Five Weeks Old!

Our fifth week with little Lizzie included some smiles and Daddy's first Father's Day. It was, of course, extraordinarily wonderful :)

Weight: As of two weeks ago, Lizzie was seven pounds, one and a half ounces. I spent the next week speculating what she might be, and I was guessing maybe around seven and a half pounds. I mean, she can't keep up the pace of gaining 18 ounces in 13 days, right? Well, I might be wrong. When we stepped on the scale without and then with her the other night, she clocked in at eight and a half pounds... say what?! Now, there's certainly room for error, because our scale isn't all that precise, but... I'd say there's a good chance she's pushing eight and a half anyway. Which means she's gained another 18 ounces (at least) in 14 days. This girl is a machine!

Sleep: Lizzie is still giving me three or four hours of sleep in our first stretch at night, followed up by two-hour chunks. Some nights when I get lucky, she'll sleep for two four-hour stretches, but that doesn't happen too often. However, I can't complain much: baby girl wakes up, eats for five to 10 minutes, and then goes back to sleep right away -- so it's not that bad. Plus, mommy gets some middle-of-the-night snuggles :) I kind of love that quiet time. Just the two of us, when the rest of the world is completely quiet and I can tell her how much she's loved. She's my girl.


During the day, she still sleeps most of the time. She has a few two-hour "awake" periods throughout the day, usually falling in the morning when we get up, in the later afternoon and before we go to bed.


Medical Issues: I have a hunch that my sweet baby might be battling some gas issues... she can tend to get fussy in the middle of and/or after feedings sometimes, and also will wake up from a dead sleep and let out a painful cry, and then go back to sleep. These both can potentially signal a gas problem, but who knows. Hopefully we'll get it figured out soon. For now it doesn't seem to be too earth shattering, but I'd like to resolve it sooner, rather than later, if it is an issue for her.

Clothes: We're still in our newborn clothes. Have yet to grow out of anything, and still have lots to grow into! We did get to break out a cute dress last Saturday for a wedding of a coworker of mine :)

Socialite!: The glamorous life of Lizzie continues! As I just mentioned, we attended a wedding of another teacher from my school over the weekend. Lizzie got to hang out with lots of wonderful friends of mine and we got to enjoy good conversations and lots of laughter :) Strangers continue to love on her, as she still appears to be a newborn even though she is five weeks old.

Diet: Milk, of course, Nursing exclusively, though I should probably take out a bottle so she at least gets exposed to it for when the school year starts.

Baby Gear Love: This week I've become a huge fan of my Moby wrap! A sweet friend on Facebook directed me to the newborn hold, and since Lizzie is now (an estimated) eight pounds or more, I felt comfortable using it -- and let me tell you, it's awesome. I now have two free hands again! I can cut pineapple, make lunch, fold clothes, empty the dishwasher, (the list goes on!) all while keeping Lizzie happy, close and comfy :) Both Mom and Lizzie are big fans. It also lends itself to dancing in the kitchen to Taylor Swift comfortably, which both Mom and Lizzie are big fans of as well :)

Crying: She's had a few fussy times, but usually those have been due to Mom and Dad's silliness. You know, when you look at each other after she's been crying for ten minutes and say, "maybe we should check her diaper..." -- and lo and behold, it's dirty! And once it's changed, viola! Like magic, she's back to her happy self. So we're learning! Check all the obvious things first. When those don't work, she loves being sung to and rocking in her rocking chair while snuggled in a blanket -- and, I'll admit, I don't hate those activities ;)

Mommy News: This mommy is learning how to "let go" just a teensy bit. And by that, I mean I'm starting to allow Lizzie to sleep in her crib for naps rather than holding her. While talking with my mom about when babies should start to fall asleep on their own, she suggested I start laying Lizzie in her crib for one nap a day so she gets used to it and being in her room. Right now, Lizzie sleeps in a bassinet next to our bed, and I tend to hold her while she naps during the day (newborns are just so sweet, how can you not!?). So even though it was ridiculously hard, I did the impossible and laid my sweet baby in her crib when she fell asleep a few afternoons ago. And although I was reluctant to leave the room, I did... and you know what? It was actually kind of nice. I cleaned the house while she rested peacefully. Granted, I was definitely in her room every five minutes to check on her, but still. I let her sleep until she woke up. And then I got to run in and look like the hero when she cried upon waking :)

As mentioned last week, I started doing yoga again and am also trying to do some more "active" things (i.e. Zumba in my living room... HA! Please don't drive down my street and peek in my windows. I'd be horribly embarrassed!) a few times a week. I'll likely go back to teaching yoga/pilates in the coming weeks, too.

Milestones: Last Saturday morning when Lizzie woke, I picked her up and said, "hello!" in that mommy-way, and she gave me a great, big, gummy grin :) Her first smile without me having to act like a fool! Unfortunately, it seems she's a tough cookie, and has been holding out on smiling much more than that. We've seen maybe one smile a day since then that we've been able to elicit... but it's coming!

She also found her hands and will suck on her fist, and sometimes her thumb :) It is so cute!

Lizzie is also getting much stronger in her neck! She can hold it up for longer, and last night she was even up on her elbows  and had her shoulders lifted, too! It was awesome. I also think she's starting to roll on purpose from her front to her back. It's amazing to watch her figure it out and take the steps she needs to roll from front to back :)