6 weeks ago I just delivered a baby....

Wow...what a crazy ride this has been! It's 12:41, so in one minute we celebrate Shiloh's 6 week anniversary of her birth! What an amazing blessing she is! I thank God daily for the gift of being her mother.

Shiloh continues developing into a more beautiful and interactive baby. I took a short video of her cooing and grinning, actions that are increasing daily. It's from a funny angle, but she's still super cute!


Wow-it is so cool to see her smile and be privileged enough to see her happy. We get a kick out of her facial expressions that sometimes seem to confuse her as much as they confuse us!


Shiloh has responded very nicely to her new bedtime routine. She's not consistent with how many hours she sleeps at a time, usually between 4 & 6, but I'll take either gladly because she goes back to sleep after eating! First of all, naps are taken during the day and I keep things bright and somewhat noisy. Then, we begin each night with a bath, that Shiloh enjoys now! Bath time is followed by a massage in her dark bedroom, (which sometimes is calming and other times just seems to aggravate her), pajamas and swaddling, all while the lullabies are playing. Then I'll nurse her, call Dad in for prayers and a blessing, and kiss her extremely kissable head and leave her, sometimes asleep and sometimes awake. Only once in almost 2 weeks have we had to go back and help her fall asleep and that was the night we tried speed up the routine and skipped the bath. We learned our lesson that night! I keep the lights off when I go to nurse her at night as well, now that she can manage to stay awake long enough to eat, and she has done exceptionally well with falling back asleep. Yay for bedtime routines! This was something I looked forward to long before Shiloh was born. Here's a clip from one of Shiloh's recent baths!


I'm back swimming 2-3 mornings a week. It feels great to have just a little while to spend on taking care of myself and getting my body back to a somewhat "normal" state. I'm learning each day how to become more selfless (it took some effort to automatically wipe the spit-up off Shiloh's face before myself!) and how to love this child. I never thought about how I would need to learn to love Shiloh. Of course I loved her from the start, but I didn't know her six weeks ago, even now, I've only known her six weeks. As we're building a relationship, though, and learning about each other, I fall in love with her more each day-a deeper love that I've never had before.

There are a few more pictures posted (the picture-taking frenzy has slowed down a little bit!) on the picasa website (the link is to the right of this post). If anyone is interested, you can order pictures through snapfish or walgreens right from our link.

Time to clean the bathroom during the remaining minutes of Shiloh's nap. Until next time....

First month adventures

I cannot believe that the first month is gone already!! I'm holding my precious little burrito, all swaddled up and sleeping, in awe at how big she is and how different she looks from the babe at the hospital. Shiloh still spends most of her time sleeping, eating, and getting her diaper changed, but her alert periods are increasing in length and in fun. Chris and I are thrilled at the chance to make eye contact, make faces (that Shiloh sometimes even copies), read books, sing songs, and give Shiloh the opportunity to track us or high contrast pictures with her eyes. We also enjoy short periods of tummy time when Shiloh is alert. Check out the video on that!
Eating and sleeping are going well, for the most part. The last few nights have gone well as Shiloh has (in this order) eaten, fallen asleep for 3-5 hours, and repeated. She's sleeping in her crib and will fall asleep on her own sometimes too. So whereas we are definitely still tired, we really can't complain.

In addition to Shiloh's hard work of just being a baby and growing, we have forced her to be a social butterfly and attend several events in this first short month of her life. She is quite agreeable and allows anyone and everyone to experience the joy of holding her, which makes it pretty easy to bring her along (at this age, we're told!).

• Aug. 4-14-A flurry of visitors and blessings poured out on our family. Thanks to everyone who visited, brought gifts and food, etc. Wow!!
• Aug. 15, 16-Caitlin Young and Seth Wait's rehearsal dinner and wedding in Cedar Falls was Shiloh's first big event. Caitlin was in serious competition with Shiloh for the most sought after girl at the wedding!
• Aug. 17-22-Shiloh was seen alone only when she was sleeping in her crib at night. She was constantly being held and enjoyed by her visiting Grandpa Tim and Grandma Deb and Aunts Laura and Stephanie from Wyoming. Shiloh had visits as well visits from Great Aunt Bobbie from Colorado and her Cedar Falls grandparents Gigi and Papa and Aunt Noelle (well, Noelle doesn't ever get to actually hold Shiloh by the time everyone else is done...) not to mention some other friends from the area that week! Oh, Great Aunt Judi and Uncle Mike from Denver, IA stopped by that week too.
  
• Aug. 22-23-Shiloh hits three states in one day (Iowa, Minnesota & Wisconsin) and has her first overnight experience in Amery, Wisconsin for my cousin Ana Meyer and Peter Eliason's wedding at Camp Wapogasset. Shiloh was again a hit among relatives, meeting aunts, uncles, and cousins from her Grandpa Tim's side of the family.
• Aug. 24-Shiloh is baptized at St. John Lutheran in Cedar Falls. It was a beautiful day and we were overjoyed to present Shiloh to the Lord and have her be received as a child of God. She looked beautiful in my family baptismal gown and was surrounded (both in proximity and prayers) by wonderful family and friends to celebrate God's goodness. Shiloh had the privilege of being held later that day by her Great Grandma and Grandpa Ho (Tripolino) and Grandma Worthington. What a special day!
  
• Aug. 30-Shiloh attends her 3rd wedding in her short life, that of Kelly Gossling and Ben Kuennen in St. Lucas, Iowa. Chris and I actually get to hold our daughter throughout the entire event :o)
• Sept. 1-Shiloh meets many of our neighbors at a neighborhood picnic. Shiloh spreads joy once again as she is passed around among the neighbors
• Sept. 2-Shiloh ventures into Amish country with Mom and her godmother Jacque. It was quite the experience (if I had time, a blog in and of itself), but a good experience, complete with Shiloh's godfather Jesse joining us for lunch.
• Sept. 3-Nothing but stay at home??????? That's the plan!