New Header

Thanks to Jeanelle for creating a new blog header. She makes my life so much easier.

Not much else has changed here. I can honestly say that I am enjoying Mattox more and more each day. He is becoming more pleasant to be around and is starting to "talk" to us. He is becoming such a sweetheart...or maybe just my sweetheart. I could kiss his cheeks off! I wish I could bottle that baby smell (excluding the diapers) - is that weird?

MC on the other hand could talk enough for all 4 of us. She just doesn't stop. I'm sad there's only like 3 days of MDO left. Thank heavens for "Chachel"! She is going to help entertain her this summer! Our summer mission: swimming lessons and potty training!!!!!!!!! Mattox's summer mission: learning to sleep all night (in his own crib)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahaha! I've got my work cut out for me.

Sweeter with Time

Not sure if Mattox is getting better or I'm just getting used to it...probably both. This is the face that we normally see (aka grumpy dwarf):

But lately we've been seeing more of this (aka happy):

It is so nice to see him smile...makes me feel like I'm doing something right. He's definitely finding my soft side - and the bond is definitely getting stronger. See if you can follow my train of thought here the other day: I was looking at his birth announcement the day they came in(while nursing him) - looking at how I gave this child 4 names -- they barely fit on the card --- he's doomed the rest of his life with trying to fit his full name on things ---- like his wedding invitation ---- if he ever gets married ------ boy, his fiance is going to hate me when it comes to that ------- his fiance??? ------- all of a sudden I felt the hair stand up on the back of my neck --------why does it bother me so bad that he might one day get married? ------ no girl will ever be good enough for him. Why don't I think of Mati Claire like this? Why does the son-in-law not scare me half as bad as the daughter-in-law? Mrs. Paula, I feel your pain. Hopefully I met the standard. ha!!

And the winner is...

My 3 year old! She wins by a landslide on who can drive me the craziest! Her tantrums have become unbelievable! We tried "time out in the corner" which seems to be working. I don't even time how long she's there...she has to stay until she stops crying. I can't take it. Today, my MIL gave her a pad of paper to play with (hmmm...maybe she inherited my love of paper). Anyway, for the ENTIRE way home (which takes a good 10 minutes) all I heard was "Momma I got paper...Momma I got paper...paper...Momma? Momma? Momma I got paper..." repeatedly!!!! I didn't know someone could repeat themselves that many times. And if you don't acknowledge her - it only gets worse. Seriously, God bless the 3 year old preschool teachers, daycare workers, kindergarten teachers, and all you other mommas out there!

Mattox has been so fussy and it seemed to be getting worse. After several nights of only getting an hour of sleep here and there, I talked to a friend on Facebook about breastfeeding (thought I had that figured out). She gave me the website about overproduction of milk supply. **sshhh...I hear choir bells*** Long story short - Mattox and I are tweaking a few things during feedings and things SEEM to be getting better. I never knew an oversupply of milk could be a problem!! But he slept better last night, was happier today, and has less gas and burps. We'll see if it keeps up! It might also explain why he weighs 11.4 pounds already!!!!

Love yall but I need to squeeze a night nap in while both kids are asleep!

Counting to 10

My sister was right. I spaced my kids' ages out perfectly. MC has hit the terrible 3's at the exact time I have a newborn. I'm not sure which is worse. Today, they both woke up screaming at the same time...and it has continued ALL day. Mattox has colic but I'm beginning to think he's just a very fussy baby (colic or not). He fights going to sleep. Seriously, he's 5 weeks old - why fight it? I'm on the verge of a mental breakdown. One won't stop whining and throwing fits, the other won't stop crying. At the moment, my stress outlet is blogging while ignoring the chaos. To make myself feel better - I am attempting to get back in shape. Really. I went back to the gym yesterday and even though I'm so sore today I can't walk, it makes me feel better. And today I soaked up the sun while MC played. Ahh, vitamin D is gooooood.

Here's a belated birthday wish to my sister! Heather, you are right! Happy Birthday! hahaha! she turned 35 this past weekend! sheesh. We've also had visits from both great-grandmothers this past week. Not sure if I mentioned this earlier, but Matt's grandfather died the night before Mattox was born. My MIL brought it to my attention that they missed each other by ~12 hours. Mattox was also born on my parents' 37th wedding anniversary! Just FYI.

I ordered birth announcements yesterday and I am SOOO excited. Jeanelle did a good job. Coming soon to a mailbox near you. I heart paper. Why is that? I know I'm not the only one with a stationary/office supply/paper fetish. Weird...but again, it makes me feel better!

Looking forward to more beautiful weather and going to the lake! Can't wait for the pool water to warm up! I need summer therapy.

Still here

This is her "cheese" lately. Mattox is showcasing Carly's outfit she made for him!

Mattox is 4 weeks old now. I won't bore you with all the tiny details of how much he's changed in the last few weeks. I'll just post a few pics and you can probably see the difference. We didn't make it to church yesterday...boy am I a sinner. We had every intention of going then Mattox kept me awake ALL night. So I still went through the motions with Mati Claire: got her dressed, Gigi hid eggs, filled her basket, etc. Mom and Dad left this morning; today is my first day alone with both kids! So far so good. If I could just get Mattox on a schedule - don't care what schedule - just any schedule - things would be better. He still has his days and nights confused and he likes to be held. I know I'm sure all babies like to be held, but he REALLY likes it. He doesn't care for any bouncy seat, boppy, swing, chair, laying down, pacifier, or anything - nope! just hold me!

Thank you Mom and Tyanne! Tyanne has been taking MC everywhere for me! and my family is the best! They really helped me out this past month!

Here's to Hope

Okay, we've made it 2 weeks so far...and counting. Ah, newborn-ism does come to an end. Someone tell me that I will wear regular clothes again. I will put on makeup again. I will brush my hair and eventually get my haircut again. My pregnancy acne will clear up. I will lose these last 10 pounds. I will look at my husband with loving eyes again. I will not question my sanity again (at least not to this degree). My boobs will heal. I will shower on a regular basis again. I will sleep again. I will drink caffeine again. Yes, here's hoping that these first few weeks will be a distant foggy memory soon. Don't get me wrong...I love the new man in my life. I don't handle surgery well. If I could "pop them out" like my sister, I'd have a dozen more.

Back to reality. We had our 2 week checkup today! Mattox weighs 7 lbs. 10 oz!!!!!!!! Wow! And they were worried about his size in utero! ha! He's showing them! Seriously, he's great...still a bit jaundiced and has clogged tear ducts. He loves to eat! Such a boy - although we did force him to sit through a photo shoot with Jeanelle last week. He finally decided to christen his room...and me...with urine. I feel like I got initiated into a club or something. For me, comparatively speaking, I think changing a girl's diaper is much easier than a boy's. Between the circumcision ring ointment, booty ointment, and alcohol for the belly button - that's just too much going on in one tiny little area. He will sleep 4-5 hours most of the time although he hit his first growth spurt the other day so we've been going every 2 hours for a few days. He's not totally sold on a pacifier and the same tricks that worked first go-around aren't working this time. He's proving to be all boy and quite opposite of MC. We still aren't sure who he looks like. Any guesses? When they pulled him out, I seriously questioned if he was mine. Of course Matt looked at me and asked who the daddy was.

I wouldn't have made it without Mom. Thank you, Mom! She has been taking care of MC for me. They went to TN for the week and will be back this weekend with my sister and nieces. She spoils me...never too old for that. So! I need advice on how to handle 2 kids at the same time (when my family leaves and Matt is at work). How the heck do yall do it??? When do you sleep??? Here's hoping that sleep eventually returns.

Welcome Mattox!

Mattox William Wesley Miley arrived at 7:30 am on March 9th, 2010. He weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. He is absolutely beautiful! To me, he looks like Mati Claire did at birth yet he doesn't have her hair at all. His hair is lighter and has 2 blond "spots". I'm thinking this could be his birthmark maybe but its cute nonetheless. We got home Friday and we didn't sleep at all that night. Since then, its been better. He lost down to 6 lbs 12 oz but has gained 1 oz at our 2 days checkup - so he weighs 6 lbs and 13 oz now. He wakes up every 4 hours right now...and only cries when he's hungry. He is an excellent eater! We had no latching problems with breastfeeding so I was pleasantly surprised by that! In shock really. So feeding is much easier this time around. He seems to be a little serious man. We've only gotten a few smiles so far but he takes in all the lights and sights and has the funniest expressions. I don't remember much about last week, but thank you to everyone who visited and I apologize if I said anything that I shouldn't have or rude. I have been heavily drugged the last few days. Here are the pics!


A few minutes old.

Proud Daddy!

Big sister!!!!

Um, yeah...don't look to the left. Family pic.