The Little Bird Chronicles

Thats her nickname! At least from me.... The little bird! Its been almost 7 weeks since we welcomed Miss Harper Elizabeth. Most of my friends are on facebook so y'all have seen the pictures and updates.

I didn't get my wish to have a natural delivery. We had to induce on the 8th of January, and after 14 hours of labor I had to get an epidural out of sheer exhaustion. At 2:40 PM on January 9th, we finally were able to see the little face we had been longing to see for 9 long months.

She is beautiful! I feel horrible, but we were so afraid we would have an ugly baby! Ugly she is not though! She was of course, really mushed when she was born, but the older she gets, in my opinion, the prettier she gets.

I didn't get my wish to breastfeed either. We tried for 2 long exhausting weeks, but for a myriad of reasons, we had to give it up. She is doing wonderful on formula though. I miss the bonding that came with breastfeeding, but as a friend told me, "the bottom line is to get her fed-no matter the method".

2 weeks ago she started sleeping at night. She goes to bed between 10 and 11 pm, wakes up between 3 and 4 to eat and then sleeps until 7. Before that she was waking up every 2 hours eat. During the day she is for the most part a happy baby! We do have some problems with getting her to move gas. She kicks and kicks her legs and grunts and grunts, but just cant seem to get it out. Mylecone has been a lifesaver for us!

2 weeks ago she started really really smiling. Smiles in response to our smiles, not just gas and poop! Last weekend she started trying to "baby talk" she makes this breathy sound when I talk to her. Its really sweet! My favorite time is when she first wakes up in the morning. If I can get to her before she starts fussing, I get a huge smile.

One of my favorite things is getting her dressed! She has so so so many cute clothes to wear and bows galore! She hasnt been able keep shoes or hats on very well, which is sad since we have so many cute ones. One day she will be able to wear them all!

She has also starting enjoying bath time. She gets so relaxed in the warm water and kindof goes into her own little world. its so much easier to bathe a baby that isn't squirmy and screaming.

We are so blessed to have a friend keeping her during the day. Sarah has an 8 month old daughter of her own ( who, by the way, loves Harper) and has similar beliefs to ours regarding raising kids. I get to go eat lunch with them sometimes and Sarah has been sending me pictures of Harper throughout the week via picture messages on our phones. It great not having to worry about my baby girl.

Thats the latest on Miss Harper. Im still working on baby weight. Well I cant really say Im working on it because I cant do any rigorous activity for another week, but I have been eating pretty healthy and 30 of the 50 pounds I gained have come off pretty easily ( 7 of that was baby!). Im still in maternity clothes for the most part. Most of my gain was in my behind and thighs and that is where it is stubbornly sticking. My non maternity shirts aren't quite long enough to cover the little bit of tummy I still have. I am doomed to baggy clothes for a least another month or 2. I refuse to go buy new ones!