5 weeks!

Our baby is five weeks old! At her doctor's appointment this week, she weighed in at 11 pounds, 4 ounces and measured 23 inches long. That's 97th percentile in both areas. What a big girl!

She is a great eater and a great sleeper and is just a sweet, sweet baby. She has started smiling at us and at herself in the mirror. We get so excited and cheer and clap every time she does it.
We celebrated her one-month birthday with (what else?) a cake!

Fun!

Now that Samantha isn't sleeping 20 hours a day, she has time for some fun! Enjoying her monkey mat! We tried this a few weeks ago, but she would just wail. Now, she'll look at all the toys hanging around her. She's not quite reaching out for the toys yet, but she touches them by accident, and then stares at them until they stop moving.Tummy time! It only lasted for a few minutes, but that's pretty good for only three weeks old!

Reading one of daddy's favorite authors, Mo Willems. We read with her everyday. Hopefully, she'll grow up loving to read.

3 weeks old! And some firsts

I can't believe my little baby girl is three weeks old! She seems to change from day to day. Everyone tells me to enjoy every beautiful moment, because they grow up so fast. That is so true.

Here are some of Samantha's firsts:

First Bath at home:

Okay, this is actually her second bath at home. But it was the first bath where I actually got a picture because she wasn't screaming through the whole ordeal. When do babies start enjoying their baths?

First trip to the farmer's market:

Before Samantha was born, we went to the farmer's market twice a week. We've managed to go once since she's been born. She slept through the whole thing in her red Moby Wrap.

First trip to the zoo:

We went to the zoo to celebrate her friend Ana's first birthday. She got to meet some of mommy and daddy's friends for the first time. She stayed awake long enough to poop in her diaper and have a feeding. Otherwise, she slept through the whole thing, this time in her brown Moby Wrap. She loves her Moby!

Growing!

Samantha had her two-week appointment with Dr. B yesterday. We were worried about her weight gain because she lost so much during the first 3 days of life. Well, Dr. B said she was kicking butt because she gained 13 ounces in 6 days! She's up to 8 pounds, 15 ounces. Not quite back up to her birth weight yet, but she's doing great! She also grew an inch.

She still mostly eats and sleeps all day, although she won't sleep very long unless someone's holding her. We're not into letting her cry herself to sleep. I know there's a whole method out there about letting babies cry it out and it probably works for some, but I just can't. I'd rather hold her. She'll usually nurse herself to sleep, then I'll hold her for about an hour, after that I put her down in the bassinet and she slowly wakes herself up. Then we'll play a little, change her diaper, and start all over again.

Sleep

Samantha hates her bassinet! Every time we try to put her down for a nap in her bassinet, she wakes up after about 15 minutes, but she'll sleep for a couple of hours if someone's holding her. The funny thing is, she'll sleep in her bassinet at night. Last night she slept from 11:30 until 5!

Welcome to the world, little one

Samantha Malia was born on Monday, November 16, 2009 at 8:05 pm. She entered the world at 9 pounds, 3 ounces, with a head full of jet black hair, a set of lungs that could wake the neighbors, and is perfect. We love her so much and can't imagine life without her.

My c-section went well. Much less scary than I thought it would be. I was in the OR for 39 minutes, beginning to end. Three hours later, I was able to move my legs again and was transferred into a post-partum room for four days.

The first few days were hard because I could barely get out of bed and make it to the bathroom without help. I was tethered to an IV, and it was a pain in the ass to get around, so I mostly stayed in bed and stood up next to my bed once in a while.

Breastfeeding was also difficult the first few days. Samantha had no idea what to do, and I had no idea what to do. She was chomping on my nipple, and I was letting her. She ended up with little food and I ended up with very sore nipples. She lost 1 pound and 3 ounces in the first 3 days. We had lactation specialists come in and help with every feeding, and finally got the hang of it by Thursday night. She is now a pro at breastfeeding and has a voracious appetite for the boob juice.

We came home on Friday. She has been so mellow. Mostly eating and sleeping and pooping! She only cries when she is hungry, sleepy, or has a dirty diaper. Otherwise she's in a good mood and enjoys looking around and exercising her arms and legs. She recently discovered her hands and has been trying to chew on them.

She enjoys walks in the Moby Wrap. We've gone on walks twice since we got home.

Today was her first doctor's appointment with her pediatrician, Dr. B. She grew half an inch and gained 2 ounces since coming home from the hospital! Everything else about her was perfect!

C-section it is!

Dr. S. did an ultrasound, measurements, cervix check, and pushed on the baby from the outside of my belly. He concluded that we have a possible 9-pounder and external version would have a less than 50 percent chance of being successful. Bigger babies are harder to turn. Bigger babies of first time moms are even harder because the uterus has never been stretched before. So we decided to go with the c-sec.

Date?

Monday, November 16, 2009! 10 days!!!!!!

EEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPSSSSSS!!!!