Getting to know you...

You've just fallen asleep again after a delightful wake period, during which mommy held you as she sat on her chaise lounge/temporary bed, tickling your nose, cheeks, and chin and watching your face as it ran the gamut of all her favorite sweet expressions. This was preceded by one of the grossest diaper changes Mommy has experienced during your one week of life in this big world. Not to worry, though- I know there are more to come which will be far messier and it will be my pleasure to take care of them. And yes, there will be more impromptu sponge baths and complete changes of all the clothing that both of us are wearing, you sweet little stinker!

It's been a good week. You are starting to regulate your days and nights and learning to count on those 3-hour feedings, sometimes waking up just in time for another one. The first couple of nights were a little tough on Mommy, who has become more nocturnal than ever, but Moozie and Granny have been here like clockwork within an hour of your 7 o'clock feeding, at which point Mommy got to sleep for a few hours or at least sit down with her feet up for an extended period of time. Aunt Lori and Granny have filled the refrigerator with delicious meals of chicken spaghetti, pot roast, and taco soup so Mommy hasn't had to lift a finger in the kitchen beyond sterilizing and filling your bottles. Several people thought Mommy was crazy to go to Target with Moozie when she got home from the hospital on Saturday, but she's very glad she did because she has used the items she purchased (microwave steam sterilizer, hamper, plastic drawer tower, lap pads, and a few flannel receiving blankets) a great deal! Mommy's not supposed to be climbing stairs too much until she recovers completely from her C-section, so we set up a makeshift nursery for you in the living room with the Pack n Play, Diaper Champ, plastic drawers, and hamper. It's a great system that should suit us all prefectly until Mommy gets the okay for carrying you upstairs to your room. Mommy has been nesting and organizing like crazy, doing at least 2 loads of laundry every day and trying to cull through the massive number of catalogs, magazines, and papers that have accumulated since bringing you home. Daddy likes it that Mommy is finally nesting, he was beginning to wonder if that stage was ever going to kick in!

Here are a few things we've learned about you so far:

• You're a wiggler! You've already got a lot of neck muscle strength, apparently, because you squirm around a lot when we try to burp you on our shoulders, often ending up under our chins or directly onto our face! Not a problem, just gives us more chances to kiss those soft cheeks.
• You're not a big fan of being swaddled, and we've decided not to fight you on it. After all, you look so cute sleeping 'spread eagle.'
• You've also been known to sleep on your side like Mommy, so we tuck a rolled-up blanket beside your tummy to keep you safe and warm.
• Your hair so far is a pretty auburn color and as soft as spun silk. Both Mommy and Daddy had reddish hair when they were born.
• You prefer your fingers/thumbs/fists to a binky (pacifier) This is where you're more like Daddy, who says he sucked his fingers until he was 5 or 6. Mommy, on the other hand, dared not move a muscle unless she had at least three binkys on the fingers of each hand.
• Don't try to keep you awake when it's naptime! The photographer came on Friday just as you'd finished your 1:00 feeding and you were ready to crash again but we kept messing with you to get you posed just right, which made you pretty grumpy. We eventually got you to calm down and she was able to capture some good shots, thankfully, but it wasn't too long before you decided there would be no more calm, sleeping baby pictures that day!

Time to close with some more pictures!