My Glider

Phil got me a glider for my birthday last year. It is one of the best gifts ever. I spent many nights sleeping in it when Stephen wouldn't sleep in his crib. It reclines only a tiny amount, which led me to think that I'm going to be one of the best sleepers ever on an airplane. I can recline my seat a little bit and then fall straight asleep (probably even faster if I'm holding Stephen). 

3 weeks old

Stephen was three weeks old yesterday. I have to say I think the first week was the hardest (so far). He sleeps in his crib on a semi-regular basis now and he's starting to have some kind of schedule (although it's rough). All the information says he should be able to see 8-10" now. 

The only issue so far is that we've had a couple of bad nights (lots of crying and he was just unhappy). I started recording everything I eat in an effort to determine if that's the problem. Right now I think it's broccoli. 

Another lesson with a newborn

Don't wear a v-neck shirt while burping your baby. Results will be disgusting and hilarious.

Another milestone

On Friday Stephen lost his umbilical cord. This milestone has been duly noted and checked off the list. We'll see what he does next. 

First time for everything

Well, today I had to clean my wall for the first time. Stephen peed all down the wall. Hooray for semi-gloss paint.

Pets and a baby

We have two cats, two dogs, and a baby. 

The cats are kind of divided on the baby. Baley could care less (she's the one pictured in the Boppy), but this is a normal state for her. Seismic seems to like him as long as he's not crying (then she runs out of the room). 

The dogs are also divided in their concern. Ladybug could take him or leave him, he's interesting but she gets yelled at when she tries to lick him. Tucker loves him (and as a result tries to lick him a lot) and gets excited when he cries. 

As Phil pointed out, why did we get a baby monitor when we have two perfectly good ones already? As soon as he cries, they race to the room to check on him (although they never quiet him down).

Flowers

My parents sent Stephen and me flowers and they're very pretty so I thought I would share (please ignore the messy kitchen table).

Little indulgences with a newborn

Remembering to:

- brush your teeth twice a day

- brush your hair

- take your vitamins

- pay your bills

Finding time to:

- take a shower

- sleep

- actually see your husband

- read your email (and maybe even respond to some)

- pick up your house

- go to the grocery store

- etc

"Boppy"

If you don't know what a "Boppy" is, it's a semi-circular pillow used for feeding (to make it easier to balance the baby). I put it on the couch the other day, when I came to retrieve it, this is what I found. I guess I'm not the only one who likes the pillow. 

Needless Worries

I had a lot of worries before little S was here that turned out to be needless. I continue to have plenty of worries, but these (at least) have been solved.

1. What if the baby doesn't like me - this one was so stupid it's almost funny. Of course he likes me, he's heard my voice for 9 months and knows what I smell like. I'm very familiar to him and no one else is.

2. What if I don't like the baby - also, a pretty stupid concern. I'd say from the moment I met him he was the most important thing in the world to me. 

3. What if I don't know what to do - this isn't totally needless. I don't know what to do, but it's not quite as scary yet as I envisioned and you and the baby can kind of figure things out together. 

4. Delivery will be scary - again, not totally needless, it was, in a way, but in a more exact way it was worth it.

Hospital Stay

After the lovely experience of labor and delivery the baby and I had to stay in the hospital an additional two nights. The above picture is one of my dinners: potatoes, broccoli with cheese whiz, and steak (Phil bought me the diet dr pepper).  Not pictured is an eclair and a little salad. I can't really complain about the food, just the strange hours they feed you: 9am, noon, and 5pm. You're left to fend on your own all the rest of the day (5pm-9am is a long time). 

But you can have your baby with you as much or as little as you'd like. It's very comforting to know there are tons of nurses around to help you out. You have to give him up sometimes for newborn screening, rounding, etc.

Lastly though is the actual hospital room. If you've never been admitted to the hospital before, you might not realize that a hospital room is actually a little highway. In post-partum you and the baby each have a nurse, you each have a physician, there is someone for the birth certificate, for cleaning the room, for checking to see if the room was cleaned, for bringing the food, for taking it away....It's almost impossible to get sleep in the hospital. Every night everyone needs to come in to assess you (or the baby) every 4 or so hours (and these schedules are not synched). 

It's nice to be home.

It's a boy!

Born March 2nd at 6:02am, 8 lbs 8 ozs and 20" long. No name yet, soon.