sisters.

we can't forget cotton and barley!  the dogs were fairly indifferent about mary and still are to a degree.  they do, however, check on her from time to time during the day and will sniff her and/or lick her (ahem, cotton) if they feel she needs it.  one, or both of them, will follow me into her room for diaper changes or feedings- or for anything, really.  she got a really good sniffing when we first came home and it took the dogs a little while to adjust to where she came from and that whoever is holding her will not be giving them as much love and attention.  but they seem to have adjusted well and will check on her if she's crying. i cannot wait until mary is bigger and she can interact more with them... or maybe i can.  :)

cotton and barley meet mary for the first time!

cotton was the first to sniff...

... then it was barley's turn.

monitoring pops' babysitting duties.

keeping us company in the kitchen during her first bath.

swing time.  cotton keeps a close eye...

... and when she's in her bouncy seat.

sweet sisterly love.

play time.

love from barley!

cotton wasn't so sure she was ready for a rider!

one month.

Mary,

You are one month old today.  Time surely has flown by since you were born!  You have grown and changed so much in the last month.

You have outgrown almost all your newborn clothes and you are out of your newborn diapers.  You are now in size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothes.  At your 2 week appointment with Dr. Love, you weighed 7 lbs. 4.5 oz. and measured 20 1/4 inches long.  I measured you this week and you are now about 21 inches long and I estimate somewhere in the 8 lbs. range.  I may take you back to the doctor's office to have your weight checked just because I am curious.

this is a huge smile!  (no, you aren't crying...)

You are a great eater and feed about every 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours during the day and at night you take one long stretch of 4-5 hours after your last feeding (anywhere from 10-11:30pm) and then you are back on your day schedule.  Mama appreciates the long stretch.  It also makes me go to bed earlier!  You usually take at least one good nap a day, sometimes two, and at least a few cat naps.  Today you put yourself to sleep (with very little crying) and you slept over 2 hours in your crib!  (At night you are in the Dennis family bassinet next to our bed.)

(this is a smile, too!)

You have been giving us the sweetest smiles and I know they are not all gas related.  :)  You even started smiling as soon as I pulled out the camera today for your pictures.  If you could laugh already I think you would have been laughing a deep laugh from your gut.  In some pictures you look like you are crying but you were truly smiling with your entire sweet face.

You look so much like your Daddy but you have my hands and fingers, feet and toes, and my lips and ears.  Maybe my nose.  Even as you keep changing you still look mostly like your dad.

I love you so much and cannot imagine what life was like without you.

still smiling

Mama

bath time.

mary is still not so sure she likes her baths.  she is still getting sponge baths but hopefully can soon have a "real" bath.  but there is nothing like the smell of a clean, freshly washed baby.  it's one of my favorite smells.  most likely that stems from me washing babies for 7 years as part of my career!  i can't think of a better job.  we use burt's baby bees shampoo and wash.  i love it because it is all natural.  and it smells  heavenly.   anyway, i know you're all ready for pictures.  here are a few from her bathing adventures. 

first bath!

the next week... still not a huge fan!

m.i.a.

my hard drive crashed!  i just got my computer back and fixed up- well, except for putting all my pictures back on it.  (thankfully, i never hardly delete my memory card... at least i haven't since my well before mary was born.)

i'll be back to blogging soon.  i promise!

meeting family.

we are blessed to have such a wonderful family and mary has already met so many of them!  she has met both sets of grandparents, her great-mamaw stella, aunt erin, great aunt regina and (second) cousins, lindsey and haley.  (and yes, she's had lots of time with her mimi, but she is usually the one behind the camera.  we do have pictures, though!)  she has also had facetime with her great uncle steve, and her other great-grandparents.  she is one loved baby girl!

 trying out the carrier with daddy

 mommy time!

 meeting papaw (?) paul

 hanging out with pops

 spending time with her gigi (mamaw, grandma?)

 getting some love from her great mamaw stella

 meeting lindsey

 getting some love from haley

adored by her great aunt regina

introducing Mary Isabelle...

it is about time for me to introduce you all to our sweet mary.  i've been a little busy taking care of my sweet girl to get on the computer and put together a proper post so now, almost 2 weeks later, here it is. she is a pretty amazing little girl and we are absolutely smitten with her.  she looks a lot like jay's baby pictures but she has a few of my features too.  she has my eyelashes, fingers, nose, and maybe my lips.  she is growing and changing so much already!  hopefully, we'll have more long napping moments so i can keep the blog updated on a more frequent basis.  until then, bear with us!

mary isabelle

born june 26, 2012 @ 4:23pm

7 lbs. 0.5 oz    19 1/2 inches

skin to skin right after she was born- she barely cried and was wide awake, checking out the world.

getting her first set of vital signs and head to toe exam, including her foot prints.

meeting daddy!

so blessed to be taken care of my by friends at mission (if you will remember, i worked on the post partum floor up until last july).  they all took such great care of us!

first nap in her crib at home.

first sponge bath at home- she doesn't mind the shampooing...

having some awake time with daddy.

happy and full after eating!

naptime with daddy.

39 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 39 Weeks  

Size of baby: Little one is almost 7 1/2 pounds and about 20 inches head to heel, about the size of a small watermelon.  *However, my doctor estimates she is definitely in the 7 1/2 lbs. range already and I think she's longer than 20 inches.  My doctor also estimates she'll be an 8+ lbs. baby by delivery.  Jay and I were both born before our due dates and we were both 8 1/2 lbs. babies.  He was 21 inches long and I was 21 3/4 inches long.  I guess we'll see how Mary measures up soon enough!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 33 pounds.  I have only gained one pound in the last 6 weeks (which is fine).  It means Mary is stealing all of my calories and then some. :)

Maternity Clothes:  I am wearing all maternity clothes, except for a couple of shirts and pajamas.  There are so many cute clothes out this summer- I am ready to not be pregnant so I can wear cuter things!

Gender:  It's a girl!  Mary Isabelle (see this post about her name)

Movement:  Mary has less and less room to move around these days so when she does it tends to hurt!  I keep telling her she would have a lot more space if she'd just come on out.  :)  I can feel her rubbing her feet together (before she kicks me!) and I swear she's just saying "there's no place like home."  Sooner or later, dear child, you will be evicted!

Sleep: Both of my hips are sore when I sleep on either side for more than a few hours, however, the pain seems to come and go depending on my daily activities.

What I miss:  Sleeping on my back!  I cannot wait to lay flat again!

Cravings: I am over the apple craving.  I am not craving anything in particular right now.

Symptoms: Heartburn/reflux, pelvic discomfort, lower back pain, puffy feet, ankles, and hands, nesting (that might be the only good one!)... your typical late pregnancy symptoms.  

***In other good news, Jay was accepted into the nursing program at this school and his classes start July 2nd.  Yes, 3 days after her due date.  Come on sweet Mary- make your debut a little early!

The picture on the left (below) is this morning... the picture on the right is this afternoon after a big thunderstorm came through- I think she dropped a little more!  Yay!

ta da! the nursery!

finally... the nursery is 95% complete!  the only thing i want to work on is the "family" bookcase and that will most likely be finished after she is born.  (i will have pictures of her grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and 1st cousin on her bookcase so she will be able to learn who everyone is even though she won't see them as often as if we lived in the same town.)

we do not have a lot of choices for paint so what was already in her room is what we stayed with.  i love the green anyway so it worked out just fine.  :)  i chose her bedding before we even knew she was a she.  the girl version was way too pink- think pepto bismol!  my favorite colors are green and blue and i loved the boy version despite the fact we might have (and in fact do) have a girl on the way.  we will definitely make her room more girly when she's old enough to really care.  for now, the bedding is more for me- and i find it calming and relaxing instead of shockingly pink.

i love the elephants and they didn't seem to be overly popular when the bedding was purchased.  now, however, the current line of carter's baby clothes has elephants on them.  they are so sweet!  and trust me, she has plenty of pink clothes to make up for the fact that her bedding isn't pink.  we have been so blessed to receive so much.  i have knitted her 3 hats and a blanket and i have purchased one outfit for her.  everything else we have received as gifts and hand-me-downs.

anyway, i know you want to see her room.  i cannot wait for her to be here so we can use it!

a 4 foot wide door, of course, courtesy of 1938!

 come on in- her big sisters are already inside enjoying the views.

 inside her door- her bookshelf/cube drawers.

her diaper stacker is hanging on the back of the door- it is fashioned from a men's button down shirt.  one of my nurses, lisa, made it for her.

 here is a closer shot.  sorry for the shadow!

her closet filled with diapers, wipes, sleepers, and other goodies.

 

this will be the family bookcase.  the bag hanging on the door is packed for her for the hospital and the one in the floor is started for me.

 big sister cotton and the crib and diaper pail (the crib was purchased by jay's mom and stepdad and the mattress from his aunt and uncle).  we needed one that would contain odor and couldn't be gotten into by the dogs.  i hope and think we will be pleased.

 the glider (purchased with a few gift cards but mostly a gift from her great mamaw stella) and feeding station.

 the sweet elephant prints above her crib.

 her big sisters approve!

hamper & crib.  we had the hamper and are thankful it has a lid, too.

sweet elephant minky blanket and printed sheet (bedding purchased by her mimi and pops).

adorable plush elephant (from sweet friends) and blue elephant lovey with her monogram (from aunt erin) ready for snuggling.

her womb/sound machine bear from her great-grandparents.

sweet cross and prayer with her name on it from sweet friends.