April 27, 2011

Hadley was ready for Easter!

Maybe not.

Today is Aunt Heather's birthday so we met up with Heather and Zane (Zane's birthday is tomorrow) and had a nice lunch with them and Grandma Katie at a Greek restaurant near our house. Hadley was fine while I was holding her but then decided to let out a random scream. It was funny to see her get so mad and then immediately calm down. It's as if she's embarrassed about making a fuss.
After lunch, I loaded Hadley into her jogger and we went for a nice walk. The weather has been great today and we took advantage of it by walking to Hastings and renting a couple of movies. Hadley loves being in the jogger (her car seat fits in the jogger, with her facing me as I walk) and I think she loved feeling the sunshine and the breeze on her face. I love looking down at her and seeing her big round eyes looking back at me.
Hadley has started to make some cooing noises and is awake for hours during the day. During the night, she hates being in her cradle and prefers to fall asleep in my arms. If I'm lucky I can put her back in her cradle without waking her up, but if she catches on she'll fuss until I pick her back up. Not that I'm complaining. I love holding that angel.
Hadley has been eating a lot more, which means she wakes up more often for a bottle. Last night she woke up every hour, and finally at 4:30am I told Levi he was on duty. He gladly took her downstairs and took care of her until he had to leave for work at 7:30am. I really needed that uninterrupted sleep, so I was very grateful. Plus, Hadley loves hanging out with Levi so it was a win/win (for everyone except Levi!)
Last Sunday was Easter and we got to take Hadley to her first Gates' Easter party. Every year, one of the aunts or uncles hosts Easter at their house and we have a potluck, followed by an Easter egg hunt. The Gates' Easter egg hunt is awesome because instead of being filled with candy, the eggs can be redeemed for cash! I can't wait for next year when Hadley can teeter around with a little basket, picking up eggs. She was, of course, a hit at the party and all the aunts and uncles and cousins were smitten with her. Levi's cousin Enancia is expecting a little boy in June and we can't wait for Hadley to have a playmate.

Grandma JuJu was not interested in letting anyone else hold Hadley on Easter :)
Summer is just around the corner and I can't wait to see Hadley in her cute summer outfits. I never knew shopping for a little girl could be so much fun. I can't wait to take her to Redfish Lake this summer, and I'll have to take her to the Natatorium pool a couple of times too. They have a great kiddie pool and I can't wait to hold onto her and get her little legs wet.
I'll be returning to work the week after next and I'm having a hard time thinking about being away from Hadley. She'll be in good hands, but I will miss her so much. She's so much fun and looking at her brings me so much peace. It is our goal to find a way for me to drop down to part time within a couple of years. I truly hope we can make it work.
Well, it is time to feed Hadley and watch Law & Order, one of our daily rituals. I will definitely miss that when I go back to work!

April 26, 2011

This weekend was the first time we got to take Hadley to the Boise farmer's market (technically called the Capital City Public Market, though I've never heard anyone call it that.) I've wanted nothing more than to start a tradition of taking our child to this market regularly. Even though the vendors are the same every year (though they did just double the size of it, adding another street of vendors) it is always exciting. It signifies the start of summer and I love seeing the fresh cut flowers and smelling the kettle corn. The only downside is that they stopped allowing dogs a couple of years ago. We used to LOVE seeing all the different breeds and the dogs were always on leashes with responsible owners (Boise is a very dog-friendly city). One of my favorite dog interactions at the market involved a happy Bernese Mountain dog taking Wilson's cookie right out of his hand when Wilson was about three years old. Wilson was trying to be brave and not cry, but eventually melted into a puddle of tears. At least the dog had a good time!

Hadley was a sweetheart in her jogger and didn't mind the crowd. It was so packed, you couldn't stop moving for more than a second for fear of being pushed and/or trampled. Grandma Katie came with us and we met up with Abuela Maria, Aunt Avery and Uncle Pat. The weather was just warm enough for us to actually enjoy being outside for more than a few minutes. I can't wait to go again when Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Curt come up in a couple of weeks.

April 19, 2011

"I'm how old??"
Today is Hadley's one month birthday! Hadley is already a girl of many nicknames including Hadders, Mad Hadder, Fatty Haddy, Sadly Hadley, Crabby Hadley, and Haddy Fi. I can honestly say we've loved every single second with this little girl, even though we're seeing a lot more of this lately:



Even with her fussiness, I'm convinced there is not a nicer baby out there. She is so darn sweet! As of right now, she eats every two to three hours in the daytime, but is increasing the amount she eats. We may actually have a chubby baby in a few months! Hadley is very kind to us at night and eats every three hours and can usually fall right back asleep. I get even more sleep with the help of Levi, who gets her out of her cradle at 6:00am and feeds her before he goes to work. This means I can get a solid four hour stretch of sleep, which makes EVERYONE much, much happier. Levi loves this time with Hadley and I know those two are going to be very close. When she does stay awake in the night after a feeding, I can usually just wrap her up and watch a little bit of TV or surf the internet for a little while before she falls back asleep. Even at 2:00am, seeing her big round eyes look up at me is just about the most amazing thing in the world.

At one month old, here are Hadley's likes and dislikes:

Likes:
• Being in her car seat and riding in her stroller or in the car. She falls almost immediately asleep once we start rolling.
• Shopping with her mom, aunts, and grandma. I can already tell she's going to be a great customer of Target, just like the rest of us. I get stopped about every ten feet by people wanting to see her. I've had so many people ask about her cute car seat cover that my Aunt JaNae sent us. Utah definitely has the best baby products and I feel like I could make a fortune if I could open a boutique with all the cute baby stuff they sell there.
• Throwing up on a clean outfit. Soy milk sure does a number on her cute clothes!
• Being snoopy and listening to everyone in a room. When she's laying on my shoulder and someone starts talking, even if I think she's asleep, she'll suddenly lift her head and whip it around in the direction of the speaker. She's just liker her dad: always wants to be in on the best gossip.
• Listening to music. When I'm getting ready in the morning, I put Hadley in her swing and turn Pandora radio on the computer for her. So far, we've found that she has a few favorite songs: Float by Flogging Molly and Malaguena Salerosa, but her most favorite song is Peggy Gordon by the Blarney Lads. Levi used to play this song out loud on his iTouch, when she was still in my belly and she would always kick. The first time he played it for her after she was born I burst into tears. Such a pretty song for a pretty girl.

Here are some of Hadley's dislikes:

• Having her clothes changed. At first, we thought she just hated it when she was newborn because her skin was sensitive, but now I see she just plain hates it. You'd think we were torturing her when we put a onesie on her. Such drama!
• Cold baby wipes. I remember seeing a device that warms baby wipes and at the time I thought it was such a waste of money. Now I can see the appeal of it! She absolutely hates a cold wipe against her little bum.
• Her gas drops. We give her these a few times a day and I need to capture her face on film. She scrunches up her face and puckers her lips into a full-on grimmace. Poor girl. At least she likes her gripe water, which we also give her a few times a day for her colic. She smacks her lips and says, "Mmmmm" when we squirt it into her mouth.
• Being put down. This little girl spends way more time in the arms of someone than not, which I know is a bad idea, since we'll eventually have to start putting her down, but for the time being I can't help it!

Well, at one month old I'm just as smitten with Hadley Finola as the first time I saw her. She continually amazes Levi and me and we can't wait for all the memories we're going to create with her. Next Saturday will be our first Boise Farmer's Market with her, which is something I've been dreaming about since we started the fertility process.
Happy one month birthday, little Hadley!

April 14, 2011

Yesterday was Hadley's actual due date and I spent all day looking at her in amazement. I was so worried when she was born nearly a month early that she would be unhealthy or would have to spend time in the NICU. We have been so lucky and Hadley has thrived.
A couple of days ago it was Ben & Jerry's Free Ice Cream Day and we took advantage of this by taking Hadley to the Ben & Jerry's store downtown and meeting Aunt Sevy for a free yummy treat. Levi wore the baby sling and was proud as a peacock as he walked past the huge line and everyone was saying things like, "Look at that dad and his baby!" and, "Look at that tiny girl!" I'll bet he had a dozen people stop him and ask questions about Hadley. She is always such a hit when we take her out. She's got huge eyes that lock onto people's faces and it just delights anyone who meets her. For some reason, people go nuts about seeing her in the baby sling. Slings are the hot trend right now and seeing a little face poke out of one is very exciting.

Aunt Sevy and Levi getting free ice cream at Ben & Jerry's!

Proud dad at the Record Exchange.
While Hadley is still a mostly happy baby, we are starting to see signs of colic. We switched her over to Soy about a week ago, due to her having stomach pains every time she ate. We also give her drops to help with gas, and have bought the most advanced anti-colic bottles, but she's still fussy whenever she eats. The nurse has said we're doing all the right things, so if she's still fussy it's probably just colic. Last night was the first night she actually wailed for a long period of time, rather than just fuss. I felt so helpless as she cried and so relieved when she finally would fall asleep. Poor little girl!
We were so lucky this past weekend to have my sister Laurie come up for a visit. She flew in on Thursday and left Monday morning and we had a great time hanging out while she got to know Hadley. Laurie is hoping to visit in a month or two with her kids, who are all dying to meet the baby.


Laurie & Heather working on my mom's awesome container garden.
We are also hoping to drive down to Utah in July and have Hadley blessed there. It would be our first road trip with her and I'm excited to see how she'll do! We are so lucky to see our out-of-state family so frequently and we're also lucky to have all the Gates nearby. This little girl will always be surrounded by love!

First Two Weeks

Hadley has been an AMAZING baby. From the first night we brought her home, she has made life very easy and very enjoyable. I've never seen a baby more relaxed than Miss Hadley. When we left the hospital on Sunday, March 20th, we noticed that she was looking a little yellow. Earlier, the pediatrician in the nursery said that she had passed her Jaundice test, but I think they just tested her too early, as she did end up with a nice case of Jaundice.
On Tuesday March 22nd, we took her in for her first pediatrician appointment. It was insane to take a baby who was only three days old to the doctor. I think it took us two hours to get her dressed, fed, changed, and safely and securely in her car seat. Now I know why people laugh at new parents and their over-preparedness. Anyway, at her appointment they doctor said he definitely thought she had Jaundice and asked us to take her back to St. Luke's to be tested. We did and found out that her bilirubin levels were quite high, so the doctor ordered us a bili-blanket. A bili-blanket is a pad that emits bright U.V. light that you place directly on a baby's back and then swaddle them tightly. It's connected to a tube that connects to the machine itself. We were glad that we didn't have to admit Hadley into the hospital, but having her tethered to that machine for five days was not as much fun as being able to take her all over the house. Because we couldn't move her around a lot, we set up everything in our living room and Levi and I spent all our time with her down there, except when we went to bed.
During this time, my mom had to go to Utah for a doctor's appointment, so it was just Levi and me with the baby. I know my mom missed Hadley a lot and had a hard time even going to Utah in the first place! We were glad when she came home on Wednesday evening and could make up for those first few days being away from the baby.
Now that Hadley is totally healthy I can start taking her places. Last week I took her to Barnes & Noble so the other managers could get a look at her. They were all smitten! My co-manager Heather made Hadley a giant cupcake cake and bought her a beautiful Easter dress. Another manager Tami bought her three super cute punk-style dresses. They're adorable and I can't wait to see Hadley in them. One sweet bookseller named Cindy ordered us a bunch of custom Hershey's chocolate that has all of Hadley's birth information on the wrapper. I can't believe how spoiled we've been! Everyone has been so excited for this little girl and we're so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives.




Besides B&N, my mom and I have taken Hadley to the mall, where she was a huge hit with all the customers who wanted to get a closer look at her in her sling. The same thing happened when Levi and I took her to Target yesterday. Both children and adults would say things like, "Look at that tiny baby!" and then rush up to us asking us questions about her. She is definitely the toast of the town!
For now, Hadley loves her swing and loves spending the mornings with Levi before he goes to work. He takes her downstairs around 6:00am and they hang out and watch TV and he chats with her. She definitely has him wrapped around her tiny finger.

Daddy & Hadley before getting dressed in her pajamas.