Yes, almost an entire month has gone by since our last update and there is so much to report! It's amazing how much Melody has changed in just a few short weeks...I can't wait to see what she's going to do next. Her mellow yet lively personality is starting to come out and we love trying to catch her gaze to make her smile. I never knew how incredible it would feel to have this tiny little baby gaze into my eyes and just light up from the sound of my voice. She is most alert and active right after our daytime nursing feeds...assuming she has had her fill! Melody is definitely a growin girl and starting to get nice little baby rolls to go along with her cute chubby cheeks. Her cheeks are her most popular feature and usually the first thing for people to comment on! Here are some highlights over the past few weeks:
1. Sleeping Beauty - thankfully Melody takes after her mommy when it comes to sleep. We started putting her down at night in her crib around 4 weeks and by 6 weeks old she started sleeping "through the night". I put that in quotes because I still don't exactly know what "through the night" constitutes...all I know is that she started sleeping for roughly 8 hr stretches when we put her to bed, wakes up to feed around 5-6am and then back to sleep for another 2-3 hrs. I swear this has been the best gift for me because I was not functioning like a normal person waking up every 3-4 hrs the first month and a half. We are still working on establishing a solid nap routine, but for now I am more than excited about her sleeping habits!
2. "My hands are yummy!" - Melody has always taken to the paci, but in the past two weeks she has really started to take a liking to her hands! She makes the loudest sucking noises when she tries to put the whole thing in her mouth...this new hobby can entertain all of us for quite some time.
3. Cooing and Laughing - these wonderful sound come out from time to time when Melody is in a really playful mood. The noises she makes just melt my heart! Melody is just all smiles :)
sitting in her favorite spot laughing with "great" grandmother
Melody was excited about her first Valentine's Day!!
Overall Melody is such a good little baby (i know I'm totally biased) and we are having so much fun watching her grow. She's in 0-3 month clothing now and will be weighed again next week at her 2 month appt. I'm guessing she's probably up to 11 or 12 lbs by now.
As for myself, I am doing so much better now that I'm getting more sleep at night and am able to work out again! I try to take Melody and Bentley out for daily walks, especially with this gorgeous weather we're having and have even tried jogging a few times! It's amazing how out of shape I've become and really want to try to be healthier this year (which means I've really got to do something about this sweet tooth of mine). As much as I wish I could stay home with Melody all day, I've had to start looking for part-time work and am trying to find something by the end of March.
Ryan is a wonderful dad and gets to spend every Wednesday night taking care of Melody while I am out at small group. I love that they can have some one-on-one daddy/daughter time since I take care of her all day. I have a feeling she's gonna have him wrapped around her little finger in no time! Ryan also turned 30 this past week and we were able to drop Melody off with some good friends to enjoy our first date night since she was born. We had a great time grabbing drinks and food down on 6th street...something we haven't done in a very long time! I'm already looking forward to our next date night :)
definitely a Daddy's girl :)
Happy Birthday baby! (my first homemade carrot cake)
