1 month old!

Freya turned one month while we were in Prairie du Chien with Justin's family.

Snuggling with Grandma Toni

Playing with Grandpa Gary

Things you love:
*Eating! You weighed 9 pounds, 12 ounces on the 18th.
*Snuggling with Mama and Dad
*Your swing
*Reflections and mirrors - you love to stare at the china cupboard in the living room
*Baths
*Stretching in the morning after you're out of your swaddle

Things you hate:
*Being hungry


Things you can do:
*Track objects with your eyes
*Smile!
*Lift your head and look side to side
*Recognize Mama's and Dad's voices
*Roll from back to side

1 month old!

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Overall Freya is a very happy and content baby. She loves bath time and cuddling. Most of the time she fusses only when she is hungry. Sleeping is getting much better and she has slept for a 5 hour stretch the past few nights. She has started to coo and vocalize a lot more, which is fun. She did well on our first long car trip to Wisconsin and slept for three hours on the way there and back!

We have noticed that she might be sensitive to dairy in my diet so I am eliminating it to see if that helps relieve some of her tummy troubles.

Freya's First Weeks

I should have written this sooner since I feel like the first two weeks home were a big blur of feeding the baby and trying to sleep. I remember that we had lots of visitors and that Freya only slept for 1.5 hours max at a time. Maybe that is why everything is a blur!

The highlight of our first week home was that Megan and Paul came to visit! We were all very excited for them to arrive and meet Freya. We spent lots of time relaxing at home together and we ventured out of the house for a few outings. Megan came with me to Freya's first pediatrician appointment (Justin had to attend class). We went to the outlet mall at Albertville and out to eat. Freya was a very good baby for all of our trips and slept pretty much the whole time. It was such a nice visit and we were so happy they were able to meet Freya when she was still a tiny baby.

Megan meeting Freya at the airport

Megan and Paul with Freya

Freya is wearing a onesie from Megan that says "I love my Irish Aunt"

I feel that no matter how many books you read or how prepared you think you are, nothing can prepare you for the reality of having a newborn. Leaving the hospital knowing we now have responsibility for a tiny, precious life is very overwhelming. For the first few days especially I was so terrified we were going to do something wrong. Luckily Freya has been giving us pretty clear cues as to what she wants and when she wants it and she only cries when she is hungry or overtired. She wants to eat every hour during the day and needs to sleep after being awake for 1.5 hours or she gets too tired to relax herself.
We had some really nice weather during the first couple weeks home so we were able to go outside for walks and just to sit and look around. She loves the fresh air and likes to nap in the stroller. She also likes to be worn in her Moby or Beco and sleeps when she is in those as well.

2 weeks old!

Snuggling in the Moby wrap

Justin giving Freya her first pumped bottle

Freya comes home

We were discharged from the hospital early Sunday afternoon (Sept 18th). Freya was smaller than we thought she'd be so her outfits we brought from home were gigantic on her! Everyone told me not to bother with newborn size clothes because babies are usually too big for them, but not our little Freya.

Way too big outfit!

We had a little trouble getting her into her car seat because she just seemed to tiny and fragile. Once we got her in and the nurses checked to make sure she was buckled in correctly we were on our way home.

Giant outfit, seemingly giant carseat and tiny baby

We're home!

We had a few visitors that day - Charlie, Heather and Ella, Paulette and Byron, and Amanda and Athena. Everyone was very excited to see our little girl.

Ella and Freya

Athena even brought a couple newborn outfits so Freya had some clothes that fit her properly!

We were anxious to introduce Freya to our dogs Cleo and Anna. Both of the dogs were very intrigued and wanted to smell her a bunch. They were both a little scared when she cried for the first time, but so far they are doing really well with her.

Freya's first days

I delivered at the Maple Grove Hospital and I have nothing but positive things to say about my experience and all of the people we interacted with. All of the nurses were fantastic, and I was lucky to have the same nurse on duty every day we were there so we got to know her well. You could tell she really cared about Freya and me and she really helped me be more comfortable with my hospital experience. We even recieved a personalized note from her and one of the other nurses a day after we got home. I was very happy with the care I recieved and would highly recommend the birth center there to anyone! The amenities were great as well. They have room service so I was able to order whatever I wanted to eat whenever I wanted it and there was a couch/bed in the room so Justin was able to stay with us every night.

Since I had a c-section we had a little longer hospital stay. This gave some of our family and friends a chance to come visit us while we were still there.

Grandma Brenda got to hold Freya when she was just an hour old

Grandma Toni and Grandpa Gary visiting Freya

Auntie Amanda with Freya

Auntie Jenna and Auntie Athena

Auntie Heidi

Uncle Ryan and Christie

Clean and happy after her first bath. Her hat was a gift from a knitting group that makes hats and donates them to the hospital.

Freya has been a fairly calm and content baby since she was born. The first few days in the hospital she barely cried and I had to wake her up to feed her. She did get kicked out of the nursery one night at around 3am because she didn't want to sleep. At first I was hesitant to have her taken to the nursery, but I needed at least a couple hours of sleep each night and the nurses were great about bringing her back to the room if she fussed at all and she never went more than 2 hours without being in my room with us.
Next up - coming home!