He Smiled at Us!

These are some of Fenn's first smiles... talk about making your heart melt. The first time I knew it was a real smile (and not gas or a signal that he was about to spit up) was on Thursday, January 24, 2008. He was 6 1/2 weeks old. I'm so glad he did it before starting daycare. I worried that his first smile would be to someone other than Mommy or Daddy. I dropped Fenn off at daycare a couple of times for a few hours the week before he started full-time. That was mostly so Mommy could get used to the idea of someone else keeping him. His first full day is Monday, February 4th. Fenn seemed to really like Ms. Taphne when he met her. She's really cute and bubbly.... and she talks really loud (which kids love!). All the kids seem to respond well to her. She keeps Fenn and 3 other boys ~ Jackson (almost 4), Braden (2), and Andrew (1).

Fenn at One Month Old

This is Fenn at One Month. For those of you who don't know, I'm taking a photo of him each month in this "12-month" onesie ~ always on this blanket and always on the 10th of the month. It will be interesting to see how he changes and how he "fills out" the onesie throughout his first year.

It was an interesting and exhausting first month for Mommy and Daddy. We got off to a shaky start. I was trying to breastfeed exclusively for the first 3 months, but for some reason Fenn wasn't getting enough to eat. He seemed to be a really slow eater. And we had trouble keeping him awake. Because he wasn't eating enough, he wasn't gaining weight fast enough. We kept having to make trips to the pediatrician to have his weight checked. Before he was even two weeks old, we had to start supplementing with formula using a syringe. Then when he still wasn't gaining weight quickly enough, we had to start supplementing with a bottle. He got the best of both worlds because I mixed breastmilk with his formula up until he was 3 1/2 months old. The bottle supplements really worked ~ he gained 6 ounces in 2 days! Hooray! No more trips to the pediatrician until his 2-month checkup on February 12th.

Now, back to the "pure exhaustion" I mentioned in an earlier post. Oh....my....gosh!!! I had no idea what it felt like to be that tired. And no one can really explain to you what it feels like. They tell you it's really hard to get through those first 4 or 5 weeks, but you really don't understand until you experience it. We are so happy to finally be parents. But I have to admit there were times in those first few weeks where I wondered "What have I done??? How am I going to get through this?" We laughed, we cried (well, I cried)... and somehow we made it through. To me, giving birth was much easier than taking care of a newborn the first month or so. Anyway, it has been hard, but it is totally worth every sleepless night. I think it is natural to mourn your former life... and for Dan and me, we've had a lot of years to get attached to that former life... picking up and going somewhere whenever you want, sleeping in on a Saturday morning, meeting friends for drinks, quickly running errands without a baby in tow, etc. But now that I'm a mom, I wouldn't want to go back to that former life. I have the best life now!

So, to sum up that first month.... we made it through the sleepless nights, the pains of breastfeeding, being peed on while changing a diaper or during baths, having pee run down the wall behind the changing table, having poop on your hands, washing numerous loads of clothes (now that you're washing baby stuff), learning to plan WAY ahead before you can take the baby out, trying to NOT be late for appointments, learning to take a baby's temperature (rectally),... the list goes on. I think I'm going to like this motherhood thing!

More "Month One" Photos of Fenn

Just a few more pictures I wanted to include here. These were all taken during Fenn's first month. Enjoy!

What a Big Boy You Are!

He's only a month old in these pictures, but look how strong he is. He holds his head up pretty good and even turns to look up at Daddy. Amazing! I am in complete awe of this child.

Fenn's First Trip to Chick-fil-A

If you know how much Dan and I like Chick-fil-A (about as much as Uncle "G" loves Milo's in Birmingham), then you know why I'm posting this photo. This is Fenn's first trip to Chick-fil-A. We do try not to eat a lot of fast food, but we have to admit that we love CFA and go an average of once per week. In this photo, Fenn seems completely unaffected by the aroma of chicken cooking.... but give him time!