wanted: sense of humor

one thing Byron and I learned very quickly after having Hannah was that you need a sense of humor when dealing with a new human being. without this, you could basically go ape shit crazy because taking care of your offspring can prove to be very stressful.

here is an example of what we do when are sweet baby girl is crying:
but we take cute pictures too:

the joys of parenting

my girl has quite the set of lungs on her. my grandma told me once to let her cry so that she could have a nice singing voice like me. hannah crying is like 1,000 tiny knives stabbing my heart, not only for the sheer volume and the mercy on my ears, but because i have this natural instinct to just comfort her.

but how can you ignore a sweet face like this?

they grow up so fast

man...she isn't even two weeks yet and she already looks so different from birth:

she smiles now too (and scratches up her face in the process):

i don't know why...but this pic makes me laugh! probably because she looks so tiny in it:

late night

the biggest piece of advice i got from new moms/moms was to sleep when the baby sleeps. well, it's 12:53am, the baby is sleeping...AND I AM NOT! so much for following advice LOL instead i thought it was a good idea to have an iced coffee with Byron and now we are both wired!

poor Hannah has jaundice and needed phototherapy because her bilirubin levels were unusually high. luckily, we didn't have to go to the hospital, but got to use a bili-blanket at home. we got her levels down and she's a lot less yellow than she was earlier in the week. she also got her heel pricked 4 times to check her bilirubin levels. she's a trooper, but mommy was not. i got all emo after her appointments LOL

she also had her first bath :) it was a very short one because miss thang was crying the whole time. maybe next week's bath won't be so bad!

she's here!

Hannah Alexis was born on July 9, 2008 at 11:34pm at 6 lbs and 12 oz. She is 18 inches long. i can honestly say...i never knew love like this before.

prepare for the unexpected

this was the fortune i got in my last fortune cookie.

i've been on modified bedrest since last week, but cleared for pre-e.

i got a call from my doc and i have cholestasis of pregnancy. i'm going to L&D in the morning for a non-stress test. if passed, i get an amnio to check how mature the baby's lungs are. if they are mature enough...she's coming out.

modified bedrest

so as of July 3, 2008, my doc has put me on "modified bedrest." apparently, i can only stay up long enough to shower or make myself a snadwich. i should be relieved of all household chores (woo hoo!), but damn this nesting instinct is not letting me! i feel like we have SO MUCH to do before the baby comes and just not enough time. even my family is stressing me out...but ironically, no one has offered to stay with me in the coming weeks. i guess the think these household chores are going to take care of themselves.

i did do my first load of baby laundry yesterday though...i can't believe that i'm going to be having tiny being that will fit into those clothes!