Adjusting

Norah is 12 days old today, and we are all settling into a groove at home as we approach two weeks as her parents.  It's hard to believe how much can change in just 12 days, and how someone so tiny can hold so much of your heart.  I feel like she's already changing so fast, and I want to capture the nuances of her features every day so that I never forget them, but I know no matter how hard I try, some of these details will still probably fade over time.  We had newborn photos taken when she was 8 days old, and I can't believe it but I think she already looks bigger and older since then!

Here's the link to the full gallery of photos, too: http://lmd-photography.smugmug.com/Other/Norah-Newborn/16917397_LgSrP5#1278522283_Mtmsvg5

Daddy loves her so much...

My little coccoon

Tiny fingers

Sweet sleeping angel

Cradled in my hands

We got lucky that we got this shot on the white chair...and she saved the explosion for the next shot!

Daddy took one for the team! 

Sweet little pink baby

She has been such a good baby and we are really lucky that everything seems to be going smoothly at this point.  She's healthy, she's nursing like a champ, and I think she's gained back the weight she lost after birth and then some! She's not really chunky, but she's so long! I love when she stretches out her legs and curls her toes when she's waking up - gives me a glimpse of ballet classes in our future ;) She generally gives us at least a 2-3 hour stretch of sleep in between feedings and waking at night, and even though it's an adjustment to get our sleep in chunks instead of one long stretch we're really doing OK.  She isn't very fussy, other than her "witching hour" which seems to be from about 9:30-11:00 PM or so, and it's funny because that's totally the time of night she would get very active when I was pregnant.  We'd lay down for bed and she'd start kicking and moving and tumbling...guess girlfriend is still on the same schedule!

My recovery is going very well, also.  I'm still tired, but at this point I think it's just par for the course with a newborn, rather than compounded by blood-loss induced fatigue.  I'm sure there's still a component of that lingering and it will take a while for me to regain my full strength and color, but really overall I feel about as good as I would have anticipated following a normal delivery at 2 weeks post-partum.  I think I'm bouncing back to my normal weight and shape at a reasonable pace, although I'd certainly like it to speed up a little bit! The stretch marks are pretty wicked, but I'm told they will fade so I will just have to trust that they will.  By lower belly is pretty pouchy and resembles a lump of bread dough at the moment, but I'm also told that will get better too! But really, what matters most is that I'm well, Norah's healthy, and we're home enjoying each other, and I can't ask for a whole lot more than that.

It's sunny and mild outside, and leaves and plants have finally caught up with the season.  I'm hoping to get out and walk with her today and enjoy the sunshine and warmer temps.  We discovered that she likes being carried in the Moby wrap the other day, so that's good! She's like a little papoose all cozied up in there - we will have to get some pics if we venture out this weekend.

Matt and I are so grateful for all the support, love, and well wishes we've received from friends, family and coworkers.  I know we haven't had a chance to thank you all personally or even catch up individually by phone yet, but we are always thinking of you and your support really does help us get through these early days as parents.  We are just trying to cherish the moments because if there is one thing we've heard at least 100 times since she was born, it's "Just enjoy her now...it goes so fast" and as cliche as it sounded before she was born, people are right.  So, that's what we're up to - enjoying our precious new teeny and soaking up her littleness as much as we can.