One Month Old!!

Well we all made it to one month! Praise Jesus. Papa Cooper put it best when he described learning how to parent is like 'drinking from a fire hose'. Well we Wades are well hydrated because we've been doing a lot of 'drinkin', and we're having a blast. .

Little Owen is somewhat in a routine. He likes to sleep ~ 11 hours a day. Most of those occur in long spurts during the night time (!) and for that, this mama is incredibly grateful. During the day, he is awake and alert and loves to be entertained and held, like all baby boys should! He's usually great during the day and turns in to Mr. Fussy Pants around 6 or 7pm... poor Mike gets the hard shift every day.

As he is currently draped over my left arm, this post will be short on words and heavy on pictures.

Please enjoy some photos from the last month!

Burrito Baby Boy

 

This was taken in the 1st week. He is SO alert. And, every time you place him against a brown background, his hair looks really red!

 

Sprawled out. His legs are stretched too... he must have  been really cramped in the womb!

1st bath! So far..he is not a fan of the water...

 

This is his current position, and one that works frequently to help his gas =)

 

Owen in his 'Uncle Ryan' hat

 

He loves play time!!

 

Our visit with Gaga and Papa Wade... I'll post more about our wonderful visitors retrospectively later...

Sweet Cheeks =)

 

Mommy and Owen dressed up for a baby shower, Week 3

 

We have at least an hour of snuggle time in the morning. l.o.v.e this time!!

 

They match! I do love a man in a burp cloth. It's a necessity around here. Yesterday we went through 4 outfits!

Loving his 'skin to skin' time with Daddy

Smile or gas? You tell me...

 

First Walk!

This picture was just taken this week. Mike and I think it captures him perfectly! He's now in 0-3 month sizes (no more newborn), so he could wear his new outfit!

Mike and I are just in love and enthralled with this little man. We love his facial expressions, the way he moves his eyebrows up and down constantly, his dramatic little pouts, his snuggle time, his coos, and his ever alert eyes. He is truly a gift from God.

I am signing off from my first one handed post. With so much love, a proud proud Mama

Owen's Birth Day!!

 On the Night you Were Born...

On the night you were born, the moon smiled with such wonder that the stars peeked in to see you and the night wind whispered, " Life will never be the same". Because there had never been anyone like you... ever in the world.,,,,Heaven blew every trumpet and played every horn on the wonderful, marvelous night you were born. ~Nancy Tillman

Owen was born @ 5:38 pm PST on 12/27/10. He was 4 days late, but once he was ready, he was READY! I had a relatively short, intense labor. My contractions started at 1:00 am on the 27th, but the "hard" labor didn't really start until 1:00pm ish. Four and a half hours later, this little one made his grand entrance into the world... all with the help of a little thing we call a vacuum. Praise the Lord for the vacuum assist. I only had to push through 2 contractions. Not too bad for the first time.

Little Peanut Head ~ 13cm. All of the NB hats we have are too big for him.

 Be still my heart.  Apgars were 8 and 9. Love the little blue hands.

Wt: 7lbs 12oz, 19.5 inches

 I love this sweet little face. He certainly had his eyes on! When he was born the OB said, "It's not a Lucy". We think she had forgotten our boy name.  

 Words can't describe what it's like to look at your son for the first time! I can't believe it was this little man that had been kicking me for all of those months.

 He looks much more cozy now, doesn't he? Eyes are gooped up, footprints obtained, vaccinations given, hands protected. Life is good.

 First family photo. We were all SO tired and SO blissful. Happy Birthday Owen!

 The first time I saw this picture, it made me cry. I just love the look of elation on Mike's face. He still looks at the baby that way, and it makes my heart melt!

 The little man came on Grandma Cooper's birthday! Such an exciting day! I am SO glad she could be there for his birth! What a proud Grandma looking on..... l.o.v.e.

 Mike is a total natural. He had this holding a newborn thing down in no time flat. By the time they were done with my stitches, he was holding the baby with one hand and eating dinner with the other. Nothing to be nervous about. Mike has also turned swaddling into an engineered art. It's amazing how tight that baby can be swaddled... and he sleeps SO well when Mike has done his handy work. I love it!

Baby Owen and Papa Cooper. Also a natural. Two red heads all in a row.

I think that Owen is a perfect combination of the Coopers and Wades.. quite the genetic match up I suppose. I think he has Mike's eyes, my nose, mouth (undecided.. let's wait till he gets teeth), Papa Wade's chin, and likely Papa Cooper's hair. He definitely has my hands and nail beds too.. so weird to see your hands on someone else's body. We'll have to wait to see what he gets from the Grandmas... perhaps curly hair and a south paw? We can't wait to find out!

"So enchanted with you were the wind and the rain that they whispered the sound of your wonderful name"

Owen Michael Wade.

WE LOVE YOU! Mom and Dad

diapering....

I used tummy time today as a photo op to show off this little man's cloth diapers.. and his skinny skinny legs! I am just starting the cloth diapering, so any hints are VERY welcome.

It looks like the diaper swallowed him......

 

This is how Owen feels about tummy time... some day he will like it. He is getting so strong, though, and he can hold his head up for a few seconds! I am a proud momma.

More to come soon (maybe this weekend). In the mean time, I need to take advantage of this precious time that he is sleeping in the Moby. We are having a blast.

xoxox, Heather and little O-bug

Uno, Dos, Tres

I'm sorry I've been delinquent in my posting. I've had all of this family here to help me, and yet this new role is still overwhelming! My goal for the weekend was to get a few pics up, and now seemed like a good time.

We are IN LOVE with this little man. He seems to be a relatively calm baby. He's really only had 3 days (of his entire 19 days of existence) that he was really fussy. I am counting my blessings. Although I am so grateful when he sleeps, his awake and alert times are my favorite. We've been reading, working on tummy time, and dancing to the Black Eyed Peas. So far, he's a fan.

We took him to the doctor on Monday for a goopy eye, and he weighed in @ 8 lbs! I am so proud of this little feeding monster. Thank God he is eating so well as I was honestly more worried about the breastfeeding than the labor! Turns out I should have been more worried about the L&D. Live and learn =)

Below I have a few pics of the Wade family over the last 3 weeks. Please excuse my tired eyes...

Coming home from the hospital on my birthday. What a wonderful gift!

 

The little man @ 1 week old. In Love =)

2 weeks in and we are still alive and kickin. I got my contacts in for 2 days this week. I also put a regular pair of pants on (and zipped them up, mind you), but I promptly re-chose my favorite pair of new sweatpants. I am so hot right now.

Mike is back at work full time, and Owen and I are getting in to a routine. I feel so incredibly blessed by these 2 Wade boys in my life.

We have SO many great pictures, and I will keep working on getting them uploaded to share. Have a great weekend! We love you. Mike, Heather, and Owen

It's a BOY!!!

We are THRILLED to welcome Owen Michael Wade to our family.

He was born 12/27/10 @ 5:38 pm weighing in at 7lbs 12oz and 19.5 inches.

At his one week appt yesterday he is back up to 7lbs 8oz after a weekend feeding frenzy and he is 21 inches. We think he must have been 'under' measured at birth.

I don't think I have ever been more in love with Mike than I am right now. He was a perfect birth coach, and he is the most perfect dad to this little boy. It brings me to tears to watch him care for this baby. I knew he would be a great dad, but I am finding that my description of his parenting skills far surpass any adjective I can find. I hope this little man grows up to be just like his daddy.

Look at this sweet face! He's is getting more expressive everyday, and we are just having a blast. Grandma and Papa Cooper have been here, so we are even getting sleep. Their help has been invaluable, and we are looking forward to another 5 days with Grandma and Papa Wade. Mike, Owen, and I are truly, truly blessed by this little boy and all of our helpers.

Happy 2011!! Love, Mike, Heather, and Owen

i want a hippopotamus for Christmas

Oh wait, I AM a hippopotamus..... Santa must have delivered early this year. He apparently is the only one to deliver early =)

Today is the official due date, and I think it will come and go just like the last 7 days have come and gone. It is a blessing, nonetheless, to get to this day because now I actually know that the baby will come. As a first time mom, I expected to be late, and now I will be. Bring on the anticipation.

I must say, though my heartburn has taken on a whole new rare and awful form, the emotional strain of the last week(s) of pregnancy are, for me, far worse than the physical. Certainly I expected to be physically uncomfortable, but I was unprepared for the mental game. Perhaps I should have waited to post the picture with the gun this week?

I've been thinking a lot about Mary and what it must have been like traveling on a donkey (that's a labor inducing trick I haven't tried), to get to a stable, to deliver the Son of God. Imagine that anticipation. She must have been an amazingly strong, faithful, and Godly woman... of course she was, God picked her to deliver Jesus. At this time of my impending delivery, I am drawn to her story and her strength of character and her Labor of Love.

Here are the lyrics to one of my favorite Christmas songs in the Andrew Petersen 'Behold the Lamb of God' Christmas program.

Labor of Love

It was not a silent night, there was blood on the ground. You could hear a woman cry n the alleyways that night  on the streets of David's town.

And the stable was not clean, and the cobblestones were cold. And little Mary full of grace, with the tears upon her face, had no mother's hand to hold.

It was a labor of pain. It was a cold sky above. But for the girl on the ground in the dark, with every beat of her beautiful heart, it was a labor of love.

Noble Joseph at her side. Callused hands and weary eyes. There were no midwives to be found, in the streets of David's town, in the middle of the night. So he held her and he prayed, shafts of moonlight on his face. But the baby in her womb, He was the maker of the moon, He was the Author of the faith that could make the mountains move.

It was a labor of pain. It was a cold sky above. But for the girl on the ground in the dark, with every beat of her beautiful heart, it was a labor of love. For little Mary full of grace, with the tears upon her face. It was a labor of love.

39 weeks. I couldn't find a watermelon or a gun.

40 weeks. I told you I was huge! When I look at this picture, I understand why strangers ask me if I am having a Christmas baby. I look like I could go any day! The vegetable for this week was a pumpkin. I had saved my pumpkin from Halloween, but it was quite moldy. Mike was thrilled to throw it out. We improvised with a bag of satsumas that probably weigh at least 5 lbs. Maybe not quite 7, but really.. the weight of the baby is any one's guess at this point.

In very exciting news, we are thrilled to announce that Mike's cousin Hilary had her beautiful baby boy, Collin Everett McLeod, yesterday 12/22 in Akron Ohio. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Lord, Thank you for allowing me to carry this baby to term. I pray for an ounce of the grace that Mary had, and I thank you and praise you for the noble man that you have placed by my side.  

We can not wait to write an 'It's a girl/It's a boy' post. Oh, I suppose important info is that we will be induced on 12/31 if the baby hasn't come by then. However, my OB is fairly certain we won't even need to get to that point.

Merry Christmas. We love you all! Heather, Mike, and Owcy

swallowed a watermelon

This picture accurately describes how I feel today... I am 39 weeks, and I am mentally done with being pregnant. I think I've hit "the wall".

You HAVE to check out the blog where I this picture. It's hilarious, and it really did lighten my mood. 

http://www.pregnantchicken.com/

Enjoy =)

Just for the record, a small watermelon is the fruit of the week, but I couldn't find one.. even at Whole Foods. This shouldn't come as a surprise since it's December 16th =) This lovely lady and her watermelon (and her gun) will have to do. I'll post pics of my belly later this weekend.