The 7-Week Skinny

Lily is 7 weeks old today and already she (and I) have changed so much. The following are some of the new things that our little pumpkin is doing these days:

• Sleeping: Lily's sleeping routine at night has pretty much remained consistent. She typically gets up twice per night for about an hour each time to eat, change, rock in the glider, and return to the bassinet. Not to say that this is always the case (like the past two nights) but that's the way it goes more often than not. However, the day routine has changed. Lily, as I suspect most newborns do, first slept and ate for the majority of the day with little time awake. Then her time awake increased, but she was pretty fussy. Now she seems to be transitioning to more time awake that is spent playing and looking around happily.
• Expressions: Lily has been a smiler from birth. Even during the first couple of weeks, she seemed to respond to people with fleeting smiles. Now there is no doubt that she is smiling in response to our interaction, and her smile is SO big, like she is absolutely overcome with happiness. She gave me one of those huge smiles this week when I went to pick her up in the morning, and it just made my day. Absolutely amazing.
• Sounds: Lily has begun to make her first sounds! It is so adorable. When we talk to her, she is totally fascinated and watches intently. Then she makes her own sounds - nothing really discernible yet - but it is so fun to hear her little coos. She also makes these sounds when she looks at the black and white photo of a baby face that is above her changing area; a very beautiful (albeit one-sided) relationship is definitely forming. Lily has also discovered a different kind of sound: screaming. Her cry thus far has been endearing, but now she has found her "you-will-feel-my-pain" cry. Still a little endearing (in small doses).
• Interests: The black and white baby photo gets top honors from Lily. Christmas tree lights, the Gymini, and her swing all run a close second. The dryer, dishwasher, and vacuum all receive honorable mentions.
• Awareness: Lily has been enjoying sucking on her hand for some time now. Recently, she discovered her thumb and has sucked on it three times now. Orthodontics, here we come!

Undoubtedly, everyone changes when they become a parent. Priorities definitely change, and you certainly have to redefine your standard for hygiene. But, here are a couple changes that I have experienced over the last 7 weeks:

• Increased confidence. Overall, I was fairly confident that I could become a mom and have fun in the process, but there were a few things that scared me. The main fears were: childbirth itself, breastfeeding, and cloth diapering. I wasn't sure how I was going to handle these things, but I've found that I survived childbirth, I'm tolerating breastfeeding, and loving cloth diapering. Who knew?!
• A greater appreciation of infants. I have to admit that I was not a "baby person" before Lily was born. I love children, but my main interest was in the 3-5 year-olds. I have much more knowledge and experience with this age group which probably contributes to my fascination and love of preschoolers. However, Lily has turned over a new leaf for me and has shown me how much fun infants can be. Now I find myself looking at all the babies whenever we are out - watching what they are doing, wondering how old they are, and what sorts of things Lily will be doing at their age.

So that's the 7-week wrap-up, for better or worse.

It seems like so many people in our lives have young children and even more are on the way. I thought that I would share some of their pictures with everyone. Boy, do we know some gorgeous children!