2 Weeks Old and Reflections

Avery is 2 weeks old and is already changing so much. After I feed her, we talk, sing, kiss, and cuddle and sometimes I can get her to laugh and give me a really big smile. I promise I am not lying about the tiny laugh. She loves her time with Daddy in the afternoons too. Levi loves to cuddle with her and read all the latest about Auburn football to her. She is so bright eyed lately. She sometimes sucks on her thumb when mama is trying to get ready to feed her and when she is content, she folds her hands together and lays them on her chest. She can sleep on both her side and her back. We love her more than we ever thought we could!

We went for our final lactation check up on Tuesday and she was back to her birth weight which was 6 lb. 10 oz. When we were discharged from the hospital she weighed 6. 5 and at our first check up 4 days later she weighed 6.3, so she did really well putting her weight back on!

Levi went back to work this past Monday and we are both tired from our first week of "real life." Thankfully, we have great friends and family who have been providing us with meals these first few weeks. I am not pushing myself to be super woman. I get up each day with a list of goals to accomplish in my mind and try to complete as many as possible. But if I don't get to a few, that is ok and I don't worry about it. Levi is a huge help. When he gets home, he goes on diaper duty and at night he changes her before and after I feed her, then puts her back to bed. We are definitely a team :)

Avery is truly a joy. I know I have said this before, but it is 100% true. She eats, looks around and smiles for a little while, naps and then starts the process all over again about 6 times a day. Her last feeding ends around 9:45 and then she goes down until about 2:15 and after I feed her, she doesn't wake back up till about 6:15. What a blessing! One piece of parenting that is absolutely amazing is the number of diapers you go through in a day. The best is when you change one and not two seconds later it needs to be changed again!

The first week we were home was really tough on me emotionally. The Baby Blues is a true term, and I have felt comforted by many moms who tell me they experienced the same feelings. It was really strange to be so happy and sad at the same time. I could think about anything...the birth, the pregnancy, our marriage, the future, the past, and I would start tearing up. Your hormones are just so crazy and everything transitions really fast, so much faster than you prepared yourself for. It was hard for me to deal with not being pregnant any more. No more weekly drs. appointments, no more updating people on when she would be here, no more feeling her move inside of me...but I focused on how much in those last couple of days we wanted her here and longed to meet her. Levi and my family were awesome in supporting and taking care of me.

Now, I am happy to report that I am feeling much better and almost back to normal. I was actually able to get through an episode of baby story without crying yesterday and today! It definitely feels like she is part of the family now and we are working to treasure every second of her being tiny. There again, it makes me so sad and happy at the same time to think about her growing up...

I am off to get ready for our date night. Mom is keeping Avery tonight so Levi and I can have some us time. Gotta keep the love flame burning!!!