4 weeks old

Well, this past week was a pretty mellow week. I find it soooo hard to actually believe we've had our precious Anna for 4 weeks now.... or that I am able to even function still with very little sleep for 4 weeks. I guess that is the grace that God gives to new mothers. As most of you who know me, know that I NEED sleep. When I get good sleep is when I thrive. In fact I'm pretty much a bear, and my intelligence starts to fade without sleep. However, God has given me a renewed sense of strength, and each day is a little bit easier... although, I would probably give up a kidney at this point to have 8 hours of sleep again. But as an Aunt told me, this too shall pass.. not soon enough, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Besides, as I realized last night, in 11 months (that's almost down to just my 2 hands to count on), we'll have a 1 year old. While each stage comes with it's own sweetness, I am definitely not ready to give up this cute cuddly stage... not even for a wonderful nights sleep. She is the joy of my heart, and I can sit and stare at her sleeping, pretty much all day with a big smile on my face. I am sooo blessed.

As far as this week goes...

We've spent more time doing tummy time this week. And, while I'm not a child expert by any means, I feel like she has really good neck muscles. She can hold her head up for quite a while, while on her tummy.

She still likes her bath nights, and tends to sleep better with bath night. Although, she has started complicating things by pooping in the tub. (Oddly, it makes Jer and I laugh.) Which means bath time takes waaaaaaaaaaay longer. Last night, she peed in the tub (and we emptied it), and then she pooped in the tub. So, 3rd time was the charm. We just decided we need to move faster when we bathe her! (And yes, we did make sure she went -as much as you can with a newborn- before we attempted a bath... but oh well. We needed a laugh.)

This week, she even did 1 night where she slept for 4 hours straight. BOY WAS THAT NICE! Crazy how my perspective has changed in 4 weeks. A couple times she also went with at least one, 3-hour stretch. So, we're making progress.

She typically will nurse every 2 hours during the day... and often at night, but some times she's going 2 1/2- 3 hours... unfortunately it's usually during the day that she wants to do those long stretches. Either way, she's a gem!

We moved her to size 1 diapers late this week. She still would fit in newborn, but they were getting a little more snug, and we happen to have a good portion of a closet full of size 1 diapers. They're not THAT big, but she does have some room to grow.

This week, when we went to lactation group Anna weighed 7 pounds 12.5 ounces. So she's definitely gaining weight, and doing well in the eating department. (What can I say, she ate good for 8 months... and she does have my DNA which says food is good, but GOOD food is AWESOME. So I'm not surprised she likes to eat.)

She's still in newborn clothes, but I did find 1 outfit that was too snug for her. Most of them she's now just "filling out," but if the pants are separate, most of them are still quite large on her...and particularly long. She apparently got my legs, and not her daddy's. (Which most people says she favors Jer, so, it's nice to know that she may have gotten something from me besides my X-chromosomes.)

Anyway, I think that's pretty much it. I need to go check my banana bread that's in the oven... and feed the princess. Soo... thanks for checking in on us.

Until next week!