Week 2 with Cheeks

We've made it through the first two weeks of life with a newborn!!! And I can feel the hibernating cloud lifting just a little. Of course we still need to lay low a little bit, but there is hope we will rejoin the outside world very soon. I even ran errands today...Target of course.

Bree is a complete angel baby. We have made such great progress on breastfeeding, I can now confidently say she's "breastfeeding" and is getting better and better everyday. If you know what we went through trying to get Wade to breastfeed (and ultimately not succeeding) and now having repeat a lot of the same torture, THIS IS SUCH GOOD NEWS, for me and for Bree!!! All breastfeeding moms can relate to the struggles we've been facing every 3 hours. But because I so badly want to get to the easy and convenient part of breastfeeding, I'm so relieved to see that we will get there! We will soon be able to excavate the Boob Cave and return it to a normal bedroom set-up.

After every feeding, we get 15-20 minutes of happy, alert, eyes open, "trying to figure out the world" time. She looks around like she's really trying to soak in where am I?, what in the world is that noise?, who is that?, and why am I here?. I've started to look forward to this time, because it's when I feel I get to know her better. I can't bear to put her down in her swing to look at jungle creatures when she's just learning who we all are. I just want to sit and hold her and stare right back at her.

She continues to sleep like a champ! We just hit our full term 40 week mark this week, so I'm expecting another week or so of sleepy bliss, then I'm she'll be awake and in full effect. But would you believe she went a 5 (almost 6) hour stretch the other night between feedings??? And since she's gaining plenty of weight, I don't have to freak out and wake her every 3 hours. Now please realize that when she is awake to nurse, it still takes a long time and wears us both out. But I'll take it!

We've met a lot more friends and family this week. Nanny, Alison, & Hayes stopped by...

Miss Caroline Polhill was such a good baby holder and cuddled her so perfectly. When I asked if she wanted to take her home, she said, "NO".

Auntie Steph gave her a squeeze...

And even though it looks like Ben and Ashley are holding back a rambunctious Emery, she was a sweet big cousin and was very interested in baby Bree.

Oh sweet Lauren! No one is more excited about Bree than cousin Lauren. She sat so still and held Bree like she was made of glass...

And here's what she did when we tried to remove Bree from her lap. She said, "MY BABY!" Megan was so sweet to come visit all the way from Cumming one evening. I can't wait her Bree to meet her daughter, Milla. They can compare cheeks.