P-A-D: Days 35 - 41, I'm Exhausted

So far so good keeping up with the photos, not so good with keeping up posting them. I missed an entire week! Where did the time go? Oh, right, I'm the parent of a newborn...

Day 35: May 17, Lilacs fade too quickly...

I picked these so late in the day, I threw them into the freezer overnight to work with them the next day. And within moments of bringing them out, they began to brown. It was like a crazy science experiment gone wrong. She was still cute though.

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Day 36: May 18, Another Walk Already Mommy?!

Someone did not want to go out for her walk, but I was meeting people at Greenlake. Once we got there, she slept through the entire thing. But I walked an entire mile. Woo-hoo!

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Day 37: May 19, Seward Park

She almost slept through this entire walk as well, but we were on our way to the car when she demanded to be fed right that very instant. We walked a mile and a half that day!

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Day 38: May 20, I'm too big for my onesie!

So did I mention I had to go out and buy her a set of Preemie onesies because almost all of her clothes were too big for her? Well, she's finally out of Preemie sizes - busting out, actually. Look at that baby gut. D'awwww.....

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Day 39: May 21, 8 Pounds

I've been anxiously waiting to try out my Moby on baby, but the directions said to wait until baby weighed 8 lbs. Guess who tipped the scales at exactly that over the weekend?

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Day 40: May 22, My Clothes Fit Mommy!

Hallelujah, her wardrobe is starting to fit! Her feet actually fill out her footie-pajamas! And do you see that coy expression? She is a born charmer, this one.

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Day 41: May 23, Zonked

My sweet baby girl is zonked. I can only look on enviously, since the moment I attempt a nap, she awakens and demands her foods. She is a mean task-master. And what a set of lungs...

P-A-D: Day 34, Frustrated and Frazzled

Let's be honest here for a moment. Parenting is hard. Parenting a newborn is exhausting. And quite often inglorious. Yesterday I wanted the picture to show a little of that.

Because the previous two days were about the hardest on me since we've had her at home. Her spitting up has gotten worse again, she is eating more and more often (likely because she keeps emptying her stomach immediately after eating), and she has become much more demanding with her newly found voice. Gone are the days of the "calm baby". If she's not asleep, she's is demanding to be held and/or fed. The after-midnight feedings have been particularly brutal, turning into multiple-hour ordeals where I fight exhaustion and nausea (thank you Mirapex) while watching her try to keep down her food both during and after her feeding. Because all you can do is watch, wishing helplessly that you could do something as her little face contorts and her mouth works and her hands go up to her lips in a futile attempt to keep her meal inside. I've heard there are worse cases of reflux than hers, so I am thankful. But that doesn't really make any of this easy.

I do have a plan of attack to make some of this a little less frustrating. I can't do anything about her reflux, and I can't do much about her sleep schedule, but there are things I can do to acclimate better than I have been. Yesterday was a little better because of this. Today, I'm hoping for a little more relief. Except for some reason I can't sleep in when suddenly given the chance. *le sigh*

P-A-D: Day 33, Girl in a Box

I was bored.

P-A-D: Day 32, Our Hands

On Monday, May 14, I wanted to capture an image of those tiny hands. I forgot to mention it during the professional photo shoot, dammit! Oh well. Mine turned out ok. :)

Anyone else reminded of Michelangelo's Creator reaching towards Adam from the Sistine Chapel?

P-A-D: Day 31, One Month Old

Kailea's one-month birthday was yesterday, Sunday the 13th. On Friday (she was exactly 4 weeks old) she weighed 7.2 pounds, and measured about 20" long (measuring a baby isn't easy!). That is a gain of just over 1 pound, and 2 inches. Our girl continues to be a drama queen, spitting up often, keeping us awake at night long after she's finished feeding, and losing her "calm baby" persona to fuss regularly like any other newborn.

She is already visibly larger, and I have mixed feelings about this. About the time we brought her home from the hospital, it struck me that she was beginning to grow and I didn't want that to happen. I selfishly want to be able to hold her in my arms whenever I want, for as long as I want. How precious to always have this tiny baby on hand, to cuddle whenever you want. But she's not a pet, she's a growing girl! I'm looking forward to seeing her smile at me, to have her reach for me, to hear her first words. Maybe I'll want to freeze her then, too. But I'm sure I'll quickly begin to long for seeing her walk, hear her speak in sentences, hear her giggle as she runs around the house. Of course, it will be nice when she's finally out of diapers!

So yesterday was not only Kailea's birthday, but it was also my first mother's day. We spent way too much effort cleaning and preparing to have both of our families over, so long before bed time we were exhausted, but it was well worth it. I finally have pictures of everyone holding the baby! Plus, I think everyone had a nice time chatting, eating, and otherwise celebrating the mothers in the family. Eric went out and bought me a camcorder, at my request. Hopefully we'll be putting it to good use soon. It really was a lovely day.

P-A-D: Day 30, Her First Sunset

Yesterday we took another spur-of-the-moment trip, but this one was only about five minutes away: the Edmonds waterfront. Baby wasn't really so interested in the miracle of nature unfolding in front of her, and she wasn't much phased by the train that sped by just moments after this shot was taken. No, she just wanted to be fed!

P-A-D: Day 29, Houdini Baby

Yes, she has outsmarted yet another manufacturer of swaddling gear. Feel no shame, Summer Infant, I'm sure your SwaddleMe is perfectly capable of containing babies with lesser skills. Kailea, however, is proving herself to be a master escape artist. Soon, you will hear her name whispered far and wide, as her growing skills continue to mystify and entertain...