Random Things

For those of you on Facebook you know where I got the idea for this post from, for those of you who are not you can read about how people spend time they don’t have here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/fashion/05things.html

So here is my list of random things about being a new mom.

25 20 Random Things about Becoming and Being a New Mom

1. I have never been so exhausted and so happy in my life.
2. The look on Andrew's face and the sound in his voice when Julia was born will be a memory I'll have forever.
3. Being called "mom" makes me feel great.
4. I can't believe how excited I get over poop.
5. Breastfeeding is incredibly difficult but worth every bit of the effort.
6. I've never laughed so hard before at just the expressions on someone's face.
7. Who knew baby fingernails grew so fast?
8. Or that babies are the world's loudest sleepers?  Whoever came up with the phrase "sleeping like a baby" obviously did not have one, at least not one like ours!
9. It has helped to have very low expectations of how much sleep I was going to get. Every extra 5 minutes seems like a huge bonus.
10. I could just stare at Julia for hours.
11. It's amazing how much time taking care of one baby takes even when she's sleeping for 2 out of every 3 or 4 hours.
12. I had no idea that there were 3 sizes of diapers before you get to newborn.  We've used two of them.
13. I am really glad that I exercised and did yoga through the whole pregnancy.  I think that it has helped tremendously with my delivery and recovery.
14. It's been really hard not having family close by; I just want them all to meet her.
15. It's amazing how quickly modesty goes out the window when you give birth.  In the recovery rooms they have privacy curtains but it seemed like nothing to me to have anyone walk in when I was in complete disarray or breastfeeding.
16. There's nothing like hearing the words "I'll need to give you a catheter" to get you up and moving regardless of the medication you're on!
17. Taking a long, hot shower while Andrew watched Julia was one of the highlights of my first weekend home and I think will be of most weekends to come.
18. I'm very lucky to have such an incredible husband.
19. I know that someday it will be hard to believe that Julia was ever this small:

20. That's all the random things for now because I need to get 5 more minutes of sleep...

Two Weeks

Yesterday was Julia’s two week birthday!  We had her 2 week check-up and she’s doing great.  She now weighs 6lbs 9oz and grew 1/2 an inch.  She’s been eating like a champ and the doctor was thrilled with her.  They also said that we could stop waking her up to eat every few hours as she’s now back over her birth weight… unfortunately for us, the sleep-deprived parents, she really likes to eat and wakes up on her own every 2 to 3 hours anyway.  But we’re not complaining – that’s a good problem to have! 

Overall the last two weeks have been really good.  Most of the credit for that goes to Grandma Lesley.  Without her here we would have survived but we would not have eaten so well, slept so well or retained the small amount of sanity we have left!  We can’t thank her enough. 

We have started to get into a routine of sorts and are exploring all kinds of new things.  So far the bouncy seat is okay for a few minutes, the sling carrier is good for a little while, Julia hasn’t made a decision on whether she likes the swing or not, and sleeping on Mom or Dad is the best.  She also likes tummy time and is a very strong little girl; she does lots of baby pushups and works her leg and neck muscles.  For Andrew and I, our favorite pastime these days is watching all of Julia’s different expressions.  She has quite a repertoire, especially when she is just waking up! 

This and That

Well if you have been following the blog you would have seen me refer to a hand based communication technique that Julia used not long after birth.  Well she has done it a couple more times but we have yet to capture it on film.  However, we have caught another funny hand gesture that we thought we should share.

 

This is either “live long and prosper” or “keep the paparazzi away”.  You decided.

We have also given Julia a nickname Little Hiccup.   Although her hiccups are anything but little.  She has had hiccups several times each day.  Each time for quite a while.  Those obviously came from me.  Sorry Julia.

Easy and Hard

Well the last few days have been wonderful, magical, amazing and exhausting.  Its funny the stuff that I thought would be hard has turned out to be easy and the stuff I thought would be easy turned out to be hard. 

For example, I thought changing diapers would be tough and that the first few times poop would be everywhere.  It turns out that I have a knack for changing her.  Well at least so far.  As of this morning we have only had 1 minor explosion, I am sure it won’t be the last.  I also filed her nails the other night, it seemed scary but once I started it was actually quite easy.

Ok, so the hard stuff.  Well the hardest thing so far has been finding stuff that would fit her.  When I looked at all the clothes we had I was sure that half of them would be too small.  It turns out that almost all of it was too big.  Even the diapers were too small.  So I went on a search and I got newborn (up to 10lbs) and preemie diapers (up to 6lbs).  Its was good that I got the preemie diapers because that is what she needs.  The problem is they are really hard to find.  See look how little she is.

The other hard part has been figuring out  what to dress her in to keep her warm but not hot.  Who would have thought that figuring out clothing for someone would be so hard.  After a couple of trials we have found a few daytime and night time outfits that seem to work and keep her comfortable.

Probably the hard part has been making myself put her down when she is fast asleep and I should be.  Its just so wonderful to hold her and feel her little warm body next to mine.  See here is me holding her in my special “if I hold her like this she stops crying” position.

Funny Hospital Stories

Well the first one is just the fact that Alyssa went into labor late on February 8th and it quickly became apparent that Julia would be born on February 9th.  Why is that funny, well about four months ago Alex, Alyssa’s twin sister’s daughter, told everyone that her cousin was going to be born on February 9th.  Or as she said it, the baby is going to be born on my birthday.  Yep you read that right, the daughter of Alyssa’s twin sister was born on February 9th 4 years ago.  Well Alex you were right.  So that made it funny enough, however the other odd coincidence is my mother was also born on February 9th!  What are the chances of that?

The next story comes late the night after delivery.  I got up to hold Julia around 1am.  Around 2am one of the nurses came in and was shocked that I was up holding my daughter in the middle of the night letting my wife get some sleep.  She told me I should get a gold star for that.  However, about 15 minutes later I decided I needed to go for walk because my back was really bothering me from sitting for so long.  I did not want to wake up Julia or Alyssa so I slid my sneakers back on (after untying them 1 handed, which I thought was very impressive).  Of course I couldn’t figure out how to tie them.  No big deal I was just going to shuffle around.  I take about 2 steps out of the room and the same nurse starts waving her arms at me.  I just wave back with my free arm to say “I'm ok.”  That was not the response she was looking for.  She quickly hurries over and tells me that I cannot have the baby out of the room unless she is in the crib.  And what am I thinking walking around with her in shoes that are untied.  At which point she revoked my gold star.

Ok last one for now. It was early afternoon the day after delivery and the lactation consultant gave us a visit.  First off she setup Alyssa in the most complex arrangement possible.  She used about 4 pillows and three or four blankets to get “just the right spot”.  Then she started giving advice about head position and other things.  I think I Alyssa and I each made a comment about what we thought we should be doing.  At which point Julia decided to voice her opinion.  She was lying on Alyssa’s breast and had her hand by her face.  All of sudden her middle finger pops out!  Yep that is right she is lying there giving Alyssa and I the finger.  Just goes to show that not taking advice is a genetic trait.  Unfortunately it appears to be dominate in both parents.

Well that is all for now!

At the Hospital

Alyssa and I arrived at the hospital around 7:45pm.  She had been having contractions for most of the day and her water broke just after we finished dinner.  (No it wasn’t pork chops and apple sauce.)   But she did have that on Thursday so I’m sure it helped things along.

Now we are just waiting in the hospital for things to progress.  Here is the wonderful mother to be.

Here is a look at our delivery room.

And here I am making sure she is happy!

Well that is about all for now.  We’ll post more a little later.

Nesting and Growing

So for the past several months there have been lists of things to buy, things to do, things to set-up, things to read... I've even gotten Andrew to start making lists! But we have now completed them or at least have completed what we've come to determine are the necessities off each list and have a completed nursery, an installed car seat, and diapers on both levels of the house. Here are some pictures of what we've been up to.

Putting together the crib.  Actually putting together the crib was easy… hanging the canopy was not so much.

 

 

 

 

 

But we eventually figured it out!

 

The shadow boxes on the wall are Andrew’s Teddy and Mr. Chicken from when he was little.

 

 

And of course, most importantly, our growing baby:

 

Week 11

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 20

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 23

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 28

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 37

The Story Begins.....(Soon)

Tomorrow Alyssa is going to be 38 weeks pregnant.  So I guess the expansion of the family tree hasn't started quite yet.  We are looking forward to meeting our little girl soon.  Well as soon as she is ready to come out and meet us.

It was funny after our doctor’s appointment a couple of weeks ago the midwife told us that our little girl might be coming early.  I don't think that was something I had really considered.  Alyssa and I spent the next three days doing all the little things we had been putting off.

Anyway I think we are as ready as we can be and we can't wait to meet our little girl.