A Few Reflections at Eight Weeks

Almost eight weeks have already passed since Melina entered the world! It's hard to believe. I've been meaning to write here, but, well, I'm taking care of a newborn. So here are some stream-of-consciousness reflections...

She's already grown so much. It's hard to recognize the little doll that she was just after birth (photo below). She's already developing so much, though she still has a lot of the same "mannerisms" that she had when she was first born, like the startle reflex, where she throws her hands and feet out when she's surprised. She also does this adorable snarfling at the breast when she's hungry. She's not doing it quite as much as she did when she was a newborn, though. She looks very serious and moves her mouth back and forth frantically, trying to latch on. As she grows, she gets better at latching on and looks a little less frantic, which is kind of sad.

She's a pretty easy baby. In general, I'd say she's a pretty easy baby, though she definitely has her moments of crying and screaming like a banshee, mostly in the car. But she goes to sleep very easily at night, and is usually pretty easy to calm.

Her crying breaks my heart. When she does cry - especially in the car when I can't go to her immediately - it just rips at my heart. She has actual tears running down her face and looks like I've just destroyed any trust that she may have had in me. It's terrible, horrible, awful.

More soon.