Up With The Birds

Well in our case, it was up BEFORE the birds. Rachel was up on time for her 4am feeding. I knew we were in for some early morning playtime when as I put her bib on she was smiling and cooing at the clock... Sure enough, after her bottle was done, it was obvious she wasn't going to sleep. Since she slept pretty much the entire day Sunday, she was well rested. Too bad for me I didn't sleep all day Sunday. In fact, she slept through our picnic at the park and a trip to the Candy Castle. She missed all the family day fun! I tried to explain that it wasn't time to get up yet, that our Rooster wasn't even up yet. She just cooed at me.
I read online that the sleep pattern your baby has now is one that will continue into childhood (ex: night owl, early riser, etc). Nick and I had better take out stock in Folger's if Rachel is going to get up at 4am!
Good thing she's cute!! :)
She finally went down at 5am. I was impressed because I put her in her crib while she was still half awake and she fell asleep on her own- with the help of her pacifier. Unfortunately, 45 minutes later, she was awake again...but this time it was Daddy's turn to play.
Yay for coffee!!

Mirror, Mirror

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall...who's the most adorable baby of them all?

As if we even needed to ask!

Naptime

While I was reading some email, I noticed the cooing had stopped and when I looked, Rachel had fallen asleep. It's the first time she's fallen asleep on her own without being rocked, fed, held, etc.

Daddy's Girl

Daddy enjoying some time with his little girl.

Blogging Frustrations

As I'm sure you've noticed with the lack of posts, blogging from home hasn't exactly gone as planned. It's not due to lack of material, I assure you. For some reason, I have trouble getting pictures to load onto the blog. And now, as I'm sure you've also noticed, there is some strange icon from Photobucket that says a picture has been moved or deleted. I did not put this there, I don't use photobucket (and certainly won't now), and I don't know how to get it off!!
If any of my fellow blogging pals have suggestions on how to get rid of that, I'll happily take them.
Nick and I are talking about getting a new computer...although that seems a drastic step to take just so I can blog! But we have so much to share these days!

Happy Girl

Rachel celebrated 8 weeks on Thursday. I can't believe how big she's getting...and how much she has changed. She has a smile that lights up her whole face (see above) and in general, she's a happy little girl. She is also tall. At 24 inches, she's 95% for height. I don't think I've ever been 95% for anything, but certainly not height! She's started to outgrow her 3 month clothes, mostly in length. She's a strong little thing and loves to stare at the clock hanging on the wall as the pendulum swings back and forth. She is equally enamored by the ceiling fan upstairs, which has come in handy when I want to use the computer. But her favorite is her Illini mobile. She will smile and coo and squeal at her Illini mobile- even in the middle of the night. She's a big fan of those Illini teddy bears!

Welcome Baby Girl!!

Nick and I are proud to introduce our daughter, Rachel Leone Held.

Rachel was born on Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 4:39pm. She was 8 lbs 4 oz and 20 inches long and we couldn't have created anything more perfect if we tried! The chubby cheeks I loved so much in her ultrasound pictures are even more fun to kiss than they are to look at! And her black hair will be ready for ribbons and bows in no time!!

All I'll say about the labor is that pitocin is the work of the devil and epidurals are a gift from God for women in back labor everywhere. I'm a huge supporter of the epidural. I'd venture a guess that Nick is too. We ended up with a c-section because her little head wasn't quite so little... but it was all worth it.

Our first two weeks have had their ups and downs. What I've learned about motherhood so far is you can plan all you want, but that isn't always how things are going to go. That has been a tough lesson for me...since I don't handle it well when things don't go according to plan.

So far in her short two weeks, we've found out that just because God gave mommy's milk ducts, it doesn't mean they are going to work like they are supposed to... pinkeye can appear mysteriously...formula can give us gas... bombastic diapers do happen...and keeping track of dirty diapers can cause mommy stress when there aren't enough of them.

Rachel's main activities are eating, sleeping, and messing in her diaper... pretty much like all babies. She does have high expectations when it comes to her dinner. When she decides she's hungry...she's hungry NOW...and you better get on it. She has a very healthy set of lungs and isn't afraid to use them to remind you that she's WAITING not so patiently for her dinner.

Even though we've had a lot of changes in the last two weeks and things haven't gone according to plan... I wouldn't trade these past two weeks for anything. I used to wonder who I would marry...and if we would have kids... and what they would look like. Both Nick and Rachel are even more wonderful than I ever imagined and I am so blessed to have them both.

Most of all, I can't wait to watch my precious little girl grow. I can't wait to see the person she will become and all the things she will accomplish.

Welcome to the world, little Miss Rachel. You are so very loved.

(If you need further proof, just look in your closet at all the pretty clothes you have to wear! And Mommy hasn't even been able to go shopping herself yet!)