How did that 6 weeks disappear?

In the throes of week 2 of parenthood, my days were all melding together. I didn't know which way was up. And suddenly those days seem so long ago! 6 weeks have (almost-Monday is 6 weeks) passed and this week I return to work. I hate the thought of going back but I know I need to do it for now. Come September, I am hoping I'll be part time and can spend more time with my little one. Sienna now holds onto my shirt when I carry her around the house and it is something so small but it makes me melt and I am jealous that the nanny and my mom will get those moments instead of me!

She is changing SO much every day! I was walking through Babys R Us (a weekly or daily visit) and saw a little tiny infant. I asked how old she was, and the mom said 15 days. She looked half the size of Sienna. I can't believe how big she looks to me now! We started to get our first REAL smiles this past week, around 5 weeks old! We got a few in the 4 week time, but now there is no doubt she is smiling when she does it. She loves to stare at mommy and daddy (and sometimes the wall or the fan or the window still) and it is so rewarding to have an interactive smiling face greet me after our morning feeding.

We are getting in a more normal sleep pattern too. It is not by any means perfect, but we made the move from our room to her room for sleep times. She seems to sleep longer because I'm not picking her up with every noise she makes and mama and dada don't wake up to every single little grunt. We have a video monitor, so of course I wake up and peek at it all the time to make sure all is well. She is starting to sleep from the time we go to bed (around 10:00) until 2 or 3 am, and last night went back to sleep from 4 to 7:30! It was amazing, but I realize probably won't be the norm for awhile!

We love our little one and really are amazed at how much she is growing. Today I picked her up and she actually felt heavy. I weighed her (you know, weighed me first, then her with me- and prayed she didn't pee on me) and the scale told me she is almost 10 pounds! That's some major progress from the beginning days of not gaining enough weight!

We are really looking forward to continuing to enjoy Sienna growing, changing, and of course becoming more interactive with us. She is so fun, and my heart hurts that on Monday morning I will have to leave her. But I do love what I do and am lucky to have supportive coworkers. Sienna and I will both survive, I guess!

Happy Weekend! Here's some recent photos of our little love:

Sienna will now go in the Baby Bjorn!

Mornings with Mama

Morning nakey time on the bed!

"My daddy is the FUNNIEST there is!!"

Baby Days

Sienna will be one month old on Tuesday! Time is flying by but also seems like the day she was born was forever ago! It is crazy how the days meld into one, and yet are individually so different.

I'm more in love with her each day and when she gives me any sort of semblance of a smiley smirk I melt. Jamie and I are still learning more and more about her- what makes her happy, what makes her give us those little smiles (they aren't full on yet, but we are getting there), and how to get her on the best "routine" we can to make her happy. She loves bath time, walks in her stroller, trips in the car, and she even has made her way to Target, Starbucks, and Marshall's with mommy! Okay, fine, this may have been a bigger feat for mommy than Sienna!

I have only two full weeks of maternity leave left and my heart hurts about that, but luckily I have a great husband and a great mom who are both so wonderful and will be taking care of the little one those first few days back. But Sienna and I have worked out a schedule together that seems to get her to eat, sleep, and smile... and I don't want her to lose that- or her cuddle time with mommy at 2pm when both of us can't keep our eyes open and end up on the couch or bed snoozing together.

She is growing every day! She is really sweet and happy most of the time. We play during the day and she's beginning to focus on things, especially people's eyes. She also loves the sunlight and always turns her head towards it when she's on her changing table. At night time we've been having some fussy time- totally normal for babies, but I think it may be due to some tummy issues and reflux. We have our one month appointment with the pediatrician Tuesday so will ask. I don't want her to be in pain!

She has seen more and more of her family members and lately has spent some good quality time with her grandparents, she's met her great grandmas on mommy and daddy's sides, her great aunt Sue, her cousin Kimmy, and some of her Yardley family. She also has met some of mommy's AXO sorority sisters who fondly refer to themselves as aunties. She is so lucky to have so many people who love her.

We are loving having visitors now and find it much easier to navigate the whole visitings/feedings thing... And Sienna is (usually) amused by all the voices and noises. She's a trooper. We're lucky.

Back to the world of the baby! xoxo

whirlwind weeks

Sienna is over 3 weeks old now... and we are all still figuring each other out! It is a lot of just trying new things each day and seeing how she does!

I've learned that I can live on about 3-4 hours of sleep per day and still function. I've learned that some days skipping a shower is worth avoiding the screaming tears from the little one. I've learned that I can eat lunch one handed- and left handed. I've learned Jamie and I can pretty much handle anything thrown at us (even when it is 2 am and I look in the mirror and think it's a goooood thing no one else can see me in that moment. I've learned not to put Sienna down when she is still moving her arms, even if she looks sleepy because she is not. I've learned sometimes babies just cry, no matter what you do (I hate this lesson, it makes me sad when she cries!) I've learned being a mom is the hardest and best job there is. And I have become more and more and more thankful for my mom every day, both for her help with the little one but also am able to appreciate what being a mom is all about. I've learned my friends love my daughter like she's their own and that it makes my heart happy. And each day I learn a little more about my new little one. Today the lesson is this: thrush is the worst- for mama and baby- and the diaper rash that comes with it makes babies scream. ouch. google it if you don't know about it- or don't-  it's probably better not to!

The little one is taking a quick snooze now before it's time to eat again and any minute I'll hear her little squeaks and grunts and need to grab her, so off to do the laundry (because you know, this morning Sienna decided to pee on our bed- she just was trying to spice up our day here).

Sorry for the blog silence- taking care of baby is literally a 24 hour a day job! xoxo

First Walk!!!

Cuddling with my loves!