June 15th!

For those that have been reading this blog for sometime, you may recall the joy when we announced the June 15th due date of Bennett's arrival (though we didn't know she was a "she" then). Well, it is finally here and I am just thrilled that she is 23 days old, rather than 1 day. In fact, this morning I took her by the doctor's office to be weighed - just to see what she could have been born weighing. I was a little surprised that she was 7 lb 5 oz already - such a big girl!

The past three weeks have been great (even though there have been a few rough patches in the wee hours of the nights). I have thoroughly enjoyed my time home with her, and it makes me sad to think that I will be returning to work sometime in July. People keep asking when, and I must admit that I want to postpone the full-time return as long as I can! Sleeping in a little, and then taking her and my doggies for morning walks have become a nice ritual for us. In fact, the dogs have been very well-behaved since Bennett's arrival - I think because they enjoy having me home with them all day, even though they must share that time with Bennett. If only I could work just a few hours a day from home, and at then at the office as needed....that would be a dream come true! Thankfully we have good care lined up for her - her Mimi and a nanny. And since I work so close to our home, I plan to come home everyday for lunch to nurse and give her some love.

Trial and Error

Saturday, we decided to enjoy the warm weather and head up to Smith Lake for a relaxing night with Steve's family. Smith Lake (for those who aren't from around here) is about an hour north of Birmingham. It is a huge lake that is very clean with a lot of residential areas around it. Steve's parents and Aunt & Uncle built a duplex home there 15+ years ago. His Aunt has since passed away, but his cousins enjoy their side, while the Mizerany's enjoy the other. It is rarely a quiet retreat since so many family members are typically there, but that is what makes it fun for us. We are able to get away and enjoy the serene area, yet have fun with family.

On Saturday morning, while I got "the grey colored right out of my hair" (recall that old TV commercial?), Steve gave Bennett a bath and packed up the car. As I said earlier, we were only going for one night, but the car was loaded...all three kids, a cooler, Bennett's new pack-n-play, our bags, and food for the dogs. We joked about really feeling like a family as we drove up there Saturday afternoon.

Once we got there and got settled, Bennett was passed around like a favorite new toy. Of course, she just loved the attention and slept peacefully in everyone's arms. We kept trying to wake her, but she was way too happy being doted on, especially by her Mimi.

Our duties as parents were pretty low key as cousin Cathy fed her dinner Saturday night while we had a glass of wine. She kept giving all of the hunger signs (the cry and sucking on hands), so we kept feeding her (even though we knew she had never eaten that much before). I really don't know why we didn't listen to our gut, but after 3-4 ounces of milk, Bennett finally gave up eating and fell back to sleep. Steve and I put her down, and hit the hay ourselves - only to be awoken an hour later to Bennett screaming because of a VERY upset tummy . Of course, this being our first road trip, we didn't have our Mylicon or Gripe Water. So we rocked her and tried to soothe her in anyway that we could. Finally, we succumbed to the exhaustion and did something that we said we would NEVER do - we let her...gulp....sleep with us. I know, I know....I am the biggest hypocrite!! She finally fell asleep, as did we around 3 am.

Spencer and Shelby weren't really bothered by all of the irregularity that night, so they were their chipper, hungry selves at 6 am, making it hard for Steve and me to sleep much later. So, we passed a sleeping Bennett off to Mimi and Papa while we had some coffee out on the deck and tried to wake up. The mornings on Smith Lake are by far the prettiest times, so we soon forgot about our horrific first night away from home with Bennett.

We packed the car up around lunch and headed home, writing a list of all the necessities that we will not leave home without next time. Though it wasn't an ideal getaway, it was a great learning experience for us and we look forward to returning on the 4th of July!

Daddy's Little Girl

Yesterday evening we received the first rain that Birmingham has seen in weeks, so we sat out in the sunroom with some wine to enjoy it. It was one of those weird summer rains where the sun is still shining, but the rain is coming down. It was such a relief to have it since we are at a stage 3 drought right now. In fact, we are only allowed to hand water our lawn and plants twice a week, and if anyone is caught excessively using their water - they will be fined. Since we just planted some sod before Bennett arrived - we were thrilled to have it rain on one of our non-watering days so we could capture one more day of "penalty-free watering."

Bennett rocked with her daddy and ate up the attention. It was a relaxing night just listening to music and talking about parenthood - something that we still can't wrap ourselves around. In fact, the thought of getting a homemade Mother's Day card in years to come brought tears to my eyes (I am such a sap anymore). She is such a funny little girl - making so many noices and faces. We love the way she grunts, and the way she always chokes a little when she first starts to eat because she is so excited and eats too quickly. We just stare at her and wonder what she is going to be like. Who is she going to look like in a few months? In 2 years? Will she be patient like her daddy, or have a temper like her mommy? Is her hair going to fall out or grow in thicker? Will her eyes stay blue?

I guess time will tell, and we are excited to learn!

2 weeks old already?

Thank goodness our child likes her baths. It is one of the few times of the day when she is wide-eyed, so we feel we need to capture the opportunity. Now that we have moved bath time up several hours, she is more content earlier in the night. However, she is still not wild about bedtime. She is perfectly happy while sleeping in our arms, but the minute we put her in her crib - she suddenly gets a second wind. And it isn't that she hates her crib, as she naps in there every morning and afternoon just fine. So, I guess we are still figuring things out.

Sunday...day of rest

Today, we have spent the day as God would like...resting. We all slept in and then enjoyed a late breakfast (while Bennett took one of her many naps). Once we finally got cleaned up, we decided to take a few photos of Bennett dressed in one of her darling new dresses. For someone who hates the color pink, I couldn't be happier seeing our daughter in these feminine clothes. She just looks so darn cute!

Since we have noticed that her fussier times are from 10pm-2am, we are going to try bathing her earlier tonight so she has more time to wind down following it. She has been such a good baby, but for some reason she doesn't want to be put in her crib during that time frame, and prefers to be held. She'll eat some during that period, but really just wants to be held. For now, while I am not working - it isn't the end of the world, but this can't continue so we are going to try.

First Doctor's Visit

It is hard to imagine that Bennett is 9 days old already! After a relaxing morning in Nene's arms this morning, we went to her first doctor's appointment. Things didn't start off well...we had to wait for an hour before going back to see the doctor. She tried to catch some more sleep in her Daddy's arms while we waited, but the thought of food distracted her some. Once we finally got back there, we were a little surprised to see how much weight she had gained. She weighed in at 6lbs 3 oz, surpassing her birth weight. Any doubt of whether or not she has been eating enough has now vanished.

Finally the nurses came in to take some blood - they had to stick her heel (which she hated). Hearing a cry from her that I have never heard before brought tears to my eyes and I cried alongside of her. It was just pitiful, but thankfully when they stopped squeezing her heel, and I could pick her up and tell her things were going to be okay, she calmed down.

Our doctor answered all of our questions, and reminded us that she should join our world, rather than us join hers. So we decided to go out for dinner with Nene before she left Saturday morning. We sat outside on a patio and had a great dinner while Bennett slept through the entire thing in her carseat. She was a perfect angel.