Still Here!

Just wanted to let you know we're alive and well. I have a big post coming up about our first family trip! Things have been crazy, so I haven't gotten a chance to post. After that post, we're going private, so remember to let me know if you want to keep reading :)

I'll leave you with this little nugget for now... getting cuter by the second!

Our Fav Baby Items

I have a few favorite baby items. These are BY FAR not the necessities (aka diapers, wipes, carseat, infant seat, clothes etc.), but I thought it would be a fun to document some of the stuff we have enjoyed using with P as an infant.

1) The video monitor: For centuries (slight exaggeration), people have been using regular sound monitors if they even used monitors at all. If this isn't a budget-buster item for you (or if you have really sweet grandparents that want to purchase this for you) it is so awesome to have. We LOVE ours and now cannot imagine life without it. I can see his chest rising and falling and know he is sleeping soundly.

2) Playmat: We use this everyday. Preston loves his. I almost didn't register for one, because I thought it wasn't really a needed item. However, it is one of P's most favorite items. He does tummy time on it, is learning to grab the toys on it, and loves to look at himself in the mirror attached to it.

3) Safety 1st Diaper Pail: This pail is so much cheaper than the others, and it takes regular trash bags. It works AWESOME. Considering every time I take out the trash in P's room I almost gag, this completely masks any smells. It works great.

4) Wipes Warmer: SO many people say this is one of those stupid baby items, but I swear it makes a difference. Usually, P cries when we change his diaper.... but not when we use warm wipes!

5) Pacifier clip: Moms-to-be... buy this immediately. We went several weeks without one and after bending down to pick up pacifier after pacifier, then disinfecting it every time, we wised up and got one of these. Such a small, silly thing, but it is great.

6) Johnson's Bedtime Lotion: This lotion smells like lavender. It kind of makes P smell like a girl, but it is soothing and it smells so good. It supposedly helps them sleep, but who knows.

7) Inchbug orbit labels: These were a gift from my friend's mom, and they are awesome. We have them on all of P's bottles and can keep using them over and over for stuff. Here is the link to order them... I think I might order some for a few upcoming baby showers.

8) Sleep Sacks: P sleeps in one every night. I am always nervous about him being cold at night and this solves the problem. I like these better than the swaddleme's because P always somehow squirmed out of that one, but can't get out as easily in the sacks.

9) Nightlight: You have to have one in your baby's room. Like the pacifier clip, we didn't have one right away and after turning on the lamp time after time and really waking P up, the nightlight solves the problem.

Those are just a few of the things that we have come to rely on with a newborn. Maybe they will help some of you who are expecting!

"All Heart. Grit. Grind."

If you've been following the Memphis Grizz, you already know the words of our defensive phenom Tony Allen. We have been LOVING our NBA's team success this year! Memphis is a basketball town, so it's been fun to have our team do so well. Unfortunately, our season came to an end Sunday night, but we are still proud of our team.

Brian was fortunate enough to go with some of his friends to one of the Round 2 playoff games against the OKC Thunder. He said it was one of the best sporting events he has ever been to. From some of his pictures, it looked like a blast.

Sunday, we went over to the Montesi "grindhouse" to watch the game. We figured we would probably only be able to stay a little bit with Preston. Turns out, the child was loving the watch party and we got to stay the whole time! YAY Preston! He was really one of the guys... it was so cute.

Also, have to take a minute to tell you about P's newest toy. We got a walker for him! Of course, he is way too small for it, but we had to put him in for a little bit to see how he reacted. His eyes got huge and he LOVED it.

We had to put a pillow at the bottom because his feet wouldn't touch the ground! I have to say, the child has pretty good head control for 3 months old.

We love watching his reaction to things; it is really special to see him experience new things.

Love that cute boy.

A few things...

First off, today is a special day. It is my best friend and P's godmother Robyn's birthday!

I can't really put into words what my friendship with Robyn means to me. We have been friends for 11 years now (wow, we're old) and I love her and her husband JMP with all of my heart. We met in high school at SBA. Growing up with brothers, sometimes I feel like Rob is the sister I never had.

Quick story - the day we brought Preston home from the hospital, I was a hormonal wreck. I couldn't stop crying, was scared out of my mind being home with him, and Brian had to go to Babies R Us off Winchester at rush hour to get me a breast pump leaving me home alone with my 4-day-old baby. (That is a story in and of itself... Brian running frantically through Babies R Us to buy a breast pump, nursing pads, nipple cooling gel, and milk storage bags... can we say Husband/Daddy of the Year?!) The first person in my mind to call during this chaos was Robyn. She picked up the phone, and I couldn't even get a word out I was so hysterical. She just said "I'm on my way." She came blazing over, and without me saying a word, she brought over chicken and rice casserole, unpacked our hospital bags, washed all of P's bottles and pacifiers, organized our living room, and somehow managed to calm me down while Brian was away. She was everything I needed at that moment. She'll be an amazing mom one day. Happy 27th birthday friend!

Also, for a little Preston development update. He is a rolling over machine! As soon as I put him down, he is rolling over. When he was about 2 months old, he started rolling from his tummy to his back. Right after his 3 month birthday, he started rolling over from his back to his tummy, then pops up for tummy time on his own. He will also scoot a little. He isn't even 11 pounds yet, and he can scoot from one end of his playmat to the other end. He already has his arms in the right position for crawling, but his feet are a little behind. The other day, I had him propped up on the Boppy pillow doing tummy time, and much to my surprise, he climbed right over the Boppy onto the playmat and rolled over. I am telling you, this child will be mobile sooner than we think! It's so cool to see him growing and developing. I ordered him a walker that will be here tomorrow (thank you Amazon Mom!) and I cannot wait to see him scooting around in it! The 4 month mark will be fun too, because then we can start giving him rice cereal with a spoon. Seriously, where is the time going?

The best is that he is getting close to really being able to belly laugh.He kind of semi-laughs now. He will smile really big and squeal. Here is a little video I filmed at 6:30 this morning. (Just have to add that pre-baby, I would still be sleeping. By 6:30 this morning, I had already nursed Preston, showered, dressed, put on makeup, blow dried and straightened my hair, and packed his bottles for daycare - my how things change! Babies = sleeplessness) Oh, and excuse Brian's shirtlessness in the video (probably another reason to go private on the blog!)



Look at those plaid shorts... could you just die?

Also, little reminder that we are going private next week, so if you want to keep reading the blog, let me know :) I also still plan on posting about our dining room, and also an upcoming, cross country trip we are taking with little man. He's isn't even 4 months old and we are already jet setting with him. Let me tell you, this kid has the life!

Little Announcement

After talking with Brian last night, we've decided to make our little family blog private.

By doing this, we can protect our pictures of Preston and our personal information. Nothing specific happened to make us go private, but the World Wide Web makes us a little nervous. When we started the blog, we thought only our moms and my friends in Nashville and Knoxville would read it. I think it's interesting that people we don't know find our life interesting. With that said, I am an avid blog reader and always get mad when people go private. I am scared to ask permission to look at their blog because they might think I am stalker. Look at me... the hypocrite.

I enjoy writing it, and use it as my life scrapbook. I definitely want to keep blogging. So, with that said, leave a comment with your email address if you want to keep reading. Or if you aren't comfortable doing that, you can send me an email with your email so that I can give you permission to read - camifields@gmail.com. If we've never met, don't be afraid to email me.

My plan is to keep on blogging about Preston growing up, our trials through parenthood, our home makeovers (so many more to come!), and just our day-to-day life. I hope you keep reading! I'll go private sometime next week, so make sure to send me your info before then.

Thanks everyone!

My First Mother's Day

I am so proud to be sweet Preston's mom. At daycare on Friday, he made this for me:

It is PROUDLY hanging on our frig.

My boys have spoiled me today. I got beautiful new earrings and a new "mom" charm for my Pandora bracelet. And, Preston wrote me a really beautiful letter. I'll treasure it always :) Then we took some pictures outside.

Preston, you are the coolest kid ever and I love being your mom. You bring me and your dad so much joy and never cease to amaze us. I'm one lucky mommy.

I have now realized what a sacrifice my own mom has made for me. I don't think you really understand unless you have your own child and experience first hand what moms go through. I am pretty positive that I have the best mom ever and I am so glad we are close. Having Preston has brought us even closer. I don't know what I would have done without her the past few months. I have called her crying more times the last three months than in my entire life! Thanks for teaching me how to care for a baby, how to breastfeed, how to take some time for myself, and how to be a good mom. Happy Mother's Day Mom! And happy 1st mother's day as a Mimi!

Also, to my mother-in-law - thank you for always willing to lend a helping hand to us and for watching Preston for us on Wednesdays. You have been a big help to us this year and we appreciate that more than you know. Brian (and me too) is so thankful to have a close relationship with you. Happy Mother's Day and happy 1st mother's day as Mimzie!

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Just when I started to figure it out at home...

I'm back at work! I haven't talked much about work on my blog, but I have an absolutely amazing job with even more amazing people. I work at the children's hospital here in Memphis. There are 13 of us in my department (Marketing and Communications) and we are a tight bunch. All of us women. Of the 13 of us, 9 are working moms with age ranges 3 months to 19 years. Preston and another department baby boy were born the same week, even! We had a huge year last year filled with national recognition, the opening of a brand new hospital, and a year that I am sure none of us will ever forget. It was one of those once-in-a-career years. My last day of work was Friday, January 28. I delivered Preston Monday, January 31. It's been 12 weeks, or three full months.

I came back to work with an awesome support system of other working moms. There is always an ear to listen to my paranoia, advice to be given, and concerns to be understood. I am truly blessed. I know that this is not a normal work environment. It made coming back easy. It made me realize how much I truly love my work. I already have my plate FULL of projects. Just like I like it!

I am working 40 hours a week. Four days a week Preston is at our on-site daycare (another amazing perk of my job). One day a week, he is with my mother-in-law. Our on-site daycare is just temporary until Preston starts at First Baptist Day School in August. Of course, I am nervous about leaving him anywhere anytime. Plus, I do miss him.

So, I'm back. Maternity leave is over. My taste of the stay-at-home-mom life is over. How am I feeling? Content and balanced. How is Preston feeling? He loves daycare. In fact, for a baby that needs as much stimulation as Preston does, daycare is GOOD for him. He is eating great, napping great, and the teachers loves him. Those teachers are amazing. They are baby whisperers. I don't even have to explain anything to them, they just know. Preston goes easily to them, and it makes my heart happy.

I had someone tell me once that daycare is a dirty word. Daycare is a great thing as long as the right place is chosen and you and your husband are on the same page with it. There is a line in the Baby Whisperer book that says that it is completely ridiculous to think that no one can take care of your child as well as you can. To think that is being over-baring and possessive. In some ways, I think I am the expert on Preston, but at the same time, I know that he can go to a place that loves him, nurtures him, and cares for him everyday. Rather than it scarring him for life, he can come out a better kid. Brian and I want Preston to thrive inside and OUTSIDE of our home. We want him to be comfortable around people, socialized, and independent. I am excited about daycare for him. We will work hard to teach him these things (and many more things!) in our home, but it is great to have it acted out at a safe place that we love.

Well, that's my rant on daycare :) I know this arragement isn't for everyone, but it works for our family.