9 Months

Holy Hell...how has it been 5 months since my last post? We don't really have time to spare for keeping in touch these days, so blogging is a luxury I can't seem to keep up with.
Newlyn is a really big girl. She's wearing 18 month clothes and fitting in them (except for sleeve length) really well. She's really long and definitely chubby. There's no doubt that she's going to be tall like her mama and daddy. Her hair has gotten lighter since Christmas, but I'm thinking that it'll darken up again in the next year or so (my hair did the same thing when I was an infant).
Newlyn loves daycare which makes our lives much easier. Additionally, we're taking a Kindermusik class once a week and she's really into it. Darren and I have each taken her to class - I don't think Darren's a big fan though. :)
Work is going well for me. Very busy but really fun. I spent several hours in our ORs today observing - you don't get to do that just anywhere! Darren is keeping very busy with work. He has a project in northern PA so he's been on the road a bit.
We have been really busy on the weekends. There are lots of weddings happening, so between weddings and showers, we're out and about a lot. Hopefully we can find a weekend soon to do nothing but sleep and take the stroller out. We need to go for a hike or something, but just haven't had time.

Almost 4 months

The time is passing quickly! I've been back to work for well over a month now and things have been pretty hectic. Trying to juggle a crazy schedule and an infant has been challenging - mostly tiring. I'm responsible for the daily daycare pickup and drop off, which makes things interesting. I had to be at work at the crack of dawn one day this week, so Darren managed to be responsible for daycare and the teachers said that he did great! We have a pretty good routine these days. She wakes up about once a night to eat. I get her up around 6 and we listen to the baby cds my mom got her while we get ready to leave. Our morning interactions are the best - she's full of energy and ready to play. It'd be pretty funny to be a fly on the wall in our house though. I'm sure it's ridiculous to the outside observer how Darren and I sing and dance to "This Old Man" while getting dressed. She likes it though and that's what's important. :) We're home by 6:30 and then we have an hour together before Darren gives her a bath. Obviously we don't have much time together during the workweek, so the weekends have become more important to us.

Newlyn has full head control now and is pretty active. She wiggles around all the time so I really have to watch her. This morning, when I went in her room to check on her, she was lying perpendicular in her crib! She's almost rolling over onto her tummy - I think she'll accomplish that in the next week or so. The daycare teachers think she's going to be an early talker because she's already trying so hard to get noise out. If I say "ahh-goo" to her, she says it back to me immediately. She has another few sounds that she can imitate easily. We're working on some basic words and signing, but obviously it's too early for her to really get them.

She really likes daycare and it's pretty cool to hear about what she does during the day with the other babies. I haven't been able to go feed her at lunchtime very often, but she's doing great and I really like having the extra adult time during the day. I haven't taken too many lunch breaks, but when I have, it's been really nice to have some alone time. I think that the absence during the day makes our time at night more special. She's always very happy to see us in the evenings. Her daycare couldn't possibly be any more perfect, so we're happy all around.

We're excited about the holidays, but probably going to lay low until that point. Darren and I don't have the energy to leave Pittsburgh on the weekends and it's hard to interrupt her schedule. We want to get out and do some hiking, but it's been really rainy on the weekends. We're hoping for good weather next weekend because most likely, we'll be in for the season after that.

Here's the baby last weekend. She's getting big...about 15.5 lbs and pushing 25 inches.

Summer's Over - Back to the Grind!

Oh boy, where to begin?! It's been a while since we last posted because we've been busy enjoying the end of the summer. We went to Cincinnati to see my aunt and uncle, took the baby to her first baseball game (go Reds!), visited with Darren's family over Labor Day, and caught up with some friends that weekend. Newlyn and I took our first road trip sans Daddy this week when we did a quick jaunt to Maryland to take my grandmother to a couple of doctor's appointments. We did very well, but it was pretty obvious that the baby didn't like being out of her routine and she missed Daddy. Hopefully we won't have to do any more trips without him for a while.

Newlyn is tons of fun to play with these days. She's cooing and laughing all the time now. Every morning she greets me with a big stretch followed by a big smile. We're so lucky to have such a happy baby! Here she is interacting with Darren.

I'm officially back to work now. Yesterday was my first day back, but I worked from home, so I didn't have to leave the baby. Monday will be my first time away from her and I'm pretty nervous about it. I've gone through all the stages of grieving the end of my maternity leave and I'm ready to get back to business. Having Newlyn has put some things in perspective though...work doesn't have to be the bulk of my life! I'm going to try to go feed her each day at lunchtime, so I'm pretty sure that'll help keep my blood pressure low. How can you be upset when you see this adorable face?!?!

Hiking at McConnell's Mill

Since we brought Newlyn home from the hospital, we've done a pretty good job of getting her out and about with us. She loves riding in the car, but is a bit of a backseat driver and will start to whine if we get caught in traffic or stuck at a redlight (this is one of her many endearing qualities). Her first roadtrip to visit family in Maryland went very well, so we figured we could change things up a bit from the usual trips to Target, Babies R Us, and the grocery store and head out for a hike to McConnell's Mill State Park. The heat and humidity have returned to the 'burgh, so we decided to start early so we could finish the hike around lunchtime for a picnic at the park.

Now that Newlyn is big enough, she's able to ride in the Baby Bjorn carrier. If you're not familiar, it's one of those contraptions that make you look like you're about to take your infant skydiving. She loves it. We did a moderate two mile hike that follows the Slippery Rock Creek and is mostly in the shade. Lauren & I took turns with Newlyn in the Bjorn and two miles seemed to be just about the perfect length to coincide with her next feeding!

We're looking forward to taking her on more walks through Frick Park and back to Ohiopyle in the fall.

Family Everywhere!

We survived our first road trip with Newlyn last weekend. We drove to Maryland to visit with family. We stayed with my grandma ("Girty") and were able to see my Uncle Tracy and my mom. Girty loved the baby and spent hours holding her, which gave me a lovely break.

On Saturday, we ventured to the Frederick area for my grandfather's 85th birthday party. It was a mini family reunion and many of my cousins travelled in from out of the area. It was my dad and Vikki's first time meeting the baby. Everyone doted over her and again, she stayed in other folks' arms for several hours. She's such a good baby...doesn't complain about having new people hold her and rarely fusses in general.

On Sunday, we headed to Bedford to see Darren's parents. Luckily, Darren's uncle was in town from Tennessee, so he was able to meet the baby as well! Most of Bill and Judy's close friends were able to stop by to see the baby, so again, lots of new people held her. When we came home, she just wanted to hang out by herself and stretch out. She spent all of Monday morning in her bouncer - just happy to have some time to herself.

Newlyn will be six weeks old this Thursday and it's amazing to watch her develop. She's smiling more and more (although still not regularly in response to us) and can hold her head up for a while. She had her one-month doctor's appointment last week and she's in the 75th percentile for height and 50th for weight and head size. She's gained 3 pounds and 2.5 inches since birth! I'm particularly happy about this fact since it feels like I spend 100% of my time feeding her.

One Month

Newlyn turned one month old today! The time is passing very quickly and as much as I want her to grow and become more interactive with us, it's sad to think about how fast it's passing by us. Pretty soon, I'll be back to work and missing her like crazy!

Newlyn is a great baby. She really makes motherhood seem very easy. :) I'm hoping it stays this way! We haven't been to the doctor for a few weeks (we'll go later this week), so I don't have an official weight for her, but according to my rough estimate, she is about 8.5 pounds and 21 inches. She's gained nearly 3 pounds since her low point (5 pounds, 7 ounces) when she was sick and over 2 pounds since birth! She's eating like a champ (feedings are somewhere between 1.25 and 2.5 hours apart) and is sleeping well. She still eats 4-5 times at night, but usually goes right back to sleep after eating. We have her out and about constantly and she's really easy to get around with. We're going to the library for baby lapsit each week and she's really well behaved. We've visited my offices and Darren's as well. Everyone loves meeting her!

The Lloyd's came over for a visit yesterday. It was Newlyn's first time meeting Aunt Dana and Uncle Rob. Grandma and Pap Lloyd hadn't seen her in nearly three weeks, so it was obvious to them how much she's grown and how much stronger she's become. We went out to dinner together and Newlyn was a champ through all the loud noises during the meal. We sat outside at a restaurant in the southside and there were dogs barking and motorcycles riding by. She barely even flinched!

Here are the photos from yesterday.

Almost a Month Old

Newlyn is nearly a month old and seems to be growing like a weed. Darren commented today that he thought her head got bigger while he was at work. She's learned that the nighttime is for sleeping, so we're all doing much better. Just in the last few days, she's been sleeping well and going right back to sleep after each feeding. Darren's well-rested since she's not crying all night and I'm getting more sleep too.

Shannon has been visiting with us for a few days. We've had a good visit and Shannon has been a huge help around the house. This morning, she took care of Newlyn so I could take a much-needed nap. Today we went shopping and bought some really cute clothes for the baby. She's heading back to Virginia tomorrow though, so we'll go back to our normal routine.

We have lots of family visits planned for the next few weeks, so we'll be busy, but will try to post pictures quickly.