Well, we can all breath a sigh of relief as we transition away from the newborn phase! We did it– we managed to figure out how to keep you fed and happy! Over the last month you started doing so many wonderful tricks: you smile, you coo, and you can hold your head up for quite a long time!
Now that you have longer wakeful periods, I enjoy “playing” with you. I like to do tummy time together, bicycle your legs, splash you in your baby tub, and take walks in the neighborhood (it’s extra cute when Nadia pushes her baby doll stroller). We hung a mobile above the changing pad and you often coo and smile as you look up at the animals while I change your diaper. You really love the Montessori mobile hanging downstairs and will happily look at for several minutes– that’s how I take many a bathroom break or grab a snack! Just like Nadia, you are very curious about mirrors and you often have a big smile for the baby you see in the mirror. The parenting books call this phase “the looker” and that is definitely true; you are so observant! It makes me so happy to watch you take in this new world and wonder about the many memories we will make together.
I just really love the newborn phase. I love how soft your skin feels and the sheer joy of those first smiles. I know the day will come when your troubles are bigger than hunger, boredom, or tiredness, but for now I take comfort in knowing these are problems I know how to fix. I love when you sleep snuggled on top of me and hearing those noisy baby sleep sounds. Breastfeeding may be time consuming, but it also carved out time for reading novels and binge watching The Crown.
After Nadia was born, a patient at work said, “You probably wonder why people say ‘sleep like a baby’ since let’s be real, babies are up every hour crying.” I have never forgotten that! Of course you woke up basically every hour in the very beginning but now you seem to have settled into a pattern of sleeping until about midnight and then waking up a few more times until we start our day sometime around 6am-7am. Honestly, I feel like this is pretty sustainable since at least one or two of the night wakes I end up falling asleep while nursing and you just sleep next to me in bed. Co-sleeping feels like the winning parenting heck (for anyone reading I do follow the safe sleep seven rules).
So many things feel easier this time around like breastfeeding, waking up at all hours of the night, and finding ways to fill the daytime together. There’s definitely comfort in being a seasoned mom. Heck, I even remember to give you your vitamin D drops at least 75% of the time! Last week you had your first clogged tear duct. It brough back memories of when that happened with Nadia and calling the pediatrician only to find out it is normal and nothing a little tear-free shampoo can’t fix. What a relief it is to know some of these basic things; everything doesn’t turn into doom-scrolling on Google anymore.
I feel sad my maternity leave is winding down. We just have three weeks left of this wonderful babymoon. Life is about to change in a big way and I just hope our hearts are ready (and that you will decide it is acceptable to drink from a bottle).
XOXO,
Mom