At a mere seven weeks and four days old, our little Riley rolled over from her belly to her back, much to her surprise! Usually in the mornings when she wakes up, I bring her out to the living room floor mat and we do stretching and some tummy time because she's fairly content and relaxed and quite playful. This morning, we were moving slowly, so Tay was also awake and Tita Beth had already arrived at the house. I placed her on her tummy on the mat to see if she'd reach for some toys we had set in front of her, and after doing a little mini-push-up and holding her head and shoulders up a while, she suddenly rolled onto her back going to the right. She looked so surprised and we were all so surprised that we yelped with joy and laughter (which I'm sure startled the little one even more). Anyhow, we wanted to see if it was just a mistake, so I placed her once again on her belly, and less than two seconds later, there she went, rolling immediately to her right and startling herself again and flailing on her back. :) We decided to let her try again, so she went on her tummy again, and with a few more grunts this time, she flipped herself right over onto her back once again. YAY! :) Perhaps tomorrow morning, I can get it on video...
I feel awful that this is my first posting on Riley since she has been born, but life is much more hectic with two little girls to entertain than it was with one. As for milestones, the rolling over one is probably the first really big milestone for her, but she has already passed many of the smaller ones. She has been lifting her head when lying on her tummy since birth, almost...whenever I'd put her on my stomach as I lay on my back, she'd lift her head to look at my face. She studies faces like they are the most interesting things on Earth...especially new faces. She always turns toward the sound of her big sister...:) She smiles and coos a lot in the morning and after every nap when she's at her happiest. She chuckls in her sleep...which I personally find hilarious...when she's dreaming, you can actually hear her go "hm-hm-hm-hm-hm" with a huge smile on her face. She hasn't actually done that awake yet, but I think she's going to have a great sense of humor much like her big sister. Around five weeks, she noticed her hand for the first time and stared at it for a while before hitting herself in the eye with it. Then, she didn't know what to do, so she got all upset and made sad faces until I picked her up. Earlier this week, I had laid her in her little floor mat gym and she stared intently at the hanging toys for a while with her hands by her side, then suddenly, she swung her right hand up and batted one of the toys! When she did that, her eyes got really big and both her arms and legs started flailing, but she didn't do much more coordinated hitting after that...mostly accidental batting, I think. She smiles a lot at any face that's smiling at her, including stuffed animals and dolls.
I have a feeling she's going to be as talkative as her big sister because she'll gurgle and coo at anyone who's talking to her, but especially her big sister. She really enjoys the interaction and will spend quite a long time just lying on the mat as long as someone is talking to her and listening to her. She's generally a very happy baby and also a very good sleeper. Her hardest time is between 6 and 8pm when she's most cranky. Our nightly routine now is she gets a bath while her big sister is getting a bath, then a nice little massage and swaddling, nursing, then put down for sleep...usually by 7:30. Then she'll sleep until three or four in the morning! Last night, she slept until 5:15 in the morning and woke up STARVING! :) She's been doing that for a couple weeks now already...it makes my life so much easier. :) If by chance she doesn't get a bath, though, she definitely wakes up many more times in the night. I think the bath relaxes her and she sleeps so much better. Her big sister was much like that as well, and I had a good sleeper until around 4 months when she started waking up more frequently in the middle of the night...I attribute it to a growth spurt...perhaps it will be the same with this one, too.
Speaking of growth, Riley's growing like a weed! Her birth weight was 3.47 kgs (7lbs, 10oz), her one week weight was 3.85 kgs (8lbs, 8oz), and her one month weight was 5.2 kgs (11lbs, 7oz)! I have her two-month appointment scheduled for the 18th, so we'll see how much she weighs then, and perhaps they'll do a length measurement, too. She looks fairly long now, as opposed to when she was first born and she was just this tiny, curled-up bundle. I'm thankful that I am able to breastfeed and that it is plenty for my little one because it is just so much easier than having to prepare and warm bottles and such, but I must admit, pumping is not my favorite thing in the world...
Going back to work full time in a short six weeks after delivery has been a rough adjustment. Work has been very lenient with my pumping and feeding schedule, so I am able to go home at lunch time every day and pump twice/three times a day. I don't really like having to pump in the bathroom - it's quite chilly and not the most comfortable environment - but luckily, my milk lets down pretty quickly and my quantity is going up since I nurse on demand when I'm home, so the routine is getting easier. I think the first week back, I had some major tension headaches because of the stress of coming back to work and getting back into the swing of things while having to leave my little baby at home. Luckily, the baby is not with a stranger and I know she's very well taken care of, so that part was a little easier than I thought it would be.
I can't complain about how things are going right now because it is only getting easier. The girls are doing very well and are generally quite happy the way things are. I'm getting accustomed to being at work again, although it's hard to focus on work when all I can think about are my babies back home. I look forward to the holidays this year as a family of four...although it would be nice to be able to spend them with our extended family back in the States.
How thankful I am for the life I lead...I truly cannot ask for more.
Rosa
