The Conundrum of Sleep

Those of you who know me well know that I love to sleep. I can sleep anywhere at anytime, even if I'm not really all that tired. I have always been this way (ask my mom - apparently I slept 12 hours a night when I was 6 weeks old). Knowing this, you can see that I was a bit apprehensive about becoming a new mom, with its notorious late night feedings and what not.

So how is it going? Better than expected. Granted, those first couple of nights at home were really rough. I remember thinking that there is no way that I could do this for another week, much less months and years. When the sun started to go down, I dreaded what others would constitute as "bed time," but I was beginning to know as the start of Nap #1...

But now things are better. Chloe wakes up a couple of times during the night (around 1 and around 4), and goes back to sleep pretty quickly. I even had a dream last night! That's right - I was able to sleep long enough to squeeze in an actual dream, even though that dream was that I had left Chloe in the car while I was doing something, and then later had her riding on the seat of the car instead of in her car seat...but whatever.

What puzzles me the most, though, is a baby's concept of sleep. I have never understood the concept of crying because you are tired. What is up with that? I tried to teach Chloe that when you are sleepy, you simply close your eyes. It really is that easy. But she hasn't really figured that out yet. And then, when it's time to be awake (i.e. during a feeding), it is almost impossible to keep her eyes open! I am constantly having to shift her, burp her, change her, talk to her, and often she just gives me a closed-eye smirk and continues to doze. What a crazy kid. Here is a picture of her knocked out after a daytime feeding:


We are also slowly trying to figure out how to sleep in her playpen during the day, and not in my arms. This is a tricky process that often ends in a crying fit, but every day gets a little easier. Maybe one day in the near future, I will figure out all of her sleeping nuances, but I actually think the more likely result will be me falling asleep on the couch trying to solve the puzzle.

Welcome to the World, Chloe Claire Lemaire!

As most of you are aware, our baby girl, Chloe, came into this world on November 11, 2009 at 9:33 pm! I realize that this is 2 1/2 weeks ago, but it turns out that taking care of a newborn is a lot of work...who knew?

A condensed version of the day of her arrival goes something like this: I checked into the hospital at 5:00 am on Wednesday, expecting a full day of fun laboring. Well, safe to say, the day lived up to my expectations - 16 hours of fun!

The day went relatively smoothly until about 6:00 pm, when my labor stalled at 9 cm. It stayed this way for about 3 hours, and the nurses and doctor kept coming in and checking as to why. After that long day, the nurse broke the news that there was a real possibility that I would have to go in for a C-section if I didn't progress within the next hour...needless to say, I was nervous and unhappy about this. Then the doctor came in and gave me 15 minutes...at the end of that time, I guess I was close enough to give him the impression that I could give it a shot...so I did, and an hour later, she was born! 7 lbs, 0.7 ounces, and 19 3/4 inches long! And too cute, to boot.

So far, things have been going great. I am doing my best trying to cope with the lack of sleep and constant waking up during the night to feed her. I am resting during the day, for those of you who gave me this key advice! She's a really sweet baby. She's pretty alert, which makes her a little resistant to taking a nap during the day! She'd much rather look around or snuggle up than lay down in her cradle. But we are happy to hold her and indulge her need for cuddling!

We were extremely lucky to have family around to help out. My mom, dad, sister, and grandmother, and Ryan's mom were there for the birth, and my mom stayed until today (almost 3 weeks) to help. Then Ryan's dad, sister, mom, and future brother-in-law came for Thanksgiving, and everyone left today. Now the true test begins - can we handle it on our own?! Haha. Hopefully!

I am in the process of whittling down the 395 pictures I have taken so far of our "Chloe-Boey" before posting a monstrous album...so, keep your eyes peeled for more cuteness. In the meantime, here's a recent picture of her. Please note her chubby cheeks!

Congratulations!

I have to give a shout-out to my BFF Tricia for delivering her baby girl today! Eliza Anne Duhon was born today at 7 lbs. 7 oz. I can't believe how awake she is in this picture (and how good Tricia looks)!

Their blog can be found in our links section. Can't wait to hear all about it!

I am so happy for you guys!

Check Off the List

We finally have completed our nursery! Thankfully, my family was here this weekend, so it gave us the incentive to get it done.

Unfortunately, we can't paint the walls, which would have made it really great, but I really like the finished product. It's really cozy and warm feeling and smells like clean baby clothes. I may just hang out in there during the day, seeing as it is likely the cleanest room! Now all that's missing is the baby!

Here are more pictures from around the room!

Pregnancy To-Do List

Seeing as my due date is 5 weeks away (SAY WHAT?!), I have been trying to compile a list of all the things I need to do before the little one arrives...a pregnancy "bucket list," if you will. Here's what I have so far:

1. Purchase a good pair of mom jeans (I kid).
2. Finish the nursery (hang pictures, set up gadgets...)
3. Become someone who enjoys cleaning (we'll see about that)
4. Wrap my brain around the fact that I will have a baby relatively soon!
5. Pick out a name...tougher than it seems.
6. Sleep late as much as possible (and nap when the urge hits me)
   
7. Buy some actual pajamas so that I'm not wearing Snoopy Christmas pants and a May Fest T-shirt in the hospital
8. Teach Ryan how to change a diaper (tee-hee. He says he can figure it out)
   

I'm sure there is plenty more to do, but this will do for now. Don't want to get too overwhelmed! Haha.

Anything else I'm missing?

First B-1 Flight

This past week, Ryan was in Florida at Eglin Air Force Base and had his first flight on the B-1 (aka the Bone). He logged 6.3 hours on board, and flew to the Pax River Naval Air Station in Maryland, ran a test, and flew back.

The above picture shows Ryan along with "Wing Nut" and "Stainless," ready for take-off.

His experience was pretty cool. Despite everyone's expectations, he did not get sick. He said it was basically like flying in a commercial plane when it is going straight, but one that goes to 3Gs and has moments of weightlessness! When it banks really hard, climbs, or descends, then it's pretty far from your typical leisurely flight...

Sounds like an exciting day. Unfortunately, based on this picture, I am clearly not tough enough to partake in such an event.

Fabulous Baby Shower!

This past Saturday, I was honored to be thrown a fabulous baby shower in Louisiana! I cannot express how wonderful it was and how utterly grateful I am to all of those who participated.

It was the most adorable theme - the invitations were a "Dick and Jane" style, and the entire house was decorated in vintage baby clothes, books, and toys. Right up my alley! They know me too well. I expected nothing less from my incredibly talented friends and family. They are practically professional party planners!


I got so many great things and worried that we wouldn't be able to fit everything in the truck. But my engineer husband figured out a way to fit everything (with room to spare). I shouldn't have doubted his skills.


As cheesy as it sounds, the gifts were secondary to the great showing of family and friends and the love I felt while I was there. Don't get me wrong, though - I am thrilled by the loot I received. I have been spending these last couple of days trying to set everything up and organize the nursery. I can't wait to take a picture and share, but I want it to be perfect first. (FYI: Ryan has already assembled the stroller and car seat and has his eye on the swing! Now just to keep the critters off! Haha)

Here is a picture of my beautiful hostesses (minus my aunts Roxane and Carissa).

(Rene', Josie, Katie, Moi, Lindsay, Tricia, Sarah, and Tonya)
PS: I wish to apologize to Lindsay for obscuring 3/4 of her body with my belly!

There is also a Picasa album of other pictures. Perhaps the highlight of these pictures is my facial expressions as I open the presents. How embarrassing!