Change

Where to start. A lot has happened in the past 13 days! Job searching, family coming into town, Christmas, and starting a new job. I will have to break it up into a few posts due to lack of time, but since I know my mother-in-law is dying to know about my first day at my new job, I will start with that.

I knew when I left my last job in October that I would want to take off a full 12 weeks after Lauryn was born to be with her. So I decided I would start applying for jobs in November in hopes of starting something mid-January. As some of you may or may not know, I am an RN (a new one!) I graduated from nursing school in May and passed my state boards in July. Obviously in July I was 7 months pregnant, so I knew no one would want to hire me. Here in Jacksonville everyone wants an experienced RN... so I KNEW no one would hire an inexperienced, heavily pregnant RN! Taking 12 weeks off work would be difficult financially, but I knew the pros would outweigh the cons.

I started applying for jobs end of November. After a couple weeks I started to get nervous because I wasn't getting ANY call backs. So, I started asking some friends from nursing school who had found jobs to see if their place of employment was hiring. One of my friends works for a home health agency and she said they needed PRN nurses. So, I called and the director wanted to interview me right away... so I interviewed last Thursday! After a 10 minute interview she offered me the job. I was shocked. Not only was it a quick, easy interview, but the pay is WAY more than I thought I would make starting out... almost double what I had predicted.

My first day was today, but all we did was go over policies and procedures, and discuss the PDA that we would use to document and access patient records. It was a very tedious and exhausting day, but I am so excited! Tomorrow I start training with one of the experienced home health nurses. I will be going around with her all day tomorrow. I think I will only train for a couple weeks before I am on my own.

The other great thing is that there will be two full-time positions opening up after the 1st of the year. Great pay, great benefits. I couldn't ask for more. Hopefully the nursing director will consider me for one of the full-time positions.

In the end, I am sad to have given up my last two weeks with Lauryn, but I know it is for a good cause. I told her tonight as I rocked her to sleep, "Please don't forget me. I won't be around as much, but I will be thinking about you all day long. I love you so much, and I'm only gone so that I can make sure you have everything you need." I bawled my eyes out as I watched her fall asleep.

Change... it's tough.

To my husband on our anniversary

Jimmy,

I figure I could write you a letter, too, since you and Lauryn are the two most important people in my life.

I can't believe it has already been 3 years that we have been married. Even crazier is that we have known each other for 6 years! To some people this may not sound like a long time, but to me each year is an accomplishment that a lot of married couples don't reach.

I am so thankful to have you in my life. I have a sense of security with you that no one else can offer. I know 100% without a doubt that you will come home to me every day. I know 100% without a doubt that you love me. I know 100% without a doubt that you love Lauryn. I know 100% without a doubt that you will continue to provide for us, even when things get tough or we have unexpected things happen. You always make things work, and I love you for that, because I never have to worry (and as we both know, I worry a lot to begin with!)

Thank you for being patient with me, and loving me unconditionally, or as you say, for loving me with a Godly love (you may not remember telling me that a while back, but it was profound to me that you felt like you loved me the way God loves me... without judgment, without conditions.) I hope you know I love you the same. I hope I have showed it to you enough this year, and I hope I continue to show you how much I love you.

Thank you for an amazing year!

Love,
Rachel

Letter to my baby girl - 2 months old

Lauryn,

Happy two months old day! Please stop growing up so fast. I feel like I JUST wrote your 1 month letter, and now you are 2 months! When I was pregnant with you I begged time to go faster, but now I want it to slow wayyyyy down. I only have 1 more month with you until I go back to work, and then I won't get to be with you every day and see all the little changes that are happening.

You have amazed me in the past month with all the new things you are doing. You are holding your head up on your own, unless you are tired, then you lay it on my shoulder. You are smiling so much now, although you still don't smile reactively to me yet, you little stinker. You smile for daddy, grandma, grandpa, aunt Erika and even your pediatrician! I won't take offense though. I take it as a compliment... you are comfortable with me, used to me, and you only smile at new people, or people you don't see a lot. The pediatrician promised me that I would get a reactive smile by Christmas... that would be a nice Christmas present from you!

I can't get over how much you have grown. At your 2 week check-up you weighed 8lbs 1oz. At your 2 months check-up you weighed 11lbs 11oz!! You are in the 74th percentile for weight, 68th percentile for head circumference (down from the 99th percentile at your 2 week check-up!) and 93rd percentile for length (you are now 23.75 inches long! You grew 3.75 inches since birth!). You are cooing a lot more now, too. Sometimes I think you fuss just to hear your voice.

You have also discovered your hands. You like to ball them up and suck on them. When you first started doing this I thought it was because you were hungry, but I have learned that you just love your hands! They must taste good :o)

The best thing that has happened the past month is that I have realized how much you are loved. Not just by me and daddy, because that is a give-in, but by grandpa, grandma and aunt Erika. They simply adore you. I love to watch their faces light up when they see you. I love to watch them interact with you and I love listening to them laugh at the cute faces you make. Grandpa likes to give you "whisker rubs" on your face because you give him the funniest responses. We all just love you to pieces, Lauryn! You will get to meet your other grandma and grandpa in a few days, and I am so excited because I get to watch two more people fall in love with you.

Thank you for changing my life for the better, Lauryn. My days are sweeter, my dreams happier and my life has more meaning because of you!

Love,
Mommy

Picture post

Lauryn fell asleep on the couch all swaddled. She always manages to get at least one of her hands out, that sneaky baby!
Lauryn and Charley (a friend's 10 month old - isn't he huge for 10 months??) with Santa
Lauryn and Charley again. Note: Lauryn is looking at me and Charley is looking at his mommy, haha!
Me, Lauryn and Jimmy with Santa! I told him I didn't want anything else this year, that I got the best gift ever on October 14th :o)
My Christmas gift with Santa.

8 weeks old

Hahahaha. This is Lauryn in her new bear jacket. She wasn't too sure what to do with her arms, so she just held REALLY still and stared at me, like "Mom, please take this silly thing off now!"

LOVE HER SO MUCH!

7 weeks old

Lauryn is 7 weeks old as of Thursday but I didn't get around to taking an official picture until today... but here is my beautiful 7 week old girl!



And in case you were wondering... she is sitting on our new NON ABSORBENT leather sofa! My husband is good to me.

Thanks to our youngest dog, Ci Ci, our cute slip cover sofa and chair had been peed on one too many times. We are storing them at my parents house until we get a bigger house, then we will buy new cushions and use it in our den that we will hopefully have lol.