It's hard to believe we have almost made it to Drew's 1 month birthday! Life is rolling along as normal-well, our "new normal", that is. Now that Greg has gone back to work, I have been trying to get into a routine with Drew for our days together. We try to either start or end the day (sometimes both!) with a walk, I try to spend lots of time reading, talking and singing to him, and we, of course, make lots of time for naps! Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the vast amount of pictures I take of him. I almost titled this post "The Many Expressions of Drew." As you can see below, he spends much of his time hamming it up for the camera!

Have a great weekend!!

Baby Love

Now that Andrew has a full 12 days of living life under his belt, I think it's time to test my ability to coherently string words together and write an honest to goodness blog post. There are too many amusing, yet minute, details that I don't want to forget!

Andrew's first week and a half of life, while it's been trying at times, has been so much fun to watch. He really has developed quite a personality in his little life! Greg and I are constantly marveling at his expressions, making guesses as to his thoughts, and being completely unable to remember life before him (our ability to remember what a good night's sleep feels like has also taken a dive, but that's part and parcel, as near as we can tell)!

We have taken dozens and dozens of pictures, and split our time equally between thinking that we have the cutest, most photogenic, baby ever, to thinking that our baby makes some of the funniest and goofiest expressions ever seen on film.

When we are not taking pictures, we are feeding. Our discharge weight (5 lb. 5 oz.) was about 10% down from his birth weight of 5 lb. 14 oz., which prompted weigh-ins on both Monday and Thursday of last week. Our Monday weigh-in came in at 5 lb. 6 oz. (impressive that he gained at all, according to our pediatrician), and our Thursday weigh-in came in at 5 lb. 13 oz., which was quite the newborn accomplishment! Our little one has proven to be quite the efficient eater; though Greg and I definitely worked hard those first few days to put the ounces on him. Once my milk came in, though, Drew promptly cut our feedings in half from 40 minutes to 20! I was worried a bit about the drop and called a lactation consultant, but she didn't seem at all concerned, just said that if he was content, and his diaper count was sufficient, then we were doing well.

The price of this feeding frenzy, though, is apparent in the fact that I have not left my house, except for the two weigh-ins, in over a week now. I have plans to help a friend wedding dress shop Thursday evening, and I am equal parts nervous about leaving Drew, and excited to be rejoining the world of the living! The downside, though, is that I haven't worn "normal" clothing in about a month now. I don't think Jingles and Tiffany's will appreciate me showing up in my new uniform of pajama pants, nursing bras and tank tops! On my to-do list for tomorrow is to try on clothing and see if I can cobble something respectable-looking together. Oh, and Thursday will also be the first day that I can start driving again! It'll be quite the big day, I tell ya:)

Well, it's 6 pm, so I am off to shower and hopefully take a nap!

Ciao for now...

Andrew's First Week (a pictorial review)

It is amazing how much life can change in a week. We have gone from a household of two to a family of three. We have laughed, cried, worried and marveled, felt elation, concern, fear and nerves. Wondered if we would ever make it through the long, sleepless nights (we did!), yet was equally amazed at how fast a week could go by. Meet our darling Andrew Charles--he is the best thing to happen to Greg and I. We adore him.

Andrew's Birthday-April 2, 2009

Greg and I love Drew's many expressions!

This one reminds us of a koala bear--he honestly isn't as distressed as he looks!

My sweet husband gave me this charm of a mother and child as my "mommy gift".

The resemblance between daddy and baby goes past mere facial features--even their expressions are alike!

Baby's First Bath!

He was NOT this happy the entire time, and I couldn't justify taking a picture of my screaming child over comforting him, so an "after" shot will have to do!

I LOVE his expression in this picture.

Can you believe that these are premie clothes? He really is a tiny thing!

This seemed very humorous to us at the time--the child really does have some growing to do!

Introducing...

Andrew Charles Smith

April 2, 2009
1:33 pm.
5 lbs. 15 oz.
18.5 in.

Hi friends,

This is Linda's friend, April. Linda and Greg asked me to write this post and introduce you to their new, beautiful baby. Following is part of an e-mail I received from Greg.

Andrew Charles Smith...was delivered by C-section because we was presenting arm first after approx 5 hours of induced labor. Both Mom and baby are doing well.

I'm sure Linda will be posting more details and pictures soon but here are a few picture for you to enjoy in the meantime.

Isn't he just precious? We love you, Andrew!

Showtime

So it looks like that by this time tomorrow, Baby Smith will be in the process of making his move to the outside world! I went into my appointment on Monday and was told by my doctor that she wanted to induce me Thursday (tomorrow!!! 17 hours from now!!!!). I knew she was going to take me sometime in the 39th week (which begins Friday), so I was maybe a little surprised to be going in Thursday, but I guess that's what fit into Doctor's schedule best!

We have spent the last two days nesting, cleaning, running errands and making last minute preparations for Baby's arrival--does it ever end?? I'm not sure, but I do like knowing when I am going in--it makes the planning for a Type A girl like me just a little easier.

Oh, and before I forget, go to April's blog if you get a chance...she made a diaper bag for me and Baby and it is just adorable--I love it and can hardly wait until Saturday to see it (oh, and you know, I can't wait to see April either, of course:))

I'll post pictures as soon as I am able!