The New Year

5 weeks, 1 day


Today Gwen is 1 month, 1 week, and 1 day old! Amazing!

Today is also the last day of 2010 and I'm feeling quite nostalgic. Actually, I have been feeling that way a lot lately - one of the many joys of becoming a parent, I suppose. I find myself reminiscing about my childhood and all the fun I had. I am so excited about the future and everything I get to experience again through the eyes of my child.

2010 was an amazing year that, for me, revolved around pregnancy, childbirth and Motherhood! And I can honestly say (as I think I touched on briefly in my pregnancy blog) that my greatest accomplishment is and will ever be becoming a mother. Now that Gwen is here I feel like she's always been a part of our family. In short, I can't imagine life without her!

2011 is bound to bring some fun adventures - our first one being in May when we take Gwen to the beach for the first time. She will be 6 months old and I can't wait to show her the ocean. I'm hoping we can plan a trip to Canada in late summer for another fun adventure so Gwen can meet her Great Grandma Noble. And, of course, there is a first birthday bash to plan for next November! There are a lifetime of things to look forward to with my daughter and I couldn't be happier! So goodbye 2010, hello 2011!


♥ I'm 1 month old ♥

Gwen's First Christmas

4 weeks, 1 day

A month old and celebrating Gwen's First Christmas! Of course she had to have her own tree. So mommy found the pinkest, prettiest tree ever! The theme? Circus! hehehe

I saw the ornaments and thought they were the cutest I had ever seen: Checkered felt elephants, pink "sock monkey" elephants and giraffes, hand-painted balls featuring monkeys and seals and zebras playing! It doesn't get any better than that ;) And the pink tree matched her pink stocking.

Merry Christmas Gwen! Mommy and Daddy love you more than you can imagine! ♥

Gwen's very own tree!

Pet Names

3 weeks, 3 days


No, not the furry kind of pet names; the human kind. Twenty-four days old and Gwen already has a plethora of "pet names" that I call her:

1. Dolly - I started calling her this pretty much from the time we came home from the hospital when she was three days old. Funny thing is, when I told my mom I was calling Gwen "Dolly", mom told me that her mom had called her that as a baby - I never knew!

2. Raptor - This is thanks to the noise she emits when she's stretching out in her bassinet; usually as she is falling asleep.

3. Puppy Dog - This is also thanks to the noise she emits randomly, but again, mostly as she is falling asleep. I am going to attribute this to the fact she has two doggy's around and listened to them woof all the time for the nine months she incubated.

4. Squeaker - Once again thanks to the noise she makes sometimes; this one is very cute to hear.

5. Sunshine - The name I typically greet her with in the morning.

6. Starshine - Also a morning greeting; I sometimes tell her: Good Morning Starshine, the Earth say's "Hello!".

7. Zombie Baby - Yes, you read that correctly, "Zombie Baby". Gwen sometimes gets so excited when we offer her a bottle or paci that she shakes her head frantically which consequently makes it nearly impossible to get the bottle or paci in her mouth causing more frantic head shaking. (As a side note: I have been captivated by the hit TV series "The Walking Dead" on AMC Sunday nights which was filmed and takes place right here in Atlanta, Georgia [plug]. I am super sad that the first season is over and the second season won't make it's appearance until next OCTOBER! Anyway, that's where I got the idea for this particular "pet name").

I am sure there will be many more to come!


My little "Dolly" ♥

Happy 3rd Week Birthday

3 weeks

Today my daughter is three weeks old and the way her nightly feedings fall I was up and rocking a very sleepy little girl at exactly 4:24 this morning. I happened to look at the clock at 4:20 and while she was fast alseep and ready to be layed back down I continued to hold her until 4:24 at which point I quietly sang her "Happy Birthday".

I tried to remember exactly how I felt at the precise moment she was born; despite being incredibly exhausted I was elated, over-the-moon, and glad that she arrived safely. I will never forget her first little cry, her little eyes darting around the delivery room as if she was looking for me and the way she listened so intently when she first heard me softly speak to her.

Happy 3 Weeks to my precious little girl ♥

Minutes Old ~ 11/23/10

TIL

1 week, 2 days

No, I did not spell "TILL" wrong. I mean "TIL". As in "Today I learned...". And while this particular motherhood learning experience technically happened yesterday it lasted well enough into the evening to become "today" and so it goes like this:

Gwen has been doing wonderful with nursing like a pro and sleeping decent intervals. She actually came out sucking at the air and is a vigorous eater along with sleeping for at least two to three hour increments. That is until yesterday when I experienced my first motherhood lesson.

It began in the late afternoon after feeding her a nice full meal of "mommy milk". She was sleepy and daddy swaddled her and layed her down, but I noticed she was fussier than usual. It wasn't long before she started crying unconsolably - clean diaper, full belly, kisses, rocking, soothing - NOTHING would help except nursing or a paci in her mouth. So paci stayed in and we figured it would just be a matter of time before she stopped fussing and wore herself out. All babies get fussy now and then, right? Wrong. She stayed completely upset and this was not like her at all.

This went on into the early evening and the more she cried the more my heart broke. I was as upset as she was because I felt so helpless and all I wanted to do was "kiss it and make it better". A frantic phone call later to the after hours line and I was able to speak directly to her pediatrician. What a relief! It was decided after some in-depth questioning that I may have been eating some foods that weren't sitting well with Gwen when she nursed and hence the upset stomach. I felt so guilty! This was all my fault even if it was done unknowingly. After a late night pharmacy run by daddy to track down a syringe and some mylanta administered in a "baby" dose, Gwen started to feel better and we were able to lay her down to sleep.

Today she seems to be a little exhausted from her long ordeal, but I pray she quickly becomes her "old" self again. Nine days into her life and I have already learned a valuable motherhood lesson. I guess this one can be summed up as "You are what you eat".

Sorry, Sweetheart ♥


TGFP - Thank God for Paci!

Introducing Gwen

1 Week

This time last week I was holding a newborn baby in my arms. Gwen joined my family on November 23, 2010 and made my husband and I first time parents.

She arrived via an unplanned c-section after a "very" long labor and a few hours of unsuccessful pushing. I say "very" because although I may not have labored as long as some, to me, it felt like an eternity. By the time a cesarean was mentioned I was more than willing to follow down that path - one that I had hoped to avoid at all costs. I won't lie; it was fairly scary and probably the most strangest surgery I'll ever have (how many major abdominal surgeries does one partake in wide awake?), however, my world changed completely the moment I heard her first cry, and if I had to do it all over again I would in a heartbeat.

Gwen is amazing. I am smitten. I've heard some people say that you haven't experienced unconditional love until you have experienced parenthood. It's true - undeniably, absolutely, utterly true. In her one week of life she has taught me more about love and sacrifice than I have learned in the past twenty-eight years. I love my daughter with all my heart. She completes me.

While I was pregnant I started a blog about the trials and tribulations of my pregnancy. I really enjoyed doing so and am excited to be starting a new blog about my journey into motherhood and chronicling the growth of my daughter. Everyday I am learning something new about parenthood and not a day goes by that I don't find myself laughing and marveling at how such a little person can bring so much joy to life.


Introducing Gwenyth River Gordon
Born November 23, 2010 at 4:24AM
7 lbs, 4 oz and 20 Inches of Pure Perfection