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...