, and I have some exciting news! We are moving back to Washington! We found out today that Matt is getting stationed there again! We are so very excited. The last time Matt saw Jack, he was only 2.5 weeks old...Jack has changed so much in the last 2.5 months! It will be wonderful to be together and start our lives as a family.These last few months have been a huge adjustment, and pretty hard. Raising a newborn on your own is difficult, it is lonely, and exhausting. My dad has been a HUGE help! Without him, I don't know how I would have made it through the last few months. I also want to thank my grandma for texting me everyday to make sure I was okay, and our moms, they are both so busy with their own schedules, but I know if I would have asked for their help, they would have gladly made the time. I'm so thankful that my days as a "single mom" are almost done. Like I said, it was hard (even with an easy baby!), but this experience has made me into a stronger woman, it taught to appreciate my husband beyond belief (not that I didn't before), and that I'm so much stronger than I ever imagined. I know pride is not a great thing, but I have to say, I'm pretty proud of myself. I have successfully taken care of my newborn, my puppy, and my home all on my own. At the end of every day, I feel accomplished, exhausted, but accomplished ;) Of course, I had the emotional support of my wonderful, loving, husband, and that made a world of a difference.


In other news, I have finally purchased my first cloth diapers! I'm excited to start using them,not only is it less expensive, BUT they are also better for the environment and more gentle on Jack's sensitive bum ;) I will start once we move and get settled into our new place up north.

I purchased 8 from babysteals.com- they were the bum cheeks minky diapers with organic bamboo inserts. I wish I would have bought more because it was a great deal, but didn't really think about it. I would like to buy at least 8 more inserts before I start exclusively cloth diapering.

I will also be using the rockin green laundry detergent too. It comes in unscented, which is perfect because since getting pregnant and having Jack, scented lotions/perfumes/shampoos/soaps give me a headache!

AND in Jack news- he is just a few days shy of 3 months old :/ no longer a newborn! He is getting so big! He smiles, giggles, splashes lots of water while in the bath tub, grabs for toys, and drools bucket loads ;)

weekend update.

Jack and I had a pretty good weekend... meanwhile back in Virginia Matt was stuck inside thanks to hurricane Irene! We are so glad he was kept safe and sound!

Friday we spent some time at Grandma Sue's playing in the pool with cousin Mason :)


Jack! doesn't he have the cutest smile :)


Mason! He has a pretty darn cute smile too!

This is the best I could get of the both of them together. It's funny though, in this one they are both trying to get their hands in their mouths and in another one I took they were both sticking out their tongues ;)


Kierska, sadly, Riley was at home.... I will take her next time...she is just too anxious in the car and tries to sit on my lap!




Jack also had his 2 month appointment last Monday! He is quite the little chunky baby :) He weighs 13.5 lbs and is 23 3/4 inches long! He is in the 85 percentile for weight and the 80th percentile for height!

Jack has been doing so many new things lately too. He is smiling all the time, giggling, sticking his hand in his mouth (sucking on it), sucking his thumb, sleeping 6+ hours a night (he only wakes up for about 5 minutes to eat and falls right back to sleep!), and he started playing with his tongue, like he is rolling it sideways. It has been so fun seeing him grow and start to interact with me, I love tickling him and seeing his reaction. His smile makes my heart swell up with joy! Tonight we played peek-a-boo and he had the best time! I just can't wait for Matt to see him again, It will be so nice when we can be together as a family!



Side note: Last week, I was also kind of a dummy. I lost my ID, and my debit card. Then I lost my credit card...which was actually in my shorts inside Riley's kennel (thanks Riley!), then I *almost* locked my keys in my car (but I didn't thank goodness!), then I left my car lights on for two hours and killed my battery (THANK YOU ALEX & DUEY!!!!). Being a new mom, doing everything all on my own has fried my brain ;) Once Matt gets home though, my life will be easy as pie.




OOOH on another note, I killed a Hobo spider! It was the nastiest thing EVER! and I'm afraid there is a whole colony of them living in my house and they are going to attack me in my sleep. I hate spiders and I wish they would all die. Poor Jack is going to be extremely, deathly afraid of them. To be totally serious though, I felt like this was a true test of my strength, do you know any other women that would kill a spider this big? Yes I screamed and ran away from it when it started moving, but gosh darn it, I killed it all by myself :)

2 months old!

Today, Jack is two months old! I can't believe it. He is so smiley, alert, and wiggly! He is definitely one cute chunk of a baby :) We had a very fun day today! We went to the farmers market and got some freshly harvested chicken, went to lunch with great grandma Judy, then spent some time with cousin Mason in the pool. So very fun :)

my smiley boy!

He is so happy when he wakes up :)

This past weekend we went to my step-mom's company picnic at Nike world headquarters! It was a lot of fun! There was tons of free food, smoothies, cotton candy, kettle corn, sno cones, rides for kids, live music, and lots of sunshine! It was nice to actually get a little bit of color ;) And Jack was so good! Right before we left he had a big diaper blow out all over my sister Julie, and then about 15 minutes after we got home he had another! So, he has graduated to size 2 diapers now, he is getting to be such a big guy! His 2 month appointment is next week, so I will update his length/weight then :)

Jack is now almost 7 WEEKS OLD! Seriously, where has the time gone? He has really been such a wonderful baby, he is so easy! We start our bedtime routine around 8:30-9pm. I put on "heavenly lullabies" pandora station, run some warm water for a washcloth (unless it's bath night)and give Jack a sponge bath, then I use a tiny bit of aromatherapy lotion by california baby and give him a full body massage. Then I lay him in his bassinet and he is out in five minutes or less! He then sleeps until 2 or 3, I feed him again and he sleeps until 7-8ish. How did I get so blessed with such an easy baby?



This week Jack giggled for the first time! It was after his 2am feeding, he was in bed with me, and I was falling asleep and all of a sudden he just started giggling and smiling, it was so so sweet, I just wish Matt could have been laying there with us.

Jack's Delivery

Sunday June 19th, 2011 is a day that I will never forget. I got a phone call from Matt around 5:30am. He had missed his flight from Florida to Portland. So, I jumped out of bed and called the airlines. We had purchased a flight protection just in case, but it didn't cover missing a flight... So we had to purchase a whole new ticket. This of course was very upsetting, but what was more upsetting is that We were losing a WHOLE day together :( His flight was supposed to get in at 11am, but instead it would now be coming in at 6:00pm. I was so upset! But, oh well. After finally purchasing Matt's ticket and crying for a good hour and a half I went back to bed. The day in and of itself wasn't so bad. I slept off and on, had brunch with my mom, and slept some more. I went to gresham station to walk around a little bit (in hopes of helping induce some contractions, but as far as I could tell, it would be awhile before Jack was coming.) Around 4:30 I went to Matt's Mom's house and spent some time with them. Before I knew it, it was time to pick up my husband, and to be honest I was SUPER nervous! I was only 25ish weeks pregnant the last time I had seen Matt, I was barely showing, and now I was 40 weeks pregnant and HUGE!

picture on the left is a couple weeks before Matt left, and the picture on the right is 6/19/11, the day I picked him up!


Finally at 6pm it was time to see my husband, and it was so amazing to finally see him after what seemed like a lifetime apart. Right after picking him up we met with his dad, step mom and two of his brothers for dinner. All week I had been careful about not eating anything too greasy for fear of going into labor and getting nauseous from a heavy meal. Well, I hadn't been having really any consistent contractions, So Matt and I split a burger and a wrap. I only ate the burger because my uterus was so large my stomach had NO ROOM!

I don't think anyone could have guessed that I would have gone into labor that night based on how I was doing. I seemed completely normal ( aside from being extremely tired and waddling everywhere ;) After dinner we stopped by the hospital to see Matt's sister and brother in law, then we stopped by his mom's house for a few minutes.

Finally, around 9:45ish WE WERE HOME! Riley was ecstatic! Matt started unpacking, but I foolishly told him to not worry about it until morning lol Around 11:30 we finally went to bed, and just 20 minutes later I started feeling contractions. So, I started timing them. They were 3-5 minutes apart. I waited about an hour and a half before saying anything to Matt. Part of me was hoping it was just in my head because I was so exhausted and I wanted to spend some time alone with my husband before Jack got here. During that hour and a half I was in and out of bed, stretching, walking around, tossing and turning in bed, and pacing the house. It finally got to the point where I told Matt it was time to go. He rolled over and smiled at me...he thought I was joking lol So, I waited another 15 minutes and then told him we REALLY needed to go to the hospital!

That night (or morning) felt like such a dream! Not only was my husband home, but I was in labor, just 5 hours after picking him up from the airport!

When we checked into the hospital the nurse, Tina, set up a monitor to time my contractions and to check Jack's heart rate. about 30 minutes later she came back in to let me know I was being admitted and that my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. She unhooked all of my monitors and put in a hep lock (for an IV). At 3:30 AM I was at 4 cm, and by 5:30am I was at 6-7 (that is fast for a first time labor).

My goal for was for a completely natural labor, no unnecessary medical interventions (no pitocin, epidiral, etc.). This isn't what ended up happening.

Around 8am, my new nurse, Cyndee, came in and let me know that Regis (my midwife) could come around 9ish to break my water and that once that happened Jack should drop and it shouldn't be that long until he is born.


I think this was my biggest mistake, next time I will not have my water broken. Jack was in a posterior position, which means his back was to my back. This caused me to have intsense back labor in addition to my contractions.

From this point on things get a little fuzzy in my memory. I was doing ok while having contractions, not too grouchy ;) but very focused on what I was doing.

I remember being in transition, and SCREAMING for an epidural. It was painful, miserable, and I felt hopeless because labor had stalled. My contractions were overlapping, so it felt as if they were 2 minutes long. To be honest though, looking back, it was one of my favorite parts of labor. The sun was pouring in the room, I think it was 80 degrees that day. I remember being too warm and sweaty and eating a red popsicle between contractions. The only people in the room were Matt, Cyndee and I. And they were the best support I could ask for. They helped me get through those contractions and even though I know it was hard for them they didn't cave in and let me have them. I didn't really want an epidural and they knew that. I think it was around 1pm- 1:30 that I ended up getting an epidural to sleep. I had been fully dilated by 11:30am, but Jack just wasn't dropping, and he wasn't turning!

Regis and Cyndee both let me know that if he had been in the right position, it would have been easier for him to drop and I should have had him by noon, it was nice knowing that I'm capable of going through labor pain med-free.

I remember after getting the epi, falling in and out of sleep. Our room was across the hall from the nursery, so I would hear babies crying and it just made me long for our baby to be born! I was also getting nervous because now his heart rate was getting low during the contractions, and he was low in my birth canal that they couldn't monitor him externally anymore. So, I had to have an internal monitor put in, and I woke up with an oxygen mask. I felt like a failure, this is exactly what I wanted to avoid!

At about 3:30ish my epi was turned off and at about 4 I started pushing. Around 4:30 (im guessing) Regis told me there were two scenarios that could happen. 1. I would need to have a vaccuum assisted birth because Jack's heart rate was getting too low during contractions, and 2. if that didn't work then I would need a c-section.

So, since he wasn't coming we had to try the Vacuum assist. I had only two contractions to try this. The first one didn't work, the OB said that I was pushing really well, but his position made it hard. So, I had only one try left and thankfully with that contraction he was born at 5:06pm!
Seeing Jack for the first time was a moment I will never forget, and I'm so thankful that Matt was able to experience that moment with me too!

* I can't believe it has been almost 6 weeks since Jack was born. It has been an exciting time, and we love being parents. I want to thank my husband, our moms, Amanda Thompson, all of our family that was out in the waiting room all day, and everyone who was praying for us while I was in labor. Your love and support means the world to us!

One Month Old!

I can't believe that Jack is already a month old. Time is going by WAY TOO FAST! Although, I'm excited for the coming months, I can't wait to see what his personality will be like :)

He is already trying to hold his head up and he is always wiggling around. He also is getting SO big, he weighs about 10lbs already! Who would have thought he would be such a big little guy ;)






The other day he was taking a nap with a blanket that grandma Sue made, and his cute little toes were sticking out...It was just too cute I had to share!

3 weeks old.

A wail is a wail is a wail…well, not really. Your baby has a whole repertoire of cries that mean a variety of things from "feed me" to "hold me" to "get this big poop out of my diaper!" And once you learn how to decode baby cries, life will get easier for the both of you. What else is up? Spit-up for one thing and probably some pretty explosive sounds coming from the tush region as baby's digestive system kicks into high gear. And speaking of that adorable butt, be prepared for some colorful diaper rashes. You might be considering the pros and cons of the pacifier about now (your call, Mom) and wondering when you can take your little one out for a stroll (and how to dress him once you do). In brain-related news, your baby is ready for more complex shapes (bye-bye circles, hello zigzags!) as his vision, ability to focus, and concentration improve rapidly. He might be really digging his mobile now or a soft toy waved in front of his face. As for Mom, you might dig a deep massage right now as the combination of your stretched-out tummy muscles and hormonally loosened ligaments are causing some serious back pain. It takes time to get your body back on track, but there are things you can do to help the process (and ease back soreness) right now, including minding your posture (sit up straight!) (this was taken from whattoexpect.com)

Jack actually doesn't really cry very much (at least not yet;) ). He definitely poops a lot though, and it is SO loud! He is definitely Matt's son! He has yet to have a diaper rash, but he seems to have a very sensitive bum, so im going to try and incorporate cloth diapers. not only should they be more sensitive on his bum, but it will save us some money too! And Riley seems pretty smitten with him. She likes to be close to him at all times, it's really cute! At first she was pretty jealous, but her jealous phase didn't last too long! Overall things are getting easier, we are getting into more of a routine, but I'm still having a hard time getting out of the house :/ So, if you want to see this cutie just let me know because we would love some company!

on Thursday (7/7/11) Jack had his two week appointment! he weighed 8lbs 13oz, he is in the 45% for weight, and he was 21 1/2in long, 75% for height! His doctor said he is just perfect... I think he is too ;)

So far he has been a great baby. He has been very vocal, but not fussy. He makes a lot of cute noises all of the time. He is also very wiggly. Which i don't find very surprising! he was ALWAYS moving around when I was pregnant. Also, he only wakes up twice a night to eat, which make my life a lot easier :)

It hasn't all been so easy though. It's hard having Matt away. I have been managing taking care of Riley too, but I feel bad because I can no longer give her as much attention. it's also hard getting out of the house and running errands! I definitely have a lot more respect for single parents (not that I didn't before), but having to take care of a newborn by yourself is no easy feat! I know that it will just get easier as time goes on and we have more of a routine established :)