4 weeks

It is crazy that Savannah has been with us for 4 weeks now! I swear the last 4 weeks of my pregnancy felt more like 4 months, so why is it that now that she is here time has flown by?

Well the visitors have come and gone and we are now officially on our own. There have been a lot of highs and perhaps a few lows to this new thing called parenting. I guess it all comes with being an emotional new mom, right?

The lows- At Savannah's two week checkup she had actually lost weight instead of gaining back her birth weight. Of course I had a melt down and knew that our daughter was anorexic and was headed for the NICU. After talking to a few people (mostly my sister, thanks Jen) I was able to calm down and realize that a 7 lb 14 oz baby is not that small and will most likely be just fine. The doctor (whom I love, but is perhaps a bit granola) told me to buy a sling and let Savannah be "at the breast" all day. Yeah right. Perhaps that works for some, but I was not up to that. So for a week or so I was the nursing machine. We would go on a walk in the morning and then sit on the couch and nurse all day until Jayson got home. I took Savannah in at 3 weeks to do a weight check and she was up to 8 lbs. 1 oz. almost there... Then I took her in yesterday for her 4 week weight check and she is a whopping 8 lbs. 12 oz. so, (sigh of relief) I think we are doing alright. I now feel like we can run errands, clean the house, and perhaps make dinner. It is so funny how much I stress about her weight, her breathing, her eating, her pooping, etc, etc. I guess I will just be a worry wart for the rest of my life.

The highs- I just love her more and more each day. I thought I loved her when she was born, but every day I fall more and more in love. Watching Jayson be a dad. Hearing him talk to her in his high pitched baby voice. He puts his nose close to her mouth and tells me he likes her baby breath. Watching her grow- her eyes are open more and more and she makes the best faces. It is fun to have a little buddy during the day to talk to and play with. It is amazing how little I get done during the day, because I end up holding her and watching her sleep. She is such a good baby and is doing a great job eating and sleeping (which makes a happy mom, thank you Savannah!)

My favorite face. Pursed lips and a raised eyebrow.

Trying to wake a sleepy baby to eat... so hard

Grammy Clark came for 4 glorious days and it was so nice to have help, company during the day and someone to hold and love baby Savannah while I slept, showered, etc.

Last Saturday Jayson and I went to Costco and hurried home to feed, change and get Savannah ready to go to our friend's house for the BYU game. Well, right after we put her in her BYU jersey Jayson heard a little squirt and this is the result....

Her first blow out...

I guess she was trying to tell us how BYU was going to play against Florida State. Then to really drive home her point, I was wearing a BYU sweatshirt and she spit up all over it.

A Week in the Life...

I am sitting on the couch watching my precious little baby sleep. There is something about the way that she raises her hands above her head and puckers her tiny mouth that is just so mesmerizing. It is almost 1 in the afternoon and I have yet to do anything productive.
My wonderful mother left this morning and I think I am still in a little bit of shock. She came last Friday and was with us for 9 glorious days. She cooked, cleaned, rocked the baby, made my bed, did the laundry, etc. etc. It was so nice to have her here to tell me that I am doing the right things and give me the confidence I need to be a good mother to this baby girl. She helped us through a few sleepless nights and kept encouraging all of us the whole time. What a saint!
We weren't very active, as I was not feeling up to doing much of anything. But we had a good time sitting on the couch watching movies or chatting about everything. We did venture out a few times to go on a walk or a trip to the grocery store (although I stayed in the car with the babe). Everyday when we got Savannah dressed and ready for the day we took pictures. I think we have a million pictures of this girl and she isn't even two weeks old!
Some of the things I want to remember about the first few weeks are...

- her hairy ears. She is the cutest monkey baby I have ever seen
- her perfectly swirled hair
- her rolly eyes when she is in and out of sleep
- her surprised look, where she raises her eyebrows and opens her big eyes
- her mouth and the way it puckers and makes the funniest expressions
- her incredibly kissable chubby cheeks and wrinkly neck
- the beginnings of a smile (when asleep) and the hinting of her daddy's dimples

We had a few sleepless nights right after we got home from the hospital and the advice we got to help baby sleep through the night is to teach her the difference between day and night. Taking her outside in the sunshine during the day and keeping it dark during nighttime feedings and changings. Jayson has also taken it upon himself to be her personal trainer. Every night he has Savannah do exercises- mostly consisting of tummy time where he encourages her to move her head from one side to the other and then he stretches her arms and legs. I don't know what has been the difference, but this girl is now going to bed at 9-9:30 pm and waking up at 3:30 to eat and then again at 6. She is eating and sleeping like a champ and we hope this is a continuing trend.




Nightly exercises with Dad


Love those cheeks


Cuddling with dad


Melt your heart..


Big yawn


So relaxed


1st walk. The weather was a little chilly (70s) so we bundled poor Savannah up like it was winter. She slept the whole time and I am not sure she even knew we were outside.


1st bath. She wasn't crazy about being naked and wet, but she did like the hair washing once she was bundled in a dry towel.


Savannah with Grandma Hawks


Our little green diva


Sunday naps






My favorite surprised expression.