First Post

I thought it would be fun to set up a blog, as a way of keeping a journal of everything that's going on in our growing family, since things are changing almost every day at this point.
We have photos on flickr, but this blog should be a way to put a story behind the photos, and keep a more detailed record of what's happening.

I'll catch everyone up on what happened in the past month...

In December Molly and I were wrapping up our Childbirth classes at Methodist Hospital downtown, and getting ready at home for our baby's arrival. Since we didn't want to find out what we were having, we were calling the baby "Little E" - because we decided to name a boy Elijah Jacob or a girl Esther Lynn. We bought a new 4-door car (2008 Chevy Malibu) for Little E, and we received lots and lots of presents from generous family and friends at baby showers. Everything was ready for Little E's arrival!
Esther Lynn Mathews came into the world at 9:14 a.m. on Wednesday, December 19, 2007.
Esther was 7 pounds, 5 ounces, and 19 3/4 inches long.
She was a beautiful baby right from the start - big slate blue eyes and blonde (almost white) hair. She looked perfect! Mommy and Daddy were so happy and so grateful to God for the miracle that he gave us, after we had been trying to have a child for over 2 years.

From birth Esther was very strong and able to hold her head up for several seconds at a time. She really enjoyed being held by people, especially laying on her tummy on others' chests. She made lots of funny faces, the most frequent being a surprised look with her eyebrows raised and her little mouth pursed tightly into an 'O'. She sleeps hard, and when she wakes up she grunts and groans and squeaks and stretches.
Molly had a c-section, which went great. Molly, Andy and Esther stayed in the hospital for 3 days after Molly's c-section so that the nurses and doctors could keep an eye on Molly while she healed, and on Esther while she grew.
Things went pretty well at the hospital, although sleep was hard to come by. Esther got to know her parents better, and had lots of family come to greet her.
We went home from the hospital on Saturday, December 22, in the afternoon. That evening we celebrated Christmas with Molly's family at our house.
We slept a lot better at home, although Esther's feeding and sleeping schedule was very irregular.
On Christmas Day we celebrated Christmas with Andy's family at Andy's parents' house.
Most of our first week at home was spent with Molly feeding Esther, Andy helping to take care of Molly and Esther, and trying to get some rest while keeping the house somewhat clean. We would not have made it without the meals that were prepared for us by our church family and by Andy's Mom.
Esther had her first bath, first stroller ride outside, and first doctor's appointment all on Wednesday, December 26th. The doctor's appointment went great. Esther was gaining weight and only had a slight bit of jaundice.
Esther celebrated her first New Years at Grandma and Grandpa Mathews' house.
Esther's 2nd doctor's appointment also went great on January 2. She was up over 8 pounds this time! Esther holds very still and doesn't cry at all while Dr. Kidd examines her.
Molly got her staples out on January 3, and has been slowly gaining more flexibility and strength, but is still a little stiff in the middle.
Andy went back to work on Thursday, January 10, after Molly was cleared to drive 3 weeks after her surgery. Andy is bored at work, after being able to play with Esther whenever he wanted to when he was at home.
Esther went to church for the first time on Sunday, January 13. Our church family celebrated her arrival with us as truly a miracle and a blessing from God.

That catches us up to today - Monday, January 14. Andy is at work, bored, thinking of Esther, so he thought it would be a good time to set up a blog about her and his family. :-) He hopes you enjoy reading this blog in the future.