Well the last time I wrote she had just had her two week checkup. Obviously, at 3.5 weeks no major milestones have been crossed as of yet, but Tula definitely changes every day. There are a few smiles here and there as she drifts off to sleep, but I have no photographic evidence of this ever happening and they are so rare it's tough to catch them in a picture. But they are beautiful and it's those little moments that a new Mommy lives for. Sometimes when I am rocking her to sleep and she starts doing her little smiles I consider reaching for the camera, but I can't seem to take my eyes off of her face for the moment it would take to do so. Before I know it, she is off into a deep sleep and the smiles are no longer. I will try and get a picture for you all, it really is such a beautiful thing. I imagine she is having wonderful dreams, but from what I have read they are really just gassy facial expressions. :( At 3.5 weeks, her first "real" smiles are right around the corner and I cannot wait.
Oh, last night she lost her umbilical cord! That was exciting, considering we were told it would be gone by two weeks and at over 3 weeks it still seemed to be on strong. Then last night when I was putting alcohol on it, we realized it was hanging on by just a little bit. John played with it a little and it just popped off. It was still a little slimy looking under there so she had her usual sponge bath last night, maybe tonight we will give her her first real bath. I can't wait, she seems to enjoy the sponge bath now so I imagine being able to actually sit in a little bit of the water will make her very happy.
We seem to be getting the whole bedtime routine down, and it is paying off for all of us in sleep hours. Daddy gives her a bath and Mommy gives a little massage. She loves her feet and back rubs, just like me! She just lays there so calm. I dress her and John has a little snuggle and then I feed her and we all go to sleep. She is sleeping between 3 and 4 hour stretches, but doing 3 of them in a row. So if we go to bed at 10 she gets up around 1ish and then again around 5 ish and up for the day around 10 am. We are both getting lots of sleep which makes me so happy. I had heard sleep deprivation was one of the hardest parts and I haven't had to experience much of that yet, knock on wood. Tula really is a good baby.
So I guess at 3 weeks this is a noted "growth spurt" time and that seems to be the case here. I have noticed for the last few days she is sleeping more and eating much more. Some of her newborn clothes are getting a little snug. The onesies she was wearing in the hospital I don't think we would stand a chance of putting her in those again. She has her 4 week checkup on Thursday and I can't wait to see how much weight she has gained, I am guessing she is well over 8 pounds at this point. I am starting to understand all the parents who warned me about how "they grow so fast". This 3 weeks has flown by and I sometimes look at her and cannot believe how much she had grown. I get all teary eyed looking at pictures of her the first week thinking how tiny she was. And it seems like just yesterday. But I think I do a good job of reminding myself that these are the moments I will cherish for the rest of my life, and to take it all in. What more can you do? I already find myself saying, "I wish I had a video of this," or "I wish I would have journaled that." But when these beautiful moments are happening you are too mesmerized by the little one to pull yourself away. And when the beautiful moments aren't happening, you are to sleepy to write about them, lol. Anyways, as you can tell, I am on cloud nine right now and loving being a mom. She keeps me busy all day but I love every second of it.
So that's whats new in Tula's life, and ours is just as ever changing. For those of you who don't know, John officially quit his job last week and will be done at the end of the July. We have our flights to Canada booked for Aug. 6th, we are flying from JFK to Kamloops and will spend a week or so with my family at the lakehouse in BC, then we will all head back to Calgary together. I think my Mom is having some sort of a meet the baby event in mid August for all my family and friends, and I just can't wait to see everyone and for them all to meet Tula. It has been 10 months since I have been home, and it's getting harder and harder to be away as the days go on. I don't think I will EVER go this long in between visits again. We are both really looking forward to the trip, John can't wait to be done work and spend some time with us, I can't wait to have him around all day for a few weeks. He works so hard and really deserves this break, I feel so blessed that he is going to be able to take this time to be with his family and just relax. I have never been there but hear the lake house is beautiful and very relaxing, which is exactly what we both need right now. I can't wait for vacation and to be home! I have been patient long enough!
After our trip to Canada we are heading straight home and I am proud to say that by home I mean Arizona! Finally! Tickets aren't booked yet but sometime near the mid to end of August we will make our way out there and I am even more excited about that. I can't wait to set up Tula's nursery and the rest of the house. We will be very busy for a while but it's all fun jobs so we definitely aren't complaining. Looking forward to getting moved and settled and waiting for you all to come and visit us!!!!
As excited as we both are right now for all the great things ahead, we are both dreading having to say our goodbyes to everyone here. We know we will be missed, and that we will also be missing everyone like crazy. John was born and raised in the area and has a very tight knit family, which I have seen in my last two years living here as well. We are so used to seeing so many people everyday, it will be a huge adjustment not to have them all a part of our daily lives. I guess it's all a part of life and growing up, but it sure is not an easy part. We are going to really just enjoy our last couple weeks here, and have been spending lots of time out on the patio enjoying the weather and conversation with family. This really is a beautiful area of the country, I have been lucky to spend the last two years here.
Well I hear a pip-squeak squirming. She does this funny thing when she is waking up where she does like 12 different stretches and makes the most miserable face like they hurt. She grunts and moans the falls back asleep. It's quite amusing till she actually wakes which you know when she pretty much lets out a giant scream. I don't like waking up either, but this kid takes it to the next level. She pretty much permanently wakes up on the "wrong side of the bed", though it never seems to be much more than what a snuggle from Mom can fix. Such a great feeling.
Hope you are all happy and well, thanks so much for following Tula's blog and keeping so interested. I had no idea she would be getting this many readers! My baby is quite a star already! Well at least we think so.....
Here's a pic of her with her "new" bellybutton.....she was fresh out of the tub and not wanting to be photographed! Enjoy!
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