Two months and still going strong...

Sydney had her two month check up yesterday. The doctor said she is doing really well and he was surprised at how tall she has grown. She weighs 11 pounds 11 ounces (75 percentile) and is 25 1/2 inches long (above the 97 percentile).

She was pretty good at the doctor, until they pulled out the needles. She received 5 vaccinations yesterday ( only 4 shots because the polio vaccine is given orally). She started screaming as soon as the first needle went in, but stopped when the nurse left the room. She pretty much slept most of the rest of the day and we gave her infant tylenol every 4 hours or so.

I thought we would be lucky and she wouldn't have any reactions to the shots, but today she has been so cranky! Nothing seems to console her. At least we know what to expect when she goes in for her 4 month check up and shots!

She is finally out of the baby zombie stage and looks around and holds your gaze. She smiles a lot too, which makes all of those crying times a little easier to take. She is such a sweet baby! Bath time and diaper changes have also become good times - no more tears!

Six weeks old and still going strong...

She spends a lot of time with me and our favorite pasttime is watching TV. Hey, we live where it snows a lot and it is way too cold to go outside. Maybe in a few weeks it will warm up and we can play outside.

In the mornings after Donnie leaves for class Sydney sleeps in his spot. She likes to sleep curled up with her arms under her head.


She smiles a lot now and is a really happy baby. She loves her carseat and to smile!







When she is in a deep sleep she puts her hands up by her head, most of the time they make it all the way up into a "toucdown" position, but here she apparently is pretending to be a moose.






She still is not too big on bathtime, but she is adjusting well to her "big girl tub." It seems to be more enjoyable than the sink or a spongebath (who knew?).

Some more photos of Sydney

Here she is at 1 week old. She still has jaundice and so she looks a little yellow. She is a great sleeper and eater though so it should clear up soon.






This is right after a bath. She hates baths and cries the whole time - until we wash her hair and then she is very calm. Her hair is curly when it's wet and as it starts to dry it turns wavy and sticks out everywhere! It is so cute.





This is how you will find her most of the time - except for the few hours between 3 and 7 a.m.. She thinks that is playtime and is wide awake. In her first pictures she looked exactly like Donnie, but now you can see some of the Ralston in her too!

A view from the hospital...

Finally - I have the epidural going and I can relax. Only my sisters keep me on the phone for updates.

Although you probably can't tell from this angle, I really look like I am about to pop!




Who knew that the hardest part of it all would be the pushing? Pain was not a problem, but I thought if I had to keep pushing my head would explode!















She's finally here! Her lungs were nice and healthy too. Once they cleared her mouth and nose and clamped off her umbilical cord, they wiped her off, weighed her and measured her.















Finally she's clean and all bundled up. Then I was able to hold her. I was still a little groggy from the epidural, but I was very excited to hold my little angel!

Her first trip to the doctor...

Sydney had her two week check up today! Her coloring is much better as her jaundice is calming down. The doctor said her days of bili tests are over! Although she cannot speak I am sure she is glad that she will not have to suffer through anymore heel pricks.

She has regained her birthweight and has even grown 1/2 an inch! She is in the 75th percentile for weight (8lbs 8 oz), 90th the for height (21 1/2 inches) and 50th for her head size (36).

She absolutely is the best baby ever. She sleeps really well during the night - usually close to 5 hours. She eats really well and is very calm. She only screams at me when I change her diaper or give her a bath ( she clearly has some cleanliness issues to work through). I love giving her a bath though because afterward her hair is super curly and way cute.

Well, Sydney is now ready to eat...

She's here!

Well, I am pleased to announce the birth of our daughter - Sydney Blair. Although her official due date was not until February 8, she decided she was ready to come - much to our delight.

On Monday January 23 I awoke at 4 a.m. with a strong contraction, by 4:15 a.m. my water broke and we headed to the hospital. I must admit, at first it wasn't bad. My contractions were about 8 minutes apart and I felt pretty good. Around 5 a.m. I wanted to die and I told Donnie he had to do something about the pain. Finally at 6:30 a.m. I received an epidural and from there on out it was smooth sailing.

My parents were on their way from the other side of the country so we were hoping the baby would wait for them. We started puching around 11:40 a.m. and my parents arrived around noon - that's when the doctor came too.

Thankfully they were there to see her birth. Surprisingly so, Donnie didn't pass out, but rather he made it through the whole process. He even took pictures of it all. I was relieved when I no longer needed to push, as I found this to be the most difficult part of it all!

She was born at 12:33 p.m. and weighed 8 lbs and 8 oz. She was 21 inches long and absolutely beautiful. She looks a lot like her dad, but has her mom's attitude (when she wants to eat you have to feed her immediately or she screams!).

You can check out a picture of her here: http://www.utahportraits.com/hospital/index.php?action=view&BabyID=012306sby

Could be soon...

Yesterday we had another weekly visit with the doctor. Last week He told us I was dilated to about a 3 and 75 percent efaced. That sounded pretty good to me and made me think, "Oh maybe she'll come early."

Dr. Gamette said most first babies run a little late though so we'll just have to wait and see. The coolest thing we learned is that now Sydney's heart is big and string enough that Donnie can put his ear just below my belly button and listen to her heart beat.

Yesterday we went back hoping for some news that we have progressed a little and we were not disappointed. We are dilated to a little more than 3 and are 80 percent efaced. Instead of waiting until next Friday, Dr. Gamette wants to see us on Wednesday.

After the exam he seemed a little more confident that the baby would come sooner rather than later - which is great for us. We can't wait for her to come! He also said that she is already over 8 pounds and is a very healthy size. She will grow atleast a pound a week and if we have to wait for her due date (2 more weeks) then she will be really big and I am not sure I will appreciate that.

We are now just waiting on her to come and Dr. Gamette gave us one last piece of advice - "The thing that got you into this mess may help get you out."

I guess we'll see.

It's almost time...

Well, yesterday we went to the doctor for a checkup and everything is going really well. We have about 4 more weeks to go, but I am already dilated to a 2 and so she may arrive a little sooner.

I have been having contractions, but they are about two and a half hours apart and they usually only come at night. Maybe it is a sign of things to come and we will have her in the middle of the night.

The doctor said she is already in position and we will go back next Friday to see how things are progressing. It would be nice if she came a little early, but we would like her to wait at least two more weeks so she will be ready.