All Baby, Baby!

Rylee is a sweet baby.  She's starting to get a cute little face, although it is still the round, featureless newborn face .  She is still sleeeping all day and not as much at night (although it is getting better).  They mystery for the ages is this:  How is it that she can sleep 3-4 hour stretches during the day, but is incapable of going more than 2 hours at night?!  And what's up with the 4 hour awake periods in the middle of the night?  I know, it takes about 2 weeks to re-regulate them to sleeping more at night and being awake during the day.  So far this is what I only get to see at night:

Yep, open peepers.  That's about the only time she is wide awake and happy to look around.

Aack!  Stop with the flash, Mom!

What's that?  No, I don't want to sleep!  I'm checking out the world!

Well, maybe I am a little sleepy.

And now, a big thank you to my friend Lanie.  Had she talked to me, I'd have said, no, I do not need a swing.  However, she just dropped it by and I LOVE her for it!  Its the fantastic cradle swing and Rylee has happily spent the last 2 days lazing away in it, and I have been hands-free!  Check out my cutie pie and lets see what she does all day...

Sleeping baby is emerging into hungry baby.  See, the fist comes up and gnawing begins.  Eyes not quit open yet, but the hunger is coming!

Open eyes, looking for food.  Mouth is working.  Perhaps a yawn occurs.

Then it is angry time.  Where is the food?!

Hungry and unhappy, there's the pause to see if the demand is being met.

It has not! Crying begins in ernest and Mommy better put the camera down and take care of business!

Fun Photos

Someone had a birthday!

Someone had a baptism!

Someone is silly!

Someone had a good time with his newest granddaughter!

Someone is truly adorable!

Someone thought Baby needed a baby to keep her company.

Someone got a super-cool tree fort, courtesy of his 2 grandpas.  Thank you  Grandpas!!

Counting with Rebecca

1- The number of tired, crabby new moms in my house.

2- The number of surprise guests yesterday.  (Dan's brother and his wife came up for Dan's birthday and to meet Rylee, and left today.)

3- The number of hours I spent in my bed last night.

4- The number of grandparents present at Rylee's Blessing this morning at church.

5- The number of children we took to church this morning.  The same number went back to church this evening for Joshua's baptism.

6-  The number of diapers I changed today.

7- The number of people now travelling places in our van.

8-  The number of times I thought maybe this was too much to do in one day with a 4 day old baby.

9- The number of days old I had hoped Rylee would be today!

10- The number that my family and friends score out of 10.  I have a great family and great friends!

Something other than Baby

Okay, I lied.  Here is Marian with Rylee.  All the kids love her and want to hold her; want to touch her; want to hug her...... I am glad they are happy she is here.

My dad doesn't rest well.  He is a doer and isn't happy unless he is doing something.  So I had to come up with a project for him while he was here.  I had been thinking that a fort in the back yard would be just the thing, so we sat down and planned out a great tree fort.  Here is Delaney, watching from the house as we got things started!

Did I mention that both sets of grandparents are here?  Here is Callie with her 2 grandpas!

Joshua was thrilled to have "his" project in the works.  He went to all his friends' houses and he had a whole troop of kids in the back yard to "assist".   Joshua is helping tighten the nuts to the platform.

Marian is being a kitty cat and is climbing on the frame.  We went with a nice, simple structure for this tree fort.   I'll have to post the finished product later.

Today  Dan and his parents and my mom and Callie  all went out to DC to see some sights.  They were gone most of the day and had a good time.

Callie at the Iwo Jima Memorial.  She doesn't seem to know how she feels about it.

Dan and Callie at the Korean War Memorial.  I think this is a pretty cool memorial.

She has Arrived!

Just to mention it first, Marian lost her first top tooth!  It was very exciting and she is so cute.  I think its a pretty huge gap though, and wonder how big her permanent teeth will be!

Here is my cutie girl!

And on to what you really wanted to see!  Baby Rylee was born yesterday!  8lbs 2oz and 20 inches long.  Born at 5:39pm, beautiful and pink.

We went to the hospital at 3am because I was leaking fluid.  I totally thought I'd start labor and go quickly, but that didn't happen at all! Here I am, before they fully broke my water at 10am- no progressing, no labor, nothing! 

I will tell you that for this birth, I went with the epidural.  It was the longest out of all 5, and I am so glad I didn't try for Natural.  Okay, I never really tried for natural births with the others, it just happened.  They were mostly fast. There was nothing fast about this one, except the end.  I got the Epidural around 2pm and ahhhhhh.... it relaxed me enough that labor really got started, and even then, the baby didn't come out till after 5:30!  

And I will give you the benefit of my experience now...  If you think you want to try to go drug free- do it on the first, because after getting the epidural, I would NEVER willingly choose to hurt as much as a natural birth does!  

Here I am, right after she was born.  I think her umbilical cord is still attached.  She popped out in like 2 contractions  (I'm not positive; I wasn't feeling a thing, the epidural was that good!) and they gave her right to me.  I'm still crying here, but I don't think you can tell. I couldn't believe Dan wanted a picture right then!

Look at her pouty face!  They wrapped her up and gave her to Dan while they waited for me to deliver the placenta and all that.  We had fabulous nurses, and one of them took this shot.

Look at those open eyes!  I think that's the most open they have been since she arrived!  And you can see her weight there.  I was just pleased that her head, while lovely and round, was not enormous!

There's my precious!

Dan and Callie came to see us today at lunchtime.  Callie was SO excited!  Rylee's face looks weird here, but she really just has her hand crammed in front of her mouth.

Dan brought the other kids with him when he came to bring me home.  They are all enamored with their new sister.  They did also enjoy eating the snacks around the room- hence Marian and her silly face, holding her graham crackers.

So, I am home now and happy to be here.  While the delivery was wonderful, the Mom and Baby area of the hospital left much to be desired, and I'm much happier to be home. We'll see how tonight goes!