Surviving

Last weekend Jordan attended her first baby shower. My friend from work, Marsha, is due right before Christmas, so we went through a lot of pregnancy stuff together. When Marsha came to visit in the hospital, I told Jordan she had to be good so she didn't scare Marsha. We had the same talk before the shower (not that I really thought it would work either time), so I was happily surprised that Jordan didn't cry or fuss at all. When the quivering lip appeared, I gave her a bottle and all was right with the world.


Then, at the firm Halloween party on Friday, Marsha held Jordan in her Halloween costume. Don't you just love the sea shells on her chest?!? I didn't know until later that Marsha had never held a baby under 6 months of age, so I'm glad I took a picture of the big occasion. At the start of the Halloween party, Jordan was extremely alert and looking around at everyone and everything. By this point, however, she was dead to the world in a cat nap.

I'm happy to report that we survived our first week back at work. I was pretty tired much of the time, but we all seem to be doing better in a routine. Jordan has been sleeping better and has only been doing 1 middle of the night feeding for the last few nights. We were home alone for most of Thursday evening, and I was reminded of how sweet she can be when we are alone. When I visit Jordan in day care during the week, I love that she looks up at me with her beautiful eyes and really seems to recognize me.

Mixed feelings

Jordan will be 6 weeks old tomorrow, so I'm returning to work on Tuesday. I am ready to have a break from being home with Jordan all the time, but it is going to be a major adjustment. Pitifully I'm tearing up thinking about being away from Jordan so much and handing her over to strangers. I'm so glad she'll be right there in my building so I can pop in at lunch or whenever I start to miss her too much and can watch her on the daycare cameras.

I took Jordan to a baby shower today, and I'm happy to report that she behaved very well. I was so nervous she would throw a fit and scare the mother to be and was happily surprised that she was very good. Many of the women commented on how alert she was. Jordan always loves looking around and often gets irritated if you don't change her scenery often enough.

On that note, here is a picture of Jordan hanging out in her bouncer but reaching for me. She always has her arms, hands and legs going, but I love when she seems to be reaching for me.

And this is a self-portrait kind of shot during a moment of peace when Jordan and I were home alone together. Often after a bottle and some burping, she loves to sleep on my shoulder, holding on to make sure I don't put her down.

Jordan and Zach

This picture is a couple of weeks old, but here it is anyway. This is the first time that Jordan's cousin Zach held her. Obviously she had no idea what was going on, but Zach is a ham who loves having his picture taken. He and Jordan's Aunt Julie came to the house after a field trip which included a scavenger hunt. Zach was more interested in Maddie most of the time he was here but was happy to pose for a picture with Jordan.


During that same visit, Jordan spent part of the time passed out on my stomach on the front porch. Even if it isn't the most flattering picture of me, Jordan looks very peaceful. She loves just being outside sometimes since there is so much to look at outside.

Naked baby

Jordan has mixed feelings about being a naked baby. Actually, when I snapped this lovely photo, Jordan was wearing a diaper before I got her dressed. I tried several times to get pictures of her laying on the loveseat looking content, but she wouldn't hold still for more than a split second. Putting my hand on her chest and stomach made her hold still for a moment. However, if you look closely, you can see that Jordan picked this exact moment to spit up a tiny bit. As I've said before, she certainly has her mother's timing. Although she is a good sized baby, I think she looks small compared to my hand.

On a side note, we are going to a free baby massage class tomorrow. As long as she does alright, we will then head to my office so more of the girls from work can meet her. I haven't taken Jordan anywhere alone yet, so wish us luck.

Sometimes we'll try anything

So, Jordan has quite a set of lungs and likes to show them off from time to time. When she is screaming bloody murder when it isn't time to eat and the diaper is fine, we end up walking from room to room moving her into a thousand different positions and trying the pacifier trying to find something that makes her happy. Thankfully, these episodes are decreasing in frequency since we are learning her different cries, but they are definitely not gone.

This picture shows one of the odd positions that Jordan found relaxing after Dave had tried a bunch of different things. Sometimes you just have to go with what works...

Have I mentioned that my daughter is a pirate?

Jordan has a habit of keeping one eye watching us when we want to put her down or are feeding her to make sure we aren't going anywhere. We jokingly call her a pirate and say she is giving us her pirate eye since she just keeps the one eye open. She doesn't do it as often now, but it still makes me laugh.

Jordan will get to meet her grandfather this evening or early tomorrow. My dad is supposed to be on his way from NC now to meet his first grandchild. I'm not sure if I've seen him hold a baby after my 23 year brother, so this could be interesting. I'm glad he is staying with my Uncle John rather than staying with us since our nights can be pretty hectic. Jordan has slept a little better the past few nights, but I don't want to jinx anything by saying that. Keep your fingers crossed for me on the sleep front!

First sponge bath

These pictures are from Jordan's first sponge bath a little over a week ago. Since her cord was and is still on, we haven't tried a real bath yet. This sequence shows the uncertainty before the bath....

The not so favorable reaction during the bath...

And the excitement and relief after the bath when we were drying her off with one of her hooded towels.
I'm happy to report that we gave her another sponge bath yesterday, and it went much better. I really hope she likes real baths when we reach that point.

On a side note, Jordan met her uncle JC on Saturday. His mature reaction was fear of the umbilical cord and comments that it looked like goose poop. He wouldn't even hold her. Such a wuss!