Seven Weeks Already?!

What a great treasure I have in Rayne. She is SO good for me. I know God is helping her to be extra easy on me while Luke is away so much. She just goes with the flow. Whether we stay home and hang out on the couch together or whether I have to take her several places in one day, she is always so good. I am truly blessed.
She has begun sleeping 8 hours at night. She goes to bed right after I feed her at 9pm and sleeps until 5am or so. I'm so happy with that schedule. I don't mind getting up at 5am - and I usually just put her back to bed and begin my day with some quiet time. Even if she doesn't go right back to sleep, she is great about resting in her crib.
Speaking of cribs...she made the transition to her crib from her pack-n-play quite easily. I was very happy. One night when Luke was home, we decided to go cold turkey. We decided to put her in her crib, and if she cried we would just comfort her in her crib, but not give in to taking her out. We only had to go in her room twice before she was fast asleep. I avoided putting her in her pack-n-play for the next few days, just to be on the safe side. She has gone to sleep in her crib with no issue ever since.
To supplement the missed nighttime meal, she is starting to eat more during the day. I can't believe how big she is getting already. . .seven weeks tomorrow. Time is FLYING by - and I'm sure it will only go faster the bigger she gets.
Just this past week, Rayne has figured out the concept of holding something in her hand. While she still isn't very proactive about grabbing for things, she will definitely hold on tight if something is placed in her little hand.
She has also settled on a favorite blanket. She has a small blanket with silk on one side and leopard print fleece material on the other. She holds onto that like nobody's business. It's really cute to watch her comfort herself with it.
My biggest joy to date, however, is the big smile I see on her face when our eyes meet. She definitely knows who mommy and daddy are, and she lets us know it. We'll be hanging out and she'll be looking at everything around us. Then, for just a brief moment, she'll look into my eyes, the whole world will stop, and she will grin from ear to ear.

Happy First Mother's Day...

I am so blessed. . .

Three's Company...

Life at the Perry household is getting back to "normal." We are getting into a wonderful routine - enjoying some awake and play time, and loving a lot of sleepy time. Luke went back to work this week. It was an adjustment for all of us, but we survived.
Another big milestone of this week was the Pediatrician telling us that we could start having Rayne sleep longer through the night. Our previous schedule had us feeding her every four hours (with us usually waking her up in the middle of the night), but now we are letting her wake on her own through the night, if she gets hungry. It's been a fairly easy transition. Six hours has been her longest stretch so far, but I'm sure she will lengthen that out.
At her one month well baby check up, Rayne weighed 8 lbs. and was 21 inches long!! I will admit that I couldn't believe that she really weighed 8 lbs., so when we got home, I got out our scale and weighed her for myself. Sure enough - 8 lbs!
Luke loves tickling Rayne's toes, and although she doesn't break out in laughter (YET), she smiles and kicks her feet. Luke also enjoys holding Rayne on his lap as he works on his music collection. She enjoys music so much - even Ozzy Osbourne. (We try to balance it all out by playing "spa music" for Rayne as she drifts off to sleep...) Rayne also is loving kisses. She bats her eyelashes and anxiously awaits the next kiss.
While Luke is working, I'm trying to help Rayne make the transition from sleeping in her pack-n-play in our room to sleeping in her crib in her room. She doesn't mind taking naps in her room, but nighttime is a different story. Soon, though, soon.

One Month Old...