Happy Days

From our previous post you would think that life here with the Hatfield family is ALL doom and gloom. Though this has been true 85% of the time, 5% she is sleeping, 4 % she is eating, 3% she is pooping, and 3% of the time she is smiling...okay maybe less than 3% but that was just an estimate:) Here is the proof.

...still fussy!

So we got her down last night around 11:30. She actually slept quit well but now we are dealing with more of the same today. She is really starting to get a set of lungs on her. She hasn't been happy yet today and I am starting to wonder if we can trade her in for a quiter model:)-Ryan

My First Bike Ride

Ryan had today off from work for Veteran's Day...he has a nice boss who gave him off both today and tomorrow. I haven't been able to exercise since the birth of Sara due to some medical problems and I got the okay from the doctor to go for an "easy" bike ride with no hills. I had to do the unthinkable and park at the bottom of our road (which I always swore I'd never do). For those of you that haven't been here, it's pretty steep...but still. Regardless, it felt SO good to get out and do some exercise for the first time in a LONG time. Let's just say it was a painful ride in more ways than one...I forgot how much my neck, elbows, wrists, bum, legs, arms, etc can hurt...but it was still a good ride and it felt so good to have fresh air blowing in my face!

Okay so I am not sure what Kelley has written thus far. We are currently switching off with Sara because she is having a ROUGH night. When I mean ROUGH I mean HORRIBLE. Kelley and I have tried everything to get this girl to settle down. We have reached into our bag of tricks and pulled out all the stops and still have a crying girl. When I say we have tried everything I mean we have tried EVERYTHING. Kelley and I even got to the point where we set her in her crib and let her cry for 5 minutes. Once we went in there she was content for the next 5 minutes. Then back to the screaming. She is obviously not feeling good this evening:(

Kelley and I have both been pushed to our absolute edge over the past 7 weeks. We have REALLY started to think that this whole "Let's Have A Kid" idea was not the best decision that we have ever made. Though as I write these words I feel bad about even suggesting that we have given second thoughts and that our little princess has been anything but. I am not sure why we have been blessed with the world's fussiest baby but I am sure there is some good explanation.

Kelley and I have heard everything from it's just because we are first time parents to we feed her too much or too little and that she just needs a good cry. We have been trying our hardest to forget the fact that most of our friends seem to have angel babies that sleep gracefully through the day and night and convince ourselves that her fussiness is due to the fact that she is going to be a VERY smart, active, strong, and independent woman.

Please keep in mind that everything written by me (Ryan) in the last couple of paragraphs was written in the heat of the moment. I figured that I would post it in the interest of letting you all get a candid view of our lives and emotions. Please understand that we both TRUELY love our little girl and that we are just going through some really rough times. Things will get better....

(This is Kelley again) Wow, we're still trying to settle Sara, it's 9:15 and she started screaming at 5:00 tonight. It's been a LONG night so far and it's not even over. No matter what we try she just won't stop crying!!! Help!

As for the rest of the day, after the bike ride, we decided to attempt to drive to town to pick up a little tent for Sara to bring to the beach. We timed it just right so that she'd hopefully go to sleep in the car if we were lucky. Amazingly, we got her asleep and she stayed asleep for 20 minutes!! Woohoo! Ryan would have to slow down well before a stop light and keep brake checking so we wouldn't actually come to a complete stop in order for her to stay asleep, and it worked.

Here's a picture of her in the tent at a park where we stopped so I .....


(This is Ryan again) We are still going at it! It is now 1000 PM. At this rate we will be burning the mid-night oil before you know it. This is the MOST frustrating thing I have ever done:(......


....could feed her.

Ok enough of this blog, I can't even concentrate anymore...(Kel)

.....yeah I know. It's now 10:30 and Kel is on duty. DAMN THIS SUCKS!!!

Thank You Ken and Jane!

Ken and Jane's trip has come to an end and we're both thankful and sad. They were so much help to all of us and it was great to have them meet little Sara. Tonight has been much harder without the use of 4 sets of hands to soothe sweet Sara girl :-) Now, we have to soothe her and make dinner, and do dishes, and clean up...we are so grateful for their help.

Tonight after much to-do with Sara and her not wanting to settle, Ryan pulled out the hairdryer. Not to do his hair mind you, but it instantaneously calmed her down and put her to sleep. Sweet! It was like magic. We've had her long enough now though, to not get our hopes up on something new. What worked today may not work tomorrow...but now we have something new to add to our arsenal. :-)

P.S.-the six week mark has come and gone...so much for the fussiness coming to an abrupt halt like everyone told us :-) We're banking on the 3 month mark now!!

Happy Birthday Ryan! (A day late)

Yesterday was Ryan's 31st birthday! And Sara had her 6 week birthday! Happy Birthday Dad! Ryan got up and went for a walk with his Mom, Dad, and Tyla at the beach while Sara and I slept. Unfortunately Sara has seemed to have gotten into a bad habit of waking up a lot throughout the night for the last two nights. Maybe she's so excited to have her grandparents here she doesn't want to sleep. Lets just hope it's a phase and it passes quickly :-) Ryan had to work but got off early and came home to hang out with the fam. I made him a homemade cake and his mom made his favorite, Mexican chicken. We went to the beach and he took his parents out on the stand up surfboard...that was fun for me to watch. Then we came home and he opened gifts. What a fun day :-)

Updates...

Over the last week or so Sara has had some really good days (and a few not so good but we'll take the good with the bad! ) She's starting to smile a lot and just seems to be happier. It's crazy to watch her grow right before our eyes. She's a great little feeder which makes my life less stressful. It's so fun to play with her little fingers and toes a look at her cute little face while she's feeding. Poor girl always has mom bugging her.

Ryan's been a great dad as usual. He decided to give me a break the other night after a really rough day and took Sara on an exursion. He got her in the car (screaming bloody murder mind you) with Tyla and headed to the beach. The only problem was that it started raining cats and dogs...so plan B...he decided to attempt to go grocery shopping at the commisary, sans stroller. Imagine him carrying her in one arm, pushing the cart with the other and grabbing whatever he could think of as he made a mad dash through the store. They all survived and I got a much needed nap. Needless to say as he unloaded the groceries he realized he had grabbed 4 boxes of cereal! Good thing we like cereal!

Grandpa and Mereme are here visiting for the week...and Sara has been on her best behavior :-) They've been very helpful...yeah for grandparents!

Happy Halloween!!

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!

New Pics

Here's a series of photos with Sara wearing her Sleepyhead onesie... it shows how much she likes to sleep :-)

And here's a few other ones...

Sleepy Head...

Or not! If any moms or dads out there have any good sleep tips for a newborn...let us know!!! Who says that newborns sleep all day? Surely not our child...she came out screaming and hasn't stopped yet. I put her in a onesie today that says Sleepy Head, hoping it would rub off on her. Although, I can't complain today because she's actually taken two 30 minute naps and is now going on an hour nap. This is like heaven. Yesterday she slept a TOTAL of 30 minutes!! You heard it right...30 minutes TOTAL! Babies are supposed to sleep 16-18 hours a day...not our child!

On another note, I took her in for her one month well check yesterday and the doctor gave her a clean bill of health (except for her heat rash all over her cheeks and necks...poor girl). She weighed in at 9 pounds 8 ounces which is the 50th percentile, her head was 13.5 inches (I think) 50th percentile, and she came in at a whopping 21 inches in height which is the 10-25th percentile. She definitely got taller (18.5 inches at birth) but it doesn't look like she'll be a basketball star yet...but you never know :-)

This girl is a hungry girl...she must take after her mom and dad! I think she'd eat all day long if she could but I'm getting a little exhausted to say the least. Hopefully as she gets bigger she'll be able to eat more at each sitting and last a little longer between feedings. I'd have to say that she's lasting a little longer in the past few days and makes it for 3-4 hours between feedings at night...which keeps me sane.

Here are few new pics for you to enjoy!

Sara's Likes and Dislikes

Things I like:

- The sound of running water (it helps me calm down when I'm screaming)

- The sound of Dad's Ipod (it has the sounds of rain falling, the ocean, and the jungle...thank goodness for technology!)

- My changing table and being changed...Mommy and Daddy are happy about that

- Being bounced a certain way...Mom and Dad have to bounce with their arms AND legs in order for me to like it...it gives them a good workout when I'm fussy at night

- Dad's huge orange stand up surfboard

- The car seat only if I'm being swung around...not when I'm in the car...I hate it then

- Getting bathes!!

This is the position that Dad has to carry me in if I'm really fussy!

Things I don't like so much:

- Being in one place too long...I get bored of the same view

- Lying on my back flat...I much prefer lying on Mom's tummy or Dad bouncing me in his arms

- My carseat when I'm in the car...I scream and scream until Mommy and Daddy let me out!

- Getting changed...when they put those stupid onesies over my head I kind of freak out.

- Having to go to sleep, especially between the hours of 5 and 10 pm
- I'm not a huge fan of hats either...

New Sara Pics

Here are some new pics of Sara...

It fell off...

Her umbilical cord that is... It actually fell off earlier this week but my baby brain forgot to post it :-) Progress! Sara gave Ryan and I a break last night, her witching hours only lasted from 5-7 last night and she slept for 3 hours three times! Wow, was that needed. The downside is that she doesn't feel like she needs to sleep today so no rest or a chance to get anything done for mom. I'm feeding while I write this with one hand because it's my only down time.

Here's a few pics...she found her thumb the other day...look out orthodontics bills!

The cute onesie she is wearing is one of the many very creative onesies her auntie and uncle Jen and Jeff made for her!

Your Gonna Miss This!

As you can all bet Kelley and my lives have changed dramatically in the past few weeks. What use to be a life filled with we, me, we...is now filled with what can we do to calm little Sara.

It turns out, in talking with both Kelley's and my parents, we were both little angel babies; never making a peep (notice I said babies not teenagers. That is a completely different story). So I am not sure why god has sent us an angel looking baby who grunts, groans, cries, poops, farts, twitches, drools, and howls like a little demon.

Don't get me wrong, Kelley and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE our little girl and consider her a blessing and a miracle but there are times when we have both questioned our decision to have kids. We have read other blogs where the mothers tout about having the perfect baby, "my baby never cries, my baby sleeps all the way through the night, I am not sure why everyone says this parenting thing is hard, etc".

All of our friends and family have been very supportive and there have been a lot of ideas and suggestions as to how to best comfort her. All of which work for 5-20 minutes then it is on to the next thing.

One of the most commonly stated suggestions is, "it will get better after 6 weeks, it will get better after 6 months, there's a light at the end of the tunnel". For the most part Kelley and I hope that this is true as we are both running on empty and being tested to the limits of our own personal wits...BUT as soon I start to wish away the time to a day when she is calm, I realize that there are the little moments when she is finally sleeping on my chest after 2+ hours of consoling and shushing. The moments when she looks into my eyes and I feel a connection that runs deep into my soul. These are the moments that are happening as we speak that I would never wish away.

It's like the country song by Trace Adkins, I have come to a realization that someday, I am going to miss these moments. The good the bad and the in between. I have made a promise to both myself and to Sara that I WILL NOT wish away one moment of her life to get to a point where things are easier. I will roll with the punches, wear a smile, and remember these days as some of the most precious days of her little life.

As such one of these moments was taken in this morning when I awoke to Kelley sitting on the couch with Sara in her arms after being up with her most of the night. I could see that Kelley needed some sleep. I grabbed Sara out of her arms as she collapsed into a sleepy state and headed off the the beach for a sunrise walk with my little angel. Our walk was unreal and was one of those moments that someday I will definitely miss.

Free Moment...

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted...it's crazy how much time such a little girl can take! We're still hanging in there...how come no one warned us about all the crying :-) Dad has been amazing, letting me get some much needed rest this weekend. We introduced a breast milk bottle which allowed me to get over 4 hours of straight sleep...woo hoo! He has today off from work so I got to go for a long walk by myself and get to go for a massage later today. The surf's up so Dad got go for much needed surf sessions last night and this morning...I think it helped revitalize him as well. Here's a resent picture of her in our favorite device!

And here she is in her hat that didn't go over very well the first time :-)

Our New Best Friend

Let's just say that after 36 hours of constant crying (unless she's eating) we finally got smart and pulled out the bouncy seat. It was our last resort and she seems to love it...for now! She's been quite the little fussy pants for the last few days and we were all at our wits end (at least I was...thanks to lack of sleep!)...until I pulled out the infamous bouncy seat. Let's hope she continues to like it so I have some reprieve when Jane leaves tomorrow. :-( It's very nice to have 3 sets of hands with Jane being here. It allows Ryan and I to have some moments of sanity when she's screaming bloody murder, and we've been eating like kings and queens and our house is clean!

I think Sara inherited her lungs from the Gavin side because we're all pretty boisterous :-) We took her to the doctor yesterday because she's started this crazy grunting (all day and through the night) and me being the paranoid first time parent I wanted to make sure she was okay. The doctor didn't seem to be worried which makes me not worry...thank you doctor! She is definitely a hefty eater...she gained a whopping whole pound in one week. I must have some nutritious milk! We're looking forward to the golden 6 week mark when the fussiness is "supposed" to subside (notice supposed to). She's actually a really good baby..she just has her moments :-) as I'm sure all babies do.

Here's a picture of her looking at the doll Meme (Gavin) gave her...she actually pushed it away from Ryan (and who says the don't have control of their hands yet!)

Our Future Athlete...

We've been working on our tummy time lately and Sara is already excelling :-) You think we're proud parents??



Everything is going pretty well at the Hatfield Hale. We're starting to get a little routine going (although I'm sure it will change on a daily basis). She managed to sleep for 4 hours in a row last night but unfortunately Mom didn't. She makes so many grunting noises when she sleeps that I can't seem to sleep through all of them...although I'm getting much better...the pillow over the head trick works pretty well. She is still having her "witching hours" from about 7 to 10 at night and lucky Dad (and Memere) have been having to deal with it while Mom gets a few hours of shut-eye between feedings.

Daddy's Little Girl and Memere

Here are a few more pics. I came home from a walk and found Dad and Sara chilling on the couch.

Like father, Like daughter...


Memere (Hatfield) is here for a visit. She has been very helpful...letting me/us nap, cooking and cleaning. Thank you Jane!

Witching Hour(s)....

I've heard about this so called "witching hour" from various people with kids but didn't really know what it was until the night before last. Our precious little Sara decided that at 8:00pm she wanted to be up the entire night (I thought it was only supposed to last a few hours)...and wanted to feed every hour! Let's just say Mom and Dad were a little exhausted by the end of the night.

We had our doctor's appointment yesterday and it appears that she is getting enough to eat and growing like a weed. She gained all of her birth weight back plus 8 oz...she's weighing in at 7 pounds 8 ounces! I was worried we were feeding her too much (every hour through the night...some nights) but apparently that's normal and we should feed her whenever she appears to be hungry. She must take after her parent's because we should love our food too!

She must have been pretty tired after her all nighter because she slept most of yesterday and only fed every two hours last night...progress!!

Here's a few more pics.

Sara loves her blanket that Gr-Grandma Hatfield made for her!!

Hicups

MOM'S OUTTA THE HOUSE!!!

Woke up this morning.....actually was already up this morning when the sun rose. Sara was being fussy and Kelley told me to go surf. She knew that this sitting around the house thing has been driving me crazy and also knew that a good size north swell was due to hit last night. She didn't need to tell me twice. I gave her and my little baby girl a kiss and was out the door.

After a short session I came home and took Sara duty so that Kel could get almost 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep (that is like gold around here). After she woke up she fed Sara and I pushed her out the door. She said she didn't know where to go, so she decided to go to the beach with Tyla.

After she walked out the door I realized that Sara and I were for the first time all alone. This meant that no mean parents to tell us what to do, when to sleep, when to eat, etc... I was so excited to do everything and break all the rules when I realized 2 things, after being up most of the night and day fussing, Sara finally found peace and decided to fall asleep and I am the parent. NOT MUCH FUN THERE!

Oh well I can sit and watch her sleep forever. It's kind of like starring into a fire, it's just hard to explain but it is definitely something that has captivated every little inch of my heart and soul.

I know you guys are probably getting a little fed up with the proud first parent picture thing but oh well...here are some more!!

I haven't wasted even a day teaching Sara to surf. I figure she'll be surfing pipeline by 6 months.

After surfing I gave Sara a bath.
Isn't she absolutely beautiful..Yeah Sara too:)
The outfit says is all, "Princess". I think I may have my hands full.