Five Week Update

As of today, Madilyn is five weeks old!  I have been trying to post some of my thoughts for several weeks now, but the days just slip away from me.  At times, I do not even know what day it is.  Anyway, here are some lessons I have learned and some trivial facts about life with a baby...

• Madi's stats as of her 2 week well baby visit -- Weight:  8 pounds 11 ounces, Height:  21.5", Head Circumference: 13.5cm (As of today, Madi weighs 11 pounds!!!  Wow, she is growing by leaps and bounds.) 
• Our daughter has the cutest and brightest smile, especially just following a feeding.  I cannot wait to see it when complimented by her laugh.
• Madi has experienced several excursions out of the house including:  a car ride with her Dad and Great-Grandpa, lunch with Grandma Farrell and her friends, Costco, an adventure to Old Town Scottsdale, dinner out with her Great-Uncle and Great-Aunt and accompaning me on several errands.
• My Moby Wrap is one of the best inventions *ever*.  (Thank you, Mrs. B., for introducing me to this product).  Anytime Madilyn is fussy, I just put her in the Moby Wrap and she instantly goes to sleep.  It is truly amazing how well it works.  Here is a picture of Madi in the wrap ...

• Our baby girl is a mover and a shaker.  She loves to be jostled around, bounced, and swayed.  You name it, she loves it.  I think it is partly due to the fact I rarely stayed still during pregnancy.  I was always on the go.  One of the best purchases we have made thus far is her Cradle 'N Swing.  It not only swings forward and backward, but also side to side.  She becomes so entranced.  It makes Josh and I seasick just watching it.  But if it makes her happy, we are happy.
• She loves tummy time and has begun cooing when you talk to her.
• She is starting to focus on people and things, even though at time it seems like she is just staring off into space or looking at you cross-eyed.
• Madilyn is NOT a big fan of dirty diapers and wants them instantly changed as soon as they are soiled, even if she was just changed a minute ago.  We are hoping this means she will be an early adapter in potty training.  Let's keep our fingers crossed.
• Josh and I have resorted to the "Paper, Rock, Scissors" method of determining who will get out of bed in the middle of the night to attend to Madi's cries and wants.  So far, it has been pretty equally distributed and we are learning to coup with less sleep than we did previously.
• I have learned to add an additional hour of prep time before leaving the house with a baby.  I never realized how much time it takes to get yourself, a baby and all of the stuff a baby needs ready to leave the house.
• Our water bill will never be the same due to all of the laundry and baby bottle washing.  It seems never-ending.  Plus, I think our trash consumption has doubled with all of the diapers this child soils.  We never used to fill up the entire trash can in one week. Oy vey!
• The dogs, Pooh Bear and Capone, have adjusted quite nicely to the new addition in our house.  We were very concerned they would be jealous of her, but in actuality, the seem a little protective of her.  They will often lay right in front of her after giving her a quick little kiss to let her know that they are near.  Here are a couple of photos of the dogs with Madi ...