Anderson - Week 2

It's hard to believe that our perfect little girl has already been here for over a week.  The past week went by so fast.  I pray the next weeks, months and years don't go by this quickly.  I want her to stay a little 7 pound bundle of joy for a few months at least -- however I could go for a little more sleep!

On her one week birthday we had more of JC's co-workers visit her.  This couple is having a baby in a couple weeks, so their baby boy and Anderson will get to grow up together.  Plus it's been nice having a few couples go through pregnancy and becoming parents along with us. 

After the visitors left we decided to go out for a shopping trip to pick up the final decorations for Miss A's room.  We went to Hobby Lobby to pick up letters to spell out her name.  I also stocked up on some baby girl scrapbooking supplies so I can start putting together her baby scrapbook.  Anderson was a perfect angel through all of our shopping stops. 

Since JC is recognized by viewers at many places around town we are pretty protective over Anderson.  People were very nice, commenting on how cute she was and congratulating JC; however we made sure to position ourselves so people couldn't touch (or be tempted to touch) our little angel.

That night was the first night I was home with Anderson for more than an hour by myself.  JC had to help out his Dad, so I was on Mommy duty by myself for a couple hours. 

Tuesday we had our newborn photographs done by a local photographer.  Anderson was not happy about having her pictures taken.  She did not want to cooperate at all, and was very unhappy that she was naked for most of her pictures.  We were able to get a few good shots of our little diva in between her fussy fits.  We even had a shot of Wrigley with Miss A.

Great Grandma Nani and Aunt Betty came to visit Anderson on Wednesday.  Our family has been great about bringing food for us when they come visit, so we were able to enjoy lunch before the relatives started loving on the baby.

Wednesday evening was the second evening of Mommy duty.  JC had a work commitment he had to go to, so Anderson and I spent most of the evening together.  She really is such a good baby once she's fed, swaddled and in her glider she is set for a couple hours.  I've enjoyed our Mommy and Anderson time together. 

Wrigley has been a great big brother too.  He checks on her every so often by licking her head and sniffing her to make sure she is still doing okay.  He's adjusted pretty well to having a new baby in his home.

With JC being off work for two weeks he has been able to accomplish a few things around the house that he was wanting to get finished.  He painted the shutters the day before she was born, painted the screen door and garage vent and also put up new lights on the garage.  I know he has loved being home with us, but he also likes to stay busy.  The time off allowed him to get some quality time in, and also get some home projects accomplished.  His work has paid off too -- the outside of the house looks great.

Friday we decided to head out to Menard's and Wal-Mart.  It was the first time I had been out of the house since Monday, so it was nice to get out for awhile.  When I finally realized it had been that long since I had left the house I was shocked.  The days and nights go by so quickly that I did not realize four days had passed while I was holed up in the house on Mommy duty.  We have been really lucky with our outings, Miss Anderson has been so well-behaved every time we've gone on an afternoon trip.

That evening Anderson met her "Uncle" Pat, JC's best friend from college and also spent some time with her Grandma Lora while I went over to a friend's house for some "me" time.

Saturday Mimi and Papa came back to visit Anderson.  They brought us lunch and allowed us to finish more projects outside, leisurely shower and pick up the house while they were on Grandparent duty.  JC and I also asked them to stay that evening to watch Anderson while we went out to dinner by ourselves.  Before she was born we said we were going to make a big effort to still go on "date nights" every so often.  It felt weird leaving the house without her, and most of our conversations revolved around Anderson, but it was still nice to spend time alone without the baby.

Sunday was the last day of JC's paternity leave.  Luckily we were able to spend the day together as a family without any visitors.  We have loved showing off Anderson, but it was nice to spend the day as just our little family unit.  I know he wasn't super excited about going back to work, but we were both looking forward to hopefully getting into some sort of a routine revolving around his work schedule. 

The last week went by just as quickly as the first week did.  I feel like I get so little done during the day, but then I remember I'm responsible for feeding and taking care of a human being now -- probably the most important job that a person will have in their life. 

Memorable milestones that I won't forget this week are: our first stroller ride, her first giggle in the middle of the night, my first times with Anderson alone for extended periods of time, our first "date night" without Miss A, and her newborn picture fiasco.

Anderson - Week 1

Labor Day, 2013 I went into labor with Miss Anderson Regen Fultz.  After twelve hours of labor Anderson finally decided to meet us.  She was born at 1:45 am and weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long.  Anderson was pure perfection!

Anderson met her Mimi and Papa a few hours after she was born, and met the rest of her family that afternoon.  She was the star of the day and captured everyone's heart.  Her blood sugar was a little low, so she had to have her blood taken a few times throughout the morning.  Luckily we were able to get everything on track.  She passed all of her other tests and was very brave while getting her shots.

We were in the hospital until Tuesday afternoon.  We could have stayed one more night, but decided we wanted to come home and try to get into a normal routine.  Mimi and Papa stayed the first night with us to help us get some sleep and take care of our new bundle of joy.  Their help was extremely nice as JC and I were able to get a couple hours of sleep once we arrived home.  Anderson also had some trouble sleeping and calming down that first night, so Mimi and Papa helped us take shifts taking care of our sweet baby.

Mimi and Papa left the next afternoon, so we were on our own as parents for the first time.  Running on pure adrenaline, we were able to handle life as "mom" and "dad" pretty well.  Miss A slept well that afternoon, met some friends of ours, and slept well that night too. 

First night home.

Thursday we took Anderson for her first Doctor appointment.  She was doing pretty well, but had lost some weight.  Even though it's normal for newborns to loose weight, we had to step up feeding times to make sure she gets back to her birth weight fairly quickly. 

Since the Doctor wanted to make sure she was starting to gain weight, we headed back to the Doctor office on Friday.  Luckily she had gained weight and was on her way to getting back to her birth weight.  I was a very relieved mama. 

At the Doctor's office.

Anderson also had her first shopping trip on Friday.  We headed over to Target to pick up a couple more newborn onesies and a few other things.  She also met a few of JC's co-workers and friends when we stopped by his workplace on the way home.

Great Grandma and Jacque also came to visit on Friday.  Everyone was very happy to meet one another.

Meeting Great Grandma Nani for the first time.

Saturday and Sunday we had more friends visit Anderson.  She had been sleeping so well until Saturday night when she had stomach problems and spent the majority of the night fussy and crying.  Poor Daddy stayed up with her so Mommy could get some sleep.

1 week old

Monday, her one week birthday, came so quickly.  It's hard to believe everything that has happened over the past week.  We feel so blessed to have Anderson in our lives and hope that we will be able to be great parents for her.  She is such a joy.  She has completely changed our life already!