Sunday morning snoozing!

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Gemma's License Plate

How cute is this license plate for Gemma's buggy? It was a gift from one of Paul's friends and his family. Here, the first number (12 in this case) is the year of the car and the letters are the county in which the car is registered (MO for Mayo).

In other news, the public health nurse was out yesterday, as I had called her earlier in the week about Gemma's feeding- she has been tending to graze for up to 2 to 3 hours at times and eating 6-8 ounces in that time. She weighed her and she is up to 9 pounds 11 ounces! That is a 2 pound 7 ounce gain in 3 weeks. Needless to say, we've been over feeding her. She advised us to do 4 ounces every 3 hours and to have her finish the bottle within half an hour. It's been kind of rough the past 24 hours, but she said if we don't show some tough love now, she'll continue to graze, and all we'll ever do is feed her. The day time has been the hardest- she'll fall asleep in my arms, but as soon as I try to put her down, she'll be screaming again. I'm typing this one handed at the moment! She was tough to settle last night (fed at 9, didn't get down until 10:30), but then she slept until 2. Again she was tough to settle- didn't get down until 4, but slept until almost 7. She did great at that feeding- back down by 7:30 and slept until 10:30. She hasn't been able to be put down since then though. Please send some good wishes our way that she'll adjust to this new feeding quickly and we'll have our content little girl back!

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Yesterday Morning

Yesterday morning Gemma had a bit of difficulty settling after her early morning feed, so we were bad parents and brought her into bed with us.  She slept until 10:30am, so she must have been comfortable!

One Month Old!

On Monday, Gemma turned one month old!  I would have to say that I think that was the fastest month of my life!  At one month, Gemma can lift her head and turn it to both sides while on her tummy.  She loves to snuggle, and we tend to indulge her with this!  She is a very content little girl and only cries when she is really hungry or getting her diaper or clothes changed while she is hungry.  She tends to grunt a bit, and we're learning the differences between the different grunts!  We are still working out some feeding issues- she tends to overeat and spit up at times, but this is improving.  Overnight she usually feeds around midnight, 3am, and anywhere between 6 and 8am.  Sometimes she has difficulty settling again overnight, but Paul and I share the feeds- he does the midnight one and I do the other two, so we're both getting some sleep!  Paul and I are so thankful for our perfect little girl.  She has improved our lives 1000%!

First Trip to Mayo!

This past weekend, when Gemma was 4 weeks old, we PACKED the car and headed west to spend the weekend with Paul's parents in Louisburgh, County Mayo.  Usually this is a 3 1/2 hour drive (if Paul drives, more like 4 if it's me!).  Gemma did great in the car.  We stopped once on Friday on the way there- Paul and I got something to eat, Gemma had a bottle and got her diaper changed, and she was back asleep as soon as we got back in the car.  On the way back on Sunday evening we made it straight home without stopping, as Gemma had just eaten and gotten changed before we left Louisburgh.  We had lots of visitors at Paul's parent's house to meet Gemma- they all thought she was adorable, and we definitely agree!

In the car on Friday, September 7th

Saturday, September 8th
All dressed up to meet her adoring public!

Saturday, September 8th
Gemma and I walked to Carramore Beach

Saturday, September 8th
Yes, she really is in the buggy!

Saturday, September 8th
Snuggling with Daddy in the porch

Sunday, September 9th
With Grandad, PJ

Sunday, September 9th
With Gran, Bridget

Sunday, September 9th
Zonked out after eating!

Sunday, September 9th
On the way back to Dublin after a fun weekend!

Sammin Electrical's New Secretary

On Monday morning I came downstairs after brushing my teeth, and this is what I found...!



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A Weekend of Sport

On Saturday afternoon, Paul and I had our first solo post baby outing. Paul got tickets to The Emerald Isle Classic, a football game between Notre Dame and Navy, here at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Auntie Marie and Uncle Brian came down for the day to take care of Gemma. It was weird to be without her, but we had a really nice afternoon too. It was a bit bizarre to be totally surrounded by American accents in Dublin, as they estimated 50,000 Americans were in town for the game. Norte Dame won easily, 50 to 10.









The Notre Dame marching band was the half time entertainment. Here they are playing Danny Boy.

On Sunday, Mayo played Dublin (the defending champions) in the Gaelic Football Championship semi-finals. The match was played at Croke Park in Dublin, and Paul had a ticket for the game. Gemma and I stayed home and cheered Mayo on in our jerseys!







It was a nail biter of a match. Mayo led by ten points at one stage, but Dublin came back and got to within two points in the last few minutes. Mayo now goes on to play Donegal in the final on September 23rd. Mayo hasn't been in a final since 2006 and hasn't won one since 1951. There is great excitement among anyone from Mayo!

When Paul got back from the match on Sunday evening, he watched the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix he recorded from earlier, and Gemma got to model her second outfit of the day!



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