WEEK #4

This was a rather eventful week (ok, as eventful as a week can get when one barely sheds one's pajamas and barely leaves one's house!).

Event #1: ("Home Alone") Kendall's Nana went back to NC so I was home alone all week with a baby and 4 dogs. I think we did ok and even successfully ventured out of the house on Thursday and Friday for a bit (no speeding tickets this time!). It's amazing to me how I can be home (and awake) all day long and when Chris gets home at night, I have no ability to account for the activities of my day. Surely there were activities other than feeding, burping, and changing a baby and keeping random things out of Pippin's mouth?? I need an extra arm. Or two. I can honestly say that being a lawyer is easier than being a stay at home mother!

Event #2: ("Mommy is Physically Healthy") I had my 4 week doctor visit and all is well! Gonna be strange to wait until June to see my doctor again. I was starting to get somewhat attached. I'm pretty sure she felt the same and will miss me.

Event #3: ("Poop Drama") Kendall had not a single poopy diaper for nearly 48 hours at the end of the week. She was clearly uncomfortable and VERY gassy (I think she's part boxer!). It was awful to watch her in such discomfort. This condition prompted "Panic Stricken Mommy Call" #1 to Kendall's doctor's office. They were very patient with me, assured me that this did not warrant a message left on the emergency voice mail system, and told me that it was completely normal for babies to go up to 7 days without pooping, especially when breast fed. Um, 7 days??? Ew! Well, the dam finally broke on Saturday morning ... resulting in 8 very full diapers, one very full bathtowel, one ecstatic Pippin who got to "clean up" the bathroom floor and one completely crap covered Mommy. I knew she was clogged up and this was not "normal!" I think I'll call the doctor's office back and inform them that I was indeed correct. In fact, I think I'll leave them a message on their emergency voice mail system.

Here is a video of Kendall enjoying her Baby Neptune play gym. I think she wants to go diving with Saba and Nana. She really does look around a lot now and seems to enjoy things (especially music) more and more. It's so fun to watch!

3 WEEKS OLD!

Kendall is now three weeks old and looks much less like a California Raisin and more like a little round baby! She weighed in at 8 pounds 11 ounces at the doctor this week and he appeared to be quite impressed with her weight gain. No shots at this appointment, but there was another heel stick. Kendall was sound asleep when this occurred and it was NOT a pleasant way to wake up but she went back to sleep quickly. She is in the 25th percentile in head circumference (I was assured that this does not mean she has a tiny brain), the 55th percentile in weight and the 75th percentile in length. We were given the go-ahead to stop waking her up to eat at night and let her sleep up to 6 hours. Of course, she hasn't done this, but she has gone 5 hours ...and then promptly woke up shrieking with a vengeance for food!

New things this week:
1. Kendall seems to enjoy baths in the tub on her bath pillow! Yay!
2. Kendall smiles A LOT (yeah yeah, I know it's gas!)
3. Kendall looks around a lot more and seems to recognize certain people.
4. Kendall has a sneeze count of "3" ... this was proudly discovered by her Daddy!
5. Kendall stayed at home with not one but TWO babysitters while Chris and I got out of the house for dinner. Grandmother and Nana GLADLY gave up their wild and crazy Friday night plans to hang out with a wild and crazy 3 week old for a few hours. Thank you to both of them!!

Kendall's Nana is leaving Sunday and then Mommy is on her own. I fully expect the dogs to get thinner and for Chris, Kendall and myself to be living in squalor for a while!


(Trip to the Arboretum with Mary and internal Gizmo)

We got a membership at the Arboretum up the street and spent some time hanging out with my friend Mary and Kendall's soon to be born friend, Gizmo (not his real name). Kendall says, hurry up and get out here Gizmo!!

KENDALL'S SECOND WEEK OF LIFE

Kendall resting with Daddy

The "girls" of the house (Ginger, Mommy and Kendall ... and Pippin in the background, but he's not a girl!)

Kendall's second week of life proved to be very exciting. She slept, she ate, she pooped and she peed ...but did all 4 activities exceedingly well! She did reach a couple of milestones. First, my little chunk outgrew newborn pampers and is now in stage 1 pampers. She weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces at birth, 7 pounds 1 ounce when we left the hospital, and now weighs 8 pounds 4 ounces. So she's gained her birth weight back and then some! She is becoming more and more expressive and I swear that baby has looked at me several times like I'm certifiably insane ... and if I don't get some sleep soon, I probably will be.

She had her first visit to the doctor on Friday the 9th and all was well. No shots at that visit. But she has her second visit this coming Tuesday and, as her 2nd cousin Izzy would say, "there goes that kid to get some shots!"

Kendall continues to sleep very well and we're still having to wake her up for most feedings - all night feedings, actually. And she sleeps like a rock. Seriously, if her hearing hadn't been tested in my presence (it was perfect), I'd swear the child has a hearing problem. Drilling into a stone fireplace in her presence didn't wake her up or upset her in the least!

The second milestone was the receipt of Kendall's first piece of mail. Her social security card. Scary.

The latest milestone occurred this morning as her Saba and Nana were changing her and her umbilical cord stump fell out (finally)! Now she can have a "normal" bath. Hopefully she'll like it!


(Bye-bye nasty umbi-stump!)

They do grow up fast, don't they? Guess it's a good thing she's got her social security number!

KENDALL AND HER FUR SIBLINGS

As most of you know, prior to Kendall's arrival, the Harris household consisted of Chris, myself, and 3.5 four-legged "fur children." I say "3.5" because Pippin is currently Kendall's foster brother who is being adopted by Kendall's Saba and Nana and will be moving to NC. So I suppose technically, Pippin will be Kendall's fur uncle!

Anyhow, the dogs have been WONDERFUL with her and she doesn't seem bothered by any of their antics (licking her, placing jowels on her face, barking as loudly as possible right next to where she is sleeping, etc). The whole family happily sleeps in the master bedroom and for the first week, if Kendall made a peep, 3 boxers could be found peering into her bassinet, nubs a waggin', before I even had a chance to roll over (Pippin doesn't usually bother emerging from where he sleeps under the covers at the foot of our bed.) They've calmed down about her noises now and seem to understand that someone will be taking care of her so there's no need for them to get out of bed!


Here are some pictures of Kendall and her fur siblings:


Kendall and her fur sister, Ginger









Kendall and her fur brother, Ralphie (and Daddy!)







Kendall and her fur brother, Rehnquist






Kendall and her fur uncle, Pippin

KENDALL'S FIRST BATH

Yes, I know I'm supposed to be posting narratives as well as pictures, but my right hand is still very numb so typing is difficult! So for now, this is more of a "picture blog." Does anyone really pay attention to the words when there are pictures anyway? (kind of like Playboy!)

KENDALL GOES HOME

WELCOME KENDALL JANE HARRIS!!

Kendall Jane Harris was born January 2, 2009 at 9:37AM. She weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces and was 19.75 inches long .... and if she points her toes, you can add another 6 inches or so to that length. The girl's got some BIG feet - no wonder it hurt when she kicked me!

We were at Presbyterian Hospital for 4 nights and received fabulous care. We also received much more sleep than we are receiving here at home. But all in all, she's been very good. She sleeps, eats, poops and pees, and that's about all she does, but she does those things really well! Chris found out already that baby girls can projectile pee just like baby boys!

She does have some really cool awake and alert moments already and is acclimating well to her new home. Noise bothers her not at all - which is fortunate here at the Harris House of Canine Chaos! The dogs love her and are adjusting well to the fact that we ALL have a new master around here.

Speaking of dogs, thank GOD my parents (Kendall's Saba and Nana) are staying here for a few weeks, otherwise the dogs probably would not be eating! They have been invaluable with helping take care of the house, the dogs, Kendall and me. I could SO get used to being taken care of like this. They'd be smart to start slacking off toward the end of their stay so I don't decide to hold them here as prisoners! Kendall says THANK YOU to both Saba and Nana as well as Grandmother for helping her newbie parents with every day stuff so they can rightfully devote all attention to her!

Chris and I are both head over heels for this little girl and can't believe we created something so perfect. Both of us are perfectionists, but we totally outdid ourselves this time!