Sleepless in Hiram

Mike and his lil man!
Me loving on my baby boy!
We are a little short on sleep here in the Fessler house. Master Will has made his presence known and he demands and gets all of our attention. I have had a couple of nights this week where I have sat up for two hours after feeding him. I would work so hard to try to get him to go back to sleep only to have to feed him all over again. Its like a never ending cycle! We have talked to every person we know that has a baby or has had a baby and have heard similar stories. Evidently, no baby sleeps for long stretches through the night until close to 4-6 weeks. And by that point, we are told, you have started to learn what their cries mean. We are still learning what position he likes to be held in, let alone why in the world he is crying. But, despite the sleepless nights, Mike and I are so in love with Will. Parenthood is a dream and has been a lot of fun. We love to just sit and stare at him and see all of his funny faces. We love to listen to his adorable baby sounds, and we love the way he smells!
Will at 9 days
This past week my Mom came to stay with us and help us out. She was amazing! She cooked, she cleaned and she played with Will so that I could shower. She even helped rock him to sleep at night so that I could sleep and baby-sat him for the first time so that Mike and I could go out for our anniversary. She taught Mike and I how to give Will a bath, with out using the fancy tub that we registered for. She also encouraged me to get out of the house and start moving around. We went shopping a couple of times and took a walk around the neighborhood. Because of this, I think I am less sore and starting to feel a lot better. My Dad came Friday night and the two of them stayed up with Will all night rocking him back to sleep so that Mike and I could sleep throughout the night. They brought him to me only when it was time to be fed and tried to catch a cat nap when they could. I am so grateful to them for this. It felt so good to sleep for 2 solid hours at a time! I have to admit though, I cried when my parents left. Its hard not living close to them. I have told Mike to be prepared to take lots of trips to Chattanooga.

We did hit some milestones this week: we lost the umbilical cord after 9 days and we took our first bottle on day 10(Mom gave it to him while we went out to eat).
We have also had lots of visitors besides my mom and dad. My cousins Holly, David, Katie, Ashley and Baby Jake came. Then Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Paul and Uncle Andrew came to visit. Aunt Tammy and Uncle Daniel, who by the way are expecting Will's cousin in late March 2009, have also been by. My Aunts Sharon and Karen and Uncles Terry and Garland as well as my Gran are also coming. Whew! We have been busy showing off our precious little boy!
Will and Jake
Two sweet cousins!