Rebecca's First Post

Here is my first post:

Today our baby girl is eight weeks old. As you can tell from the photos below, she is growing like a weed. She was exactly 11 lbs on Monday when we visited the doctor. She has some congestion in her nose, but obviously it isn't impacting her too much. She has such an awesome demeanor - very calm and easy to soothe except for the evening fussies. Yesterday we visited the daycare where she will go next month. I cried as we toured the facility, but until we win the lottery she's got to go. Lucky for us it is on the Boeing campus and I can visit her at lunch or during my breaks. In truth, the babies and toddlers looked really happy and the facility is very nice.




Isn't she cute?! Now that she has mastered her smile, she is working on sleeping through the night. Last night she slept from 8pm-4am, and the night before she slept from 10:30pm-5am. It would be great if she would settle in on a schedule and stick to it, but for now I am just happy she is sleeping for longer blocks on time. When she is awake she spends a lot of time scanning the room. Her frequent head rotations have worn a bald spot on the back of her head. (Those reading probably think she is entirely bald - but it's not true!)

It is difficult with Mark back at work, but I'm getting into a routine. Every morning I walk with her and the dogs for a couple of miles. I was using her stroller, but it is easier to use the Ergo Baby carrier. After our walk I usually clean the house and try to do a load of laundry. I have been participating in a couple of mother/baby groups that meet during the day. One of the groups is facilitated by Ann Kepler who is a nurse and also wrote a book with Penny Simpkin on pregnancy and childbirth. She is a great resource and very supportive of all the new mothers struggling to balance self-care with the needs of baby and husband/partner.

Learning how to smile

Baby Girl Good has learned how to smile. Her parents have not learned how to capture this clearly on film. Like most "awake baby" (vs. "sleeping baby") photos, these photos are either blurry or with a blinding flash.

The quantity of posts has decreased dramatically because I have had to head back to Boeing and earn money to buy diapers and baby wipes (individually they are not expensive, but it is the quantity that adds up). It is difficult to wake up and go to work for me, and to care for a baby all alone for Rebecca, but we are starting to get the hang of things.




Greg and Livia's cross country trip finally made it to the great Northwest last week. They stopped by to meet the new member of our family. We were only able to visit with them for a short while because they also spent time looking for a place to live part time in Seattle. I think they have found a place and will be finalizing the details over the next month.