Mommy to a 5-week Old

Isn't there a song about catching time in a bottle? I am pretty sure it's a song from the 70's, so I had always dismissed it as some weird concept that mystified potheads. Turns out, I was wrong--dead wrong. Time has never gone faster or been as sweet as these past five weeks watching Dia grow. That's right--five weeks. Our girl is five weeks today and I just have to stop and document.

First of all, I am writing this while standing at our kitchen bar. Our little D is safely cocooned in her beautiful mei tei wrap, softly and steadily breathing as she sleeps against my chest. I don't want to sit down because I know how comfortable she is! So I am counting this towards a workout and remaining upright, rocking back and forth as I type.

Outings
The first two weeks of fortressing up in home was amazing. That was probably the closest to bottling time as it gets. Rory was home for a solid week and guests would come visit us usually where we were holed up in bed as a family. It was a time like no other that I will treasure forever. But after about two weeks, I was ready to visit the outside world. We hit up Whole Foods (and called and invited the whole family, of course!) for lunch and had a great time. We were just learning to be in the world and yet with our babe and it was an entirely new experience. It was then I learned that I will probably never ever fully hear the words someone else is saying to me again! My ears, from now on out, are always innately tuned to listen first and foremost for my baby. It makes for a lot of, "I am sorry, what was that?" So deepest apologies to friends and family! I do love you. :)

We have since been to Whole Foods a few more times as well as our first attempt at going to church. We arrived a good thirty minutes after service had started (freeway closures and bad timing on our part!) and once we arrived, our crying baby was relieved that we finally paid attention to her as she had been sitting in quite the mess in her car seat! Poor thing! So we then took some time to clean her and her carseat off and comfort her and put her in the mei tei. By the time we got into the service, we heard the pastor thank everyone for coming and bless them on their way out, lol! But we still got to see some friends and hey, we did make it to church! We counted it a huge success and will probably even go again.

The big accomplishment of the last two weeks, however, was Dia and me leaving the house just the two of us! (Well, that and me getting to eat breakfast before 3pm--that happened Monday and it's been our new thing all week! It's actually made me realize how much she is growing now because I can just sit her in the bouncy and she will look around while I prepare my food and brush my teeth--at the kitchen sink, of course!) We were both pretty excited to be picking Grandma up and heading for the Farmer's Market. I didn't even have my regular produce list--I was mostly going just to go and see how it went. Well, it was one of the best days ever!

First of all, Grandmas are the best people on earth. They innately "get" what my mama mind is already focused on and their sole purpose is to help! Lord bless my mother because she has empowered me and blessed us so much. Being able to be late and then stop myriad times to feed and change her is an amazing feeling. We got some great produce and this was actually when we first found the mei tei wrap that Grandma bought for us. (And as you can tell from this post, we love it! Use it ALL THE TIME!) The other great thing about Grandmas is their unparalleled generosity. She didn't hesitate to pick it up for us (not to mention a pair of earrings for me!) and we are soo grateful! We ended up walking all around Town and Country and finally sat down outside near a violinist and spent a good few hours talking and feeding Dia. It was a glorious day! (Grandma also watched D while I got my eyebrows waxed! It felt good to look like a girl again!) The sad news, however, is that I forgot the camera. I am still learning all the things a mom needs on outings!

We have decided to make the Wednesday market a weekly thing, but Grandma couldn't make it this week. While we were super sad to miss Grandma time, Stephanie, Aravis and Judah were able to go so we had a great time with them! I wore the mei tei, of course, and we enjoyed the cool weather outside and then went for lunch and a stop at Wildflower Diapers. And, we learned that three car seats will in fact fit in the back of a Toyota Corolla! We were one super fun car, let me tell you! Overall, it was a wonderful day.


Last Friday was a special day for us--Dia was one month! We planned a little family dinner at Pita Jungle and while we loved the atmosphere and food, it was a bit much for D. She ended up spending most of the night nursing or at least cuddled against me--which I definitely did not complain about! We all went and sat outside afterward and she fell asleep laying against my chest--her favorite and safest place to be these days.


We also made it a point to hit up a little local pumpkin "patch" downtown. It was 100 degrees, though, so we didn't stay long. It's wonderful to make these little memories with her. We had a great time even with the heat and plan on carving a big D pumpkin for our little one.


Growth and Development
Well, it's a fact. Our girl is a hand talker! Rory and I were just watching her this morning and remembering how we could see her wave her little hand in the ultrasound--the exact thing she still does all the time. She "talked" in her sleep the very first night we had her and she has been super "talkative" ever since. Her cooing has changed so much already though and you can tell that she is responding to us more and more. This morning for instance, she would open her mouth as wide it would go and her whole face would light up while Rory was playing with her. I tried peek-a-boo with her yesterday, but when Rory did it today she totally got it! She even loooked around for him when he would duck his head under the covers. It was amazing--our whole world stopped to watch her enjoy her Daddy! She even did her little coo laugh when he would say her name! She apparently is very fond of the name India!

She is also a very very good eater! I had been a little worried about breastfeeding before I had her, thinking it would turn "my" body into some kind of utilitarian communal trough, lol. It has turned out to be, however, my favorite thing to do in the world. It's beautiful, soft, bonding and amazingly natural. I love being able to soothe her when she's upset and feed her on a whim. It is something special that I will treasure forever.

Oh man, I have so much to write and say. I literally have been in awe for five weeks now--counting every moment with her a true treasure. Hopefully we will get better with the camera and I'll have more pictures and videos to post soon. This little one is amazing and has wonderful things in store. She's growing fast but like a butterfly, it isn't something you'd ever really want to hold captive. So I'll leave the 70's lyrical ideals in history and just enjoy this beautiful transformation as it unfolds before me.