Schwabel Baby Blog

Aloha!

Sarah — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:23:00 +0000

Greetings from Maui! Cole, Dave and I are spending a wonderful week in Maui. Gramma and Grampa Schwabel are here with us as well. We have an amazing condo looking over the ocean in northwest Maui.

Cole's loving the tropical climate. Today, he sat in the shade poolside and watched the palm trees sway in the breeze. He keeps cooing away - Dave and I think he's telling us to move to Maui!

Straight Chillin' Yo

Sarah — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:37:00 +0000

If only I could reach the remote...

School Days

Sarah — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:33:00 +0000

Last Friday, Cole and I started our ECFE 0-6 month old class. Now, each Friday, Cole and I go out for 2 hours and spend the afternoon with other mothers and children who live in our school district. It's great fun and I'm pleased to report Cole seems better than average. We have a mom struggling with colic in our class, another baby who will only sleep when rocked, etc. Whew - I'm glad we don't have any problems like that!

Cole and I can't wait until our next class. We're having some great weather in Minnesota now, so I'm planning to walk to class this week.

Trevor's Onesie

Dave — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:00:00 +0000

Our friend Trevor made Cole some onesies. Here's the Wellstone model.

Sleep Update

Sarah — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:46:00 +0000

Now that we've entered week five, Dave and I are starting to feel a little more rested. Not because we're getting more sleep (we really aren't) but more so because we're used to less sleep. Cole is still getting up to eat at 10, 2 or 3, and 5 or 6. Yesterday we got a great four and a half hour stretch of sleep. Woo hoo!

If you have children and have a tip for getting them to sleep longer stretches of time at night, let us know. We're using the Baby Whisperer's method now, so hopefully we'll see some results soon. Cole's a bit of a night owl and likes to stay up from 7 to 10, but we'll keep trying!

No Updates?

Sarah — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 16:17:00 +0000

Things have been going great here at the Schwabel home. We hit a very rough patch during week three when nothing seemed to be going right - Cole was fussy and I was hit with a number of medical issues (none major, but when piled up on top of each other, extreamely frustrating!). Hence the lack of updates!

Thanks to modern medicine and a better knowledge of Cole's cries, things are going much better here! Cole is more and more amazing each day. Today, he flashed us his first unquestionable smile. He followed it with about 100 more! It was magical!

Since March 4th, Cole's gained quite a bit of weight (he now weighs in at over 10 lbs.) and is starting to look a lot more like a little person and less like a baby. He's alert - he loves sitting under his activity gym - and turns his head from side to side. He's becoming more predictable as well - we can identify his hungry cry, his burp me cry, and his I'm too tired cry now.

Dave and I are becoming better parents as well - being home with Cole is a breeze and we're starting to feel more rested. Granted, I go to bed at 9 p.m. each night and Dave and I don't sleep in the same room at the same time, but we're well rested!

Smiles!

Dave — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 16:12:00 +0000

We saw a lot of smiling this morning. Here's one.

I'm 4 Weeks Old!

Dave — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:55:00 +0000

Update from Schwabel Baby Central

Sarah — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 23:38:00 +0000

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

Dave — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 16:54:00 +0000

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Dave — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:39:00 +0000

Cole and Archie

Dave — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 16:50:00 +0000

This baby thing sure is hard work!

Sarah — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 01:02:00 +0000

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

Dave — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:26:00 +0000

Cole's first doctor's appointment

Sarah — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 21:56:00 +0000

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

Sarah — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 02:15:00 +0000

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

Dave — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 01:41:00 +0000

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:

Progress Update

Sarah — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:39:00 +0000

Still no baby, but lots of baby news as Schwabel Baby Central. I had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday. I had another non-stress test due to decreased movement (the baby's movement really hasn't decreased - he's always been a pretty quiet baby and the doctor wanted to make sure everything was okay) The baby looked good and I had a ton of contractions!

Also, for some reason my blood pressure was high and the doctor asked me to return on Friday to have it checked again (I had it checked 4 times on Wednesday). During today's appointment, the nurse practioner said everything looked good, my blood pressure was down, and I had made a lot of progress. She speculated Baby Schwabel would be here by 3-7-2008!

Seeing as 3-3 and 3-7 are the two dates that keep sticking out in my head, I'm feeling pretty confident that our little guy will be here soon - and I might have time to fit in a movie or two ;)

Frequently Asked Questions - Super Pregnant Schwabel Edition

Sarah — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:47:00 +0000

A lot of our friends and family have been asking us for updates regarding the baby. Here's some answers to your FAQs.

How do you feel?
I feel pretty good, considering I'm going to have a baby shortly! I have aches and pains, but I'm sleeping well.

Are you all set for the baby?
We've been prepared for a good month - at least - so we are all set in terms of things, diapers, etc. However, I'm not sure you can ever be set to have a baby! I have no idea what's going to happen in the next two weeks!

Is the baby here yet?
No baby yet. Yesterday I had a nice dose of false labor (at least it was insightful!), but still no baby. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so hopefully we will get some good news.

Oh no - leap year is on Friday! You don't want a leap year baby do you?
When Dave and I first discovered we were expecting, I really wanted a leap year baby. Now I'll just take a baby - the sooner the better! Leap year is a-okay with me.

Make sure to send your baby-wishes our way!

The Nursery

Dave — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 19:48:00 +0000

My friend Sarah asked to see a picture of the nursery, so here it is. I used AutoStitch to put this together from several shots.

Waiting for Baby Schwabel

Sarah — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 17:17:00 +0000

39 weeks - 1 day. No baby!