Isabelle is six weeks old. It is hard to believe that 6 weeks have already gone by. In some ways it feels like we just brought her home from the hospital and in other ways it seems like she has been with our family for years.
It has been amazing watching her grow and change. People said she would grow right infront of my eyes, and they were right, she is. Each morning I wake up, I feel like she has changed. She is now 23 inches long and weighs 9 lbs 2 oz. She even has a double chin, just like me. :-) To think she was once 6 lbs 6 oz and only 20 inches long, it is hard to believe she is getting so big.
Two weeks ago on Monday, March 5 Isabelle smiled at me for the first time, a real smile. I had just changed her diaper and she was lying on the changing station. As I button up her onesie, I was talking to her. She, as normal was staring very intently at my face, when all of a sudden she smiled. It took me a minute to realize it wasn't a gas smile but a real one. It melted my heart immediately and being that it was just her, Jack and me at home, I had to call someone to share the news. When Jarrett didn't answer my call, I called my mom and with my eyes welling up with happy tears, I got to share the news that made my day, well actually my entire week.
Since that day, the smiles have become a regular thing and now when I say, "Isabelle will you smile for Mommy?" Most of the time she smiles back. Infact, one of my favorite smilies of hers, are her full gum grins that take over most of her little face. She crinkles up her face and has wrinkles on her forehead when she does it. It make me laugh becuase she looks so darling but yet makes me wonder what she'll look like when she's really old.
Another major development for her is that she is starting to coo and likes to hear herself "talk." Usually the talking comes with a lot of smiles so it is one of my new favorite times of the day. I think she's going to be quite the talker because she can coo and make noises when we are listening and even when she is lying in a spot, while we try to get something done, she talks to herself. I love listening and sometimes when she talks, she talks so loud or makes a noise that even surprises herself. When she does that her eyes get really big and she makes an "o" face with her lips. So precious.
She also likes to be held. It would be fair to say that for the majority of her life, she's been wrapped up in the loving arms of her family or friends. In fact as I type this, she is lying in my arms. I think the rythym of me typing is putting her to sleep. She doesn't mind if I'm trying to put a load of wash in, or trying to wash her bottles or make dinner, as long as she is in my arms she's good. She can be sleeping very soundly in my arms and if I put her down, I know less than 2 minutes later, she'll be calling for me to pick her back up. Jarrett and I've talked about this and he encourages me not to hold her too much so she doesn't get use to being held for when she goes to day care. I also know it is becuase on Wednesdays, when he stays home with her while I go to work, he can't hold her all day. He still has to get his work done. I agree with him but I've also realized that our time with Isabelle is currently an unknown so I'm going to take advantage of holding her as much as I can. And if that means several months or years down the road, I have consequences for my choices, well then I'll take them, becuase that means she will still be ours. Looking down at her now in my arms, I smile, becuase she's back to sleep, even though my arms moves constantly as I type this.
And speaking of sleep. I can't remember if I've posted before, infact most things I can't remember. I blaime it on the lack of sleep. Isabelle eats pretty much every three hours whether it is daytime or nighttime. So our sleep, or lack there of was making me feel like a zombie. However, on Friday night Isabelle gave me a great gift. She slept for 7 1/2 hours straight! It was amazing. Now, I still woke up every hour to make sure she was still breathing and wondering if she had been crying to eat and I didnt' hear her, but sleeping she was and so I was able to fall back asleep right away. And if Friday night's gift wasn't enough, she did it again on Saturday night and last night. I'm not sure what the trick is, but I'm trying to repeat everything exactly as we had done on those special nights. I think part of it is giving her a bath with some special nighttime bath soap, Nana had picked out. She seems to really like it and so I will continue with it. The other special tricks seems to be wrapping her tighly in warm blankets and then giving her a bottle. Less than 1/2 hour later she is in a deep sleep. I've always liked my sleep, but man have I enjoyed the last few nights of sleep. I even told Jarrett, I'm back to feeling like a human, not a well-rested human, but at least a human.
The last six weeks of my life have truly been the happiest days of my life. I feel so blessed with two wonderful boys, an amazing husband, and now her. If you would have asked me on Feb 6 if my life was complete, I probably would have said yes. But now that we have her and our family has grown by one, I know now my answer would have been wrong. I can honestly say that my life will be complete on the day we get to finalize her adoption and know that she will be ours forever. I truly believe God will make our prayers a reality and allow her to be our daugher and us her parents. We will continue to take one day at a time, celebrating her newest milestones, showering her with love and praying we will get to write about her accomplishments in our family for a lifetime.
Until next time,
Angie
No comments:
Post a Comment