BINKY BABY

We tried to avoid going the binky route, but we caved in. We now have an adorable binky baby.

CATCHING UP!

The past two weeks have been very eventful for our little family! Daphne had her two week appointment, and she is doing great! Her Bilirubin count has gone down and she is gaining a healthy amount of weight. She has gotten the hang of eating now, and stays awake well during her feedings (for the most part). At her appointment she weighed 7 pounds 1.5 ounces and was 20 inches long! She is in the 40th percentile for head circumference, the 25th percentile for length, and the 15th percentile for weight. She is staying awake longer during the day, and we can see more of her personality showing.

Some of our favorite things about her:

~She is one of the noisiest sleepers we have ever heard! She grunts, cries, and moves without waking up.

~She loves to put her right hand up by her face when she sleeps.

~She breathes really fast and makes the cutest smacking sound with her lips right before she eats.

~She is getting more used to bath time, so it's becoming less traumatizing for her.

~She falls asleep well when her face is next to yours.

~She has found her voice, and we are now able to distinguish a real cry from her cute little yells.

~She's a strong girl and holds up her head successfully for a few seconds every once in awhile. She also won't let you move her arms and legs if she is in a position that she likes.

~She actually smiled and laughed in her sleep today! It was so adorable!

We are also starting to get into a routine, and it is so cute to see her smacking her lips right after we change her diaper because she knows it's time to eat. Daphne is growing and becoming more aware of everything going on around her! We are so thankful she is a part of our family!

Also, Jared started his new job last week as a Manufacturing Process Engineer and we are so proud of him! We miss him during the day but we are so thankful he is working so hard to support our family. We feel so blessed!

Daphne in one of my favorite of her little outfits

Daphne and Daddy

Sweet sleeping baby ~ 2 weeks old

Daphne's first real bath! Can't you tell how much she loves it?

A little more used to the water...

Cute little diapered baby

Happy Valentine's Day!

Daphne ~ 3 weeks old

DAPHNE'S FIRST WEEK!

Our adorable baby girl is already a week old! She has been doing well despite having a case of Jaundice that we have been trying to take care of. She is also gaining back her birth weight, and is spending a little more time awake than she did initially. We just look at her and our hearts melt!

A few things about Daphne:

~She loves to move her arms and legs. No matter how tight we swaddle her, she still manages to get her arms out somehow.

~She is an excited eater, yet nursing makes her fall asleep. We have tried everything trying to keep our little sleeper awake to eat.

~She loves when daddy burps her; mommy doesn't seem to have the right touch yet.

~Stroking her eyebrows makes her go to sleep.

~She loves to put her hands up by her face no matter if she is asleep or awake.

~She loves to crinkle up her forehead and arch her eyebrows.

~She makes a grunting sound sometimes when she is sleeping and eating.

~Daphne is the cutest baby in the world!

Daphne sporting her fashionable Billi-Blanket to help get rid of her Jaundice

Our Billi-Blanket glow worm

Daphne wide-awake

Daphne and Mama on her one week birthday!

SHE'S FINALLY HERE!!

Our sweet baby girl is finally here! Daphne Wilcock entered the world on January 21st, 2011 at 4:16 am. She weighed 6 pounds 3.5 ounces and was 19 inches long. She is precious and beautiful and we are so blessed to be parents to this little girl! We can't believe that she is ours!!

We thought we would tell our labor and delivery story...

On Thursday, January 20th, we went to see the doctor for our 38 week appointment. I had been on bed rest trying to keep my very high blood pressure down, so we were thinking that Daphne would probably be coming a little early. However, nothing really prepared us for the doctor asking, "How do you feel about having a baby today? Have you packed your toothbrush?" We headed over to the hospital at 1:00 pm, and I was induced at 1:30 in the afternoon. Everything went well and quite smoothly; I was dilating well and the contractions were manageable. The doctor came to check on me at about 9:00 pm, broke my water, and two contractions after that I was incredibly ready for an epidural. It took the anesthesiologist two tries to get into my "very strong ligament" back, but I felt so much more comfortable afterwards. Between 1:30 am and 2:30 am, I dilated from a 5 to a 9, started pushing at 3:30 am, and our sweet Daphne was born at 4:16 am! She was amazing and healthy, despite swallowing a large amount of amniotic fluid as she was being born. We were shocked to see how much beautiful hair she has! It looks light brown, so we will be excited to see what her final hair color turns out to be. Her eyes are dark blue, and she has long, pretty fingers. She is such a doll!

We're ready to have our baby!

~Daphne Wilcock~

One of my favorite hospital pictures of us- look at all that hair!

Our first family picture

Daddy and Daphne

THE JOYS OF BED REST

So I have officially been put on bed rest as of this past Monday! That darn high blood pressure... it's been creeping up for awhile this last trimester, so now my days consist of laying on my side. Jared has been a trooper and has taken such great care of me. Bed rest is definitely not glamorous; yesterday was the first time all week I had actually gotten ready. I had an appointment yesterday where the doctor told me to go straight over to Labor & Delivery to get monitored. After 3 fun-filled hours at the hospital, they let me go home with even more strict instructions to do nothing. Fortunately, the baby is still doing great despite my blood pressure spikes! She's a little over 6 pounds and growing more everyday! We sure are excited for her to come!

LAST LOGAN MOMENTS

The biggest event that happened in our lives this past month: moving out of our beloved Aggie Village. It was so sad! We will miss our wonderful friends, the cinder-block walls, and microscopic oven. We are now on to new adventures!

To recap our month of December: we went to our last USU basketball game as students...

My cute brother went through the Logan Temple in preparation for his mission...

I made little tiny baby bracelets for our baby girl...

Us in our empty apartment on moving day....

I got swollen legs, ankles, and hands (I can no longer wear my wedding ring) for the first time during my pregnancy...

And I am getting huge! The baby is about five pounds this week, and continues to grow! We are so excited for her to join our family!

The most exciting thing by far is that Jared was a trooper and finished his Bachelor's Degree! He is amazing and I am so proud of him!

CATCHING UP...

We thought that it was about time to catch up!! We are happily 29 weeks along, and our baby girl is growing and moving! She is about 2 and a half pounds and 15 inches long! It is so much fun to feel her move more now, and she usually gives us a little kick when Jared talks to her through my belly. Everything is going well with the pregnancy, despite not being able to see my toes anymore. Bending over has gotten quite a bit more difficult the last couple of weeks, so if something drops on the floor then I usually don't bother getting it unless I absolutely need it. Jared has also started helping me put on my shoes. Here's a picture of my ever-growing belly:

And this week, the baby is the size of a... butternut squash! How cute.
These next pictures sum up our last couple of weeks:

For my brother's birthday this year, we all went go-karting (I of course was only the support person who watched). Everyone got a stylish head shield to wear underneath the helmets, and we thought it was photo-worthy. Jared's at the bottom, then my little sister Michelle, my dad, and my brother Pete. They all raced like champs!

Jared and I have discovered a true pleasure in life: Lee's Marketplace French bread. Pregnancy lets you eat half a loaf at a time without thinking twice about it.

A few of my good friends from school and I were able to get together for lunch last week at Cafe Sabor. Good food, but better company. They are fabulous!

One of the absolute best days in the last couple of weeks was the beautiful baby shower given by the Wilcock side of the family. I am so blessed to have such wonderful in-laws who worked so hard to make this shower so fantastic. My mother-in-law even went to the trouble of making sushi!! I had about 8 California rolls and was in heaven. My sister-in-law also set up a scrumptious chocolate fountain. My dream come true. We are so grateful for everyone's generosity and love!

And just in case you want a comparison picture, this is me at 27 weeks.