thank god for camera phones

5 1/2 weeks & my cheeks are growing every day!

5 weeks = happy baby!

sleepy 4-week-old

3 weeks & the cheeks appeared!

3 weeks at nap time

I'm 2 weeks old!

day 5, almost 1 week!

3.11.10 ~ It's my birthday.

The first 6 weeks...

Our baby girl, Lennox Elizabeth, was born at 1:59am on Thursday, March 11, 2010. Labor was intense- 30 hours (or more...) but is a distant memory these days. When she was born & placed on my chest, the first thing I said was "she looks exactly like I did when I was born". That was the most surreal part... not the miracle of life that I just went through, but how amazing it was that I could tell from the first second I saw her that she was mine.

Lennox was born with a fever & had to be given antibiotics through an IV while we were in the hospital. I know it is could've been worse, but to see your little baby hooked up to an IV just breaks your heart. We got to go home from the hospital at about 6pm on Friday evening since Lennox was doing a lot better. Being home, for me, was a lot easier than constantly being interrupted at the hospital. My mom & Tyson were a huge help. Although I refused to rest (I couldnt shut my brain off... there is a little person in this world who needs me... woah!) I dont think I did much but feed her for the first 3 days. Let's just say that Ty was a professional diaper changer by then & I totally should've held out longer :))

The hardest part for me was a week later- that next Sunday when my mom left & I realized that Tyson was going back to work the next day. How was I supposed to do this ALL by myself?! I found that it wasn't much different than the previous week, except that there were only 1 set of hands instead of 3. So, I quickly accepted the fact that my former routine of showering & eating breakfast first thing in the morning was put on the back burner... and I was lucky to do either of those things at all! The second thing I realized was that it was going to be a bit more boring for awhile: no adult interaction, a lot of TV, not getting much done around the house... Honestly, if I get the dishes OR a load of laundry done in the entire 8-hour day, I have accomplished a lot. Babies are hard work!

Lennox & I ventured out to her 2-week check up and we took a trip to the dealership. After I survived both, something in me clicked & I started to get the hang of this mom thing! I also had my fair share of public meltdowns that made me question if I was having an anxiety attack, but I have such awesome family & friends to get me through the bad moments :)) At her 2-week doctor visit, Lennox had gained a full pound & grew 3/4 of an inch! She was in the 95th percentile for height & the 50th percentile for weight.

Monday night of Week 3 was when things got kinda hairy. She screamed all night long, coupled with raspy cries, congestion, and tummy pains. She had also started to spit up & vomit a bunch in the previous few days. So, the next day we made our first "new-parent-freaking-out" doctor appointment. Lennox was put on baby Zantac for reflux & I stopped eating dairy (...or tried to stop... it's impossible, let's not lie.) Nothing miraculously happened, but we did come to terms that we had a "fussy" baby. It got more tolerable and, like lack of sleep & no showers, you just get used to it.

A few days before Lennox was 4 weeks old (just as we were getting used to everything else) she decided that she didnt like to be cradled anymore. Not even for a second. Great. It took us a day or two to understand that the ONLY way she will be held was if you swung her over your shoulder. Oh, and you had to keep moving. Seriously, if you stopped she would start squirming. Maybe because she liked being on her tummy, maybe she just wants to look around... who knows. My dad & stepmom came just in time for this new phase... they put the baby on their shoulder and did countless laps around our house. But it worked- she would calm down & go right to sleep. That's the good news. The bad news is that is now the ONLY way she will fall asleep! Also, in week 4, Lennox grew out of her newborn clothes & diapers. She is getting so big!

Onto week 5- Lennox is the same over-the-shoulder, must-be-moving, bedtime-witching-hour baby. The only thing that got a little more "extreme" was that Lennox decided she didn't like her bassinet anymore. She refused to sleep anywhere but mom & dad's shoulder. Remedy: we have regresssed baby L back into bed with us. We all are sleeping better, actually, so we are okay with it... for now!

And to start week 6, Leni is a happy baby girl for the most part. She can lay on her activity mat and stare at her toys & rattles for longer periods of time. She coos all the time (we are beginning to think she is a pirate with all her Arrghs...) She is giving us little smiles and is so very close to a big grin! We are pretty aware of her schedule- she is good at letting us know when she is hungry, dirty, or tired.... or bored. She seems very attentive when she is awake & gets bored easily, hence the requirement of constantly moving. She visited grandma & grandpa Chaplin's so we could have a dinner date and even attended her first wedding last weekend! So much has changed in our lives in the past 6 weeks... it is crazy that I can't call my baby a "newborn" anymore!