Hiking at Great Falls Park

We went on our first hike today as a family at Great Falls Park along the Potomac. It was a beautiful fall day and a great chance to test our ability to schedule activities between feedings. Jen is pictured next to the dam that diverts DC's drinking water from the Potomac. We packed a lunch and found some shade under a log next to the river. Jon was nice enough to attract all the mosquitoes so that neither of his girls got any bites.
Dad got to try putting Kate in her stylish "baby Bjorn," making her the envy of all the other label-conscious newborns. She was even nice enough not to spit up on Daddy's shirt, despite maintaining a virtual face-plant on it throughout the afternoon.
After lunch for Mom and Dad, it was time for Kate's lunch, so everyone headed back to the car for a little privacy and air conditioning. A few minutes later, Kate was ready for round two of her day of hiking.
Here's the view back up the Potomac into the falls and rapids. There were a number of kayakers braving the waters and Dad wished they could all head to a campsite for the night. Jen was less enthusiastic as she contemplated the intricacies of tent-based breast feeding. Maybe we'll wait another couple of months.

Not my Breast Friend

While waiting for Kate's arrival, we read a bunch of information about all kinds of things regarding babies. One thing I didn't focus too much on was breastfeeding because I knew a lot depended on Kate and me figuring things out together. That was all well and good, but once she actually arrived and we had to start the process, things were toe-tally different than I imagined. Let me narrow it down for you and say that breastfeeding is neither innate nor easy. Sure, Kate has an innate sucking reflex but that doesn't mean whatever is being sucked on is up for the challenge (especially 8-10 times a day for about 1/2 an hour). Jon has been a huge help--in the early days, he was finger feeding Kate through a syringe while I pumped to get the milk to come in. He also sat with me (through tears and victories) as we figured out those first painful weeks until Kate could latch on and actually get milk from me, though my poor nipples will never be the same.

So while this is a successful operation now, by no means did it come easily. You should have seen the look on the face of the lactation consultant in the hospital while we tried to get Kate to latch on and I yelped and hollered in pain. Another consultant told me that because Kate was born early, she had a small mouth and couldn't do the best job of sucking. Yet another mentioned fair-skinned and redheaded people (sadly, I am the former, not the latter) are naturally more senstitive and it takes longer for everything to toughen up. Well. Suffice to say breastfeeding is certainly an art, as one book states, and even the best artists don't get it right the first or second time. Or third...or tenth....

And you thought babies were expensive ...

A while ago, we began to see an intermittent leak in our roof. Unfortunately, because we have an extra bedroom built into our attic, there's no way to see into the ceiling joists to try and localize the problem. Jon thought about trying to explore the roof himself, but then decided crawling over a high-pitch roof on a four story townhouse wasn't the brightest idea. After exploring a couple of options & opinions, we realized it was probably better to just replace the roof. So now we have a brand new roof and a severely dented bank account ... such are the joys of home ownership.

Nana Comes to Visit

Nana has come to visit, and what a great help she is! Busy bustling and cleaning and diaper-changing and cooking and chatting...it's wonderful. Now when we have to awake the sleeping babe to feed her, Nana is right there to help rouse her and get her ready to eat. She also helped us realize that we really weren't clothing our child--we had gotten used to swaddling her in two blankets while she wears her diaper and leaving it at that. So Nana comments, do you ever clothe this child? Oh, we said, I guess we don't! So now we're starting to put to good use all the cute little outfits we received as gifts. Actually, Kate is finally getting big enough to wear newborn clothes. So we're having a great time sharing the fun jobs of taking care of the baby and Nana is picking up all the slack in the household jobs. Hurray! Thanks, Nana!

Major Dad

Jon went back to work today, wearing his Major's rank for the first time. Kate's sudden arrival forced Jon to cancel his promotion ceremony, but they did end up sharing the cake with the nursing staff. Jon's first few days back were quite hectic, Jen adjusting to being alone with Kate, and Jon chairing a two-day conference at work.

Baby Kate's First Photo Shoot

Sally Brewer, one of Jon's oldest friends, is now a professional photographer living in the DC area. She graciously came out and did a photo shoot with Baby Kate, when she was barely a week old. The pictures came out beautifully! Of course, Mom and Dad aren't suprised given the subject :^)

To see the pictures, click on the following link:

http://www.sallybrewer.com/

Then go to the "clients" section and enter "babyluminati" as the password.

As you can see Sally is quite a talented photographer, so if you need some amazing pictures, drop her a line.

Kate's First Week

Kate's first week at home was a learning experience for all involved. After spending the weekend, the parents left Monday morning, while Jon and Jen took Kate back to Bethesda for a checkup. All Kate was really interested in was sleeping, making feeding much more complicated. Jen and Kate struggled to figure out breastfeeding, while waiting for Jen's milk to come it. In the meantime, Dad was feeding Kate with his finger and a syringe. Nobody (except Kate) got much sleep, and the week was filled with lots of emotional highs and lows. In the end, however, the time spent as a family was a great experience and gave us all a chance to bond as a family.

Baby Shower with the Baby

Jen and Kate were released from the hospital on Saturday morning. The hospital staff worked hard to push the paperwork through by 9:00 am, so everyone could make it to the baby shower. It's not many baby showers, though, where the actual baby makes an appearance! The shower was hosted by Courtney Waider and Lacy Yoho at the Waider's house, and was lots of fun for everyone. Later than afternoon, the parents suprised Jon and Jen with another pile of presents from a grandparent's shower from a bunch of family friends back in Colorado Springs. We were amazed with everyone's generosity. By the end of the day, however, Mom, Dad, and Kate were quite worn out.