Happy Birthday Ella!

We attended Tessa's first birthday party for her friend Ella McGrath. I went to nursing school with her mommy Abby. Ella is the cutest, funniest, most stylish 2 year old on the block and we are so lucky to have her and her family in our life. She also has a cute little brother who is only a few months older than Tessa, hmmm what the future may hold! :)

Also, this is the cutie that let Miss Tessa borrow her clothes from when she was a baby since they were both born in November. We are forever grateful for their generosity and Abby's great taste in clothes!

3D Glasses

We don't know if this counts as being mean parents or not, but we had a good laugh. We watched a movie in 3D and didn't want Tessa to miss out so we had her try on the glasses too. Can't you just picture us sitting on the couch with our glasses on watching a movie! :)

Mommy's Wake-up Call

I thought I'd give everyone a glimpse into nights as a new breastfeeding mother. Since birth she has pretty much been eating every 2 1/2 to 3 hours around the clock. She would eat about 15-20 minutes on each side, then burp/spitup, and finally needing rocked for about 20 minutes back to sleep. This gives me approximately 2 hours to return to bed and fall asleep before she is up and hungry again. I love the time we have at night to snuggle and rock and sing but this is no way to get a restful night.

Near the end of the first week she began having a night here and there where she was fairly unhappy for no apparent reason and had to be held, fed, and rocked for long periods at a time. The longest one I did not lay in my bed until 5:30 in the morning. Fortunately they were always followed with some really great nights where she ate and went right to sleep.

We then transitioned to having a 2-4 hour fussy period in the evening where nothing was consoling except breastfeeding or me walking around with her in the sling. It is draining to feel like you can't find some way to console them when they seem to be in distress. We always come around eventually and then have a great night where she sleeps for 3-4 hours at time and goes right back to sleep. It is amazing what a difference 4 hours is when you are having interrupted sleep. A couple of nights ago I read in my "A Nursing Mother's Companion" that at around 2-3 weeks babies have a growth spurt and can want to nurse more frequently. So, for the last few days when she gets fussy I just let her eat an extra meal and we are having less and less fussy times and at night she usually eats around 10 or 11 and then once in the middle of the night and then at around 5 or 6 in the morning. So we are getting there and I think we have learned a lot about how to meet each other's needs and we're a pretty good pair!

Around 2 weeks old Dan came home with this shirt for her "Mommy's Wake-Up Call" which is more than fitting for little miss. :)

Daddy and Tessa Time

This was the first bottle Tessa has had, and Daddy fed it to her. The doctor recommended waiting a few weeks to introduce the bottle and since we've been breastfeeding well we decided to follow doctor's orders. She ate 3 oz of pumped breastmilk without any problems. As you can see she was wide awake and looking at Daddy. This was really good for him, he was a natural!

On Saturday Daddy fed her a second bottle and I went with my sister, mom, and a couple of her other bridesmaids to try on a dress and go out to lunch! It was a nice break for me and a good chance for him to figure out how to take care of Tessa without my guidance or me as a fall back. He said she did her normal fussing but otherwise it went well.That evening we went to look at getting a bigger vehicle so that Tessa's carseat would fit easier. As if we hadn't had an eventful enough day we ended up driving home a new car. We got a white Nissan Murano. It will be the car that I drive, but also our car to drive when we are all together. How exciting!!

First Thanksgiving!

When Tessa was born I was nervous about taking her out and about for Thanksgiving. But, over her first few weeks of life I realized that everyone she was going to see that day had already met her and that she would be just fine to be held and visited with after all. She did a really good job with the traveling and being held by lots of family. She missed her napping time but that was o.k. she made up for it that evening. We dressed her up and she looked more cute than I thought possible, I just wanted to "gobble" her up! :)

Janelle and I did some Christmas shopping the day before Thanksgiving. Tessa was feeling festive in her outfit. She slept the whole time in her carseat, she is already a shopper like her Momma!

The first stop was at my Mom and Dad's. We had a wonderful meal and as you can see Tessa was the center of attention!

Meeting her Great Uncle Jerry for the first time. Great Aunt Kathy is Tessa's self-proclaimed biggest fan and second Grandma! :) My cousin Daniel and his new girlfriend Heather.My cousin Courtney who did all the wonderful ultrasounds of Tessa. She was pretty darn accurate with all her estimations!!

Our second stop was at Dan's parents' house where we had second helpings. Grammy and David had to fight over Tessa. The others had been sick earlier in the week so they kept their distance.

Dan and I spent a weekend relaxing at home and spending time with Tessa. Since Dan has been working long holiday hours he was so happy to get to spend lots of time with us. Saturday we put up Christmas decorations while Tessa napped. When she got up she was very interested to look at the lights and decorations.

We hung a few new ornaments on the tree for Tessa!

On Sunday Mamaw and Papaw came over to visit with Tessa. Mamaw saw her in the hospital the day she was born but Papaw was sick and hadn't been able to see her yet. They had to go to their house in Florida and just got back this weekend. She couldn't wait to see & meet them again!!

She is the center of attention AGAIN!!

No Paci's Here

Tessa has decided that she doesn't love the paci. I've traveled to the store to try other types and she will only take the orange hospital paci; with encouragement. She would prefer to use mommy as a paci but I'm not into that plan.

Today I got her alseep and put her in her swing where she was sucking on her paci, when I came back into the room this is what I found! She is not going to be a thumb sucker even though it is so darn cute. It is much easier to take away a paci than a thumb! We're going to have to work on this little girl!

White Tongue?

For the last couple of days I have been noticing some white on Tessa's tongue, and wasn't sure if it was milk or the start of some thrush. I called the pediatrician today and she had me wipe her tongue with a washcloth and see if it went away. It didn't so she is going to get her first medicine to treat the thrush. It is minor and should go away in a few days!! Silly girl.

Growing Every Day

Every day I feel like Tessa grows and changes. She went from sleeping and eating all the time to now she has more time with her eyes open. She listens and follows voices. She loves to sit in her chair and to swing in her swing. She is sleeping in her own crib in her own room (by choice) and sleeping about 3 hours at a time. She is such a joy!

First Doctor Appointment

Tessa had her first check up today with Dr. Slaven. She was such a good girl and cooperated with all the undressing and getting checked out.

Here are the stats...

Weight 7lbs 7ozs (back to birth weight)

Length 20 1/4 inches (head is no longer coned)

We don't have to go back until she is one month old!

Bath Time

Tessa has had a couple of baths at home. Her first was a sponge bath that she DID NOT like, but who can blame her being out in the cold air! So I did it as fast as I could and then dressed her for the Colts game. She did enjoy the hair wash though.
What a Face!!

Her second bath Grandma helped with. Her umbilical cord is still attatched so we couldn't put much water in the tub. She liked this one a little more, but was still chilly. She still loves having her hair washed.

A Clean Happy Baby; it doesn't get much better!

Home Sweet Home

We were discharged from the hospital on Saturday and ready to go home!! Aunt Janelle, Uncle Matt, and brother Zayne were at home waiting for us. Dan and I both felt a little emotional bringing home Tessa, I got teary eyed when I saw the balloons on the mailbox, it just finally felt real and that she was OUR baby girl!

All dressed in her going home outfit; so cute!

She didn't seem to mind her carseat and went right to sleep

Daddy carrying her out the door...

This picture says it all. We were showing her to Zayne for the first time and he completely turned his back to her and was more curious about the chips Matt had. I guess that's a dog for you!

Daddy has a new person to make fantasy picks with now, Mommy is off the hook!

So happy to be home with Tessa!

Janelle and Matt are reaping the rewards of all Dan and I's hard work!
Their day will come all too soon!!