Lucy turned five weeks old today. Amazing! These weeks have marched on steadily, and suddenly here we are with a five-week-old baby and more and more clues all the time about how to care for her. Join us on our Lucy watch for a day in the life, week five:
*5:50 am Lucy wakes up.* We are _not_ complaining, since she went to sleep at 12:45 am and has given us five solid hours of sleep. Plus, if her pattern continues, a nice morning nap is coming for Mama and Baby both.
*6:00 am First feeding.* Papa reclines on the couch near us while Lucy grunts away at her breakfast. I like it when all three of us are present at meals, even if only two of us are talking.
*7:15 am Lucy naps.* And so does Mama!
*9:45 am Karl, Valerie, and Miriam visit.* We have the special treat of seeing these friends on their visit to Chicago from Massachusetts. Lucy sightings are brief, however, as she disappears under a blanket for a discreet “second breakfast.”
*10:25 am First “Fuzzi Bunz”:http://fuzzibunz.com/ of the day.* We have been experimenting with these excellent cloth diapers, while sticking with disposables for nighttime and longish naps. We have had a few minor leaks, but we suspect this problem will resolve itself as Lucy’s thighs get a little chubbier.
*10:30 am Papa returns from a meeting and errands.* Jon is kind enough to brave the aisles of Babies ‘R Us in search of a microwave breast-pump sterilizer. He succeeds.
*11:30 am Mama takes a shower.* It is important to be clean on the day one’s daughter turns five weeks old. :) Baby chills with Papa via the BabyBjörn.
*1:30 pm First round of pumping.* This is a bizarre experience. I don’t know how else to describe it. We collect only about 3/4 oz of milk after a feeding, but we are learning here. (I actually pumped once several weeks ago, but this time we’re in earnest.)
*1:35 pm First smile?* We have been catching glimpses of real Lucy-smiles (social ones) during her awake time these days, but we keep waiting for an all-out grin.
*2:00 pm Lucy goes for a walk in stroller.* Since it is a beautiful, warm day, Mama and Baby venture out to encounter the world.
*2:10 pm Lucy returns home very loudly.* The stroller is unacceptable to Lucy, and Mama gets reprimanded. Mama also makes mental note to consider covering the stroller with a blanket to protect Baby from violent sunburn. Mama has terrible fleeting image of attempting to swaddle sunburned Baby; resolves to not forget sunscreen ever, ever, ever.
*2:11 pm Lucy bounces on “The Ball”:/news/2006/bouncing-baby-boyd/.* “Why did you try to separate me from my beloved Ball?” she cries. Mama eats a Good Humor bar. Both find happiness.
*3:00 pm Second experiment with pumping.* Papa is in a conference call, so Mama tries to assemble the pump herself. It only takes two attempts before it works. Mama is humbled by the wisdom of reading the instructions before attempting assembly.
*4:40 pm First attempt at Side-Lying Position.* Truthfully, this is the second attempt, as we tried this breastfeeding position when Lucy was a week old, but it failed miserably. Today, there is success. Baby gets to eat, and Mama gets to lie down. What’s not to like?
*6:30 pm Mama cooks dinner.* We use the term “cooks” very loosely here. We consume re-heated frozen lasagna (thanks to the Taylor-Applings!) and watermelon, and Baby sleeps on Papa’s chest in the BabyBjörn while watching the “Drums” section of “_Downhill from Here_”:http://imdb.com/title/tt0241496/.
*8:00 pm First thunderstorm watch.* Lucy and Mama sit on the front porch as a thunderstorm sweeps in across our western vista. Lucy seems interested and gives a big shudder at the sound of a particularly loud thunderclap. Then she has enough. “The Ball!” she cries. “Why do you keep me from The Ball?”
*8:15 pm Bouncing on The Ball.* Lucy calms down. Mama listens to a recording of an Agatha Christie mystery. Hercule Poirot succeeds in identifying the thief.
*8:45 pm Lucy falls asleep in the “sling”:http://mayawrap.com/, bouncing on The Ball.* Mama takes this opportunity to write about Lucy’s five-week birthday.
We hope for a couple more feedings tonight for Baby, an ice cream treat for Mama, and some good rest for the whole family. We’ll see what happens!
p{color:gray}. Photo: “Please! No pictures!”
Hilarious photo!
Those darn paparazzi! She just wants to be left alone.
yes, pumping is bizarre. only thing stranger is pumping in a hospital “nursing room” with two or three other women, and having to label my milk to keep it seperate in the freezer from the other moms’ milk.
or wait, worse yet, pumping in a hospital nursing room trying to hold baby blankets over self while two male construction workers are trying to install a curtain to separate the nursing mothers from each other. duh.
for myself I decided a year or so of being inseperable from Baby (or babies, in my case) was easier than pumping and bottle-feeding. though of course not without a few moments of regret.
that photo is excellent! save a copy to show around at her HS graduation, for sure. :o)
Kelly, you definitely win in the Bizarre Pumping Experiences contest. That is a riot about the construction workers! Although it probably wasn’t as funny for you at the time. We’re going to give this pumping thing a try just to have the option of me missing a feeding here and there, but we’ll see how it goes.
Lucy can often be found shielding her face in this way, especially while nursing. What does that mean about her? Is she anticipating a life of fame?
Anticipating?!?!?
Just think Ann, soon you will sleep better than ever. Usually once the 6 week growth spurt passes, sleep time increases. Mo actually slept from 10:30 to 4:30 last night! I woke up sure that the clock was wrong. It will also be easier to pump as the growth spurt passes and she begins eating less, you can pump the extra you produced for the growth spurt.
What a cutie, even though she tries to hide it. I just love all the photos you two are taking!