Check out the hint of a smile captured in this (blurry) photo. It’s the only photo we have that shows her smiling and here it’s more of a half smile than a real, full-blown one. Miss Leyba is smiling at her Daddy. It was a lot bigger just before and just after this shot was taken.
As soon as I break out the camera, she gets all serious. “What’s that shiny silver thing in my face, Mama?”
Hopefully I’ll get a photo that really captures her infectious smile soon. It’s so darling.
For the first time since Miss Leyba’s arrival, we headed out of the house and took a walk around the neighborhood as a family!
Miss Leyba, such the newborn, slept through the whole thing. (We fed and changed her diaper right before we left — the ultimate recipe for a happy, sleepy baby.)
Check out my styling new nursing top! It’s all part of my plan to be a cool mom…
(as apposed to a frumpy mom — I don’t want to be one of those!)
We’re such a happy family and have so much fun together! I was totally giddy being outside and walking around.
Check out that sunshine! What a glorious day. I love winter in California.
Now we’re home and I am royally pooped. Thankfully, with David around, all I need to do is feed our daughter and rest. I’m really excited though because tomorrow we may try taking a walk in the park!
Damn, this postpartum recovery is a pain in the ass.
Miss Leyba has worn all pink for the past two days. I can’t help myself. I consider it a sickness.
With David at work and all our company (i.e. extra hands) gone, it’s just the girls at home! It’s exhausting, but so fulfilling. I even look forward to time just the two of us, though I am still so thankful and relieved when David gets home and then I can take my time going to the bathroom or filling up my water glass. Occasionally I can even take a shower or grab a bite to eat. Ah, the little things.
I am still really short on calories and need to be eating more. I know it seems like a dumb thing to complain about, but I’m constantly hungry and having trouble coming up with easy, quick, healthy, gluten-free, low sugar, non-meat, non-processed meals (oy, what a list of criteria!). We are planning on stocking the fridge with healthy snacks and meals this weekend. David can hold Miss Leyba and I can cook! Do you have any menu suggestions? I may break down and eat an ice cream sundae or two this weekend. Or maybe something with an alfredo sauce. Clearly I’ve started eating dairy again.
The flip side to this is that I am just a couple pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight with having done essentially zero exercising since she was born (though I could cry about the lack of exercise — heal, body, so we can get to the park already!)… Of course, it helps that my baby accounted for approximately one third of my total pregnancy weight gain! How incredible is that?! (For the first few weeks, anytime I needed a pick me up, I would look at the birth photos and remind myself that I gave birth naturally to a 9 lb. 5 oz. baby who was 80% larger than I was at birth. Oh, the pride!)
She’s getting so big (we’ve officially outgrown all 0-3 month sized clothing and some 3-6 month sized clothes as well) and remains such a voracious eater. Oh my goodness, I love her milk breath! I can’t get enough of her yawns in my face. I know it seems a little narcissistic, but not in a bad way, right?! She’s just so delicious. It’s too bad I can’t upload her smell onto the internet to share it with you and preserve it for posterity. How cool would that be?!
Anyhow, back to my super healthy baby, we are ready to jump up to the next cloth diaper cover size. We had been using organic merino wool covers, but Miss Leyba’s chunky thighs are too much for them, plus we think they are just a little scratchy, so now we’re giving polar fleece covers a try. With free shipping, we figured we’d work our way down the list of covers available. Does anyone have any diaper cover suggestions? (We are using organic prefold diapers underneath.)
Miss Leyba is now able to occupy herself and I try to give her some awake time on her own every day (with me nearby, of course). She adores her vibrating bouncer (thanks, Jenn!) and especially likes looking up at the ceiling, out the window, and at our wrought-iron headboard. She isn’t really into stuffed toys yet, though I ordered a wooden teething rattle that I am hoping she’ll dig (oh boy does she like grasping our fingers).
Other fun activities: Miss Leyba loves it when we sing to her (even when it’s completely off key!) — she lifts her head up off our chest (if we’re holding her) and stares up at us wide-eyed. Occasionally she’ll try to sing alone. After a while, she’ll put her head down and drift off to sleep. I’m getting really good at making up ridiculous songs that incorporate listing all the objects in the room or our favorite books or how much I love Miss Leyba. I really need to expand my repertoire (and take some singing lessons!). Thankfully, she’s too young to complain…
From earlier this week with Aunt Laura (after a bath) and Grandpa
The feelings of love were entirely mutual.
Dozing on Mama. She was awake about five seconds earlier.
+ Miss Leyba is five weeks old today!
+ We are currently very into smiling around here (especially first thing in the morning). She even giggled with me earlier today!
+ We’ve gotten lots of sleep every night for over a week now. It appears that Miss Leyba now understands that nights are for sleeping. (Knock on wood.) Last night we even got four hours of sleep in a row. Wow, it was amazing! The things I took for granted before.
+ A new fun activity: pushing down on her legs when her feet are placed on a firm surface. It’s like standing on our laps! Yep, this is yet another month three developmental milestone. (You go, Miss Leyba!) I swear, at this rate, she’s going to be crawling before we know it. She already likes pushing her feet against our hands to move herself forward when she’s on her tummy… pseudo half crawling, minus the arms. I think she must use a similar method at night when she migrates in bed in order to be closer to me. She’s all about cuddling with Mama. (Love it!)