1st Bath

Annabelle had her first real bath this evening and really enjoyed it! She hardly made a peep and even had a few smiles on her face. It is nice that she doesn't have to have a sponge bath anymore because she did not like them - she would cry the whole time.

We hit another mile stone in the past few days...her new born clothes are starting to become to small. She is getting to long to wear most of them so in the next few days we will be finding a spot to store her little clothes. Our little girl is already growing up.

Her eye sight is also improving. She will look at you and track objects when you move them side to side. She is starting to grasp things and hold on like your clothes when you are holding her or her blanket when we are rocking. It is hard to believe on Thursday she will be a month old.

No More Cord

We reached a milestone today - Annabelle's cord stump fell off this morning - very exciting. I am sure everyone is wondering what we did with it - well I threw it away. I then took a few pictures of this milestone and then sent Brian a text with a picture so he wasn't left out of the excitement. A few minutes later I get a phone call from him and he wants to know what I did with it. He was appalled when I told him it was in the garbage - he wanted to save it. I thought he was joking but when he came home for lunch we had to dig it out of the garbage (luckily it was in the garbage in Annabelle's room so there really wasn't anything else in there) so he can vacuum seal it and save it. Raising Annabelle is going to be quite the adventure!

Photo Link

I have set up a link for people who would like to view pictures of Annabelle. Once you get to the website click on her name on the left side of the screen.
Hope everyone enjoys!

1st Doctor's Appointment

Annabelle had her first doctor's appointment today and it went very well. She now weighs 8 pounds 4 ounces - when we left the hospital 2 weeks ago she was 7 pounds 4 ounces - so she gained a pound and she is 21 1/4 inches long. The doc said she is still a health baby girl and we go back in about 6 weeks (shots at that appointment so that will be fun).

Brian and I can tell she is getting bigger and changing all the time. Her facial features are becoming more defined and she already seems bigger to Brian and I - it is like everyone says they grow up to fast and she is only 18 days old.

Annabelle seems to be in a routine for now. She still goes to bed around midnight (most nights anyway) and sleeps until 6:30 am. She then eats and usually by 7:30/8:00 she is out again until about 10:30. In the late morning/early afternoon she has quite a bit of awake time and cat naps between feedings. She normally takes a nap around 3:00 for a few hours and then in the evening she is awake again and takes a few more cat naps. Life is really not to tough - she is breaking us in easy!

Brian and I are adjusting well and already we couldn't imagine our life without her.

Diapers

We have really enjoyed Annabelle during the first 2 weeks of her life. One of the funniest things I think we have encountered in changing her diapers. Maybe I find it funny because a lot of the things have happened to Brian. She had her first mini blowout (I know they are going to get much worse) last week and Brian had the pleasure of changing her - or he started the process anyway. He took her into her room and I could hear him talking to her and then all of a sudden he yells "Erin, you better get in here!" I went into the room and she had a mess - up her back and all over her onesie. Brian did clean most of it up with a little assistance...he will learn.
This morning was perhaps the funniest diaper changing experience so far, in my opinion anyway. Annabelle woke up at 6:30 and Brian got up to change her diaper before I fed her and he went to work. He was pulling off the old diaper and she decided that she should pee - luckily for Brian he had the new diaper under her already. He chuckled at her and made a joke about what she was doing and then she started pooping. Brian again took this in stride as the new diaper was still under her. He waited for a minute and then pulled out the diaper and just as he did that she started to pee again. Now he was finding this less than amusing and I was trying to hold in my giggles. By the time we were done she had pee all over herself, her clothes, the changing table and her blanket. Turns out Charlie is not the only member of our family who likes to pee on things.
The good news is that at least, so far anyway, all of our "exciting" diaper moments have not happened at 3:00am - we may find them not as funny when we are half asleep.

The First Week

Annabelle has been home now for just over 1 week and she is doing well. The time has gone by fast! Brian had some projects lined up that he wanted to get done the week he took off and none of got done (which is ok) he said he didn't realize how busy we were going to be with just one little baby. I have been off work for almost 2 weeks and not really sure where the time has gone and it feels like I don't get much done - each day I set one goal to have done by the end of the day. The rest of the time I spend taking care of Annabelle or just holding her and watching her sleep.

It seems that Annabelle and I are getting into a routine. Our day usually starts out at about 6 or 6:30 with her waking up and eating (not to jinx ourselves but excluding the first night we brought her home she has been sleeping from about midnight to 6:00 am). After she eats she sleeps for another hour or two. After that I am not sure where the morning goes but before we know it it is noon and Brian is home for lunch and to see his girls. The afternoon usually brings a nap for 3-4 hours for Annabelle and sometimes a nap for Mom as well. In the evening she is up for a few hours and sometimes gets a little cranky but nothing that we can't handle.

So far life is good and we are adjusting to the fact that our family has gown. It is just amazing that she is really here - we are so blessed!