Four Weeks!

In honor of Zoe's 4 week birthday-- a blog update for you!

The past four weeks have been a bit of a time warp-- overall, the time has gone by so fast, but individual days at times go by so slow! We were lucky enough to have full time help the first three weeks, giving Zoe's Grandma and Granddaddy Swanson and Nana Hillebrand the chance to get to know her, and giving tons of support to us! This week has been solo for Mom and Zoe, and we've done pretty well-- not exactly routinized yet, but getting there.

Watching a brand new person all day every day is quite a new experience. I get to track the littlest changes in her development, the tiny little things that will eventually lead to a walking and talking child. But not yet! So far, Zoe can do exciting, life changing things, like lift her own head up off of your shoulder (she especially likes to do this when you are burping her, so that she is away from the spit cloth and over your neck), and kick her feet like crazy (which Aaron uses to help her kick on her socks or pant legs). And we are learning more about her likes and dislikes:

Zoe likes:
-Eating
-Staring at the light from a window
-Watching the light up toy on her play mat (she watches this like it is TV, I'm worried she'll develop an addiction)
-Looking at our black and white pillow, or the bars on her crib
-When you hold her feet (seriously, the tighter the better, it can calm her down when she's crying)
-Pressure and rocking- being held tightly, the bouncy chair, etc.
-Walking outside in the Ergo or the stroller
Zoe dislikes:
-Getting the hiccups (which she gets all the time)
-Waking up with a dirty diaper (so she screams)
-Waking up hungry (so she screams)
-Being too tired (but that doesn't mean she'll always fall asleep. Tricky!)
-The cold weather (wait, that's actually Mom. Zoe hasn't complained.)

Biggest surprise so far:
Babies make a LOT of weird noises. At least, I hope they do-- if not, we have one weird baby! Zoe has two noises in particular that she likes to make:
1. The squeaky door
2. The snorty pig
She is very good at both of these!

Biggest disappointment about having a baby:
I can no longer call my urge to eat baked goods a pregnancy craving.

Zoe Sylvia Swanson Hillebrand

Born: February 25th, 2011

20 inches long

7 lbs 9 oz

and Pretty Darn Cute

Zoe was born at 3:10 pm on Friday, February 25th-- after a long labor/ c-section that I won't write about right now. She spent 4 days as a Manhattanite at NYU hospital, where the fantastic nurses helped us to acclimate to her and her needs, and helped me with pain meds! She learned that she actually lives in Brooklyn last Tuesday, when she came home with Mom and Dad and met her cat, Zippy. Zippy is not quite sure what to make of her yet, and a little jealous that Zoe gets to be on all the furniture she's banned from.

My parents have been here the past week or so, and we are so very grateful for the help and the time they get to spend with Zoe. They will be tagging out with Aaron's mom this weekend- we are so lucky to have such a supportive family. As I've been recovering and acting as a one woman food machine (seriously, there is no exaggeration to how much newborns eat!), Aaron has been a fantastic diaper changing, rocking to sleep, house organizing new dad. Zoe only wants to eat when she's with me, so it is helpful to have some non-eating options for her between Aaron and her grandparents.

So, we are slowly but surely adjusting to this whole thing! Every day gets a little smoother. As you can see from the pictures, Zoe varies from making totally adorable faces to looking kind of like a fussy old man, depending on her expression and pose. Looking at her, I can't help but be floored by the fact that a week and a half ago this is what was in my tummy! I know it happens all the time, but it is a pretty amazing thing! I'm pretty proud of the fact that we made her!

Thanks for the many well wishes, visits from nearby friends, calls and emails we've gotten over the past week or so--- your support is really appreciated, and we love introducing Zoe to her family, "aunts" and "uncles". X's and O's-- from Carey, Aaron, and Zoe S.S. Hillebrand!