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.