Today was a beautiful day so we decided to take Laim on his first 'hike' (but in his stroller). There is snow on the mountains now in the distance and the ski season opens end of November...we can't wait to hit the slopes.
This week was the first week that I went back to work and it was challenging but not impossible. I had to be in Chicago this week for a night so Annette braved things on her own and, as you'd expect, she did really well with Liam. 
Liam turned 7 days old today! Today was also my first day back at work and Annette's first day on her own with little Liam. Fortunately, we all survived just fine.
Today was a beautiful day (the picture of the mountains is taken out of our bedroom window - note the SNOW!) so we took the opportunity to get out and go to the local farmer's market, and to collect a few more things at the shops. Liam enjoys being in the car but he sleeps most of the time!. We also tried out our stroller and took him on a walk down to our local park, where our neighbors had all gathered for a 'block party'. 
It was nice to meet a few more people who live in the area and Annette has a lot of other 'moms' offering their help or to call if she needs anything. Very nice of them!
Yesterday was another day of sleeping, feeding and changing. We are starting to get more used to things now and into a rhythm even though it's only been a few days.
I thought I would share with you why we chose the name Liam Jackson since many of you have asked. The name is of Irish and Gaelic origin and a variant of William meaning "determined protector." We choose that as a first name simply because we both liked it, and it was of Irish origins which are my roots (both my parents are from Dublin). We had talked about other names such as Jack, Max and Preston but neither of us could agree on what we liked.
Liam's middle name is after my grandfather on my Mother's side. Since we liked the name Jack and we both wanted Liam's middle name to have family significance we agreed on Liam Jackson. Not that it's surprising, but Jackson is an old English name and it means "son of Jack".
Today we took Liam for his appointment with the physician and it all went really well. He seems to like riding in the car as much as we do and he passed his 'check-up' with flying colors. He is now 8pnds 3ounces having lost a few ounces since birth (this is normal, and only 6% of his body weight...which is good).
Our friends Heather and Joel, who had a baby boy named Austin a few weeks ago, are bringing dinner over tonight and the little lads are going to hang out together. Well, they'll probably just sleep but it's cool that Liam already has a mate.
Annette is doing really well with the breastfeedings and she's getting to be a real pro now. He sometimes uses her as a snack bar instead of a full place to have a meal, but both of them are doing really well. I've started back to work (not by choice) but am working out of the house so it's not too bad right now....my first trip away is going to be a killer.
Annette's Mom has been here for 2 weeks now but heads back to New Jersey on Saturday. She's already making plans on how she can sneak Liam home with her :) It's been great for us to have her here and we've all really enjoyed time together both before Liam's arrival and after. This evening was our first night at home with Liam and we've discovered that Liam has a sense of humor! Before his feeding this evening we laid out all the necessary instruments to change him and went to work. After getting him cleaned up and ready for a new diaper, I picked him up and he gave me this funny little smile (which I thought was great) and then he dropped another messy load all over the place! We quickly cleaned him up but I'd swear I heard him giggle…:)
Last night was a good night and Liam is really getting the hang of breastfeeding (as is Annette) and sleeping! We got a few solid hours so although we're a bit tired we feel pretty good. We had a visit from the pediatrician today and he got a clean bill of health, as did Annette from the OB - so we were discharged and are now home. It is great to be home but we do miss having all those helpful nurses around.
Our first day with Liam has been great after all 3 of us were able to get enough sleep last night to feel human again. We have been hanging out with Liam (watching him sleep, make faces and cry...a little) and the nurses have been great about helping with everything from changing diapers to overcoming breastfeeding challenges. We are at Sky Ridge hospital which is only 2 years old and only 10 minutes from our house. It's been a great experience as the hospital is new, clean and very well staffed. I got the scare of my life already when I went with him to have some tests to the nursery and he started choking!! It turns out that he still had some amniotic fluid in his stomach, which is hard to digest, and he spit that up and starting to choke on it. This is apparently normal...but no one told me that! Fortunately the nurse was right there and quickly sorted him out with a little blue suction thingy. I am not 'on guard' for any type situations and know what to do. 
- she got a Nano-iPod from me instead.
Yesterday was another uneventful day waiting for baby Smith to arrive. We saw the doctor on Thursday and he performed another non-stress test to check everything was okay with the baby. Both Mom and Baby passed with flying colors. We have been going for long walks and generally just trying to stay active (as possible given the estimated 7 pounds 10 ounces she's carrying around). We are off to Red Rocks amphitheatre today and perhaps downtown Denver to see what Oktoberfest in like in the Rocky Mountains! Tomorrow is of course Annette's birthday, so there is a distinct possibility that baby and mommy will share the same birthday! More to come soon….
