3 + 1 does not = a good night sleep

So Wednesday night was a pretty rough night for baby Walt (as well as mom and dad) so I decided to ask Bob to rate the night 1-10. He gave it a 3. Well last night was worse, so it became a 1. We are really hoping for a 5 tonight! Just typing that gets me a little excited! So you ask, what makes last night a 1. Well, he did not go to sleep until after 4am. I was up with him most of the night, Bob was up and down. Poor Walt just has his days and nights all mixed up, plus we realized that Nanny and Poppie are coming down today, so he was probably a little excited about seeing them.

On Wednesday, which to me seems a like a couple weeks ago, we went to Francis Park to walk. It has been beautiful weather this week in St Louis, so we took advantage. The picture is from Walt's first trip to a park.

Thursday, our friend Lisa came to visit. Lisa and Tom are due to have a little baby any day now. It was fun to chat with her about everything we have gone through and try to impart a little advice to her. (not that I have a lot to share) :)

8 lbs and a very odd gift

Today was Walt's first (official) appointment with the Pediatrician. The main reason for this appointment is to make sure that he is gaining weight. And the great news, he is now 8 lbs!!! All of our time and effort with feeding has been successful. :) The doctor thought that he was looking great and everything looked good. We go back in 2 weeks for some shots. Walt is already looking forward to that.

Today was also the first day that Bob went back to work. It was hard for all of us. It has been wonderful being a family all together. Life was a little bit more work for me without Bob, but Walt and I did fine.

My sister Jessica's boyfriend Troy sent Walt a gift, and I though that you all would love to see it. They are straight from Sweden. Pee and Poo! Oh, Troy's sense of humor cracks me up. Bob and I just laughed. We keep the 2 of them on the changing table because Walt is a fan of both of them.

Grandparents came to town

We had a full weekend, Grandpa and Grandma Ginther came to town. They arrived late on Friday night, Walt was already asleep. He must have known that they were coming because he did not sleep well Friday night. I think that he was excited to play with them. We spent Saturday and Sunday lounging around. They loved holding Walt while he slept, he felt pretty spoiled- and he loved it. My mom and dad also helped us with some cleaning around the house. It was just wonderful having them.

Saturday night they watched Walt, as Bob and I went on our first date night as parents. We went to Big Daddies for dinner and then to Trueman's Place (which is around the corner) for a drink. We were out until 9pm and spent most of the night talking about Walt. We are such crazy parents!

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

"Awake" Time

So we are following the book's advice and trying to feed him, give him awake time, and then put him down for a nap. Well, Walt seems to have other ideas. He does not really get very excited about the awake time. (I take that back, at night his eyes are wide awake!) So here are some activities that we invite Walt to participate in during the awake time.

You would think that he would appreciate this time with us, but he just loves to sleep.


Mommy singing to Walt
First Bath
Bouncy Chair

Wednesday 9.19

Some random items of the day....

well today we decided to get out a little- we were getting a little cabin-fever. So after one of Walt's feeding we headed out to the mall. I wanted to do a little walking and it was in the high 80s today and pretty humid (and i am a little wimpy).

We ordered Chinese food for dinner, our favorite place closed down and then moved, we found it again and enjoyed some yummy food. Walt slept through our eating. It is interesting to try to "plan" around Walt's schedule. Usually he seems to know exactly when I am going to eat and he would also like to eat at that time. Of course he comes first!

Walt really likes my singing (well he doesn't cry) his favorite songs are "Itsy Bitsy Spider"- thanks Aunt Cari for that book- he also seems to really like "Old McDonald".
I am telling you about his favorite songs because when you come to visit he may request them.

We will try to get some new pics for tomorrow.

sara

One week old....

Todd, Paige, and Walt


Well, we have all made it through our first week. Today has been a pretty big day for Walt. We gave him some "tummy-time" and he urinated out of his diaper onto the couch. :) Yea! He also got his first sponge bath. He was not so impressed and again let go of his bladder control. At least we know that he is getting enough to eat.

Sleep is coming more regular for the Wichards. I actually had 2 periods of 2 hours of sleep. It makes such a difference. We were recommended the book, Being Babywise from our friends Nate and Katie. It has really helped up formulate a plan of how to help us and Walt get a good night's sleep.

Last night Bob bbqed for the first time in a week. He enjoyed every second of his pork steak. I was glad that he was able to get back into his dinner routine :)
Walt continues to be wonderful and so darn cute. Has Bob mentioned that he has hair on his back and shoulders, I can't believe how much he looks like his Dad already.

I have added pictures of some of his first visitors since he has been born.

love,
sara


Aunt Kelly and Walt

George, Sandy, and Walt

Poppie (Wally) and Walt

Grandma and Grandpa Ginther

My mom and Walt

Day 4

Today was pretty low-key. We just stayed around the house and watched TV - as well as rested. We did go on a walk today around the block. The fresh air did us all a lot of good. I know that I've been pretty lax in posting pictures. I'm still sorting through them, and I hope to have a big group posted at some point tomorrow. In the interim, this is a picture of Walt sleeping:

In addition, the hospital has a couple of pictures online to peruse - they're professionally done....

Like I said, I'll send out a bigger picture update tomorrow.

Thanks a lot,

Bob.

Day 3

Well, today Walt had the opportunity to see what the pediatrician's office looks like. We went in for some minor "unscheduled maintenance", and everything was just fine. In fact, shortly after we got home, the problem that we went to have checked out had gone away, so it's back to normal.

Walt's been sleeping pretty well, but he's up a lot at night. It's not uncommon for newborns to have their days and nights mixed up, and Walt is anything but uncommon.... Also, today, Walt's Aunt Jennifer and Nanny came to visit. Here is a picture of Walt with his Aunt Jennifer.



Here are some pictures just hanging out at home:


This is Walt on his Daddy's chest


This is Walt just taking a little nap.

More posts to come...

Bob.

Walter Michael is here!

Hello everybody. This is the first post to the wmwichard blog. I'm setting up this website so that everyone can get a chance to see pictures and get news about the everything that's going on with Walt. I will be posting new pictures and updates as regularly as a new father can, so keep an eye out for new posts. I'm going to try to find a way to make this easier by allowing users to subscribe to the site allowing automatic notification via email.

Thanks everybody,

Bob.