The Daintys

Dear Family and Friends, Our new daughter Leah, though only 10 days old, has many things she is thankful for.  She is very thankful for all those family and friends who prayed for her healthy arrival and recovery in the NICU.  She is thankful for grandparents who have stayed with her mom and dad, selflessly volunteering their time helping around the house, changing diapers, and holding her so her mom and dad could rest.  She is thankful for dad's awesome construction skills in creating her nursery room and for his ability to rock her to sleep.  She is perhaps most thankful for mom's awesome ability to feed her... without end :)  Finally, she is thankful that we can pass this holiday message on to you all: Happy Thanksgiving ... from ... our !!!!!!! Love, Ryan, Nikki, Leah, and Lucy

Leah is almost 10 days old, and this week has been a week of many firsts. We had our first night in our home as a family, our first trip out of the house to go see the doctor, our first walk as a family (thanks to the beautiful weather we had today!), Ryan's first day back at work, the first time we went through 4 diapers in one diaper changing session... So here are a few more pictures of our little peanut's first week. (That's right, more pictures! I'm sure we'll be taking lots of them since we still find everything from stinky diapers to spit bubbles to be absolutely adorable...) This hat is especially precious to me because it was the first baby item I bought for Leah! I got it for 25 cents at the Children's Place outlet store way back in June... Here's Leah doing her best Popeye impersonation.

Nicole and Leah were both able to be released from the hospital on Friday, and we all came home late Friday afternoon. Although Leah had a bit of a rough start, she is a strong little baby and she is doing well. Her blood tests and x-rays were all looking good by the time we came home. We were greeted by one excited puppy who had been wondering what the heck had been going on over the past 5 days! Lucy already loves her "little sister" and tends to stay wherever Leah is. Lucy is also the first one to the crib when Leah starts to whimper at night. Here are a few more pictures from our first day home.

Leah has recovered very well from the stress she experienced during her birth, and these beautiful pictures were taken after only two days.  We are still awaiting a couple blood test results, but anticipate that Leah will accompany us home on Friday, as she is starting to feed regularly.  She even spent the night with us in our room last night!!  Enjoy the pics. I call this "piercing maternal stare" I call this "dad's goofy smile" Grandma's first time holding a grandchild... ... same with this grandma ... and this new grandpa.

Our daughter Leah Catherine was born this Monday, November 17th, at 2:37 p.m.  She came into the world weighing a very healthy 9 pounds, and she is 20 inches long.  She was born via an emergency c-section after about 12 hours of labor, over 2 of which were pushing!  The important thing is that she is now doing well, and as of this morning is breathing on her own and able to breastfeed.  These first few pictures are of Leah a few hours after her birth. As you can see, she looks a lot like her papa! Leah quieted down when she heard dad's voice and latched on to his finger for the first time. Mom finally got to see and hold Leah around 11pm! And here's our happy, sleepy family! Again, thanks to all for your prayers, encouragement, and presents!  We will keep posting updates and pictures.

I am officially on maternity leave as of this Monday, and yes, I am still pregnant! So I have had a few relaxing days of vacuuming, reading, scrapbooking , napping, refolding baby clothes, and taking Lucy for waddles around the block. At the latest, I will be induced a week from today if baby hasn't decided to make her grand entrance on her own yet. We will keep you updated! Thanks to all for your encouraging emails, letters, and prayers. Here's a picture of the belly at 41 weeks!