Of milk and milestones

Our little one is 4 weeks old today!  The time goes so quickly, despite the occasional long night. :)  Natalie is growing more and more alert, and I think she's beginning to smile in response to us.  She's at a funny stage of growth where the newborn clothes are too short for her long body, but most of the 0-3 month clothes are huge around her middle and a bit too long for her.  Hence, we dress her in a lot of onesies!  She continues to love being swaddled, bounced on the exercise ball, and held.  She doesn't tolerate her stroller/car seat too well at this point, but she's more than happy to go for a walk (which equals sleep) in the Ergo carrier.  She continues to hate taking a bath.  We're getting pretty good at giving her fast baths, as she is beginning to develop some baby acne.

Yesterday was a big day...I pumped for the first time, and Natalie had her first bottle!

(The following may be too much information - read at your own risk :)

First of all, pumping is just hilarious.  Hooking yourself up to a machine to produce milk is quite the experience and makes me feel like a cow.  You just have to laugh.  Whereas breastfeeding is such a beautiful bonding experience, pumping is like the industrialization of motherhood.  However, I did discover something that I thought was kind of crazy.  All the books I've read on the topic of breastfeeding have encouraged the mother to think good thoughts about the baby in order to stimulate the release of milk.  This hasn't been a problem for me, so I kind of poo-poo'd the idea that there would be such a psychological connection to feeding your child.  But yesterday, while pumping for the first time, I noticed that I was getting very little milk out.  Encouraged by the manual to "visualize your baby" and essentially think happy thoughts about her, I did so - and the increase in my milk production was huge!  What a crazy reflex!

We weren't sure how she would do with a bottle, as she only takes a pacifier once in a great while; most often, she rejects it.  However, she readily accepted it!  I didn't realize how anxious I was about this and its implications until she successfully accomplished feeding from a bottle.  Even though I much prefer to feed her myself, it's nice to know that we can leave her with a caregiver for a more extended period of time and she will be just fine.  I was so proud of her!

I'm feeling really good.  My body is healing well and is adapting well to new demands.  I'm tired, but not overly so (yet!).  I'm learning what my limitations are.  The main physical symptom that I'm having is continued numbness/tingling in my fingers.  The doctor says this is due to swelling in my wrists compressing a nerve, and I'm praying it improves soon.

She's growing more and more alert!  She often holds her head up for 15-20 seconds at a time, whether that be when she's on her tummy or when she's held in the position above.

I think her eyes look so blue in this picture.  Can't say for sure, of course, but it seems like they're getting bluer every day.

A little birthday photo shoot :)  I forget how tiny she is until I see these pictures.