Church

Today was Hannah's first Sunday at church, and I am pleased to report that she was very well behaved. I'm not sure how much she got out of the proceedings, since she slept through most of the service! Miraculously, she didn't even spit up on her dress, which was a little pink smocked dress my mom made for me when I was a baby. :)

Picture Note: No, Hannah does not have a 'fro. It's just her shadow. She still just has baby hair. :)

Dinner Is Served

This week we started putting Hannah in her highchair and pulling it up to the table while we have dinner and family worship. She just snacks on her pacifier for now though, and has not evidenced any interest in what is on our plates. Which is good, since she has a while to go until she can have real food...

Social Butterfly

Last night we took Hannah to the CYA Biblestudy, which was not her first time out of the house, but was the first time she had been in a big group of people getting passed around from person to person. I am proud to report that Hannah was very sweet and alert and not fussy the entire time. What an angel baby she is! Alyssa remarked that Hannah is much cuter in real life than she is in the pictures, which I also believe. :)

Lesson Learned for Next Time

Hannah is three and a half weeks old, and I just finished the birth announcements. Actually, the last ten still aren't finished. And this is despite the fact that I had them all addressed by Thanksgiving, about 7 weeks before she was born! This is ridiculous.

Lesson learned for next time: I will be getting some sort of announcement that can just be put through the printer at home. There will be absolutely no calligraphy, cutting, pasting, scanning, copying, printing, folding, measuring, cutting again because I didn't get it right the first time, special paper, special scissors, special tape, or extra stamps (we'll have to rely on the PO not to raise rates again at an inopportune time like a week after a baby is born, how inconsiderate!).

Sigh. I don't even think they came out that fabulous for all the time they took! When I told Josh that next time I'm not going to go overboard on the baby announcements, he said something about how he would not have expected any less than for me to go overboard. I gathered he was trying to compliment me on trying to make things nice and special, but I couldn't help but think it significant that my husband doesn't think it's unusual for me to go overboard...hm, maybe I go overboard a lot? See how having a new baby makes me see my character flaws more clearly? :)

No Dogs Allowed

We are all a little overstimulated around here! Currently Josh is trying to calm the baby down, and I am taking a breather for the first time since waking up this morning - no naps today, argh.

After taking Josh to work this morning, Hannah watched me do a workout video, then after I got ready for the day, we took a walk with Hannah in the front pack carrier for a change of pace. That would have been fine, but we were feeling sorry for the dog, who has been sick with a urinary tract infection (another $100 vet bill, I tried to tell Josh dogs aren't free!) so we decided to take her along on the leash. Big mistake. Between the weight of the carrier, and the dog pulling on me (she's wretched on a leash), it was not a pleasant jaunt. No dogs allowed from now on!!!

After the walk we went to the chiropractor again, where Hannah slept and I got adjusted. Then the Post Office, Meijer, the bank, JoAnn Fabrics, Costco, and the gas station. That's when Hannah snapped and totally lost it. I realized she was an hour past due for eating, and felt bad, so I fed her in the Costco parking lot, which was an adventure. Finally we picked Josh up and got home to put dinner in the oven.

I can hear that Josh has worked his magic and Hannah is calming down. I think when she's getting her bath tonight, I will take one too! Mom and baby both need to relax a bit!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Since today was such a nice day, Hannah and I took a lovely long walk this afternoon around our neighborhood. Hannah seems to really enjoy the stroller that her Gigi and Grandad got her for Christmas, and it's also really a good workout for me to push it! The nice thing about the stroller is that the carrier portion of the carseat fits into it (seen in the photo at right) but when Hannah no longer fits in the carrier, or when she's big enough to want to face forward, or when the weather is nicer, the stroller base is also a very nice stroller that can lean back like a pram for when she's sleeping. It's a fabulous piece of machinery! It even has a clock with a digital thermometer built in so I can see how long we've walked and how cold it is! If only the weather was nice more often, I would be walking all day long!

A Baby by Any Other Name...

WOULD a baby by any other name smell as sweet? What about babies like ours that smell more like the spitup she just got in her hair and all over her outfit? :) We have come up with some great nicknames for Hannah:

Princess Poops-a-lot
Poopcious (Poopcious is pronounced like "precious")
Little Poops (anyone picking up a theme here?)
Hannahcakes
Hannah-cakecious-poops-McGoo (cakecious rhymes with precious too)
Sweetie-lene
Preshy-girl
Hannah-bean
Hannah-loo
Doll-baby
Babylove
Babylene
Cutie-lene
Sugarbaby
Shoeless Hannah Jackson

And others as they come to us...it's silly but she's just so cute, you HAVE to use nicknames...

Navel Gazing

Yesterday night, Hannah's umbilical cord stump fell off! It looked like a raisin. Kind of strange. But now we can give her a real bath (not just a sponge bath). Milestones.

Bailey Adjusts

Our dog is slowly adjusting to life with a new baby in the house. She's a very laid back dog, so mostly she's just been going about her business, following me around the house all day, and looking at me in askance when the baby fusses. I'm sure Bailey feels better about the situation since we've been feeding her more treats, have started letting her sleep in our room rather than in her crate, and haven't been keeping her penned up all day while we're at work, since I'm home all day. Plus we haven't clipped her toenails, even though we desperately need to, and she hates pedicures, so I'm sure she's relishing her talon-like toenails.

I do think she notices getting less attention though. We used to shower the dog with our affection, but now we spend all our time talking to and holding this new little wiggle-worm who spits up a lot. Not to be outdone, yesterday morning Bailey decided she should throw up in four places too, evidently in an effort to win back her place in the herd. Yeahhhh. It's one thing to clean up your infant daughter's barf episodes, it's quite another to scrub carpets for your dog...

Still, it could be worse...

Medically Speaking

(Note: This picture has nothing to do with the post, I just think it's cute!)

Today Josh and I took Hannah to the pediatrician again. As an aside, I put her in a disposable diaper because I thought that would be easier, but of course it leaked out the back as disposables often do, and that reminded me why I'm glad we use cloth diapers - no leaks, no blowouts! Anyway, Hannah has exceeded her birth weight (which was 7lbs, 12oz) and now weighs 8lbs, 1oz, which means that despite her frequent upchucking, she has managed to keep some of her nourishment where it belongs (in her stomach, not on our clothes and carpet!). She's still 20 inches long, but apparently it's normal not to grow in length in 10 days. We were pleased to find that she is perfectly healthy in every way. But we knew she was perfect...

Sleepylene

I'm sort of reluctant to mention this, since I don't want to jinx it, but Hannah is turning into a really great sleeper. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights, she went for a 5 hour stretch between feedings, then last night I fed her at 10pm and she didn't wake up until 5:20am!!!!! That counts as sleeping through the night in my book! And she's only ten days old!

I hope this trend continues now that Hannah is pretty well settled into her daytime schedule. And, if not, I'm grateful to have had one night with 6 consecutive hours of sleep!!!

In Case You Were Wondering...

You'll be seeing a lot of the pink hats like the one in the picture (Josh burping Hannah - don't you love that look of consternation on her face?) - we got two from the hospital and they are the only thing that fits on her head right now! With such little hair, and since they say new babies have trouble regulating their temperatures, I feel like she constantly needs a hat. I wish we had some other colors though!

A Few of My Favorite Things

Yesterday was my first time back to church since Hannah has been born. Of course I had many conversations with a lot of people and Catherine and I were blessed to receive a few meals from some of our fellow church members. But Stacey Bright asked me what was my favorite thing to do with Hannah. That was a good question and I wanted to answer her right away, but Elder Jim Long started to pray for the church lunch and I wasn't able to answer her. So here is my chance to answer that question.

What I love to do with Hannah is give her, her bath. It's a special time that dad gets to spend with daughter. Catherine and I agreed before Hannah was born that I wanted to give Hannah her baths. We're both still getting used to the whole experience, but it's getting better. She didn't cry as much last time. And I got that going for me....which is nice!

But the time that I treasure most is right after she has been fed in the evening and after Catherine has gone to bed. Then it's just daddy/daughter time. Sure she's asleep most of the time, but I just let her rest in my arms or on my shoulder. When she is awake, though, we just stare at each other. It's hard for me to take my eyes off of her. She's very expressive and she likes to look around. You can tell she's just taking in so much right now. What a blessing she is to her mother and father. It's hard to believe she's already a week old! Where does the time go?! :)

First Things First

First Nap in My Crib

My First Cloth Diaper

All Dressed Up for First Pediatrician Visit (all those size small clothes are too BIG!)

A Hannah Burrito!
First Ride in the Baby Swing

Joy Will Come in the Morning

On Monday, January 2, 2006 at 7:41 am, Hannah Reed Gillespie entered the world. Hannah came in weighing 7 pounds and 12 ounces and 20 inches long. She's is gorgeous, as you can see. She's got chubby little cheeks, has her father's dimple and mom and daughter are doing great!

It was really special the way Hannah came bursting into our lives. Her maternal grandparents had been with Catherine and me since December 23rd hoping to be here for Hannah's birth and spending some quality time with her.

Well it didn't turn out quite like that. Hannah had found it quite comfy inthe womb and we all thought that Mike and Ginger (Grandad and Gigi) would leave without getting to meet their first grandchild. But God did not see it fit to let them leave without meeting her. The night before they were to leave, God had comforted Ginger by bringing to mind that a "joy would come in the morning". Low and Behold, Catherine went into labor at 2:00 in morning and showed up just 5 1/2 hours later. Not only did Grandad and Gigi get to meet the newest member of the family, but they were able to spend some good quality time with Hannah by postponing their trip for a couple of hours. What a dramatic beginning to such a little life.

Hannah, we love you and we pray that someday you will accept God's promise and find salvation in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah 29:11-13
¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.


The Psalm from the psalter we have chosen for Hannah is Psalm 8B

This photo was taken by her paternal Grandfather Jim Gillespie