Fitzpatricks in Spaaaaace!!!!

PRAISE GOD, we are out of our teensy tiny 350 sq foot apartment and in one nearly triple the size!! We kind of don't know what to do with ourselves, what with all the glorious SPACE. We are still very much digging out from the move, but it feels so very good to have to actually raise our voices to call one another from parts of the apartment. The new digs are in Beautiful Burbank. We are in this cool area called the "Rancho Equestrian District", and they mean what they say- horses literally walk up and down our sidewalk on a daily basis. Plus we are right across from the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, so there's always people riding and horses neighing and all that fab stuff. Double plus, somewhere nearby there are a group of Donkeys that Hee HAW at 6:25 on the button every morning. We love love LOVE our new place. Can't wait to have some of y'all over to see it!
Gwendy is 7 weeks old as of yesterday, and changing seemingly every minute. She now has about an hour of awake playtime for every hour she sleeps during the day. She coos and smiles and is utterly facinated with her own feet at the moment. She stares at them endlessley, drooling like a maniac.
Here's some photos and a nice video of Daddy building Gwendy's crib and her reaction to said crib, or more specifically, her reaction to her lamb mobile.
*(Just a disclaimer- my videos of late are and will continue to be mostly just shots of our girl with very little in the way of careful editing. First, I just don't have that kind of time, and second I make these videos for the Gwendy-hungry among you (you know who you are....Mom, MJ, I'm looking at you) so don't judge me too harshly! )

Gwendy Videos- Good Morning and First Bath!

Here's our girl waking up and being freed from her dreaded swaddle. Sorry if the sound is a bit loud...you'll see why at around the 51 second mark...


And here's her first real bath. A little long, but super-cute!

One Month Old!

Boy, this month has flown! And also limped along like a brokedown mule. But our gal Gwen is a whole month old and it kind of makes me sentimental. Especially since now that she's a bit older, she is learning to use her "free and open voice", aka, "crying her ass off". Only for a couple of hours a day, and nothing we can't handle, but still, I look back on the bonny bygone days of newborn sleepiness with nostalgia and longing. We are rewarded, though, with more alertness, and a good 20 minutes of smiling and cooing after each feeding session.
And speaking of which, I stupidly went along w/ my docs advice and used the ole' breastpump so I can start a stockpile of frozen milk. Well, apparantly the message my body got was "Please make milk for a whole cadre of babies. Like enough for a baby army that could take over California and set the budget right!". Poor Gwen is having a bit of a hard time controlling all this excess leche, so I have consulted the Cult of Boobies (aka La Leche League's website) and we are working towards stemming the tide. It could be worse, I suppose- I could be lacking in the milk dept.
BTW- there is no area where more unsolicted and unfounded advice is offered than in the arena of breastfeeding. And the real rub is- it's not an exact science, so nothing works for everyone, or in the same way. I would say the best advice on breastfeeding is simply: If your kid is alive and gaining weight just keep plugging away at it, because nature is messy and complicated and also simple at the same time, so anything you do to try to make sense of this will only mind-screw you right when you are incredibly tired. And that's never good.
We are staying in Fresno this week- it's so hot in LA and we only have the one air conditioner so rather than huddle around it like cave-people around a camp fire, we are crashing at the inlaws and enjoying the privelages of central air, washing machine, and extra arms when Gwendy-wrangling gets tough. Here's some new pics of our little bumble bee:






Emmy: Vibrating armrest, with Ambient Noise Feature

3 Weeks Old!

We have a wonder-baby, so far. When she fusses, it's for a clear reason, and we can generally figure out what that may be pretty easily. We spent the 4th of July weekend w/ Gavins family up in Murphy's and she was a doll the whole time. I'm nervous though, cause sometimes they flip the script on you and become Fusszillas, right around 3 weeks. Which we are. And she was quite cranky this morning. Sigh. Anywho, here's some picture lovin below. Note she has gotten her crop of "baby acne". Poor little monkey. It's supposed to go away in a few weeks, but we admit to affectionately calling her "pizza face" every so often. Oh, which reminds me, some nicknames we are using:

1. Puppy
2. Batman (it just came out once when I was tired and sort of stuck)

3. Sculto (a really long story that involves a misspelled recipe ingredient).

4. Back-line-it (an even longer story that involves Gavin making up a fictional product to help my pregnancy-sore back)

5. Gwendy-pants

6. Stink

7. Bumble Bee

And about 9 dozen more that get tossed around infrequently. Baby and nicknames apparantly go together like peas and carrots.

Our First Fortnight!

As of yesterday, our little Gwendy-bird is 2 weeks old! To celebrate, we visited her arch nemesis, the pediatrician. Seriously, why are all the things peds do so howl-inducing? I've heard Gwendy make noises in that office she's never made at home. They stripped her down (which she hates) and put drops in her eyes (which she SUPER hates) and made me take my pinky out of her mouth so they could take a look down her throat (which caused world-melting Super-Dolphin-Scream, which Mommy REALLY REALLY HATES).

But great news- not only is she incredibly healthy- she now weighs 8lbs, 4 oz, which is a 10oz gain from her birth weight!! They always hope babies get back to birth weight by day 10, and here's my little champ seeing them and raising them. I must admit, I was proud as punch, as it is my hard-earned milk adding on all that new padding.

My mom, sister and grammy were out all last week to meet our girl; photos ensued:


And, BONUS, some lists:

Things that are harder than I expected:
1. Lack of Sleep- Because, really, you can't understand lack of sleep until you are experiencing lack of sleep. It colors everything- and I have a so-called 'easy baby' who drops off for 3 hours at a clip! Wow. Imagine a true wailer.....boggles my mind.

2. My Dogs- All my waking hours are spent tending to my human child, so my fur-children are getting the short end of the stick for now. And that makes me feel really crappy, cause like, I love them. But we'll get the hang of it soon and make it up to them.

3. Dealing with Unsolicited Advice- New moms are at their most vulnerable and insecure, cause they love their babies and want the best for them and yet have relatively little experience in making that happen. So all the conflicting advice from well-meaning folks and over-bearing books is totally a mind screw.

4. It's SO Not About Me Anymore- I never have much time to do anything for myself these days, up to and including showering and eating dinner with both hands. So it's an adjustment, not just living for your own needs. Luckily I love the creature whose needs come first more than my own person, so it's not too hard.

Things that Are Easier than I Expected:
1. Breastfeeding- we had one or two awful days, but now we are like fishes in water. The only drawback is I look like I went to Mexico for a cheap boob job that no doctor would be willing to do in the States. They are ridiculous, folks. Seriously. I had prepared for breastfeeding to suck out loud- and while it is not easy, I really do enjoy having her wee hand pat me on the bosom while she nurses as if to say "Thanks Mom, for walking around looking like Anna Nicole Smith for my nourishment!".

2. Saying No to People- If I don't feel up to it, or if it is not conducive to Gwen's well-being, I don't do it. No. And no. And no again. So there.

3. Poo Diapers/Spit up/ Etc.- They're not really that gross in general (all they eat is milk, after all) and not gross at all when it's your kid. Plus all that Emmy Orifice Maintenance is coming in handy, cause nothing shakes me now.

4. Knowing I am a Really Good Mom- Cause I just know it. And that's pretty cool.

Happy Father's Day!

My amazing hubby and his amazing daughter. Happy Daddy's day, honey.

What a week, you guys. I promise once I come up for air I'll relate the whole incredible (at least to me) story. Let's just leave it at this: nothing will ever be the same, in the best possible way.

Also, to all of you who will get a whole night's sleep tonite- treasure it like a perfect shimmering jewel. Sleep. Precious sleeeeeeeep.

Love at First Sight

It's possible. In fact it turns out it's inevitable. She's here. I'd say more, but I have an armfull of Gwendy right now and am typing one-handed.
Has anyone ever been this happy?

Gwendolyn Joy Fitzpatrick

6/16/09

1:04 am
7lbs, 10 oz.