Mara Joy's Infancy

February 15, 2017

Each child's infancy goes faster and faster. I think I just might wake up one morning and find I'm sending Mara off to college. I can sense she's already transitioning to new stages. She has control of her movements, and she tries harder and harder to roll over each day. She coos as if she's really trying to communicate her thoughts and feelings. She smiles back.

She also sleeps like a champ. Coraline wakes us up more each night than Mara does, and that's been the case for a full month. She sleeps so well that I rarely get the chance to hold her slumber on my chest (which is without a doubt my favorite part of having an infant in the home). If she does fall asleep during her bedtime feeding I'm in no rush to lay her in the crib. I hoist her up on my chest and listen to her deep breaths. I want to savor every minute of those dreaming snuggles.

Here are some of the photos I've taken of her during her second and third months of life.

Dec 11 -- Just a day shy of 5 weeks and still so tiny!

Dec 13 -- Practicing to become a great sleeper.

Dec 27 -- She could sleep just about anywhere and through any noise.

Dec 31 -- Those tiny hands!!!

Jan 4 -- Just passed 8 weeks old; gorgeous!

Jan 5 -- My favorite sleep/snuggle position.

Jan 17 -- Her favorite sleep position. So peaceful!

Jan 26 -- My grocery shopping buddy.

Feb 3- - Cracking a smile as she wakes up.

Feb 3. She prefers to sleep/snuggle facing out vs snuggled up.

March 11 2017

And here we are now, several days past Mara hitting the 4 month mark and I'm just finishing edits on those pictures. Yikes. Her infancy is really gone now. However, 4 months old is my favorite baby age.

She rolled over for the first time (twice) last Sunday. Reid was doing tummy time with her and he shouted for joy when she turned from her belly to her back. It was sweet to see how excited he was. Since then, she has rolled pretty regularly each day. She can roll from her belly to her back, but also from her back to her belly. I can't believe how quick it's all going (did I say that already).

She prefers to be held out, rather than in, just like Nell. She sucks her thumb, just like Nell. She knows that when I put her in her sleepsack she is about to go to sleep, and she usually pouts a bit about that. Poor girl.

She offers serious giggles when you interact with her at the right time and in the right way. She's still sleeping like a champ (so why can I not find the time to finish this post?)! She has her four month check up on Monday, so I suppose I'll write up a new post then. I have still have so many pictures (Feb 7th on) I want to share!