Our First 2 Weeks With Miss Rose

I read somewhere that babies "wake up" to the real world outside the womb around 2 weeks and remain fussy until 6 weeks or more.  We are definitely starting to experience Rose's awake period.  The past few days have been a real challenge in getting her to sleep.  She loves to nurse and falls asleep eating, but wakes after 5 minutes screaming for more food.  Lately, her long stretches of sleep only come when she's in the car seat or when we walk in the Moby wrap.  My good sleeper from the first two weeks has been replaced by a fussy, screaming baby.

Recapping the first two weeks with Rose brings me back to the days of 3 hour stretches of sleep!

During our first day at home (Saturday), we did a lot of sleeping

The sleeping and relaxing on the couch lasted several days.

It was okay with us when snow shut down the area for two days. 

Even Darwin snuggled up with us all day.

Colin took on a lot of the cooking (along with my mom) and he found a helpful role in bouncing Rose on the exercise ball. Both he and my mom also read a lot to Rose.

On day 3 (Monday), we had our visit from the nurse at the Women's Birth and Wellness Center.  She visited to evaluate my recovery and Rose's health.  Thankfully, we both passed with flying colors. Rose only lost 6 ounces, so she got down to 6lbs, 12oz and at yesterday's 2 week follow up she got back up to 7lbs, 8oz.  During the 2 day visit, Rose had her heel pricked to have the blood tested for the metabolic disorders like PKU (which she thankfully does not have) and had all her reflexes checked.  We feel so lucky to have a healthy baby and hope she remains that way.

On Day 6 (Thursday), we brought out the camera and took lots of photos. 

Here are some of my favorites...

Our sweet doll and her accessories

Close-up of those big beautiful eyes

A family photo

Valentine's Day was one week from Rose's birth date and we took lots more photos...

Mommy and Rose

All 4 members of the Miller clan

The 3 generations

By Valentine's Day I was feeling cabin fever. My butt hurt from sitting on the couch so much and I was sick of the living room.  So we tried out the Moby wrap and went for our first walk.  I only managed about half a mile, but it felt great to get out.  Thankfully, we had wonderful weather during week two, so walks (of increasing distance) have become an almost daily event since that first walk.

During the second week, we also decided it was time to give Rose her first bath - which she enjoyed.

I know there is much more I want to write about baby Rose, but I'm starting to feel the sleep deprivation of having a baby that won't sleep. Blog posts may become few and far between, unless we can figure out a solution. I caved today and gave Rose a pacifier for the first time, which she sucked for about 30 minutes non-stop!  I hope to get some help through the La Leche League Cafe meetings.  If we are going to give her a pacifier, I want to be sure I'm still feeding her enough.

Any tips on getting a baby into "deep sleep" are welcome!