Everything is slowly getting back to normal around our house after the holidays. In fact, it's very quiet around here now, as Aunt Stephie and Uncle Jon moved into their new apartment last week.
(Who put me in this box?)
So now it's just the three of us trying to figure out family life. We realized last weekend that this might be the first full week when we are on our own. Thanks to all of our family and friends who have helped out since Lauren's birth. Without your support and guidance we wouldn't be where we are today!
One thing I realized throughout the past months is that life is never predictable with a baby. Just as I thought Lauren was on a wonderful eating and sleeping schedule, everything changed last week. From Thanksgiving until the first week in January, Lauren was sleeping from 8-8 and eating every three hours during the day pretty regulary. I was rested and knew how to plan my days ahead of time. Oh, but wait, last week Lauren decided to wake up every night sometime between 3-5am and then preceeded to be awake anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours. She rarely needed anything when she woke up, just some attention, but would not fall back asleep. So after 5 days of trying to figure out what the issue was, we introduced Lauren to baby cereal on Sunday evening. I was so excited about this adventure and thought it would be lots of fun, only to find out the first cereal experience from Lauren's perspective would not go the same way. She just couldn't understand why the cereal wasn't coming fast enough. Each time I took the spoon away to put more cereal on it, she cried. Toward the end of the feeding she figured it out and calmed down a bit.
When I fed her yesterday she was much calmer and smiled during the majority of the feeding.
She is also working on rolling over. Last week she rolled from her stomach to her back numerous times and seemed to love it. When she plays on her back, she is often able to get onto one side, but can't quite get all the way over.
Lauren loves to play with her new toys. The Whoozit and Skwish from Cousin Jude have become favorites very quickly. She also loves her rattle, phone and stuffed dog named Otter from Grammie and Grandpa.
We started going on walks at the local Rec Center. Lauren rides along in the Baby Bjorn as I walk around the track. She has become quite the star, as everyone asks what her name is and how old she is. We are still working on taking naps up in her crib. She is doing much better than a few weeks ago, but is still not predictable. In fact, she is sleeping next to me on the couch right now. Lauren has pretty much mastered sucking her thumb, especially around nap time.
Another fun game we have started is riding around the house in the clothes basket. Everyone thought I was crazy when we started this game, but Lauren just loves it. There are only so many activities that work during the sub-zero temps here in Chicago. I think we will take a wagon ride around the basement this afternoon. Fun times!
