6 weeks

My sweet Mary Ellen, I can't believe that you are already over a month old and yet I feel as though you have been here much longer. This past month and a half has been full of joy and pride for your father and me. We have watched you grow and discover the world around you more and more every day. When you are awake, you are so alert. Noise startles you easily, and you do a lot of startling throughout the day since your big sister is in the business of shrieking around the house a lot.

You love it when I talk to you, and you have recently started talking back a little, which completely melts my heart. We have seen your smile about 3 times when you meant to smile and many times while you sleep, and it looks like you have two sets of dimples on your cheeks.

Your eyes look like they might be blue, but that puzzles me a little since your daddy and I both have brown. I think you'll be a blonde.

You love to suck, and the big recent discovery for me was finding a paci that you actually like to suck on, though you still prefer to suck on my little finger.

You are a good sleeper when I can get you to sleep. Sometimes that's a challenge, but when you finally fall asleep, you stay that way for 3 hours or so, and you have started waking just once in the night, usually around 2:30 a.m. for a feeding. You usually go to bed around 8 or 9 and get up around 7 the next morning, but I know as soon as I type this, you will change that routine.

I love your hair. Sometimes I just look at you and chuckle. Your little mohawk and big serious eyes are such a cute combination.

You hate being swaddled and love to sleep on your tummy, and I have to admit that I have fallen into the habit of letting you sleep with me at night, something that I swore I would never do! The plan is to get you into your own bed soon, but I will miss you being next to me, I think.

You love to be held all the time, so the sling has become a lifesaver for me. You love being in the sling, curled up in a little ball against me, as if you were still in the womb. You stay as happy as a clam in that thing.

I look forward to the months and days ahead as you continue to grow and develop, but I want to remember all of these little "newbornisms" about you, my sweet, beautiful daughter because I know they will soon be gone.