I ordered steak!

We fed Hannah rice cereal for the first time tonight. She's not sure she likes it, but she was very interested in the spoon and she ate about half the bowl. Well, we spooned half the bowl into her mouth anyway. How much she ate...now that's a different and more complicated question.

Poster girl

This is what was for dinner tonight.

She loves it!

"What? I'm playing here."

Everybody panic!

We have at least two thermometers. Specifically for the baby. So that doesn't count the basal thermometer and the digital thermometer and whatever else we have lurking in the closet for our own use. So at 12:30am when I was trying to determine if Hannah's runny nose was accompanied by a fever, we should have been covered, right? The digital ear thermometer read 100.4. That's a fever. But is that really accurate for a five month old? So we did the auxiliary temperature to be sure-99.6 and then we add a degree, right? Still a fever.

Okay, so I didn't panic. We have Tylenol if needed. She's bound to live through several more low grade fevers in her life, but somehow that first fever feels a little bit like a test. Since we all lived through the night, and even slept a little bit, I'd say we pass. At least for now.

The countdown to tooth fairy.

After many weeks of passing off drooling and wanting to put everything in her mouth to teething, we think there may be little bumps of swelling under her bottom front gum. That and the screaming make us think this may actually be a sign of teeth appearing in her little mouth sometime soon. (How soon do they appear?)

We tried several methods of soothing the apparently swelling gums: frozen teething toy, cold teething toy, cold water on a wash cloth for her to chew, and a teething necklace. Any other thoughts?

We're in for it now...

More experienced parents tell me that once they start rolling, the sitting up follows quickly... then the crawling, standing, walking....chasing, pulling back, baby-proofing...

Here's the video for those who can't wait to see the roly poly in action.

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

Here is the face of a girl who just mastered a new trick. Last night Hannah rolled all the way over all by herself. Twice. Pictured here is the aftermath of her showing off this morning. And so it begins.

Saturdays are for sleeping in...

That's why, when the baby wakes up at 7:30am and needs to be fed, she's brought to bed with mommy and daddy.

4 months

Hannah is four months old. Time flies when you're having fun. She is now: 14 lbs 3 oz., 25 inches, and average head size. She's active and interested in the world around her. She LOVES her take along bar toy. Her favorite sound to make is a tie between a raspberry sound and a high pitched squeal. She laughs when Ed does "pony girl" with her. And it seems like she's starting to recognize things. She cried as soon as I put her down on the examination table at the doctor's office. It was almost as if she remembered the shots from last visit. So far she seems to be over the initial shock and horror of the shots. We're going to take it easy today.

America sleep well tonight...

Your Air Force is awake!

A New Day

and a new start. I'm starting over with my baby steps in the FLYlady program.
I've been doing little things here and there that she recommends and Ed and I both notice the difference. But I fell off the bandwagon, and I think I will benefit from a fresh start.

daily routine

I set out this morning a woman with a purpose. I have things to accomplish. I did what I have done for years now. I made a list of things I wanted to get done. I attempted to schedule out the day in order to get those things accomplished. That's when I started to get a sense that maybe this would not be like the pre-Hannah days when getting a list of things done only depended on my motivation and discipline. When will Hannah go down for a nap? Is it better to rush out to get my errands done before she naps? As these questions and others rushed into my head, I attempted to ignore them and pretend that I could in fact just do what I needed to do.

Things got snagged up pretty early on when I attempted to find clothes for myself and Hannah and ended up feeling mismatched and frustrated (and a half an hour "off schedule"). I'll have to add laundry to the list. Next on the list: out the door to get things done. Is Hannah hungry? Hmmm... and wait, I think she's giving me pre-nap signs. (she won't let me put her down, she yawns, etc.) It's not naptime yet! Okay, a quick modification of the schedule. What can I do with Hannah strapped to the front? That's when it hit me that maybe I would have to try again tomorrow with getting out to get the errands done. Then comes self doubt. Don't other people get things done somehow? I read that it's best to let the baby nap at home, but maybe it wouldn't really matter?

Is that the baby waking up?

link

Okay, so pictures of Hannah are here

Year Old Wedding Cake

We approached with suspicion.

Surprisingly, it was not that bad.

Thank you...

Aunt Julie and Uncle Dave for remembering Hannah on your trips to Vegas and England, respectively.

Pictured below is Hannah meeting Peter Rabbit:

Go Browns!

The Brown's were up at the half! Keep cheering, Hannah!!

Here's the scooting

So I put Hannah in the crib for a nap. Here's what I saw when I peeked in on her.

Here are some new things about Hannah:

1. She found her thumb! Sometimes she has trouble getting it in her mouth, but she's generally a pro at thumb sucking.
2. She's arching onto her side from her back. She generally combines this with number one when she's hungry or tired. I guess it reminds her of when I feed her lying down.
3. She's scooting just enough so that I wonder if that's how I left her.
4. She can bat well enough to swat mommy's hand away when she does mommy things like try to get the crusties out of her eye.

Check in on Tummy Time

Hannah is growing so quickly. Doesn't she look like she's working those crawling muscles? Watch out world!

Meeting of the Three Muskateers

Grandpa affectionately dubbed these three little ones as "The Three Muskateers." Bastien is just under two weeks in this picture. Alexander is going on nine months. Hannah is just under two months. More fun to come as the adventures unfold.

Shots!

Today was Hannah's two month check up. She is growing well and appears to have no major problems. She is now measuring 23 inches and weighing 11 lbs 5 oz. She also got her shots. She did scream, but she calmed down fairly quickly. She fell asleep on the way home. I survived.

Baptism

Hannah Josephine was baptised on Sunday, August 19, 2007. She wore the dress Marie wore for her baptism and Marie's aunt wore many years before that. She is pictured above with the priest, her parents, and her Godmother. She still smells like the spiced oil used to anoint her head.

Afternoon nap

Uncle Jim is practicing....

Hannah meets Alex

tummy time update

"Tummy time" is growing on Hannah. When I put her on her stomach today, she didn't move much, but she flashed one of her winning toothless grins.

What's not to love...

about Brutus Buckeye, adorned in scarlet in gray, smiling down on our little Hannah? O-H! Daddy loves you!

The brainwashing begins

This mobile appeared in the crib after mommy's long nap on Sunday. When she's two and has nightmares about scary men in red and white watching her while she sleeps, we'll know who's getting up with her.

In the meantime, we're not entirely sure she focuses on the mobiles. She definately is making eye contact with the two of us. She tracks us throughout the room. And she smiles. So sweet.

tummy time

Yesterday, I decided that it's time to do "tummy time" with Hannah in order to allow her to gain the muscles she needs. This is today's attempt. She's not sure she likes it yet.

How mom got dinner on the table...

...and dad got laundry done.

how mommy got a morning nap

She's still alive

Maybe some of you more experienced parents can explain this mystery. Any time I nurse Hannah during the day she immediately passes out, while at night, when Ed and I have designated it "bedtime" she puts up a fight and won't be lulled to sleep until we've spent an hour feeding, changing, feeding again, and then swaddling and shushing. And then she somehow decides that she is no longer groggy the minute she is laid in her bassinet. At which point she proceeds to make those darling newborn noises that are somewhere between content and fussy so that her devoted parents lie in wait for the next outburst asking each other questions like "does she need to be changed again?" or "could she be hungry?" and "why isn't she sleeping!?!"

It's a good thing she's so darn cute.

cloth diaper update

We hit the first snag in the cloth diaper experience. We've been drying the diapers on the back porch to save energy and gain the benefits of the good old fashioned sunshine. Unfortunately a couple days ago was the first day there was little to no good old fashioned sunshine, and the full load of diapers Ed put out to dry was still damp and smelled a little funky when I remembered that they were still out there. This was not so good...

The moral of the story: drying diapers outside works best when it's not rainy or muggy.

Holding pattern

Hannah had her 2 week check up yesterday. She gained 6 oz.! What a relief. The doctor was overall pleased with her growth and progress. She now weighs 7 lbs. 13 oz. and is about 20.5 inches.

Here are some pictures of Hannah sleeping... she does sleep...occaisionally...

We continue to be sleep deprived. I am feeling better every day. Ed is back to work. I am slowly getting back into doing things around the house. She continues to be charming and demanding.

Saving the planet one diaper at a time

Ed's comments on cloth diapering: "They don't leak as much as Huggies and I don't feel so bad when they only last 20 seconds" (side comment: Al Gore's an idiot and has a comb-over)

We began our foray into cloth diapering last night. They are a little bulky, but Hannah doesn't seem to mind. We've washed a load (mostly diapers we used to keep the changing pad fresher) and they came out just fine. Overall the transition has been seamless....so far.

Ed also wanted to note that he feels like Hugh Hefner...walking around in his PJs in the middle of the afternoon in a house full of beautiful younger women.

One week check up

Hannah turned one week last night. What an amazing week. Ed and I are adjusting to a whole new way of life. Number one change, as all parents know, is a completely different sleep cycle. Hannah doesn't cry a whole lot at night, but she does wake up hungry every couple hours. And as the nurses at the hospital reminded us: what goes in must come out. Despite all his fears, Ed has become the prime diaper changer. He confided that changing diapers is not as scary as he thought it would be. We'll see if things change when we dive into cloth diapering.

Nursing has been a challenge unto itself. I never realized that babies need to be taught to nurse. The nurses at the hospital and the lactation consultants were ever ready to help with advice and hands on demonstration. I'm thankful for their help, though at the time I felt a tad overwhelmed by all the focus on getting it right. The visiting nurse on Friday expressed concern that my milk had not come in. Hannah lost 7 oz. of her birth weight putting her at 7 lbs 4oz. More than what the nurse wanted to see. This visit was followed by Hannah's first "fussy" night. She wanted to be up every hour to nurse. She exercised her lungs in a cry that Ed has affectionately nicknamed her "HA-NA-AH-AH-AH" cry. By the next day I was sure my milk had in fact come in (not that I didn't still worry and consult several friends and relatives about the weight loss).

Yesterday was the one week check up. Hannah's weight is back up to 7 lbs. 7 oz. She otherwise met with the doctor's approval. I also got affirmation from both the doctor and the lactation specialist that I was getting the hang of the nursing thing. Good news.

Happy Birthday Hannah!

Hannah Josephine was born July 2nd at 8:29pm. She was 7lbs 11oz, twenty inches long, and has a head full of dark hair. If you imagine the Beetles you're not far off. I was simply amazed at how tough Marie is. She declined the epidural and remained strong through what has to be an incredible amount of pain. I'm blessed to have her. I'm blessed to have both of them.

Marie is on the phone right now and it seems the peanut gallery is getting restless because they want pictures of Hannah. Time to wrap this up and make everyone happy.

Pictures will be up in five minutes Kelly...

Today is the Day

Marie is being induced today and is at the hospital. I've run home to grab her overnight bag so the note will be brief. Everything, and everyone, is fine. Not a bad 30th birthday present for Hannah's Uncle Jim!

Officially Late!

We have learned something already about our little carrot. Hannah, like her daddy, doesn't seem to be "clock bound". This is a huge disappointment to many, including Mr Teddy Bear.

Due date

Today is the due date in the doctor's file. They monitored her for a little while and she's doing just fine. There's no reason to think she won't come this weekend, but if she doesn't arrive this weekend, I'll go in Monday to decide the next step.

No baby yet

Waiting has been an emotional roller coaster. The extra hormones coursing through my body don't help.

I'm excited about this new life growing and all the possibility and joy that come with nurturing a new human being. I'm awestruck by the immenseness of that task. Then there's fear and anxiety that come with every transition that is an end as well as a beginning. There's the fear about the labor experience itself. It's unpredictable. Every single birth is a different experience. And there's the fear than comes with knowing that my life will never be the same and no amount of preparation will help to fully understand the implications of that.

The excitement outweighs the fear, and each day there's a thought in the back of my head, "maybe today will be the day I meet my daughter." Disappointment enters as the hope of "maybe today" fades, and I begin to think that I will wake up every morning too hungry to sleep anymore, roll over with the effort of a big belly, and wince as my sore feet touch the floor and the weight of the baby crushes my apparently full bladder.

But of course, hope returns in the fact that every day can only be another 7 at the most, and then we will have all the joys and hardships that come with this beautiful blessing.

A Test Run Down Memory Lane

Hi all, I'm making sure that I know how to do this so that when Hannah comes I can post pictures, etc. until Marie gets back from the hospital. We're just waiting at this point. Fortunately the weather has been cool this weekend so she isn't nine months pregnant and miserable from the heat. We are also fortunate to have a/c just in case it does get hot.

While we were in Sidney, OH a few weekends ago we made a side trip to the US Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB. This jet, 66-0177, was the last flying C-141 and was retired in May, 2006. At the end of the Viet Nam war it was the first jet to land in Hanoi to recover our POW's. As a reservist I actually got to work on this very jet. I know the faces to match the names stenciled on the side. I flew with it on a trip up to Thule AB, in Greenland. Now it's in a museum... Surreal.