Margaret Smiles

At 11 weeks old tomorrow, Margaret has transformed herself in the last week!

She smiles reactively beautifully and consistently. Those smiles are like payment for my Mommy Job.

And look at those strong neck muscles!

Best of all, she has been a lot calmer for the last week. On Thursday last, I cancelled attending my monthly La Leche League meeting because I was so exhausted taking care of screaming Margaret and getting such little sleep. But that very day marked a change.

She now seems to wake up peacefully. This morning I wasn't in the bed when she woke and I heard her on the monitor talking to herself very quietly and happily for ten minutes before I went to retrieve her (she still wasn't crying). She stays awake for about an hour, then takes a long morning nap, plus takes a long afternoon nap, plus a few cat naps thrown in for good measure. During the long naps, I can set her down on a bed and leave! At bedtime I can set her down and have some evening time to myself! And when she is awake, I am being able to set her down much more often. I can put her in a bouncy seat happily for 15-20 minutes sometimes. Then when she squawks to be picked up, often she'll sit happily in my lap for another lengthy amount of time, not needing to nurse, just wanting to be close. Do you know amazing that is after two-and-a-half months of wearing her nonstop like a tee-shirt?

I'm walking on Cloud 9!