Milestones, 10 weeks

Dear G,

First, I sure hope you are feeling okay. I know that your teeth are bothering you and you are (probably) also experiencing some growing pains. One minute you'll be smiling and laughing, so happily, then BAM you burst out in small tears and loud wails. I feel so helpless! I cuddle you, pat your back or bottom, rock you, walk around with you, bounce on the ball with you, put you down to play, put you in your swing, try to take a nap with you, change your diaper, feed you, and eventually one of those things works. You have probably 4 or 5 of these spells a day. They don't last very long; either you're on the downhill or I'm better at soothing you. So, yes, I sure hope you get back to your always cheerful self soon!

G, 10 weeks, 1 day

Second, I can't believe you are 10 weeks old (as of yesterday). That's a long time! When I was pregnant with you, ten weeks seemed like forever! I was 30 weeks pregnant right before Christmas, and I couldn't believe there were still 10 weeks left to go. Thankfully, you know your impatient mom and arrived a few days early :-) So, to but it in perspective, 10 weeks is an awful long time to wait for you, but living with you for 10 weeks has been kind of a blur. I honestly don't know where the time went! It's been a joy being your mom--although there have been stressful and tired exhausted times, and I had/have some physical ailments due to birthing you, I wouldn't trade you for the world. Thank you for being such a wonderful baby. Your daddy and I love you so much.

Here are some of your accomplishments.
Birth: 8 pounds, 11.7 ounces; 21.25 inches tall; 14 inches around your head

You started breast feeding right away, but your small mouth caused us some major issues. I was in a lot of pain and you screamed about being forced to open your mouth really big. I appreciate you being patient (maybe?) as we got it all figured out and I'm proud of you for never "needing" to be fed formula. You also got rid of a moderate care of jaundice all on your own-no lights needed! You were also very good at making diapers, so the doctors liked that. You hated the car for the longest time, but have finally warmed up to the idea of going places and being buckled in. You don't like long trips though. You went to mass for the first time at age 4 days old. You slept through the whole thing, which is okay at this age, but I anticipate teaching you to love God, and that'll be wonderful.
You were back to your birth weight in less than one week old--so proud! You were very strong from the get go, and get stronger each day. You're our little olympian. You smiled very early, and I'm not sure when to count real smiles, but I'd say like 2 weeks old you were really smiling.
You started making very fun noises early too. I remember this one time during your bath you made a real coo noise, and you've never looked back. That was around 3 weeks old.
You have always pushed yourself up during tummy time, and you started rolling over around 1 month old. I think the first were accidents, but you really got going around 6 weeks old. You haven't made a full roll yet, but that's okay!
Most people say babies don't have very good vision, or can't distinguish things for a while; but we know you've been able to see pretty decent for about a month now. Your dad played 'hands' with you and you've mimicked him some. You also love it when I, or anyone for that matter, make faces at you. You light up, laugh, smile back, stick out your tongue. It's so cute. You also 'read' your little black/white pattern book. I think that made a big difference in your vision. You love mirrors. Our bathroom has a huge mirror and bright lights, so you love bathtime (although you hated the first 3). You also have a new activity mat that I think is helping your vision focus. You love lights and looking at yourself in the mirror.
You are really starting to develop your voice, and we have learned what your different cries mean--or at least we think we do! You whimper when you are 'lonely'/'bored' and need a change of scenery or want me to entertain you. You make a face and work up to a loud moan if your diaper is bothering you. You cry distinctly when you are hungry...I don't know how to explain it. I try to feed you before you start crying, but sometimes that doesn't happen, or you are hungry unexpectedly. Sometimes, if you are overwhelmed/overtired you will cry really loud, huff and puff, stop, start crying again until we are able to calm you down and help you fall asleep.
You can now "kind of" hold your self up. You dad has been sitting you up for about a month now, and I've propped you up and then held your hands and let go of your back, you can totally hold yourself up--you just need balance help! Such a strong little girl.
You've also been holding stuff in your hands, and yesterday/today you've been grabbing on to stuff on your own.
You have put yourself on a nice routine for evening sleep and your daytime naps (so long as you don't fight them) are about an hour long. You will cat nap in the car or occasionally after a good feeding.
Basically you are a perfect baby and we are SOOOO lucky to have you!
10 weeks 1 day: I did a rough measurement on the wii fit and you are around 12 pounds (it measured 12.2, but I didn't take off your diaper, so I know that you're a little less than it says). I measured your length and you are 24.5 inches long, and your head is 15.5 inches around!
Right on track :-)