Lael
Reise
Meredith went with her parents to visit Amy, Micah, and Jonah in their newly bought home. Jonah was born just last July. He and Meredith spent most of the time napping in their respective carriers. Hopefully, in a few months they can begin to notice each other and be playmates!
September 27th, 2003
Today was a big day for Meredith. Her parents brought her to Northfield for a couple of events at their alma mater, St. Olaf College. She spent the day traversing the campus and the town and ran into many impressed admirers. At night Meredith slept for an amazing five whole hours. Jen and Derek are doing their best not to get their hopes up that the five-hour stretch was the beginning of a trend.
September 26th, 2003
Meredith went on her first restuarant outing with her parents and grandparents--for Indian food. She of course did not sample any of the food, but calmly slept the whole time. While in the womb, Meredith got to sample lots of spicy food as her mom frequently satisfied her Indian and Ethiopian cravings. Maybe someday she will feel the same way about such food as her parents! Meredith continues to visibly gain weight, especially in her cheeks. She is getting a little "newborn acne," which is a common annoyance. What concerns her parents more is her habit of scratching her face. Her mom and dad are doing their best to keep those nails short!
September 25th, 2003
Grandpa Randolph arrived from Missouri so he could finally get to meet his beautiful granddaughter. As a physician, her grandfather checked Meredith over and was proud to give her his personal clean bill of health. Meredith received bundles of attention from her grandparents and got to go on another walk to the park.
September 23rd, 2003
Derek's first day back on the job was today, and he was very sad to be away from Meredith. Jen, with help from Grandma Randolph, was able to take care of Meredith without a problem, but Derek was glad to get home again so he could be with her.
September 21st, 2003
Jen and Derek planted a tree to honor Meredith's birth. It is a cute apple tree in their front yard. Meredith was brought out to participate, but she seemed more interested in sleeping at the time. Her parents are noticing that Meredith is making a wider variety of sounds now. They suspect that she's going to be quite the talker some day!
September 20th, 2003
Today Meredith went to her cousin Jaz's 1-year birthday. There were lots of other babies there and a fun time was had by all. She got to meet her Uncle Jean for the first time (Jaz's dad), as well as her Great Aunt Linda and Great Uncle Rick. Earlier in the day, she passed another milestone when the last remaining bit of her umbilical cord fell off.
Septenber 19th, 2003
Today was a busy day for Meredith. In the morning she had her first doctor's appointment. The cold doctor's office wasn't all that fun for Meredith, but she was given a 100% clean bill of health. In her first week in a half, she gained nearly one pound! (From 7 lbs 3 oz to 8lbs 1 oz.) In the afternoon, her Grandma Randolph arrived from Missouri to see her. The two instantly bonded. In the evening, Meredith went with her parents and Grandma on another nice walk to the park.
September 16th, 2003
Besides being her 1-week birthday, today featured a busy social schedule for Meredith. Her Aunt Sarah and Cousin Jaz came over for lunch and a trip to the park. Jaz, who is nearly a year old, was very interested in his new cousin and kept on going over to watch her and wave hello. Meredith had several big time-stretches of hiccups today, but they didn't bug her too much. She has bigger hiccups than either her mommy or daddy! In the evening, Derek's and Jen's friend Emily came and met Meredith for the first time, holding her for a long time as she slept.
September 15th, 2003
Last night Meredith was able to sleep a two-hour stint and a three-hour stint. A new personal record, which thrilled her sleep-deprived parents. In the morning, she ventured with her parents on her second car ride ever ( to Target). She did so well, that her parents ran another couple errands with her. Everyone who saw her said she was sooooo cute! Some people thought she was big for a 6-day old. Some people thought she was small. Her parents think she is just right. She was visited by her parents' friend Sara, who was impressively able to accurately mimic the Meredith's breadth of cute facial expressions.
September 13th, 2003
This morning Meredith slept a little after staying awake all night (and keeping her parents up!). In the afternoon, her Grandpa and Grandma Burrows, and Uncle Jesse came to visit from Wisconsin. They had lots of fun holding her and giving her lots of attention. Her parents were grateful to have a few more hands to help out and enjoyed watching all the attention reaped on Meredith from her proud grandparents.
September 12th, 2003
Meredith is to be sure to teach her parents all the protocols of diapering as she begins to give them lots of opportunities to practice. She had several boughts of hiccups today, which she takes all in stride. After an active morning, she spent much of the afternoon napping as her dad worked on the web site about her. In the evening, Meredith went on her first stroller ride with her parents to pick up some newly-developed pictures of her. She was interested in all the new sounds she encountered outside.
September 11th, 2003
Meredith left the hospital today with her parents and went to her new home. She got to meet the cat, Maggie, who was very curious, and yet cautious, about the new addition to her home. Meredith and her mom spent much of the afternoon resting up.
September 9th, 2003
Today Meredith was born in the wee hours of the morning (2:43 am). It took about 33 hours of labor to get her here, but her mom did a very good job and spent the day recovering. Meredith was very alert for her first three hours before she finally caught some winks. She seemed to enjoy her first bath, except for the part where her thick head of hair was rinsed. After a little napping she spent most of the day quiet, yet alert, and then exercised her vocal cords as she was getting tired at night.