Three Weeks

Well, we've survived.  And Nora is thriving.  She's gaining weight (now tipping the scales at 7 lbs) and is generally a happy baby.  She's already preparing for her college days by sleeping during the day and partying at night.  I'm pretty sure she gets that from her father.  Some nights she sleeps in 3 hour stretches, but others she's down for only about an hour or so.  Who knew that I would be thrilled about sleeping for 3 hours at a time?  Last night - when we were up at o-dark-thirty and she had been eating (and grunting and fussing) for a good hour - she made a noise that sounded like a laugh and smiled at me.  Even at 3 weeks, she is already mocking her mother (I am sure she was thinking, "Hahahaha, I can make you get up whenever I please.  Who's the boss now?"). 

Despite her late-night ways, we are really loving this time with our sweet girl.  Marc has been able to be home since she was born.  I'm not sure what I would have done without him here.  He's become a pro at changing diapers and even kept Nora all by himself this weekend while I made a quick trip to Mountain Brook Market Day.  Of course, we haven't managed all on our own.  Sugie (Trish) has come to stay a couple of times and has been a lifesaver.  She's cleaned our house, done laundry, cooked meals, and helped with Nora.  We started calling her Minnie from the movie The Help - although, luckily, she hasn't made a "chocolate" pie yet.

We've started venturing out more, which requires a lot more effort than it did pre-baby, but it is so nice to get out of the house.  We've gone on walks in the neighborhood, breakfast with Lenzi, lunch and shopping with Aunt Momo, and a pool party at Uncle D's.  Nora is quite the social butterfly:

Out to breakfast with Lenzi

And, after a long afternoon/evening with an unhappy baby, mama needed a little indulgence:

 

Yay, Mama!