Last night I was messing around with the camera, and got some cute pictures of Maryam's beautiful face! Some are pretty blurry, but you get the general idea.

Maryam is finally beginning to coo and smile (despite her crabby face in the last picture), and she's sleeping longer at night. Today Jim took the day off of work and we went to a state park. Maryam was pretty cozy in her wrap, and spent the afternoon dozing as we hiked with her along the river.

http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=89151166202168288/l=228869456/g=81023425/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

It's worth it

It's past noon and I'm not dressed, my teeth aren't brushed, and I haven't showered. The dog hasn't been walked in days. The laundry is piling up, the floors need to be vacuumed, and dinner has been fast food for the past two nights. The sheets on my bed that were just changed last night are now saturated in spit-up, as am I. But my baby knows that when she cries, she will be held. When she needs to be rocked, she will be rocked....and rocked....and rocked.

four hours later: I can't even manage to finish a blog entry! Now I'm actually dressed, but have been spit-up-upon twice, and poor Maryam has spit-up in her ear, from when she was lying down. I finally managed to get her to sleep in her car seat, of all places. I think she likes the cozy-ness of it. I just realized that I forgot to eat lunch, and it's too late now, since Jim will be bringing home dinner in a half hour. No housework has been completed, and the dog has not been walked. But Maryam and I are happy.

I love this life, this crazy "I can't remember to eat" life, because I love my little girl so very much. She has a wonderful daddy who loves her, and two big brothers who are finally starting to interact with her. Believe it or not, this is the life I've always dreamed of having. And now it's here. I stink of spit-up, but I cherish it, and know it will fade away all too quickly.

Good day, bad day

The past two days have been hard, for both Maryam and mommy. She has got to be in a growth spurt of some kind, since she's nursing nearly every hour. When she's not nursing, she's been very very fussy. But then there are brief moments when she's sleeping, and I forget all the fussiness, and she looks so peaceful, so..... good. And then she wakes up.

I also discovered last night that I can NOT have KFC and nurse. I've never heard such gas, and it is pretty painful for her. Her dad and I suffered a bit as we smelled it. At first I thought it was the dog, but she wasn't in the room. How such a little person can create such a stink is beyond me.

This blog

This blog has been created to show my new daughter's life.

Maryam Elizabeth was born on October 21st at 5:22 PM. She weighed 7 lbs, 4 ounces. I struggled with prodromal labor for two weeks before my doctor induced me. My husband and I have struggled with infertility, so Maryam's birth has been a huge blessing and joy.

Maryam will be six weeks old tomorrow. She weighs nearly 11 pounds. Her eyes are open much more than they used to be, but she still sleeps away most of the day, and some of the night. We're still waiting for that first intentional smile, which should come any day now. Her big brothers, Aidan and Wayne, are taking more of an interest in her now that she can look at them. Aidan likes to read to her, and Wayne played with some of her toys this morning.

Here's a website with some more pics in it! http://good-times.webshots.com/album/556149322msQXte

Enjoy!