- Bless you! E is a double-sneezer! She sneezes a fair amount, and always at least twice. Her record so far is five sneezes in a row. It makes us laugh every time, and we secretly hope she always does this - it's really cute!
- Grumpy Old Men: E struggles to wake up when she's been sleeping soundly. In order to do so, she arches her back, tosses her head around with her eyes squeezed shut and makes grunting, grumbling sounds, often flailing her arms around in the process. It cracks us up, as she seems like your typical grumpy old man when she does this! R has given me the task of capturing this routine on video for posterity's sake... I'll share here when I do.
- Say Cheese! Again, I know newborns "can't" consciously smile, but ours does! No joke, either, it's the cutest single thing in the entire world. With her one giant dimple, her slightly open mouth and her pink gums, I have to refrain from completely devouring her every time she bestows that charming grin on me.
- I See You: E's latest very cool trick is to lock eyes on our faces and follow us around. Previously, she seemed to be "stuck" looking at whatever her eyes decided to land on, but now it seems she can willingly follow objects that interest her. Luckily, said objects tend to be her parents, occasionally her puppies, and anything that's shiny (e.g., the lights on the Christmas tree that *still* stands in our living room). She also really loves to stare at the fabric circles hanging on the wall above her changing table while having her diaper changed. I never pictured myself excitedly carrying on conversations about "the pretty circles," but it's one of my favorite things to talk to her about now because she is clearly interested in them.
What else? Let's see...
- E had her newborn photos taken this past weekend and we've just received our first peek at the resulting images. They are lovely! The photographer - Gwendolyn Waite - used only natural light in her beautiful Minneapolis loft studio and captured the simple beauty of our baby girl. Here's a link to the blog post with E's pictures.
- We began a six-week New Mama class this week and E slept through the entire class like a champ. She's one of the younger babies in the class (the babies ranged from two to six weeks) and one of only three girls (out of nine)! The class lasts for two hours every Monday. The moms all sit on the floor in a circle holding or nursing babies and discussing our experiences with various topics related to our babies. In the first week each of us shared stories about our pregnancy, labor & delivery, and first weeks at home. It was really enlightening and cathartic to hear similarities in experiences. It confirmed for me that my labor and delivery were pretty rough but not as bad as they could have been! I'm looking forward to getting to know these other moms better and watching our babies grow and change over the next several weeks - if nothing else, it's a great reason to get out of the house!
- E's two-week well baby appointment was also Monday. She's one healthy, happy girl! We were cleared to stop waking her for feedings during the night because she's eating so well and can just let us know when she's hungry - here's hoping that will translate into longer stretches of sleep at night! Her weight was the issue we were most interested in discussing at this appointment. Here was the trend in E's weight:
- 12/24: 9 pounds, 3 ounces (born)
- 12/26: 8 pounds, 11 ounces (discharged from hospital)
- 12/27: 8 pounds, 3 ounces (went to CNP/lactation consultant out of desperation)
- 12/28: 8 pounds, 1.5 ounces (follow-up visit to CNP)
- 12/29: 8 pounds, 6.5 ounces (home health nurse visit)
- 12/30: 8 pounds, 9 ounces (one more follow-up visit)
And these were E's stats at two weeks and two days (1/9/12):
- Weight: 9 pounds, 9 ounces (95-97%)
- Length: 21.5 inches (90-95%)
- Head circumference: 14.5 inches (75-90%)
- R went back to work on Tuesday (1/10) and E and I spent the day cleaning the house. We did laundry, tidied, dusted and vacuumed, changed bedding, deep-cleaned the bathroom and then we were exhausted. We also went for a walk because it was outrageously, unseasonably warm (52 degrees!). Afterward, I was ready for a nap, but E decided it was a good idea to stay awake... forever. Lesson learned: rest when possible and don't overdo it!
- E and I visited my office yesterday (1/11). We had lunch with a few girlfriends and met my team members. Somehow - and I don't know how - we were there for almost three hours! Afterward, I was tired but we had to get some groceries. E slept like a little angel during our quick sweep through Whole Foods, but as soon as we got in the car, she started a screaming meltdown that lasted all the way home. I hated to feel so helpless to soothe her while trapped in the driver's seat! Once we were home I had to ferry baby, diaper bag, stroller, groceries and mail/packages from the office inside, then had to decide between putting away the groceries and feeding the poor baby. I chose the baby! After feeding and laying her down (blissfully asleep), I quickly dealt with the groceries and puppies and hurried to the sofa to collapse and hopefully nap for a few minutes. As soon as I laid down, E woke up fussy - this child has a sixth sense! She was then awake for the remainder of the evening and I was completely wiped out by the time bedtime rolled around. Remember the lesson from the previous day? I relearned it yesterday. Seriously, don't overdo it! Rest when you can!
We had a good night last night and I'm planning to actually lay low today. We'll see how it goes! R's parents arrive to meet Baby E tomorrow - we can't wait! More on that in the next post. For now, the baby's sleeping so I think that means it's time for me to sleep!
