buh-bye intern year!!

these next few weeks will wrap up our first year here in morgantown. SO hard to believe! this year has been interesting to say the least for both me and for david, though in different ways for each of us.

when we first found out david matched in morgantown, i didn't even know where the city was! i had to mapquest it. tears came to my eyes as they scanned the computer screen, only to find a distance of over 6 hours from louisville. to me, it might as well have been china.

i knew morgantown was an option during the match process, but i never really let my mind go there. now not only was my mind going to morgantown, but so were my clothes, my furniture, and my UHaul. to say i was apprehensive about the move is a slight understatement. but i knew it was the best thing to do for our family. and david knew that too.

surprisingly, the adjustment to our new home was not nearly as difficult as i had imagined it to be. we quickly made friends, a routine, and a home away from "home". i thank God all the time for such a happy and easy transition... i'm giving him the credit, because i can't imagine another plausible explanation.

last night we attended a banquet in honor of the graduating residents. they are about to move on to exciting new jobs or fellowships. in speaking with some of their wives, they mention how "fast" the past few years have flown by. while it's hard to imagine, i know that will be us in the blink of an eye. (here is a pic from the event)

i won't speak for david, but for me, the notorious intern year was not as horrible as i pictured. this is not to take away from how extremely hard he has worked. over night calls, 30 + hour shifts, 80+ hour work weeks, studying, reading, etc. there were a lot of cold dinners waiting for him at home, and nights when me and max would already be in bed by the time he got home.

But at the same time, we were fortunate he could make it to many doctor appointments, that he had 2 weeks off when max was born and that he had the opportunity a handful of times for weekend trips or getaways. there were still nights when he made it home in time to lay on the couch with me, watch "The Office" and eat ice cream. it was not ALL work.

being in morgantown has, by default, increased our independence as a family. it has allowed us more quality time just the three of us than we might have experienced if we were in louisville or closer to family. for me, that has been the most positive aspect of our experience so far.

our families have also really helped in the past year by making such frequent visits. thankful to mom and dad, david's parents, john and laura, susan, julie, natalie and austin for all making the trip in the first year to see is. it has meant a lot!!

also the people we have met here have truly enhanced our experience. thankful to the other moms i've met that have provided me with support and to other residents and their significant others who are going through the same journey.

so here is to the first year down!! SO proud of david to see his hard, hard work paying off a little at a time. looking forward to his research year.....365 days with no overnight call!!! (ME LIKE!!!)

4 month update!

so...i'm not going to lie. as max gets older, things are getting a little harder! but...it is that much more rewarding too!!

here is some 4 month max-info:

favorite thing to do:

he LOVES books!! he reaches out for them when i read to him and he touches every page. and not just kids books. i joined a book club and read "water for the elephants." i read it while i was nursing him (yay for multitasking!) and he kept getting so distracted! he must really love books to turn away from FOOD to see them. he'd look up like, "hey....that's a book! read it outloud mommy!"

favorite thing we like to do with him:

giggles!! he doesn't give them away easily though. he makes us work for them. but when he giggles it is soooo sweet. the first time he laughed david and i were both there to witness it. he laughed, but mommy got teary eyed. it was the best noise i've ever heard.

firsts:

rolled over from belly to back!! he did it three times in a row. then i got out the video to record it and guess how many times he did it? ZERO! then daddy got home from work and guess how many times he did it? ZERO! then daddy went in the other room and he did it again! he's sneaky that one.

i had my first mother's day this month too. david was on call, but it was still a special day. we went out to eat as a family the night before, and max and i spent the day together sunday. we went to starbucks for breakfast, then church, bought myself some flowers :) and spent the rest of the day napping and snuggling.

activities:

he loves going to barnes and noble. mommy loves it too, but mostly for the starbucks. i pull out a few books to read to him and he gets so excited and loud. this week i'm going to join the library here and take him to story time. i think he'll love it.

schedule:

he's still a pretty scheduled little boy, but he'll throw me for a loop every now and then and cry and cry and cry or refuse to go to bed. he's a baby....it happens.

least favorite thing:

so of course my friend erica would be the one to ask, "what's your least favorite thing so far?" easy answer: him crying in the car when we aren't moving!! i know he doesn't understand, but it's a little frusturating! whenever the car is moving he's as happy as can be. but when i stop for those silly red lights or stop signs he starts screaming. he has no concept of the fact that our stop is only temporary or the fact that our stop is mandatory. i can't wait until he's old enough to understand the word "patient!!"

etc:

we made another trip to KY. papa gary and grandma cathy loved being with him and helped me out a lot. we celebrated david's 31st birthday while we were there. max's cousins autumn, eli and anora got to come play too. max LOVES autumn! he was straining his neck, trying to follow her voice. he's a lucky kid!!

and we are lucky parents!!

nebraska, red roses and stuffy noses

so, 98% of the time i am happy living in west virginia. this week falls into the other 2%.

during our two week trip to louisville, we got to spend lots of time with max's cousins, Jack and Reese (happy 1 year birthday reese cup!!) This week, they move to nebraska. even though it's my sister's family moving and not us, and even though we aren't in louisville to be around them every day anyway, I still can't help but feel sad about the distance between our family. for the first time ever, my sisters and i all live in a different state. and it feels weird.

max and i went to kroger today, to buy little nose drops... he has had a stuffy nose all week (the poor kid sounds like his father does when he's snoring!) while we were there, i saw red roses and almost teared up. completely pathetic, i know. they made me think of derby and what a great time of year this is for the city of louisville. this is the first time in years that neither david nor i will go to derby or oaks. also feels weird.

as we grow up and start our own families, change is inevitable. jobs, the economy, even personal preferences will separate us perhaps more than we'd like. while once upon a time it was just the six of us, it's now just the 14 of us....and growing..... Each of us have to do what is best for our own family and our own children. and even though it's sometimes hard, i'm proud to say that's what we are all doing.

so here is to lots of skype calls, status updates, and text message pictures of our neices and nephews being adorable. To visits, emails and to Kodak gallery. And here's to the beginning of fighting over...er... I mean compromising and scheduling considerately.... grandma cathy and papa gary's time and travel!! :)

3 month update

Motherhood has completely exceeded my expectations. I knew I'd love it, but I never imagined it would be THIS amazing. when i was a little girl, people would ask "What do you want to be when you grow up?" And I would always say two things: 1.) The President (yes, of the united states of America :) and 2.) A mother. Some kids grow up wanting to be teachers, or lawyers, or doctors. I just wanted to be a mom. The President thing, I realize, is probably not in my cards and I am completely content with the latter.

People say parenthood is the hardest job in the world. but so far, it doesn't really seem like "work" to me. i don't mind getting up in the middle of the night to feed him cause he's just so darn cute. and innocent. and precious.

and if i go a whole day without a shower (happens more often than i'd like to admit) because i'm preoccupied with reading books and/or just staring at max all day, then so be it! nothing's work when you love what you do.

here are some stats on the 3rd month of my baby's life!!

Favorite thing to do: he loves kicking things! (flashback to when he was in utero) He enjoys lying down and kicking the musical piano, or toys on his jungle gym. he also loves when i read to him. he sits there like he's actually listening so attentively. it's pretty cute.

Favorite thing we like to do with him: He has started to interact with us, and i'd say that's my favorite thing currently because it's so rewarding. when i sing or talk to him he "sings" and "talks" back. And the smiles...my gosh, the smiles!!

Activities: This month the main activity has been traveling! We've made two trips to Kentucky. One was a short weekend trip with the whole family (me, david and max). We went to my parent's and max got to play with all of his cousins. it was the first time they were all together. ethan is a great big cousin. he would always pay attention to max and give him lots and lots of kisses. Zoe, Jack and Reese's interest in max grew slowly. Mostly they liked giving him his paci, or sharing a toy with him.

A few weeks later, me and max enjoyed two full weeks in Louisville. we had a blast! we took lots of walks, met lots of mommy's friends that hadn't gotten to meet max yet, and played more with his cousins. By the end of this month, all of the Peak cousins will live in different states. West Virginia, Illinois and Nebraska. The Hinshaws move to Lincoln this week. we are sad to see them go, but we are really proud of them. John has a great job, and they are excited to move into a new house that has plenty of room for toys (and visitors!)

max also made his first trip to the preschool where my sisters and granny work. i think he liked seeing all the bright colors and hearing all those crazy kids!! in a few years, that'll be him!

Firsts: this month max celebrated his first easter. it consisted of him buying his father an easter basket (backwards, I realize). my rule is that once max is old enough to receive candy, then daddy is TOO old.

he also had his first cold. and you could hardly tell because he still behaved so well!

he had his first tornado warning, which was more frightening for me than him. as a precaution, we slept in the basement with a charged cell phone, diapers, wipes, flashlights and a bottle of water (overkill? probably.)

Schedule: we got a little off schedule with the traveling, but that's to be expected. i figured while his sleep was "off" anyway, it would be a good time to ween him off the swaddle...which was a success. now if we could only get rid of that paci!!

daddy's schedule has not been as kind. for the month of april he was on night float... he went in around 5 or 6 pm and came home the next morning. we all hated it. he was generous enough to let me and max go to louisville since his schedule was so bad anyway. max "talked" to daddy via speakerphone every morning and we sent lots of pictures. we also met half way easter weekend so we could all be together. david's schedule can sometimes be demanding and difficult to plan around. but it is what it is. we are proud of him and thankful he works so hard for our family!!!

etc:

david and i set a wedding date--december 10th. we are just going to do an intimate and small wedding here in louisville. we're excited to "officially" become a family and to do that in front of the people we love most. grandma cathy has done most of the planning.

tomorrow mommy and max go back to morgantown! here's to a quick, quiet and easy six hour car ride home!!!!!!

2 month update!

So, for the first month update I was late, and for the 2nd month update I am early...but today I have time and tomorrow I may not (welcome to motherhood!)

I heard this quote and it pretty much sums up the last two months completely (and the next 100 years)

"A mother always has to think twice. Once for herself, and once for her child." -Sophia Loren

Luckily, most of this is intuitive. From the second he was born (well, more like since I found out I was pregnant) my brain is on overload, constantly thinking for two (add David in there and my brain is at full capacity!!) Anywhere we go, anything we do, I first think how it will impact or effect Max. Especially with breastfeeding him, his schedule has become a priority in the family. David and I still get to do lots of things we want, but we are constantly planning and making decisions for three.

We are always thinking about Max. Is he eating enough, sleeping enough, too hot, too cold, having enough tummy time? etc, etc, etc.... I worry if he's crying, and I worry the same if he's "too" quiet. Sigh. We just love him so much and want to take care of him the best we can.

Anyway, here is some two month info:

Favorite thing to do: he LOVES music!! David came up with the idea to put on Disney Pandora and Max (and mommy!) love it. He will just be lying there quietly but once you turn on the music he kicks and moves like he's trying to dance. adorable.

Favorite thing we like to do with him: Umm, I kind of like to dress him up in cute outfits and take pictures. Also, I like taking him to Panera (we are here as I type). He's pretty popular here...everyone always stops to ooohhh and ahhh. We also like to skype his cousins and grandparents.

Activities: We are still doing our excercise class and yoga. He's also been to my mom's group with me a few times now, though he is still too young to play with the big kids. We've had a few play dates, but those mostly consist of mommy talking with her friends and Max sleeping in his car seat :)

Schedule: This kid is a clock. If he needs to eat at 9:00, he will wake up ready at 8:58. It never ceases to amaze me. It makes scheduling around his feedings pretty easy and predictable. The downside is we lose some flexibility because his feedings and sleep schedules are so structured. But overall, I prefer this!

My favorite things he does: SMILE!! He is starting to smile and of course it is so cute. He smiles when we sing to him or make funny noises.

Size: He is out of newborn clothes and on to the next size up. Everytime I pick him up he feels heavier.

Sleep: Oh my gosh, we are so lucky! Max is a great sleeper. People at David's work always ask him how much sleep he is losing at night. For the record, he looses NO SLEEP! And I don't miss that much either. We put Max down in his bed (no rocking, no crying) and within 20 minutes or so he's fast asleep. He will coo and make some noises, but he rarely cries. He'll sleep for 4-6 hours for the first part of the night, wake up for a feeding, and fall back asleep for another 2-3. Even naps during the day are pretty routine and predictable.

We are making our first trip to Kentucky this weekend!! We can't wait!!! We'll see how he does on the car ride.

One Month Update!

I am writing his one month update at 5.5 weeks. Apparently, motherhood doesn't leave much time for blogging :)

We are so busy! You wouldn't think one little baby (that actually behaves really well and sleeps alot) would be such a time committment...but he is! And I LOVE IT!!

He is the most perfect, best, adorable, fun, sweet person in the world. I am so lucky to get to see him change and grow every day. Each day he does something new and I feel like everything new he does is a milestone :)

Here are a few things about his first month:

Favorite thing to do: Come on, he's one month old. He likes to sleep, eat and poop. But seriously, he also loves bathtime, being read or sang to, and cuddling!

Favorite thing we like to do with him: Cuddle!

Activities: We started baby yoga and an excercise class called "Buggies and Babes." Buggies and Babes is a class that we both go to for excercise. Let me tell you...it is kicking my butt!! I thought it was just a bunch of ladies pushing strollers around, but it's tough. Feels good to start getting back in shape though.

Visitors: We have had lots of love in our household! Of course grandma cathy and papa gary have been to visit a few times, as well as Nonna and Grandad. But Max also got to meet his cousins Eli, Autumn and Anora and his aunt Laura and uncle John. It was adorable!! Anora kept saying, "Baby, Baby" and kept giving him toys (that he's obviously too young to play with.) Eli kept sniffing his hair, and Autumn loved to hold him. She said she could just hold him forever..... I'm with her on that one :)

We also had my friends Natalie and Austin come visit. Max loved it, but I think mommy enjoyed it most. Great girl time, which is what I needed. They loved on him all weekend and also helped me out a lot. They made David and I a great dinner one night and even let us take a date night to Wal Mart :) Max loved shopping with us... he was a trooper.

Schedule: He is on a great schedule thanks to the amazing read, BabyWise (recommend!) We are on the eat, play, sleep schedule. He eats, I keep him up awhile to play, and then he naps. Sometimes I get a quick nap in when he does, other days I'm not so lucky. At night he is sleeping 4-5 hours at a time. It's magical.

My favorite things he does: I LOVE when he first wakes up and stretches. It is my favorite thing he does. It is so dramatic and he uses every inch of his body and face. Hilarious.

David: Daddy is back at work and says he misses us all day. My favorite is when he first gets home and sees Max. David gets the biggest smile on his face the moment he sees him. He plays with him for awhile and takes care of him while I take a little break. David likes reading to him and taking him out with us to places (this kid has been everywhere already-- airports, restaurants, malls, etc.)

Size: He is growing as expected. He grew out of newborn diapers and I pretty much teared up when that happened. I love that he is growing up and changing, but it can also be a tiny bit sad.

Pictures on facebook... it's too hard to post them both here and there.

We are enjoying our time with him. More updates to come!!

Maxwell is born!

Having a baby is exhausting...but the BEST kind of exhausting EVER!!

On Sunday, January 30, 2011, Maxwell Dean McConda was born at 6:01 a.m. at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, WV. We were so blessed to have a healthy baby!! As promised, I will leave out "the gross stuff" and give you only the basic synopsis.

Hospital Test Run #2:

On Friday morning, I began having light contractions. Mom and I were shopping for a baby book, and I shopped right through the uncomfortableness. Later that night David and I went to dinner and a movie... Only I didn't make it to the movie. At dinner my contractions began to get worse, and I went straight home and to bed. Only I didn't sleep... starting at 10:00 that night, my contractions began to be more regular and more intense. David stayed up and kept me company. At 6:00 a.m.. we decided to pack our bags and head to the hospital.

Only...I didn't stay at the hospital for long. The doctor said that while I was having contractions, they weren't being very effective. I was not dilated enough to really constitute staying in the hospital. He said it could be hours or even days until I was ready. The doc said to go home and come back "when I'm ready." This was so vague to me! He said I would "just know" when it hurt bad enough to return.

Frustrated and crying I tell him "I'm in pain now! I thought this time was it. How much worse does the pain need to be to come back?"

So we went home where I labored until I couldn't take it anymore. My mom, dad and sisters came in town and they were a huge help!! They were a great distraction to the pain.

Ok, Seriously, this time!!

By the time we got back to the hospital, it was around 7:00 that night. The only person I wanted to see was the anesthesiologist. At this point, contractions were 2-3 minutes apart, lasting about a minute. I had never been in so much pain my entire life. I just couldn't handle it. I decided to get an epidural, and I ended up being very happy with that decision. Before the epidural, all I could focus on was the pain. I wasn't even aware or concentrating on the fact that our baby was about to appear in the world!! Once the pain was relieved, it became an enjoyable experience where I could focus on the present and enjoy the moment that my son was born. As I told david after I received the epidural, "I love you again!"

At 6:01 he arrived!! There were about 12-15 nurses, doctors and assistants in the room. It was crazy, but I actually felt comfort in knowing there were so many set of hands. David was a GREAT help!! All anyone kept talking about during delivery was the baby's hair!!

When he was born I just couldn't stop saying "awww." I think that's all I said for the first fifteen minutes. I will never forget the first time I held him. Also the first time I fed him was just as special.

The hospital stay was not what I expected. The staff was amazing...especially the nurses. But we got absolutely zero rest. Between morning rounds, nurses, visitors, people checking my vitals, someone asking questions for the birth certificate, etc, etc, it seemed there was constantly someone in the room that needed something from me, the baby, or david. No one ever talked about or prepared me for that...it's one thing I wish I would have known to expect.

Home sweet home:

Once we got home, we began to catch up on some rest (thank you grandma cathy!!) Over the next few days, we started feeling like, "hey, we can do this!" and grandma cathy left. we were so fortunate that David got an extended period of time off work. It was really nice spending some time just the three of us. we want to thank our families though for all their help!! especially my mom... we couldn't have done it without her!

Ever since:

We have the best baby!! It's not that David and I know what we are doing...it's that Max does! He makes mommy look good :) He eats like a champ, and has since day 1. I haven't had any problems breastfeeding and it's all because of him. He's a great sleeper too. Of course we are tired, getting up for feedings every 2-3 hours, but I'm grateful that he eats well and falls back to sleep (eventually.) That's all we can ask for!

We are absolutely in love with little Max. Everything he does is adorable. He is already changing, and every day he seems a little older and wiser :) Basically we just sit and hold him and stare at him! And kiss him!

David went back to work, so it's just mommy and max now. We are getting the hang of it, but we miss daddy a lot!!

We are so thankful for a healthy, happy family!!!