Cora's first week at home

Cora's first week of life was full of milestones and visitors...

Meeting Gramdma M!
Meeting Great Grandma Iris for the first time. This was Grandma's first great grandchild, so she was especially excited to meet her.

Aunt Heather... the first time that Heather touched my belly to feel her kick, Cora kicked in response. I said that it was as if she knew "Aunt Heather = TOYS!!!"

Cuddling with Cousin Ellie

Of course, Mia was also in town getting some extra cuddles.

Me! Mia! Grandma M.! Heather! Julie! Ellie! Cora! Landon took a picture of this room and begged for some men to come visit. He was feeling a little overwhelmed by women.

All of this socializing is making me sleepy!

With her Mia and Grandma M.

Howard & Vicky Rudd sent the neatest flower arrangement. This was in a miniature "little red wagon" (I am sure that this will tote around baby dolls in a couple of years) and it came with a Radio Flyer tricycle. We love it... and we are sure Cora will, too.

An edible arrangement from Grammy & Bopper... I love the chocolate covered strawberries!
Cuddle time. This was just a couple of days after she was born. Her face looked so much more mature by the end of the first week.
More cuddle time with Mom!
Heather and Julie gave me a very special birthday present - a Tiffany's charm bracelet just like they all have. My first charm: a baby girl profile with Cora's name and birthdate.

While Aunt Heather was in town she completed these canvases for Cora's room.

An upclose look at Cora's first piece of art.

I call this "Vintage Daddy" - it was Landon's onesie when he was a baby.

This was Cora's first "Daddy's Home!" moment. September 13th. It won't be long until she is big enough to pitter patter to the door and throw her arms around his legs!

In Ellie's hand-me-down bloomers. Too cute!

What a cute little bottom!

An up close shot of her cute little face.

Some final cuddles with Grandma M before she left.

There is a series of commercials for Madden College Football 2010 called "Take your Madden Back". In one, a dad pretends like he is spending time with the baby but really sticks the baby in the swing and turns on his PS3 to play Madden... The commercial could have been shot in our living room.

I saw my first two major milestones when she was one week old. First, she now "sees" the mobile hanging above her changing tray on the pack & play. All week long we've been talking to her soothingly while changing her, asking if she sees her little friends. We always call them by names (most frequently, we name them little Catie Gullett, little Eyla Rhodes, and little Annabelle Allison... but sometimes they are called Simone Trementozzi, Toby Cantrelle and Baby Boy Reetz). On Saturday, it was clear that she was beginning to focus on the little bears - the first thing on which we really noticed her focusing.
She also found my ponytail on Saturday. My hair had stayed up in a bun most of the week, but on Saturday it had fallen into a loose ponytail. In the evening she reached around and found my ponytail, grabbing a handfull of hair. Maybe as she gets older I'll find that a little annoying, but right now I LOVE feeling that little tug as she is being burped!

Checking out the mobile during a diaper change.

Other milestones from this week...

BREASTFEEDING! It took us until Day 5 of life to really start to figure it out. Before that, we had been on a bit of a roller coaster together, with me thinking things were going great Day 1, concerned because I had not quiet mastered latching on without a nurses help on Day 2, concerned because I had barely mastered latching on WITH Landon's help by Day 3 (while engorged), stressed because I was convinced that I was getting mastitis by Day 4 (who knew that milk forms lumpy little water baloons as it comes in? I didn't... and completely massaged all of my milk out one night in a hot bath trying to conquet mastitis!), and finally able to latch Cora on, by myself, by Day 5. But by the end of her first week of life... I think we had mastered it. Am I sore? Very. Do we have ourselves on a schedule? Not quiet. But we are getting there.

SLEEPING! Unbelievably, our baby comes as close to sleeping through the night as a newborn little baby possibly can. Most nights we feed her around 7, then again around 10, and put her down all swaddled in her crib after that. She usually sleeps for 3 to 5 hours before waking us up, and then 3 to 4 hours after that (which the pediatritian says is fine at night, since she is gaining well and seems to be getting plenty to eat). Perfect baby!

MAMA'S SLEEPING! But that doesn't mean I am sleeping for 5 hours straight. Of course, I wake up frequently and squirm over close to her co-sleeper to make sure she is still breathing. I admit it - sometimes I poke her. I am having to take frequent naps during the day.

DADDY'S ROLE! He's the master swaddler, and Cora was probably 5 days old before I started changing her diapers.