Finally getting to it/ Josiah's first year

Hello Everyone out there in the blogger world! I've finally decided to stop putting off starting a blog. Not that I don't want to do it, I would just get overwhelmed when thinking about it because there is so much I've wanted to put on this since Josiah was born. It's ok though! I'm going to put some pictures and things on here of Josiah's first year and get caught up quickly so I can start blogging about our everyday life as we live it. I'm excited about this blog not only so friends and family can keep updated on the family but also so I have something to look back on years from now! This will probably be my longest post ever considering all I want to catch up on so bear with me! :) BTW, some of the contents may be graphic but I want to make sure I include everything so I will be able to look back and remember it all, even the gross stuff! :)

So, if I can figure this thing out I'm going to put a picture up of Josiah every month so we can see the changes in him this first year.

Josiah Marland Lee Turner
Born: December 30, 2009 at 5:23pm
Weight: 7pds 10oz
Height: 20 1/2 inches

I'll never forget that day as long as I live. I remember I woke up having a feeling something was going to happen. I don't remember thinking about it like that though. I just remember waking up and getting in the shower. I decided that I was going to shave my legs(not the easiest thing when you are nine months pregnant.) I got out of the shower and decided to straighten my hair which I hardly ever do since it takes forever. I put makeup on and everything. My sister was visiting and we had planned on taking some pictures sometime while she was in. I told her we better go ahead and do them because I was afraid of going into labor and not being able to take them. Little did I know I was having contractions already and had them the entire time we were taking pictures. I remember she had me lay on my side for a few pictures and I couldn't because it hurt when the contractions came. Later that evening a friend of ours brought dinner over for me so I didn't have to cook(thanks Aleisha!) She brought over spicy gumbo and we ate it talking about how the spicy food might help me go into labor! After that my sister wanted to go walk around a store hoping it too would help me go into labor and it sure did. It was late so we went to meijer which was great because there really wasn't many people there. We had so much fun there. I remember laughing together talking about how embarrassing it would be if my water broke while we were walking in there. The contractions got pretty hard while we were in meijer. I had to use the bathroom so we went in and I remember having a contraction while I was using the bathroom and it was strong enough for me to yell out to my sister and I knew for sure this was the real thing! I got so excited. I wasn't nervous at all at that point. My sister made us walk for 30 more minutes after that JUST incase because she wanted to make SURE I was in true labor. She doesn't know what pay back will be like for her! :) :) We went home after that and I called the doc. She told me to go to bed and rest and not to worry about coming in until the contractions were strong enough I couldn't sleep through them or if I started bleeding or anything like that. So I went to bed and woke up sometime around 4:30 in the morning with hard contractions and went to the bathroom. I noticed some blood but I just went back and laid down trying to decide if we should go to the hospital or not. After having another strong contraction I knew it was time to leave. That's when I started getting nervous because it was definitely happening and it all just kind of hit me at once. I was going to be pushing a baby out soon and that scared me a little! It didn't last for long though because once we got to the hospital I was completely calm. The nurse tried to send me home after checking me and telling me I was only 3 centimeters dilated. She gave me some signs to look for while at home and told me to come back when I started having those signs. I was sure I was already having them though and I was really nervous about going home. I did NOT want to have this baby by myself! So, before we left I went to the bathroom and when I did I felt so funny. A different nurse was in the room when I came back from the bathroom and I told her I really thought I should stay so she decided to check me again. She was shocked when she checked me to find out that I was now 5 centimeters dilated! Thank the Lord she checked me again because I was about to go home! They admitted me immediately and things kind of flew by from there up until about the 8th centimeter. I stopped dilating and things were really going slow and getting harder. After everyone talking to me about how much longer it could be I decided to get the epidural(BIGGEST MISTAKE) and my labor from then on was HORRIBLE! I'm pretty sure that is the kind of pain you'd experience in hell because it was insane! I remember seriously thinking my body wasn't going to be able to handle it and I might die! I know it sounds extreme but it really was that bad. I had this amazing nurse in there though and she took great care of me. When she saw how bad things had gotten she told me she wasn't going to let this happen any longer because I had gone so far and did so well the whole time she didn't want me to end like that. So, she said at my next contraction she said she was going to MAKE me 10 centimeters dilated and that's what she did!  After 20 minutes of pushing and getting an episiotomy(which probably wouldn't have happened if I didn't get the epi) Josiah was born! All the pain was completely gone the minute he came out and was laid on my chest and he gripped onto my finger. All the pain was totally worth it and I can't even remember what it actually felt like now after having him here with me.

1 month

Things I remember about the first month: I was a milk goddess HAHA and was totally not prepared for it! I was a zombie from lack of sleep. I got some great help from family and friends with meals and chores and things. Josiah had reflux and spit up so bad once he couldn't breath through is nose or mouth. Probably the scariest thing that could happen to me as a new mom. Josiah had the hiccups a lot. He loved his swing and loved mommy and daddy singing to him. He STILL loves that. He was very jumpy. He would jump every time daddy would come home from school and open the front door. He would always wake himself up when in his crib from his arms slowing going down and hitting the mattress. I found out a great way to solve that problem though! I just put his head at the very top of the crib against his bumper pad and for some reason he felt secure and didn't hardly do it anymore! :) 

Things I wish I would have known or listened to more looking back: if breastfeeding have a good pump and store every extra ounce because you'll need it later. It's ok to hold them a lot for the first few months because they need to know you are always there for them in the beginning and build that trust and security for the future. SLEEP even MORE than you think you should. Forget about the house and chores and things. They can wait but your sleep can't.  

2 months

I remember he started becoming more active. He loved to play on his play mat. He knew my voice from anyone else. He still slept a lot. He smiled at me all the time and loved when I sang and played with him on my lap.

3 months

We took him back to our hometowns for the first time this month. He did ok on the car ride. We realized he wasn't like most babies and didn't fall asleep or stay asleep in the car seat. Probably because we didn't go hardly anywhere his first 3 months because of flu season and doctor orders. Josiah got RSV while we were out of town. It was very scary but we were lucky because he didn't have it as bad as infants normally get it. We loved seeing family and I think Josiah enjoyed it too! I think by this time we had him on a good sleeping schedule and he slept through the night. 

4 months

Josiah was really changing. His personality was really able to shine by now. He was such a happy boy. He loved baths and being read to. He was soooo strong! We tried the bumbo seat but he would arch his back and push his way up out of it far enough to scare me so I didn't use it much. We stopped using the swing by the end of this month because he was getting so big we decided to try his jumperoo! He LOVED his jumperoo! It was a hand me down and it didn't have a bunch of toys on it but he still just loved it being in it so much! 

5 months

Josiah spent a lot of time in his jumperoo this month by choice. He would get upset if I took him out too soon! Josiah really enjoyed watching Evan, the little boy I babysat full time and being on the floor with him while he played with his toys. We had a lot of fun play dates with a friend who had her baby 3 weeks before I had Josiah. I noticed Josiah reacting more to his "your baby can read" and "baby signing time" videos this month. He was often in his jumperoo watching them and would just jump like crazy when the video would  be on and they'd sing the songs and things. I also noticed Josiah warming up to Maggie(my sister and brother-in-laws dog) more around this time! That was a lot of fun to see! Josiah rolled over this month. We went to Ironton for Memorial day weekend and watch the parade with family. I started giving him rice cereal with breast milk at the end of this month. It made him SO constipated so eventually we changed to oatmeal and started mixing it with apple prune juice and still do that to this day. 

6 months

This month I remember Josiah was rolling all over the place. He was sitting up really well and loved playing with his toys he could sit up and play with. My cousin Carley came and stayed with us over night for the first time this month. We took Josiah to the park and had a great time together. Josiah and I made daddy a neat Fathers Day gift with his foot prints on it. Marland and I took him swimming(indoors) for the first time this month. He started eating solids like fruits and veggies for the first time. PEAS were his first solid food! They made him extremely gassy and uncomfortable. We stayed away from those for a little while after that. :) He also started crawling this month(or should I say "army crawling".) He started using sign language this month to communicate with us better. His main word was "more" in sign language. He could always tell us when he wanted more food! :)

7 months

July was a lot of fun. We celebrated the 4th of July with family in Ripley. A lot of friends and people I went to school with got to see Josiah for the first time while we were out and about celebrating the forth. Josiah went swimming outside for the first time this month with my family.  He loved it.We spent a lot of time outside with him this month. I had to be really particular with what I fed Josiah still because he seemed really sensitive with foods. I fed him prunes almost everyday to keep him from getting constipated! He ended up loving them! haha! By the end of this month Josiah started using his sign language well to communicate with us better. His main word was "more" in sign language. He could always tell us when he wanted more food! :)

8 months

This month Josiah learned to pull himself up onto anything. He loved standing against anything and tried  to stand against almost anything. He started playing a lot with his activity table he could stand against. This month we went to my mom's side of the families Family reunion and Josiah got to meet and hang out with some new family members. We also went with my mom and dad, sister and brother in law, grandma, our cousins and aunt Jody to zoombezi bay. It was so fun. Josiah really enjoyed the little kid area and playing in the things that shoot water out at you. We didn't take him on and slides! We did take him in the wave pool though! :) Marland and I went to the OSU fair this year for the first time together! It was fun and I think Josiah enjoyed it too! I noticed Josiah started sleeping on his belly a lot more by now. I took Josiah swinging in his own swing for the first time this month and he LOVED it. I put him in it with his big cart cover thing so he had plenty of cushion and was nice and snug!

9 months

This month we went on our first little vacation as a family! We went to Charleston, SC and visited some friends that live there. The drive wasn't too bad because we drove through the night but when we got home his sleep pattern was a little messed up. We found out that he may have some allergies to pets while we were there but its good to know for the future when we are getting a dog for him! Josiah loved the beach but he loved the water sprayer they have next to the beach to wash the sand off your feet better! haha! We spent Labor Day weekend with my sister in Ashland. Josiah rode a power wheels 4-wheeler for the first time by himself. That was funny! Josiah really loved his bath time and enjoyed playing for awhile after he was finished getting his bath.He got his first tooth this month. It was one of his bottom teeth in then the other came in right after that one. He stayed with a babysitter for the first time this month while Marland and I went to my first OSU football game! He did really well!

10 months

This was a fun month. My mom and I took Evan and Josiah to a gymboree and they loved it. They played and played so much. My mom and grandma and I took him to the pumpkin festival in Circleville. That was an adventure and didn't even turn out like we expected it to be. But we still had a great time. We took Josiah to the zoo with his buddy Evan for "Boo at the Zoo". That was a lot of fun. Josiah was a baby giraffe and Evan was a hamburger! :) We went trick or treating with our good friends Kristin and Bryan and their baby Tyler, who is 3 weeks older than Josiah. He was a reindeer! So cute! Josiah was very active so we liked to take him to the mall and let him play with all the kids in the play area. He started walking toward the end of this month.

11 months

Josiah was a man on a mission this month. Once he really got comfortable walking there was no stopping him. He started pushing his toys over to the couch and learned how to climb on the toy to get on top of the couch. He really enjoyed running around with his best buddy Evan now that he could walk. He enjoyed stroller rides with Evan also with the weather cooling down this month. We spent my birthday with my parents in a small town here in Ohio. We spent Thanksgiving in Ironton with family and had a great time with family and friends.

12 months

This was a busy month for us. We visited family a lot this month. We celebrated Marland's grandpas 80th birthday with him in Ironton, spent a good while in Ripley for Marland's Christmas break then came home and celebrated Josiah's first birthday with our friends and family at our place in Columbus. 

Josiah is such a big boy now. He's walking and talking and he's got such a rotten personality! He is so smart and independent and sometimes very stubborn! He's definitely attached to his mama very much so. He has a hard time going to sleep now that I'm not breastfeeding him to get to sleep anymore. He is getting better every night though. Speaking of, I wish I would have been more careful about letting him fall asleep every time I breast fed him! That is a HARD habit to break and now that he's not nursing when it's time to sleep he is really not liking the adjustment. I remember talking to LC's about it when he was really little and they would tell me to make sure I don't let him get into that habit and that I should always try to lay him down when he is very sleepy but not sleeping. I now know why they told me that. I know now though with my next one I will not let them get into that habit. Although he had a great bedtime routine, nursing him to sleep was NOT the best idea. Currently, I'm only nursing him one time a day and sometimes not even that. I just do it if we are home and he asks for it. I started weaning him right before his first birthday. I started the "don't refuse but don't offer" trick and it went pretty well. We did it pretty slowly, at his pace but I was anxious about weaning at least from the nap and bedtime feedings because he COULD NOT go to sleep without me there! 

This week has been hard on the family. All 3 of us have been sick. Josiah got it first and passed it to me then I gave it to Marland. Josiah is still very mopey and now has a head cold. He has been very clingy which is totally not like him at all. I kind of like it because I get all the cuddle time I want with him. It reminds me of when he was little! But its hard when I can't even put him down to go potty! lol. We went to a super bowl party last night with a ton of church friends and had a great time. I was really worried Josiah would be really fussy and clingy all night and he was a first. I gave him to a good friend soon after we got there and he fussed some but eventually ended up having a great time with everyone! I was so happy to see him happy and social again. We all had a really good time with our awesome friends! Well, I think I'm finally caught up! This is SUCH a long blog. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't finish it! :) Now I can finally start from current and enjoy blogging about "The Turner's Life and How We Live It!!!" I leave you with this adorable video!

Happy Blogging!