Happy 1 month Birthday baby!

 She looks really good in lilac. Those eyes can track moving objects and see the fan on the ceiling! Daddy had a lot of fun testing this. I think he had more fun than she did...lol.
 She's holding her head up in both directions...on her tummy and on her back. A fun thing she can do is stand and climb while leaned against my chest.

Her hands are beginning to be able to interact with objects, in the case of holding onto a pacifier...although a few days ago she wasn't holding it in her mouth...she was two-hand-throwing it on the floor. She was trying to hold a water bottle a few days ago too.

We are proud of our wonderful little bundle of joy. She's been going through somewhat of a growth spurt and is getting hard for mommy to pick up! We'll celebrate our Memorial day/Baby 1 month anniversary with some BBQ and watermelon!

Happy 1 month birthday Sweet Baby River!!!

It's probably just gas....

A Smattering of Photos

 Baby girl after a hard day of nursing and staring at things :). She is getting really good coordination in her hands and can track moving objects with her eyes.

Last Monday, Cassaundra weighed her in at 8 lbs. 5 oz., a whole pound more than what she weighed at birth! She's a cute little chubbo. Look at that muffin top!

These have to be some of the cutest pants made for small people. Strawberry footies. And there's that belly again.

 

Daddy has a nack for putting her to sleep when she's hyper...or when mommy needs a break :)

Sweetest face I've ever seen in my life.










Big beautiful eyes.

The Spoils of an Amazing Mother's Day

Needless to say, we had a great Mother's day. We started out the day with a nice breakfast with my parents and my mom gave me a beautiful necklace with both mine and River's birthstones. River handled the outing very well.

Later, my friend Rachael stopped by to give me flowers and promised to come back with food in a couple of days. Then Terrapin stopped by to give me flowers! I made out with more flowers than I've ever gotten on one day. We had dinner at our favorite milkshake spot, Owl Cafe, to show off our little girl.

My real gift was a quiet, peaceful day at home with my two favorite people. It was great to have a day where we kept the visits to a minimum for the first time since her birth. She's cute as a button and we've had a lot of visitors (all of whom have been most respectful and great with River). I got to have her all myself!!!

She truly is an amazing little being. With every passing hour she achieves something different, looks a bit older, can see farther, gets more coordination. I'm a very proud mommy. Thank you all for your love and support.

What's In A Name

River: We both have our own reasons why we like River. Chris suggested it because she is a character in Serenity. I agreed to it because, like my daughter, rivers are strong, beautiful and destined for great things.

Isabella: 1. It's really pretty and I love it.
             2. I didn't want it to be her first name since it is so common
             3. It shortens into nicknames, unlike River
             4. It separates her two "R" names so they flow :)
          
Rae: My mother's middle name. It's really pretty and I love the spelling. My mom has been very supportive and I wanted to give my daughter part of her name. Also, Terrapin's middle name, Ruth, is after Chris' mom. So we have: Cassia Rose, Terrapin Ruth and River I Rae.


Frazier: Of the Strawberry clan! Chris' last name. She may not have red hair, but we will be buying stock in sunscreen ;).

Time Table

April 29th, 8pm: Bloody Show Time!

8:10pm: Texted midwife, she wasn't worried, light contractions start about 8 min. apart

For the rest of the night we cleaned and then went to bed. I slept until about 4am

April 30th, 4am: Timed contractions for an hour. One set was on the 8 min. mark and another set varied between 7 and 2 min. from the previous set.

5am: I get up and start cleaning, finish some thank you cards, get on Facebook, eat 2 popsicles and continue to labor.

7:30am: I text my midwife again that I think maybe contractions have started (haha. Lol. Duh.) She said she'd come in about 30 min. I took a shower and then did my hair and make-up in full contraction on the bathroom floor. 

8:00am: The midwife and her assistant show up and get things ready for my exam.

8:10am: Exam- 5-6 cm dialated (She doesn't tell me this-thank God- but expresses that they are not leaving and they put Chris to work immediately.

Around 9-10am: The pool is ready and I spend the rest of my labor enjoying the water, joking with Chris and eating a lot of Sonic Ice.

Around 10:45am: My water finally breaks and I "begin" pushing phase (Pushing for real this time!)

11:00am: Head is born

11:01am: Baby River is born

11:08am: Cord is cut by Daddy Chris

11:25am: Placenta is born and a whole slew of other things happening around me that I just don't seem to notice :)

Birth Announcement

River Isabella Rae Frazier

Born 11:01am on April, 30th 2011

7 lbs. 5 oz. & 19.5"