Getting to Know You

Things I am Learning About Sara Grace

1. Sara is a twitcher. She does not nap very peacefully, rather she twitches a lot, especially her legs. If that is going to be the case, she is a true daddy's girl.

2. On the topic of her legs, Sara has an uncanny ability to hold her legs up at weird angles for long periods of time. Like, 30 degree angles. It's like she is practicing pilates as a 1 week old infant! Such muscle control...gotta love it!

3. Sara is NOT a proficient spitter-upper. When she does have something come up, she catches it midway and gulps it back down. Not just swallow it-gulps it back down, like you can literally hear each separate gulp. I am not sure yet if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

4. Sara has finger toes. She can grip my thumb with them. Its awesome!

5. Despite her twitching tendancies, Sara is a momma's girl. Such a wonderful perk if you are the mom in question! I love how she unconsciously angles her body towards mine when she's laying in bed with me. I love how she will catch my eye when I lean close for a good morning kiss. I swear I see a glimpse of recognition in her eyes and on her lips when I talk with her! It is wonderful to feel the bonding begin so quickly.

6. Sara likes to be swaddled really good at night; during daytime naps, she prefers to have her limbs free (this is when she practices pilates the most). Sara takes a binky well if she is fussy, but she really doesn't need it and frequently falls asleep without it. Being the stellar mommy that I am, I am forcing it on her more than I probably need to; in my opinion, it will make things easier until I wean her from it in a year.

7. I'm just going to call it now: Sara's hair already appears to be going very light brown just like Karianna's. And I even think I see hints of brown in her eyes; I'm not holding out much luck that they will go blue. That's okay-she's beautiful either way!

8. Sara is not a pooper. I even wish she would poop a little more so I can stop worrying about any possible jaundice that is lingering in her system. Perhaps I should just be grateful?

9. Sara still has a fine layer of hair on her cheeks. No big deal of course, just interesting and something I have never noticed from my other kids (if they had that still when they were born).
10. We have a nickname! Karianna started it, and I picked it up and love it: Saree.

I love my little girl! I said it about 4 times this evening-I already wish she would stop growing! There is just something so special about newborns that is hard to replace. I am grateful that I have had the experience of being a mom three times prior to Sara's birth. It has truly taught me to enjoy and cherish these first few weeks with a new baby-they go by much too quickly.

I am also so very glad for the impact Sara has already made on our family. I love helping Karianna learn the ins and outs of being a great big sister and babysitter. I love the wonder on Jordan's face when he watches Sara fling her arms about and crane her neck at any ray of light. I love hearing JD tell me about Sara as if he is the expert: "Mama, baby Sara is sickie, she needs fever medicine....baby Sara has poo poos! I need to get some desitin for her... oh no mama, baby Sara is sad, I'm serious!" Mostly, I love keeping my kids involved with their new sister. Such a wonderful learning experience for them and a great opportunity to bond as a family.

After going in to work on Thursday and Friday last week, Jared discovered he has some paternity leave he can use this week, which is great from the standpoint that we can all hang out as a new family of six. Now, if JD and Jordan can just fully recover from their coughs and fevers, we might be able to accomplish the "hanging out" more fluidly! But we are a making it work!

I love my family. I feel so very blessed right now to be a mother and a wife!