3 weeks post-partum

I can not believe how fast time is flying by! Riley is officially 3 weeks old today and changing and growing on a daily basis. She's finally pushing 8 lbs. And by that I mean probably around 7 lb 10 oz or so, but when Luke came home from work today he swore she grew a couple inches and gained a couple ounces.

3 weeks old 

Caring for a newborn is getting easier and easier every day. Or should I say less and less difficult- it is absolutely not EASY! I'm now on my 2nd week on my own during the day and Riley and I are now getting into somewhat of a routine. We usually wake up when Luke wakes up (around 7:00am) and then are up until he leaves, then Riley eats and has a morning nap until around 9 or 10. We then get up and I get her ready (I apparently don't feel the need to get ready anymore). I try to get myself a cup of coffee, breakfast and chug a liter of water. Riley is usually ready to eat again, so we do that and she is then pretty awake and alert for a while. We then sing, listen to music, talk, play with toys, and read books, and the eating and sleeping schedule repeats itself. It is hard because her schedule is so inconsistent but I have to remind myself that I'm not on maternity leave to clean my house during the day and get a ton done, I'm home to take care of my baby, and if that means I'm glued to my couch, because she is cluster feeding, then so be it! I find myself just looking at her all the time because I am so amazed at how beautiful she is. Her little eyes, nose, fingers- I just can't believe we made her! Its a love I can not even explain in words. 

I have been getting out of the house, though. It's getting less scary to take her out on my own. Last week, we went to visit Luke at work and that was a ton of fun! We ran a couple of errands before hand, then went to visit dad! It was adorable to see Luke show her off to all of his co-workers. He was just so proud, and when we left he was just beaming. She does really well in the car, for the most part, and I assume it will only get better if we continue taking her out!

This was a crazy weekend for us, and this weekend will be crazy, too! Saturday, I did the unthinkable, and left my baby to go to one of my best friend's bachelorette parties. I absolutely wouldn't have missed it for the world- so that meant Luke was on daddy duty all day. He ended up taking Riley to his brother's house for a birthday party/mother's day celebration around 2:00pm and I didn't get home until about 12:30am Sunday. I cried and cried when they left, but I did it (although I felt like a bad mom).  I really had nothing to worry about because Luke did a great job with her! I got home and immediately wanted to wake her up and kiss her and play with her, but I didn't. She ended up sleeping over 4 1/2 hours. 

Sunday, which was my first Mothers Day, our family did the Susan G Koman 5K Walk for the Cure. We had a huge team for my momma, and we were up at 7:00am ready to celebrate all the breast cancer survivors out there. 

The walk was great and it was very emotional- seeing all the survivors. One lady was a 40 year survivor! Awesome. After the walk, all the survivors went into the rotunda at the MOA and stood in their pink shirts. It was like you looked down and saw these people and knew that every single one of them had been through the emotional roller coaster that my mom had. They were all different ages and backgrounds, but all had something so significant in common.

Riley did a great job in her stroller, being held, and being just absolutely adorable. She even slept Sunday night! Since it was a long event, we had to bottle feed her during the walk, and I had to nurse her at the MOA. Its miraculous how it all just seems so normal now. I'm not really scared anymore (thanks to my nursing cover)!

Also, I got the perfect Mommas day present from Riley (and Luke of course)- this adorable ring that says "Mom" on it, and a gorgeous 3 stone necklace.

Here's another pic of my gorgeous girl

So a Happy 3 Week Birthday to my little princess, I still can't believe she's really here (although it seems like she's been here forever) Tonight, as she napped, I just stared at her in complete awe at how amazing she is. Luke and I also watched the video of her birth tonight. I was a complete mess watching it, because there's so much I don't remember. It truly is a miracle (and I don't care how cheesy that sounds!)