One Month

Gwendolyn is one month old today! Just in time, her umbilical cord fell off this morning. I'm also proud to say she slept for 5 straight hours last night... let's hope she keeps that up!

 She is growing so fast. Over the past week or so, she's started to smile and enjoys "sitting up" in her Boppy! Gwendolyn is also starting to suck her thumb.

Smile!

Sucking her thumb!

Gwendolyn, 1 month

Our Little Cherub

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Gwendolyn had a fun sleep filled first Valentine's Day! Can you tell who Winston's valentine is this year?! She has captured the heart of everyone in this household. So, in the spirit of the holiday here's just a few things we love about little Gwendolyn:

• hearing her breathe
• her little hands and feet
• the sound of her giggles when she's sleeping
• seeing her sweet smile
• seeing her crying face
• she cannot keep it a secret when she is going to the bathroom
• her chubby little cheeks
• who are we kidding - we love everything about her and feel so blessed that she is healthy and home with us! 

A Few from Week 2

Gwen's second week was spent at home with mommy and daddy! Chris took the week off of work which was really nice for bonding and getting adjusted to life at home with a baby and dog.

Lots of snuggles on the couch

On Tuesday we had our first outing to the pediatrician's office, Target and Lowe's. Gwendolyn did great... slept through most of it. It certainly takes a lot longer to get ready and out with a baby now!

We also had many visitors come and see Gwendolyn, and a visit to Grammy and Grampy's house. Friday and Saturday brought a major blizzard. We got about 26" of snow!

Grammy, Gwendolyn & Grampy

Lots of smiles when sleeping

Look at that "cellulite" under her chin - so cute! 

Wide awake! 

Gwendolyn, 2 weeks old

First Week Favorites

We cannot stop taking pictures of Gwendolyn. Of course she is the cutest baby we have ever seen! Here are some favorites of her very first week of life. Tried to cut it down to just 7 pictures (1 for each day) but it was too hard...

Monday

Monday

Wednesday

Wednesday

Friday

Friday

Saturday

Saturday

Saturday

Sunday

Sunday

Gwendolyn, 1 week old 

When Winston Met Gwendolyn

Going home day was very surreal. Mass General is a big, busy hospital and as Chris, Gwen and I walked through it's lobby it was an incredible feeling to think we were bringing her out into the world, after 5 days of our quiet and cozy hospital room. 

Snuggling with Daddy
before going home

As I waited for Chris to get the car in the lobby of the hotel with Gwendolyn in her car seat and tons of people walking by, it occurred to me that she is just one person in this big world but to us, she is our whole world! 

Bundled up in her car seat!

Chris and I had considered how we would introduce the baby to our hairy baby already at home - Winston. We read articles and got advice from other dog owners and strategized how we would introduce the two of them. 

To make a long story short, our plan did not go as we intended, but it all worked out amazingly well! Winston is really sweet and cautious around the baby and definitely keeps a healthy distance. 

We can tell he is becoming more comfortable around her, getting closer and sniffing. When Gwendolyn cries, Winston seems concerned and watches closely over. Our two babies are getting along just great which is a relief! 

Snuggles with Momma
once we arrived home! 

Our two babies resting peacefully
our first night at home! 

Our Hospital Stay

While we are happy to be home and getting settled into life here with our little bundle of joy, I must say that our stay in the hospital was pretty great! Our delivery was at Mass General Hospital and because of the c-section we stayed 4 nights. All of the doctors and nurses were wonderful and very informative.

We ended up with a room with two beds, so Chris had a hospital bed to sleep in as opposed to a chair/cot we were expecting. We also had a beautiful view of the Charles River and Cambridge, which was nice to look at during the day but also at night with the skyline!

The hospital had a TV channel that played soothing music which was nice and relaxing throughout the day. On our first night, Chris and a nurse gave Gwendolyn a bath in our room! Three meals were brought to me everyday and then cleared away.

It was all in all a very nice and relaxing stay. It was a wonderful length of time to bond with Gwendolyn and get the hang of nursing, and I took full advantage of asking the nurses, doctors and pediatricians any questions that I had.

Surprise!

Baby Hurley decided to arrive early! Due to the baby being in breech position, we had a scheduled c-section for my birthday. I was not pleased at first about sharing a birthday but quickly accepted and looked forward to it.

Well, the baby had other plans! Our c-section was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon and in the middle of the night on Monday morning, my water broke! Just 10 hours later, baby was delivered and we found out...

It's a girl!

Chris and I were shocked because we had convinced ourselves she was a he, based on everyone telling us they thought I was growing a baby boy! None the less, we are so overjoyed and blessed with our baby girl.

It took us two days to decide upon a name... it's a hard decision to make! We finally decided upon Gwendolyn Jean. Jean is my and my mother's middle name, after my grandmother and we wanted to continue the tradition.

She is so beautiful, has a full head of hair and absolutely perfect! Apparently she did not want to share birthdays! However, she was the best birthday gift I could have asked for.