Siete

Woah, that's right. Seven weeks! Already! She's no longer the youngest in the mom and baby group.

It has been a good week. Gracie Mae is full of smiles. And wiggles. She saves the wiggles for the camera so I cannot get a shot in focus and reserves the biggest smiles for immediately before or after the camera comes out. Remember how she had to be forced into position for birth? Well, she continues to have a mind of her own.

She had her first bottle. I had heard lots of babies will fight a bottle at first, won't take one if the mother is around, or won't take one from the mother. We worried for naught - this girl likes to eat! Steve gave her the first one while I was across the room, but talking to him. I walked over to look at her at one point and she gave me this look like "well, that's weird but not enough to stop sucking." I have given her a couple of bottles now, too, with no problem. And it seems to be helping her sleep longer if we give her one before bed. The n is small, but we're happy with the results so far!

She's starting to look so much more like a baby than a newborn, too. Her neck is getting stronger and stronger. She also really likes to use her legs to stand in our laps. Her startle reflex is dwindling, but still so cute. And she's begun to notice her hands. Pretty much don't need to get her any toys for a while!

I left her for the first time yesterday. My fabulous Aunt Mary came up for a visit (and let me tell you, Grace was thrilled with all the cuddles and attention - she couldn't stop smiling and cooing), and I went to the market. I thought I would feel major pangs of anxiety, and then felt a little guilty that I didn't. I knew she was in good hands, though, so had no reason to worry. What I actually felt was totally different than expected. It was the first time I had gone anywhere in months where I was neither enormously pregnant nor with a newborn. I saw approximately a thousand strollers and pregnant people in one shopping trip and I felt like I was masquerading as someone other than myself. I wanted to say, I'm not really foot loose and fancy free at WF on a Thursday afternoon - I have a baby!

This weekend we're trying a day trip to the Berkshires. We have a list of New England places to see before moving. Since, Grace likes to sleep in the car, Steve and I might have a few hours to talk. Maybe about grown up things rather than diapers. Maybe I'll make a list of topics in case we have forgotten how, such as: current events, the cost of housing in San Francisco, and of course, Michael Jackson. On that note, I need to get back to singing Billie Jean.