There's a first time for everything!

Today was Grace's First Halloween! She wore a Gymboree designed Onesie with a friendly ghost and BOO embroidered on the front. This was a week of firsts....first time to squirt breast milk through her nose and her first case of baby Acne. Life is full of challenges even at four weeks old. Soon you'll find me shopping at Hallmark for a Baby's First Christmas ornament. We grandma's are suckers for those things. Stay tuned for more "firsts"!

It will take a while to grow into this tutu!

Mama said there would be days like this....

Some days we just need more hugs. It's not about filling the belly and endless diaper changes.
This was a textbook day in the life of a two week old infant. A day that no matter what you do, she won't nap and can't be consolled for any lenght of time. I remember those days.
Today the baby's mom needed hugs to. She wonders if she's doing something wrong. After consulting a book about interpreting a baby's cries, (yes there is one...also on DVD) all possible cures were tried.
I told Christianne that some days you'll sit with Grace and look at the work you want to get done, and it just isn't going to happen. After another nursing session by mom and dinner for the two of us by me and the magic of the swing, she was finally sound asleep.
The laundry, dusting and mopping will wait...Grace needed more mom time, and she got it!
Nothing is wrong about that!

Baby Shower nightmare!

This is for you expectant moms and those planning baby showers. This video is a hoot!
Somehow, now that I am a grandma, my emails come from any and all baby related businesses.
This is the latest, and I had to share it.

I'm off to see Grace today!

http://www.badbabyshower.com/video2/

Baby related equipment in 2008...

Let me tell you about the equipment that a new baby needs and what I used many years ago.

Boppy- a semi doughnut shaped pillow thing that serves many purposes. The mother puts it around her waist in order to hold the baby closer to her face. Later the baby can be propped in the middle to help her sit up. I used bed pillows...this is better.

Pack and Play-a portable bed, changing table, storage for diapering. Until it goes to Grandma's for overnight stays, it stays assembled in the parents room. I needed two things that served the same purpose-a Bassinet, a basket on wheels with some sort of lace trim (baby boys would be horrified), and a play pen which was finally banned because the spaces between the wood restraints were too far apart and babies got their heads stuck. I'm amazed at how many children survived this jail-like contraption.

Breast pump-this thing can actually fill bottles in record time. The baby can be nursing on one breast while the apparatus is sucking away on the other. It latches on and does it thing. Try hand pumping and holding a bottle at the same time....got the picture?!

Strollers-this is amazing! They now have cup holders, brakes, wind shields, sun shields and plastic shields for when you caught in the rain while walking the baby. Not to mention storage baskets, suspension and the car seat snaps right in. I really hated the drama of taking a hot sweaty baby from one seat to another while my milk came down. If you're a runner they make strollers for you too!

Car seats-these now are installed by certified car seat installers. The baby is seated backwards for the first few months (meaning you need to buy a special mirror to see them from the front seat) and later they can be turned around. At this point, the mother can go back to the front seat with the dad because her seat can be repositioned to accomodate an adult.

That's it for today. I'll leave you with an image from my first photo session with Grace at 8 days.

Love at first sight...

Today, Sarah and I had more face time with Grace. I am so very proud of her parents and the way they are working together to care for her. As a grandmother in 2008 and the family photographer, one of my jobs is handling technology...uploading and sharing photos online, managing videos and writing this blog, photos sent from my cell phone. None of this was even in the vocabulary of my mother and mother-in-law when my daughters were born. These moms arrived from the mid-west to help cook, do laundry and diapering. I could not have gotten through those first weeks without them.

But I have to say that technology aside, one thing hasn't changed. This thing is the love at first sight that fills your heart everytime she looks at you and the way she responds to the sound of my voice, my silly songs and the sway of my hips to calm her when she is in my arms.

I hope you will continue to follow me in this amazing journey.

What I learned this week....

....It's NOT my baby! I am feeling a bit like the groom's mother at a wedding. I wait for someone to tell me what to do. I am no longer in charge. I must wait my turn.

Shortly before the birth we bought a camcorder for the kids so as not to miss any of the action. Brian has become quite the videographer. If fighting fires were not his profession, I think he might really enjoy this. He is very steady when filming which is a good thing. I have been known to be "sea-sick" while watching some home videos.

For all of you new parents out there, if you have run out of the hand sanitizer which you used to baptize all of your baby's visitors, avoid the Bradenton store until they have more in stock.

The arrival of Grace