May 2009

After a couple of weeks, Jane was starting to be more awake. People would comment on how alert she seemed. She would keep her eyes open and would follow your face and voice with her eyes, like she was very interested in what you were talking about.

I loved to hold Jane and talk to her and tell her the stories of how Luke and I met, dated, decided to have her join our family, and how we were so happy to have her. It helped me feel like I was getting to know her. I also told her all about our family members that she was going to meet and asked her if she already knew her Grandpa Pechin, her Great-grandparents Maple, and the babies yet to come to our family (cousins and siblings).

It was so nice after Jane was born we had 2 weeks of paternity leave from Luke's work.

We just stayed home together and loved our new baby.

We had minimal visitors since our family was so far away (a few friends came by with dinners- so nice!), but we had a lot of time just to be together and get to know our new "Sweets." It was so nice to just have this quiet family time.

Jane's first water bath after her imbelical cord fell off. She loved it! She was just so little.

At her two week appointment Jane weighed in at 7 pounds 8 ounces. She was finally beginning to put on some weight!

My mom came to visit and help after Luke had to go back to work. This was perfect timing for her to come and help me adjust to life with my baby. She helped so much with getting Jane to sleep more at night using Babywise. It helped so much to start getting more sleep at night in my recovery and energy level.I needed to get out of the house, so we would go on walks. Luke and I bought a used jogging stroller during his time off. Initially my walks were 5-10 minutes long and I would be so tired from them, I would come home and nap. I kept going and when my mom visited, we went on walks together with Jane every day, usually along the Charles River Trail. I liked sharing that with her and Jane, since it is one of my favorite things about living here in Massachusetts.

It was nice to see my mom and have her meet Jane. The rest of our family members will have to wait until July for when we move to Utah.

It was extra special to have Mom here for my first Mother's Day as a mom! Luke was so nice to take the night shift with Jane so I could rest to attend all 3 hours of church and he stayed home with the baby (feeding her pumped breast milk). He had her all dolled up when we got home complete with her first hairbow (that he made). What a sweet hubby! It was a great Mother's Day gift!

We went on a Mother's Day walk in Mt. Auburn Cemetary. Such a lovely place and perfect for Sunday afternoon walks!

I love this view of Boston from the tower. I love the trees! (Utah does NOT look like this from up high.) You can see the John Hancock Tower where Luke worked (the tall one on the left). He always jokes about how he's still working his way up the corporate ladder, since he was on the 4th floor.

Jane turned 1 month! I cannot believe she is already a month old! Time is just slipping away. At her checkup she weighed a wopping 8 pounds 12 ounces and was 21 1/2 inches long. It's funny because people are so amazed at how tiny she is, "My babies were not even that little when they were born," I think she's already getting so much bigger! It seems like all the new weight has gone to those chubby cheeks of hers. Ha! In her first two weeks she just gained 7 ounces over her birth weight, and in her next two weeks she gained 1 pound 4 ounces more! Wow! She is eating very well now that she and I have gotten a hang of breastfeeding. She gives little hints of smiles now, but they are hard to catch on camera. She still sleeps in a swaddle in her own bassinet and is our little "Peapod."

We celebrated our 5th anniversary on May 29th. Can you believe we have been married for FIVE years? I can. I love Luke so much. It seems like a long time since we were just married living in Logan, UT while I finished up my coursework and we worked at the USU Bookstore. I feel like we have grown a lot individually and have been strengthened in our marriage since then. Luke took the day off of work and we went to the New England Aquarium. That was something we've wanted to do before leaving Boston. I have always wanted to go to an aquarium. It was amazing to see all of the fish, I felt like a little kid. We saw sharks and huge green sea turtle and jelly fish and a cownose ray and sea horses... Jane was just so sweet and hung out in her sling. We had lunch and a nice Italian restaurant Antico Forno in the North End. I'd recommend it, especially with lunch prices. It was nice to go down to the North End while most people are at work. It was very quaint and quiet. What a great anniversary! It was so fun to celebrate with Luke and Jane!