Someone is Chatty

-D

6 Weeks!

Lazy Saturday

Someone is pretty happy resting on Daddy's chest.

With Mom off running errands, Daddy is in charge. Though sometimes I wonder if I really am in charge? Oh well, we're having a nice relaxing morning.

-D

Play Time

We have been putting our sweet little girl on her play mat the last week to get her some exercise and colorful stimulation. Daddy might be acting like a goober, but Little Girl was pretty content to look around at the colors.



-D

Things I Couldn't Live Without (Daddy Edition)

Since Mom posted her list, I figured, "Why not post my own list?"

1. Ear plugs - These come in handy when baby is crying in the middle of the night...

No, no, no! I am completely joking! Don't leave nasty comments on here. I'm kidding. She does great at night!

1. Wifey/Mommy - Yes, I'll go ahead and get the cheesy one out of the way, but G is the best. She is so good with Nyla and is very patient with her. I'm also very thankful that she takes care of the overnight feeding, letting me rest up for work. I'm also thankful that she turns off the baby monitor when this overnight feeding occurs.

2. Post-delivery vacation - Little Girl was born on a Tuesday, and I was able to take the rest of the week off work. We got home on a Thursday, and it was nice to have that Friday off to relax to get adjusted to life with a third person in the home.

3. Working from home - I have said this before, but I am very thankful and appreciative that I had the ability to "telecommute" the week after we got home. My bosses were very understanding in allowing me to do this. With G not being able to get around well, I could run to the rescue when needed.

4. Naps - A good rule of thumb for you soon-to-be parents? Try to get in a nap at some point during that first week or two. "Sleep when baby sleeps" is great advice. I think every afternoon or evening during that first week and a half I was at home, I took an evening nap. G grabbed a nap in the afternoon. If nothing else (and if your spouse is ok with it), just go in your room, close the door, turn off the baby monitor, and relax for an hour or so. Though I do recommend falling asleep.

5. The Miracle Blanket - I'll go ahead and second what G posted about this. I would love for sweet Nyla to sleep with her arms and hands up around her head, but she would not sleep too well. This blanket is great. And though Nyla has found ways to get her arms and legs free, it is not very often and about the time she would need to wake up and feed anyway. Miracle Blanket, I salute you.

6. Meals brought to us - Yeah, it's selfish, but when you've been running on low sleep for a few days, cooking is the last thing on your mind. G was in no position anyway to cook anything. I'm glad we had family and friends who brought us meals those first two weeks. What was great, too, is that we were able to portion out and freeze the leftovers. When I went back to work, I had a good supply of lunches to take.

7. Sound machine - Whether or not this actually helps Baby sleep is up for debate, but count me as someone who thinks she is comforted by the sound of a heartbeat. Also count me as someone who could never sleep to the sound of a beating heart.

8. Family close by - G's parents are 15 minutes away, and my mom is a mile and a half away. Translation? If G and I need to get for an hour or two to go to dinner, go to church, go shopping, or just need to get out, both grandmothers have to have their arms twisted are eager to come watch Little Girl.

I'm sure there are several other items I can add to this list, but these 8 are the ones that immediately came to mind.

As new parents, what are thing you couldn't live without?

-D

5 Weeks and Tummy Time

Well, we have entered the 5th week of Nyla's life, wow!

Is she already 5 weeks? Some days it's hard to believe and others, not so much.

Going into this week we have had more "tummy" time. I'm trying to lie her down a few minutes each day on her tummy and she does pretty well. The picture below is from this past weekend. Her head was facing this way and a couple minutes later she picked it up and turned it over to the other side. We were so excited (It's funny what you get excited about when you have a child)! We encourage her constantly when she's on her tummy and she just loves it. It's so fun to see her "swim" and try and get up and crawl. The scary part? Soon she will get up and crawl, crazy!

Enjoying "tummy" time

Not too interested in taking a 5 week picture. She just got out of the bath and was still cold, but getting hungry, so we got what we got with a picture.

I See The Resemblance

Now that G and I have a month of parenthood under our belts, we have begun noticing the cute little quirks of sweet little giant baby. Along with her looks, these quirks remind us of each other or family. With that said, let's take an in-depth look at who Sweet Girl takes after.

Hair: Dad - Now I have to make a small note here. I actually had blonde hair as a toddler, until it turned dark. Still, the dark hair is a trademark of my mom's side, a quite dominant trademark at that.

Eyes: Dad - Since babies' eyes are always blue for the first few months, we don't know what color they will be. The shape, however, is all me. As for what color her eyes will be, her options are brown and blue. Again, brown dominate my mom's side, but blue eyes are predominant on both my dad's side and Ginny's dad's side. I think people are secretly hoping for blue eyes, because dark hair and blue eyes would make a striking combination, which would make her even prettier. On a related note, I'm going to buy an aluminum bat to go with the wooden one I'm going to get to keep those boys at bay.

Nose: Push - Don't all babies have the same nose at first? The jury, to me, is still out on this one.

Mouth: Mom - No upper lip. Small bottom lip. Yep, that's Mom. It's funny how the nose in the dividing line between Mom and Dad, but it really is. Her mouth is Ginny's mouth.

Chin: Mom - All you really need to know is that when I showed Ginny's sister the first picture after Nyla was born, she said, "Um, that's Ginny's chin." Yep.

Length: Mom - At 23 inches long, Little Girl is just already 33% of my height (I'm 5' 9"). I'm guessing she is going to pass me by age 13 and will be blocking my shot in basketball by 10.

Well those are the appearance resemblances. Let's move to some other quirks that my daughter has and who she takes after.

Squeaky toy noises while sleeping: Dad, apparently - I cannot confirm or deny this, since I am asleep. But G says I talk in my sleep as well as make little moans and, well, squeaks. Much like Nyla does. She can be so noisy that we have to check and make sure she hasn't woken herself up.

Eating habits: Push - Apparently Ginny's dad and I both are loud eaters, and, to this point, Little Girl likes to make lots of grunts, hums, and sounds as she eats. I don't think I'm that noisy, but, hey, if the Wife says I'm noisy, then I guess I'm noisy.

Propensity for her hands to be up by her head: Dad - Before the miracle blanket, her arms would always be up by her face or next to her head. I sleep with my arms up by if not over my head. Squeaky toy noises and sleep position both reflect Dad.

In the end, there is no doubt that Nyla is a beautiful blend of Mom and Dad. I mean, just look at this face. Is that not both of us?



-D

1 Month Old

Checking things out!

Smiling at Daddy for her 1 month picture

Time is flying!

Dear Nyla, please don't grow up too quickly!!!

Our sweet girl is 1 month old today. I can't believe she's been with us for a whole month already. On one hand it feels like just yesterday we brought her home from the hospital and on the other hand, it feels like she's been with us forever.

We had her 1 month checkup at the pediatrician today and we got a healthy bill of health for Nyla. She measured 23 inches long (same as 2 weeks ago) and her head measured 38 cm (same as 2 weeks ago) and she weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds and 15 ounces. She's gained about a pound and a half since our last visit. I'm breast feeding exclusively, so I was very excited to know that she has gained that much, that means she's getting more than enough. I'm a very happy momma!

I loved the pediatrician we saw today. We've seen a different one the past 2 times and I've really liked her, but the one we saw today I like even more! She was the one we originally wanted to see, but was unavailable after Nyla was born. I may switch to the one we saw today and see her from now on. She spent a good amount of time with us and was very friendly. As a mom, you just know who you like and I liked her!

What's been happening this month:

She is feeding well, every 3 hours, sometimes less. She is a very efficient eater and usually takes She gets up only once a night, always has. It's usually around 3:30 in the morning, so we get about 5-6 hours of sleep in a row. That is so nice!

She is getting easier to put down. We are able to give her some more stimulation and we can tire her out a bit more between naps.

The miracle blanket really is a miracle! She sleeps so good with it, even though she may fight it in the beginning.

She is holding her head up when we hold her to our chest. It's getting stronger everyday.

She is beginning to smile a little more and that is so exciting.

When I hold her to my chest she pushes up on her feet to stand. She is a very strong girl.

She still has all her hair from when she was born, I sure hope it stays, but we'll see.

She is wearing 3 months clothes... already!

She is wearing size 1 diapers.

She's almost 11 pounds.

My sweet little girl doesn't seem so little any more, even though I know she is.

Things I couldn't live without...

As a mother to a 4-week old, I'd say I'm somewhat of an "expert" on things I feel are an absolute necessity around here these days. And here's the list in no particular order (I love lists)...

1. A Hubby/Daddy

I can't imagine having a baby by myself. To all your single mothers out there, God bless you! I don't know how you do it by yourself. I would go crazy.

I'm so thankful for Daniel and how involved and hands-on he is. He loves talking to Nyla, changing diapers, feeding her, rocking her, holding her, whatever, he wants to be involved. I can't imagine going through this wonderful and exhausting experience by myself.

2. The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

This. Book. Is. Amazing.

If you are expecting a baby, buy this book. And read it while you're pregnant and read it again once your baby is born, highlight in it, write in it and mark pages. This book will help you immensely. You can be so tuned into your baby's cues, it's fantastic! She teaches you about your baby's cries, what to look for and how to help. I love her! I really do!!!

She (Tracy Hogg) also has 5 categories for what type your baby is. They are as follows, angel baby (basically the perfect child and what we all hope to end up with, but don't), textbook baby (exactly like it sounds, this baby hits all marks and growth spurts "by the book"), spirited baby (comes out of the womb telling you what does and doesn't work for him/her), touchy baby (ultra-sensitive and very sensory driven) and grumpy baby(Tracy calls them "old souls" who aren't happy to be back).

Nyla is "spirited baby." It sounds a bit scary, spirited? But it's not. It's exactly as it sounds though. She does what she wants and lets you know what she wants. She doesn't like sitting in a dirty diaper and she'll tell you about it, nice at first but then can get out of control, if you go too long ignoring her. Same with hunger, overstimulation, over tired, etc. If you let her cries go unanswered, it's the point of no return. It's hard to calm her down, thankfully we've learned to get to her before this happens. The first week with her was a bit rough because we were unsure as to what type of baby she is so her screams went unanswered and we didn't no why she was so upset, now we do.

Buy the book. It will make life with a newborn so much simpler for you!

3. The Miracle Blanket

This is something I've never heard of until Daniel talked to his Pediatrician cousin (and mother of a sweet girl), I don't think most people have ever heard of this thing. It is a swaddling blanket, but so much better than the Swaddle Me. Now we do have the Swaddle Me, but Nyla, aka Houdini, wiggles so much that her left arm/hand gets out or she pulls and the velcro pops open. Not. good.

Since she is "spirited" baby, she has really jerky motions (more than most) and her arms flail so bad, they overstimulate her and she gets overtired. When she's tired is when the flailing is the worst. Now, she does fight getting into this thing sometimes, but usually calms right down when she's strapped in.

We do keep her in just a diaper underneath since it's so stinking hot right now, but we hope she's not in it for more than 2 or 3 months. Hoping her arms will get under control sooner rather than later.

Yes, it's about $30 but worth. every. penny. I'm honestly not sure if any of us would sleep if it wasn't for this wonderful piece of fabric.

4. Spray-n-Wash

Yep, you'll need it get poop, spit up and throw up stains out. And be prepared to do a load of laundry everyday, sometimes more.

5. Tommee Tippee Bottles

I am breast feeding exclusively but want to get out of the house some and I don't want to do formula, so I pump and have it available for Daddy or the Grandma's. And these bottles are good for breast fed babies. They have a slow flow nipple where the baby has to work to get the milk to come, just as if they were breast feeding. These are great so Nyla doesn't drink too fast and choke or get a tummy ache.

6. Burp Cloths

In 4 weeks I've gotten thrown up on about 5 times and burp cloths have been there to help out. I, of course, have gotten spit up on countless times and for these cloths I am thankful. I have about 2 dozen and thank goodness I do.

7. My breast pump

I know thats a little TOO much information, but if I didn't have this, then Daniel could never give her a bottle, I could never leave the house for more than an hour and we wouldn't be able to go to church together like we've been doing for 3 weeks. So thankful for my MIL for buying it, so someone else can enjoy snuggling and feeding our sweet girl.

8. Water

I get so thirsty now. I know its a combination of running around all day and breast feeding. Thankfully I love water so downing 12 glasses a day (which I tend to do now) is no problem. And who can beat an ice cold glass of water? Yep. No one.

9. Rocking Chair/Glider

A place to rock Nyla and put my feet up? Yes please! I'm so thankful to my mom who surprised me with a glider this past Christmas. She went to Toys R Us the day after Thanksgiving (we all know what that's like) and got the last one. What a wonderful mother. It makes feeding and rocking time so much more comfortable for us both.

10. My camera and video camera

I love that we are able to take pictures all day long and video her too. It's so nice to have those special pictures and memories when time seems to be flying so quickly.

Well, I can't think of anything else, but I know this list will change each week as Nyla grows up. But these are my essentials for making the first few weeks of mommy-hood more fun and comfortable for everyone!

4 Weeks!

Someone turned 4 weeks old this week!

-D

Finally! Some Pictures!

Since Little Girl has been napping the last hour and a half, that gives me a chance to get a few pictures up here!

(Edit: If you notice the timestamp on this post says "freaking early", but don't be fooled. I wrote this last night and scheduled it for this morning. I was NOT up early putting this together.)

Here is our sweet baby at 2 weeks old. Notice those hands up by her face. A common theme in most of her pictures.

And now our pretty girl at 3 weeks old! She's sort of looking at the camera. Look at how long she is!

Hopefully the 4-week old picture we take tomorrow will make it up here before she starts kindergarten!

-D

The Late-Night Feeding

Happy Monday, at least for parents across the metro area, as school has started back after a rather short 2-week summer break. The summer breaks now are shorter than when I was in school. Then again, we never got a fall break or some other holidays that schools now get. But I digress...

As you no doubt read in the previous post, Little Girl has settled into a nice routine of going down around 10 and getting up between 3 and 4. Although we do complain about this 3am waking, there is really no reason to complain. After all, she could get up at 1am and 4am and 7am. She's nice, however, and lets us sleep 5 or 6 straight hours.

That middle-of-the-night feed is interesting. For one, both Mom/Dad and Baby are half-asleep. Well, actually, scratch that. Baby is usually awake. Mom/Dad are the ones half-asleep. She's fussing, while we groggily find our way to her room. I've yet to run into a wall or fall asleep sitting up in bed (though I came close Saturday). And changing a diaper? I'm just glad I haven't put the diaper on her head been peed or pooped on and then not even noticed. I've told Ginny the next day that I remember getting up and feeding Little Girl but not having a clue how I changed her diaper.

The other thing that is interesting and different is that, to keep the baby quiet and half-way sleepy, we don't talk to Little Girl. Which is hard, because I like talking to her. For the sake of our sleep, however, I only let the sounds of the fan, sound machine, and her sucking noises fill the room.

And THEN we rock, put her back to bed, and hope that she doesn't decide to try and break out of the miracle blanket. At worst, we are up only an hour and a half. At best, she feeds for 15 minutes, decides her tummy is full, and goes back to sleep. Of course the ideal situation is for her to sleep through the night, but we'll have to wait a little while longer for that. Besides, we will happily take the whole getting up once thing, because a lot of new parents aren't as fortunate.

Maybe later today we can actually post her 2-week and 3-week pictures, since, you know, she turns 4 weeks old tomorrow and 1 month on Friday. A month? Little Girl, don't grow up too fast.

-D

Settling Into a Routine?

Here in the third level of Hell Memphis, we have just begun what will be a week-long wave of extrememly dangerous heat and, what's worse, humidity. When the low this morning only gets down to 84, well, I think it's safe to say my utility bill's BMI will qualify as obese. The highs the next three days will be a wonderful 103 with heat index values running, oh, around 115-120. But there is a bright side, Ginny is NOT pregnant anymore. For that, we rejoice. (Yay.)

Anyway, this post is not going to be about Al Gore global warming melting sea ice or saving the polar bears, but will instead give an update on our sweet girl. She had her 2-week checkup this past Friday. (I know, I know, we are behind with the weekly pictures.) She has gained her birth weight back plus one ounce, which is great, and even grew 2 inches. At this rate, by the time she's 4, she will be taller than me. (Not hard to do.) Her head grew 1 cm, probably because I've been reciting all of the state capitals as a bedtime story, and her head is filling with knowledge. (That is a joke, as far as you know.)

Little Girl finally seems to have accepted the fact that when she yawns and the miracle blanket goes on, it is time for sleep. That, and we're really trying to read her cues better so we don't have screaming baby. Friday night she slept from 10-3, woke up to eat, and then slept 4-7:30. Mom and Dad appreciated that. Saturday night, she actually slept from 10-6. Let me tell you, 8 consecutive hours of sleep never felt soooooooo good! The past two nights, she has gone down around 10, slept until 3, ate, and wake up around 7:30. No. Complaints. From. The. Parents. We are also ok when she stays up for a few hours without going down, because we're beginning to notice that she may not be tired when we put her in her crib.

One book that Ginny highly recommends and will be getting for mothers-to-be going forward is Secrets of the Baby Whisperer (Amazon link), which gives a thorough look at what your little bundle of joy will do. This book has helped look more closely for Nyla's cues and what we need to do to make her comfy and content. Must-have book.

Little Girl is 3 weeks old today. We'll take pictures today, of course, and probably get them posted on here by the time she graduates high school. Anyway, thanks for stopping by. Leave us a comment on what topics you'd like to see.

-D