Month 1

What I have learned:

The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know.  That phrase is the best way to sum up month 1 with Harper.  Before Harper, I was confident that I knew what to expect, having read many books and collecting advice from well-respected parent friends.  Now that she has been here for a month, I realize that nothing prepares you for this life changing bundle of joy.  Things I thought would be hard are no problem; things I didn’t even think about are the hardest things ever.

I like plans and having the right answer.  I like being on a schedule, being on-time, and having a to-do list that gets done.  Miss Harper is teaching me that plans change, that there isn’t always a Google solution to why she is crying, and that the to-do list is sometimes unfinished because she wants to be held.  The “plan” is now only a suggested outline that can be changed at any moment with an unexpected extra feeding, complete outfit change, or just a need for a moment of quiet time with mommy and daddy. I'm becoming much less rigid and more "bendy". :)

I like making clear decisions and consider myself fairly objective, but when she cries, I melt.  I want to take all her pain away immediately and it clouds my judgment.  Logically, I know that eventually she will calm herself down and she will be fine, but in the moment I feel like life stops until she is calm again.  (I’ve also learned that this lack of objectivity worsens with less sleep.)  This is something I didn’t even consider before having her.  My clear thinking is slowly returning with more sleep and increasing “mom-confidence”.

What Harper has learned:

Harper has now met several family members.  Last week she got to meet her Great Grandma Linda and her Grammie Annie, who stayed for the week and got as much snuggle time in as possible.  She seemed to be calmed by them and took advantage of the extra shoulder naps.  She also met her Uncle Alix and Grandpa Stevie.  Alix thinks she is “soooo cute” and was excited that my big fat belly was gone.  He was very gentle with her.  I think that he will be more interested when she becomes more active.  Grandpa Stevie just kept saying, “she is just so beautiful!”  They also brought another Halloween costume for her, so she will be a pink skeleton during the day and Fernando Alonso at night!

Harper is now 9 lbs 4 ounces!  She has good head control and loves to sit up and look around at things in the room (favorites are the windows and the ceiling fan).  She also likes her mirror.  She has started to smile when you sing songs to her or speak to her.  She is starting to push up on her legs and tries to stand (with help).  She is usually happy and sleepy during the day, and gets a bit fussy between 7-10pm.  On good nights, she gets up around 3am and again around 7am to eat, but usually she is back to sleep within 30-45 minutes.  The longest she has slept has been 5 ½ hours.  Harper has acid reflux, so she now has to sleep on an incline (we put a 2X4 under one side of her crib) and she is on Prilosec.  Her favorite “toy” is her swing and her mirror.  She likes to swing while watching either Frasier or Project Runway while I do chores around the house.

Home Alone

Last week the grandparents went home and Quinito went back to work, so Harper and I were on our own during the days for the very first time.  When you are on your own, there are times when you have to let her cry for a minute because you MUST go to the bathroom!  She survives it, no problem.  Everyday I managed to take a shower, get myself dressed and relatively presentable, and leave the house multiple times with a baby who was also dressed and relatively presentable.  I'd say that's a sign of a pretty successful first week.

We kept surprisingly busy throughout the week with feedings, diapers, trips to the grocery store, etc.  Any time she is awake, her favorite activity is our "mommy concerts", where I dance her around the house and make up songs about things we see in the house.  Her current favorite is my song about the ceiling fan.  Even when she is asleep I find myself humming these songs to myself, they are pretty catchy.

Three weeks old on 10/9/2011

Three weeks old already!  Harper decided she wanted a profile shot, so that's what we got this time :)  We're also going to start doing close up face pictures so that we can tell how much her face changes.  Her eyes are so wide now when she is awake, which is more and more of the day (and sometimes night). 

I also included a picture of her most loyal friend, Spyder.  Spyder wakes up with her in the middle of the night, checks on her regularly while she is sleeping, comes with me to feed her in her room at every feeding and tries desperately to sneak in kisses on the top of her head when mommy is not looking.  He gets upset with me when I try to vacuum while she is sleeping.

Hook 'em!

She has already learned from dad that football naps are the best naps, and it's best to nap when the Longhorns aren't playing so well.   

Harper meets Grammie and Grandpa Madruga

Quinito's parents came for a visit this week, and it was perfect timing because he had to leave for 4 days to go to California.  Though we missed him like crazy (and I'm pretty sure he missed us too) we managed with lots of help this week from the grandparents!  It's nice to have people around who are not afraid to change a poopy diaper or soothe a fussy baby.  

This week Harper decided that 2am-5am was the best time to be awake and fussy.  Luckily, Grandma "Yo" was here to help me try to get her back to sleep, even in the middle of the night!  And last night she only woke up for her feedings and changes and went right back to sleep with no argument.  Maybe this first little rebellious stage is over?  We'll see :)

When Q returned, he couldn't believe how big she had gotten!  You don't realize when you see her everyday, but he says shes absolutely huge!  That makes me proud; I'm feedin' that baby darn good. ;)

Now, the next challenge is being home by myself next week.  Up until now I have had lots of help getting through the day.  I've already figured out a few tricks to get things done when you are by yourself.  I put her in the stroller and wheel her around the house with me when I need to move from room to room.  This works well, especially when you have to take a shower!  I need to build up my upper body strength though because that car seat is HEAVY.  Luckily I do have a lightweight stroller that it fits in, but getting it to and from the car is tough!  I guess its time for my mommie muscles to bulk up. 

One more first; Harper's first Texas vs. OU football game is this afternoon!  She has know how to "hook 'em" since she was 30 weeks in my belly (we have the picture to prove it) and now (thanks to Grammie Yo) she has the burnt orange outfits.  Pictures to come of the newest little longhorn fan!

Here are some pics from this week!

Two weeks old 10/3/2011

The 2 week picture, and a big day!  Harper got to meet her Grandma and Grandpa Madruga today!  We're not sure what she will call them yet, but I'm sure they will become two of her favorite people.  :)

You'll notice she is much less "frog-like" than in the first weeks picture.  Her legs are straightening out and she likes to kick all the time when she is awake.  She stays awake for much longer periods now and smiles often. :)  She is still a very calm baby; she rarely cries and when she does it's for a logical reason: either hungry or poop.  We go through what seems like a hundred diapers a day, partially because Harper only likes to poop in a diaper that we have just changed.   

We are starting to fall into a routine with her.  We usually go to sleep around 10:30pm and get up  around 3 am and between 6 and 7am.  Then, she lets me sleep until about 9:30 and we start our day.  Sleeping 4 hours at a time seems like such a luxury, I appreciate sleep so much more than I ever have. :)

Harper meets the Marley boys

This weekend we took our first family road trip to Dallas to introduce Harper to the Dallas Marleys: Uncle Jon, Aunt Shellye, and cousins Jansen, Jaden, Avery, and Maddox.  We left at 2:30 in the afternoon on Friday and assumed the trip (which normally takes about 4 hours) would take an hour longer with feeding and diaper changing breaks.  Quinito had expertly packed our mini to hold all of our baby gear and we felt confident in our preparations as we headed off. 

As I was just dozing off, excited about my Austin-Dallas nap (thank you for driving Quinito), I hear "uh oh" and realize the mini is quickly slowing down.  The car was dead, and we had to pull of to the side of the highway.  About 2 1/2 hours, a tow truck, and a white Dodge Charger rental later, we were slowly making our way through the traffic to Dallas.  We pulled into the Marley's driveway 8 hours after our trip began, exhausted but really happy to be there.  Harper was a trooper.  She did eventually get tired of being in her car seat and started to cry her "mad cry" which sounds like someone is beating a cat, but all in all she was quite a patient passenger. 

After the LONG drive there, the rest of the weekend was wonderful!  Harper went to her first baseball game to see Avery and Maddox play.  She also played (and won) her first official Marley game of Risk.  All of the boys were very gentle with her and gave her lots of love and attention; she loved them!

Finally, here is a picture of one of the gifts from the Marley's: Harper's very first pair of driving shoes.  Just like her dad's, but smaller and more pink. :)