Happy Baby

David has been smiling more and more everyday but I've never been able to capture it on camera. Today was my lucky day! Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen? I sure think so!

David's Blessing Day

Today David was given a blessing by his father, which is a special ceremony performed in our church. (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints).

Dan's family was able to come out from Utah to be with us and we've had a great week with them all out here. David was spoiled rotten with all his aunties holding him all the time, but that's okay because it gave me time to get some things done.

Isn't he stylish?

Dan's Dad & Step mom

Grandpa & David

3 generations

Auntie Ellie

Auntie Hannah

Auntie Erika

After our church meeting, we headed to the park for a picnic.

Jersey Shore

David took his first vacation over the 4th of July. My brother-in-law's parents own a home up at the Jersey Shore and we spent the 4th of July weekend up there. The weather was gorgeous and we had a great time relaxing around the pool. We took David to the beach one day and it was too stressful for me so we didn't stay long. I was afraid it was too hot, didn't like nursing in public, and didn't want him to get sandy. I guess I'm just a paranoid mom!

"Beach Babies" - David & cousin Katie

Sophia loves David....
but according to the picture below, I don't think the love is reciprocated.

My sister Noelle and her family

The babies weren't too thrilled to be sitting with Dan

Hope your 4th of July was as great as ours!!

Who said breastfeeding is a bonding experience?

My friend sent this to me before I got pregnant and I didn't realize how true it was until I have a baby of my own that I'm trying to breastfeed. I couldn't stop laughing when I read this again today!

Forget that old advice about "gently rubbing your nipples with a towel."
If you really want to feel ready to breastfeed, here's what to do.

Day 1: Gently rub your nipples with sandpaper.

Day 2: At bedtime, set your alarm clock to go off every two hours. Each
time it rings, spend 20 minutes sitting in a rocking chair with your nipples
clamped in a pair of chip clips.

Day 3: Draw branching lines all over your chest with a blue-green marker,
then stand in front of your bathroom mirror and sing "I Feel Pretty."

Day 4: Open your already-crowded freezer and make room for five dozen
plastic milk bags.

Day 5: Fit the hose of a vacuum cleaner over one breast and set on "medium
pile." Turn off vacuum when nipple is three inches long. Switch breasts.

Day 6: Obtain "DO NOT CROSS" tape from your local police station, then
wrap firmly around your chest. When your spouse asks about it, say, "Get used
to it."

Day 7: Tape a water balloon to each breast and squeeze into a maternity
bra. Repeatedly hook and unhook the nursing flaps with one hand while using the
other to balance a sack of squirming puppies.

Day 8: Dine in the fanciest, snootiest restaurant you can afford, making
sure to arrive with a big wet spot directly over each nipple.

Day 9: Record your mother proclaiming, "Just give the baby some cereal
like God intended, and she'll sleep right through the night." Play in endless
loop at 1 a.m., 3 a.m., and 5 a.m.

Day 10: Slather your breasts with peanut butter, top with birdseed, and
stand very still in your backyard.

Day 11: Go someplace public- a museum, a courthouse, the steps of your
office building- and stuff a lifelike baby doll under your shirt. Use the
doll's arm to suddenly hike the shirt up past your collar bone. Lower
shirt. Feign nonchalant smile.

Day 12: Suckle a wolverine.

a little of this, a little of that....

I think the hardest thing about blog posting is trying to come up with a clever title. I'll stop trying and just post some pictures of my little guy, whom I think is the cutest thing on this planet. Dan and I have had so much fun with him and can't get enough of him. We even argue about who gets to hold him at church...are we pathetic?

He's so smart he even knows how to hold his own bottle...okay, not really.
It was just a lucky moment we had.

David is such a good baby. He loves to be on the floor and kick around. He could lay on the floor for hours and look at himself in the mirror.

He is such a snuggly baby! We take a nap like this everyday - it's our own little tradition.

This is the cute little face we see every time he gets burped
(which may I add...his burps are louder than his daddy's. Holy Cow..I've never heard such loud burps in my life).


Here are some pictures I snapped before we headed out to church today.

String Bean

David is turning into a long string bean. None of his clothes fit him because he is so skinny, but super long. This picture shows how long he really is....he's wearing floods!


Here are some other cute pictures of my boy!

David will not suck on a binki unless he can grip it with his hands.
I think it's the cutest thing I've ever seen.

He loves tummy time!

1 month old

I can't believe my baby is one month old (yesterday). I can't believe how fast this past month has gone - it seems just like yesterday I was in the hospital giving birth. I'm doing better than I was the first 2 weeks, but the late nights are continuing to wear on me and there are some days where I wonder if I'll be able to survive without sleep.

David is such a good baby. He still sleeps all day long and we're getting the hang of the breast feeding thing. It's still a battle at times but it's getting so much better. He grunts and squeals like crazy in the nights after I feed him and I'm not sure if it's gas or constipation, but his tummy tightens up and he squeals like he's in pain. He doesn't cry when this happens but it breaks my heart because I know he's uncomfortable and I don't know what to do about it. Any suggestions?

I love this little guy like crazy and it makes me sad that he's already growing up and getting bigger. I wish he could stay tiny forever - but sleep through the nights!

More Pics

My brain is fried and I'm absolutely exhausted, so don't expect a fancy shmancy post from me! :)

Here are a few pics of David's 2nd week of life!

Grandma is in town for 2 weeks and has been a life-saver!

David loves his bath

Baby David

I can't believe how EXHAUSTING these past 3 days have been since we've been home from the hospital. I knew being a mom to a newborn was going to be exhausting, but not to this extent. I am sleep deprived so please forgive any sentences that are not coherent or don't make sense.

I had a fairly easy delivery and feel really lucky that I wasn't in labor for hours like so many people are. Thursday morning (5/14) I went to my weekly ultrasound with the perinatologist and was told that the doctor wanted to take our baby the next day (5/15) because of possible low birth weight and my amniotic fluid levels were still low. I had a feeling they'd take him early but give me a little more notice than just one day. I started panicking because we weren't ready for him to be born quite yet and had so many things we still needed to do. I had to go back to the hospital that evening (Thursday) for a gel that softens my cervix but then was told to go home and come back on Friday morning at 7am for the Pitocin and to be induced.

The minute I walked out of the hospital that evening I knew changes were taking place in my body and I could barely walk. Apparently "the gel" kicked right in and I started having very small contractions. That evening about 1:30am my water broke and Dan and I headed off to the hospital at 3:30 to have this baby to start an adventure we never could dream about.

The doctors started the Pitocin at 6:00am and I had my epidural an hour later. That is some good stuff! The nurse checked to see if I had dilated around 8am and I was only at 1cm so they thought it would be an all day process. At 9:30am the nurse checked me again and I was only at a 2cm, confirming that I would be in labor for quite some time and they told me to relax and try to get some rest. One hour later I insisted they check me again because I started to feel a lot of pressure "down there" - (sorry to be so explicit). They told me that was normal but I once again demanded that something wasn't right and I couldn't handle the feeling I was dealing with all day long. The nurse gave in and did a check just to appease me, and by the look on her face I knew that I wasn't going crazy and the pressure I was feeling wasn't normal for a 2 cm dilation. She looked up and said, "Ummm, you've dilated to 9cm, let me go get the doctor". In ONE hour I had gone from 2cm to 9cm, and in 5 minutes was at 10 cm and was ready for this baby to come.

I immediately called my sister and told her to get to the hospital so she could take pictures and be there when David was born. She apparently drove like a bat out of hell a 30 minute drive only took her 15 minutes and the minute she walked in the room the doctor was ready to deliver me. I only pushed for 20 minutes which I feel so lucky about. I've heard horror stories of women pushing for hours and the thought of that scared the bajeepers out of me.

It was an amazing experience and I'm so glad everything went well and that our baby David joined our family safe and sound. Dan and I can't get enough of him! All I want to do is hold and kiss him and I haven't gotten anything done around the house because of that. I don't care though, I am taking advantage of this precious time I have with my new son and don't care if he gets too spoiled at this point!

Here are some pictures of his first 5 days of his life.

Heading to the hospital
38 weeks pregnant

Dad calling with the good news

6lbs 2 oz.
20.5 inches long
I love this picture- the minute he was placed on the scale he grabbed on to the side and would not let go. It looked like he was riding a toboggan.

Proud Papa

Aunt Noelle

I'm afraid I'm going to kiss his face off!

Heading home from the hospital. He was so tiny when he was born that the new born clothes I bought him didn't fit him. I had to go buy some preemie clothes to get us by for the next week or so. Hopefully he'll gain some weight so he can fit into the gajillion of fun baby clothes I have for him.

Our little burrito (I'm still trying to get down the swaddling technique)

First bath

Going on a walk with cousin Cameron

5 day check up at the doctor. He's gaining weight like a good little boy, which relieves me and makes me feel like I'm doing something right - considering the trouble I'm having breast feeding him.