A blur

Annie is 10 days old today and has officially been home for one week. This is hard to believe. Thursday night was a scary nightmare which resulted in Rick calling in the big guns and having my sister, Chaney, come in to help me figure this all out. Chaney was a huge help and provided excellent advise and snuggles to Annie so I could rest for a bit.

We had Annie's first doctor's appointment on Friday (5/27) and I was anxious to see what had happened with her weight. Thankfully, she had not dropped below her birth weight (barely) and weighed in at 6 lbs 7.5 ounces. Her birth weight was 6 lbs 7 ounces. Everything else checked out and she only minimally freaked out during the examination.

I did discuss my concerns regarding breastfeeding to the doctor and she referred me to a lactation consultant (not to be confused with a lactation counselor, obviously). Here's a bit of advice: if you plan on seeking help with your newborn, try not to bring them into the world before a holiday weekend. Needless to say, Carol the consultant was in Arizona for the weekend but referred me to Kangaroo Kids. Apparently this is where the counselors reside, which apparently is a rung down from consultant. Who knew there was such a hierarchy to breast feeding? Now you know. You are welcome (got it right that time!). As Kangaroo Kids was on the way home, Rick zipped us by there for a chat to see if we could get our latching issues resolved.

"Zip" might be a bit of an understatement. I should state here that I had never been to Kangaroo Kids, so I really had no idea what to expect. It's essentially a large retail space with a common play area in the back with some seating. Nothing fancy. I informed the lady that I needed help with breastfeeding and she led me to the couches in the back. There was also a group of parents sitting in the same area and children running around. I don't recall the order of events; all I know is that I was on a mission to get this thing figured out (I will not tolerate insubordination from my 4 day old). Next thing I know, Annie and I are both pretty much naked (me from the waist up) and I am trying to breast feed in the middle of this store. I guess this is pretty much the norm in this store though, because no one even batted an eyelash at the situation. Rick was super uncomfortable and used retail therapy as an avoidance technique and I didn't see him for about an hour. I later learned he was texting Liza info about the scene and all the names of the "free spirit" kids that were running around the store. So while it was a bit of a departure from my normally modest self, I cannot say enough great things about the people there. And apparently they sell really cute baby leg warmers based on the contents of Rick's shopping bag...

The rest of the weekend was spent entertaining guests at the house and then hanging out over at GB and Big Daddy's. Grandma and Grandpa Erwin finally got to hold Annie and Aunt Judy/Uncle Fernando/Cousin Michael stopped by the parent's house for a quick visit. Annie is a lucky lady to have so much family that loves her!

I have been spending my afternoons this week over with GB, which has been delightful. Annie gets some quality GB time and I get a chance for some much needed sleep!

Now for some pics of the lady. She makes so many faces constantly that it's like its own TV show. At least that's my excuse for staring at her constantly.

Here we have the very common "smoosh face". This has also resulted in me calling her smooshie or moosh. A derivation of this is just the furrowed brow, sans tongue. She apparently has lots on her mind. Anyone know a good infant botox guy?

This is the "I am about ready to go crazy if you don't feed me" face.

This is the angel face. We are starting to see more and more smiles, which will surely result in more retail therapy from her father.

This is typically what I am dealing with about 10 minutes into every feeding. I guess there are pros and cons to a sleepy baby!

So we are a week into this adventure, and it's been a bit of a roller coaster. We get a bit more sleep every night, which keeps us hopeful. I am going to try to get back into the habit of updating you all on her status on Mondays as she gets one week older. So long Super Thursdays!