Ellie at 3 weeks!

(Written Friday, August 16th)

Elizabeth is 3 weeks old today!  It feels like time has flown by, but also like she has been here with us much longer!

Squeezing into a few last newborn outfits

She came out of that newborn honeymoon phase a week or so ago as she started to "wake up" and some fussiness started up.  But having survived Claire's super fussy newborn days, this seems like a piece of cake so far.  Ellie is much more easily soothed and sleeps and eats better than Claire did.

The past few days Ellie seems to have developed a bit of a routine.  She is mostly eating every 3 hours during the day.  Her nursing sessions are quite a bit longer because of this, which isn't a big deal if we are at home.  She still tends to fall asleep while eating but isn't always full when that happens.  So it's hard to know when she is really done, or just needs a little rest before coming back for more.  Most days she sleeps for a chunk in the afternoon, during Claire's nap time.  (Not always continuously, sometimes she needs a little rocking or some time with the pacifier).  But this is SO helpful in letting mommy have a break or maybe even a nap.  Hopefully she will keep it up since Daddy is now back to work and mommy will be on her own.  Of course, the one day that mommy was home alone and desperately wanted a nap, neither daughter wanted to sleep!

At night is her "fussy" time when she wants to be held more, have a little more movement, and cluster feed for a little extra calories and little extra comfort.  I spend a lot of time with her on the couch between 8 and 10.  She will have one last nursing session between 9:30 and 10:30 before going out for good.  She then sleeps until sometime between 2:30 and 3:30 when she wakes up to eat again.  On a good night she'll go right back to sleep.  Other nights she'll sleep for 30 minutes and then wake up fussing to eat again, or maybe just to be rocked with a pacifier.  Then she is good for another 3 or 4 hours.  Last night for example, she ate at 10:30, 2:30, 6:00, and then slept in until 9:00.  Pretty darn good for a 3 week old!!