A New Day (12/06)

This was it...the 3 month mark. Hannah was going to leave our bed, move to her crib, and sleep through the night. We loved having her sleep with us, but we desperately needed sleep. The magical 3 month mark is what kept us going up to this point.

December was a fun month. Hannah started getting more vocal, babbling different things, including my favorite word "da da." We also took her on her first road trip this month, to Monterey, to meet our friends Erez, Maya and their baby Lia.

Towards the end of the month, we were invited to Rusty and Patti's holiday party. This was going to be our first night out (you can tell by the pictures in the slide show), and also Hannah's first night in her crib.

Without much ado, we put Hannah to bed in her crib and left for the night while Maria's parents babysat. When we came home, Hannah was still sleeping. When we got into bed, Hannah was still sleeping. And she didn't make a peep until after 6am the following morning.

We had done it. The rough part was over and we could now gradually start getting back to normal. That first night of sleep was just wonderful, as it was the first tangible moment where we could feel that things were going to get much much better.

Looking back over my blog entries for the first 3 months of Hannah's life, I realize that sleep is a constant theme in my writing. Both our sleep (or lack thereof) and Hannah's sleep. In retrospect, this was the hardest part of adjusting to life as parents. It wasn't hard to love Hannah, or change a diaper, or learn how to soothe her. But it was very challenging to figure out how to do all these things, and handle the responsibilities of our own lives, without much sleep. I cannot possibly overstate how much better we started to feel after Hannah made it through her first night without waking up. It really felt like a new day from that moment on, so much so that when we look at pictures from those first few months, we hardly remember those long days and nights in the beginning of Hannah's life.

Here Comes the Sun (11/06)

As November rolled in, we began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hannah started getting more interactive, smiling frequently, and her stretches of sleep grew longer and longer, although napping was still a challenge. We also had lots of visitors this month, and we took Hannah to San Francisco for the first time.

During our first Thanksgiving with Hannah, we had plenty to give thanks for. We celebrated the holiday with our friends and family at our house. My mom, Maria's parents, Uncle D, Jake and Yaling, Lora, Sasha, Misha, Ali and Uncle Jared all joined us. Hannah wasn't quite sure why everyone was in her space, but she enjoyed all the activity and love she got that night.

We were told over and over again that after 3 months, everything would improve drastically, so the turn of the month was filled with anticipation.

Passing the 2hr Mark (10/20/06 thru 10/31/06)

Moving Hannah into our bed was the right move. We could roll over to feed or comfort her and didn't have to get in and out of bed every time she made a sound. Gradually, things started to get better as she gained some weight and started adjusting to the world. Instead of 2hrs max of continuous sleep, we started to get 3 or 4 before she would wake up. While this doesn't seem like much, it made a big difference, and helped us realize that there was hope on the horizon.

Because Hannah was still very new, we had many visitors during this time, and Hannah was surrounded with love all the time. Babushka and Dedushka were regular visitors, and Nana No-Ninnies came up frequently as well. Also Aunt Stephanie, Kathryn, Amy and others.

October 31 was also Hannah's first Halloween, and like all parents, we treated her like our doll, and dressed her as a pumpkin.

Hannah weighed 7lbs 14oz, was 21 inches long, and her head measured 36cm.

Get into the Groove (10/1/06 thru 10/15/06)

After the first couple of weeks, and a half dozen lactation consultants, we finally found our groove and started to settle into a routine with Hannah. While I can't say we ever adjusted to the lack of sleep those first few months, we made do. And as you can see from the pictures, we had lots of help from Maria's parents, my mom, and some of Maria's friends.

Two things we did during these early weeks made a huge difference in our quality of life. First, we decided that the Bassinet we bought was a piece of junk and that Hannah wasn't comfortable in it, so we moved her into our king size bed. She had plenty of room in between us, we had one of those things to make sure she didn't roll over, and it made things much easier for us throughout the night. Okay, it made things much easier for Maria, as she was the one who handled nighttime duty since I was working. But I loved having her so close by.

The second thing we did was put Hannah in her swing for her naps. To this day she's not a great napper, but swaddling her and putting in her swing (which was in our closet--the darkest room in our house) was pretty effective. Outsiders might have thought we were abusive or crazy, but it worked, and Hannah (like all babies) did much better when she was able to sleep.

All in all, Hannah was a good baby--even from the very beginning. She never cried all that much, was alert and curious from the moment she arrived, and always let us kiss, hug and hold her as much as we wanted. That doesn't last forever, so we're cherishing it while it does.

Just the...three of us? (9/27/06 thru 9/30/06)

We brought Hannah home on September 27, after I started a mutiny at the hospital. Before the baby is born, the care is great. There's always a nurse available, they answer questions, and don't appear in a rush. Literally, the moment the baby arrives, they are gone, only to show up for the basics: tests, bath, etc.

I suppose this is OK in a world where hospitals are overcrowded and understaffed. But shortly after Hannah was born, I was ready to go home. I was done sleeping on the window sill, and I wanted to get on with the process of welcoming Hannah into our home.

Maria's OB, who didn't even deliver Hannah because she was at some tennis tournament, gave us the OK to leave on the 27th, and we were out of there, into the brave new world of parenthood.

We had plenty of help those first few weeks, but they were rough. Breast feeding was very challenging, so we had to give Hannah a bottle the first day we were home. Doing that so early makes....breastfeeding even more challenging. They don't tell you any of this going in, so it was trial by fire for us.

The first few weeks were OK. We loved Hannah the moment we laid our eyes on her, but the beginning of her life was challenging. Sleep, breastfeed, pump, bottle feed, burp, change. And again. And again. All day. All night. Interspersed with trips to Target to try out different nipples for the bottle, buy formula, get bottle and wipe warmers, etc, etc, etc.

In retrospect, I have no complaints, despite the fact that the transition into parenthood wasn't easy. Welcoming Hannah into our lives and home changed us forever. It made most things that we spend our time on seem trivial, and the joy of holding, cuddling, caring for, kissing, and loving our little one could not, and cannot, be matched.

Birth Day (9/25/06)

We got to the hospital around 11am on September 24. The Dr's checked Maria in and found she wasn't dilated at all. Since her water had broken, they put her on Patossin, the drug that causes contractions. Throughout the day, Maria had regular contractions, but they weren't painful and she didn't dilate any further. We watched Football most of the day and did our best to pass the time.

Around dinner time, they stopped the drug and told Maria she could eat, so I went to Pasta Pomodoro to pick us up some dinner. I came back, we ate, watched Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and then went to sleep.

Sleeping on the window sill was pretty uncomfortable, and I tossed and turned all night. Maria slept well though, and we were both excited about Hannah coming into our lives the next day (we hoped).

The next morning at 6am, they started Maria on Patossin, and we continued the waiting game. We watched Jay and Silent Bob again :)

Throughout the day, Maria started to dilate a little, but the contractions still didn't hurt. Until about 3pm, when the screaming started. The Nurse came in to measure Maria's cervix, and she was only 4cm...not even close to being fully dilated. Because the contractions were painful, Maria asked for an Epidural, so they called the anesthesiologist.

The Dr. came in, administered the Epidural, but before he could leave, Maria was fully dilated and a squadron of nurses were preparing the room for delivery. Hannah was on her way!

Less than an hour later, Hannah Berry Rofman entered our world, screaming and beautiful. We filled up with tears, called our parents, and started our on the job training. Hannah was 6lbs 12oz, 18.5" long and her head was 34.5cm when she was born.

In the Belly (1/15/06 thru 9/24/06)

Hannah was conceived in January 2006, and grew from two cells into a beautiful little baby girl. We enjoyed being pregnant. Maria ate lots of nutritious food, and we played lots of music and talked to Hannah constantly. Maria ate a ton of Indian food while she was pregnant, and Hannah has loved those flavors ever since you were born.

For the most part, the pregnancy went smoothly. Maria didn't get too sick, and things progressed normally. Around the 20th week, in May 2006, we found out that we were having a girl. We thought all along that we were, but the ultrasound made it official. Once we found out, we started shopping for baby girl things, painted the room pink, and started addressing Hannah by name.

On September 24, I was supposed to go to the Eagles-49ers game. We went out to breakfast, and I was going to drop Maria off and then head to the game to sit in John Briggs' 2nd row seats. Little did I know that from that day on, I was no longer the boss. Maria's water broke at breakfast, so we went home, packed up some stuff, and headed to the hospital (where we got to watch the Eagles route the Niners).