Pictures for Mamaw

Mamaw needed some new pictures, so my mother dressed me in these gigantic overalls and began her impression of the paparazzi. My mother keeps telling me that these overalls are newborn size, but all I know is that I'm drowning in denim.

One Month Old

Evie turned one-month old yesterday! She continues to grow and amaze us on a daily, if not hourly basis. While in Wenatchee, she learned to smile, but we haven't been able to catch it fully on-film. We will get a pict online of the smile as soon as we can capture it. I will be going to the store today to purchase a hanging, colorful toy which should facilitate more smiling. Her auntie Cory had one at her house, and it made her light up with glee, every time we showed it to her.
She's sleeping more at nighttime, and we're keeping her awake more often during the day.
She is more alert, and is especially taken by men. She will stare in awe any time a man holds her and talks to her. Needless to say, this concerns her mother to no end. :-)

We're Home!

After Bryan spent a week in Los Angeles and Evie and Steph spent a week in Wenatchee, we have reunited and returned home.
Bryan's week was not so great, as he was at work in the pressure-cooker, but he was able to end it by flying into Wenatchee Friday night to spend the weekend with his girls at Mike and Nancy's. He almost pushed past mommy to get to Evie when he got home. Evie spent the next 24 hours in her daddy's arms, and will now have to be re-trained as to how to survive without being held 24/7.
We drove back home together Sunday afternoon, but made several stops along the way. We visited Steph's uncle and aunt in Seattle, where Evie got to meet her cousins Sami, Gabi and the newest girl, Aly Jo, who is 4 months old, and makes Evie look like a preemie.
After a nice visit, we then continued on to Steph's cousin, Jeremy and Eryn's home, to drop off Nancy, who will be spending the week with her new grandson, Kincaid. He was born three days after Evie, so the babies were able to meet one another, and the mommies were able to compare kids and notes.
It was great to see everyone, and Steph really enjoyed getting out of the house and being social, after 9 months of pseudo house-arrest.
We're getting back into the swing of things and are looking forward to Evie's grandparents from Michigan to come visit.

Meeting the family

Three Weeks Old

Evie turned 3 weeks old today. To celebrate the event, we went to urgent care as her umbilical cord fell off partially and started bleeding all over, which meant there was a risk for infection. It turned out all was okay, and the doc just cleaned her up and in so doing, removed the remaining umbilical stump and put on some antibiotic ointment. When she did that, the bleeding subsided, so we should be okay.
In other news, Bryan had to fly to LA today for the week, so Evie and I are going to grandma's in Wenatchee. We're hoping to see the sun, since it's been MIA here in Gig Harbor.

Just stab me in the heart

The Longs come to visit

The Longs are in town this week, and were able to come meet little Evie. She was very interested in her uncles, especially Ethan. She just stared at him in awe- as he did at her. Cuteness abounded.

This must be what heaven is like

Three Years...

Yesterday was our third anniversary. It seems like such a small number considering all that has happened while we've been married. But nontheless, three years it has been. We're going to "celebrate" (go out to eat) this weekend since Bryan has to work in Seattle until 6pm every night this week.
Our present to each other was Evie. I can't imagine any better gift than to have a child together.

Two Weeks Old

Evie turned two weeks old yesterday. On Friday, she had her regular check-up at the Dr.'s office. She has, in the last week, gained 10 ounces in weight and 3/4 of an inch in length. She is more alert every day, and finally, is spending more time awake during the day than in the night. We are counting our blessings that she remains healthy and growing, and are constantly amazed that she is our daughter.

Baptism by Barf

So it's official...I'm a real-life mom. While nursing Evie at 5am this morning, she indicated that she had a bubble and needed some assistance to burp it up. So, I propped her up and gave her a gentle tap on her back. She proceeded to barf up all the milk she had consumed. All of it. All over me. All over her. All over the sheets. Everwhere. I was amazed at both the volume as well as the power such a dainty person could produce.
Bryan was still unconscious, so he was unphased until I woke him up to hold her while I mopped up the lake in which I was sitting. The bed has since been stripped and the sheets are being washed.
I know that this is only the first of thousands of such experiences, and I assure you that I won't write about all her bodily functions. However, I thought I'd share my first one, since I've been baptised into motherhood by barf.

Oh and in other news, she has a new trick. She can roll up onto her side, and she has figured out how to shimmy on her back like a sidewinder. If I lay her in the middle of the bed on her back while I'm getting situated to nurse her, I can count on the fact that she will find her way over to me and will be on her side, or tummy. Very scary. The same is true nomatter where she is laid. She has been laid on her back in her bassinet, fully swaddled, and five minutes later, we'll find her, completely unswaddled, laying on her side. We have found one blanket that she can't bust out of, and Bryan has figured out that she can only roll over with the use of her legs, so she'll be in baby lock-down now whenever she is put down to sleep.

Update

I'm feeling better today, although still very sore. It's a major mistake to go off one's pain medications early after a C-section, regardless of how good you think you feel; it takes much longer to get caught back up.
The weepiness and neurosis seems to be calming down a bit...hopefully with each day things will start to regulate.
Evie is doing just great, and we are constantly amazed that she is ours. Her schedule is a little off, and she spent all day yesterday asleep, which meant of course, all night was party time....much to mom and dad's chagrin. The whole sleeping 3 hours on, 1 off thing was apparently a tease. :-)

New Evie pictures

Just a little bit crazy...

So I guess I've officially entered motherhood. My milk arrived Friday morning, and Friday afternoon, my mind took its leave. I had heard about the "baby blues," I had read about post-partum depression when I was waiting for the arrival of my little girl. I watched Brooke Shields talk to Oprah about her troubles, and read excerpts from her book. I told Bryan, "if you see me getting dark, don't be afraid to say something in fear of offending me (which you probably will) I don't want to be one of those women who drive my car into the lake."
I have no intention or interest in lake driving, but I think I might be just a little bit crazy.
I experience flashes of horrible images as I make my way through the day. For example, on Friday when we were driving, searching for a cafe in which to eat lunch, I made Bryan keep driving past a particular location because there was no parking available on the cafe side of the street. As I imagined us carrying Evie across the street, I was suddenly gripped with fear, worried that we would be hit by a car, the only fatality being our baby. Thankfully, he assuaged my anguish by finding another restaurant- one with a parking lot.
I've also freaked out a few times at night, when she's slept a little longer than expected, certain she's stopped breathing while I was asleep.
I don't want to carry her down the stairs (I'm not allowed to yet anyway, what with the C-section and all,) but the thought scares me, as I'm sure I'll trip and drop her little body.
Now, I know intellectually that the possibility of anything happening is very low, and rationally, I am not that worried. 23.5 hours of the day, I;m perfectly fine. But every once in a while, I get a weird thought or fear, and with the raging hormones, it's enough to make me freak out just a little bit.
Friday night, the tears came, for no particular reason. I was sitting there, feeding Evie, watching Monster's Inc. on T.V., when I was gripped with overwhelming sadness. I looked at Evie and I just started sobbing. Bryan came in to find me blubbering like an idiot. He rubbed my back and told me it's okay to cry, even if I don't know why I'm doing it.
Friday was not an isolated incident. I have about 2 or three good cries a day currently. This is more than I've cried in the past 5 years, but what can I do?
I've talked to other moms, who laugh and tell me this is perfectly normal. "Welcome to motherhood," they tell me.
If I'm this bad now, how will I be when she's 16 and driving away from me? Ugh. I now know why moms always talk about how they wish they had a "pause" button. She's only a week old and already I'm sad about how big she is.

To add to the drama, today is my mom's birthday, so I'm even more emotional than I was yesterday. So if you call and hear me weeping, don't be alarmed...I'm just a new mommy.

5 Days Old...

Evie had a big day today! She went out to lunch, she watched mom get a haircut, she went to Target, and she went to the doctor's office. She pretty much slept in mom or dad's arms most of the time. The doctor gave her a clean bill of health and said she's doing just great. She didn't mind him poking and prodding, and many comments were made at how "easy" she is. We agree, and hope that she will remain as wonderfully easy as she has been so far. We joke that her calm demeanor is due to good parenting. ;-) She's sleeping in about 3-hour intervals, and is awake usually for about an hour in between. She's eating pretty well, and hasn't lost any more weight (except the usual few ounces that are expected--she currently weighs 7lbs.)
She does have a little temper, and it seems she has the same amount of patience as mom...she's definately a pistol.
As for mom, my milk has finally arrived, thankfully. The Incision from the C-Section is healing well, and other than a little soreness, I'm feeling really, really good. Far better than I did when pregnant!
Surrogate grandparents Nancy and Mike left for home today, but we felt blessed to have their help the last few days.