30

I turned 30 years old yesterday. I can't believe it. For the first time in my life I feel like a grown-up. I don't know if it's because I'm in my thirties now or if it's because I'm a mom now. I'm sure it's both hitting me at once. It's all so crazy! Motherhood is a huge shift. I knew my life would completely change, but it's amazing how complete the change is. It's also amazing how rewarding it is! This has probably been the hardest, most emotional, happiest week of my life. I am so happy to be Annie's mother, and Paul's wife. I feel so incredibly lucky!

Annie was born right before a horrible heat wave. We had her on a Wednesday and brought her home Friday. Friday through Tuesday the temperature reached into the 90's. Awful! I found it quite ironic, since my biggest fear about having a newborn in May was keeping her from overheating during the summer. I thought I'd have at least a few weeks to prepare for it! We spent our first few days at home in front of our fans and in our air-conditioned bedroom. We bought an air conditioner for Annie's room too, even though she isn't sleeping in there yet. The good news is, it rained yesterday, and now it's back to normal. Beautiful and breezy. I hope it stays this way for a while! Monday was Annie's first trip to the doctor. She cried a lot, but everything checked out, she's looking very healthy! Her weight went down a bit more (9lbs 7.5oz at birth, 8lbs 15oz when we left the hospital, 8 lbs 13oz at the doctor), but our pediatrician said she should still be okay breastfeeding exclusively, as long as her diaper counts went up by Thursday. They went up to where she wanted them that day, and have stayed there since then, so we're in good shape! Annie took to breastfeeding like a pro. We had a bit of a latching problem for the first few days, but I looked up some tips and we got it straightened out. Breastfeeding is demanding, but incredibly rewarding. I'm so glad it seems to be working out for us, I hope it stays this way in the coming weeks!After the doctor visit, we stopped by Paul's work. He's home with us until Monday, so he wanted a chance to bring Annie in before he had to go back. I loved watching him show off his new family. I have never seen him so incredibly proud!

Yesterday was my birthday. We had to take care of our inspection and registration renewal, since they fell by the wayside while we were waiting for Annie to get here. After that we wanted to do something fun for my birthday, so we stopped by the canal and took Annie for a short walk down to the ice cream place. It was our first time using the stroller, and Annie seemed to like it! We picked up some Aladdin's for take-out (my favorite restaurant) and ate that at home. My mom and sister stopped by to wish me a happy birthday and bring us Amish Friendship Bread. Yum. It was a very nice, low-key, restful birthday. I'm still in recovery mode, so that amount of going out and walking was about as much as I could do. It was a nice first venture out with Annie though!

I think we're starting to figure out Annie's schedule now. The first week was rough because she would eat and sleep all day, and then from 12-3 or 1-4 in the morning, she was wide awake. I'd feed her and she'd want to eat for 3 or 4 hours straight. She wouldn't eat that entire time though, she'd take a few sucks and then wiggle around a bit. So last night it finally dawned on me. She didn't want to eat for 3 or 4 hours straight, she wanted some playtime. So we got up, went downstairs, and she took a ride in her swing for the first time. She loved it! She stopped crying as soon as it started moving and the music started. She stayed happy for about a half an hour, enough time for me to catch a quick catnap on the couch. When she was ready to eat again, I fed her and sang to her until she fell asleep. I brought her back upstairs and she slept for 3 hours straight, woke up to eat, then slept for another 3 hours. So I think this might be our new routine for the time being. I can definitely handle that, those 3 hour stretches are wonderful!

Today we gave Annie her first bath at home. (She had one at the hospital and they told us to wait a week before giving her the next one.) She cried through the bathing, but loves having her hair washed, it's so cute! One minute she's screaming bloody murder, but as soon as we pour that water over her head she stops and makes an "oh" shape with her mouth, her eyes get all big. Too cute. We are really loving this newborn stage.