Out on the Town

This week Safia and I hit the town – which with a 5 week old baby really means we left the house a few times.  Again, testing limits, probably pushing limits, but a happy mama is necessary for a happy baby and I was getting a little stir-crazy being home.  In addition to our excursions, we’ve made sure to take a walk each day to get a little exercise – I’m looking forward to finding some time to do a little more than walking, but for now, I take what I can get. 

On Monday, we went to the Geography department, I had a meeting with my advisor, and I also wanted to introduce Safia to all the women who work in the office.  I also figured it was a good first solo outing because I was completely comfortable there (I’ve spent enough time there) and there are enough people and spaces I could go if she (or I) had a melt down.  She once again surpassed my expectations and slept peacefully in the moby wrap the entire time we were there.  Of course, she screamed all the way home!

On Tuesday, we went to the doctor’s office for Safia’s one-month check up.  She’s doing great, gaining weight and growing.  She was 9 pounds 13 ounces (she’s gained 2 pounds 5 ounces from her birth weight) and 22 inches long (3 inches longer than when she was born!).  On the way home we stopped at the bank and the Co-op to pick up a few things.  I figure I need to work my way up to the real grocery store – maybe that’s a trip for next week!

On Thursday, we went to Full Bloom for their New Mom’s group, a weekly informal setting where mom’s can bring their babies.  We ran into two moms/babies from our centering group (we did group prenatal care through the midwife clinic at Athens Regional where we met bi-monthly with five other couples all with due dates close to ours.  In addition to the medical checks, we also talked about different topics related to pregnancy and new baby care).  It was nice to see familiar faces.

Today, we went to a friend’s farm (Full Moon Farms) and helped harvest vegetables for their CSA.  It was so nice to be outside and getting my hands dirty.  Safia was again in the Moby Wrap, and slept through most of the morning.  I worked a little slower than I would have if she wasn’t attached to me, but it was nice to be doing something.  We also got the added bonus of coming home with yummy veggies, which is good because we haven’t gone grocery shopping in almost a month!

 

In the afternoons, we’ve continued to have visitors – which has also done wonders for my mental health!  I still do continue to look forward to when Rube gets home so I can pass off the baby to him – I’ve never been so enthusiastic about doing the dishes before! 

All the morning adventures have helped the days pass by, but I’m not sure what it’s doing in our attempts to get Safia on some sort of routine – not a schedule yet, but the beginnings of some order.  We’re going with the eat, play, sleep routine, which is what seems to make sense to us.  She’s been doing well, but doesn’t really like to sleep all that much during the day unless she’s laying on some one or in the Moby Wrap or the Ergo.  But, she is sleeping more and more at night – once we finally get her down for the night (which can still take a number of tries) she’ll sleep for 3 – 4 hours before waking up and wanting to nurse – she’ll then sleep in 2-3 hours stretches another 2-3 times.  She’s up between 20 minutes and an hour between each sleep cycle.  It has made a huge difference for my state of mind, because I also get to sleep more!