Thursday, October 9

On Thursday, we left Tanya and Nicks and hit the outlets in Grove City before heading back to Uniontown.  That evening, Tim and LeeAnn's Rice's joined us for some picture fun! 

Wednesday, October 8

On Wednesday we drove to Erie, PA so that Gracie could meet her Great Grandma Gibbens and Great Nana Alyce.  That evening, Gracie's Godmama Tanya and Nick were kind enough to let us stay with them in Mercer so we didn't have to drive the whole way back to Uniontown.

Grandma Gibbens

Nana Alyce

Monday and Tuesday, October 6-7

Monday and Tuesday were relaxing days for us. We visited a bit, but mostly just tried to stay put to avoid overwhelming Grace every day of our trip. So here are some pictures of Gracie throughout the week...

Sunday, October 5

Gracie had a very busy day meeting more of her aunts, uncles and cousins on Sunday...

My brothers and sisters, niece and nephew

Gracie and her cousin Becca

Cousins: Christian and Grace

Another cute nickname for Grace:
When Ryan and I got married, Tara asked Christian what he would call my Ryan since he has another "Uncle" Ryan (who is about his age). Christian said "Uncle Big Mac," which is now what they call Ryan. Christian was ready with Grace's nickname on Sunday... "Small Fry"

Aunt Andie and her girl

Grace loving Aunt Tara


Uncle Charlie and Baby Grace


Gracie's Uncle Ryan...he said he "isn't really a baby person"

Great Uncle Todd and Gracie


More cousins, Gabbi (above) and Maddi (below), meet Gracie.

Saturday, October 4

We headed for PA after Gracie's 4am breakfast. We stopped at Sidling Hill for her early morning snack and happened to catch this beautiful sunrise. What a great way to start our vacation!

Great-Pap-Pap Rice finally gets to meet our Gracie girl. He was smitten!


Logan (left) gave Gracie her first nickname when he met her on Saturday.
His mama (my cousin Terah) said "say Baby Grace" and Logan said "Baby Grapes"
It has already stuck....Baby Grapes it is! (quite appropriate I must say)

Gracie and her Pappy Dowdell...she missed him and his songs.

Gracie Pix

Gracie had a very busy weekend.  She is staying awake a lot more and is very busy learning all about the world.  On Saturday she decided to display three new skills:

1. When laying on her belly she pushes herself up with her hands and holds herself there. She's been lifting her head since she was born, but her neck is really getting strong now. It's still a little wobbly, but amazingly steady for a not even six week old.
2. She began cooing and babbling, conversation style...we talk, then she "talks" back
3. My favorite...she smiles in response to some things we say or do.  It's not yet a consistent response, but it is on purpose.  I tested it to see if it was a fluke or due to gas, but I don't think so.

Grace also rolls from her tummy to her back.  I can't believe how strong she is.  She did this a few times when she was about 2 weeks old, but now she does it often and on purpose when she's done with tummy time.

Here are a few new pictures...she's getting so big already.  She weighs about 12 pounds and is already wearing 3-6 month clothes...she's not even 6 weeks!  Can't I keep her a baby forever?  It is exciting to watch her grow and learn all these new skills though.  I just hope she stays as cuddly as she is now.  Ryan and I both love our cuddle time with her.

Our Screaming Me-Me

I had to share at least one picture to show Gracie's personality.  Don't get me wrong, she's a great baby and rarely cries for no reason.  But she definitely lets us know when she is not getting what she wants...I love this picture!  So, who does she look like here?  ;-)

Grace's Baptism

Gracie was baptized on Sunday.  My cousin Tanya and Ryan's best friend Tommy are Grace's godparents.  It was a beautiful service and many of our friends and family members traveled in for the day to celebrate with us.  Thank you to all who helped make it such a special day.

The "Godfamilies"...

Tanya and her husband Nick 

Tommy, Amy, Little Tommy (and unborn baby Zadeh...yay!)

  

Pappy and his girl

The Rices

Daddy and Uncle Rob with Grace

Grace with Uncle Evan

Grandma Gibbens and Unkie Travie

We had a very busy week! Gracie met Grandma Gibbens and "Unkie Travie" (as Uncle Travis so lovingly referred to himself and will forever be referred to as such).   

Here are some new pictures...

Check out the adorable topical dress Grammie Gibbens found on her cruise for Gracie!  So cute!

Hard Work Does Pay Off

We've been anxiously waiting two weeks since her last doctor's appointment, to see if Gracie is gaining weight as she should.  At her last appointment, she was back to her birth weight.  She was supposed to gain an ounce a day (putting her at about 10 lbs, 1 oz).  We took her to the doctor today for her one month check-up and she weighs 11 lbs exactly!!!  We were shocked!  I almost cried I was so happy that all our hard work is paying off.  This may just work after all. It is strange that something that should be so natural is so exciting.  

I'm not sure if I mentioned why I'm so adamant that Gracie have only breast milk for as long as possible until her first birthday...sorry if I'm repeating myself.  But if I didn't already explain, it may seem a little strange that I'm making such a big deal about it.  I have terrible food allergies that have made me miserable (headaches, stomachaches, hives, asthma attacks, etc.) on a daily basis.  I've had to get used to it because I couldn't even tolerate allergy shots and I can't take medicines like benedril because I don't wake up.  All the most recent research says that exclusive breastfeeding leads to a significant reduction in the chances of developing food allergies and the research is also promising for other types of allergies.  So basically, I'm hoping Gracie won't have as many allergies as I do.    

In the Swing of Things

So much has improved over the past week in our new life with our baby girl!  Don't get me wrong, it is still extremely challenging, but almost manageable.  I'm still amazed at how I have absolutely no time for anything.  But I am really enjoying focusing all of my attention on getting to know this wonderful little person.

Breastfeeding is going much better, even though I found out on Thursday that I have mastitis (infection in the breast tissue) that's been there for about two weeks.  Antibiotics have worked wonders for not only our breastfeeding relationship, but also for my ability to function.  I thought I was just recovering from the birth and suffering from exhaustion, despite the fact that she was sleeping fairly well.  But on Friday morning after only one dose of antibiotics, I felt like a new person and realized that I was likely sick, not jst adjusting. I had energy, my two-week long headache was gone, and Grace's screaming when I tried to feed her suddenly got a little better (turns out, the milk was affected and it was a really gross texture for her, although it wouldn't hurt her. She was miserable when eating and I didn't know why).

Yesterday, at 3 1/2 weeks, she had her first bottle.  Yeah, that's the age that is recommended to introduce the bottle if all is going well.  While things still have room to improve, I thought she could handle switching between the two because she is latching well and most of the issues are on my side of the equation.  We are offering a bottle just once a day, a few times a week to get her used to it in case I'm not around for a feeding or two and of course for when I return to work.  I was right, she did so well and Ryan enjoyed being able to feed her. 

We've been slowly working toward independent sleeping as well.  She's been doing well in the middle of the night going back into her bassinett after each feeding, but the initial laying down was rough. She insisted that we walk her around the house and quietly lay her down once she was asleep. I finally realized that we were overstimulating her while trying to put her to sleep.  So the slow and painful transition finally paid off!  This evening, we completed the final piece of a routine we've been working on of a relaxing bath at 7:30pm (which we know she likes), then a bottle in the dark (which went well yesterday), a story and a song, and then straight to bed while she is still awake.  To our surprise, she did not fuss and was asleep within 10 minutes (no rocking, no bouncing, no singing, no walking around for 30 minutes).  Who knows how long it will last or if it will work again tomorrow, but she's been in bed for about an hour. In life with a new baby, that's a huge accomplishment...it means I get to sit down and post something on the blog and spend a little time with Ryan. Yay!

Gracie is starting to show us her personality too. She is so pleasant, patient and funny (making faces and listening intently when we sing, making sounds as if she's trying to sing along).  She is also starting to react to our voices and make her own little sounds in general.  She really is the sweetest little thing, very busily growing and learning. We are so blessed!

Here are some newer pictures of her....  

...finding her thumb once in a while

I still can't quite catch a smile...almost!

Gracie "singing" Old MacDonald with me.

She loves the "E-I-E-I-Ooooo" part...this is her "O-face"

Pictures of Grace

Here are some new pictures of Grace...