Update from Schwabel Baby Central

Last week, things got a bit hairy at Schwabel Baby Central. Dave went back to work and I had my first "Oh my, what do I do" crisis. However, things are back to normal now and all of us Schwabels are well rested and back to normal.

This week, Cole and I have been home alone and things are going great. Cole and I had a doctor's appointment (for me) today, and I took Cole out of the house for the first time on my own. Everything went well - and Cole loves his carseat. I love that he falls asleep whenever we put him in it!

Happy Easter

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Cole and Archie

This baby thing sure is hard work!

Now that Cole is 8 days old, the exhaustion is catching up to me. For the most part, he sleeps well. On a typical night, I get up at 12 a.m., 3 a.m., and 5 a.m. However, the 5 a.m. feeding typically turns into a fussy 2 hour session. Dave's been helpful at 5 a.m. - usually taking over around 6, but it's still tiring.

I needed to get out of the house today, so Dave's mom came over to watch Cole. It was a wonderful hour! The best thing of all was that I missed Cole about a half hour into our outing, so it was nice to get back home and snuggle with him.

I think I've recharged my batteries to last until at least next Tuesday. And, best of all, I can drive again by then, so I'll be able leave by myself between feedings if another baby break is needed. It's pretty amazing coming home to the cutest baby ever, so I'll have to give it a try again!

As close to a smile as it gets so far

Cole's first doctor's appointment

This morning, Dave and I had our first doctor's appointment with baby Cole. Everything went really well:

• First and foremost, Dave and I arrived at the doctor's office a few minutes early - no small feat for first time parents who've never had to pack a diaper bag, feed and change a baby, and drive to the doctor's office!
• Cole's gained 4+ ounces since we were discharged from the hospital on Friday afternoon. Not to shabby for 2.5 days.
  
• Cole's in the 60th percentile for weight and the 64th percentile for head circumerence. Just like Garrison Keillor says, all of the children are "above average" in Minnesota.
• And, most reassuringly, it appears our list of new parent questions was normal - we received no looks of shocking disapproval!

We have our next doctor's appointment on Tuesday, March 18th to see if Cole's back to his birth weight. It's nice to know we only have to go 7 more days for another reassuring check in with the doctor to make sure we aren't doing too bad at this parenting thing.

Cole's First Side Show

Here's a link to a slide show of Baby Cole photos.
http://www.firstdayphoto.com/slideshows/030608bcole/index.html

See if you can spot the photo of Cole doing his impression of Owen Wilson in "Zoolander"

Cole David Schwabel

I'm happy to announce that Cole was born on March 4 at 3:22 pm. He weighed 8 pounds 9 ounces and is doing very well (as is mom.) Here are a few pictures: