Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Oh, Baby!


24 Hours Old


I thought about blogging…then decided against it…then well…here goes:
John and I are so blessed!  We have the most adorable, sweet, and feisty baby girl!  We will forever be indebted to a very strong, loving, and unselfish young woman who chose us as parents for her baby.  We know that she loved her baby so much and wanted the very best for her.  John and I will not let her down. I wish more moms could do what she did. She put her baby first.  She was an amazing young woman and I know that she has an amazing future ahead of her.  She is my hero.
We were fortunate enough to be at the hospital during delivery and she was brought to us shortly after her birth.  She weighed 6 lbs, 2 oz and was 19 inches long.  We named her Brentley May.  Brentley is named we liked and May is after John’s sweet grandma.  Everyone thinks Brentley is a boy’s name.  I get the Brent part…but Brentley sounds a little girly to me.  I also haven’t seen many boys dressed in pink, but that doesn’t stop anyone from calling her a he.
We actually got to stay with her in the hospital.  It is very strange staying in a hospital when you aren’t sick.  It’s like the exact opposite of a hotel.  I now know why everyone you visit in the hospital looks so grumpy…it’s the bed.  It’s the hardest thing ever and pillows are not really pillows.  The nurse also checked in on us about every two hours and gave us an informative lesson on how to force-feed a baby.  Yikes! I fed her…but obviously not enough.  Luckily she caught on to the eating thing and I didn’t have to use any of Nurse Ratchet’s tips. Anyway, back to the baby: She is so sweet!  I wish I could sit and hold her forever.   She is very strong and likes to lift her head up.  If you lay her down on her back, she immediately rolls to her side.  She was even giving the photographer in the hospital a run for her money.  She is a tiny little thing…but has the biggest burps ever!  (This is actually great…she fits right in with John’s side of the family!)  I’m teasing.  Maybe. #notreallykiddingatall
She even had her tiny little hands on her bottle at two weeks old.  I let go…and voila…she held it there.  I’m pretty sure:  a.) She is going to be a genius or b.) I was doing it wrong and she was correcting me.    It might have been both!  I was going to order the “My baby is way better than your baby” bumper sticker, but I thought it was a bit much. 
She had many visitors her first few weeks and slept through most of them!  Bless her heart!  Her very first outing was to Target….I know what you are thinking…I took a baby out?  We had to get out of the house AND we went early when practically no one is there.  We kept her in her seat and she slept the whole time.  She was perfect!  As we were leaving John said, “I can’t believe she didn’t even ask for anything!”  She has ventured out many more times.  She even hearts Costco, but she was a little upset that they didn’t have any samples available for her?!?  Bless her heart.
First Target Trip

I can’t believe how much she has changed in just a few weeks.  She is a chunk!  I can’t wait to see how much she weighs next week at her two-month check up!  I’m thinking 10-11 lbs, but my weight guesstimates are probably way off.  I was tempted to put her on the vegetable/fruit scale at the grocery store, but I bet that is frowned upon.  Thanks to Mrs. Joanna, we have the most fantabulous pediatrician.  I heart Dr. Ladd! He makes going to the Dr. not so bad!
mamaRoo, aka "The Baby Whisperer"
She is a great night sleeper!  The every three hours were tough at first.  I seriously thought someone needed to invent some kind of formula patch that you could put on infants at night. I also wanted to invent some kind of pacifier headgear that could keep that thing in her mouth.  After I got some sleep, I realized my “inventions” probably wouldn’t be really safe for a baby, but a girl can dream.  I watch 16 and Pregnant with new appreciation for those young single moms.  After a few nights of her partying from 12-3am…we initiated Operation Keep Baby Awake.  It worked like a charm!  She has recently decided that she likes to take really short naps during the day, but as long as she is sleeping at night…I can’t complain.   Plus…John thinks she sleeps better if you hold her.  Love him.  Her favorite thing is her Mamaroo.  It is this infant swing that moves like a car, kangaroo, ocean..etc.  Her Nana, Aunt Ape and Uncle B-Rad got it for her and I’m trying to decide how in the world we will fit in the Explorer when we go on vacation. We leave in a few weeks and I’m overwhelmed at all the stuff I think I’m going to “have” to take.  Less is more has never really been my thing.  Wish me luck!

7 1/2 Weeks Old