I just realized that the last two blog entries started with "Well," so I figured it was time for a new beginning. The last time we went to the doctor, he recommended something for Emma's diaper rash. The name sounded so funny to me that I thought he was joking. Boudreaux Butt Paste has to rank as one of the funniest product names I have come across. But it works. Very well, in fact. Emma's bunners are now as smooth as a baby's, well you get the idea. If you have a diaper aged child, I highly recommend this product.

Well, we went to the doctor today. And Emma got her first shot (hep b). After some absolute agony, tears, and a lot of emotion, Suzanne is finally over having to watch. Emma didn't mind the jab, but the injection set off a moment of hysterics. She is now 22 inches long, so has grown more than two inches since birth. She also has gained one full pound since her last visit. And her thrush seems to be getting better. So all is going well except for a diaper rash.

Suzanne and I are trying to figure out what she will be when she grows up. I am convinced that she is going to be a punk rock spaceship commander, but Suzanne is not so sure. We do agree on a couple of professions that she has already shown an aptitude for. She definitely could direct planes, as she is constantly signalling where they should go. And she may become a marine biologist. She speaks Humpback Whale fluently. Here is a picture of the bean after an exhausting day at the (doctor's) office.

Well, we went to the doctor yesterday and little Emma isn't ready to stay little. She is up to 8 pounds 1 ounce. Considering that this is 3 oz above her birth weight, less than two weeks after birth, I think it is safe to say that she is gaining weight just fine. Suzanne and I were both relieved when the doctor assured us that there would be no nipple confusion if we introduced a binky between feedings. This means that Suzanne is actually getting 2-2.5 hours between feedings and may actually start getting some sleep! The first picture is not my desktop wallpaper at work, and I look at it often. It was taken with my Mom's 2 megapixel canon, not bad eh?

The next two had a lot of Ahhhh.... factor for me. Indulge me, I'm a new dad.

We swaddle Emma everytime she goes to sleep. And we are very careful about placing her in her bassinet. But I swear that short of breaking out the duct tape, I can't get her to keep her arms in her blanket. This is a very common Emma pose.

We went to the doctor today for Emma's post hospital follow up. It looks like the little bit of jaundice she had when she was discharged is resolving itself. She is also gaining weight (yay!) which was worrying her dad as she was born at 7lbs 14oz and had dropped down to 7lbs 3.5oz. She is now back up to 7lbs 80z. Her mom wasn't worried, as her mom was intimately familiar with nutrition throughput. The doctor was very nice, thank you to Rich and Jen for the referral. We are adjusting to life as parents, though I we both still have plenty of awestruck moments when we look at our beautiful daughter. Speaking of, here are more pictures.

Emma at just a few minutes old. And her mom with tears of joy and dad trying not to look too overwhelmed.

Emma and Gramma at the hospital (my mom).

Emma at four days, deciding whether she wants to be asleep or awake. She went for awake in the end, but was pretty indecisive for a few minutes.

We've officially been parents for more than 24 hours now. It is still very surreal for me. I love my daughter with an overwhelming passion, considering I have only known her for a day. I know that all new parents must go through this and have these feelings and I am certainly not the first, but they are new feelilngs to me. Here is a picture of Emma with her Grandpa (my dad).

Emma has arrived. She was born today at 1:42pm. She has shown herself to be just as active out of the womb as she was in the womb. Emma Lauren weighed in at 7 pounds 14 ounces, she is just under 19 inches long and looks absolutely perfect in the eyes of her parents.

Well, as we said in our London blog www.imcrossingthepond.blogspot.com we thought that moving to London would be the biggest adventure of our lives. We were wrong, we are about to embark on a much bigger adventure, parenthood. Here is the first picture of our wonderful daughter, Emma which was taken September 21st. More to follow when she makes her first appearance.