Annas-Momma's profile

Annas-Momma
	Age: 25 Country: US Province/region: City: Ocala Partner: Brandon Children: Yes, 1 Pregnant: No Due date: 12 Jul ,2007 Occupation: Stay at home Momma
	Online: 3 hours ago. Last updated: 24 days ago. Member since: 378 days
\| Profile \| Photos (89) \| Children (1) \| Blog (9) \| Polls (0) \| Agenda (0) \| Comments added (122) \| Notepad

Members

My name is Anita. I am married to the love of my life, Brandon. We had a baby girl on July 12th, 2007. Her name is Anna Grace. She weighed 7lbs. 7oz. and was 19inches long at birth.

My Anna Gracie a minute old.
She is now 1 year old!! I am a stay at home mom. Anna was strictly breastfed for the first 3 months, then was supplemented with formula until 4 months, and then was formula fed. She is now drinking whole milk and doing just fine with it. She is no longer eating baby food and is entirely on adult foods! Her favorite food ever is granny smith apples. They have been great for teething. She cut her first tooth on Christmas. She has 8 teeth, 4 on top and 4 on bottom. Shes teething right now trying to get some molars in. Right now, 3 are just barely popping through. She says, "Momma", "Dada", and "Baba". She also says "Kitty", "Up", "Yeah", "No", "Bye-Bye", "Quack" "Uh-oh", "Thank-you" and a ton of other things! She also babbles constantly and has conversations with me, strangers, herself and her toys. She mastered crawling on St. Patrick's Day and was crawling the whole day. She crawls everywhere! She cruises and climbs everything she can. She stands on her own. She is finally walking. She started just about a week before her first birthday. It was her only way of getting around for a while, but now that she realized that momma won't carry her quite as much anymore, shes crawling more again. She is a great big ball of personality and is a stubborn little princess. She loves swimming and getting dirty and being outside. She plays well with other kids, but if she is upset she has no problem letting them know. Shes a little pistol and a charmer all in one.

Anna Gracie, 1 year old.

Anna Grace 8 months old, riding the alligator in Florida.
Anna took her first airplane ride down to Florida to visit her Grandma and Grandpa on Feb. 29th and came back on March 8th. She loved to look out the window and socialize with everyone on the plane. For anyone who wants suggestions on what to do when taking a baby on a plane (since I have had a LOT of people ask) this is what I suggest if its possible for you:
1) Bottle or pacifier to keep her ears from popping.
2) Security item... such as a blanket or toy.
3) Go to the store and buy a new toy that she has never seen before... it will occupy her for the longest time! I just got hand puppets for $1 each at Target and Anna LOVED them.
4) Get a window seat. Anna spent most of the ride looking out the window.
5) Business class. The seats are bigger, you have more leg room, and its closer to the bathroom for diaper changes. All of these are VERY GOOD when you have a antsy baby on your lap!

Waiting patiently in the airport.

I originally joined this site when I was 16 weeks pregnant on I-am-pregnant.com and loved the information it provided me and the friends I made.

40 weeks.

I gained 41 pounds during my pregnancy and still have 20 pounds to go to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I thought that this weight would come off easier, but its not. I eat healthy, work out, and generally maintain a healthy lifestyle. I'm very upset that I can't seem to get back to my old self. Hopefully, I will be able to come to terms with and learn to love my new body. I have become very determined to lose more weight!!! Wish me LOTS OF LUCK and any suggestions is HIGHLY APPRECIATED!!!

I still have some of the best mommy friends that I met through this site. I deleted my old page and started this new one because I had a hard time updating the old one on a regular basis. I also grew tired of "know-it-all" moms. Most of all, I don't like the cliques that formed. I am not here to argue about breastfeeding, circumcision, induction, abortion, religion or anything of that nature. I am simply here to talk to other mommies, try to answer any questions I can, and gain knowledge from the site and from other mommies. I love to hear stories about children's milestones, and want to celebrate my child's milestones with everyone else. I do not feel like anyone is "showing off" by telling stories about their child's development. In fact, I think it is wonderful that there is this place where we can let our hearts swell with pride and share that pride with other mommies.

I was induced on my due date. I was in labor for 18 hours. I did have an epidural. If you would like to read my birth story, I am more than welcome to share it. Just ask me for it and I can send it to you! I remember in my third trimester, I asked everyone for their birth stories, just so I could get an idea of what I was really getting into!

I promise to keep my page updated with stories of Anna, her growth and development, and pictures of our little family!

At a wedding the weekend of St. Patrick's Day

02.06.08
This morning I got up and went about my normal morning routine. I got Anna out of her crib and fed her breakfast, washed her up and got her dressed, played with her on the floor for a little while and then got up to make some coffee. I went to the bathroom, poured myself a cup of coffee, and when I walked into the livingroom, this is what I found:

She was just talking to herself and giggling! I can't believe she crawled backwards and got herself stuck under there. I guess I can't leave her alone anymore! Time to start babyproofing!!

As many of you may have noticed... in the many pictures of Anna I have posted on here... she has a pacifier in her mouth. If you have REALLY been noticing, then you may have also noticed that we changed brand of pacifiers at about 3 or 4 months. My plan wasn't to have a baby that wanted her pacifier all the time. I was going to let her use one for sleeping when she was a newborn and then wean it away by 6 months. And let me tell you the story about why that hasn't happened.

We call it a Plug. Her pacifier is her Plug. So when I refer to it as so, you now know what I'm talking about. I brought an Avent plug to the hospital to give birth so that she would get used to that brand right away. Also, thats the brand of bottles I use and I wanted it to be an easy transition from breastfeeding to bottle if it was something she was familiar with. Makes sense? I don't really know. But its what I went with! The first time she even got the plug was when she got her hearing tested because she was crying and they needed to calm her down and saw the plug in the bassinet. It was kinda sweet because when the nurse came back with her she was SO WORRIED that I was going to be mad at her!! I giggled and told her it was fine and she was doing a wonderful job. It almost breaks my heart that anyone would have ever yelled at her in the past for that. Anywho... ADD... back to the subject!! I didn't PLAN on having Anna even use a plug for that long. Until I was faced with the fact that my child was a born thumb sucker. I will NEVER FORGET... right after giving birth Dr. Mark put Anna on my chest and I was crying and was elated. Then the nurse took her away to the warmer and Anna was screeeeeaming!! Then it stopped as fast as it started. I looked over to see what was up and the nurse (or maybe my mom? Or Nadine? Its mostly a blur.) told me, "Shes sucking her thumb!" It was sooo cute to look at... but I just couldn't believe that she was MINUTES old and sucking her thumb to calm herself down. After she got her bath... and I got to shower... I was holding her and saw two little blisters on the inside of her right arm. I had seen on TV babies who were born with blisters like that... and know what its from? Sucking their arm while still inside! Dear Jesus!! This child was literally CREATED by GOD to be a thumb sucker!!!!! As I talked to more people about her sucking her thumb, the more I realized that it would be a HARD habit to break in a child. I mean, seriously... its not like I can "take away" her thumb to get her to stop! I was hoping by 3 months old she wouldn't be still doing it... but she was and it was more constant. THAT is where the change of the plug comes into play. I decided that if she was going to be addicted to something, I would rather it be the plug than her thumb. I've heard more success stories of breaking the plug habit than the thumb. So I switched to the more orthodontic (did I spell that right? Too lazy to spell check. Yahoo for Hooked On Phonics!) because, lets face it, almost all kids end up with braces at some point. I would just like to have to have as little problems as possible.

She does still put her thumb in her mouth from time to time, but for the most part... she really loves her plug!!

Going swimming for the first time!

Anna's first baseball game... Pirates and Tigers.

Moving To Florida.
If I can get any opinions on this it is highly appreciated. My husband and I live near Chicago. I have lived here my ENTIRE LIFE. I am near my family, and I am very, VERY close to my mother and sisters. My husband and I just bought this house in May 2007. I love this house, I love this town, and I love being close to my family. I always imagined living here for the rest of my life. However, it seems as if everything is about to change...
I knew, when I married Brandon, that he was going to one day take over his father's company. I married him knowing this and knowing that it would take time and sacrifice for him to learn the trade before he could take over the company himself. In the last few months, Brandon's dad (Larry, for future reference) has been talking to him about learning everything. Brandon is currently running a towing company. He is very good at what he does, but doesn't want to make a living out of it any more. Its terrible hours and, in the terrible winters that Chicago sees, its INSANELY UNSAFE! Now, Larry had initially said that Brandon would be able to do everything from here... as far as learning to take over the company. But now, we have been informed that we would have to move to where Brandon's parents live... in Florida. And this is where this decision should be EASY... but its actually terrible heartbreaking.
If we move to Florida, we would be able to save money for things like Anna's college fund and MY school fund much easier because we would be able to cut back on what we spend. We would have company cars with company fuel cards (so no car payments and no paying for gas) and company cell phones (no cell phone bills) and the company insurance, which is a million times better than our insurance plan now. Brandon's mother knows that the school system in their area isn't the best, so she has offered to help put Anna through private schooling. I mean, can I really pass up an opportunity for Anna to go to one of the BEST ranked schools in the COUNTRY!? And then I could actually go back to school, because Brandon wouldn't be working such terrible hours and would be on a set schedule. So I would be able to take night and weekend classes and get my degree! And then, of course, there is the matter of my husband's happiness. My heart breaks when he has to get up at 3am and then doesn't get home until midnight. And I hate getting calls from him saying that he won't be home for 2 days because he has to go to Texas or Ohio. I just think of him sleeping in the truck and being tired and bored. And then there are the terrible snow storms where I just imagine him being on the side of the road, freezing his behind off, and some car losing control and smashing into him. I've heard too many stories of men getting hurt and killed on the side of the road. I can't deal with those thoughts. In Florida, Brandon would get EVERY WEEKEND off work... like any other regular job. He would be home EVERY NIGHT for dinner. Soo....
Why is this such a hard decision for me to make? A new house... bigger, newer, and just all around BETTER than the one we are in now. A better education for my daughter, an education for me, a better life for my husband... and, of course, much better weather.
I just feel so selfish that I can't decide what to do. Because thats really what this is... me being selfish. I don't adjust to change well. I've never had to leave except when I lived in Iowa for college and for a few years after I dropped out. Even then, I was a 2 hour car ride away. I don't want to be far from my mom and my sisters. They are my support system. My mom also has cancer and I just couldn't imagine what I would do if anything happened while I was far away. Of course, my family thinks moving down there is a bad idea... but I know that this is something that I have to decide. Brandon won't do anything that makes me unhappy. And if I don't want to go, we won't. Even if it means he has to keep this terrible job he has now.
The economy is really bad right now, and Brandon's boss (who is the owner of the company) keeps talking about the business going "belly up" in the next two years if something doesn't change. However, if he takes Larry's offer, Brandon will ALWAYS have a job with a steady income... a VERY GOOD income, if I may add. We would never have to worry about finances ever again.
So why am I being so selfish about this? Any words of advice, encouragement, or just honest opinions is soooo appreciated. I know the decision I should be making... so how can I make it easier?
Thank in advance for anything that anyone has to say. :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

THANK YOU to everyone to helped me by sharing your advice and opinions. I think I really needed the support and honesty from everyone to really get my behind into gear about moving. Yall are the BEST!!!!!!!!!

03.24.08
Yesterday morning, I gave Anna a bath and put her on the livingroom floor with her little dress to get ready to go out for Easter. I went to put a diaper on her and the little velcro strap pulled right off! So I turned around to grab a new diaper and by the time I turned back around, she was crawling away from me! And this is what I saw:

Welcome To The World
Jayla Margaret!

My beautiful Niece.

Little Jayla. Isn't she sweet?

Anna Grace meeting her new cousin.

Big Brother Aidan giving kisses to his Little Sister.

Here are some cute videos I took of Anna. They aren't very high quality because I took them on my cell phone. The first one she is playing with my cell phone while the camera is running. The second one is her "fake cry" because I took the cell phone away. Know how I know its fake? Look at that bottom lip!! No one really cries that way!! *LOL* The third is when Miss Kitty comes along and if you listen very closely you hear her say "Kitty" a few times. Notice how the tears instantly stop? Yeah. Then the last one is her trying to get Miss Kitty attention, then climbing up my lap to get my cell phone again. They are only 15 seconds long, some shorter. So waste a minute or so and watch these! PS: Please ignore the fact that she has no pants on. We had a little blowout at nap time...

Playing with the Cell Phone

Fake Cry

Distracted by Miss Kitty

The Finale

05.06.08
On May 8th I am taking Anna Grace to see an Endocrinologist. At her 9 month appointment, the pediatrician noticed that she is beginning to develop breast tissue. The nurse said its probably Precocious Puberty. I'm very scared because it can be anything ranging from absolutely nothing, to something life threatening. I had to take her for x-rays and bloodwork. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. I had to hold her down on my lap as they took blood from her arms 3 times as she screamed and yelled, "Momma!!!" My heart completely broke. They sent the bloodwork to a lab in California and they are faxing the results to the doctor before the appointment. I have to take a TON of paperwork I filled out and a copy of the x-rays. Hopefully, its nothing. There is a chance that its just extra hormones from when I was pregnant with her that are still trying to filter out of her system. She would be completely normal by the time she is one year old. She could also have to be on hormone therapy for the rest of her life. If she was, the hormones could work wonderfully or they could only work part way. She could take the hormones and be completely normal. She could also take hormones and end up still developing breasts way too early, starting her period when she is 7, and being extremely short and never reaching her growth potential. That worries me because I don't want her to get teased for anything growing up. It is hard enough to grow up as it is, and I don't want it to be any harder for her than it should be. And, in the worst and most RARE case, she could have a brain tumor. The chance of this being a possibility is close to NOTHING, but it still scares me. A lot. Everything scares me. I'm scared because I don't know what is wrong... or if there even is anything wrong. I'm scared that the doctor is going to send her for an MRI and CT scan... and something is wrong in her brain. I'm scared. I'm just so completely scared. Please pray for us. Pray that there is nothing wrong with my little baby girl, and pray for me and Anna to have the strength to get through all of this. Thank you.

Anna Grace, 9 and a half months old. Spaghetti Night.

... Its Precocious Thelarche. Which means she is developing breast tissue, only breast tissue, but its already stopped. She has extra Transplacental Estrogen in her system. That means that I was, in fact, over-due with her. By about a week or two. So there was extra estrogen that crossed the placenta into her at birth. That extra estrogen actually caused the breast tissue to develop MUCH earlier, but it has been missed up til now because of baby fat. Now that she is growing up and thinning out, its noticeable. It is REAL breast tissue and will always remain there up until she hits puberty and develops more breast tissue. However, it isn't enough to make her look like she actually has boobs yet. I do have to keep my eye out to make sure she doesn't begin spotting and having a "mini-period". She won't actually START her period yet, but it may be the last of the hormones escaping out of her body. Her x-rays showed that her bone age is 12 months, so it is a little older, but only by two months. In the grand scheme of things, that isn't much. The doctor said they don't begin to worry until its greater than 2 years. Anna is 27.75 inches tall and 19.6 pounds... and all in all, is perfectly healthy. I could have broken down into tears when he said that she is completely fine. Shes a happy and healthy baby. Thank you EVERYONE for your thoughts and prayers. And thank GOD that my baby is wonderfully healthy.

Anna Sleeping, 10 months.

06.05.08
I'm in the process of planning Anna's first birthday party. I can't believe how fast my baby girl, my precious little miracle, has grown up. Shes so big and so smart and beautiful. I thank God every day for this child in my life.
Since I have been planning her party, I've changed the theme a hundred times. I was getting so stressed out about it. Finally my husband told me that NO ONE is going to care what the theme is and Anna is going to care what it is... everyone will just be happy to celebrate Anna turning one. And he is right. My sister said that I could do a Dirt And Buffalo theme and Anna will still steal the show! And she is right. So I finally settled on a ducky theme.

I like it a lot and I think it will be a hit.
Now that I'm finally starting to destress about planning the party, it is really sinking in that my little girl has grown up so, soooo fast. Next thing I know she will be leaving for college, getting married, having babies of her own!! Wow. I just can't think that far ahead.
For now, I'm just going to stay in the present.

Anna Grace, almost 11 months old.

My silly little blue eyed Anna Gracie.

The ducks came in the mail for the party. I got 100 random rubber ducks. Now that I have them all, I have no idea how I'm going to get rid of most of them at the party!!

Anna loves to climb. On everything. She has a cool zebra in the living room that she can ride. She loves it. It bounces and spins and makes noise. Its sooo neat. Yesterday, she climbed into her walker. Well, first she put her toy in the walker. Then she climbed in it. Backwards. At first she thought it was funny... as did I. So I took a picture. The second I grabbed my camera, she realized that she couldn't get out. So she started to cry. I snapped the picture really quick and went to get her out. Only to discover that since she had put the toy in first, she was stuck. Brandon was outside on the phone. I yelled and yelled and yelled for him. I seriously thought I was going to have to cut her out because of the way she wedged her toy and herself in there. Luckily, Brandon came in and got her out and saved the day.

Beautiful Anna

Anna, Miss Kitty and Dave.

Pushing the baby.

Temper Tantrum.

07.23.08
I hope everyone watches the videos and gets as much of a kick out of them as I do. Anna's first birthday has come and gone and shes still growing more and more with each passing day. My heart swells with pride watching her grow and learn. We went for her 1 year appointment just yesterday because she was running a fever the first time we were supposed to go. She is 20lbs 1oz and 29 inches tall. I love her so much. Shes teething and trying to get her molars in, so thats been a bit of a pain. She also has taken a new love to throwing temper tantrums. Thats been all kinds of fun, let me tell you. But, all in all, she is still the little love of my life. :)

Anna Grace 1 year old, going on 20.

Okay... I thought this was pretty cute. These pictures were taken by me and my sister of our daughters the same week. Pretty stinkin funny, if you ask me!

Anna

Jayla

At The Park

Comments on Annas-Momma`s Profile
Leave a message for Annas-Momma in the right column where it reads `Add comment`

Comments 1-25 to Annas-Momma
| 1 | Next | Show comments older than 20 days

BethSilva - 5.3 hours ago
Hey I finally uploaded some new pictures on the last 2 pages. Take a look if you would like! Thanks =)

Baby Jaidalynn - 15.5 hours ago
Just updated my Profile. It's all new and Valentine Themed. I love Photoshop. IT's the best.

allsmiles86 - 24.7 hours ago
I sbsolutly love the video, beautiful Anna. The way she gives that cheesy grin, I can't wait to see my little bean smile! It made my eyes all wattery. Just knowing that by this time next year I will have a 5 month old, it just floors me! Beautiful Daughter!

xO-BRiANNA - 36.9 hours ago
Hey Ladies!!!
How are all of you doing, babies&bellies?
Good I hope!!!
Haven't talked to many of you in a while so I just wanted to catch up!!!!
I've been so busy with baby stuff and being sick I hardly get the chance to come on
and talk to everyone

Just wanted to throw out a huge congrats to Helen&Steve(minkymoo) !! They deserve this pregnancy, everyone throw them some hugee buckets of super sticky baby dust!!!!

=] My baby shower is so soon, i'm so excited!
My mom has the date set for the 17th, so many people are coming!

Hope all is well for everyone!!!

allsmiles86 - 45.6 hours ago

When my mom was pregnant with my little brother, they have an ultrasound of him with his hands behind his head, his legs straight out with his ankles crossed. He slept like that as a baby, and hes 20 now, and still sleeps like that! :)

dustins mommy - Monday, 5 January
New blog up!!

cait - Sunday, 4 January
I got your card the day after xmas and boy is anna just so stinking cute!

dustins mommy - Thursday, 1 January
25 Week blog up ladies!

xO-BRiANNA - Thursday, 1 January
Hey ladies! I hope everyone has a great new years & had a great new years eve!!!
Mine wasn't so well, I haven't been around because I've been in the hospital since Tuesday morning..
I was really sick and it caused me to be dehydrated, that causes contractions.
I also had 3 kidney stones in each kidney..
So i had to stay in labor & delivery for 3 days, 2 nights on IV's and baby moniters.
The babys fine!
I'll post some pictures of the new ultrasound up, they'll be towards the top!

dustins mommy - Wednesday, 31 December

And thank you to all the suggestions at where I can find decently priced crib bedding! I just found this store called Other Mothers so I might try them. Thanks again everyone!!

BethSilva - Wednesday, 31 December

HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE NEW YEAR...2008 was the best year of my life. I honestly can't remember what my life was like before I had my daughter. She is just the most amazing thing to happen to me! My new years resolution is to be the best mom I can be, and to stop worring about getting a BFP so much. Also once I quit my job I want to start working out again, and lose my goal of 30 lbs.

Anyway be safe everyone. Love you ladies! xoxo-Beth

ashley-blesseddaily congrats on your BFP you deserve it. and Minkymoo78 I hope you get your BFP real soon!

prettybird - Wednesday, 31 December

glitter-graphics.com

Baby Jaidalynn - Wednesday, 31 December
Oh and that should also include in my new years resolution to lose the weight to get back to my size 5-6 jeans.

Baby Jaidalynn - Wednesday, 31 December
Just wanted to wish everyojne a Happy New Year. As for me, My new Years Resolution is to find a new job, Go back to collage for a different career plan, and that my family can be much happier.
Wish you all a Happy New Year!!!!

megandgrace - Wednesday, 31 December
Hello everyone, my stepmom sent me an email containing this video and i thought i would share! But i do want to warn you that it is very graphic and kind of hard to watch! For speedy drivers you may want to rethink the way you drive after watching this video! I cried the entire video which is about 4 minutes long, so i truly caution you when you watch this video but i feel that reckless driving should be made more aware of so that things like this don't happen anymore!!!
http://bilgalleri.dk/html/vid_vis.asp?VideoID=22034

trying4babynum1 - Wednesday, 31 December

MyHotComments

MyHotComments

hope that every1 has a blessed new year!
hope that all ur wishes come true for all the mommies 2 be and all those who are TTC!
come July i will be a mommy.... that is such a wonderful thought

dustins mommy - Tuesday, 30 December
I have a quick question, does anyone know of any websites or stores where they have crib bedding that isn't so pricey? I have tried eBay and they SEEM to have good deals but then I look at the shipping price and it's like $20 and the bedding (4 piece set) was already $49 gah! I my just go to a few local consignment shops and look for clean, gently used bedding sets.

We just don't wanna spend a fortune on bedding he will only use for a short time ya know?

xO-BRiANNA - Monday, 29 December
Hey Ladies! How are you? Good I hope!
Hope your weekend was great & the holidays!

I just got home from my 30 week apt.
Baby's head down now, I've gained 11 pounds this month!

Pre-pregnancy weight - 98
30 week weigh 133!
WOW, Packin on the weight! Idk where it all is, i'm so tiny!!!
Baby weighs about 3 pounds, dr said shes a little small but thats good because i'm so small... =] so i'm hoping she stays a little small so I can push her out without complications of her being to big!!!

have a good day ladies & a good new year!!!

ambrielles mommy - Monday, 29 December
lol, thats funny I didn't like my hair in that picture. I was trying something new.

Lexibuggsmommy - Monday, 29 December
I posted some Christmas pics in a blog, and added more pics to her "2month old pics" blog..if anyone gets bored : )
Hope everyone is doing well and had a safe and happy holiday!

ambrielles mommy - Saturday, 27 December
got your card, so cute!!! Cory was like who's that I was like "you know, the one who wears the big girl undies" he thinks thats adorable.

Terah - Saturday, 27 December
One thing to let you know is guys ALWAYS think we are WAY hotter than we think we are. Don't get mad at him for saying your beautiful or sexy. He's probably telling you how he really feels! Don't push that away. Plus, NEVER point out things that you don't want others to notice about you. It brings more attention to it. I understand it's hard when you were so tiny at one point in time. I'm in the same boat! I used to be a size 4 as well and now I'm in a size 8. (I was in a size 14 right after my last 2 pregnancies). I'd love to be a size 6 and just stay there. But, this is where I am and I make the best of it. You WILL get thinner with the life style you mentioned you have. It just takes a long time to do it. I wish I could get immediate results, but it's more like a year in the gym before I notice in my clothing. So, hang in there... keep working out and eating right... and STOP pointing out what you don't like about yourself.... ESPECIALLY to HIM! :-)

More comments:

1 Next

Leave a message for Annas-Momma in the right column where it reads `Add comment`

Photos