To Prove Lou is not being Neglected

Here's a picture of Tim out in the common area throwing the frisbee for Lou.

Tessa meets Jen!

Jen got here on Friday night, after Tessa was already in her PJs ready for bed.

Here's a cute post-bath picture all bundled up in her towel.
And here Tessa is dressed and ready to go to the park later this afternoon.

2 Week 3 Day Picture

Quick Update

Well there is definitely one thing that Tessa gets from the O'Neil side...the ability to gain weight. As of today's weight check with clothes on she was 8 lbs 9 oz, and probably really weighs 8 lbs 3 oz (the nurse approximated 6 oz of clothing).

I'm hoping to get Tessa to an every 3 hour eating schedule, of course this will take some time. But right now being on a 2 hour time schedule is very limiting.

Waking Tessa Up to Eat

So the doctor told us last Monday (4 day old weight check) that we need to wake Tessa up every 2 hours during the day to eat. So I have been. Now this is NOT an easy task...pictures below taken at "feeding time".

I took the swaddle off, and yet she still sleeps. This time I ended up just putting her back in her pack 'n play and waiting until she decided to eat. Today I am taking her back to the doctor to see if she has gained enough weight so I can stop all this "waking up".

Tessa Wide Awake Yesterday

I thought all the awake time would mean she would sleep well last night. Turns out I was wrong. She slept...but only while being held. Needless to say it was a long night.

Our First Trip Out

Tessa and I have finally left the house, in the car! We went to the Post Office to send gran some pictures and Hallmark to get a gift for a friend's birthday. Tessa gave the people at the Post Office quite a bit to listen to, she was asleep but doing lots of squeaking. The cute old ladies working at Hallmark just loved her and hope I come back often to show off Tessa(very unlikely).

We also got a short walk in tonight.

I'm hoping Tessa is going to sleep well today, as she has been very sleepy. Last night she went 5 hours and then 4 hours. I don't think I'm going to be that lucky again tonight.

Our first day alone

Well Tessa was great again last night! Tim brought her to me around 11:30 or so. And after eating she slept until just before 3:00, then 6:00, and then 8:30. I couldn't ask for a better nights sleep. After we had breakfast, Tessa, Lou and I went for a walk. This was the first time I went by myself with the two of them. It was really easy. Lou was great, he follows right along, and whenever I stop, he sits in the grass. We only went a mile but at least there was no crying.

Tessa stayed in her carseat after the walk for about 45 minutes, with the carseat in the swing. Around 12:00 I put a very alert Tessa into my sling and was able to successfully make Tim and I lunch (and eat it!). This afternoon Tessa has been very awake with a small amount of fussing, but nothing too terrible. Tim is back working as of today, so I've been taking care of Tessa (and Lou) by myself. I'm hoping the rest of the day goes well.

A picture from last night...picture taking has died off as the visitors have left. Although we did have our professional pictures taken yesterday at our house. Tessa was very well behaved, with no crying, however we would have liked it if she had been slightly more awake. I think the photographer got some good ones of her at the very end. We should have 4X6 prints of everything and a CD within two weeks. So there will be lots of pictures soon!

Video for Dee Dee and Bop Bop

Uncle Dan Meets the Little Lady

Dan arrived last night and will be spending the weekend with us. Tessa was mostly asleep while he was here, so today he'll get to see her during some "awake" time, which hopefullly doesn't include crying/fussing.

And we forgot to put up pictures of Tessa's first bath so here you go...

We don't have much planned for today. Hopefully another bath and a short walk. Tomorrow Tessa will get her first professional pictures taken, so hopefully all goes well with them.

Tessa turns 1 week old and meets Mimi

Tessa spent some time in her sling today and did really well. Dara is hoping to be able to take her to stores and what not in it. My mother arrived today and finally got to meet Tessa. Dan arrives tomorrow and we will have more pictures then and hopefully a video.

We are a little worn down today so we will do more in tomorrow's post. Two good events happened today though. First Dara called me upstairs to help change Tessa's diaper. After we got the dirty one off and before we got the new one on, she did some projectile pooing. That's right onto the floor, as well as on my pants and shirt. It was quite enjoyable, but part of the fun.

Also in other news Dara and I went out on a 10 minute date for the first time since her birth, thanks to the help of Nana (Mary Jane) and Mimi (Susan). We went for ice cream.

1 Week Picture

Tessa Waking Up

Tessa is still sleeping/eating really well. This morning she woke up and was as happy as can be, completely content to stay in her crib (even though she had a case of the hiccups). Here's a quick video...

Things are still going well here.

More Photo's - Tessa Meets Grandpa O'Neil

Not a lot went on during the day today except for an unsuccessful trip to the park with Mary Jane, Dara, Tessa, Louie and I. Tessa was not a happy camper about half way there so we went back. We think it had something to do with the way she was sitting in her stroller so we will try again tomorrow.

Tonight Tessa got to meet Grandpa O'Neil. I am happy to say the meeting went very well, and Mark was shocked at how great she is. Mark was the first to say how taken he is by Tessa, and that is not usually the case with him and babies. He held her for quite a while and had a number of picture requests, some of which were taken on his cell phone which he then proceeded to send to all his friends. I think this was the first time he sent a picture on his cell phone, well Dara did it for him, so he was also quite happy about that as well.


Anyway here are a few more good picutres for everyone.

Tessa Waking Up / First Doctor Appt

Here's a quick video of Tessa being forced to wake up. It was time for Tessa to eat, so I took off her swaddle and this is how she reacted (you can hear Tessa making some noises, as well as Lou crying a bit).


So far she has been such a good baby! Night #1 and #2 were really easy. She ate every 2-3 hours or so, but never cried once. I can hear her wake up and make little grunting noises. A quick diaper change, feeding, and she's back asleep. Repeat this 2-3 times and its morning.

Tessa had a routine doctor appointment today to check her weight and what not. She is back up to 6 lbs 12 oz (after dropping to 6 lbs 6 oz). Tim and I had been trying to plan out when to feed her so that going in the carseat and being at the doctors would hopefully go well. We had figured everything out, and low and behold we followed it to a tee. Tessa ate right before leaving for the doctors, and therefore slept the whole way there (10 minutes or so). Everything was going really well, until they told me to take off all her clothes...short story is she managed to pee and poop profusely thus needing a diaper change, new clothes, and a new covering on the examining table. I'm sure it was quite the sight to see Tim and I try and clean her up while just making a bigger mess everywhere. But we made it through the appointment and found the whole experience quite funny!

They Finally Meet

We will hopefully add a few video's tonight but we want to do some editing because a few of them are quite long. We have one of Tessa by herself in the playpen and a few of Lou and Tessa together.

Well anyway - we have had a LONG day which I will let Dara detail a little more later tonight, along with the video. Part of the day was getting Louie and introducing him to Tessa for the first time. It went pretty well Louie is very curios of Tessa, at first he did not even notice her, but now that he has figured it out he smells pretty much anything she comes into contact with.


Louie is very funny when she makes noises he turns his head and goes near her or Dara if she is holding her and either sniffs or sits right next to Dara as if to say "What is going on?"

We we will also finding him looking into her playpen and crying at her while she sleeps. The playpen is right about eye level for him, but to big for him to get access to her. This does not affect Tessa's deep sleep at all.

The Visitors Have Started to Arrive

Here are some more photo's for everyone, this weekend we had Bret stop by before he went off to Oregon for Law School. He immediately called her Tessa the turtle because of the way she was wrapped up in her blanket, so the first picture is of Bret and turtle. Mary Jane and Amy arrived shortly after Bret and we took some good pictures of them holding Tessa. Amy just left today and Mary Jane is here most of the week. Everyone loves holding her because outside of feeding time, she is very peaceful!

More family is arriving this week - my dad on Tuesday, my mom on Thursday, and my brother this weekend. Jen and Mary Jane will all be here on Labor Day weekend, we are still waiting on dates for Kevin and Cole - but we are not sure yet. We are hoping to go home in October so everyone can see her if they can't make it down, and hopefully a Colorado trip at some point depending on how well she travels.

Well enough typing...

The First Video

OK - this is for those of you who are unable to make it out here to see her in person...sometimes photos are not enough.

If you listen you will notice she has hiccups and does some pretty cute cooing as well. We wish we could have taken a video of the most recent diaper experience - which was quite funny. Dara ended up sprayed from head to toe. We have learned that she likes to go to the bathroom while I (Tim) hold her - it is rather consistent. I hope its not a sign of things to come in her teenage years.

We're Home

Everyone is doing well...Tessa is eating like a champ and so far has only cried a few times (we're hoping this doesn't change too much...yeah right).

Here are some more pictures, sorry for the slow output...I broke a laptop yesterday whoops!

PICTURES

Tessa's First 24 Hours

Here's a few pictures to keep you guys happy for a little while.

We are hoping to go home tomorrow morning/mid-day.

Look Out World - Tessa Jane O'Neil has arrived

Tessa Jane O'Neil was born at 3:26pm on August 14th. She weighs 6lbs 12oz.

Both Tessa and Dara are doing great, Tessa has a dimple and is quite a looker.

08/14/08

Thursday morning at 7:30AM I will be induced. Hopefully she is born before the day is over. There is no "medical" reason to induce. However, the policy is at my doctor's office once you've made it to 39 weeks you can schedule to be induced or have a c-section. So therefore, being the planner that I am we've opted to schedule an induction. I could wait for her to come on her own, but really we all know I was done with the "expanding waistline" weeks ago.

Lou goes to the kennel on Wednesday, and likely will not come back until at least Monday.

And we're hoping to have the cleaners come one last time, so the house will be clean for the many visitors that are expected in the coming weeks.

6 more days until we can finally announce her name...