Grandma & Grandpa Maggi meet Daniel

 Dennis' parents came in this past Thursday and stayed until Sunday morning. They came to meet our baby boy, their 7th grandchild. It was an enjoyable weekend. Enjoy photos from our weekend.

  

Untitled because I think there is no good title…

 

 

We have nothing short of precious on our hands.

I do apologize (sort of) for not being more diligent to update the blog about our progress, but I have been trying to get this mom thing down, and I have been far too sleepy/busy to really care. Sorry!! But lucky for you all, this is sort of how I am going to record his life and milestones, so for MY sake, I am feeling obligated to update. :)

 

Daniel has recently decided he hates his crib. and his bassinet. So, he has been sleeping in our bed in between Dennis and I. Believe me, this is one of them things that I said that I would never do, and guess what? I am having to eat my words in the first three weeks! Go figure! :) I tried to let him "cry it out" and we were up all night long practically. Well, until I placed him in our bed and he went from a loud wail to a quiet CONKED out baby, in literally seconds. We definitely have a snuggle bugg on our hands!

Otherwise, he sleeps really great throughout the day. He will eat, and then sleep. We have a few sporadic times of alertness. His weight gain is good. We are up to 7 pounds and 4 or 6 ounces as of this last Friday at his second pediatrician appointment. He is in perfect health, and we are so thankful!

We are doing pretty good with the nursing thing. I am pretty dedicated to it even though we are continuing to have some hiccups with it. Dennis' family was in from Thursday to this morning and I chose to give him more breast milk bottles and that does tend to confuse him and aid in his laziness while eating. It was probably a poor choice on my part, but I joke with friends that we are in survival mode and I am doing all I know to do. This is way harder than I thought, but he is growing, happy, and that is all that I care about.

  

I am doing pretty good, too. I have a great helper as a husband and we are doing this together. I take the night shift during the weeknights and Dennis is pretty gracious during the weekend nights about letting me sleep. (I don't sleep, but it is nice to not have to get out of the bed) I have not forgotten labor, or these last couple of weeks, and therefore, all those kids that I said that I wanted is becoming less and less a desire of mine (ours)! :) But, let's check back with me soon and see if I have changed my mind.

Overall, I am loving this sweet face more and more every day and we are slowly slipping into the Maggi Three! :)

Love you all, and keep checking back. I promise to TRY to get more frequent with my posts!

Happy 1 week birthday, Daniel

 

One week ago today, our baby boy was born. In a week we have learned a lot about him.

We know that:

• he sleeps soundly; hard to wake up
• wakes one time during the night: usually between 2:30-3:30 and then not again until after 6. (we are blessed parents and we know it)
• wakes up with eyes open for about an hour or so at night but otherwise sleeps through most of the day
• he eats every three hours. some times he wants to eat every two, some times not for four… but he has gotten A LOT better at it.
• eats 2 or more ounces at each feeding.
• He was a very sleepy baby at breast, and now he can keep up and stay awake.
• It takes him about 45 minutes to eat a good meal, and about 10 from the bottle.
• fights to eat if he gets too hungry.
• weighs 6 pounds 11 oz after a drop from 6 pounds 4 oz.
• He is a great burper.
• he does not spit up.
• he loves to stretch by extending his hands straight out.
• he "coos"
• he takes a pacifier but does not require it to sleep or remain calm
• he does not mind his diaper being changed
• loves to be swaddled tight

Our Son

 

Hello friends-

I am sure that many of you are wondering how we are holding up here with being first time parents.

Daniel is our precious little treasure. I cannot imagine life without him already, and he is only 6 days old today! I simply cannot believe that he will be a whole week old tomorrow.

He had his first pediatric appointment this past Friday and we learned that he has dropped nearly 9% of his body weight. :( It was in part due to a misunderstanding on my part about how long I should have been feeding him and in part due to my milk not coming in until Friday late morning. So, we have another appointment scheduled to do a weight check tomorrow (Monday) and then again mid week and then again end of the week to be sure that he is gaining. I am praying that there is some improvement since our visit.

Dennis has been AMAZING at being a new dad. I could nearly start to cry when I think about how blessed I am that God has given me such a wonderful husband and now a wonderful, caring, and fully capable dad. He has been so helpful and encouraging. He goes back to work tomorrow (Monday) and I am already so spoiled, I am wondering how I will do this for 10 hours while he is away.

We have had MANY MANY visitors, and LOTS and LOTS of yummy food brought to us each night. I cannot thank our church family enough for being so gracious with their resources and time to take care of us in this manner.

Physically I am doing much better, but emotionally, I am very tearful. I am just so in love with our new baby, and every little thing touches me to tears. I trust that this will settle down soon.

I know that I have a TON of pictures posted of him sleeping, but really, that is much of what he does all day. As far as how is sleeping and eating at night: since we have some sort of a milk supply in, I am pretty much getting up one LONG time at night. He will wake from anywhere between 2 and 3:30 and it takes me about an hour or more to feed, change, and swaddle him back up. Then he wakes again anywhere from 6:30 to 7:30. Dennis has been taking the late morning turn of entertaining him for a few minutes to allow me to sleep a little longer. I am pleased with his sleeping and eating at night, and it seems to be doable for me during the day, even though I am more tired than usual.

I love him.

I could stay awake….

 

I could stay awake just to hear you breathing,

watch you smile while you are sleeping, while you are far away and dreaming.

……….. and that I have been doing…………….

Heading Home...

The day has finally arrived where Dennis and Shannon's dreams of wanting a baby of their own to care for becomes a reality. Both mommy and Daniel will be discharged from the hospital today. Daniel will be introduced to his home, his nursery, and his dog. What will their first night at home be like? We are wishing them all the best. And will hope and pray they can find ways to catch up on their sleep.... some how.

Shannon and Dennis, you are WELL-LOVED. To my knowledge, your family has meals lined up for at least 10 days, if not more. I can just visualize Shannon taking a big "SIGH..." of relief. On tonight's menu - baked spaghetti, salad, bread, and butter finger cake - thanks to Ashely Harris. I also believe she is bringing you some krispy cream donuts and oranges for the morning. Now that's a true friend. You will need those extra calories to fatten up your breast milk for Daniel!!!! And by the way, what time is dinner? I'm hungry.

We love you! This picture makes me smile BIG. I recall a time in your life when you were in my home and you said, "I would give anything to have a baby of my own." You no longer have to want that, you HAVE IT. Praise God!!!!

Love You ALL,

Kristin Bolling

Daniel Patrick Maggi Has Arrived!!!!

The Lord has blessed the Maggi family. It's crazy how such a tiny miracle can be such a BIG wish come true. Dennis and Shannon are proud to announce the arrival of Daniel Patrick Maggi. Below are his birth stats:

Weight: 7 pounds, 1 ounce

Length: 20 inches long

Time: 2:21 pm

The picture above was taken by Shannon's cell phone. Daniel had just gotten his circumcision, so he was a little uncomfortable/fussy when he moves. Mommy is doing great and Daddy is on cloud 9.

God is so gracious!