7 weeks!

Today Wren tuned 7 weeks old!  Another busy week in the life of Wren.  We continue to work on bottle feeding with mixed results but we will persevere! The pacifier is being enjoyed much more than the week before and we make sure to keep one handy at all times.  I had a little scare when I thought I lost one (we only have 2) over the weekend.  We were all set to pick up another pack when I found the "lost" one tucked away in the car seat.  Phew!  Sunday night was time for another weigh-in - 11.7 pounds!  That means no more newborn insert for the car seat - our little one is a newborn no longer!  Wren is focusing more on various objects and enjoys looking at colorful pictures but can also be mesmerized by the plain brown arm of her baby swing.   She is becoming a little more chatty and lets you know when she wants your attention.
Thursday morning we drove to Newberg for Wren's first Thanksgiving and first night away from home.  We pretty much brought along everything that Wren uses in a given week, just to be sure we wouldn't be without.  It took us an extra hour to get out of the house after Jay nearly had an Office Space moment while breaking down the Co-sleeper for travel.
On Friday, rather than join the masses at the mall, Wren met her Great Grandmother for the first time in Portland.
That night Wren went to her first Corvallis Christmas parade.  This was the first time Jay and I have been in about 5 years and it was great to go again.  Even Shep came along!  Wren slept almost the whole time but the tradition begins!
Saturday we watched the Civil War football game with three little boys around the age of 1 and their families.  It was a great preview of what we have in store for us in ~12 months.
Regarding sleep: Friday night Wren slept in two stretches of 4.5 hours.  A miracle, I thought!  And then.....she slept 6 hours on Saturday night!  But THEN....Sunday night brought 7 straight hours of Wren sleep.  Yowsa!  We will see what tonight brings - I'm trying not to get too excited about this!

Cheeks!  And check out that hair growth!

6 weeks!

Today Wren is 6 weeks old!  In the past week Wren has had some nights with 2 hours of sleep at a time and some nights with 4 hours - we take what we get!
Wren can raise her left eyebrow and has started grasping things - shirt collars, hair, her face.  She kicks her legs and flails her arms and this morning she made a bridge by putting her feet down and lifting her bottom.  Pilates much?
She had her first outing to a restaurant (slept the whole time!) and made a trip to Costco (didn't sleep the whole time....)
Smiles are more frequent and Wren tracks us when we move around her.  When she hears a fun sound she opens her eyes wide and seems to be thinking about what she is hearing.  She has been practicing using the bottle and takes the pacifier only on occasion - she turns her head and spits it out most of the time.  She is really getting used to bath time!
On Saturday we weighed Wren and read 10.98 pounds on the scale - almost time to take out the newborn insert in the car seat!
Today Wren went to my workplace to meet residents and had about 30 admirers who each were at least 80 years older than her (and a few more than 97 years older than her!!).

Sporting her new pink boots courtesy of Jay's co-workers. 

She was much happier after the Beavers' victory (and the Ducks' loss!)

5 weeks!

Today Wren turned 5 weeks old and the past week has had some big milestones!  We have taken some walks to the grocery store in the stroller and Wren and I made one trek over there with the Mommy/daughter I mentioned in the last post.  Wren had a visit from her Grandma T over the weekend and enjoyed another trip to the Farmer's Market.  We have seen a few super adorable smiles and can't wait until they are a regular part of each day.  Wren is starting to pay a little more attention to objects around her and enjoys watching the animals dance on the the mobile over her changing table.  

Wren had her first real bath (up until now she has had sponge baths) in a pink plastic tub.  She was a little upset at first but once she relaxed in the nice, warm water she really enjoyed herself.  Hopefully we are setting the tone for fun bath times!  

Naps and nighttime sleeping amounts have a wide variation and we have had a few rough days and nights - growth spurt perhaps?

Based on the information we have read about introducing a bottle (in preparation for my return to work in early January) we made this our "go live" week and will try once a day.  Wren isn't super excited about it but we will keep working with her to get used to it.  We also introduced a pacifier on Sunday.  We had mixed feelings about using one and have heard and read various stances on the topic.  Wren is happy to spend a solid hour sucking on one of our pinky fingers and we decided it was time to stop being human pacifiers.  She used the pacifier to fall asleep last night and tonight and we will see where this takes us!  

I decided to see if Wren might be open to sleeping in her big crib.  She has been sleeping in a portable crib (co-sleeper) that we move to the living room each morning from our room and we plan for that to continue a bit longer, but we want her to be comfortable in her crib now so the transition isn't too difficult later.  I laid her down in her big crib yesterday but she wasn't up for the change.  Today, however, with the help of a dark nursery and a sound machine, she took a 45 minute nap in there!  I am so proud!  I was very tempted to snap some pictures of the occasion but didn't for fear the camera shudder would wake her - never wake a sleeping Wren!

4 weeks!

We can't believe Little Wren is already 4 weeks old - time is flying!
In Wren news....
We have tried out the Moby wrap with success!  With the weather getting colder it is a great way to be mobile and snuggly at the same time.

Wren started making little shrieking noises and even said her first word: Gremlac.

Today before bath time we rigged up a system to weigh Wren and the scale read 10 pounds - wowie!  We won't have an official weight until her 2 month visit but this seems fairly accurate.  
After bath time Wren's hair seems a bit thinner on top....that combined with her chunky chin give her an air of Danny DeVito from Twins.
Last week Wren had a little throwing up incident while we were out and about.  Luckily we have an extra outfit in the diaper bag!  Unluckily it was an outfit that she had already outgrown....We were able to get her most of the way buttoned up and back in her car seat without a meltdown but it was a great reason to take stock of what Wren is growing out of and what's in the diaper bag!
We started using homemade cloth wipes!  We have a solution in a spray bottle that we use to wet the wipes before use.  The system seems to be going well so far and we are happy with our reduced waste output.
We learned that a couple we met in the hospital live in our neighborhood - their daughter is one day older than Wren - and I had a nice visit with the Mom last week.  Maybe the little girl and Wren will be best friends!

Jay and Wren modeling the Moby wrap

 

 

Wren gave the team all the luck she could but we still lost :(

 

Modeling an outfit received as a gift from Japan!

3 weeks!

Little Wren is 3 weeks old today and boy is she growing!  Soon Wren will be out of newborn sizes and into her 0-3 month clothes.  In the past week she has continued to eat like a champ and sleep more than Jay or I manage to.  More visitors have been by to spend time with the little lady.  Wren has graduated to riding around in a front carrier and likes to work on her neck strength during walks and also during tummy time.  Wren is becoming just a little more vocal but we can still easily soother her with food, snuggles, or a new diaper - the cloth is still going well, by the way!  And today Wren is experiencing her first Halloween!  No trick or treating for us but she will be handing out candy to those who stop by!

Two weeks old!

Little Wren is 2 weeks old today!  In the past week she has enjoyed more visitors and had her first trip to the Farmer's Market.  Wren had her Well Baby Checkup last Friday and weighed in at a whopping 8 pounds, 7.5 ounces!  We can tell she is growing and will soon be out of newborn sizes!  She started wearing cloth diapers last Thursday and that has been going pretty well so far (though the extra bulk in her lower half is also contributing to some snugly fitting outfits...)  Wren is enjoying short sessions of tummy time to improve her neck and arm strength.  Bath time is going well with wash cloths - tub time will soon start once her belly button has healed (her little cord stump fell off last Tuesday).  Now that she is over 8 pounds we are anxious to try out the baby carrier but Wren doesn't appear to meet the length requirement yet, so we will postpone that attempt just a little longer, but we will be trying out the Moby wrap soon to see if Wren likes it.  We will be so mobile soon!  Wren continues to enjoy her car seat and stroller and we have had daily walks - the October weather is getting cooler but the sun continues to shine!  During nap time we managed to finish putting one coat of paint on the entire shed.  The siding and trim are done and the floor inside has been primed and painted as well.  Jay is working on building shelves for the shed and soon we will be organizing the items that will be stored inside and get the garage cleared out a little.  No rest for the weary!

We can't forget Shepdog!

She's Here!

On Monday, October 10th, at 8:10 AM, we met our baby girl - Wren Hazel Well!  Stats: 7 pounds, 11 ounces, 19.5 inches, cute as could be.  The delivery was so emotionally overwhelming that Jay and I didn't even realize we hadn't found out baby's gender until the doctor said something a few minutes later!  Jay cut her umbilical cord and we spent the next few hours in disbelief that this little person is ours to keep.
We came home on Wednesday afternoon after a trying (but thankfully short) ride home in the car.  We quickly missed being able to dial 4 numbers to order "room service" and have french toast at every meal.  Since then Wren has been getting used to her car seat and pretty quickly falling asleep.  Sleep deprivation is hitting us differently (Jay and I, that is.  Wren sleeps like a champ when she's ready!).  Mine is manifesting in the bags under my eyes and Jay (ever the energy saver) spent 10 minutes one night trying to find the battery compartment in our plug-in nightlight...
Wren is definitely a part of the right family with her healthy appetite.  When we left the hospital her weight was down to just over 7 pounds but by Friday had jumped up more than 4 ounces.  Due to her jaundice we saw her Pediatrician on Friday and will be back there again this Friday for another check in, though she's in the clear and doing great.  We will be curious to learn what her weight is this week.
Wren has enjoyed many visitors over her first week and we are very appreciative of the well wishes and meals we have received.  Family and friends are life savers!
Yesterday marked Wren being 1 week old - what a week!  We celebrated with a family walk to the park.  Shep has been handling things pretty well around the house but isn't excited about our sometimes crying little bundle.  One night he just got up and left the room.... poor guy.  Here are some pictures from Wren's first week.  Happy 8th day, sweet girl!