World Traveler

Hailey is quite the world traveler. In her first three months of life, she's already been to Buffalo, Norfolk, the Outer Banks, and Atlanta. Some people don't travel that much in their entire lives! We've put some new pictures up of her trip to the beach on the flickr account... http://www.flickr.com/photos/lukehamilton/

Baby Snot

Hailey has her first cold ever. It's not too bad so far, just a lot of snot and congestion. She doesn't seem to bothered by the whole thing, and she doesn't have a fever so I'm really not overly concerned at the moment. The worst part about it is the bulb suction device (otherwise known as the snot sucker). I try to use it as much as possible just so that she can breathe a little easier. Luke used it last night and then started shouting, "Look at this big booger I just pulled out of her nose." In his defense, it is quite amazing when you pull something giant out of there, but I really don't need to see every gross, disgusting mess she makes!

2 Month Doctor Visit

Today was our two month doctor visit. Hailey weighs 10 lbs 1 oz and is 22.25 inches tall. She is in the 25th percentile for weight and the 40th percentile for her height. So, she's a little petite, but the doctor said that she looks like she's right on her proper trajectory. The doctor also marveled at how alert and happy she was for her age group. No surprise there...we all know that she is quite gifted. We also had to get the dreaded 2 month shots! It was three shots in the leg...ouch! Poor thing screamed louder than I've ever heard her scream before, but by the time we got home (which is a 5 minute drive), she was already asleep. She's pretty much been sleeping all day except for the half an hour when she ate. I'm just going to let her sleep off her grumpiness for now. We'll see how she reacts tonight.

New Pictures Available!

There are new pictures posted on our Flickr account. Here is the link... http://flickr.com/photos/lukehamilton/

In other news, Hailey took her first plane ride on Saturday. She was a perfect angel the whole way to Buffalo. Then, she spent the weekend visiting with friends and family. She was quite charming and everyone here was very taken with her adorableness. We are flying back to Nashville today, but she's been a bit fussy. So, wish us luck on the plane ride back!!!

A Mother's Love

When I was an evil teenager, I used to "hate" my mother. Not really hate her because you always love your mother, but in the teen angst years it's sometimes hard to remember that. So, let's just say that she was not among my favorite people in the world. It wasn't anything she did or said. It was more like everything she did and said. It just was the way it was. Probably lots of people can relate to that angry, depressed, angst-ridden type of disgust. I certainly know quite a few people that went through that in their teenage years and some who are going through it right now (but I won't name any names).

Well, I'm here to finally say to my Mom, "I get it." I understand. I appreciate you in a way that I never have before. In a way that I never could before I had my own. It is totally true - there is no love like a mother's love. There's no one that will feel your pain like a mother will, no one that will share your joy the same way, no one that will give up more for you, and subsequently, no one that you can hurt more.

So, if it's any consolation to mothers of all the attitudinally challenged teenagers out there, I'm here to tell you that there is hope. Because one day they'll understand too (if you're lucky and if not, well there's nothing you can do since these feelings don't come with an off switch).

By the way, as I write this heartfelt thought, Hailey is sitting on my lap making really loud poops and spitting up all over herself...now how can that be so adorable!

Back at Work

This is my first full week back at work. It was less heart wrenching than I thought it would be to leave Hailey for a whole day. I think that it's been easier for me because I don't have to worry about the quality of care that she's getting, and I know that I will be home with her on Wednesdays and Fridays. Those two factors have really made all the difference in the world.

I've gotten only positive reports about her behavior at Aunt Katie's house. She takes three bottles and then I nurse her immediately when I get home. Luke's been incredibly supportive and helpful with this arrangement, which is also a weight off my shoulders. All in all, I'd say that the transition has been pretty smooth so far. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything continues to work out.

Almost 6 Weeks

I can't believe that Hailey is almost 6 weeks old! Here are some new pics that Grandpa Pete took during his most recent visit. The smiles aren't actually a reaction to anything other than her own gas, but you've got to take what you can get at this point. It probably took me 30 pictures just to catch her with a smile...thank goodness for digital cameras!

Let's see, since my last blog, she's taken a bottle, become enthralled with our ceiling fan, and taken a trip to Cincinnati. Not bad for her first six weeks of life. Today we did a practice run with our sitter, Katie. I have to go back to work on Monday so Hailey will be with Katie on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. I'll be working at home on Wednesdays and Fridays. I'm really hoping that this schedule works out so that I can continue working, especially since we can use the money now more than ever. The worst part about working again is having to worry about taking days off. I'd like to take a few trips while she's still young, but I have so much trouble scheduling vacation. It would be nice to just pick up and leave whenever I want, but I guess we'll have to just figure it out as we go along. The good news is that now that I'm working again, I'll have more time to blog.

Lessons in Motherhood - Part 2

NEVER CHANGE BABY BEFORE FEEDING BABY...Hailey is a big spitter upper. We have the subtle little spit ups that slowly drool out the sides of her mouth to the projectile spit up and everything in between. Plus, as an extra bonus, she not only spits up when she's finished eating, but for hours after eating. I don't think that I own any bedding that hasn't gotten spit up on it. It's a lot of fun.

To add some other excitement to the pot, Hailey has "thrush," which for those of you that don't know, is a yeast infection in her mouth. It turned her tongue completely white (which was really nasty). It also made nursing really painful again. The medicine that we have to give her is in liquid form, and we have to dropper .5 ml into each cheek and rub it around in her cheek. The medicine is this sweet smelling sticky crap that is really unpleasant, but it seems to be doing the job.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'll try to get Luke to put some pictures up this weekend.

Lessons in Motherhood - Part 1

ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK THE DIAPER WHEN CHANGING BABY IN THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING...

Last night Hailey slept for 5 hours from 9pm to 2am...what a gift! Then, she woke up again at 4:45am to eat, but she was a little wet in the behind so I decided to change her. Remember, it was 4:45am so I wasn't fully awake (I can nurse lying down now so I don't have to fully wake up). So, I changed her diaper in bed as I was half asleep. At about 7:45 this morning, she started fussing again and I hear this explosive wet poopy noise. Then, I roll her over and realize that I didn't put the diaper on all the way when I changed her at 4:00am so there is wet, yellow poopy all over her nightgown, blanket, my bed sheets, etc. It was a bad scene. Thank goodness it was 7:45 and not 2:00am or something. She got a much needed bath this morning and is now sleeping soundly!

Just Like Mommy

She looks just like her Mommy...don't you think??? Hailey on bottom and Mommy on the top.

Moooo!

Well, we've been home from the hospital for exactly one week today. It's been quite a ride so far with lots of ups and downs (but mostly ups). Hailey's really quite a calm baby, which is easy to say now that she's sleeping. She eats about 8 times a day, and she can nurse anywhere from 20 minutes to 50 minutes. So, if you figure that out, I spend the majority of my time - almost 8 hours a day - nursing. By the time I finish nursing and burping her, I get a few hours of peace before we start all over again. It's quite exhausting, and I feel like a milk cow! Despite the pain and the lack of free time, I wouldn't have it any other way.

In case you haven't seen the hospital pictures yet...you can go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/lukehamilton/ . We need to get Daddy to take some more pictures soon.

HAILEY IS HERE

Hailey Marie Hamilton arrived at 7:44am on Sunday, July 30, 2006. She weighed 7lbs 6oz and was 20.5 inches long. She scored almost perfectly on her APGAR test, and was delivered without the use of any pain medication whatsoever. She has a full head of brown hair with blond undertones.

Now that we have the basics out of the way, I'll tell you some of the gorey details. On Saturday night, I started having contractions around 10:00pm. I had a feeling that I would go into labor on Saturday because it was the one day in the last month that my doula was out of town. Neither of us thought that I would be 8 days late so it didn't seem like the trip would be a big deal. Surprise, surprise...it's the day Miss Hailey finally decides to come.

So, I didn't recognize the contractions at first because it felt like back pains, and there was no pain at all in the front. I started timing the pain around 11pm, and they were about 8 minutes apart. It didn't take long to go from 8 minutes apart down to 5 minutes apart, and we were packed and in the car by 12:45am. We arrived at the hospital around 1:15am, and I measured only 4 cm. I was so pissed when I first got there because I had hoped to labor at home until I was at least 6 cm. Luckily, it only took about an hour to get from 4 cm to 6 cm.

Within another 2 hours, I was 8 cm. Since Amy, the doula, was not around, my Mom served as my doula and Luke was the coach. It was great! They were absolutely perfect and kept me completely calm and relaxed through each contraction. Since I had so much back labor, my Mom stood in front of me so that I could hold on to her while Luke sat behind me and rolled ice or massaged my back. It worked out very well (that's not to say that it wasn't ridiculously painful).
The midwives and nurses basically stayed out of our way since we were doing so well on our own.

At about 6:30am, I was 9.5 cm and ready to begin pushing. Pushing was by far the most invigorating, amazing, and painful experience of my life. Still, I knew I was at the end so it didn't take that much motivation for me to really give it my all. I pushed for about an hour and fifteen minutes, and I was able to reach down and feel her head when it crowned. Then, before I knew it there was a screaming, slimey baby on my belly. I kept her on my belly for a long time before they finally took her to clean her up. It was amazing!!!!

Here's the picture from just after she was born. Since we are still at the hospital, we haven't been able to get the pictures off of the camera, but we'll put them up asap.

Christmas with No Santa

It's 6:00am on Thursday, and I'm now officially 5 days overdue. I'm getting a little bitter about it at this point, which I know is a terrible thing. It's just that every night I go to bed feeling like I'm a little kid on Christmas Eve and wondering if Santa will come. Then, every morning I wake up to find that he hasn't. Now, imagine having that feeling of disappointment every day for two weeks. I know that she'll come when she's ready, and there's really not much I can do (that I haven't already tried). I'm not quite to the point of consuming caster oil (which my neighbor says works), but that point is getting closer every day. I think that everyone in this household is hoping that this ends soon, particularly as my crankiness quotient increases exponentially each day. At least we've learned one important lesson about Miss Hailey - she has her Dad's sense of timing :)

No News Yet

Well, my due date has come and gone, but still no Baby Hailey. We are all just waiting around eagerly anticipating her arrival. I feel like I've tied up every loose end that I had left so there is nothing to do but wait. Of course, we are trying to watch movies and take walks and eat lots of ice cream. We'll do just about anything to distract from the fact that there is no baby yet (even continue going to work). I had another midwife appointment today, and she's in the ready position. I guess just not ready enough.

In the meantime, here is a cute picture of the crib for you to enjoy. My Grandma, Hailey's Great Grandma, made the blanket that's draped on the crib. Hopefully, next time I write I'll have one of those goofy- looking hospital mug shots for you!!!

Hair/Eye Color Chart

Here are all of the hair/eye color guesses.

Last Ultrasound

We had our last ultrasound today, and Miss Hailey is doing very well in there. I don't really have any pictures to show for it, but she was in the low 7lb range. The midwife says that there is nothing to worry about so now we just have to wait! So here is the calendar with all of the birthday guesses. Some of you have already lost...too bad.

All Systems Are Go!

Just finished with my midwife appointment. Here's the news: Hailey has indeed dropped, my cervix is very soft and thin, and we are 1 cm dilated. It feels weird talking about my cervix on the blog, but isn't that the important stuff? So, I think that we are ready to go. No contractions yet, but the midwife felt very good about my progress and thought that it wouldn't be too long now.

Map of the Belly

If you can't read the text next to the map, you might need to click on the picture above and zoom in a little. Enjoy!

Hair/Eye Color Game

It's about time for everyone to take a guess about Hailey's hair and eye color. We are talking final eye color so don't pick blue just because they are all born with blue eyes in the beginning. For those of you that can't remember, I have red hair and brown eyes and Luke has brown hair and blue/green eyes. I'm almost 100% Italian and Luke's some type of mixed breed. So, it's pretty much a toss up as to what Hailey is going to look like. I have a guessing grid all set up already so you need to select 1) Hair Color = blond, brown, black or red and 2) Eye Color = blue, green, hazel, brown. I will add your guess to the grid and then post the results next week so that everyone can see which were the most popular combinations.

Also, if you would like to select a birth date, I'm keeping track of guesses on that as well. Just remember that if you want me to continue to like you, I'd think long and hard about picking a date much later than July 22nd (her official due date). It's already 96 degrees here and I'm carrying around an extra 35lbs so every day matters!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!

6lbs Already?!?!?!

At our big ultrasound this morning, we were very pleased to learn that Hailey is 6lbs 1oz already! We have 24 days to go until her due date so she'll probably pack on at least another pound or so. Unfortunately, I don't have any very good pictures from this time around, but we were able to see just about everything (and we confirmed again that she is indeed a girl). The most amazing images were of her toes (I think I saw a toenail) and her hair. Yes, she's a hairy beast, but that's just as we expected given her Mommy and Daddy. We also saw her "practice breathing" which I guess is a good sign that she's about ready to come out. I'm getting so excited to meet her. I think that I'm going to go out today to buy my red raspberry leaf tea and my evening primrose vitamins. Next midwife visit is Wednesday the 5th, but I might post before then with pictures of the nursery.