and more pics!

pictures from xmas day, Laurel's first!

merry holidays, happy xmas!

Yes, it's been 3 weeks since our last post. And a busy and quickly passing 3 weeks it has been! Quick review:
My store opened and looks fantastic now. Everyone did tons of hard work and Leora was an excellent coordinator. Every detail came together wonderfully. The last weekend before the opening, Dec. 8/9 was crazy and we had lots of friends and family come out to help us finish things up in time. It's so nice to have a beautiful place to meet with clients and a comfortable area to eat and have the kids when needed. The press room in the back still needs to be painted, floor finished and area organized. But the front is very presentable and that's what matters most. The back garage also needs organization, but that will come in time. We were very busy with a couple of holiday orders and I was at the store for countless hours finishing up all of the samples for the stationery book. I'm in Maryland now and Leora is staying with the store and getting our samples and book constructed for the Atlanta show. Mom and I will be leaving for that (with Laurel in tow of course) on the 8th. Alex and Megan fly back on the 1st.

Alex was super busy these last couple of weeks too. His studio has been low on support and he was the only animator on his current project. His to-do list was too long, but he's managed to get it done and now has a chance to relax.

Our xmas holiday was pretty low-key. We've been staying on pacific coast time to keep Laurel on track. With all of her sleep particularities, I'm hoping to keep change down to a minimum. Our flight out to MD was a red-eye and went very well. She didn't sleep until very late though. Our flight was 2 hours delayed. She was too curious about everything! She dozed in the line at check-in and then was over-tired later. She finally fell asleep and slept all througout the flight. She didn't even complain about the air pressure at take off and set down. She stayed in my arms the whole time and we dozed off together. I popped her into the sling to get off of the plane and wait for baggage. She awoke briefly when we put her in the car seat, but slept on the way home and we pulled her into bed with us when we got in. All in all, a success. We still have 3 more flights though, to Atlanta and back, and then back to LA in the end, on the 18th.

Xmas day was nice and calm. Lots of presents exchanged and we put Laurel in her holiday onsie and took her picture under the tree. Our best present of all this year. Sounds sappy, but it's true. Laurel loves the xmas lights on the tree.

Laurel updates:
She's found her thumb and is getting more accurate with sticking it in her mouth. I don't think she was a baby that sucked in-utero because it's taken her a while to use it. She jams the thumb way in so that she's sucking on her palm a little too. And she splays her fingers out above her nose into her eyes instead of curling up a fist. It's pretty cute. :)
She is also starting to laugh clearly. She's had some half laughs, but just yesterday was squealing and giggling.
Laurel is moving into the 3-6 month clothes. Not really for girth, but for length. Not all clothes are the same, so there's lots of 3 month clothes she still wears, but the arms and legs are starting to get too short. She got several new outfits for xmas that will look so cute!
Her sleeping is mostly the same. She takes her morning nap, can only stay up for about 2 hours stretches, afternoon nap and maybe a tiny doze around 5. And still the same, the inconsistent quality of the naps and the nap durations. So the schedule remains loose and unpredictable. Seems like when we want her to nap, she won't and when we have plans and need her to get up, she sleeps!
Laurel is getting much stronger. She tries to pull herself up and can sit propped up easily. She pulls on your hands to pull herself into a standing position. She loves to stand.
We think that teeth may be coming around the corner. She's sucking endlessly and munches down hard on her fist. There's nothing to feel in her gums, but it's possible that she's working on something.
I feel like she's always doing something new, so I'm probably leaving things out. But that's a good summary for now:).
These are pictures taken on Dec. 16th, 3.5 months old.

what a week!

Here's our cutie pie at 3 months! She loves to pull on her shirt and eventually get it into her mouth to gum it. And she helped with laundry:).

We've been crazy busy lately, and along with her 3 month birthday, Laurel's going through some kind of growth spurt, which doesn't help things. At least I think it's a growth spurt, or I hope so! We made such great, easy progress in her first couple of months and easily moved to 1 feeding each night around 4 or even 5 am. Over the past several nights, she's decided to wake up to eat around 12:30 or 1 and then again around 4 or 5 and then for some reason popping up for the day around 6:30, a whole hour earlier than usual. Not the best week for this phase! We're working over time to get our little shop set up, get work done, run errands, etc. So I could use the sleep, but it's not meant to be. So, yeah, I hope it's just a growth spurt! Sometimes I wonder if she eats enough during the day. She's so curious and easily distracted now. She loves to chat while eating, so she'll suck, suck, then pull away and talk about things and then maybe another suck, and then more chatter. It's really very cute, but eating seems to take twice as long now:).
In addition to pulling her shirt, she likes to hold her hands together and play with her own fingers and shove them all into her mouth. This leaves her hands, wrists and the top part of her shirt soaking in baby spit. With her hands together, she looks like she's coming up with an evil plan:).

Naps have improved in that we seem to have some kind of general schedule for them. But not necessarily the quality of nap. She's become very sensitive to light and noise during the day. And seems to be very burpy right now during this phase. She's always eager to go down for a nap, almost impatient if I don't wrap her up quickly enough. But a good 1/2 of her nap time is spent fussing and me running in and out of the room to comfort her. Again, we're hoping it's a phase!

Laurel has become more of a sack of potatoes:). She's getting good chubs! She's easy to lug around and is really enjoying seeing the world lately. I've gotten in the habit of carrying her around the house facing out so she can see. When we go shopping, I carry her in the sling so that she can see and she just looks and looks around. That is after she gets over the initial scare of the store in general...all of the noise and commotion freak her out at first.

As a family, we're busy, busy right now. And very behind with holiday prep. But I have done a lot of shopping when I could. This year's holiday is sponsored by Kohl's, at least so far. With our shop opening officially on Monday, and a stationery book full of samples to print, I've been at the shop every night doing work after Laurel goes to sleep. I think Alex and I are in need of a vacation big time, so our trip to MD for xmas will be a welcome get away!

and a couple more...

More Thanksgiving pics!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Laurel's first Thanksgiving was in Orange County with Alex's side of the family. Aunt Cyndy and Uncle Rob hosted a very nice dinner. Aunt Megan and Grandma O. came with us. Grandma came into town Tuesday night and we were very happy to be celebrating together. It was fun to see Sierra, and Amber is almost walking! Time sure flies, she's almost one year old. Cyndy had some more clothing to hand down to Laurel. Laurel wore her first pretty dress and we had lots of pictures:).
In the photos, it's easy to see how she's grown! Her head is elongating and her features are more defined. And she's all smiles and definitely has a personality. Laurel is having a much easier time holding her head up now and always has to be looking around. If she's held lying down, she cranes her neck so she can see. She also is fascinated with the television. She likes anything colorful and moving. So, the bright grass and moving figures of football keeps her very entertained. To the point where she will scream if you change the channel! Alex is happy with that.
And finally we seem to be adjusting to the idea of naps. Still not regular nap times, but definite naps. Last weekend, I bought an Amby Bed on ebay. I found it online and it was highly recommended for encouraging sleep. It is a hammock-style hanging bed that really cradles her little body. She's taken to sleeping during the day so much easier. And now that she is so aware and so interested in everything, she won't sleep in our arms as easily anymore. The Amby bed works well also because I can drap a cloth around it to help block out the light. She's starting her morning nap around 9:30 and takes a longer nap around 1/1:30 ish. Her nights are still going great. She wakes around 3 or 4 for her one good feeding and quickly goes back to sleep. She's very happy to see me in the middle of the night, which is cute:). Someday, I may have to wean her off of the feeding when I know she doesn't need it, but for now, I am happy to get up and be with her.
Laurel is getting better at her hand-eye coordination. She is reaching for things, very spastically, but reaching still. She can definitely grab and hold, but sometimes getting the object in her grasp is luck:).

Great nights, rough days

Laurel slept through the night Monday night! She went down around 7:30 and didn't wake until 6:15 ish. I actually did a little happy dance in the morning. I of course don't go to bed at a reasonable hour, so I still only got 7 hours of sleep or less, but that's more than I usually get, so I'll take it! Unfortunately, these longer sleeping nights have thrown things off during the day. Last night, she awoke at 1 and 5 to eat, but slept in her crib the whole night and didn't awaken until 8:30 in the morning. A lot of sleep again. But with no consistent waking hour, her morning nap is off schedule and that seems to mess up the whole rest of the day. And we only recently got the morning nap figured out. So, it's quite discouraging. She couldn't get a decent nap today and was so overtired and has such a sad, sad cry when she's that tired. It doesn't help that her little eyes make tears now:(.
She is also becoming more "conversational". Lots of noises back and forth with us, almost like we're talking. Lots of cooing babbling, squealing. She has a lot of her conversations in the rocking chair...and they're not always with me. Maybe someone is watching over us in the chair. Just my little belief.

The cursed daylight savings

I remember the time when I just loved the fall-back daylight savings. I could get an extra hour of sleep! That no longer applies when a baby is in the house:). She doesn't know the difference! And you'd think that one hour wouldn't really be noticeable. That was quite a change to a little person. We are finally, after most of the week, on the correct evening bed time. She was getting so cranky around 5-5:30 thinking it was one hour later, and time to get ready for bed. She seems to be a little more settled now. Her mornings are now suffering...and so are ours! I think she's trying to figure out a night feeding schedule that cuts out a feeding. I am a fan of that idea, but it's meaning much earlier to rise. On Wednesday, she went to bed and didn't wake up until nearly 4! A record. Then up at 7:30 to eat and that schedule was perfect. The most sleep I've had in one night. Thursday night, she went down and was up a nearly 3...which unfortunately made her hungry tummy want to eat again at 6...and the sun was up, so we all should be! Last night we reverted to an old schedule...up at 1, up again at nearly 5...fuss until 6, up for the morning! Not a fan of that schedule. Alex and I don't really operate that early. So I bring Laurel into bed between us and she grins and coos and kick, kick, kicks and he and I lay there with barely open eyes. We'll see what this next week brings, but I'd love for the 7 am wake-up call again.
She is taking to a more regular morning nap. She's been going down around 9 am and staying for anywhere from 1.5-2 hours, yesterday was down for 3.5!

This past week was another busy one. Lots of time at the shop...and I haven't been much help because what do I do with her while I'm trying to do some work? My dad came in on Wednesday and has been helping with demolition. And a little babysitting when needed. But Laurel doesn't care for the bottle, she much prefers the "tap", so she doesn't eat well when I have to be away. This weekend is more demo and wall reconstruction. Hopefully laying the bamboo flooring and painting. I'll have to post some before and after pictures once everything is done! We have to wrap as soon as possible...we already had a bride call for an appt. and decided she'd call later rather than meet one of us at home. She probably won't call back.:( We're finally feeling the saying "time is money, people".

Busy days

Well, we've purchased our first little shop! Everything has gone through and we had our new space on November 1st. We've been so busy cleaning, clearing, moving furniture and eventually renovating, that I haven't made time for my little Laurel update!
On November 1st, she had her 2 month well-baby check-up. And just like we thought, she put on weight! She's now 11 lbs, 3 ounces and is longer, at 23.5". I can definitely notice the weight when I'm carrying her around. And other little things show it, like she fills out her car seat and it's head rest and she sits much higher in the front carrier than she used to.
Laurel spent some time with family this weekend, caring for her while I got my hands dirty, very dirty, at the shop. Grandma Velez watched her Saturday afternoon and Aunt Megan sat with her today for a few hours. It sure is nice to have some close help!
Otherwise, she'll be accompanying mommy to her new shop during the week. Laurel still doesn't nap well, so I'll be solving that problem by putting her in the carrier, where she does nap well, while I am busy going through things at the shop.
We had daylight savings time today. And though just an hour, all it takes is an hour to throw off a baby's schedule. She was pretty fussy all day and had a rough time going down for the night. :(

Laurel's first halloween - 2 months old!

Here's our cute pumpkin on her 2 month birthday - Halloween!

For a full collection of pictures, including her little pumpkin costume...visit: http://foofnik79.winkflash.com

nearly 2 months

I can't believe it, she's almost 2 months old. Where does the time go? I sure feel lucky that I can be home with her every day. Even when she's fussy or not sleeping, she still needs me and I love that I can take care of her.
The days do run together though. Day runs into night, and what we do each day seems to drift out of my memory. I am filling out a wall calendar with tid bits of what we are doing or anything new that she's doing. I get behind sometimes and then have to reflect back to earlier days and search my brain for what we did. I can't remember most of the time! I was sitting in the rocker at a wee hour one night and found that I had no idea what date is was and felt like I had just been in that rocker not long before. All running together:). But I can blame it on the fact that she's the focus of my world and it really doesn't matter what day it is, does it?:)
She's such a lovely, sweet baby. Everyone who sees her makes that comment. She's just so cute, I can't help staring at her. When she's asleep at night, Alex and I always run in to check on her and then stand and watch her in her crib before bed.
I'll have another update on November 1st. Her 2 month Dr. appt. And she'll be getting some shots, so I'm not looking forward to that part:(.

morning smiles

Here we are at nearly 8 weeks and Laurel has changed so much already!
She smiles and coos at us all the time. Very much so in the morning, ready to start the day! Her coos and noises are almost communication and we can start to feel like we can relate to one another.
She's also growing very quickly. I am looking forward to her dr. appt. next week to get the latest weight and length. She's starting to fill out and is getting the rolls where the rolls should be:).
We've also conquered the night routine. She's going to sleep earlier than we'd like, Alex has no evening time with her. But for now, we have to go by her inner schedule. That has her getting cranky around 6 and really tired by 6:30. So at 6:30 we have our bedtime nursing, then a swaddle, pacifier, a bit of rocking and she's out! The first couple of nights, we had to go in repeatedly to shoosh her or even pick her up and comfort her. But last night, we went in only once and it was to put the pacifier back in her mouth. We love our time with her, but it's been nice to have a little down time for just Alex and me in the evening.
She's been sleeping very well at night and sleeps until around 9. We are still doing two night feedings, plus waking her for a small one before I go to bed. Sometimes she's so sleepy, her nursing session is very short, so she wakes up a little sooner than I'd like. Last night, I waited to see her awake on her own, to see what cue she gives in her sleep. When she is hungry, she starts to squirm and eventually munches down aggressively on her fist. That was good to see because now I can decide if she's hungry and I really need to get myself out of bed during the night or if she's just working on something else:).
Next up will be the nap schedule. I fear that's no where close to regular now. She doesn't sleep for the 2 hour stretches I'd like, but more like 45 min. to an hour. And I think the daylight distracts her, so she's much more difficult to put down in her crib. But we will give it a good effort and hope it goes the way of bed time!

celebrating fall

On Sunday we went to Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch in West Hollywood. A pretty warm day, but it was still nice to be doing something fall-related. A cute place for kids, there's a petting zoo, pony rides, face painting, and bounce house. And of course lots of pumpkins to choose from. Laurel will enjoy it so much more next year, but we thought it would be fun to take her photo with the biggest pumpkins. That ended up being impossible because she was sooo comfy in the sling with daddy that she snoozed even when we took her out for photos. Oh well, better luck next year! :)
Oh and if you click on the picture of the 3 of us so that it's huge, in the back left of the photo you'll see the paparazzi with their super telephoto cameras. Yes, they found out we were going to be there. Ha, Mark Wahlberg and his kids were there.

and now 6 weeks!

Laurel is now an active fist sucker. She doesn't always have the best hand-to-mouth aim, but she's doing her best to shove her fist in her mouth whenever she can. And sometimes, only sometimes, it's a feeding cue which makes it super confusing for me. I did try prying her little thumb out and she happily sucked on it for a few seconds. Otherwise, she's a pacifier girl, through and through.
We've had to restart the thrush meds. It seems to be rearing it's ugly face again. At her next appt., I will be sure to ask how to prevent it instead of just treat it.
Laurel's smiles have become more distinct and aimed at us. She recognizes her mommy and daddy and gives us big smiles. She also smiles after she's filled a diaper and feels relieved, but we like to think she's just happy to see us:).
Our latest trial has been to figure out how to get Laurel to nap. And also go to bed at night at a reasonable hour without such a struggle. It's still too early for a regular schedule, but we're trying to pay attention to when she's showing signs of being sleepy. I think if she gets over-tired, she has trouble going to sleep.
Last night we took her footprints for a frame and also for her baby book. The feet were easy, but prying the hands open to print sure was difficult!
We made another walking trip to my new business site. We're in the middle of buying out a business that is just a pleasant 20 minute walk away from our home. It's very exciting and so nice to be so close. I've been carrying her in the jeep carrier and she just loves the jiggling and falls to sleep right away and stays asleep much longer.
On a funny side note, it's interesting to note the differences between mom and dad's ways. I sing her lullabies. Alex sings her the Smurfs theme song, Star Wars theme, Monday night football theme, and other such man-type music.:)

5 weeks old!

We're now a week into the second month and we're starting to figure this little girl out:). The latest learning accomplishment was to figure out how she burps and fusses. For the first couple of weeks, she would fuss in the early hours and I had no idea why. Turns out she's a gassy girl, but takes a loooong time to burp. Grandma O. took one look at her and said, "oh she's pulling her legs up while she fusses, she needs to burp." Thank goodness we learned that! She also likes the positions that put pressure on her tummy when she's fussy, like the "colic carry" over the arm or over my legs.
She's been a difficult napper this week. Great at night, but a restless dozer during the day. We took a long walk today and I carried her in the front Jeep carrier and she slept the whole day. I may just have to carry her a lot until she takes to a schedule.
On the plus end of things, she's a smiler this week! She's started to respond to our funny faces and noises. She also likes being passed around and seeing new faces. She will smile and make her first noises which sound like "Ahh-gee".
She is fascinated by Aunt Megan and her singing. My sister will swing her back and forth and sing to her in a voice that goes up and down and Laurel will just watch her face entranced:).
Laurel also loves to stare at patterns. Grandma O. crocheted a cover for the head area of my glider. When I hold Laurel up to burp her, she just stares at it. It's peach and yellow. She's also started reach and grabbing at it.
We're also trying to give her tummy time, but find that she loves being perched up on our shoulders and holds her head up very steadily there.
I've gotten a bit of extra uninterrupted sleep the past couple of nights. Grandma O. volunteered to take Laurel after she finishes the 4 or 5 a.m. feeding. She burps Laurel and they fall back to sleep together. And she deals with Laurel's fussing if she wakes up, which is great because the fussing keeps me up. I can then sleep until 8 or 9! Yay!

4 weeks old

As of Friday, Laurel is 4 weeks old, and today 1 month! Although, without a 31st in September, there's no official 1 month birthday, so we'll go with the 30th:).
Laurel is definitely developing personality...and chub:). Her limbs are thickening and she's working on a good double chin. She's heavy on cuddling and doesn't like being alone. She really dislikes her car seat, but loves being in the maya sling. She's smiling more now while awake, though not necessarily in response to others' smiles. She can follow objects with her eyes and turns her head to the voices that intrigue her. Right now she's watching the computer as I type with her pacifier in her mouth. She also gets lazy sometimes and requires you to hold the pacifier in her mouth for her...lazy, lazy:). She is starting to reach for objects but is still lacking the full coordination. Her favorite position is propped up on the shoulder when she's awake so she can look around, lift her head and pump her strong legs. When she's asleep she still prefers to sleep on our chests. When she sleeps, she goes to sleep deeply...no sound can wake her. She sleeps well at night unless she is gassy or needs to get out a good poop, then there's lots of fussing and grunting in the wee hours.
We had to go to the dr. on thursday...Laurel developed a fungus in her mouth called thrush. She hates the liquid nystatin I have to squirt in her mouth, but the white coating is nearly gone.
Grandma O. is visiting, arrived Thursday night. Its been nice to have the extra help and company. I've been able to get some much needed extra sleep in. We've been low key so far, but will hopefully get to the beach or shopping while she's here.

3 week check-up

We had our 3 week (almost) check-up today. Officially 3 weeks old tomorrow! Laurel's is already growing, as she should be of course. At birth she was 7 lbs, 10 oz, lost 5 oz by the time we left the hospital, but regained 3 by her 5th day. As of today, she is 8 lbs, 14 oz (just shy of 15). So, a good 1 lb, 4+ oz heavier! She was 20 inches at birth and is now 21.5 in. And her head measured 35 cm around and is now 37.5 cm. Growing girl! That puts her in the 75th percentile for her age. Everything else checked out very well. Our next appt. is November 1st, a 2 month old check-up.

We also made two visitation stops today. We went by Embrey Papers, where I used to work, and Sugar Paper where I do a lot of calligraphy. The general consensus is that she's "beautiful and so perfect" and that I look great!:) I have to say I've been lucky, with a little bit of exercise (just some walking) and lots of breastfeeding, my weight has dropped very quickly. I was about 35lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight and am maybe 7 lbs or so over now. Luckily, most of that weight was in the belly, very little swelling or bloating elsewhere, so things have shrunken back to normal (almost) very quickly. I'm just sporting a little excess tummy (which is easily hidden) and not much else!
Everyone just coos over Laurel. I handed her around for everyone to hold and she was very content, sleeping. She's actually had a very sleepy day in general. A woman in the parking lot said "she has such a perfectly shaped head"! Which seems like an odd compliment, but it really is one when you consider the shapes it could be after pushing her out.
The other common comment today is how easy-going and worry-free that I seem. I guess I am handling everything well, it's hard to say! But I don't mind other people holding my baby and I'm not worried about her in general now, I know she's doing very well:).

Photos are up!

Here's a family shot from the photo shoot! The full collection can be viewed at: http://foofnik79.winkflash.com
This week starts our first at home without Daddy. Alex did come home quickly for lunch yesterday and Aunt Megan came by for the afternoon. But it's been just me and Laurel today. She's been pretty wakeful and definitely clingy. Just when I think she's napping, I will take her to her crib and she wakes up and wants to be held again. I do enjoy holding her though, so no real complaints there:). But it is surprising how little else I get done during the day. It's quite the accomplishment if I manage to get a load of laundry in. And how quickly the day passes! I'm turning in much earlier than I used to, but still getting out of bed around 9 am...so the day seems so much shorter. I'm afraid that time is passing too quickly! My baby will be bigger before I know it.

Another week...

Well, we've had another week go by already! I can't believe she was 2 weeks old yesterday. I think life goes by at a certain reasonable pace when you're childless, but suddenly, you become a parent and time starts to just fly by! That makes me even more greatful to know that I will be able to work from home to be a stay-at-home mom.
This past week was fairly lazy except for the funeral to-dos on Thursday and Friday. Thursday afternoon we drove down for the viewing which was at 7pm until 9pm. It was an emotional evening, but Laurel helped to keep a smile around on some faces. Alex's Aunt Rita said it was nice that she was there because she brought happiness to a sad occasion. Such is life...the new come in to keep the cycle going.
We spent the night at Alex's parents' house. Everything at night was as it usually is. 2 early feedings, around 1/2 am and another around 4/5 am. Plus morning feeding around 7/8 am. Except no time to recover in the morning. So consequently, I was exhausted by the afternoon. But Laurel was very well behaved during the hour-long mass...she snoozed in her carrier. She woke to feed at the cemetary, so we returned to the car for the "fix". We stayed until 7pm and then drove back. Though she doesn't seem to mind the car seat, she loses patience with the long drive. We sang songs to her the entire drive back to keep her from screaming:).
Everyone that held her thinks she weighs more than a week ago. Her next appt. is on the 20th, so hopefully there'll be some significant weight gain since it will be almost 3 weeks by then.

Laurel's first photo shoot

Yesterday, the same photographer as our maternity shoot, Holly Port, took Laurel's newborn photos. We are still waiting on the bulk of them, but she sent us this teaser which we're so happy with. She has such a great eye and great timing. We should have the rest by the end of the week and I will put them up on winkflash.
Today, we visited Megan on the set of a new Will Smith movie. We were away from the house for the longest time so far, about 5 hours. She was a trooper, but it was hot and eventually she was cranky. We did our first feedings in public too! Everyone was cooing over her and so surprised to see such a new baby. But we had to get out, mommy was feeling cooped up!! It was fun to see the set being put together, but the setup for the shot took about 4 hours, and we had to go, so we missed seeing Megan in action. Hopefully another time!
Other moments to mention...Laurel's umbilical stump fell off in the wee hours Sunday morning. Her eyes are getting wider during her waking hours, which seem to be getting a bit more often, but not predictable.
In sad family news, Alex lost his maternal grandfather Sunday evening. They were very, very close, so the loss is heartbreaking. The family viewing will be Thursday evening and the funeral Friday morning. We'll be driving down Thursday afternoon and staying overnight at his parents' house.

One week old today!

Laurel is one week old today! She is sleeping right now and looking super cute while she does it:). We've had a pretty good week over all. She has a long nap during the late morning into afternoon with a long wakeful period either before or after. She sometimes has a long nap in the evening too. She's been waking to feed 3 times at night. Around 1, sometime around 4 and then in the morning around 7. The 4 am is the hardest time to be awake for me with so much of the "night" still to go...but I'm making it through! I'm actually adjusting to having less sleep...at least I'd like to think I'm adjusting:). I take her out of the room at night so Alex can sleep and then he takes her in the morning so that I can get another hour or so. The mid-afternoon napping makes me feel yucky, so I prefer the extra time in the morning instead.
Laurel's cutest moments are when she is sleeping and does mouth exercises. She creates little "o"s and smiles and raises her eyebrows. She also make the cutest little "drunk on milk" face when she falls asleep feeding:). I'm trying to capture these things with the video camera.
Her umbilical cord stump is starting to fall off and her skin is flaking a little bit at the creases where she has the vernix coating in the womb. Her skin has to adjust to life outside the womb I think!
On Wednesday, I took Laurel for her first car trip out into the world (besides coming home from the hospital). We went up to the Pump Station for a new mother's support group. She was easily the youngest baby there, at just 5 days. It was a nice atmosphere where all of the babies could breastfeed openly and we would ask questions and share experiences and knowledge about breastfeeding and anything baby related.
Today, she's getting some quality time with her Grandpa O. and Great Grandma O. My dad and Grandma came into town yesterday evening after a few days in Vegas. They've been great help with getting dinner on for us and doing some laundry.
Alex is currently at his parents' house. His grandfather is taking a bad turn and Alex wanted to be there in case this is his final hours. They are very close.

Our first days at home

Today, we are on our 3rd day at home and boy has it been interesting!
Baby Laurel is quite the sleeper...during the day! Our first two nights were rough, but I guess should be expected. I don't think there's a way to prepare for the crying (on her part and mine!) and the loss of sleep (for all of us!) She's so peaceful during the day and even has to be awakened for her feedings. The heat doesn't help, it's been so very hot that I'm sure she's in a nice warm snooze all day long. Both nights, she was determined to cry for no apparent reason...wait, not cry...scream:). Alex was wonderful though, and came to the rescue both nights. She sure does love his embrace and settles on his shoulder almost instantly. Last night, he even admitted to singing her the Smurfs theme song since he couldn't think of anything else:). Eventually we'll make it through, but more daytime naps are definitely a priority!
My milk has come in...and so have the post-baby hormones! Mostly associated with worrying about her 24-7...is she getting enough to eat? is she too hot? how many times has she peed and is that enough? And boy are my breasts sore!! I will be going to the pump station tomorow for some lactation help.
We've had Alex's family up on Sunday and Monday to visit. She mostly snoozes in their arms, but it's still wonderful contact time for her. And a nice distraction from the worry, for me:).
This morning was her first check-up with the pediatrician. She started out at 7 lbs, 10 oz. and dropped to 7 lbs, 5 oz at the hospital the day we checked out. Today she was back up to 7lbs, 8 oz. Her respiratory system sounded perfect and her coloring is very healthy and not a sign of jaundice. We asked a lot of questions, especially about the sleeping and eating habit so far. And she hiccups all the time, which she said is normal. Phew!

Laurel Addison has arrived

She arrived to us on Friday, August 31, 2007 at 9:11 a.m. She was 7 lbs, 10 oz and 20 inches. She's beautiful and we are so thrilled! For full details, visit my pregnancy blog. All new entries will be made here now!

Becoming a Family!

We've loved sharing our trip down the pregnancy lane on babycrowd.com! Soon, when our baby girl arrives, we'll be on a new stage in our lives. With all of the smiles, trials, laughs and everything else ahead, you can read about it here on our family blog!