Sunday, June 24, 2007

smiles


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Originally uploaded by meg+john=ruby
This has been a big week for us. We went to my classroom and cleaned all of my stuff out, which was pretty strange. We went out to lunch a couple of times. Ruby decided it was time for her to eat too when our food arrived at the table. Ruby & I took our first shopping trip alone. She slept the whole time! And the best part is that she has begun smiling at us!
We weren't sure she meant it at first, but she seems to smile at appropriate times and at other things she likes - a lamp that she has spent much time staring at and some pictures she looks at while we nurse in bed. These little smiles are the best!

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Father's Day


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Originally uploaded by meg+john=ruby
My first father's day today; it's a strange experience with different feelings associated with it. First, its an amazing thing to be holding your new baby and loving her so much even though I just met her. But, how did I get here? Am I really a father now? It seems very surreal at the same time. What is this force that compels us to have babies of our own? Where does it come from? I suppose all living things will fill their biological space as long as the environment and resources can support them. But why? Is it just to continue the species? I can't deny some kind of genetic impulse for producing offspring but I don't think that's the main driving force behind it. For me I think it has more to do with sharing the human experience. In my case it is with Megan and Ruby. I never thought about having kids much before Megan, but as soon as we were together I knew that she was someone who I wanted to share my life with and beyond, all the way to having children together. And now we have Ruby in our family. There are so many things I worry about that lie in the future, mainly war and greed, that have the power to shape her life in ways that I wish with all my might I could change. But at the same time there are so many things I can't wait to experience with her. And most of all, I feel so lucky that she is in my life.

A noisy morning

Saturday, June 16, 2007

oops

Okay, I'm obviously a little sleep-deprived and it's showing. I forgot to mention in the last post WHY the dr. told us to slow down Ruby's eating. It's not because she has gained too much weight. Nobody is at all concerned about her weight - it's not an issue at all. He gave us this advice because Ruby was vomiting after feedings a few times. She did this after really long feedings. I was feeling like she may be getting too much food for her little tummy, but I didn't know how to figure out how much was the right amount. This is why her dr. suggested burping her every 10-15 minutes or so to see if she wants more or not. So, I'm not feeding her any less often, just sometimes (and only when Ruby decides it, of course) a little bit shorter.

Hopefully all of my breastfeeding friends will be a little less worried now. We love the fact that Ruby eats as well as she does and is getting a little chubby!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

2 weeks old already

It's hard to believe that Ruby has been in our lives 2 weeks already. It's even harder to remember what our lives were like without her in them.
We went to the pediatrician today for her first check-up. She weighed 7 lb. 9 oz. when she was born and now weighs, drumroll please, a whopping 8 lb. 3 oz! This may not seem huge to you, but she lost quite a bit of weight in the hospital for some odd reason, when she was discharged from the hospital at 2 days old she weighed 6 lb. 11 oz. So, obviously she has no problem eating and gaining weight. The doctor told me to slow down her eating. I didn't know I could control how fast or slow she eats, but he told me to stop her every 10 minutes or so and help her rest and then she can decide if she's still hungry or not. I guess this is instead of her eating until she passes out...good advice for us all!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

ugh

projectile vomit at 2 a.m. in our bed is not fun.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

a good day


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Originally uploaded by meg+john=ruby
We are surviving without Grandma here. It's tough, but Ruby makes it pretty easy on us. She just loves to be held every second and who wouldn't want to hold her??? John has been working from home so far this week which has been great. It's nice to have someone to pass Ruby to when I want to take a shower or need a little break. I think John is going into work tomorrow for part of the day, he's easing me into this full-day mom role. It's so strange to be needed so much, but after only 12 days, I can't imagine my life without her.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Happy girl!


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Originally uploaded by meg+john=ruby
We have been having some great nights lately. (Hopefully this doesn't jinx us!) She sleeps for 3-4 hours, feeds for 1 hour and then back to sleep. Today the girls didn't get up until almost 10:30! This is really helping us catch up on some much needed sleep. A few days ago this was not happening with nary a wink to be had. On a sad note, Lynn is leaving us tomorrow. She has been wonderful, spending time with Ruby and us, helping cook, clean, and shop. Its been great! So this week will be a big test for us as we are on our own. Wish us luck!

Friday, June 08, 2007

Ruby's a week old


We made it through the first week! Things have gone a bit easier than we thought despite all the lack of sleep. Lynn (Mom) being here is helping us get more sleep than we would have on our own that is for sure. So a few milestones; the cord fell off, she rolled up onto her side, and she looked into megan's eyes for the first time. Not bad for only a week old. And her head, she can hold her head up for seconds at a time all by herself. Amazing kid we have here! So next week is looming. I'm going back to work. Probably not full time but pretty close. Lynn leaves on Monday so we better get our act straight. My parents and niece are coming in the middle of July which will be a big help since I am trying to finish this thesis paper. I know my mom can't wait to meet Ruby, it must be tearing her up. Megan is doing an incredible job. Ruby just loves her so much. She is up at all hours of the night feeding her and soothing her. And best of all, Meg loves it. Not to say times aren't rough now and then but overall she is so happy to be a mom, and feels so lucky to be one.

Monday, June 04, 2007

Day 4


So last night (#5) was a bit rough. I think we were spoiled by the night before. That night she slept for streches of 3 -4 hours just waking to have some food and then pass right out again. Last night she didn't fall asleep until 6 am after a night of feeding every hour or two and having some stomach pain. I guess the new milk is taking some time to adjust to. But we made it through and now Meg and Ruby are passed out together. Once she has a full tummy she can sleep though just about anything. This morning I made us some breakfast and I took some time to listen to "This American Life" podcast over my eggs. It was nice to take a few minutes to myself and reconnect with the life around me. This is something I need to keep doing so as not to totally lose my pace in completing my thesis. One more day of adjustment and I think I'll set up the laptop and try to focus on potatoes for a while. But this is hard as Ruby is so awesome and consumes me. Thank you for the visits in the hospital and the food and gifts everyone brought. We ate everything and it really came in handy and made us feel good. We love you all! Don't forget to check the flickr site and as soon as Google Video starting allowing me to embed video in the blog I'll put up another short clip, or if you can't wait go here and watch it: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7275974803186919546&hl=en
John

Sunday, June 03, 2007

New photo site for friends and family

We have set up a Flickr photo site for the baby photos. You can download any of these for free and then print or upload to Snapfish or whatever for buying prints. The webpage is http://flickr.com/photos/8692775@N06/ and I'll put a link on this page. If you want to download a print quality photo, click on the photo from the main page, at the top left of the image click on "all sizes", choose the largest size and then right-click on the image and save for a pc or control-click and save on a mac.

Everything is going great! Feel free to call us whenever.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Our Rubylove

She's here!!!

Ruby Gainer McQueen was born Thursday, May 31 at 9:51 am after 22 hours of labor. She was 7 lb 9 oz and 21 inches long. Mommy and baby are happy and healthy. We are now all home and enjoying our new life.

(Video quality will improve with time but this is the best we have right now.)