Just a few Pictures!

Here are a few pictures of my sweet little Megan from this last week-- bath time (she loves the water), and hanging out in her little bumpo seat. Her neck is already so strong so she seems to really like the seat! Enjoy!

7 Things

Okay, so I've been "tagged" and I need to write 7 things about me. This has taken some time to compile cause, well, I don't feel like I'm that interesting of a person. but here ya go.

1. I love gardening: Not so much the fruits and vegetable kind of gardening, but the flower kind (but don't come and look at my yard right now, because it definitely doesn't show it). I subscribe to a gardening magazine and have an obsession with learning what different plants are and going running or walking just so I can find look at other people's beautiful yards and flowers. I've even drawn up a landscape plan for my yard-- so one day I'll re-do my yard and it will be my own little Garden of Eden.
2. I like exercising and health food (the yummy kind): Unfortunately, I'm not like a lot of you who don't have to do a thing and you just stay skinny or just walk out of the hospital after having a baby wearing your normal pants (I'll admit that I'm still wearing maternity clothes at 2 months out, how sad!)-- I actually have to work at keeping weight off! So lucky for me I married a man who can help me along and teach me how to do it right. All in all I just feel a lot better when I take care of this old bod of mine!
3. I'm obsessed with anything Megan: My life has changed drastically since my little Meggy came along, but I love it. She is so fun and so sweet! I drink in every little smile and coo I can get. She's really started to try and use her voice this week and it's been so fun! She also found her tongue and loves to play with it in her mouth all the time. Every little thing with her is so big to me and I love it!
4. I like photography: I know by my pictures I've posted you must think I'm nuts, or I must really stink at it. But I really enjoy it. But I mostly enjoy taking pictures of buildings and landscapes. One day I want to have a bunch of pictures hanging in my home that are mine, not some other guys work.
5. I hate scrap booking! I know this may sound blasphemous to many of you reading this—but I do. I enjoy taking pictures and playing with them on Adobe—but I hate scrap booking. It super expensive, it takes forever to do just one page and then I’m not creative enough to even make it look good. Needless to say, I don’t have anything scrap booked since high school—how terrible!
6. I love the water: I love anything that has to do with the water-- canoeing, boating, swimming, beaching, skiing (frozen water), etc. I love the water.
7. I'm finally graduating in August! Hurray! It's been a long journey, and interestingly enough, after attending Southern Virginia University, Utah Valley State College, and Brigham Young University- Idaho, I'm actually graduating from BYU-Provo. Some of you may know my little school hopping journey that I've taken and the crazy BYU situation for me, but funny how it's all turned out and I'm finishing there! What a relief to have it all done. Even little Meg waited so I could finish. I took my last final Tuesday evening (when I was 2 days over due) and woke up Wednesday morning with contractions (but don't worry she wasn't born until Saturday). I can’t believe I actually did it, I’m glad to be done!
   

Sorry to be the end of the line but I don't know 7 other people who haven't been 'tagged' so if you're reading this and you haven't then feel free to write!

Swimming!!!

Well, I think I've found something that my little Meg loves-- water! I took her swimming at my parents pool for her first time and she absolutely loved it! She has always liked her baths, and considering my parents pool is a whopping 94 degrees, she was loving it. She doesn't always show a lot of emotion, but at least she didn't scream. It was a fun time and she looked so cute in her little suit!

The First 6 Weeks

Saturday Megan turned 6 weeks old! Yeah! I see light at the end of the tunnel. Let me explain. For the last 6 weeks we've been dealing with a bit of colic and have spent days, and sleepless nights, bouncing, rocking, excessivly feeding, pretty much anything to stop the fussing and crying. The poor little girl has had the worst stomache pains and it's so sad to see her in pain and harder still because I've been so sleep deprived. I never knew my whole existence could be centered around trying to get some more sleep!
Anyway, from everything I've heard and read, 6 weeks is a landmark. "They" say that after 6 weeks of age the fussiness and crying starts to decrease, maybe even a little, but that from here on out it is only going to get better. So in essense, we've been through the worst of it. So here's hoping that "they" are right!

In the mean time here are our 6 Favoritive Things at 6 Weeks (in no particular order):

1. The changing table pad: strange as it sounds she loves being on the changing table pad. Somehow it must lay her in just the right position to relieve some pain and she really seems to like it. I sometimes just put the pad on the kitchen counter and it keeps her happy-- at least for a little while.
2. The pacifier: Oh wow, this has been a life saver for me and my body! More often than not the thing she want to do is nurse, not for food, but for comfort. For a while there I was trying to keep pace because I thought that possibly I wasn't making enough milk for her, but I've found she just likes to suck-- a lot. So, with the introduction of the pacifier I've had a little reprieve from the endless hours of nursing!
3. The Baby Bjorn: If you saw me in my house you'd think I was gearing up for a hike, but I'm actually just trying to do laundry, dishes or maybe sneak in a second on the eliptical! Megan loves to be held in this thing. She can cry and cry in your arms, but for some reason this carrier holds her tummy in just the right position and she loves it! She falls alseep most times I put her in it, but as soon as I take her out and lay her down she's up and crying within 5 minutes. So I am usually carring around a sleeping baby. It's killer on my back, but it's been that or my sanity. I choose the Baby Bjorn!
4. The white noise machine: We realized there was a problem when the only thing that quieted the cries was either the sound of the blow dryer or the vacuum. Unfortunately, we can't keep either of these things running all night long. Fortunately, there is this little thing called the Sound Mate, and it has saved us all. She sleeps better and sounder because noises that used to wake her get drowned out. It's been a wonderful addition to the family!
5. The rocker and ottoman: I've spent many a night rocking, rocking, rocking on this thing. It's so comfy and I'm so grateful to have it.
6. The Boppy: I don't even know that I can nurse without it! It's a wonderful invention and has made life so much simpler! It's a great pillow, what more can I say!

Now let me say, though, that the last 6 weeks have not been all bad. She does respond and smile at times. It's also fun to have her just look into my eyes and recognize her mommy! I never knew I could love someone so much as I love my little girl. She is so sweet, her little tummy just hurts so much. But things are already getting better and she's sleeping longer and better already!

Our little photoshoot!

Also, for those of you who care, a bunch of pictures that were taken by a neighbor are posted here: http://sessions.studio111.com/basil/
Enjoy!

Pictures of the first month!

I really can't get enough of my cute little girl and am always snapping pictures! So here are a few! She is already getting bigger and I just don't want to miss a moment! Hope you all enjoy the pictures!

Our New Little Girl!

Megan Nicole Basil-- born June 2, 2007

I started having contractions about 10 minutes apart Wednesday morning and things finally started to pick up Friday around noon. We stayed home until about 9pm and then went to the hospital and labored there until about 7am and then pushed from then until noon. They gave me pitocin at the end to kick start my contraction (they hadn't been very strong previously, that's why I'd been in labor for so long) and finally pulled her out with a vacuum at the end! All this without an epidural! I don't know if I'll do it that way again, but all in all it was worth the work to get this sweet little girl!

She was 7 lbs. 2 oz. and looks just like her daddy! Their baby pictures are identical!

We're so happy to have this sweet little girl in our family!