Learning Curves

I didn't notice too many changes in Nora in her first two weeks of life, but over the past week and a half she keeps acquiring new skills!  Now that her umbilical cord has fallen off and is healing up well, we are able to submerge her in water to give her a bath.  Here's a photo of her first bath in the bathtub:

Other developments include:
- We are all convinced that Nora is developing a healthy layer of baby fat as a result of last week's marathon nursing growth spurt.  Her cheeks, belly, arms, and legs all look a bit chubbier.  We think she might even have a dimple on the right side, but we'll have to wait until she gets full command of her smile to know for sure!
- It also seems like she is getting longer, but I think that is mainly because she is stretching her legs out so much more.  For the first two weeks of life she kept them tucked up against her belly, but now she seems to realize she has plenty of room to kick them out.
- For the past few days, she has been hungry a lot during the day but has been letting us sleep in pretty solid 2-3 hour chunks overnight, so that is a very welcome change!
- Nora doesn't cry very much, but now when she does, she gets tears in her eyes that sometimes even run down her face.  She used to cry the most when we changed her diaper, but she seems to be getting used to that now, and sometimes she doesn't fuss at all.
- Each day, she seems to spend a little bit more time awake and happy in what they call the "quiet alert state," which are some of the most fun times to hold her.  She opens her eyes really wide and looks like she is taking it all in.  Billy read that babies focus on contrasts in color, so they like to look at the edges of your face, bright doorways, etc... and this seems to explain why she loves looking at the tree wall decal when we are changing her diaper.

Her mama is developing some new skills, too.  After feeling completely overwhelmed for the first few weeks at home, I feel like I have finally begun to adjust to figuring out how to meet Nora's needs.  When we first brought her home, everyone told me to "enjoy every minute," but I was convinced that I was just not well suited for mothering a newborn because I certainly did not enjoy hearing her cry.  After reading and watching "The Happiest Baby on the Block" book and DVD (thanks, Erin!!), I feel like I have a better understanding of what Nora needs and how I can help meet those needs during these first three months.  As a result, I've begun to appreciate that my favorite thing about parenting during this window is that I can give Nora all the love, affection, and attention I want.  In the future, I'll have to worry about whether I'm spoiling her, or whether I'm letting her develop bad habits.  For now, though, Billy and I get to make sure we are letting her know that we'll do everything we can to make sure she is happy, healthy, and comfortable in the outside world as her brain and body continue to develop.

And though it doesn't have anything to do with this post, I wanted to close by sharing a family photo we took last night.