Reflections from a New Mom

As I sit here gazing at my beautiful daughter as she sleeps in her little lamb swing, I am amazed by so many things. I am truly overwhelmed by the amount of love that I feel and find myself having a hard time remembering what life was like before she was here. In an instant we went from a couple to a family and I went from a carefree working woman to a worrying and loving mother. I so hope that I am doing everything right, that she knows how much we love her and that I continue to grow with her as a person and a mother.

It is so hard to believe that a mere three weeks ago, she was inside of me. Now that little being that I felt moving, kicking, and hiccuping inside of me, is now here and doing all of these things on the outside. Every single day I am amazed by how much she changes and by how much she seems to be learning, growing and absorbing in the world around her. You can almost see her processing things as she looks at the lights around the room, gazes at my face and stretches her legs out.

At three weeks she has a few favorite things, some surprising behaviors and is already arming her mom with some embarrassing stories for when she is older. Her favorite things to do right now are to stare at anything patterned or any types of light. She spends hours looking at the patterns on the couch, gazing out the window and following the recessed lights in the ceiling as we walk the halls. Some of her surprising moves are that she is already tracking both my face as I come in front of her and also will follow a flashlight or cellphone light. I am so looking forward to sharing some of her other more embarrassing talents. I think one of the things that has shocked me with my little one is her bodily functions! I find it hard to imagine that such frat boy burps and old man farts can come from my precious little girl - they are LOUD! And I don't think she really likes it too much either since she seems to fuss anytime she has to go to the bathroom or have any sort of bodily function. It is too cute and also very hilarious, but at least we have fair warning as to what she is up to. I am hopeful that maybe since she hates going to the bathroom and sitting in her diapers, that she will be easy to potty train down the road.

We have already had so many firsts for Elena. First walk and first snowfall (hey it didn't stick, but we do live in Chicago after all). She also did a great job on her first road trip up to Grandma's house. She really seems to love the car and enjoyed looking out the back window as we traveled to and from Mequon. She had her first bath and absolutely loves the water, and being naked, which already has her father worried about when she gets older! Her first pediatrician appointments have gone well and she was 7 lbs at her 3 day appt and 8 lbs 2 oz and 21 in at her two week appt. She got her first shot and she survived, although I definitely think it was likely more traumatic on me than it was on her. Overall, the first three weeks have flown by and I only hope that I can savor all the memories of the weeks and years to come.