Four Weeks Already!

I can't believe it! It's been four weeks already. If we can make it this far, I'm thinking we can make it the rest of the way through parenthood. I'm sure that there are lots of challenges ahead of us, but our baby has survived our inexperience and even seems to be thriving! We are also growing in our new roles and parenthood is better than I could have ever imagined and the extent of love felt for this little bean is immeasurable!

Although parenthood is phenomenal, I find myself wishing I could turn back the clock so I could experience pregnancy again....even the magic and mystery of labor and delivery and those first moments of glory after Gwyneth was born. I never thought that I would reminisce so much over pregnancy, or even more surprising, my hospital stay. That whole experience filled me with awe and wonder! How cool is it to bring life into this world?!

Gwyneth seems to be getting on a schedule and we're relieved to know a bit more of what to expect of life with her, now that she's on one. Nights have been survivable. She usually has a middle of the night wake up at 2:30 and an early morning wake up at 6:30. I can handle that! The only thing that is difficult is putting her back to bed after her 2:30 feeding - her eyes are generally as wide as an owl's at that time. Luckily after her 6:30 feeding she seems to be able to nurse herself to sleep, to my relief.

Well, now that Gwyneth has made it to her one month mark, I'd better post a couple one month pictures - I don't think she can get any cuter than this!

SO BIG! SO STRONG!

The little cookie already likes to brandish her biceps!

On Becoming "Baby Wise"

There was a time, right around when Wes and I were married that I told Wes that I needed, "at least 9 hours of sleep just to function." Although Wes never said anything about my comment initially, he has since poked fun at me calling me a princess. Looking back, 9 straight hours of sleep seems like an utter luxury. What does that even feel like? I thought the middle of the night ups and downs in pregnancy was preparing me for this lack of sleep that I'm going through right now. I'm discovering nothing can prepare a person for this - well maybe Navy Seals training, I hear they have it much worse.

Gywneth, although she's not the world's worst sleeper, is becoming more and more difficult to work with at night. The wide awake owl eyes at 1AM are cute, for about 5 seconds. She's also decided that she'll only sleep if she's nursed to sleep and then will only stay sleeping if she's incessantly rocked and bounched, which isn't only a bad habit, but it's not that fun for mom or dad. The worst is waking up to the day crying because I'm so tired. So, Wes and I have decided to call in the big guns and get her scheduled and today is the day we start, and so far the break in period is breaking us down. Our little girl is learning how to nurse, play and sleep on a schedule and the hardest part is the sleep. She can be asleep in our arms, a bomb could go off, and she'd never wake, but the moment she's put down in her crib, she's screaming. There's no faking this little one out - we've even tried fooling her by putting her down with a warm hot water bottle to simulate our body warmth. She's apparently smarter than that, and still wakes.

Hopefully in the next couple days, Gwyneth will have learned the following:
There is no such thing as "on demand."
Falling asleep on one's own is a good thing!
Nursing on a schedule is fun!
Nothing is better for everyone than a good night's sleep!
Who needs rocking?
Mom has other things to do than be breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight snack.
Moving out into her own room is a good move.

Maybe once that all happens, there might be a picture of us all together - smiling.

Bragging Rights

Little Gwyneth is the apple of our eyes! She's just amazing and if we had the time, we could spend all day long studying her little parts. Not only is she just beautiful (to us of course the most beautiful baby that has ever graced this world), but she truly is a wonderful baby - so far.

Gwyneth is working on sleeping through the night already, and if her momma would let her, she probably would. The doctors and nurses said that new babies need to eat every 2-3 hours when they're newborn, so she gets woken up throughout the night...but when her momma accidentally oversleeps, she just keeps on going without fussing. When she is awoken, she patiently waits to be fed, and then goes to town. She hardly cries, and is content when she's awake and alert. She's a happy baby. Who knows then this may change, or if it will, but for now, we're certainly enjoying her relaxed personality.

We think she's physically advanced too. She's already lifting her head for short periods of time to look around at the world (she started doing this the day after she was born). She's got the nursing down pat (faster learner than mom); they say that it generally takes a baby 2 weeks to get back to their birth weight, but it just took Gwyneth a mere 5 days. Along with the nursing, she's got the processing of the milk down too with the standard dirty/wet diapers.

Here's a picture of sweet Gwyneth cozied up in one of her favorite blankets - one knit by her granny.

Gwyneth Noelle Patterson

Born January 3rd, 2007 at 4:17PM
8.4 lbs
19.9 in long
APGAR score 9 (We think she's already an overachiever...after all that score was right after slipped the cord off from around her neck. Of course we also think she's the most beautiful baby that ever existed.)

Last moments as a pregnant mom to Gwyneth when I was still smiling (hospital garb not very becoming, but still part of the story):


Stadol moment of rest - Although hoping for a natural birth, I decided I wasn't interested in being a super heroe that day...not long after I opted for maximum comfort with an epidural. I've heard from some that labor is just "uncomfortable" and from others that it's "the worst pain one can experience." I'd agree with the latter. It took the nurses 6 tries to get an IV in for that relief:


First moments on room air:


Proudest Papa - Just before leaving for home.:


Sweetest face ever - It's true:


Maybe I'll soon post the whole story of the birth...but at this point in time, I've got a hungry baby and only so many moments to catch some zzzz's.

We're now a happy family of three.

Truant and Tardy

tru·an·cy (trōō'ən-sē)
n. pl. tru·an·cies
The act or condition of being absent without permission.

tar·dy (tär'dē)
adj. tar·di·er, tar·di·est

1. late; behind time; not on time: How tardy were you today?
2. moving or acting slowly; slow; sluggish.
3. delaying through reluctance.

Are we in trouble? This baby is already truant AND tardy, and it's not even come out to greet the world yet! I gave it the eviction notice on the 22nd (reason being: no more room in the womb), with a 4 day grace period. It remains absent w/o my permission.

I think I'm learning one of the most important lessons in parenting right now - PATIENCE!

Tomorrow is the first of my 10th month appointments, and hopefully the only one of my 10th month. I'm only two days past my due date and am already discouraged. Perhaps the doctor will offer me some glimmer of hope that babies do, in fact, come out. Speaking of facts, I've got a scary one; apparently in the last couple weeks and beyond, babies put on about a 1/2 lb. of weight each week.

Any prayers that this baby would soon vacate (healthfully of course) would be appreciated.