The Art of Swaddling

It was good enough for the baby Jesus, so it's good enough for Ella Grace. This is my "pod-child" all swaddled for her nap.

We get some grumbling about not being able to see her limbs and such, but let me tell you, there is nothing like a good swaddle to calm a fussy baby. I've started leaving her unswaddled more during the day now that she's stretching out her arms and legs, but she gets swaddled for naps and bedtime and any time that she seems fussy or over-stimulated. It generally calms her right down. The other night, she was fussing for reasons I could not discern and Dave suggested I swaddle her. That solved the problem and she was good to go. It's amazing. We learned how to do it in the childbirth class, but I didn't realize I would be such a believer.

What else have we been up to? Mostly eating, sleeping, and pooping. The kid is still quite the pooper. Oh, and now we've added spitting up to our list of accomplishments. I have been peed on, spit up on, and as of today, pooped on. And I love every minute of this - it's so weird. I've nearly decoded her cues that signal when she is about to pee on me during a diaper change so I have quick hands, but this poop thing is brand new. I'll have to start working on that one now.

She is twelve days old today, and she is already showing interest in things around her besides Dave and myself. I'm not sure, but it seems too soon for her to be ready to play with toys, but she is trying. Over the weekend, she realized that there is a mobile hanging over her changing table. I asked Dave if she was looking at the animals, and she was! We wound it up for her and she loved lying there watching it sing and dance for her. It makes changing time more bearable since she HATES being naked - except for when Dave rubs baby lotion on her after her bath, she stretches out and acts like that is a spa treatment. The musical animals just make it all the better, it seems. She also started playing on her play mat yesterday. Dave put her under it and fixed the toys so that she could reach them and she was already trying to hit them - and getting mad when she couldn't. It's amazing to see her growing so quickly. When Dave is in charge, I often find her bouncing in her seat while he plays the keyboard for her. I knew she was going to love music from the way she moved and kicked inside me, and now I have confirmation that she does. She likes singing, too. Dave makes up songs for her all the time and I sing to her at bedtime. It's so funny to watch her stop and listen when you start singing.

Dave, having never been around babies before Ella Grace, is shaping up to be a very hands-on father. He loves feeding her a bottle in the evening and giving her a bath and dressing her. He even picked out her clothes himself yesterday. I love watching him while he cares for her. I'm so proud of him. He comes in from work in the evenings, washes his hands, and takes the baby because he misses her while he is gone. It's so cool and it makes me love him even more.

That's enough rambling for now. I'll try not to dedicate this blog entirely to Ella Grace, but it will be filled with her for a while I'm sure.

Oh, for balance, here is a recent picture of Georgia. She is doing wonderfully around Ella Grace. We haven't had any pouting, and she seems to hold herself responsible for the baby. She lies near her and checks on her whenever someone new holds her. She greets her in the mornings and when she's been away from her for a while with snuffles. I think they will be great friends one of these days.