MY FIRST THANKSGIVING

Gobble, gobble, gobble!!! It's my first Thanksgiving!

Aunts Christy and Jennifer doting on me

Daddy took off the entire Thanksgiving week so that we could maximize our holiday and travel to Nana and Papaw's house in College Station. It all started with the arrival of Aunts Christy and Jennifer and Uncle Wills on Saturday night. This was our first time to meet in person, and they made up for lost time giving me lots of cuddles. Many newborns may have shied away from all the attention, but I reveled in it. Originally, we were going to head to College Station on Sunday, but I had a spa treatment doctor's appointment on Monday morning. At my two week well check, I had been underweight, so the doctor wanted to check me again to see if I was gaining weight properly before heading out of town for Turkey Day. I still wasn't heavy enough, but I was at least on the right track. He gave me permission to head to College Station so long as I continued my regular feedings every two hours night and day. I'd been trying to tell M&D to feed me more since week one, but it took a doctor's orders to get it sorted out. If only I had words instead of cries! Even so, with the doctor's blessing, we were able to head to College Station on Monday afternoon as planned.

Morning time with Aunt Jennifer and Nana

Once in College Station we had a lot of time to feed, relax, feed, enjoy the unseasonably warm weather, feed, play with Olive and Uncle Corky, feed, catch up on sleep, feed, watch movies, feed, catch up on the family gossip, feed, cuddle, feed, play games, feed, try on all my new outfits, feed, watch football, feed, take pictues, feed, eat, feed, and feed.

Needless to say, I spent a lot of time feeding in an effort to get back to the correct weight.

Cuddles with Mommie

On Friday afternoon, I got to meet some more people for the first time: Mimi and Papa! They had flown down to Texas to spend Thanksgiving with Great-Gramps in Temple. Since they were so close, they decided to make the short drive to College Station for some cuddles, feedings, and pictures. I'd already been showered with gifts from everyone, and they chipped in with more cute baby necessities to help me accessorize my nursery, such as a paper butterfly mobile.

Cuddles with Mimi

Posing with Papa

With everyone at the same place, we decided to take some family photographs. Since it was so warm, we decided to do them outside on the front porch. We took lots of pictures trying to get one with everyone's eyes open and me not falling asleep. I was so exhausted from all the attention...and feeding...

Family Portrait
Back Row: Papaw, Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Wills, Daddy, Aunt Christy,  Papa
Front Row: Nana, Mommie, Saige, Mimi

Mommie, Daddy, and Me

After filling the camera with pictures, we enjoyed a feast of Thanksgiving leftovers: turkey, spinach Madeline, rosemary sweet potato gratin, cranberry sauce, and a medley of pies (pumpkin, pecan, and minced meat). After we ate, we looked over all of the pictures we'd taken on the front porch. We all had a good laugh at the funny faces that were captured on camera. Mimi and Papa headed back to Temple that day, but that didn't mean the end of the trip. I still had two days to enjoy cuddles in College Station:

The Turkey Day Cuddle Squad

Uncle Wills shows everyone how it's done

Super close cuddles

Some of my clothes are still a little too big...

Saturday morning brought in a blast of cold weather, but it didn't slow me down. After a relaxing morning, we headed out to do some shopping. I got some quintessential Aggie gear while Mommie got a long sleeved Aggie shirt to get ready for the football game that night. I told M&D that I'd give them the night off to have their first date since I was born. I'd convinced everyone else to take care of me while they went to the football game. M&D are lucky that I was able to use my cuteness to charm my cuddle squad into some baby sitting action for a few hours.

The week flew by, and before I knew it, we were headed back to Austin for one last night before my Aunts and Uncle had to leave.

Hanging with the fam

Cuddle time

Horray for turkey day!

The First Few Weeks

Spending time in my pack and play's life nest.

I went home from the hospital for the first time on Saturday afternoon after just a day and a half in the hospital. Mommie and Daddy (M&D) were excited to show me my nursery, house, and neighborhood. There are lots of places for me to hang out in my new house. I have my pack and play in M&D's bedroom where I am supposed to sleep at night. It's been upgraded with a fancy life nest which has a mesh hammock to help me breathe. M&D think it's a great place for me to sleep, but I prefer to sleep in the swing beside the bed. It rocks me to sleep...sometimes. Usually I insist that M or D rock me to sleep first.

I spend a fair amount of time on my changing table. It's in my nursery and has a cute picture of a giraffe and elephant. I like the attention I get when I'm on the table and am not usually too fussy. Sometimes I get a little too excited and make a bit of a mess. Isn't that what the changing table is for?

Nana changing my diaper

Very soon after I got home, M&D introduced me to my doggie Olive and my kitty cat Isis. Before meeting me, each of them got a hat that I'd worn in the hospital so that they could familiarize themselves with my scent. Olive was very curious to meet me and tended to bark at me when I ignored her. After a few time outs in the bathroom, she started behaving. She's been patient with me and possibly my biggest fan. Sometimes when I get lonely in my pack and play, she comes to check on me before Mommie or Daddy get there. She also sniffs me a lot during the day, but she's learned that I don't like wet doggie nose in my face. Sometimes she even keeps my nap nanny warm when I'm not there. Although, M&D seem to prefer when she sleeps on one of her own beds. I think she's excited to play with me once I start crawling.

Posing in Mommie's arms

Aside from the daily routine of feeding, sleeping, and pooping, I spend a lot of time posing for pictures! Here's a sample of my favorite ones:

Our first family photo. Say Saaaaaiiiige!

Posing on the changing table

What's Olive doing while all this posing is happening?

Saige is so cute that no one is watching me...

Oh look, a nice box of chocolate covered strawberries. Maybe I'll try one...

Or all of them!!! Thank you Saige!!!

Nana holding me

That silly Olive! I imagine that we'll have lot of fun causing trouble playing with each other in the future. The first week that I was home Nana stayed with us. She was super helpful cooking for M&D, cleaning up the house (which is apparently under construction with an addition and remodel), and most importantly holding me as much as she could. Papaw returned to Austin to pick up Nana the weekend after I came home. I'll miss them, but M&D told me that I'll get to see them soon for Thanksgiving.

Papaw holding me

After two weeks at home, M&D decided that it was time to give me my first bath at home. Mommie had found a big padded sunflower so that I could bathe in the kitchen sink.

Throwing my right hand in the air.

Me in the sink.

I was very well behaved in the bath. The warm water felt good, and it was nice to get rid of the last remnants of vernix. M&D said that I'll get to take a bath once a week in the sink until I'm big enough to fit in my green rain forest themed bath tub.

I love bath time!

At night time I like to cuddle with M&D on the couch. It's so comforting to sleep on a chest listening to a heartbeat. Once I've eaten for the last time, I move to the bedroom and sleep in my swing while listening to the soothing sounds of either the ocean waves or the rain falling lightly.

A Busy First Day

My first day on Earth was very, very busy. It all started with a flurry of activity: getting my umbilical cord snipped, taking the APGAR test (which I passed! twice!), getting toweled off, and posing for Daddy's pictures. I cried joyfully the entire time until Daddy finally delivered me to Mommie where I snuggled into her bosom. 

The three of us shared some quiet moments together while Mommie and Daddy decided on my name. They had come to the hospital with three picked out, but Saige is the one that fit me best. We were all exhausted after the delivery, but we took some time to eat some food before getting a couple hours of sleep. I got to sleep in the room with my parents. Daddy looked silly sleeping on the fold out couch!

After a not so restful two hours, the sun came up and it was time to meet my family. Nana and Papaw, Mommies parents, had driven up from College Station to see me. They held me a lot and couldn't stop smiling. I skyped for the first time with my Aunts Jennifer and Christy as well as my Uncle Wills.

 

Daddy and Mommie spent a lot of time talking with people on the phone announcing my arrival. I can't wait to meet all these wonderful folks!

Happy Birthday to Me

At 2:26am on Friday November 2, 2012, I introduced myself to the world! I came out weighing 7lbs 13oz, 19.5" long, and with a head circumference of 35.5cm. Here's how it all happened...

On Tuesday morning October 30, I hinted to Mommie via some contractions that I might come out soon, so she decided to stay home from work. The contractions got stronger and stronger throughout the day. Mommie, Daddy and I were so excited that we could hardly sleep Tuesday night not going to bed until 2am. When we woke up on Wednesday, I was so comfy that I decided to stay in the womb a little longer. At our doctor's appointment that morning, Dr. Chapman said that I could come at any moment...or take a week. Luckily we had the excitement of all hallows eve to encourage labor to start.

At 1:30am on Thursday, I couldn't wait any more, and I woke up Mommie with some real contractions. She woke Daddy up at 3:30am and the two of them worked through the pain until around 1pm when we headed to Scott & White in Round Rock. Unfortunately, the 30 minute ride relaxed me and the contractions lessened in frequency. When we arrived, we were told that we needed to walk around for 1-2 hours to get active labor going. After an hour of even more painful contractions, Mommie was ready and we were admitted to the hospital. By 5:30pm, Mommie had an epidural in place and was 7cm dilated. At 7pm she was fully dilated at 10cm and Dr. Skolnick broke my amniotic sack and declared that I would be out in no time. Then we took a step back and the contractions lessened:(

Four hours and some oxytocin later, Mommie was back on track and ready to push me out. Again it looked like I'd be out in no time, but I surprised everyone by positioning myself sunny side up. With encouragement from Daddy and a pep talk from Dr. Skolnick, Mommie pushed like a champ for 3.5 hours before I finally emerged healthy and happy :)

Before My Birth

The week before my birth, Mommie and Daddy were very busy getting ready for me. Dr. Chapman said that I was due on Tuesday October 30, so the weekend before that Mommie and Daddy worked to get my nursery all ready. Well, Mommie and I did most of the work on the nursery while Daddy frantically worked to finish paining the living room and bedrooms that were being remodeled.

Mommie and I did a great job on the nursery!

Mommie had to take a lot of breaks because I was getting to be a big girl inside of her belly. While I was gestating, they took my picture every Monday. Here's the one from week 40, the week I was born.

As my due date came and went, it looked like I might be a Halloween baby. Mommie even dressed me up as a jack-o-lantern for Halloween.I must have liked all of the attention because the next day I sent Mommie into labor so that I could begin my life in the world.