I Love This Girl

6 Weeks!

The past month and a half has absolutely flown by. Everyone says that the first 6 weeks is simply about surviving - we've survived, and I think we've done quite well.

Some of her milestones:
Avery started smiling at 3 1/2 weeks, but only at her Granddaddy.
At 4 weeks, she was smiling at the rest of us.
On Mother's Day, she tracked people for the first time, turning her head to follow them when they walked past her.
She's starting to coo and talk to us in the past week.

Our milestones as parents:
We've mastered cloth diapering, and it's really not that much extra work.
We're faster at diapering, getting them on before she pees everywhere.
I've mastered advanced nursing holds, where I can get up and answer the door (only did that for my mother, not the mailman!) or answer the phone while keeping her latched on. Hurray!
We successfully made a 2 hour car trip to Houston, twice, with Avery, without hyperventilating (okay, I might have a little bit the first time, but those drivers out there are reckless!)
We're functioning on tiny bits of sleep - perhaps we aren't always presentable in dress or smell, but we're up and moving.

Some new favorite photos from the past few weeks:

Her first week at home - how precious is that grin?

Me, Gramma, Avery, Mom

This is what having a newborn does to new dads - allows them to sleep anywhere, even on hardwood floors.

My friend Kathryn flew down from Chicago to meet her.

Luke was sick last week, so he was minimizing contact with Avery. I have a video below of this. He was trying to put her paci back in her mouth.

First tummy time

This is how she looked after the ordeal of our car getting towed, lugging her around in 90 degrees trying to find a bus to get home, then finally being rescued by a friend. She never woke up.

This morning - she's getting so big!

Mothering

(pic from Easter Sunday)

I celebrated my first Mother's Day this year. I look back over the past 6 weeks and see how much I have changed and adapted to this new role I play. I have gone without sleep. I have eaten many a cold meal by myself because Avery wanted to eat then too. I have rocked and nursed and talked and cuddled and cried my daughter to sleep, praying she'd stop crying, wishing I could make it better for her. I have sat by myself nursing while the rest of the extended family enjoys visiting in the next room. I have rejoiced over her first smile, how strong she is and how well she holds her head up already. I have marveled at her newfound ability to track objects. My heart melts when I look at her sweet face when she's sleeping. I love to cuddle with her in the early mornings when she comes to bed with me. Her squeaks and grunts and sighs make me laugh.

My mother celebrated her 25th Mother's Day this year. She dealt with the stress that three babies can bring. She has become a pro at all things newborn. She has taken us to soccer games, orchestra rehearsals, school trips, girl scout meetings, youth group. She sacrificed her time so that we could have a fun childhood. She put her own desires aside to make sure that we never wanted for anything. She worked full time and went to school to finish her degree while raising three girls on her own. My mother sat up at night when we were in high school, to make sure we made it home okay. She risked making us hate her forever by not letting us go to that party or out with that boy. She challenged us, making us think through our actions; she made us work for what we wanted, rather than just giving it to us. And now she is my role model for what a mother should be. I hope that I can be as great of a mom to Avery as my mom is to me.