New Mom

Like most other first-time moms, I was very worried that Rachel wasn't getting enough to eat. I was trying to feed her every three hours (about 8 times per day), but she didn't seem to want to eat that much. Confession - during the first week, I was even waking her up at night if she had gone too long. She is a great night sleeper - she can go 4-5 hours between feedings - no problem. Anyway, the story is that I went to go get her weighed at one week just to make sure she was starting to gain some weight and she was 9 lb 2 oz - back to her birth weight at only one week! I think that might break some records! Don't worry, I have stopped "force feeding" the poor child and am letting her set her own schedule. She's doing great and is patient with the new mom - I can just picture her saying, "No, mom, not again - I don't need to eat yet! Give me some credit, I know what I'm doing."

Our little bird with her hungry faceOh-so content with tummy time

Rachel sleeping with her mad faceRachel wide-eyed in her cocoon

And even more photos...

More Photos of Rachel

Everything is going great - we are so happy! We came home from the hospital on Thursday afternoon and went to her first doctor's appointment Friday morning. That was quite the adventure - I can't believe that I'll actually be able to pull off an outing by myself in the next couple weeks. But we are learning this new parent thing day by day and it's a blast!
First Family Photo at the Hospital

On the drive home doing what she does best

Infamous carseat photo - she's so small!

Cuddling with Dad

Look how cute I look - thanks for the blanket, Aunt Nicole

Sweet Dreams...

Here is one more video of Rachel right after she was born.

Here is a few clips of Rachel Faye on her first few days in the hospital. She is still doing great. She has lost a little weight, but she is being a great baby. Enjoy!

Best Birthday Present Ever

She is here! I share a birthday with our new daughter, Rachel Faye!

Here are the stats:

Born Tuesday, June 17

9 lbs 2 oz

22 inches long

We arrived at the hospital at midnight (early Tuesday morning) and she was born at 8:59am.

Here are some pics - the birthday girls (worn out after our big party), sleeping, first bath, and proud dad!

The baby obviously didn't get my (Brandon's) punctualilty

It would be a significant understatement to say that I love to be on time. I was always the kid in high school that showed up to the stag dance, not merely on time, but 15 minutes early. It turns out that this is not cool to do. Fortunately I eventually found friends who were able to hold me down long enough to be "fashionably late." However, years later I continue to be punctual for nearly everything I do, even if I look stupid doing so. One might say that this has become a source of pride for me.

I am sad to report that my wonderful daughter does not appear to have inherited this wonderful quality from her father. Tomorrow is her due date and there is no sign that she will be joining us anytime soon. She is perfectly content to sit back and wait a little longer.

For the last several days, I've been trying to figure out when she is going to come. Although I would really like her to come right now, I think I have finally realized why she is choosing to be late. Assuming she is rational, she understands that the longer she waits the more badly we will want her to come and the more excited we will be when she finally does come. Thus, by waiting a few extra days, she is able to increase her utility. However, as she waits, the marginal returns from doing so will slowly decrease as we become more annoyed. Eventually the marginal returns will become negative because not only will everyone be ticked off that she is so late, but all of the clothes she has waiting will no longer fit. Thus, economics would lead me to predict that she will enter the world precisely at the moment the marginal benefit from waiting inside the womb another day equals the marginal cost of doing so. (See Figure 1 below). I'm not sure exactly when this is, but I'm guessing it will be a few more days. I will keep you all updated.

Girl's Night Out

Last night I got together with four of my BYU roommates for dinner & a movie. We don't get together all that often, but it's always a blast when we do! (Kasey, thanks for planning the get together & Shannon, we missed you!) Six of us in total lived together sophomore & junior year while at BYU. Then, you know the drill...we all started getting married one by one - we all got married within one and a half years of each other. They were the best roomies a girl could ask for and we have such good memories together. All five of my roommates are from Mesa, AZ and 3 out of 5 now have homes here in Arizona. So fun!

Pictured: Natalie, me, Kasey, Sarah, Suzi
(Suzi & I have due dates only one week apart and Kasey is looking hardly pregnant at 28 wks)

Pregnancy update: MY DUE DATE IS THIS FRIDAY THE 13TH!! Hopefully the next post will be baby news?!

Tagged

Confession - usually I won't respond if you "tag" me (sorry!), but I've been meaning to post something that is not entirely focused on my tummy, so thanks for the opportunity, Lauren.

How long have you been together? 3rd Anniversary this July

How long did you date? Can I count the engagement? Almost 9 months, which includes a 4 month engagement...yeah, we're one of those couples

How old are you? almost 25 - 13 more days

Who eats more? You take a wild guess - I'll give you a hint...I am 9 months pregnant - it's me, for sure! And even if I wasn't pregnant, I'd still win.

Who said I love you first? Brandon

Who is taller? Brandon, and I can wear any pair of high heels I want and he's still taller. This was not the case before his mission - I think he grew at least 3 inches while he was gone! I did not recognize him at all.

Who is smarter? Definitely, Brandon. But I like to think that I'd be as smart as him if I were done with my 2nd year of law school. :)

Who does the laundry? 75% of the time - me, 25% of the time - Brandon

Who does the dishes? Depends how good my meal is...if it's real good, he's definitely on dish duty! It's a shared chore.

Who pays the bills? Definitely me.

Who mows the lawn? In the future, Brandon will. That is, if we have grass. There are a lot of front yards made of rocks here in Phoenix.

Who cooks? Me, but not even close to every night. p.s. Brandon's specialty is Mormon Enchiladas.

Who drives when you are together? I prefer to drive us around town, especially since traffic doesn't frustrate me like it frustrates Brandon. On road trips, Brandon is the official driver - I can't last more than an hour.

Who is more stubborn? Brandon. (I love you, sweetheart.)

Who has more siblings? I do - I have 3 younger brothers; Brandon has 1 brother and 1 sister

Who wears the pants in the family? It depends on the topic. What do you think? If you are brave enough, feel free to leave a comment. :)

Don't feel obligated, but I tag my sister-in-law, Cindy, and Lindi (Lindi, I need your password to your blog - email me - whitneyhale@gmail.com).

Quick weather report - I watched the forecast and the next 7 days are all over 100 degrees. Brandon is loving life!