1 Month Old!

Forrest on the alligator at 1 month (compare to 1 week). He's definitely growing - 11 lb. 5 oz. now - you can't see his ribs anymore and every day there's more lint to be found in his fat rolls! This has probably been both the fastest and slowest month of my life. I can't believe it's already been a month since he was born, and yet the days seem to crawl by when he's crying and I'm so tired. At the same time I want him to stay this little but also want to fast forward to when he's bigger and can do more stuff. Everyone tells you it's both exhausting and amazing having a baby, but you can't really know what it's like or understand the feeling until you experience it. So, now I know what the first month is like - we'll see what the second one brings.

Fuzzy Hair

Four weeks old with freshly washed hair.

Road Trip

Brother and sister riding in the car together.

FaceTime

Video chatting with cousin Diego. They're so tech-savvy at such a young age!

Sleeping

No firsts here, just a cute picture of Forrest taking a cat nap at 3 weeks old.

First Restaurant

...and his first time going to a restaurant. Once again, he slept through all the fun.

More Firsts

Also new this week: Forrest's first stroller walk and first trip to the farmers market!

First Real Bath

Since Forrest's belly button stump fell off on his two week birthday, he was ready to give up sponge baths and have his first real bath at home with soap and everything! He didn't love it but he did pretty well!

Baby Clothes Archives

Thanks to mom for digging this shirt out of the archives! She tie-dyed it back when Abby was a baby and then we all wore it. And now it's Forrest's turn!

First Outing

Forrest is 2 weeks old today! This was my first real outing - a walk to the store. And baby's first trip to Whole Foods! He is already learning why it's called Whole Paycheck. No, actually he slept through the whole part where we were actually inside. But we both like the Moby and we're glad we can finally start getting out!

Family Portrait

I think this is the first picture we've gotten with all 4 of us! Granted, 50% of the family members are not looking at the camera but we'll take what we can get.

1 Week Old!

Forrest's 1 week photo! I'm going to try and be consistent with taking regular photos with the alligator to document how he grows. We'll see if I can stick to it!

The first week has gone by so quickly, it's true they grow up so fast! I can't believe he'll never be 2 days old again. Friday through Monday we spent in the hospital, getting help from nurses, lactation consultants, and midwives who checked me and the baby every single day. Coming home on Tuesday things got a little harder - adjusting my position in bed was much more difficult without the motorized bed. But things went pretty smoothly thanks to LZ's hard work around the house and his new Happiest Baby on the Block swaddling skills, and thanks to mom's help walking Lotus, running errands, and patience taking Forrest even at his fussiest.

Just like people say, I could watch my baby sleep all day. Probably the best part of this whole baby deal so far is the skin to skin time in bed after a feeding, just cuddling and watching him make his funny little faces and wave his arms around randomly. The hardest part, aside from lack of sleep, has been recovering from the c-section including the physical pain and limitations, plus the emotional toll of coming to terms with how the birth went and what I feel I missed out on.

So that was the first week! I'm sure Forrest has all kinds of adventures in store for us in the coming weeks and months, and we're on the rollercoaster now, so there's no going back!

Hiccups

This is one of those videos that I find really annoying when people post on facebook because so few people would actually care about it. And yet I'm still posting it, but at least it's not on facebook. I imagine it's only of interest to people who are related to Forrest and definitely not even all of them. So without further ado, I present to you: Forrest Gets the Hiccups. (Note: There is sound and it's cute, but it might be really quiet.)

Sleeping Baby

You can consume all kinds of media while babies are wrapped up and sleeping!

Back Home

Here we are back at home. Lotus is having some adjustment issues, as expected. She's a little overenthusiastic about the baby, and she barks too much, but that's nothing new. Forrest on the other hand seems unphased by both the barking and the frenzied foot licking.

Leaving the Hospital

Forrest's first photo shoot a few minutes after being born. 

Fast forward to:

This morning's cozy time, on Forrest's 5th day on the outside. Getting ready to go home today, so Forrest can meet his doggy sister.

Forrest is Here!

40 Weeks

Yesterday was the baby's due date, so I suppose technically that means I'm overdue. It's a pretty weird feeling just waiting around to see when he will decide it's time to be born. Not much to do but just relax and try not to be anxious (easier said than done for LZ). I decided to start my maternity vacation this week and I'm glad I did because it was getting really tiring focusing on work and worrying about it every day. Despite the 90 degree heat it has been nice to just walk Lotus, read, and finally do some craft projects now that I have time (see the new "nursery decor"?). It's amazing how the days go by without getting a lot done, and even more amazing that that's okay because the goal is just to relax and rest up!

I have to say the worst thing about being anywhere near the due date, but especially being past it, is everyone asking me if baby's here yet or if I have any special feelings. He's not, and I don't. I know it's nice that people care and are checking in, but I'm hot and crabby and I think this is a major annoyance for all pregnant women, not just me. Trust me, I'm wondering when he's going to come too and if I had any more info, I'd be letting you know! At least I can tell you one thing though - he's not going to be a 4th of July baby, sorry to disappoint!

Home Stretch

I'm 37 weeks now, which is considered full term, and my doula is officially on call. Eek! My feet are too fat to wear my Chacos and I took my rings off while I could since some times of day I can't. It's not easy carting around these extra 36 pounds but I'm still mostly doing everything normally. I'm still trying to figure out how to wrap things up at work and taking care of boring grownup administrative tasks like making wills. But for the most part, I don't think there's anything else we can do to make ourselves more ready. So, ready when you are, baby!

Baby Party

On May 19th we had our baby party! I had to convince people it was not a shower, because men were welcome too, there were no stupid games, and I didn't make everyone sit down and watch me open presents. Lots of people stopped by, ate, and hung out, and I think they all had a good time! Jenny and Sarah did a great job of coordinating the food. The waffle bar was the centerpiece of it all, and people loved the chicken and waffles. Plus the weather was great and there was hula hooping in the yard thanks to Angie and her hoops.