Nana & Papa's Visit

This week Brett's parents have been visiting from Texas. Leah has been spoiled rotten. (And so have I-- Mom doesn't mind getting up at 5 to feed her in order to give me a little extra sleep.) We haven't done a whole lot of exciting things, but it is nice to have some company and some extra help with the baby.

I got out for a couple hours yesterday for the first time without the baby while Mom & Dad watched Leah (although she slept the whole time!). I've heard so many new mothers talk about how hard it was to leave their baby for the first time. But I really didn't have a hard time. Maybe it was because I knew she was in good hands, but really I felt a little detached. Don't get me wrong, that moment when this squirmy, slimy human came out of me & was placed on my stomach in the hospital will forever be engrained in my mind-- it isn't something I could forget, and I know if something were to happen to Leah, I would be devastated, but really, I don't feel as attached as I think I could. I still don't really feel like a mother. But what is a mother supposed to feel like? I still can't believe this tiny helpless creature is completely and totally dependent upon me for her every need. And she's going to be a permanent part of my life. She will be in my thoughts, if not my presence, every day for the rest of my life. That's a difficult concept that I'm still working through. But I think my outing got me started thinking about God's relationship with His children and His unconditional love for me.

Leah is 3 weeks old today. Time really is going by fast. And I'm really starting to love having her around. She's still not on a regular schedule, but she's at least starting to understand day vs. night. This week she's been awake for about 2-3 hours in the morning after her first feeding (although this could be because there's someone here to hold her & spoil her). Then she'll take a good long afternoon nap. In the evenings she'll wake up usually around 1a.m. and then around 4, and usually, as long as I keep the lights low & no noises, she'll go right back to sleep. She does get a little fussy when you first lay her down, but she can usually work out her gas and then go to sleep on her own.

She still rarely cries. She's working really hard on keeping her head up. She is a very curious little girl and loves to look around at things, even if she can't really focus on much at this point. She sleeps well in the car seat and can stay asleep through church services or other outings, even if it's really noisy. She loves her hands and chews on them whenver she gets a chance. She's a very noisy eater and often bangs her head around when you try to burp her until she gets more food. She's also a snuggler. She's quietest when she's in someone's arms. Next week I'll have to get out my front carrier to put her in if I want to get anything done!