Birthing Class Reunion

In order from birth - left to right - Peyton, Lili, Sophia, Arthur, Orlaith, Georgia, Violet and Odysseus

Saturday evening we hosted a reunion for our birthing class. All 8 couples and their adorable babies showed up! It was wonderful to see everyone. We exchanged birthing stories, baby stories and parenting tips. It was quite fun! We decided that we are going to try and get everyone together every 6 months or so. We want to keep up with one another. It is nice to have other parents to talk to who have babies the same age!

3 Month Shots

Orlaith had two more vaccinations yesterday. This time it was two shots, one in each thigh. She SCREAMED, and actually refused to breast feed. Nursing was supposed to be my secret weapon to keep her from crying or at least calm her down. At least it worked the first round of shots. It really broke my heart. Within a few hours of her shots she became feverish, was crying a lot and did not feel well at all. She wanted to be held, but she would scream if I held her because it hurt her legs. I finally got her comfortable in one of our slings and she fell asleep snuggled against me. I felt like such a bad mommy because I didn't even have Tylenol in the house. I thought that since she did so well the first time, that she wouldn't need it this time either. We had to wait for Daddy to being us some. Once she got a dose in her, I could tell she felt better. She ate well, and then I gave her a bath that she really enjoyed. Shortly after that she passed out. I put her to sleep in bed next to me last night. I knew she didn't feel well, and I wanted her close. She always sleeps better that way anyway. I got smiles from her this morning, so I think we are past the worst. I learned my lesson though. She will be getting Tylenol before her shots from now on!

New Look!

In case you didn't notice, I have a new name and a new feel for the blog! Thanks to Jessica at The Frilly Coconut! I am super excited to introduce O'Baby Orlaith, where I can write all about being a mommy and my precious Orlaith! Since her name is in the new title, I thought it would be nice to remind everyone how to actually pronounce her name. It is an Irish name, with a Gaelic spelling. Let's just say it looks harder to say than it actually is. Ignore the 'ith' and just pronounce it 'Orla'. It's that easy! We'll talk about her middle name another time!

Grab my new button too! Help me spread the word about my mommy blog. I love new readers!

I will soon be replacing the belly pics with a slide show of Orlaith pictures. Enjoy!

I have new buttons for reviews and giveaways. I am not hosting any at this time, but I hope to get that up and running at some point, so stay tuned!

Reviews

I am not currently doing any reviews.

Please contact me if you are interested in having me review a product for you!

Giveaways

I am not doing any giveaways at this time, but I am hoping to get this up and going one day!

If you are interested in having me host a giveaway for you, please contact me.

3 Months

So today my baby girl is 3 months old. I can hardly believe where the time has gone. A year ago I didn't even know I was pregnant. Wow, how time flies! I took her to get her picture taken yesterday and they turned out super cute! Next Wednesday we go to the doctor for 2 more vaccinations. Since we are on the alternate schedule, we have to go every month. We got away last time with no tears, and I hope to do the same this time! I will let y'all know how it goes.

Orlaith is such a happy girl! She is very calm and loves to observe everything around her. She has discovered her hand, and loves to hold it in front of her face and stare intently as she opens and closes it. She also has a very high pitched squeal she loves to let out when she is talking to Mommy and Daddy! I can tell there is so much she wants to say and I can see her concentrating to get it out. When she is thinking hard about something she furrows her brow. It is quite adorable! Baby O is also getting grabier (I don't think that is a real word) with things. She has figured out how to get her fingers through the handle on her binky. She pulls it out of her mouth and holds on to it tightly. Now if she could only figure out how to put it back in her mouth! She is growing by leaps and bounds. I already miss the teeny, tiny newborn, but I am so excited to watch her discover the world.

Has anyone tried signing with their baby? I have the Baby Signs starter kit. I am wondering when I should start using it. She is so observant right now. I feel like I could start signing things to her even though she can't sign them herself for a while. Any thoughts or suggestions on this?

Cold/Allergies

Orlaith started getting a cold last Wednesday evening. She has a snotty, congested nose. I have been watching her closely, but there has not been any fever. Saturday she started acting oddly when I fed her. When I would try and nurse she would scream bloody murder... to the point that she was inconsolable and actually shed tears. She has never shed a tear before when crying. Oddly enough, she was okay drinking from a bottle, so I would pump and feed her that way. She did this all Saturday afternoon, but by Saturday night she was nursing just fine. Sunday morning she nursed fine, but for the second feeding started screaming again. Then by that afternoon, she was nursing okay again. This morning she started to scream when I began to nurse her, but she did calm down and eat after a few seconds. I initially thought the suck/swallow was hurting her and maybe she was getting an ear infection. Now that she has been going back and forth, I just don't know what to think. Plus, she has to suck and swallow from a bottle. Wouldn't that hurt too? Bottom line is that I know she doesn't feel well, and it bothers me that I can't figure out the whole eating thing. I don't want her to be in pain. If it is an ear infection, I need to know. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this before? If so, advice please!
I started to get allergies on Saturday and am now all snotty and congested too. Could Orlaith have allergies like her mommy and not a cold after all? Either way, something is up!

Layla Grace

Bring this flyer with you!

Brandy: I have been following the story of sweet 2 year old Layla Grace for a while now. Her parents have been sharing her story with the world as she fights horrible stage 4 neuroblastoma. The past few weeks Layla struggled to hang on to life. On Tuesday morning, she lost her battle, but at least she is no longer in pain. Her mother Shanna tweeted that she "went to play with the angels". It just breaks my heart to think what Layla's family is going through. You can hear what her parents have to say http://laylagrace.org/ and you can follow them on Twitter @LaylaGrace. There are fundraisers going on all over to help them with the astronomical medical bills- in Houston, Austin and Dallas to name a few. There is one coming up here in the Dallas area on March 15th. Eat at Chili's from 6 pm - 9 pm at 1775 Northwest Highway in Garland and bring the attached flyer with you. A portion of your meal will be donated towards Layla's medical bills. If you can't make dinner, check out the family blog (link above) and you can donate there. Layla's parents are talking to news and radio stations trying to raise awareness about Neuroblastoma. Let's hope for awareness and a cure!

FINALLY!

Brandy: So I FINALLY got Orlaith's birth announcements in the mail today... along with the last batch of thank you notes. Whew! I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get them done.

This first week back at work has been tremendously hard, but I am so thankful that I have off Wednesdays. It was so nice to have yesterday with her, and it really breaks up the work week. Her sitter is great. She sends me texts throughout the day telling me what she is doing and how the day is going. It makes me feel better!

I would love to stay at home with her, but finances don't permit that. Who invented money and making a living again? Boo! Anyone have ideas of how I can stay at home and make money? I am listening...

Blog Changes

Brandy: You are going to be seeing some changes to my blog. I am in the process of working with Jessica to update Irish Baby Bump (new name to come) to be reflective of blogging about Mommy-Hood. So, keep your eye out for the new look and feel!

Contact Me

chulove@mac.com
bmarkey@travelers.com

About Me

We just welcomed our first child to the world on December 18, 2009. Orlaith Mughain Markey arrived at 4:30 PM, was 7 lbs 11 oz and was 20.5 inches long. Previously this blog was a way to communicate about my pregnancy. Now, it will be a way to communicate about our family, parenting and updates on Orlaith!