The thirteenth week

It's been an interesting week, not so much for Madeline's accomplishments as for what I've learned.

Lacey returned to work this week, so I have had Madeline all to myself during the day. And, suddenly, I understand. I understand what it means to be completely responsible. Not that I was disconnected before - I often look after Madeline while Lacey naps or runs errands, and I have spent many long nights tending to the baby while Lacey sleeps. But, mostly, whenever I am home, Lacey is home too.

But every evening, when I go to work, Lacey is home alone with the baby. And now I understand what she has been experiencing. As the adult, I'm responsible for knowing when Madeline needs to eat and sleep, when she wants to play or just be rocked. And sometimes I need to make her do things she doesn't want to do, like settle down and take a nap when she's tired. Sounds easy - she's tired, so put her down and she'll sleep, right? Anyone who's raised a child knows it's seldom that simple.

Again, I don't think I was disconnected from responsibility before Lacey went back to work, but when she's here there is always someone to consult with, to reaffirm my correct decisions or tell me what I'm doing wrong. When she's at work, it's just me.

So far I've truly enjoyed it. Though it's stressful at times, it's an amazing feeling to get it right - to figure out what she needs, to calm her and to elicit one of her heart-melting smiles or a giddy chirp. And I am looking forward to the coming months and, perhaps, years as Madeline and I have our special father-daughter time together on weekdays. (And it will make me appreciate even more the time Lacey is home with us!)

It's a rough life

Sometimes it must be tough being a baby - your mean parents wake you up from your third nap of the day to take you to a comfy couch, cuddle up with your mom and eat. Coincidentally, she looks how I feel most mornings when I get woken up, too!

Back to work

Lacey returned to work today. Having her home for the last 12 weeks has been wonderful, but I think part of her was ready to go back - to get out of the house and to use her brain for something other than thinking about the baby (although I imagine she'll still be doing plenty of that).

Before Madeline, our work schedules meant Lacey and I only saw each other on weekends. That's a big reason why these last three months have been so nice (outside the stress of having a new baby) - we've had plenty of time together. And Lacey is returning on a part-time basis - she'll be in the office only three days a week - so we'll still see each other for at least a few minutes every day.

I don't imagine the transition will be too tough. Madeline will eat from a bottle a couple times a day, but she's done well with the bottle in the past so I have no reason to fear things will be different now. Lacey will have to navigate the issue of pumping at work, which I think was her major concern.

I think we're all excited to get this new phase under way and see how things work out. This is going to be "normal" now - Lacey's three-month leave was necessary and fruitful, but now it's time to move forward and get on with our new, "real" life.

I won't be needing this

I guess she wasn't quite ready to be pacified.

Fresh and clean

cute [kyut] – (adj.) pleasingly pretty; Baby Madeline wrapped in a towel fresh from her morning bath.

The dangling monkey

When Madeline gets excited, those little legs really start working. And Mallory the Monkey - the red simian hanging from the chair in the video - really makes her excited.

The twelfth week

Well, here we are at three months. Madeline is eating like a champ and sleeping 8 hours a night. She laughs and talks and smiles so much that it's hard for me to accomplish other things around the house. I always want to be around her to see what she'll do next and to soak up her cuteness. So, this week, I'll just post these pictures that I've taken over the last few days.

Finding her hands

Today we noticed that Madeline seems to be discovering her hands. We've read about an almost sudden change where babies will begin to study their hands with great interest. Today we saw her, on two occassions, quietly staring at her clenched fist, which she held about five inches from her face. She would contemplate it for several seconds and then move her fist to her mouth (she's been sucking her thumb more deliberately over the last week or so, too).

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Obviously these pictures don't depict what I've described above - I didn't have my camera handy when she was inspecting her hand. I did take these pictures today and wanted to post them, even if they're not germane!

Learning to sit

Madeline is getting better at supporting herself when she's sitting, but she's not there yet...

The eleventh week

It's now been three consecutive nights that Madeline has slept more than 8 hours in a row. Lacey and I are going to start getting spoiled soon - we weren't expecting to get to this point for another month or more. But, like we've said before, every night is its own adventure, and what happens one night might have no bearing on following nights.

We haven't had any more rollovers this week, but every day we enjoy Madeline's increasing engagement with her surroundings. She talks to us more and shows excitement frequently in her facial expressions and physical movements. And she's definitely getting bigger - she noticeably fills out her clothes more snugly and feels heavier when we hold her. We suspect she went through a growth spurt within the last couple weeks and are looking forward to getting her updated measurements in another week or so.