3 Month check in

Today marks Emily's 12th week of life outside of me. She is growing up quickly and more so than with the other two kids, I feel like I want her to just stay little. (I can definitely see the whole birth order thing coming into play here!!) She is getting into a routine of sleeping and eating that is helping me to feel more calm about our life. She is often falling asleep on her own at night now, and especially joyful news--at a really decent hour (sometimes even allowing Brian and I to have that much coveted couple hours of quiet time before we collapse into the bed). It's hard to believe it was just maybe 8 weeks ago that she was completely backwards and keeping us up until almost 2 am some nights. We felt like we'd never sleep through the night again, and here it is only 2 months later...I am especially thankful again, that I was not back to work at 6, or even 8 weeks. I just cannot imagine functioning at work with such little sleep.

Emily is learning to enjoy her awake time by just hanging out with us. I am a lot less vigilant about stimulating her all the time than I was with my other kids. This morning she sat in her seat for 30 minutes while I walked on the treadmill. She was quiet and just looking around the room. I used to feel guilty for not interacting if the baby was awake, but I think I am learning new things as a mom too. She does enjoy being tickled, making throaty gggg sounds, and being snuggled. She does not enjoy being on her tummy, but I still try it if the stars are all aligned. Elijah reminded me this morning, "Mom, are you going to lay Emily on her tummy today? The doctor said you should do it every day."

I am truly thankful each day for the time that I have at home right now. I feel like I am trying to lock these feelings and moments away in my memory. I just want to hold on to them. Mary climbed into bed with me the other morning at 6:00 and locked her arms around my arm. She kept saying, "Mommy...my mommy," over and over again. These are the times to treasure.