The Swarrell Life

I am a lucky guy, my wife lets me sleep for about 6 hours! Considering how much sleep she is getting, I think that is pretty generous. I take the late shift, feeding at about 8pm and 11pm or so. Momma gets the rest of the night. I guess that's okay, since I am back at work now. We'll have to work it out again when Autumn goes back to work, which is approaching very fast. I'll miss seeing this at lunch: That girl sure is growing like crazy. I wish that we had an appointment soon, so we could see how much weight she gained. At the last appointment she had gained about 21 ounces in 12 days. I think she's getting enough to eat! I have said all along that she eats and sleeps like me! We are off to McCall, Idaho for Christmas. It should be a lot of fun, since we'll be spending it with my sister-in-law's family, which numbers about 40-50 for the weekend. We are staying at a church camp facility, which is kind of weird for a family event, but the setting couldn't be...

I told this was coming! We have more video for all you Trinity fans out there! There is nothing really special about this video, except that she is pretty darn cute in general! I have a few more pictures in a new album, it is linked at the top of the right hand column. I know that the blog posts are not too frequent, I will try and be better about that. It helps me too because I get caught up in my day and forget that I need to be enjoying every little moment with my daughter. She will be gone before I know it, so I better pay attention. For those of you wondering, I received an A and an A- in my classes this quarter. I think that's pretty good. I'm not bragging or anything, I'm just sayin'...

You just have to love all the firsts when you have a child. First breathe, first cry, first smile, first poopy diaper...the list goes on and on. Well, we're the same here as most other places, we like to document the heck out of it and post it on the web. Poor kid, she doesn't stand a chance. My mom was here for the week, it was really great to have her here. Not only did she help out around here, but she was able to get in some good grandma time too! She was able to give Trinity her first bath, which we captured on video: Also, she rolled over for the first time! Maybe it was a fluke, but man this kid is on the move! I already can't keep up with her! Here is the video for the rollover:

We bottle fed for the first time tonight! It was very easy, Trinity took to it like a fish to water. She is a pretty serious over-achiever. But really it is good because I can take now the late evening feeding so that Autumn can get more than two hours' sleep in a row. It was a little bit empowering to be able to satisfy the baby in this way. Before I could only look helplessly on as Autumn took care of it. Now I can do it to! So here she is in all her diapered glory! She lost her umbilical cord a couple of days ago, so we have been meaning to document this momentous occasion. What better time than when her belly is full to bursting? Check that tummy out! It is a little exagerated by the angle of the camera, but all for good effect! What a cutie! Finally, tonight I bring you a picture of what babies and mommies all have in common: they want to sleep!

I guess it has been almost a week since I last posted. This is just a quick one to let both my readers know that I am still alive. Autumn and I just had our first meal alone in a couple of weeks, it was a very nice lunch together while my mom watched Trinity. I am only now starting to realize how much I enjoy time with my wife, since we have so little of it together. My mom is down for the week to help us out and to get some good grandma time in, so Autumn has a little freedom, which is nice for her. We'll have to figure out how to get more of that for her in the coming weeks. I miss my wife and I miss my daughter now that I am back at work. My time home was really good. Parenthood makes time go faster. Yikes! Here is a picture of our little baby girl during some tummy time...good stuff! Also, I included a picture with Auntie Beth, since I heard that she was feeling left out. Cheers!

Really the title of this post doesn't mean anything at all. I am just trying to be clever at 10:00pm. It's not working for me either. But maybe it will make you wonder what the heck I put in my coffee this late at night. So many people I know can't drink coffee past noon or they will be up all night. Not me. I can drink a pot of the stuff and still sack out in about 30 seconds flat. But I imagine that my time is coming. Oh the horror. My dad and stepmom stopped by on their way through to Seattle this morning. They needed their grandbaby fix. It was really nice to see them, I am thrilled and touched by the enthusiasm of my parents towards the birth of our daughter. It is the first grandchild, so I can see why it is such a big deal for them. At 34 years old, I am the youngest and I just got around to procreating. I wonder if they had written the whole thing off. Nevertheless, here we are and my daughter has three of the best sets of grandparents that a child could ask for. Pe...

Here we are again at about 10:30 and I am still looking to gain some momentum while doing my homework. My wife and daughter are asleep. The dog is asleep. Why am I not asleep? Well, I have to finish my homework. I don't care if it is good at this point, I just want to finish it. Whether I get a B or and A is irrelevant at this point. They both get me through to the next round. Speaking of the next round, I posted more pics of our daughter today, just a few. Here is my favorite:

At what point do I get to stop worrying if my daughter is still breathing? Here I am at 10:30 at night, which feels like 2am, doing homework (and blogging) and I stop every few minutes to make sure Trinity is still breathing. She is a swaddled up and comfortable in her chair. Autumn is asleep for just over another half an hour, when I will wake her up for the late-evening feeding. I am trying to gain some intellectual momentum, but I keep stopping to see if my daughter is still alive. Is this normal? At what point can I stop worrying that she has ceased breathing? Will I ever relax as a parent? Should I? I guess I am more of a worrier than I like to let on. The irony is that I can sleep right through her active sleeping, which involves murmurs and a little fussing. I hear this is a gift that many men have. Women don't have it. I guess that's for the best, since someone should wake when the baby cries. In the mean time I am sitting here guzzling coffee in an effort to stay awake...

This is about 12 hours after Trinity was born. Beth brought her two boys, Spencer and Payton with her. They are usually rambunctious like any boys would be, but they were super well-behaved on this occasion. Although Payton was unusually interested in my lunch until I told him it was scalloped potatoes and not mashed. He wasn't sure about that, so he lost interest. BUT, as Spencer took his turn holding the baby, Payton started rocking the chair and singing. Need I say more? Check the video out. You might have to turn the volume up to hear it. Oh yeah, this is a video of Trinity in the heated bed right after she was born:

Yesterday was momentous: not turkey, exercise! We went for our first walk, all the way to the end of the block. The problem is that it was cold and the wind was making Trinity upset. I don't blame her, it was cold! The funny thing about this picture is that you can't even see her in the stroller! She is still so small and so precious. I can see her growing so much, even after only six days. I hear that it only gets faster. I am continually amazed at how well Autumn is handling this new chapter in life. She has been a nursing machine! She is still recovering from labor, but has been so consistent. Thanksgiving was good, but to be honest I am a little distracted. Don't get me wrong, I am very thankful for many things, but the holiday slipped by me this year even though I spent it with family. Why so distracted? This picture says it all:

For all of you wanting pictures, here are some more of my favorites. It is interesting watching the changes in Trinity as she grows day by day. Her eating and sleeping is changing as Autumn's milk comes in. The kid can eat. People say she looks a little like Autumn. That may be true, but she eats and sleeps like me. Good for you, Trinity. Good for you. These are black and whites that I took while we were giving her a little time in the sun. The contrast is irresistable to the photographer in me. I think they are very dramatic and really capture how I feel about her. My feelings are very plain as I look at her. I love her, no more and no less.

So many people have told me how having a child will change everything and how you can never really express it in words. It's true, it's true! I think that the delirium of not sleeping much can cause a sudden loss of vocabulary, but even if that is the case, there simply is no way to describe how I feel right now. All the political stuff goes away. I only care about my family right now. I have a couple new shots that connect in my mind to the feelings that I have. They are of my wife and daughter during feeding times. That is the connection. That is what parenting is all about. I am so proud and happy that my wife has that connection with Trinity. I wish I had that connection. But I have others and those blow my mind too. I was changing her diaper and had her all clean and fresh. She yells when I change her. I was about to put a clean shirt on her, when I bent down and kissed her belly, told her I loved her and laid my cheek on her belly. She quieted down when I touched her. It ...

Born To Aaron and Autumn Harrell on November 22, 2008, at 1:24am. She weighed in at 6lbs, 3oz and is 19 inches long. She is absolutely beautiful! Autumn is doing great, tired but healthy. I have a few pics here, but more are posted on my facebook profile . I'll post more and talk more later, this is just a taste of what's to come. My wife is truly amazing to have carried this baby for so long and then given birth to bring her into our lives. Amazing.

Here she comes! It is 2:30 in the afternoon on Friday, November 21st. This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it! I have sang that song since I was a kid, and I now know how true it can be. We are getting ready to head to the hospital to induce labor. This is the last day that our family will be only two, okay maybe tomorrow too. But nevertheless, our house and home will never be the same. I will never be the same. Autumn will never be the same. We will never be the same, and while I rejoice in the pending arrival of our daughter, I can't help but mourn the loss of our life up til now. We have a great life, and while the addition of a child will make it even better, there are so many things that I know I am going to miss. I am going to miss the tranquility of our life as man and wife. I am going to miss the freedom to come and go as I choose. I am going to miss the flexibility that comes with being able to eat or go whenever I want to. But I look forwa...

1. I have a great husband. He always says such nice things. I think one reason this pregnancy has been such a positive experience is because of his supportive and caring attitude. When the pregnancy hormones were doing their thing he was always there to cheer me up. When I was feeling fat, he'd tell me how good I looked. When I was feeling too small, he'd tell me how big I looked--which (believe it or not!) was exactly what I needed to hear. 2. Retirement is going to be fun. Though Friday was my last 'official' day at work I did go in Monday and saw more patients than I expected; so many in fact that I didn't get some of the paperwork done in the office that I wanted to so I ended up working a half day yesterday to get that done. So, today was my first full day off work. Though I don't think I'd be ready to retire at 34, I can see how retirement is going to be enjoyable. At the gym this morning there were two retired women working out downstairs a...

Take a minute and vote on the birth weight of our daughter (on the right side of the blog...) A few observations: - My wife is pretty brave. Any woman who has given birth is brave. That has to be one of the more traumatic events a human can go through and still live. Good thing it produces such wonderful results. I suppose that's why people go through it more than once. Ouch. - A natural consequence of the above statement is to remind you of how the world would look if men had to carry the unborn fetus and give birth. It would be empty. God knew what he was doing when he gave that assignment to women. - Parents are great, especially when their children are becoming parents themselves. Okay, I am just speaking for myself. My parents are great, I am so lucky to have them involved in the process. - We just bought a video camera, but don't hold your breath for a live feed of the birth. Just because we can, doesn't mean we will. How's that for restraint? But after the birth,...

Well, today is the due date. Things started off on a good note this morning as I started having mild contractions at 1:30 a.m. however by 6 a.m. or so they had pretty much resolved. Darn it. Tomorrow I have another doctors appointment and we'll probably have my membranes stripped--I don't know exactly what that is but it doesn't sound like much fun. It may help induce labor though and I think I'm finally to the point where that is a good thing. I still feel okay physically but it just feels like our lives are on hold right now waiting for Happy Feet to make her appearance. I try not to wish any of my days away quicker than they already go since we only have so many days in our life but right now I'm finding that a little hard.

For those of you wanting the update, here's the latest photos! Boy she's looking good! The baby appears to have dropped a little and the due date is coming fast! For those of you who haven't voted on when she's coming, vote in the previous post!

For those of you following my wife's pregnancy, we are still waiting for the little bugger to make her appearance. There are several pools going around town in regards to when she'll actually be here. I decided that maybe I'd do a poll of both my readers to see what they thought. Here is one for a due date, I'll post one for time of day, weight, and length later on. Enjoy! When will our daughter be born? ( surveys )

So here we are just a week or so away from the birth of our daughter. The little gadget on the right says so. But less than 5% of babies are born on their due dates. I have a feeling that my daughter is going to be an over-achiever. My wife is and I occasionally aspire to it as well. Hopefully we'll not instill that into her. I just hope that she knows that she is loved. By the way, she already has more stuff than me. Is it wrong to be jealous of your child? I dunno, I'm new at this whole parenting thing. Wait, I haven't even got that far yet. But I have a beautiful pregnant wife who is doing so great through this whole ordeal. Speaking of which, I need to get home for dinner...bye!