First Month

The first days at home were a little crazy. My fiancee, and Tara's father was able to stay home with me for the first week and boy did that help. Although there was little sleep for the both of us that first week.
I had opted to breast feed, and although she had done well in the hospital, being at home without the aid of the nurses was a totally different experience. I thought I had it all down pat, but Tara was a demanding little girl. It seemed like I was always feeding her without any time to rest in between. I could hardly eat or sleep in between feedings, plus she would fall asleep while she was feeding.
What I didn't know was that my daughter was born with a tongue tie. This is where the baby's tongue is tied down in front with a thin little membrane. It affected the way she ate and feeding at the breast. She wasn't gaining weight as she was supposed to. So after many doctor appointments she finally started to gain weight. I was feeding her about every two hours, starting with breast milk an finishing with formula. But still her tongue tie was never far from my mind.
She was in every way a normal baby. She started to smile and recognized my voice. We spent that first month together just getting to know each other. It was something I wouldn't trade for anything. That bond between mother and child had been forged and could never be broken.

Pregnancy to Birth

Hi all you new parents and parents to be. My name is Lori and I just had a beautiful baby girl almost 4 months ago. I am in no means a professional, but I am a new parent myself and a working woman as well and wanted to share some of my ups and downs and maybe we can all help each other. I welcome any comments, tips, tricks and complaints you may have. I am here to listen. So please read and enjoy and post at will.

We all know where babies come from and I know most women hate being pregnant, but me, well I loved it. I was very lucky in the fact that I had no morning sickness ( I know there are some of you that will hate me) and was basically able to continue to work normal hours and keep up with my normal routine at home. I can also say that I worked two jobs for most of my pregnancy. Most of you will call me stupid or ridiculous, but that extra money came in handy when I needed it. When I finally left that second job it was a blessing in disguise. I had more time to relax and spent more time with the baby's father.

When it came time for me to give birth, the doctor told me a t my final visit that I was 2 centimeters dialated and that she was giving me that weekend to have the baby on my own, or she was going to induce me on Monday morning. Excited as I was, I was scared to death. Turned out I went into labor on saturday night about midnight and did not know it. I suffered all that night until about 7 am Sunday morning. By that time, I was in so much pain tht I could not tae it any more. My water had not yet broken so I wasn't sure what was going on.
By the time we made it to the hospital, my pains were getting sharper. Nurses came and helped me into bed and got things rolling, when they checked me out I was 10 centimeters. I could not believe it, my baby girl was about to be born.
My daughter, Tara Lynn was born at 7:56 am on Ocober 19th 2008. It was the single greatest moment of my life.