A Day in the Life...

Hanging out with Aunt Kim

Relaxing with daddy

Troy, I stole one of your pictures from Facebook - I love her half-smile, and how drowsy she looks in this picture!

Taylor is 7 1/2 weeks now - I can't believe she is almost two months old! We haven't done much in the last couple of weeks because it's been so cold! This week is supposed to be nicer out, so I might take her out for a walk in the stroller. We're getting anxious to get some fresh air! She did spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Forst last weekend, and had a lot of fun! She also got to see her Grandma Pavelka, Uncle Mark, Aunt Colleen, and her cousins last Friday. She loves visiting with family!

She has been starting to get somewhat of a schedule, although it varies daily. We have noticed that she goes to bed around 10:00 at night, has a feeding at around 2:00, goes back to sleep at around 3, and wakes up around 6:30. This is definitely more tolerable than her previous nighttime habits, which were very sporadic. Of course, we still have the occasional bad night (last night was one of them!) but at least we know that most nights I can get a good chunk of sleep.

One thing that has helped with her sleep time has been our nighttime routine, which we have been trying to stick to as much as possible. We usually give her a bath, play a little bit with her in our bed, and then give her a bottle of expressed milk and rock her to sleep. We noticed that when we give her a bottle before bed, she sleeps a little bit better, probably because she doesn't fall asleep before she is full, like she does when I nurse her.

When she gets a good night's sleep, she is so happy in the morning! We think that she is going to be a morning person like her mom! She usually gives me a huge smile when I come get her in her crib, and is smiley for about a half hour, until she remembers how hungry she is! I've been trying to get a picture but haven't been quick enough! She is very alert, and we've been able to get in more playtime during the day - she loves her playmat, but hates being on her tummy. We still put her on her tummy for at least 20 minutes a day to try and help her strengthen her upper body.

Sam was sick with the stomach flu earlier this week, which threw Taylor's schedule off completely. I think she knew that something wasn't right. Sam is so happy to be better - he missed holding her and giving her nighttime bath.