First Smile and Other News

James showed off his dimples when he smiled for the first time on January 24. He was exactly 5 weeks old. It was in the evening and Daniel was holding him. Daniel was making funny faces and sounds and tickling James' cheeks and chin and then all of a sudden there it was...... a huge grin! I was standing about two feet away so of course I went right over to see. It was just awesome! Daniel got a few more grins out of him that night so I was able to see them. Over the next few days James gave us some more smiles and we even caught a goofy one on film. Unfortunately we took that picture with my mom's camera and are not able to post it on here, but we will be trying to capture another grin in the next few days. It is so cool to see James' responding to us and to his environment. All of a sudden he is so much more alert and we are having a great time playing with him!

Some other news:James recently had a well baby check up and got a good review. He weighed 10 lbs. 12 oz. and was 23 inches long. He was in the 75 - 90th percentile for both weight and length. His head circumference measured 16 inches...that was in the 90-95th percentile. He takes after his daddy!

Nana and Granddaddy came up from Houston to visit this past weekend. Nana and Granddaddy watched James Friday night so that we could go out to dinner and a movie. It was nice to be out of the house but we sure did miss our little man! I don't think James was out of Nana's arms except to sleep at night. We got webcams to hook up so that James can see his grandparents and hear their voices in between visits. James had been having a difficult time with his reflux and also major baby gas. Nana showed me some things that helped him to feel much, much better. She was just what the doctor ordered! All in all, James had a wonderful weekend. And we just had a blast being with him!

4 Weeks Old Today

It's hard to believe that it has been four weeks since we were in the hospital welcoming our little man to the world! I know it sounds cliche, but it seems like just yesterday that James joined our family. Every last detail of his birthday is etched permanently into my memory. But on the other hand, it is hard to remember what our lives were like before our son.

The last four weeks have been really incredible and I have learned more about myself, what I am capable of, and what really matters than in any other time in my life. The first two and a half weeks were very rough, but slowly we have settled into life with baby. I finally feel better from being so sick and that has helped. James was diagnosed with reflux and is now on medication. We are also feeding him more and not following so strictly what the pediatrician's office said. You could say we are following our intution, reading our baby's clues and trusting our gut. James is much happier now! My good friend Kelli shared a book with me called "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer". It is not an exageration to say that the combination of the hints in that book and the supportive guidance of my mom and Kelli have helped me get through my initial insecurities and feelings of inadequacy that I was experiencing. I am getting the hang of this mom thing and having a blast! It is what I was born to do! Daniel just setteld into fatherhood without missing a beat and is helping out tremendously. He is working lots of overtime so that I am able to stay home until late March. I am very lucky to have such a wonderful husband and James is very lucky to have such a great dad!

James is awake a lot and enjoys laying on his play gym, being rocked, hanging out in his swing, watching music videos with his dad and listening to my horrible singing. He really likes "I Shot the Sherrif" by Eric Clapton (believe it or not). Sometimes I run out of baby songs. He has been smiling in his sleep a lot and I am pretty sure he smiled at me the other day. He cooed for the first time tonight. We can't wait for him to laugh and to hear his sweet voice. My friend Nell took his pictures a couple of weeks ago and he looks like a baby model. We have worked with Nell and her friend who is a graphic desginer to create original and unique birth announcements. We look forward to getting them and mailing them out soon. Nana and Granddaddy are coming up this weekend and we are really excited to see them. We will post again soon!

And Baby Makes Three

Well here we are, two weeks after the birth of our miracle baby. Finally, a little spare time to post! Daniel "James" Duffy, Jr. was born on December 20, 2007 at 6:51pm. He weighed 8 lbs 7 oz and measured 20 inches long. James had a head full of dark hair and blue eyes. He has my complexion and maybe my nose but otherwise looks just like his daddy! My labor and delivery were very positive experiences thanks to Daniel, my family, my nurse and of course the epidural. I look at James and those tiny hands and that perfect little face and just can't believe that he is OUR baby. It is hard to explain but I just can't believe that we created this beautiful life. The Lord has truly blessed us and I just feel a constant need to give thanks for this gift. All I know is that I have never loved anyone so deeply and so fiercely in my life. Everything people say about having a baby is true. But there is nothing you can say to truly and completely explain how different everything becomes and how much more alive you feel when you become a parent. You realize how wonderful and how terrible the world is all at once. You think of all the opportunity and all the tragedy that could befall them. You want to tuck them back inside and keep them safe from anyone and anything that might ever harm them. One of my first thoughts was that I owed my mother a huge apology. I instantly understood every overprotective thing my mother has ever done or said. And I loved her more for it.

For now we are busy settling into parenthood and slowly earning our stripes. When he gets upset, James' face squeezes into a perfect red circle and he cries out and we panic. James still has day and night confused and we are struggling with that. Nursing did not come easily for me and that has been a source of sadness and even guilt. Thank goodness there are family and friends that will help you deal with the mini meltdowns that come in the first weeks of parenthood. At the end of the day we have a precious child who brings light and laughter to our lives and we can't wait to watch him grow. We stop and ooh and aah over the little grins he makes while he is sleeping and laugh over his funny expressions. We sing to him and dance him around the room and hold the pacifer in his mouth for him when he is cranky. We stare at each other in awe that this adorable little human is our baby! In short, we have fallen head over heels in love with our son. We hope to keep our blog updated on a regular basis so please check back soon! Thanks for visiting!