Raising Rosie, pt.1: First Month

     Rosalee Ray is a month old today!  We have had the time of our lives and already I cannot believe how fast time has gone.  She'd gain a pound by her two week appointment and I'm positive she's at 10 pounds now - our little chunk is soooo cute! We have got this parenting thing down!  ha ha, joke :)  It's been fun figuring things out and trying to get a smile out of her that isn't due to gas or pee.  I've aced a few bits of the art of parenting (like packing a diaper bag and taking day-time naps) but here are a few I'm looking for advice on.  Or at least some friends to commiserate with, since everything is still new and fun for me (give it another month, right?).  So, let me know if you have any tidbits of knowledge or funny stories to go along with these issues:

 Spit up - The cause of this is obvious but I do not know how to remedy it.  Our little Rosie eats way too much way too fast!  Inhaling/Gulping like you've just crossed the Sahara and have access to a fire hose describes it pretty good.  But then we spend the next hour, whether or not she's been burped multiple times, spitting up the majority of the meal.  And then it starts over...

     Crib - My child hates her crib.  She will sleep in your arms anytime--you don't even have to rock her when she's sleeping!  But touching the crib elicits automatic alarm clock syndrome.  My parents used to have to put me down and gradually remove all but a finger which then they had to sneak off my tummy in rhythm to my breathing while holding their breath and crawling out of the room on their hands and knees before I would stay asleep - I'm hoping someone has a remedy for this genetic condition, because our floor creaks.

 

    Night-time - I know we have been much luckier than most parents...but our little girl is NOT a fan of night sleeping.  Once she is asleep she usually stays that way for a good chunk of time, giving her grateful parents some good hours of sleep.  But she doesn't go to sleep until at least midnight, and when she does wake up she is up for a good 2 hours before going back to bed.  How do you get a baby to fall asleep in the middle of the night when all they want to do is stare at the ceiling while you are holding her?

 

midnight

 3:00 am

 6:00 am

 11:00 am

And Lastly (for the time being):

     Bath Time - Rosie has started peeing every time I take her out of the bath - yes, in her towel, yes, with no diaper, and yes, all over me.  I thought we'd had success yesterday when I had her in her towel and NO leakage had occurred.  I only had time to mentally congratulate myself before sploosh - yes, a POOPY towel and a POOPY mommy from a cute but now POOPY baby's bottom.  Sigh...and laugh!!

  So much fun!!!!!!!!!!

First week

We've been getting complaints for not uploading ANY pictures of Rosie since the hospital, So here is a smattering or those of you who would like to see her.  Confession, I've been putting this off because we keep taking pictures of her and, in my mind, they don't look like her - trust me, biased mother that I am, that she is infinitely more adorable in real life than in any of these snapshots!  Maybe I need a better camera???

She loves the car and her stroller.  This is on the way home from the hospital and she was happy the whole way.  Now she mostly sleeps when she gets in the car :)

This is her in her new room, on her very first night.  A little to much pink, perhaps...

I couldn't capture her cuteness on camera, so here is a taste of her personality - she makes the most entertaining faces.  Since her very first moments she has loved to stick her tongue out.

She is definitely our little diva - she strikes poses that would put most runway models to shame.

Hopefully I look more happy than tired in this picture...I have been learning as of this week to take naps with her during the day...but that usually means I have to skip my 'take a shower' opportunity....

Here's a shot of Daddy multi-tasking (putting Rosie to sleep as he brushes his teeth). You can get a view of our nursery (more pictures to follow), including the hide-away-bed-couch's mattress that we slept on for her first week.  Dustin is so patient with his slightly paranoid and hormonal new-mother wife.  He cheerfully slept on it with me with only a few humorous cracks at my expense (like being 6 feet closer to her really kept her from rolling over and suffocating in her sleep...I have since chilled out and we have moved back to our bed, much to Dustin's liking).

Tummy time is Daddy's favorite thing to do with his new little girl.  She...mostly likes it.  For a few seconds.  Then she usually starts screaming and face-planting into the blanket in frustration with her much-too-eager parents.  But since week #1 she's been able to flip her head from side to side (a great accomplishment in our book - oh, the pathetic-ness of new parents!)

Again, gotta love this girl's faces!!!

Bath-time has been fun.  She doesn't much like being doused with water, but she loves getting her hair/head washed and being dried off in her towel might be her favorite hobby to date.

 She has managed some fun outings so far - both Grandma's houses, fishing at Utah Lake, doctor's offices, walks to the parks - can't wait to take her hiking and train-riding later this summer!

 

She does still sleep through most of her adventures... but we still love doing things as a family.  Disregard the dirty laundry behind us and the sleep-deprived faces.  That is one happy baby and an incredibly blessed and happy family!  What a great life!!!!