Where is the time going??

I can't believe it's been over a week already since Jason last updated the blog! I guess when you're barely sleeping and your days are defined by when the baby last ate, time can get away from you!

Ok, it's not totally true that our days are only defined by when Michaela last ate, but that is definitely a planning factor when we have ventured out. We try to fit everything into the three hours between the last diaper/feeding so that we don't have to worry about finding a place to do that away from home. Eventually I'm sure we'll (I'll) become pros at it, but for now it's much easier to limit the challenges!

We did make it out a couple times this week, though, as we tried to make the best of the limited sunshine we've been seeing around here. (The last really GOOD weather we had was actually the day Michaela was born... figures we spent it in a birthing suite at the hospital!) We went for a couple (short) walks, drove to Miller Point at Ft. Abercrombie and snapped some pictures of Michaela enjoying the sunshine, went to Coast Guard Day at the base, and went to the doctor for Michaela's two-week check up. In between all that, we tried to sleep, learned the value of Mylicon, single-handedly filled the Kodiak landfill the rest of the way with diapers, and changed clothes (ours and hers) about a million times due to Michaela's "sensitive" digestive system.

So the big news was from the doctor's visit. Amazingly, Michaela has not only regained the weight she lost at the hospital, but she's far surpassed what the doctor would've expected to see. When we left the hospital on the 19th, she was down to 8 lbs, 4 oz or so. At her one-week appointment, she was already back to 8lbs, 12 oz (just an ounce and a half short of her birth weight). At her two-week appointment, which is when the doctors want to see babies back to their birth weight, she was up to 9 lbs, 6 oz!!!! Not only is she way past her birth weight, but she gained 10 ounces in 9 days!!! Now you see why our days revolve around when she last ate! She also grew a bit, and was just shy of 22 inches. I'm a little skeptical of that measurement, though, just because it's hard to measure a squirming baby. But she's pretty much outgrown the newborn size clothes, and is even pushing the limits of some 0-3 stuff. Unbelievable!

Since I'm kidding myself if I think anyone wants to actually read anything about what's going on, I'll just skip ahead to the pictures now!

What's not to like about baby feet? *sigh*

This is from our day out at Ft. Abercrombie. I was trying to get a good picture to use for birth announcements. Of course, after walking around for a while with Michaela in the Sleepy Wrap, she was, in fact, sleepy, so we couldn't get any with her eyes open!

Helping Daddy study for his final exam for his latest grad school class. Gotta love that smooshy face!

Playing (sort of... ok, not at all... just laying) on her playmat. Fred is such a big help....


Fred on guard over the swing. It's too bad he can't keep her head from falling over uncomfortably like that.

And, finally, we snapped this beauty tonight. The "aww, cute" version of the story would be that she found her thumb and was happily sucking on it, keeping me from having to feed her right away after her bath (you'd think we were killing her the way she screamed after her bath tonight). I'll let you figure out the not-so-"awww, cute" version of the story. Sadly, we tried to capture a second picture somewhat like this one later, but she moved and we weren't able to continue the series. Yes, we're probably going to scar our child for life. But it's too funny. In fact, I just laughed all over again when I looked at this picture. Yep, she'll be lucky to make it to toddler-hood without having to see a shrink. (For the record, I'm proof-reading and laughed AGAIN when I looked at this picture...)

And because it wouldn't be right to end on that.... here's one last one. I just love how she'll curl up into a little ball like this. The funny thing is that she'll end up sliding down my front all the way into my lap, too, curling into a smaller ball as she falls. I guess they really do like to feel like they're in the womb for a little bit longer once they're on the outside!

So that's the latest from here. We're doing well... just trying to figure all this new parent-hood stuff out. Jason heads back to work for the first time tomorrow night, so I'll be on my own over night. As much as I like the fact that he'll be home during the day for one last day, I'm NOT looking forward to the night-time changings to go along with the feedings (Jason's been getting up to change and bring Michaela to me in bed, and I just have to worry about her eating). I guess I might as well get used to it sooner than later, though.... there will be a lot of nights on my own for the next year! Thankfully, my friend Abbie, who also just had a baby about a week after Michaela was born, invited me over for dinner, so we'll make the trip out to the base to hang out with friends for a while so we won't be on our own all night. Wish me luck, though... Yikes!

Next update will probably be sometime when Mom, Dad and Heather are here... I can't wait for Michaela to get to meet more of the family! That's it for now!