Two+ weeks

Piper turned two weeks old yesterday! We celebrated the day feeling exhausted and out of it, after a night that passed by in its entirety without any sleep for the three of us. I think she had gas, as she seemed to just not be able to get comfortable and we could hear the bubbles gurgling inside of her, but burping her wasn't productive. Luckily, she (and therefore we) slept pretty well last night so Reid and I were able to recuperate a bit. It's a good thing they make babies so cute and lovable because it definitely makes this process tolerable, and somehow, even enjoyable. Here's a picture of the little cutie from last week ...

Piper also had her two week doctor's appointment yesterday and she impressed the pediatrician by rolling back and forth on the examination table. He should have seen her climb over her tummy time play mat at 6 days old, but I digress ... anyway, she's up to 7 pounds 7 ounces, which is great because apparently babies are supposed to be at or above their birth weight by two weeks. Her jaundice is gone and everything looks good! As usual, we had lots of questions for the pediatrician ... is the fact that she sneezes a lot normal? Yes, she's still getting rid of amniotic fluid from her nostrils. Since her cord fell off of her belly button last week, when can we give her a real bath? Last night was his answer, but since Reid and I were tired, we opted to just do a sponge bath. That has become familiar and we're pretty quick at it, but tomorrow we'll break out her new tub. Is the rash on her left hand normal? Actually, it looks like it's a birth mark, but one that will likely fade by 5 years of age. Since Reid is gluten intolerant, when do we test her? Not until she's eating wheat, or probably at about 12 months. And should I avoid peanuts while I'm breast feeding? The answer to this made me happy - since we don't have a family history, I shouldn't be too worried about having to avoid peanuts. I forget what else we asked, but it's amazing to feel so clueless about someone so tiny. Two weeks in, I feel totally confident that we can handle this whole process, but I feel like we have SO much to learn all the time.

Last week another important milestone passed for us - the anniversary of last summer's miscarriage came and went at the end of last week. I thought about it and remembered what it felt like last summer, but I didn't get overwhelmed with sadness and I finally felt completely healed. I'm sure I'll never forget, but it's a huge relief to feel like that chapter in our lives is closed, and more importantly, that I finally feel at peace with everything. When we did miscarry, a few of my friends got us a beautiful hydrangea bush. All of the flowers bloomed on it last week and it's gorgeous.

Since Piper is sleeping, I'm going to try to get a quick cat nap in as well. Everyone says sleep when the baby sleeps, but I do think that's easier said than done. If you do that, when do you shower? Unload the dishwasher? Check email? Blog? Hmm ... I'm clearly still figuring this whole balancing act out, and once I do, I hope to have the posts become a bit more energetic and frequent again!