After Three Weeks

Hannah is just a little over three weeks old now. Needless to say, her arrival has brought about the end to our former lifestyles. Late nights of work have now been replaced by late night feeding sessions. In fact, it seems that, like most new parents, our life consists of sleeping when the baby sleeps and feeding when the baby isn't sleeping.

Being new parents has evoked a wide gamut of emotions. One successful feeding session can bring about much joy and laughter. Of course, when Hannah doesn't do what we expect (eat or sleep properly), it can be tremendously frustrating and sometimes even downright infuriating. Alas, I believe that the Lord is teaching us how to be more patient and to always remain focused on the bigger picture. Frustrations often arise when expectations and reality collide and aren't in agreement with each other. Our assumption is that our expectations must be reasonable when, in fact, they may not be. During our prenatal classes, Grace and I decided that we wanted an all-natural (no epidural) birth. We would also breastfeed as long as possible. On July 26th, when labour final started, despite Grace's best efforts, we had to take the epidural. Fortunately, we didn't have to have a C-section in the end (though Grace paid dearly for the alternative). Now we're onto the breastfeeding stage and we're finding that that, too, isn't as easy as we thought it would be and hasn't been going too smoothly. After many bitter nights and very sore fingers (from finger feeding), we relented and started to use the bottle. Fortunately, Hannah still takes the breast here and there so all is not lost. But getting back to the grand scheme of things, we feel wonderfully blessed because Grace and I have been brought together much closer (as a result of the intense labour and delivery experience) and we have been given the one thing that all parents hope for---a healthy baby. The path of parenting has only just begun and I'm sure we'll be confronted with many challenges. Hopefully, handle these challenges and walk away with an ever fruitful experience.

Some stats for the number-savvy: Hannah's birth weight was 7lbs 4oz. Her discharge weight was 6lbs 12oz. On August 8th, she weight in at 7lbs 1oz. On August 17th, she was 8lbs 1oz.

Bringing Hannah into this world was definitely no small feat. If you look closely, you can still see the puncture wounds from where they drew blood.

Hannah looking perplexed during snuggle time. She's supposed to be sleeping!

Hannah rests on daddy's (bony) shoulder. This is where she seems to prefer to sleep...and spit up!

Here's one of our first family photos with Grace, Grandma (Grace's mom), Hannah, and Charlton.