Now accepting visitors!

Dudes,

please come on over to hang out and maybe witness a diaper changing or some other such exciting event!

Just call before you come.

But we are now accepting visitors!

First scare

So I called Jenny at 3:30, just as school is ending, and she tells me she's going to the doctor's office with the baby. She's was a little freaked. Here's the story:

Apparently Catherine has slept ALL day (and in fact slept all night, too. She was only up when Jenny woke her to feed).

This actually seemed like a good thing (baby sleeping means less baby crying), but when the public health nurse called for a random check up, and Jenny mentioned all the sleeping, the nurse said "that's abnormal, you should get it checked out."

So when I called, Jenny was on her way to the doctor with little Catie slumbering away in the back seat. And I went to meet them at the doctor's office.

When I got there and stepped out of the elevator, what do I hear? I wailing Woods baby. I round the corner and Jenny is just leaving the office, and apparently everything is A-OK with our daughter.

The long and short is that it's totally OK for babies to sleep all day as long as they waken and get pissed off at the things they should get pissed off at - i.e. being bathed, being changed, being jostled about.

And today, Catie did cry at all of these things. It was just that she slept so much more than normal.

Anyway, crisis averted. And I hope this sleepy spell continues.

Quiet Alert

Catherine has taken to being more awake during the day. This begs the question: so what do we do with her? Essentially, if she's awake then she prefers to be on mom. If mom puts her down, she may fuss.

(It's actually a pretty funny progression, watching her eyes scrunch up, then her mouth, then Ms Fussypants Crankyface appears, and out come the tears and wails. I'm going to get some pics of it soon).

SO we're experimenting with different techniques. Things like:

• the sling. I wear her for a good 1-2 hours per day. It works well, especially when cooking sup-sup.
  
• a vibrating chair... doesn't that sound fun?
• music - and it needs to be surprisingly loud
• the swing, as seen below. She was completely mesmerized by the mobile danglies for at least 1/2 hour. She just rocks and stares. The baby books call this "Quiet Alert Phase"

Sadly, quiet alert often leads to cranky alert, which leads to Fussypants Crankyface.

Adjusting, still

The first few sleepless nights - filled with baby meltdowns - are over, and we're into a much better routine. More sleeping, less crying at night. Feeding is going very well for Jenny, as Catie has already regained the weight lost since birth and even added some. She's now 7 lbs.

The family went to Point Pleasant Park on Sunday:


And don't be confused, there are still plenty of tears. Especially during changing:

Sleepy

First time outdoors

It was a glorious fall day in Nova Scotia, and we had been cooped up indoors since monday, so we decided to get the little girl out for her first walk. Initial tears (at being strapped in to the car seat) were replaced by sleepy sighs, and we had a lovely 30 minute jaunt around the neighborhood. This newborn thing is kinda fun.

Friday afternoon

After a kinda rough night, we've had a great day: lots of snuggling and sleeping.  We tried out our sling (a Moby, courtesy of sister Nicole) with great results - Catie curled right up and zonked out.  Hopefully heading out for our first walk later.  Mostly, we're just adjusting to life with a newborn.

We appreciate all the gracious offers of free food and visits, however we're still flying a "no visitation" flag.  We'll let you know when this is lifted - hopefully not too long. 

Here are some pics:

First pics

Folks,

here's your first look at Catie Clover.  Notice how she's cute.  As the days progress, her hair looks less like Jenny's and more like mine, but hopefully she'll still have the Jenny's curls. 

Also notice how we all kinda look tired.  These pics are immediately after the birth and then when we got home (last night).

Honestly, life with a newborn is stressful and lacking in sleep, but it's been awesome so far.  We're loving it, and Jenny is a champ mother already. 

Respond here or text me (902-440-1538) and I'll do my best to respond.

(If there's someone I've missed, Like Tina Juurlink or Jenny's cousins, please forward this on, and send me their email addresses so I can include for next time).

Andrew, Jenny, Catherine Clover

Still waiting

Saturday the 18th.... Jenny's having mild contractions but we're still in a holding pattern.

The nursery

We put the finishing touches on the nursery a couple of weeks ago, and so now our daughter has a place to live. It's been nice to cruise through the last days of the pregnancy and just enjoy it.

If you're curious, the color scheme is soft green and red, with a caramel brown-ish for the walls.

Working hard:


Reaping the rewards:





Two other items, about which we are pumped.

The baby monitor - is both an audio and video monitor, so we can maybe let the dog out and still keep an eye on the human. Here's Jenny watching herself in the monitor (thanks Mom!):


The baby swing. It fits into the corner, and also matches the decor perfectly. We've seen friends (hello Chris/Nancy) use their swing with great success, so we know this will come in handy. Thanks Anthony and Penny!

What's come before - the pregnancy in pictures

We found out that Jenny was pregnant on February 1st. It was an exciting time, to be sure. However, the early stages of pregnancy are, in a way, anticlimactic. The days go by without any visible sign of what's really going on in utero. Other than Jenny's morning nausea, it was pretty much business as usual.

It wasn't until late April or so that it became obvious that something was going on. And, of course, it became much more fun to take pictures:

Jenny, week 26 (early July)




Week 33 (late August)


Week 36 - At Rainbow Haven (mid-September)


Week 38 - ready to blow (Early October)

Rainy

Rainy in Nova Scotia, and still no baby girl. Today was to be my last outdoor day with Ellie before the lady arrives, but the weather is suggesting otherwise.

I might get out later, if the sun reappears.

And the next time I go for a long walk, I'll probably have a human strapped to my back.


Update - 4pm:

The sun did peek through the clouds a little later, and Ellie and I ran the first loop of the Bluff Wilderness Trail. I am now ready to raise a daughter.

Soon now

I must admit, I thought yesterday was the day.

On Wednesday, Jenny's doctor told her she was 2 cm dilated and the baby was at position -2. As I understand it, this is obstetrics code for "baby's nearly here."

So on Friday, when Jenny woke up with some weird pains, I got all giddy and was ready to rush off to the hospital.

She settled, though, and so we're still playing the waiting game. Her official due date isn't until the 15th, but there would have been something cool about our baby being born on 10/10.