New Discoveries

As new parents, we are always finding out new things. Richie's faces for one. I snapped pictures for 20 seconds and literally got a different expression in each. It's crazy how much personality he has.

We also discovered that we love cloth diapering! Hurray for cheap and sustainable diapers! (They're super easy and wash so easily too.) Yay!

Yay??

Also, did you know Richie is a Ute fan? We didn't. But he is. Go UTES!

We also never realized how ridiculously cute babies are in PJs and when they sleep. SO ADORABLE. It makes up for all the middle of the night crying and colic.... Almost.

Also, dates away from home (like at Wasatch Brewery in Park City) are amazing to strengthen couple relationships and remind you that you're human and not just a giant breast feeding a little monkey all day.

Speaking of Park City. I discovered how much I missed trail running and doing yoga from my massage room during slow times. So good for my soul. I love working up at Deer Valley and having such a gorgeous view being surrounded by the Rockies.

And lastly, we discovered how much easier it is to shower WITH babies, than in a baby tub. And it's so cute to watch.

Sanity in work and hiking

A few times Justin and I lost our sanity. How did we gain it back? Hiking of course. Sometimes by ditching Richie with neighbors or family so we could be alone. Sometimes we brought him with us and threw in him in the Ergo. He napped really amazingly well hiking. Probably because I hiked a lot pregnant and the movement was soothing. The dogs enjoyed us getting our sanity back.

We visited my Grandma a few times with little Richie. She LOVES babies. This is her third great grandchild. (Come on, cousins, get on it! She needs more.)

Can you believe the gorgeous tomatoes we grew? Not a ton of them. But the ones we did get were gorgeous.

I started work again. Both good and bad. I freaked out a little thinking of leaving my baby behind while I was so far away in Park City. But my co-workers made me feel so welcomed back! They are awesome. Love you guys! You're the best!

Work also made it a lot easier to come back to my family recharged with a little more patience and guilt to do better.

I also managed to get Richie's first time finding his voice on film!

The first 3 months ish

I'm posting some adorable videos of Richie from his first couple months. He was a funny newborn. He hiccupped constantly which woke him up (super annoying). Or he was famous for sneezing 3-4 times in a row (still doesn't sneeze just once). His sneezes were hilarious because he would yell instead of sneeze sometimes in his tiny baby voice. Adorable. The last video was in the hospital. He was only 1 day old with hiccups. You can still see the IV in his wrist.

I can't say I was totally in love and having the best time as a new mom. I was honestly just trying to adjust to zero sleep, a colicky child, my new stretched out tummy, my new body, Justin being constantly busy, and not knowing what on earth I was doing with this baby. We had been a couple for almost 5 years and developed our own little way of life that was now almost totally gone. And I missed it. Some days I still miss it.

My sweet sister came out to help my in August when Justin went to scout camp. She brought little Elijah who, at this time, was about 7 months old. He and Richie met for the first time! So fun! Caroline managed to capture Richie's first real smiles on camera in his striped green pjs.

 Also, I just love the picture of Justin and Richie napping together. I'm biased, but I think my husband is pretty hot. Especially sleeping next to our baby.

Postpartum Hell

I know. I swore. Kind of. It happens a lot lately.

Two weeks after Richie was born were the hardest almost of my entire life. Justin was trying to do everything he could to help me, study for his stupid Pharmacology class, and work. He almost never slept.

I was in a ton of pain from the C-section and all of a sudden I got severely ill. I couldn't eat or drink anything without vomiting. I lost 26 pounds in 2 weeks after only gaining 15 from my pregnancy. I was trying to breastfeed and take care of a colicky baby. It was miserable. Our family and ward stepped in and helped a ton. So, to all of you that helped us out, you guys rock. We were provided with meals, some people watched Richie for a few hours so I could sleep, others helped me around the house, mowed the lawn, etc. We were the beneficiaries of so much service. It was truly humbling.

Richie didn't sleep well. He was colicky. Woke up every 2 hours. Six weeks later he was still colicky and woke up constantly and cried non-stop from about 5 pm til midnight every night. We had no idea what to do. Then we all got sick and had a terrible cough.

Our poor dogs became so neglected. They were depressed. I was frustrated, sleep deprived, and ill. Justin was doing everything he could to hold us all together. It was SO hard.

But somehow we got through it. I have no idea how. We managed to survive the summer. Meanwhile, we grew our first legitimate garden. It was so fun for me. We had a huge yield of carrots, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini, squash, and kale. I loved it.