Stephanie Rae's Baby Blog

Daddy Comes to Island Retreat

Baby and I figured it was time we let Daddy come to the Island Retreat with us, so he strapped on the baby carrier and off we went. On the way back, we happened to see the guy who always walks his dogs there and he commented on how beautiful our baby was. Add him to the list.

BABY FIRST - She Grabbed Her Toy

Baby grabbed her little bunny while in the vibrating chair for the first time today. She held on to it for so long, I was wondering if she knew how to let go.

First Possible GaGa - and Brutus Pouncing

While Stephanie Rae is busy trying to say GaGa for the first time, one of four cats, Brutus is planning his attack on her toes - luckily through the thick comforter.

Starting the Year off Right

Well the first day of a new year, seemed like the perfect time to take baby to the Island Retreat with me for the first time. I've been dying to take her there for so long - years really given the fact that I've been walking there for years wishing, hoping and praying to have a baby.

So ... I held out pretty good. I cried of course, but not as much as I expected to. Perhaps because the happiness of having a baby now overshadows the wishing, hoping and praying for one for years.   

Baby's First Christmas

What a great Christmas, with our little present under the Christmas tree! We had to get over Michael's parents in the morning so we really didn't open too many gifts in the morning. I dropped off Michael and then took the baby to church. It was the first time I took Stephanie to church with me. As I was walking in, one of the ushers said, "Oh, you've got your Christmas miracle right there, don't you!" Wow -that was cool - I'll never ever forget that. I think I may have cried like 3 different times in church. After going back to Michael's parents and opening more gifts, we had some dinner and then went to a park so our nieces and nephews could test out their new bikes. At some point, we went to my sister's house to open gifts and share Christmas joy. The next day, we opened gifts from my sister in Ohio while doing a Skype video chat. Michael and I finally got around to opening our gifts as well. What a wonderful Christmas it has been.

Baby's First Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve 2008 was extra special thanks to our wonderful little gift who came the month before. Everyone gathered at our house for the traditional (but slightly modified) Slovak  Christmas Eve dinner (served at lunchtime). We had oplatke (William's first I'm sure) with garlic and honey, (modified) mushroom soup, bobalky (sent from Ohio), pierogo, salmon, kielbasa, stewed apricots, homemade bread (Ohio), nut and poppyseed rolls and lots of tasty treats. The food was good, but Stephanie Rae was the main attraction. At least for me, she was! 

After this, we headed to Michael's parents to share a wonderful dinner and conversation with them. Normally Michael and I go to Midnight Mass, but I thought we'd play it by ear this time. We ended up staying and talking pretty late, so church would have to wait until tomorrow. When we got home and got the baby to bed, I finally had the time for my special Christmas tradition - sitting in front of my Christmas tree, listening to John Berry's Oh Holy Night CD and drinking a glass of wine. Aaahhh ... still makes me cry after all these years. Good tears though.

Christmas Shopping (plus BABY FIRST: First Social Smile)

Yesterday, we played hooky from work and decided to start our Christmas shopping. Yes, everything this year is a bit late. We went to Hobby Lobby, Target, Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, the Mall and a few other places I'm sure. While I had taken the baby out several times shopping already, this was Daddy's first adventure and he just ate it all up. No sooner did we drive into the parking lot of our first stop did he say, "Well, ok you get the diaper bag and I'll carry the baby!" I'm not even sure we got into the store before the "Oh what a beautiful, baby" comments started. People were stopping, looking, pointing, trying to touch - it was crazy - every said how beautiful she was, how small she was, how big and bright her eyes were, how alert she was. We had the best baby in all of the mall. We got a lot accomplished, pretty much because we knew this day and the next would be it for shopping. Baby had her first breastfeeding in public experience - or BOIP as Daddy now calls it!

On Saturday, we made our annual pilgrimage to Old Towne Spring, where once again I was not allowed to hold the baby except to pose for this picture and one other one! This was a special moment, though. This is the store where we bought our wedding cake topper and another figurine of a man and a woman that we have out in our living room. They are from the Circle of Love collection. Every year since our wedding we've gone back and stared longily at the figurines of a man and a woman ... plus a baby - and finally we were able to buy one of those. Actually the one we chose was just a baby, with a circle around it and a heart as part of that circle, but it looks wonderful right beside our two figurines. Yes, I cried!

Since Daddy had carried the baby all day and put her in and out of her car seat it had been a while since I was able to really interact with her. Once we got home and I went to pick her up she smiled so incredibly big. I'm calling this her first social smile. I know she had been doing it before, but this is the first one that I can really remember so in the books it goes.  

First Unscheduled Doctor’s Visit

I had to take the baby to the doctor's office today for the first unscheduled visit. I was either lucky or the practice is good with open slots because I called and then offer to see me within the hour. The baby had not been feeding well for some time now and I had noticed some white spots on her tongue a few days ago that always seemed to be there. I really didn't think about it until she got totally fussy, then I did some research and found it was probably thrush. It's common in newborns because their immune systems are so immature and sometimes cannot handle naturally occurring bacteria. Anyway, the doctor concurred and we got some antibiotics plus some nose drops because she was also congested. These were her first little medicines (since I've had her home, that is) to take ... and hopefully the last. 

Four Weeks Old

... or the more appropriate title - Daddy Was Here. See for the first three weeks of baby's life, poor Daddy was working on this crazy big job and was hardly ever home. It was terrible timing and an insane deadline, but a great opportunity. Daddy would come and chat with us around 7am when he was getting ready to go to work and I had just finished the morning feeding. Since he knew it was his only time to see the baby all day, he felt compelled to leave his mark ... he started twisting up the hair on the top of her head into a little twirliedo. I think her hair was permanently damaged - until of course it grew out!

BABY FIRST: Baby Gets Her First Bath

Yeah, it didn't go so well, but that's my fault for not planning better. We didn't take her diaper off until we got to the kitchen sink and then it happened to be a very poo-poo diaper so we were running back to get extra diaper wipes - then Michael put her in the bath tub still dirty and wanted her to be cleaned (yes cleaned before she got her bath!) - and it was one thing after another. So she pretty much screamed the entire time, but she lived and we'll know better for next time.