Almost Six Weeks

Post-bath.  I have to comb her hair carefully so it doesn't stay that way.  Look how red it looks! In person it still looks mostly just brown, thought it is obviously and considerably lighter than it was when she was born.  When the light hits it right (and the camera light hits it just right, apparently), it is definitely reddish. 
My mother specifically requested a picture of her unswaddled and in "one of her pretty outfits." The above is what Maisie thought about that.
Smiling -- at either her elephant or me. 
Hey YOU.
Either looking toward Fiona or staring at the ceiling fan.  She's a big fan of the fan.

Sometimes I have to stop myself from picking her up while she is sleeping just so I can kiss her or smell her head.  She is hard to resist. 

At Home With Maisie

Last week marked my first week at home with Maisie by myself.  For two of her first four weeks, Jake was home, and either my mother or my mother-in-law were here for the other two weeks. Last Monday Maisie and I went at it alone, and it's been wonderful so far. 

I've tried to go somewhere with her every day.  The first two days, that meant that I was able to make it halfway down the block with her just in time to meet Jacob as he came home from work at the end of the day. The third day I managed to make it all the way to Eastern Market to get a lemonade at 6 p.m.  Last Thursday, we turned a corner and made it to the pediatrician on time and in one piece in the middle of the afternoon, and even went to the grocery store afterward -- no small victory.  I still don't know where the day goes (and how it goes so quickly), but I am starting to feel fairly capable and we have been getting out more and more.  Powe and Nora came over one day, Maisie and I met a neighbor with six-month-old twins who will hopefully be our new friends, I can successfully navigate Target with a car seat and a shopping cart, and we will probably attend our first official playgroup tomorrow.  We are busy and having fun.  

Two main reasons we're able to have so much fun already even though Maisie is only five weeks old:  (1) She is a good sleeper, and (2) Jake is a HUGE help.  HUGE.  He gives her a bottle just before he goes to work so I can sleep a little more, and that makes all the difference in the world (plus he does lots of other things to help out).  He and Maisie stayed at home Saturday afternoon watching the Notre Dame game and I went out by myself (to Old Navy, for some much-needed non-maternity clothes) -- I missed Maisie terribly while I was gone, but I was grateful for the break (and the non-maternity clothes).  (Incidentally, Saturday morning, Maisie and I went to a baby shower.  I was feeling quite smug because Maisie and I were both dressed up, I even had makeup on, I was running only a tiny bit behind schedule -- then I realized, as I was almost at the shower, that I had forgotten the shower gift.  Awesome!)

What else?  Well, really, Maisie just keeps getting more and more fun.  She smiles at us now and has just started reaching for things (usually her stuffed elephant), and she already weighs 11 1/2 pounds -- the size of the average three-month-old!  We are going home to South Carolina in two weeks to meet Maisie's extended family and I am so excited for them to get to see her in person.  Rest assured that there will pictures.  

Hi There.

Miss Maisie as of yesterday, three weeks old.  She gets sweeter every day.  We are very much in love.

Three Weeks Old!

All is well in Maisie's house.  So far Miss Maisie is a sweet and easy baby -- but I say so far because I know things can change -- and in the words of Michael Scott, I'm not superstitious but I'm a little bit stitious -- so no jinxes and a big knock on wood for that.  So far, though, she fusses when she has a reason to fuss and sleeps and eats well.  

This week my mom left on Wednesday (yes, I cried) but her leaving was eased because my mother-in-law arrived that same day to help through Friday.  While my mom and my mother-in-law were here, we ventured out with Maisie to the pediatrician twice, to Target twice, to Barnes and Noble once, and to dinner once, and Maisie behaved beautifully on all of those occasions. 

This baby thing has proven to be very fun in other ways, too -- we have had lots of company (which has been wonderful, and we have appreciated all of our friends who have come to visit!) and we've been so lucky to have people bring/send us so much good food! We have had so much good food that Jake and I are officially spoiled.  Maisie is getting spoiled, too, because she gets fun packages in the mail just about every day.  (Note to self:  must forgo nap next time Maisie naps and get caught up on thank you notes again.  Note to you:  your thank you note is coming, I promise.  Thank you!)  

We had Maisie's  second pediatrician appointment this week, and Jake's mom and I guessed that Maisie would weigh 9 lbs., 12 oz this time.  (She was 9 lbs., 4 oz. at birth, and 9 lbs., 8 oz. at her first doctor's appointment.)  Well, we were wrong.  She is already 10 lbs., 5 oz. -- a big, healthy girl.  Happy birthday, Maisie!

Just Because...

Two weeks old!  Actually, this was taken a couple of days ago, so it was before her two-week-old birthday, but still.  Today Maisie is two weeks old.  Happy birthday, Maisie!

Maisie's Home; Still Cute

Maisie finally came home on Saturday afternoon, when she was six days old. She was fine, but my labor was long enough that I eventually ran a slight fever, which required both Maisie and me to take some precautionary antibiotics. Her antibiotic course ran through the weekend, so although I was discharged on Tuesday, she had to stay in the hospital nursery until Saturday. We spent the end of last week at the hospital, which was pretty exhausting but did accomplish something -- we are so grateful to have her home that I am even happy about the nighttime feedings and diaper changes.

In addition to coming home from the hospital, Maisie got to meet all four of her grandparents this weekend. My mom is still here for another week and we are SO glad. I don't think I would have slept at all yet but for her.

Maisie is already pretty hilarious. I kind of thought that one-week-olds didn't do anything yet, but she is thoroughly entertaining. She makes the funniest facial expressions, and I have to think that at least some of them are more than just gas.

Fiona has adjusted well so far -- she apparently thinks Maisie is her baby, and likes to be close by at almost all times. She likes to sit with me while I nurse Maisie, with her head resting on my leg, and every time I sit Maisie up to burp her, Fiona sits up and watches, only lying back down when Maisie resumes eating. It's pretty adorable. When Maisie cries, she jumps up and looks at me, like, "You gonna do something about that? Help her!"

Little Sammy has not yet acknowledged Maisie's presence, but he did let me know that he was pretty mad that he felt neglected for a week. We went into the hospital early Friday evening and our dog walker took care of them until Monday, at which point Jake started coming home from the hospital just long enough to feed Sammy and take Fiona around the block. Even when I came home Tuesday night, we spent the next three and a half days clocking in about fourteen hours or more at the hospital nursery (at home first thing in the morning and just before bed, with only one midday visit to feed and walk the dogs), not leaving much time for the pups. By the time we got home with the baby on Saturday afternoon, Sammy had been without his mama for over a week and he was pretty mad. Maisie's birth and subsequent hospital stay were stressful -- I'll spare you the labor details, but it wasn't pretty -- but I think I was as sad to realize how depressed Sammy was as I was to realize that my epidural(s) did not work (!). I have tried to remedy the situation by making sure that anytime I sit without Maisie or take a nap, I scoop Sammy onto my lap and snuggle with him. He is on his way to forgiving me, I think, so all will be well soon.

Really, things are great here already. How could they not be when we have this precious (and funny) face to stare at all day long?

One More...

Here is one more for now. So far, the general consensus is that she looks like a Greene. I look just like my dad and sometimes when Maisie makes a serious face, Jake says that she looks like a little Jim clone. My dad and I also have the same weird feet and Maisie is already our identical foot triplet. Lucky for her, she is much, much prettier than I was as a newborn. I was splotchy and red and not so cute.

We think we can already see the blonde underneath all that dark hair. I had hair that dark when I was born, too, though not that much of it.