I was cleaning up another poo explosion last night and was changing Maia into a clean sleepsuit when I realised that it was too small!! When did my tiny baby grow so big??
I am of course thrilled that she’s growing well and we adore her chubby cheeks and baby rolls but until now she’s still fitted into her first set of clothes, which were too big at birth. Not only does she actually fill her clothes now but the “Tiny Baby” onesies are too short. On the bright side I can finally start using all the cute “Newborn” clothes we have for her. I don’t know how much she weighs at the moment as she hasn’t been weighed since she was two and half weeks old (2.8kg). Will be interesting to find out at her 8-week check-up.
Maia will be seven weeks old tomorrow and with the first set of clothes I feel like the first stage of life with a baby is now behind us. Slightly bitter-sweet but I’m also happy and proud that we made through the tough first weeks as parents!
Yesterday she finally smiled at me for the first time! She just melts my heart! I got more smiles this morning while cuddling in bed and I managed to capture a little one on camera (see above). It’s amazing how she starts to interact with us a bit more now.
Maia clearly sees further away now and is more interested in things like the mobile above her rocker chair and the toys hanging from her playmat arches. When on her tummy she now lifts her head and shoulders off the floor, with varying success but good effort! Maia is also more interested in what we are doing and follows us with her gaze. When I placed on the bed with another baby she was even trying to reach to touch him – how cute!
Bath time is still our favourite time of the day. She can now reach the bottom of her Shnuggle bath but is not yet stable enough to actually sit despite the little seat on the bottom. Maia prefers to float on her back anyway, kicking and splashing water with her dad holding her steady. For this reason it’s actually quite tricky to bathe her alone and I worry she’ll wiggle out of my hold!
I’ve been home alone for two weeks now with Maia. On a typical day her dad leaves by 8am and comes home at 8pm which means it’s a long day by myself. Maia usually sleeps ok until 5am (in her bed, for 2h stretches) but tends to cluster feed next to me after that. This makes me very tired in the mornings and we often nap together and don’t leave the house before noon. Unfortunately many “mum & baby” activities such as play groups and parent & baby cinema happen in the morning which means we’ve missed out on these so far… Instead I’ve made lunch/coffee/park walk dates with other mums for the afternoons which currently work better for us.
It’s so refreshing to meet people and lovely to share feelings and experiences with other mums! Still, I have to admit I find the outings quite tiring (albeit enjoyable), unless they happen in our neighbourhood. This is why planning activities for every second day instead of consecutive days has been my strategy!
In ten days time I will finally have my postnatal check-up at the GP, together with Maia’s 8-week check and immunisations. Hopefully after that we’ll be able to join some mum & baby exercise classes such as the “Barre and Baby”-class.
Tomorrow I will have my first hairdresser appointment in months. I was weary of colouring my hair while pregnant and am in desperate need of some highlights for my dull January hair! Since I haven’t tried bottle feeding Maia yet I will have to take her with me – I hope it goes ok! Having my hair done should make me feel a bit better too. I admit I’ve regressed to a mum bun, nursing top and leggings everyday which isn’t very mood lifting (it is comfortable though).
Wish everyone a lovely weekend!
xoxoxo,
Sini