Still Alive Though Sleep Deprived

Yesterday I attended my first breastfeeding support group. According to the other women there I was pretty brave for taking Lucy to class at 3 days old. Believe me, I felt I was there out of sheer necessity. Still she's been doing pretty well and starting to understand the whole routine-thing, even if she's not quite ready to follow it yet.

We've been taking it easy since we got home, just reacquainting ourselves with each other. Ted has been better around her than I thought he would be. The last couple of nights Lucy's kept him up, and I swear that at times I can see him rolling his eyes at her. Charles has been amazing. It seems that he knows just what to do to get her settled. I am sad to think of him heading back to work next Tuesday : (

He is already a wonderful father (like I knew he would be), and Lucy is a very lucky girl. Here is my favorite shot of the two of them together so far.

Pics

Well, here are some of the shots that we have from the hospital.

Lucy's extended family.


Aunt Vadsana and Cousin Maly


Aunt Supavan - got there just in time.


Emily - I thought you just had a baby and knew how to comfort them!


Already sucking up to Grandma.


Great-grandma Choummaly - a lot of love and advice for our girl.


Yes Grandpa, I did my homework and brushed my teeth.

Welcome Lucyna (Lucy) Chidsouphin Horton!

(loo-cyn-ia chid-sue-pin)

A whole 8lbs 3oz and 21 inches long!

The image captured here is during the 5 minutes that she wasn't screaming during the first 24 hours...but she has gotten a lot better and we are taking it day by day. She loves to have her hands up by her ears - she came into the world with her left hand on her face. She was an easy labor - only 16 hours long ;-)
Both Mom and Baby are doing well. Dad and the dog are having a hard time sleeping...

One Day Left!

Okay, so tomorrow is the "official" due date. We went to the doctor yesterday and I am still 3cm dilated and 90% effaced. The only change is that she has moved further down and is stationed at a +1. Braxton-Hicks contractions come pretty regularly, but as of yet, no baby. Pregnancy has been very good so far and continues to be very enjoyable, thankfully. Here is another side shot, and as you can see Charles and I grow can grow decent-sized little people.

Cocktails and Dreams

Dinner out at Frondizi's, then putzing around the Plaza with friends.

Laura, Nanthida, and Vadsana

Will, Charles, and Adam (aka Frank the Tank) at the casting call for 'Hardbodies 4 - Midwestern Dreams' - they are still waiting for the call back.

Wanna-be Martha Stewarts

Charles and I spent Monday and Tuesday repainting the guest bedroom and hallway bathroom. We thought they turned out pretty nice, so decided to make a headboard for our bed. We already had two extra doors in the basement, so all we needed to do was purchase the batting and fabric. Sunday we put it all together. It was super fun and cost us less than $65!

By the way - we still have seven doors in the basement in case anybody is feeling creative...

A cry in the wilderness

OK - so I am going to start blogging. A lot of times, the husband is a little overlooked in the whole baby process - so I have decided to be the voice of the people - the men of the world.

First of all - we can all agree that when mama is happy, everybody's happy. Given that, here are a few responses to avoid as a man responding to a pregnant wife:

Q. Does this dress make me look fat?
A. No - your butt does.
Correct answer: No, the BABY does.....make you look beautiful.

Wife: My feet (back, arm, eyelash, fingernail) hurts.
Husband: Sucks to be you.
Correct answer: There is none...unless you want to spend the next hour rubbing it.

Wife: Plug your nose, the baby has gas.
Husband: What crawled up your butt and died?
Correct answer: How can something so wrong...smell so right. I love you and can't wait to have that baby.

I hope you have all benefited from all that I have learned in the last nine months. More to come...Charles

btw - don't say anything about this to my wife.

It is "Worlds of Fun"!

A couple of months ago Charles' company sponsored family day at Worlds of Fun. Even though I was restricted to the ferris wheel (I'm afraid of heights) and the train (snooze) we still went because of the food. Charles even managed to get in a few rollercoasters. Of course, this was before the catered lunch and extra greasy funnel cake (yummy!). Here we are at the park with our friends Will and Laura.

She's a Very Active Girl!

Our little girl has incredibly acute hearing, and as you'll see, becomes very active when she hears the chime on the front door. I still can't discern one body part from another, especially as she moves them all at the same time. I like to think of myself as Sigourney Weaver and of her as my little alien baby!

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Belly Picture

We haven't been very good about taking the month-to-month belly shots, but we finally have one to document my gi-normous, swollen belly that appears to look more like an appendage! This was taken at 37 weeks, so according to my math skills, that's about a pound a week... very interesting.

Two Weeks Left!

Dear Friends,
Welcome to our blog! We have two weeks left until our due date and a lot of catching up to do. Please enjoy our incessant ramblings and random photos!
Charles, Nanthida, and Ted