Mom's First Shot

Is there anything worse than watching your infant scream in pain after getting a shot? I know there actually are worse things, but seriously, I almost cried myself! Haven really did an amazing job. She didn't even start to cry until after the shot. I thought it was sad to listen to her cry when she was uncomfortable or hungry. However, the pain cry is a whole other thing and I hate it.
Oh well. It's over. Until two weeks from now when she has to get more shots. Maybe I will send Chris to that appointment...
Here are her one-month stats: 10 lbs, 3.5oz and 21-3/4" long! This puts her in the 75th percentile for both. The nurse said she growing like a a pretty little weed!

Little things that are big things

So, last night Haven went 5 hours between nursing and slept 4 straight hours! You think 4 hours is not much sleep, but it IS! Haven is awesome and I have no complaints about her night-time habits, but I'll take all the sleep I can get.
This morning Chris and I read some "What to expect in the first year" for the second month, as we are now entering into that territory. That inspired us to have some learning interactive time with Haven. I will post some videos on youtube of that time.

Here is a picture of her hair loss that I mentioned before.

Videos

Ok, so I gave up on this site to upload videos. You can see Haven on our brand new Youtube account!!! Our account name is TheBarryFam
Enjoy!

Smiles!!!

So guess who saved her pretty little first smile for this morning at 3:00 am? That's right, Haven Rae. It was very sweet and perfect because we woke up to nurse, and then Chris changed her diaper. When he brought her back to me to finish nursing he sat down on the bed and she gave us this big, both sided smile. Of course, I was afraid it was just that something felt nice, but I said to her "Are you smiling for real at us?" She stopped smiling for a second, looked over to me and then smiled again. "That's real! It IS real!" is what I kept saying and she kept smiling and then all three of us fell asleep. Awwww.
Yesterday, we caught the sun out and went on a short walk; just Haven, the Bjorn, and I. We also celebrated her being 4 weeks old by clipping her nails for the second time in her life. I guess I should start referring to these as manicures. She is grabbing on to so many things, I hate to put her hands in the mitts. So, I have wait until she's asleep and I'm feeling brave AND I have the clippers available. Yesterday the stars aligned.
Here are some other things that are happening: she's getting baby acne :(, she's losing her hair :(, she's spending more time awake and happy (as opposed to either being asleep, being awake and nursing, or being awake and crying). This happens mostly in the morning. It's convenient because it gives me a chance to get dressed and put in contact lenses. She just lies on the bed and stares at the fan and coos.
I've started keeping better track of her sleeping times. Hopefully, this will help me see a pattern and allow me to more confidently put her down for a nap. As of now, she spends most of the day in my arms and falls asleep there. Then, I'm afraid she'll wake up if I transfer her to the crib. So, obviously, we're still working things out. It's ok for now. Usually, I'd rather hold her anyway.
Tuesday we had a mothers' morning out of sorts. Haven and I went to a LLL meeting to get some tips and meet up with two other moms and babies from our Bradley birth class. From that class, three of four babies have arrived; Jen with baby Alexa and Maria with baby Soren! We all went out to lunch after the meeting and had some really awesome catch-up time. It is great to have friends that are in the same "Brand New Mom" boat as I am.
As a side note; I did TRY to put up the videos. For some reason this blog site did not like them. I will try again and if I can't post them here, I will start a Youtube account. Now I have week 2, 3, and 4!
Also I am on a mission to catch Haven in the act of smiling. My camera will be on me at all times. So, look for that picture. :) xoxo from Haven and me!

Hello/Goodbye 3 weeks!

So yesterday was the three week anniversary AND the 25 year anniversary of Haven's and my births! As my mom points out, this means that our birthdays will always be on the same day of the week. Thanks for all the calls, emails, texts, and facebook posts. I had a wonderful time hearing from so many people. I feel so loved :) I had a great day. Mom and Dad came over to make breakfast and Mom held Haven while I took a long shower (glorious). Chris came home during his lunch hour to be with me and then Haven and I went out for a pedicure and coffee with Jen and baby Alexa. Chris brought home our favorite chinese food for dinner and we ended the evening watching LOST and eating cake. All the while, sweet Haven was keeping my lap warm. Does life get better?
Haven continues to astound us with her movement; she is so strong and loves to kick, move her head, swing her arms and generally do anything to break out of a swaddle. We still attempt to swaddle her at night for her own comfort, but during short naps in the daytime, we just tuck a blanket around her legs (hospital style, so no SIDS issue).
She makes a lot of noise. She sighs and squeaks and when she's asleep, she breathes out on a pitch. It is so cute. We tell her she'll be a soprano in Daddy's choir.
She's also taken to grabbing things; my hair, pearls, shirts, her clothes, etc. It's sweet when she falls asleep with her hands clasped together. I've even seen a few fingers intertwined!
Today we went to church to visit Chris, have lunch together and take church directory pictures. Haven slept through the entire photo shoot, but at least she wasn't crying. She looks very peaceful with her eyes closed :). Of course, this short trip to church turned into show and tell the new baby. It was fun introducing her to everyone and showing her off. Hopefully it was tiring for her and she will sleep well tonight. She is a pretty good sleeper at night, for which I am very thankful! She wakes up every 3-4 hours to nurse, but usually falls asleep again after she's done.
So that's our update for now. I'm going to post two videos; one of her at two weeks and one at three weeks. I might wait until Chris gets home to help me though...

Follow-up Dr's Appointment

This morning Chris and Haven and I bundled up and went back to the pediatrician's office. Because of her jaundice when she was born, they wanted to recheck her weight gain and bilirubin levels. No problems there! Haven weighted in at 8lbs, 3oz and her color is so good, they didn't even bother with checking for jaundice.
Go Haven!
Also, we met our doctor for the first time and loved him. He is very helpful and willing to answer any questions. He has young kids and he used to be a pediatrician on a military base.

Our First Week Home

This afternoon marks one whole week we've been at home since Haven was born. Here are her birth stats: She was born at Northside Hopsital Wednesday, Dec 23 at 6:46pm. She was 7lbs, 11oz and 20-1/4" long, Haven Rae Barry. Even though it wasn't what we planned, after 25 hours of labor, Haven was delivered via c-section.
So, one week ago Haven was weighing in at 7lbs, 3oz and nursing like a champ. We've had lots of family visits as it was the Christmas holiday. We were so happy to have Sam and Sarah in town, as well as Dave and Tera. It was really a great way to start Haven's life, to have so much family and love surrounding her.
On Monday, we went to the pediatrician. Haven weighed in at 7lbs, 10 oz; almost back up to her birth weight - hooray! We forgot to bring a diaper bag, and of course Haven needed a change while we were there. It was a pretty good place to forget it though, as of course, they had plenty of diapers.
Here are some fun things we've noticed about Haven. She has really good hand coordination. She's not one to constantly scratch her own face with her nails, and when she wants to grab onto something, she gets it on the first try. She's also doing well at looking at things; close faces, movement of the fan, and light sources. At her one week "birthday," we noticed her sucking her thumb and lifting her head by herself! She can also squirm her way along the crib mattress, out of a swaddle and out of a diaper! We learned the "squirm her way out of a diaper" the hard way...
This week, we've had a wonderful time learning how life feels with three of us in the house. Chris goes back to work tomorrow. Haven and I will have to learn how to get along without him during the day. :)

(In the above shot, Haven is one week old. Thanks to Christina Warden for this AWESOME pic!!)