Alaena's 1st 100 Days

We thought we would share a brief summary of Alaena Jeanette Smith’s first 100 days in office as our Squeaker of the House. (Jeff gave her that name because, up until a few weeks ago, she squeaked so often, especially in her sleep.) Alaena’s first day “in office” began somewhat unexpectedly: It was May 8th and I went in for a weekly check with my OB. While I was there she determined that Alaena’s growth was falling off of the growth curve and that she was likely headed towards intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Because we were pretty close to her due date (May 23rd) and the doctor knew what a nervous wreck I had been throughout the pregnancy, she encouraged me to have the baby that day--so that's what we did! (Interestingly, the doctor was never able to figure out why her growth had slowed. I'm guessing it was because I was sick pretty much throughout the entire pregnancy--blech!)

Labor went very quickly and Alaena was born at 7:14 PM. She weighed 6 pounds, 9 ½ ounces and was 19 ½ inches long. She was (and still is) a quiet baby: We literally did not hear her cry for the first time until she was almost 3 days old. She is still mellow and she only cries when she has a reason. (As some of you may remember, Jonathan was NOTHING like this. I guess God felt He should cut us some slack.) She looks a lot like her daddy and brother and, of course, we think she’s just beautiful. Oh, and she has this awesome lock of blonde hair on top of her head. The doctor said that it’s a birthmark and it will likely look like highlights when her hair grows out—too cool!

Baby Laena (as we call her) is now a little over 3 months old. She is doing a lot of cooing, drooling (she is already starting to teeth!), smiling, sucking on her fists, kicking, and, of course, eating and sleeping. Even though she’s little—she weighed 10 lbs., 2 oz. at 3 months—she seems to be developing normally and her pediatrician isn’t concerned about her. Jonathan adores her, especially now that she is able to interact with him. It is so incredible watching their relationship develop! I’m so grateful that God gave us the desire of our hearts and blessed us with another healthy, happy child. God is good…All the time!