Birthday Blues

There once was a time when I used to laugh at all of those silly people that made such a big deal about getting another year older. I could never really understand what exactly their problem was with having been on this earth for yet another year.

Over the past few days, that shoe has managed to find itself snugly in place on the other foot. Today marks my 25th birthday and I am finding myself surprisingly unhappy about this unavoidable incident.

Traditionally, birthdays are supposed to be a day to look back on the previous year and reflect on everything that has happened. When I look back on the past year, I can't help but realize how truly blessed I have been. Carmen and I were blessed with a beautiful, happy and healthy baby girl. I accepted a new job that has given me more time and energy to spend on my new family. And most importantly, I remain in good health.

So why am I so glum? I really have no idea. Perhaps it's the knowledge that I am now a quarter of a century old. Maybe it's the thought that at 25, there is no longer any mistaking that I am, in fact, an adult (Never mind me being proud about owning a house and a minivan). Or maybe it's just my head playing some kind of a nasty little trick on me. Well, whatever the case, I'm sure that this feeling will pass in a few more days and stay gone until that dreaded 40th birthday (or perhaps the somewhat less stressful 30)...

Home sweet, home

As much as I enjoyed visiting with my family I'm not going to complain about being home again. I hope everybody had a good weekend, I now we sure did. Hannah did surprisingly well with the travelling. She slept the whole way going there, although she was some what fussy on the way home, who wouldn't be after such an exciting weekend. Well I guess now that Easter is over it is time to plan for Dan's birthdat, anybody got any ideas on how we should celebrate him being around a quarter of a century.

Snow snow, go away

I just have to make a complaint about the never ending snow. Just last week I was telling my Mother what wonderful weather we were having here in Alberta. I think I jinxed it because the next day it started snowing and forgot to stop. I had hopes that yesterday was the end of it, but I woke up this morning to a blizzard that is stronger then ever. The worst part of all this snow is it has caused the air in our house to reach a new level of dryness. Hannah suffers from ecyzema, a trait passed down from her father, the dry air in the house has caused her to break out into one big giant rash. Well perhaps a slight exaggeration but not to far off. While her legs and back are still clear, her chest, face, and arms are looking quite sore.

Three months already?

I read somewhere that babies sleep better when they can hear their mothers breathing, because it more closely resembles being in the womb. I think that person got it wrong, and it's the mother's who sleep better. Since moving her to her own room, I have caught myself waking up in the middle of the night trying to hear the sound of her breathing. When my memory returns and I realize that she is all the way across the hall, I can't help but feel lonely. She is growing up to fast. It has only been three short months, and she has doubled in size, begun sleeping through the night, and has adjusted to sleeping in her own room. I can't even begin to imagine how much change another three months will bring. While I am looking forward to each new milestone Hannah reaches, I also can't help but want to go back to those first few weeks and just take things a little slower.

Hannah - Circa 3 Months

Remember to click on the image to see more pictures

Sorry

I must apologize for my horrible neglect of this site. It is amazing how quickly time can fly by. I find it hard to believe it has been three weeks since we last updated. So I guess I will give a quick update as to what has happened since Feb. 19;

Hannah came off her Caffeine on the 23rd, and then had a sleep test on the 28th. In order to pass the sleep test she could only be 15% periodic. (Periodic meaning she has periods where she holds her breath temporarily causing her oxygen levels to decline) Hannah actually failed the test as she was 19% periodic, however the Dr. decided against putting her back on the caffeine as she has grown so much and appears to be thriving despite being periodic.

We went to Edson this last weekend, it was an enjoyable weekend, and I think Hannah got to meet the whole town of Edson. We got some great pictures which hopefully Dan will post tonight, I've been bugging him since we got back.

Since coming back from Edson we have been putting Hannah in her own crib instead of the bassinet. The transition was actually a lot easier then I thought it would be. She almost seems more relaxed in the crib, and has actually started sleeping right through the night. I still have to get up and give her her soother occasionally but she has been going 10-11 hrs without eating these last few nights. Hopefully as she adjusts to not getting fed in the middle of the night, I wont have to get up so often to plunk her soother back into her mouth.

And that brings us to today. Hannah had her three month appointment today, and I am glad to say she is doing great. She is 12lbs 2ounces, and 56cm. Developmentally the Doctor placed her closer to one month old instead of three, but he said he would expect that seeing how she was two months early. Size wise it is hard to tell she was early, but when considering her behavior there are still signs of prematurity.